It is an odd child who does not attend two or three different activities in addition to school. These activities are generally concentrated in sports or the arts and can take up a lot of time and money. Well, I have three such odd children. We just don’t have the means to support so many activities for so many children. At an average of $3,000 to $5,000 a year on average for each serious sport, you can see how it all adds up. I just don’t know how these parents do it.
So last year, we cut out all of the various expensive activities to save both money and sanity. We needed to get to a place where we could spend more time as a family, save money and regroup.
Because we do believe our children should have at least some extracurricular activities (not too many to manage), we plan to incorporate some of the following options to make sports affordable.
Volunteer or Get Employed
Some parents have the option of volunteering or getting part time paid employment at a club, at a camp, or with a coach or instructor that not only helps pay for their own child’s time in the sport but also entitles them to a discount. This may be an option for us, depending on the sports our children desire and where they attend them.
Check Free or Low Cost Programs
While you may have your eye on the best team or club in your area, you might also realize that enrolling there comes with high costs. Do some research to find alternative ways your child can engage in a chosen sport for a low cost or for free. Sometimes this might mean going slightly out of your local area, but it may be worth it.