Happy Father’s Day

To all of the dads out there, Happy Father’s Day! You know, it’s interesting… While Mother’s Day was accompanied by proclamations of what moms are worth, Father’s Day comes complete with a news story about what a big deal the day isn’t.

All in all, consumers spend $11.25 billion on Mother’s Day, but just $8.23 billion on Father’s Day. Not surprisingly, flowers and gift baskets aren’t big sellers, and Mother’s Day cards outsell Father’s Day cards 1.6 to 1. Part of the disparity is likely due to the fact that there’s a lot more households with moms than dads (there’s about four times as many single-mom households in the US as there are single-dad households). However, that statistic alone isn’t enough to account for the difference. Perhaps it’s because Mother’s Day dates back to 1870, whereas Father’s Day didn’t come into being until 1972.

Another interesting statistic is that, while kids often call their dad to wish him well, AT&T reports that the busiest day of the year for collect calls is Father’s Day… Nothing says “I love you” like making dad pay the toll!

So what if you, like me, are on the receiving end of all of this? Well, no matter how underappreciated you may feel, nothing shows your love like preparing junior for the future… With that in mind, here’s an article from CNN/Money about how dads (or moms) can help to raise fiscally responsible kids.

And no matter what your age, do your dad a favor. Give him a call. And please don’t make him pay for it.