the financial support of the kids is an interesting concept-it seems like much of what they 'need' right now would'nt be necessary if they reverted to a more 'normal' lifestyle-
no need for bodyguards to travel with you to interviews and appearances if you are'nt doing them,
I personally think they'll need some security (at least Kate) for awhile - there are way too many crazy people in this world that might try to hurt her or the kids.
no need for legions of nannies and childcare providers that charge a premium for nights, weekends and extended days of care if you do a reasonable shared custody arrangement or absent that-curtail/amend your own career aspirations to suit the needs of your kids,
I would guess that there's a "set" price - no difference for nights, weekends, extended care, anything like that in this situation. I agree that J&K should try and work it out so one of them is with the kids and the sitter is the last resort.
no need for personal trainers, stylists, salon and spa 'maintainance' expenses if your not constantly trying to be in the limelite,
I agree - this is not really a "need"
no need to use higher cost e/r facilities for what could be treated by doctors during normal buisness hours-if you're around AND AVAILABLE to reccognize your kids are in need of that care,
Now I haven't seen the "foot episode" (dvr'd just haven't had time) yet but I fell at Disney back in July and my foot still hurts and I haven't been to the dr....should I go? Probably. Will I? Probably not - it's actually starting to feel better. I tend to not run to the doctor for everything with my kids. DS5 literally quit walking for about a week and told us his legs hurt. After a couple of days of him complaining, I took him to the dr where he walked just fine for her and said his legs never hurt (he was 4 at the time). Back at home, no walking at all....then he started walking again without a problem. We'll never know if there was really something wrong or he was just being stubborn. I've worked in the medical field and been around kids long enough to try to trust my "gut" instead of heading to the dr. As for the sitter taking her (I know that wasn't addressed in this comment), I think it's fine honestly. My nanny has a medical release to take, treat, make decisions if she's with the kids and something happens. They're only good for six months or a year and I always made sure my daycare provider and anyone watching my children always had one as DS5 has some severe allergies that could require using his epipen and needing to go to the hospital. I would send my boys to the dr with our nanny if it wasn't for something serious - just a runny nose or something like that. Maybe I'm heartless 
no need for personal assistants to help with taking the kids to special events and activities and on vacations-if it's something that can't be reasonably managed by the parent then maybe it's something that at this age with the kids it should'nt be done.
I think that falls back into the babysitting/nanny grouping. I would ALWAYS prefer to have someone else with me and I only have two kids - not 8. There's no way Kate could take all the kids to Disney alone right now (could you imagine potty breaks!) but it's certainly "age appropriate" for them IMO.
take all of that away and you've cut costs immensely. if more costs need to be cut then dump the extra cars, stop buying the designer clothes
I think many of the clothes are "product placements" or given to the family in exchange for advestising in other ways (not during the show but a commercial maybe) and this could wind up costing them MORE because they'd have to start buying the clothes, shoes, food, ect that's being "given" to them right now.
and accessories, cut the 'extras' out of your life-if you can't handle 2 freaking mortgages then you need to look at which one you can handle-and there are plenty of larger families who own no home of their own-it's by no means an absolute 'must'.
I agree about the multiple homes - I really think (IMO being as budget minded as I try to be) there's no way I'd be able to handle having both homes to pay for in addition to Jon's apartment and wherever Kate's staying when she's not there....I was stressed enough having a house in two different states for six months!
we're not even talking about eliminating private school or funding the retirement fund or kids college funds-all 3 of which any lucid parent would say take a backseat to the providing for the basic needs of their kids-food, shelter, clothing and medical care.
I agree that the retirement and college funds could wait until later for sure but the private school might go back to being a privacy thing. I don't know that the public schools are as strict about the filming/paps/security as a private school might be.
the arguement will be that the kids need to be 'supported to the manner in which they've become accustomed'-that's b.s., the kids need to be supported in a safe and healthy manner that facilitates them having healthy and supportive relationships with their siblings and parents.
Nicely worded post! I agree with all of it. The episode with the musical instruments was really painful to watch (at least for me). Cara's behavior was over the top compared to her other outbursts and it's hard for me to not attribute it to all the changes in their little lives. I just wonder how they all are handling it. They need space and time with just their Mom and Dad...not the TLC director, sound guy, camera guy, production assistants or nannies. Time to be regular kids who go to school and come home and play. Kids who don't have to worry about filming several days a week and looking perfect for the cameras. I can't imagine any judge who would look at their lives and say that they don't need this time away from TLC and filming.
