Boy Scouts - budget draining - time and money!

[DVCBELLE]

My 1st grader signed up for Boy Scouts with his best friend - we have only been to a couple of meetings and at the last one we found out that the dues will be $55 - on top of the uniform costs and field trips. They already have one planned soon that will be $20.

My DH is not working right now and we have really had to tighten our belts so we were already worried about buying him a uniform - I have checked ebay, craigslist, every thrift/second hand store I could find with no luck so I will have to pay full price for the uniform. So we were already stressing about the cost and now the dues are going to be high - but I hate to break my little guy's heart b/c he loves going.

We also found out the other night that the leader feels it would be best if we have a meeting EVERY week - then the Den meeting once a month - and field trips. The regular meetings are on Mondays and when we signed up we were told that they were on the 2nd Monday of each month - which was perfect b/c DH and I have standing meetings on the 3rd and 4th of each month. But with a weekly meeting - getting him to every meeting will be nearly impossible - and we would often have to take our DD or have someone babysit her. Is it normal at such a young age to have so many meetings? We were also told for him to move up we will have to attend all of the meetings and field trips b/c they are to earn pins.

I am just confused and want to hear other thoughts on this...part of what might be irriating me is that to earn their pin on Monday night - they spent the meeting playing the Wii?!!?!? Switching packs doesn't work b/c his best friend is in ours and that is part of the appeal for him. I just feel like we are going to have spend a huge chuck of time and money on this - and then he will have to give up other activities to join...

I just am concerned about the time and money and wonder if anyone can give me suggestions.

Thank you!!

 

[burnurcomputer]

Cubmaster here. Its not uncommon for Scouts to meet one a week with their Dens and have a Pack meeting once a month. It's a very good way to keep the boys involved in the program!


Some questions back to you to help trouble shoot:

Does your Pack collect weekly Den Dues?

Do they offer used uniforms? Are there any parents who have an older uniform that you can purchase from them? agood place to check is the Webelo Dens.

Is the program year round or during the school year only?

What fee schedule do you have for activities? Are they part of your sign up cost or do you have to participate in "x" number of fundraisers?

Does your Pack have Scout accounts?

What $ assistance does your Pack or District offer? What are the qualification?

Do you have the name and number of the treasurer, Cub master, Committee chair to ask and answer questions?

Does the Pack provide any items at the time of graduation or are you expected to pay it out of packet each year?


If you know the answers let me know and I will do what I can to help provide a basic answer and/or ideas of what you can do depending on your specific Pack runnings!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

No real suggestions, but I feel your pain. Our dues fr a returning scout were $70.00 The uniform I bought him 3 years ago still fits so the only things I buy annually are the neckerchief & book. Our Pack decided to join in Popcorn sales this year too, the CHEAPEST thing yuu could buy was a bag of popcorn for $10.00!!

They had one field trip den meeting this week for $9.50, and other than the campsite campouts, the cheapest campouts they have done have been $50.00 - $55.00 PER PERSON!!!! $55.00 to sleep on the floor of a museum, $110.00 since an adult has to accompany each scout!

He was leaning toward quitting this year, but changed his mind last minute. He is a 1st year Webelo now.

You could try talking to your pack leader about the finances & see if anything can be done. As per the den meetings, they seem to be scheduled by the den parent of the group. We meet 2x per month as a den, 1x per month as a pack, but the boy around the corner only meets 1x per month with his den & 1x with the pack.

 

[Tooth Fairy]

It is a commitment of money and time! We are a single income family. Having a son who just earned his Eagle and is senior patrol leader this year...money well spent for us!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Check your local goodwill or ask around at school to see if someone has a shirt that has been outgrown. Hopefully all they want is the shirt and not the "whole" uniform of pants, hat, etc. All we ever required was a shirt and we facilitated a yearly "swap," to keep things affordable for people....oh, and we were at a pricey private school at the time (tuition was $15K a year).

