5 Ways to Save Money on Your Child’s Youth Sports Expenses

5 Ways to Save Money on Your Child’s Youth Sports Expenses

It’s important to foster your child’s passion for sports, but the expenses that come along with these extracurricular activities can be hard to manage. Use these tips to your advantage and make your child’s sports more affordable.

Volunteering Could Save You Money

If you offer to coach or manage your child’s team, you may find you receive a discount on the fees related to the sport. Depending on the league, you can approach either the current head coach or parks and recreation department to see how you can get involved. Not only can this save you money on your child’s sport, it also gives you the opportunity to get more involved with the team and spend quality time with your little one. If there are no obvious discounts, consider joining the team’s board to help examine the finances. If you or your spouse have financial acumen, you may be able to find areas in which the team can cut costs and decrease the overall expenses for everyone on the team.

Consider Secondhand Equipment

If you’re looking for general equipment that doesn’t require specific measurements or features, buy secondhand. You can spend your time searching through local thrift stores.  You’ll often find that other parents are selling equipment their child used for maybe a season before giving up on the sport in question, which means the condition is likely close to new. You can also sell your child’s old equipment that he or she has grown out of.

Shop Online for Equipment

There are situations in which you’ll need brand new equipment, designed with your child’s measurements or specialty in mind. Instead of heading to local specialty shops, look online for sports equipment. Heading out to your town’s sporting goods store can see you paying top dollar for items you could have found discounted online. There are a variety of websites that specialize in hi-quality equipment like Roger Athletic equipment for a variety of sports. If your child is involved in football, check out shoulder pads and helmets. If your little one is a baseball superstar in the making, check out baseball bats. No matter their sport of choice, you’ll find a dedicated website that offers a huge selection of specialized equipment at decent prices; the best part, though, is that it can be delivered right to your home.

Avoid “Convenient” Food

Getting your children to and from school, then to their extracurricular events (especially if they’re involved in different sports and activities) can make fast food joints and drive thru options look a lot more appealing. However, this can be terrible for both you and your children’s health, and equally terrible for your wallet. Turn Sundays into prep day for the week. Sign up for deliveries of fresh produce from FarmFreshtoYou.com and chop up and

bag fruits and veggies along with peanut butter and jelly or turkey sandwiches for the kids to snack on while en route to practice. Avoid pricey sports drinks that tend to be opened but not completely finished. Bring filtered water and electrolyte packets if you think your kids need them. If you find it hard to get to the grocery store and cook dinner with all of this running around, order a subscription from HelloFresh. This awesome company sends boxes of ingredients and recipes to make quick, delicious dinners you and your kids will love.

Carpool with Other Parents

One of the largest expenses for youth sports, especially if your child is on a travel team, is transportation. From gas to car mileage, food on the road to hotel stays, you may find yourself putting serious strain on your wallet. Get together with other parents on the team and organize a carpool. This can cut your gas costs in half, and make it easier for your child to bond with their teammates and make it to every event—no budget fears in mind.

Youth sports have gotten progressively more expensive. If you’re looking for ways to cut down on costs, these tips and tricks are sure to make all the difference.