3 Ways to Help Save Money on Your Kids' Sports

Participating in local sports is one of the most important and influential times in a child’s life both in terms of personal and social development. Often for the first time, your son or daughter will be forced to not only get along with peers who are outside their normal comfort zone, but also to work together with them towards a common goal through hard work. It’s also a time, however, that parents tend to go a bit overboard with treating the situation like their kid is about to try out for the New York Yankees or New England Patriots.

Raising kids is hard enough on your bank account, so when they start experimenting with sports and other social clubs, it’s really important to invest your family’s finances on not only the right things, but also at the right pace. Here are three helpful hints that will assist you in giving your children the support and tools they need to succeed (and more importantly have fun) in their athletic endeavors, while keeping the family’s nest egg intact.

1. Volunteer Your Time- One of the greatest joys a parent-child relationship can experience is that of a coach and athlete while growing up through your town’s youth sports leagues; and not only does it create lasting priceless memories for everyone involved, volunteering your time to the team has numerous practical benefits too. First and foremost, it will be easy to gauge your child’s passion for the sport; so if he or she isn’t into it, you can move along to the next one without investing too much time, energy, and money. Additionally, most leagues exclude the signup fees for the families of their coaches, which is a nice bonus for the effort you’ll put into the role.

2. Be Smart with the “Needed” Accessories- We know you think your kid is going to be the next Derek Jeter (we thought ours were going to be too), but there’s no need to go buy everything in Modell’s right now just because your son or daughter want to play on their friend’s team. Start out by seeing what the league is going to provide, i.e helmets, balls, and bats. From there, look into cheaper means of acquiring what’s left to purchase- try garage sales, second hand shops, stores like Play it Again, and even look into family hand me downs. The quality of the items are normally more than appropriate because children grow out of things so quickly; there’s simply not enough usage to really develop wear and tear in some instances so don’t be afraid to give it a shot. More and more teams are also holding their own gear swaps too, which can be the perfect opportunity for cheap equipment.

3. Make Friends with Other Parents- This one should be a no brainer because there are just so many responsibilities with having a son or daughter fully entrenched in sports, you’re going to need back up. Not to mention, developing friendships with the parents of your kid’s teammates will open up a whole world of money saving options. Carpooling alone will save you tons on gas and the health of your vehicle, while you can also take advantage of certain deals for equipment, clothes, and leagues by doing everything together. If your children wind up playing on travelling teams, you can even save by sharing hotel rooms and doing group meals instead of eating out every night. Additionally, let’s not forget the huge benefit of not having to run out on work or call a sitter every time something unexpected comes up with the team like makeup games or changing practice times. You’ll have a network of friends that can help in these situations, saving you plenty of cash along the way.