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Home › Articles › Back to School Headquarters › Pay to Play

Pay to Play

The Expense of Extracurricular Activities

By Teri Brown

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The key question to ask in the beginning is: Are they having fun? Large classes are often viewed as a negative, when in reality, if structured properly, large groups offer kids a chance to make more friends, feel less individual pressure to perform and have a lot of fun.

Here are a few other tips to help you save money on your child's sport experience. Remember, you can cut corners and still offer your child the same benefits that come from playing an organized sport.

  • Stay in a recreational program until your child is older. The longer you put off private or semi-private professional training, the better on your pocket book!
  • Your child doesn't have to have the best equipment available right off the bat. There is no reason to pay $500 for a pair of professional-quality figure skates for the beginning skater when you can get a used pair at a far more reasonable price. Expensive mesh jerseys are nice, but a cotton T-shirt will do. Play It Again Sports and Goodwill stores often have perfectly safe equipment for far less than it would be new.
  • Get to know the coach or instructor, and find out if there are things you can do in trade for some of the fees. For instance, some parents work part-time at their child's ice skating rink in trade for ice time or lessons. Be open to opportunities like this.
  • The YMCA or your local parks department often offers sports programs for reasonable rates.
  • Steer your child toward less expensive sports such as recreational level basketball, swimming or track.

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