CatholicFatherOf2

How should we spend our money to get the best return on investment.

No one has an unlimited supply of money. Well, except maybe Mr. Gates. So we all struggle with where to spend our money, especially where our children are concerned. I am going to unscientifically compare 3 ways to spend money sports league, music lessons and game console. Here is how I broke down the cost for a years worth of fun.

Basketball League: I used The Sports Authority for these prices.
Lifetime 1221 Pro Court 44 Inch Portable Basketball System $189
Wilson NCAA Junior Performance Rubber Basketball (27.0) $9.99
League fee for my son this year including shirt $65
I am not counting sneakers because he needs them for gym anyway.
Total cost = $263.99

Music Lessons: I used my personal experience with my son for these prices.
Drum kit including snare drum and bells including all stands $300.00
Free lessons in school $0
Sticks and books $40
Total cost = $340

Video Game Console: I used my personal experience with my son for this as well. Although I haven't actually spent any money on this yet.
Wii game console w/ free game $249
Extra controller including all options $69
Games $50 X 1 = $50
Total cost = $368

Not surprisingly they are all close in cost. I am sure it could be argued that my costs are not very realistic, but for my point it doesn’t really matter.

Now let’s look at the return on our investment. From basketball we get good exercise, lessons about team work and fair play, and for a few we get a chance at a college scholarship and even more remotely a career. From Music lessons we get music, lessons about team work and fair play, and for a few we get a chance at a college scholarship and even more remotely a career. From a game console, we get good hand to eye coordination and lessons about team work and fair play.

I am sure my assessment is not even close to anything scientific. However, I could find a tremendous amount of information about the benefits of sports and music for young people on the web. The overwhelming evidence points to them both being very good for children of all ages and adults. The outlook for video games is not so good. Most of the information, available on the web about video games, points to them having a negative impact on the health and well being of children. But don’t take my word for it, search the web and see for yourself.

I am not suggesting that we should not buy video games for our children. What I am saying is that if we have to make choices about where to spend our money, some investments are better than others.

Here are some resources to help you look more closely into the benefits of sports, music and video games.

posted by CatholicFatherOf2 @ 10:48 PM