The thought struck me recently that my kids, as teenagers, are costing me more than ever before.

It’s not that they are particularly materialistic, it’s just now they go out more, and usually without me. As they head out the door for another trip to the movies, lunch in town, hiring canoes on the river I find myself handing over $20 or $40 each time.

I’m thinking nostalgically of a time when entertainment was going through a car-wash while eating a Happy Meal!

The eldest has a job one day a week and often pays for herself but the rate of pay for a 15-year-old doing 6 hours work doesn’t go that far.

Their growth spurts are now pretty constant, and even the youngest is out of kids clothes, welcome to the world (and cost) of ladies fashion.

We have mobile phones to pay for each month. Once considered an indulgence they have started to become a necessity. Given the amount of time the teens are out and about on their own and the distinct lack of pay-phones – I think they may have gone the way of the dinosaur – we need to be able to contact each other, just for the logistics of who is where and what time is pick-up.

We are coming to the end of qualifying for “child” rates on just about anything. What is it with that? They aren’t legally an adult until 18 but according to hotels, airlines, restaurants, theme parks, childhood ceases at 13!

It has suddenly occurred to me we are supporting four adults on the wages of two (and one of those is part-time)!

This morning I read about one mother’s attempts to spend nothing on her child for one year. The mother in question, Hattie Garlick, has a blog Free Our Kids where she is going to document her spend free year.

Hattie’s child is a toddler (and there is only one of them) so there is a possibility of success. I know we probably wouldn’t have lost anything by not attending Gymbaroo (we threw up on the parachute during circle time) or Montessori Play Group (we still hold the record for the most spectacular forty minute tantrum ever held in the place of peace, love and joy).  The kids were usually dressed by the House of Tracey – my mother-of-four friend who had plenty of hand-me-downs for us. We rarely went out to eat (as mentioned one was a spewer the other a tantrum queen it wasn’t worth the effort). Out of necessity I learnt to improve my cooking during the stay-at-home years, it wasn’t always pretty and “char grilled” was a term I bandied about a lot, but hey the kids are still alive, and I will always argue their skinniness is a genetic thing!

So I reckon Hattie has a chance of making her toddler a zero cost item on the budget spreadsheet for 2013, but how do you think she would go with a teenager? Is it possible to not fork over a single cent on a teenager?

If anyone reckons it can be done let me know, I’ve got to finish the back-to-school buying  (uniforms, books, stationery, school shoes, back-packs, i-pad) and must remember to pick up a lottery ticket on my way home.