Are you selling your children’s education short? Many parents feel a tremendous amount of pressure to have their children involved in extracurricular activities and sports. Many of these activities cost a lot of money. The older the children get the more expensive the activities get. It is not only the expenses for the lessons, but also the expenses for the equipment. If you sat back and added up the cost of all these activities you may be surprised.
I am not against extracurricular activities, but it is important to put them in perspective, especially when it comes to finances. Are you able to save for your child’s education and still pay for the extracurricular activities without accumulating debt? If you answer yes, then you are in a great place. Let me share two examples of families I know with you.
One family I know has their children involved in a different sport every season. This family really enjoys the time together and finds that it really helps to build their children’s self esteem. It is time that they spend together. The parents want to help their children attend college, but they have not started saving for college yet. They plan to do this in the future.
Another family I know did save money for college for their children. It wasn’t quite enough to cover all the expenses, but it would help out. One of their children really excelled in a particular sport, so they dipped into her college fund to cover expenses. They were banking on the chance that she would get a scholarship. That is an awful lot of pressure to put on someone. If she becomes injured, she may wish that she had the money in the bank instead.
Extracurricular activities are good things. They allow children to explore different interests, grow socially and increase self-confidence, but they can also be expensive. It is important to only spend as much as you can truly afford on these activities. You can save money by limiting your children to one activity a year or going through the city’s or county’s recreation department. You can often receive discounts by volunteering to coach or help out in some way. This can help you to make the right financial decision for your family.
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