As to the time commitment, I understand. All we did was monthly meetings and monthly outings. It was all we could do to get that done! If it doesn't work for you, then it doesn't work for you. I'm sure you can find another activity for your child....there's a bazillion of them out there!

K

 

[abigaillynn]

As the proud parent of an Eagle Scout I would say that the scouting program is well worth it. Our son has grown up to be an outstanding moral and ethical young man and the fact that he is an an Eagle Scout has helped him in obtaining an excellent college internship. He is in the Honors College and majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Boy Scouts had a major influence on his life. As a scout he had the opportunity to participate in a couple of the high adventure activites and has hiked the Appalachian Trail and sailed from the southern coast of Florida to Key West. Amazing opportunites.

 

[KristinU]

My DS just started Cub Scouts this year also (in fact he and DH just left for a meeting.) The way I view it is as an extracurricular akin to a sport, in which case once a week and $50 a year are a bargain in my opinion. Actually, our dues were less than $50, I think $30 but we've already done a pack bottle drive in addition to the popcorn sales. We don't live in an affluent community, so I think the pack might be more cognisant of keeping paid field trips, etc. to a minimum. Actually the only thing we know of is the overnight at a science center. For a pack Halloween party families were asked to make a carnival style game. I think pack dues paid for some little trinkets to win (spider rings, tattoos, etc)

I did have to buy the uniform, but our pack asks that everyone just buy the wolf neckerchief and slider thing so we don't have to keep buying new every year (again, nice that they are sensitive to keeping costs down). We do have several boys in our den that will be getting their uniforms for Christmas, so they just wear street clothes for now, which seems to be totally fine and the boys are happy. I know DS loves his uniform and keeps asking for a hat now since he keeps seeing pics of scouts in hats on the popcorn stuff, LOL! ETA, what I meant to get at is that I don't think it is necessary to have the uniform right away - give yourself time to keep searching on eBay and Craigslist - in fact, maybe post a "wanted" on CL and see if anyone contacts you...probably not the kind of thing people post for sale as much as just have lying around, KWIM?

Anyway, I'm rambling, but as a former Girl Scout I'm just really happy that DS has found scouting and really enjoys it. He talks about going all the way through Eagle Scout already, which I think is really cool that he has a long term aspiration at this young age.

 

[Belle5]

If the scheduling and expense are too much for you right now, wait until your son turns eleven and join Boy Scouts. The only advantage of Cub Scouts is that if your son earns his Arrow of Light, he can join Boys Scouts at 10 1/2 years--which can give him the advantage of an extra six months to earn the Eagle rank. My latest Eagle was very, very glad he had that extra six months as he barely squeaked into Eagle before his 18th birthday.

Unless you understand the value of something, it is not motivating to put your time and money behind it. When I see what Boy Scouts has given to my sons--I think it is a great bargain! I cannot necessarily say that for the Cub Scout program even though it has it's positives, as well. By the time our youngest finishes scouting I can't begin to fathom how many Monday nights we will have driven half an hour each way to take our sons through the Scout program. That would be an interesting math question...how much time and money have we spent? Hmmm....

 

[lisajl]

Our troop and the council had money set aside for people that could not pay those dues. I believe it was half price, but don't quote me on that.
Check into it. Also check into Goodwill. My son, almost Eagle Scout, just saw a cub scout shirt there last week for $5.00!
Talk to someone in charge. The Scouts help the boys stay in the troop, just ask for some help.

 

[lovehoney]

You can also check around and see if there is another pack in the area that has cheaper dues. Call your council and ask.

 

[lovehoney]

sorry - i see that you said you didn't want to switch packs. Maybe he and his friend could switch together.

The first thing I would do is speak to the leader and tell him/her your concerns.

 

[Nicolepa]

Personally I find scouts to be the best deal around. Our dues are $70 a year and we don't really have any other expenses unless he wants to go to camp, which is totally optional. Even so I think it's a steal. My son loves it.

