Money Issues - Grand Prairie,TX

Why does band class cost you anything????

You can pick up an older instrument at a pawn shop for pennies on the dollar. I got a clarinet not too many years ago for only $50. I know brass instruments are more though. But still, compared to how much a new one costs a pawn shop would be a good place to look.

Also if you're on FB there are often free pages/groups in most towns. Mine has 3 and we're not that big. I posted I needed something a while back and I had it, for free, within a short time.

As for an instrument perhaps someone has their old band one sitting around and they might sell it really cheaply.

Don't give up yet. The school system may even have some instruments the kids can use. If he wants to play Tuba they always had them because they are huge and no one could afford to buy one.

Also, think percussion. Tympani drums, xylophone, chimes/bells, those are instruments all band rooms have on hand.

If you need money quickly, have a garage sale. You can always find things around the house you don't need and can usually make a couple hundred in a day. We have done this back in the day when we needed a large amount of money quickly. And the school should be able to help with an instrument but act quickly because it's first come, first served. Good luck.

Call the school and/or the band teacher. They usually have money available for low income families, like a scholarship program.

I totally understand where you are coming from. Band is expensive no matter whether you get scholarships or not. There are still costs. And even if you manage to find a used instrument there are still costs. getting them cleaned and reconditioned etc. I would do like a previous poster mentioned and call the band director. go in and talk to him. tell him you don't have the money for this but that your son really wants to try it. they do have some discretionary money. if you get there soon enough you might be able to get some help. also call the school district. They might also be able to help you. a previous poster mentioned the face book pages. those are a gold mine of free stuff. good luck. music is a wonderful way to keep kids on track. I hope you are able to make it work.

I don't know of a school that doesn't have a PTA or a scholarship program.

Talk to the school.

Your son does not need a new instrument. You can rent them. Some people do sell used ones on ebay and craigs list.

If your son really wants this? He can start doing odd-jobs for people around the neighborhood and earn some of the money himself.

Contact the school and let them know your son really wants to be in the band but you're having financial difficulty, I am sure there's a solution here.

Your school should have a scholarship program that is sponsored either by the state or the PTA. Contact the school and tell them you need help.

You do NOT need to buy an instrument. You can rent one. If you are in tough financial straits, the PTA usually sponsors a rental as well.

When my son started out in orchestra and band - there was NO WAY a rental was $60 a month. It was $25 - even for the Euphonium. The violin was $20 a month and it applied towards the purchase of the violin.

I am in Plano and with our district, 6th graders are required to choose 1 year of either band, choir or orchestra.

There are places here who manage the instrument rentals. Private lessons during the school day are optional and about $20 a week.

You need to check with the band director because the PTA and school have programs to help students who do not have the funds to participate. Some rental companies are known to have a sliding scale for rentals if it is proven that there is a need for a specific family.

Of course, you will have to provide documentation that there is a qualified need because there are so many others who say they have needs and attempt to take advantage of the system. It makes it harder on those with a true need but be patient and take the steps through the system at your school.

Most children who do not have the funds, participate in Choir because there are no expenses that go along with choir.

At age 11, I would not be putting my child to work in order to pay for band other than maintaining grades and chores at home.

I question those expenses because my daughter was in orchestra and in the beginning we rented her violin around $25 a month and we opted for private lessons during school for about $20 a week.

I can't see the expenses you are talking about of $60 a month plus the $122. What is the $122 one time expense for and what is the $60 a month for? Instruments can be rented and MOST people do that, especially for beginners and if your rental company is telling you $60 a month for an instrument, go look elsewhere for a rental. Williamson Music in Plano and Dallas Strings in Allen are 2 well known companies who do school rentals and no rentals are $60 a month.

Good luck

Both my kids were in band from 5th grand through high school so I totally understand! That being said, I am trying to understand why it costs $60 a month. Does this include lessons? If so, rental and lessons, $60 isn't bad. What instrument is he playing? Most schools and music stores have very good programs for families who have financial limitations. Have you talked to the band director? If not, please do so ASAP!! Also, talk to the music stores. They have programs as well. A lot of the cost depends on the instrument. Don't buy right now. He might not like the instrument and all rental fees goes towards the purchase of the instrument.

To me music is so important. It helps with self esteem, they are learning to read a new language. If there is something in your budget that could be crossed out, I would do it. But most definitely reach out to the band director and music stores. Good luck!!!

I'd contact the school or the band director. This seems extremely expensive. Is this all an activity fee, or does it include instrument rental? Check with local music stores to compare rates - they are always searching for used instruments that they can rent to kids.

Our schools have a flat activity fee per child (with a family cap) and it covers all activities. There may be instrument rentals and lessons for some things, but there must be a program in place to help families. Is this his first exposure to music? Then there should be something to encourage kids, get them involved, help them manage it.

By the same token, there has to be some commitment on the part of the child - that can be a commitment to practicing every day (usually 15-20 minutes tops for beginners), and a commitment to going to band practice (which is either early or after school). So set up some schedule for your child where he has to do something every single day for 20 minutes whether he wants to or not.

And what can he do to try to earn some of the money this summer? When my son was that age, he was mowing lawns, walking dogs, putting out trash cans and watering plants/gardens for people who were on vacation or on a day trip, raked out mulch beds, helped clean out attics when people were moving or doing yard sales, etc. He actually turned it into a growing business that he put on his "activity resume" for college applications. Have your son make up some flyers listing his skills and indicating that he's trying to raise money to join the band (rather than just buy video games) - I'll bet a lot of people will find that refreshing. Our son learned to bank that money (we had a formula for spending/saving and also giving a little bit to charity), as he got older he learned to invoice people and keep records, and so on. He had the keys to about a dozen homes in the neighborhood, and great references.

