I felt inspired to write this post after my boys stuck a stack of spring sports sign ups on my desk. Looking at sign up fees, fundraiser/buyout fees, fees if you can’t volunteer, then thinking about what gear they will need to be able to play. The expenses can add up fast. I realize different districts, towns, and states will run things a little differently but here are some ideas to help curb expenses.
Limiting the number:
This is the hardest one for me. I like seeing my kids involved in sports. It keeps them active, teaches them to work as a team, makes them feel good about themselves, and also teaches them they won’t always win all the time but that’s ok. I have 4 kids, 3 of which are involved in sports now. (the other is just a baby). If you have kids like mine that want to sign up for everything they bring hom,e maybe you can give them choices or limits. My parents told us growing up only 2 activities a year per kid. For my kids I give them an option: you either do winter basketball or wrestling, you can’t do both. I think this option is good, not just financially but, for them to focus on one sport at a time and be able to attend all practices and games.
You don’t have to buy NEW gear:
There are lots of options out there for pre-owned gear. Of course certain things like jock straps or mouth guards you’ll want to get new. Many things can be found used, but in good condition. Our AYSO league allows parents to donate soccer cleats in good shape. On sign up day they have a box of soccer cleats that families can go through from donations. They are free to take them and use them. If you have a friend, family member, or neighbor whose kids are involved in the same sports, perhaps you can do equipment exchanges when kids grow of things or decide not to play that particular sport anymore. We have a cousin who gave us a pair of men’s baseball cleats for my oldest son to borrow.
Consignment shops are another option, especially those that are specifically for kids. We have a consignment store near us called EcoKids and I’ve frequently seen gently used soccer cleats, ballet tutus, leotards, and slippers, and tap shoes.
Consider buying out of season when you can. When it comes time for football season or baseball season you’ll be paying regular price unless you happen to see a sale or coupon. You can get football pants, soccer balls, volleyballs, etc cheaper and sometimes even on clearance after the season.
Check the clearance racks. It might be last year’s style or not the main colors but you can find some on the clearance rack at times.
Check your discount stores. One of my fave places to buy my boys’ shin guards is at Ross Dress for Less. They seem to always have some in stock. They have name brands like Nike and Adidas for a fraction of the price of the sports equipment stores. I normally pay only $5 for shin guards when I need to buy new ones. Also check out sites like Ebay if you have the time to order and have it shipped. I got my son some headgear for wrestling for about half the price I would have paid buying it from a sports equipment store.
Talk to the coaches or equipment managers. If some of the equipment just doesn’t fit into your budget they may have a couple extras they can allow you to borrow or loan to you until you can get the equipment or until the season’s over.
Get what you NEED
Certain things are necessary for safety and performance in sports. Things like football helmets, mouth guards, shin guards, and uniforms are necessities in the sports world. Does your kids have to have Nike wrist sweat bands, or 10 pairs of practice pants? Most likely not.
Also find out what they are allowed to have before buying. Our AYSO league has a hand book that spells out everything they need from the appropriate size ball for their division to what kind of cleats they are allowed to have. Most of the sports in our area do not allow metal spikes for safety reasons. Also the league or school may provide certain pieces of equipment. Our youth football league, the kids are issued helmets, pants, jersey (included in sign up free), and pads. We just have to buy football cleats and mouth guards. We also ended up getting our one son a pair of football gloves.
Comparing costs versus alternative options
When my son brought home his baseball signs ups it read something like this:
-$30 for pre-registration $40 after specificied date
-$30 for fundraiser buyout if you’d prefer not to participate in fundrasier
–$40 fee if you do not volunteer in the concession stand as a parent helper
Ok let me tell you what works for me. The sign ups, obviously, get them register in the preregistration time frame. The fundraiser. For me, this is an easy decision. I pay the fundraiser buyout . Why? Well there is usually a quota for how much they have to see whether it be number of items they have to sell or a dollar amount sold. If my kids do not sell the specified amount, guess who has to make up the difference? Yep mom. A lot of times the fundraisers just aren’t that good. We had to sell coupon booklets for football for both boys last year. Each kid had to sell 12 coupon books at $5 a piece. They didn’t have a very wide appeal. Only local coupons that weren’t that good. I was able to sell 3 my ex husband sold about the same so mom and dad now have to write out checks for the rest which is WAY over the buyout price. So for me, buyout almost every time because we do not know what the fundraiser will be ahead of time. The volunteer fee. This one’s tricky. $40 is a lot of money in my book. But my husband works 2nd shift, I have 3 kids to run to sports at the same time and have a hard time finding sitters for whoever might not be practicing or playing that night. So essentially I already have to be 3 different places at any given time and sometimes it’s stressful. I hate to commit to something and then not be able to do it. I don’t have my kids practice or game schedules at sign up to even pretend to line up a day that might work. To me it would almost be worth it to me to just go ahead and pay the $40. Luckily though my ex said he’d take the volunteer spot so we didn’t have to pay that.
What ways have you found to save money in this area?