For 1st grade (Tiger), we had one meeting a month, one field trip a month and 1 pack meeting a month. This year they changed the program around so they have to do 2 den meetings a month. The good news is that with the new format there is very little work needed outside of meetings to earn your rank.

As for field trips all of ours have been free. We do have a few optional pack activites that cost a small amount (bowling $5, rocket launch - cost of the rocket $10+)

The pins & beltloops are not required to earn their rank, but they are fun and the boys enjoy earning them. There is a new beltloop/pin for video games, and I'm sure that is what they were earning if they were playing the Wii. I think that is the silliest beltloop/pin of them all but the boys like it.

We would never turn a scout away that couldn't afford it. We even subsidize camp (which is totally optional) for those who need help. If you need help, ask. I'm sure the pack or council has money set aside for that.

 

[jessica52877]

Oh my! I could go on all night about cub scouts.

I love the scouts but sometimes think it is lacking in what it was really meant to be. I know that depends on leaders, etc though.

We meet once a week but not on the week that there is a pack meeting. Sometimes the boys do alot and sometimes almost nothing. What bothers me most is that I feel the kids don't learn the why behind something and to me scouting was all about why stuff is done, to learn and grow.

Our is $100 to be a scout, $20 that goes to the district and then $45 for dues for the year x10 (dues) that is $450 for den meetings. I sure could do alot with that kind of money! I find it way more costly then most other dens that I have friends in, but I also am torn because my son loves seeing the other kids he goes to school with and is friends with.

I don't see why you would have to be at every single meeting. Ours is big in saying that you can do other things, sports, etc but they don't really make it easy on you if you choose that. You are left out of the loop alot! Your child will just need to make sure they have done all the accomplishments in the book to earn his Tiger badge. Most can be done with an adult, any adult! Of course, leaders don't like to hear that and I am all for as many people being at as many meetings as possible. It just doesn't always work out that way.

I sent my son to cub scout camp this past summer and they did so many of the wolf accomplishments already and he also had a great time. It was the best $50 I ever spent for a week!

 

[mjkacmom]

Those dues seem normal - I have 2 cubscout drop-outs (who play on 3 - 4 teams every season), a girl scout, and a brownie. All have been very low-key. For the boys, we just bought a shirt and neckerchief (handed ds12's down to ds7). As for the meetings, do you both have to attend? I like girl scouting better, since parents don't have to go (our cub scouts met after school, so I had to get someone to watch my other kids). Our troops didn't do much - went to the firehouse, town hall - but did annual battleship sleepovers, baseball field campouts, and a few camping trips we never went on.

 

[bweagle]

My son joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger Cub this year....it was pricey, but it seems so worthwhile. His uniform (no pants or ling sleeve shirt) was $80.00 and dues were $40. We meet as a den every week during the school year with once a month pack meetings. Two weeks after we joined we had a pack campout this fall, with another scheduled for the spring. There are 5 field trips (our den calls them "go see it's") that the boys must complete as a part of their 5 achievements. We have completed 2 in the past couple of months with another planned for next month. The parents of the Tigers work together to run the den. We take turns leading activities at each den meeting and the activities are all related to helping the boys earn their achievement beads, and we're working on a couple of belt loops too. I'm fortunate to be working with a great group of parents.....younger siblings are welcome to attend den and pack meetings and are invited to participate whenever possible.

 

[burnurcomputer]

My packs dues are 38 for returning Scout without Boys Life, 50 with. New Scouts are 42 (could be a dollar less) wioth out and an additional 12 for boys life. That is for registration, insurence, and Den Dues.

We have a manditory popcorn goal of $232 worth of product per boy. We have site sales that thake place over 3 weekends and you must sign up for at least 1, 2 hour shift (unless you buy out, but I'll get to that). The portion of hours that you work are added up with all teh boys in the pack and an hourly wage is found. multiply that hourly wage times th enumber of hours you worke and that goes to your goal number. Then you sell the rest to meet the $ goal. If you don't, you pay the difference. We get the goal number by doing our budget at the ebnd of our Scout year. we add up all our expences and divide by the anticipated number of boys to get the amount of $ that is needed per boy to run our functions. If you don't want to sell you can but out at the profit level.