So make this a win-win situation - verify the costs, see what's available for scholarships, start now with helping him get motivated to earn money to help support himself and develop responsibilities, and then see what might be shifted around in your own budget to work together as a family to make things possible. It's a great experience for everyone.

Call the school and talk to the band director and the school counselor-now before they leave for the summer! They may be able to give you some suggestions for low cost loaner instruments or programs your some may qualify for. Perhaps there is a child that has dropped out and you may be able to buy their used stuff relatively cheaply. Good luck!

An 11 year old can get odd jobs with friendly neighbors who are willing to pay him - mow the lawn, pull weeds, walk dogs, run local errands, etc. Figure out your price point and see what he can do to help pay for it. Or, does he need a high speed internet connection for games and you're paying for it? Is their some extra he's using that could be cut down? The sacrifice has to come from him - if band is worth it to him, he'll find a way.

By the way, I would check Craigslist or other outlets where people may be getting rid of instruments. I know tons who rented to own, payed it off in two years and the kid dropped out of band. My friend can't give her daughter's flute away!

Our schools band parents association has bursaries available to students who need them. Contact your school, explain the situation and see if they have such a program.

Try to contact the school and then the school district. Let them know he is interested and that you cannot afford it. They may be able to loan him an instrument.

Then call your local music store and ask them if there is any assistance available.

When my daughter was younger, I was single, and she was in band, I purchased a clarinet and made payments. I think I rented one for a while.

There or organizations that request just musical instruments for charitable purposes. Give it a try.

If you are successful in finding an instrument and making this happen, sit down and talk to him about the opportunity and he has been privileged to participate.

Best wishes.

Talk to the school REally... contact the band director directly and ask him what the options are. Sometimes the school has instruments of their own that are rented to students, sometimes there are outside instrument rental companies that have rates specifically for band students in this or that band program, or he may know of a used instrument that you might consider for your son.
Also, you need to confirm the actual instrument your child will play (you didn't mention if you have met with the director for this or not already)... not every instrument is suited to every child. Particularly if braces (orthodontics) come into play.

If you can find an inexpensive (relatively) used instrument in good repair, and your child sticks with it, it will almost always end up being cheaper in the long run to buy an instrument vs renting one.

He could help earn some of the money. When my boys were that age, they did odd jobs in the neighborhood to earn extra money. You could get one on Craigslist! I sold my son's this way and when the person was ready to see it, we met at a music store so they could have it's quality verified by a dealer, not me. Hang in there, it CAN be done.

At 11, your son can do little things to help earn some money of his own. He can walk a neighbor's dog, mow the lawn, or water plants. If he can earn half the money you need each month, that would be a huge help toward the expenses.

For the equipment you need up front, have a garage sale and a lemonade stand to raise the money. For the lemonade stand, bake cookies too. Do it at the same time so people will stop by both for the lemonade/cookies and to shop the garage sale. You should easily be able to make $150.

See if you can buy the instrument/equipment used to save some money that way.

He should easily be able to come up with $122 by the end of July - he just needs to do a little bit of work (and get some help organizing things from you).

I would talk to the band director. Maybe he knows a kid willing to sell an instrument cheap, or the school has a loaner or he knows where to rent one. It is hard when you can't afford what your kid wants (I had to give up the violin in MS) but if you can't afford it and the kid has no income, then...

Talk to the school about need-based pricing or scholarships. Almost all public schools will have such a thing. It is sometimes funded by the PTA/PTO or boosters.

I loved having an 11 yr old mommies helper. I paid her for 2 hours, 3 times a week....that was $30 a week she was happy to make. This gives kids self worth and shows good work ethic. A lot of my friends did this as well.

I just had a garage sale and made $156, all of it was kids clothes. I hope you make this work, band is worth it.

My 10 year old son pet sits for neighbors when they are away...feeds the animals, etc. He charges $5 a day and over time he makes quite a lot of money doing this. A newspaper route is another idea. Babysitting is another idea. Babysitters where I live charge $7 to $10 an hour. I am curious why your school's band costs $60 a month? Band where we live costs about $100 for the year to rent the instrument and then there are no extra costs.

Band is expensive. There are scholarships for band that can help available through the schools. A band director might know of an older student ready to sell their instrument.

Don't you dare break you back earning money your 11 year old should be trying to earn. You would be surprised how well youth works for the young.

As many have said, he can do things for neighbors, friends and family to earn the money. If you gave him the seed money to purchase candy or fruit snacks in bulk he could sell them for a dollar each and earn money that way. This is the perfect learning opportunity. So please don't blow it by providing for him when he can help earn some of the money if not all of the money.

Also it couldn't hurt reaching out to the folks in charge and finding out if they know of any way costs for this activity could be reduced. There is always a way especially when he has youth on his side.

The school should have some instruments that they loan out. Call the band director. Believe me they want and need good students...they should work with you!

The Band Connection in Allen is privately owned by a former band director. He does his own work and he is very reasonable and flexible on price when renting instruments. I have heard him talking to a parent in your same situation and he said "what can you afford?" . He then rented the instrument to them for that price. Good luck.

I would first talk to the music teacher. Often, music programs have a booster club that helps students in the music programs.
Also, there are some nonprofits that you might be able to get assistance. Probably not by July, but it's worth looking into for the long run:
http://givethegiftofmusic.info/give-the-gift-to-those-in-...