That $ pays for our Pack meeting supplies, ALL of our Blue and Gold cost, the cost of the boy for Council sponcered activites (any and all, its his choice to pick) and for the book, neckercheif and the slide for the next year. We have multiple parties for our Pack. For example, we just had a Harvest Fest with activites and food from 1-5 pm. Next month we are having a roller skating party, the cost for the boys and family members are coved, additional people have to pay $2 for skate rental, but the boys do not.

We have Scout accounts that the boys can use to pay for additional Scout related activites (camp, ect.) or gear. If they earn above the sales goal for Popcorn 100% of that money goes directly into their accounts. We also offer 2 optional fundraisers (1 in summer into fall months and one in the spring). These are soley for $ for your Scout account so you can work and earn money. This follows that a Scout is Thrifty and learns to pay his own way.

The Tiger leader who is taking you guys on $20 outings is out of his mind! The Tiger Go-See-Its! are manditroy, but FREE of planned properly. The costs you are listing seem high if you are spending $ to go on outings.....I would go to the next Committee meeting and ask to see the budget in full detail.

We also offer used uniforms that were donated to the Pack for $5 for a Class A uniform, $2 for hat, neckercheif, slide, or used Class B. We charge because they need to be washed and repaired to look theri best. And boys grow fast!!!

We do offer an additional family trip that is more costly (30-50) but we pay for the boy or subsidize his cost. BUT this trip is in the spring and he can pay for himself or his entire family to go if he decides to participate. But this is NOT manditory and is a fun trip!

I'm seeing TONs of listings on Ebay for Tiger Cub uniforms. One is listed at 30 something bucks and has a class A shirt, neckercheif and slide PLUS a book!! That is a real bargin. here is the linK: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...tiger+Scout+uniform&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[Sadie22]

The time and money we invested for our boys all the way through Eagle were the best we invested. Scouting is a significant investment of family time but one of the most worthwhile activities available. Our boys learned so much and so did we as parents.

If cash is a problem talk to the pack committee chairman or Cubmaster about ways to solve this. There may be pack funds available, a uniform exchange, or similar in existance, as well as scheduled fund raisers.

 

[Fyrefly]

As a Gold Award Girl Scout (female equivalent of Eagle), I'd say scouting is way worth it. I second opinions you should talk to the pack leader about what the bare minimum of uniform stuff you have to buy, and if there is an exchange. We were responsible for getting the sash or vest for our badges at each ranking, but buying the full uniform was optional. Girls would do it if there was some even they were going to if they wanted the uniform, and most of us when we hit Cadette and Senior levels, which have the same uniform and generally coincide with when you stop growing, got a uniform for all the fancy ceremonies.

Is it possible for you to set up a carpool with the parents of this friend? If you and DH have meetings two weeks of the month, when why not take DS and his friend the two weeks you can make it, and have his parents take them both the other week?

 

[agnes!]

OP -

With all the Cub Scout parents posting on this thread, I have to wonder if someone here might have the appropriate uniform (or the kerchief or shirt) for your DS. No Boy Scouts in my house (DD was a Girl Scout and did her Bronze Award ), so I can't help out, but maybe someone else can?...

agnes!

 

[DVCBELLE]

Thank you all for the suggestions. DH and I are so conflicted but I think we are going to try and make it work. I know that if we could not take him that our friends would but I think you have to have a parent with you at the meetings.

DH is going to talk with the leader and ask if we can make up the things we miss when we can't make a meeting. DD is a girl scout and she loves it but the commitment isn't nearly as much. We do what we can and we don't have troop dues b.c we do so well with the cookie sale.

We are also going to ask about a uniform exchange. I feel bad asking for financial help b/c we really could afford it right now - but with DH not working I don't know what our future holds so every penny saved is a good thing.