Extracurricular Costs – Yikes!

After buying some new lacrosse equipment for my son (since he has out-grown last years!), I got to thinking about the costs of my kids extracurricular activities. Yikes! It really adds up!

In fact, raising children in general is expensive. The US Dept of Agriculture website has an interesting calculator “Cost of Raising a Child Calculator.” It gives national averages compared to your geographic region. You can also add your own actual expenses. It’s only for kids under 18, so college costs are not included…so check out the College Board College Calculators.

Here are some things you can do to help your kids and teens understand, and hopefully appreciate, the costs of their extracurricular activities:

• Let them know how much the activities cost.

• Explain what you have allocated for their activities in the family budget.

• Help them prioritize the activities that they are interested in pursuing. Maybe you will need to limit their activities to two or three (per your budget and number of children!).

• If you can’t afford to pay for all the activities from the family budget then let them “pay” for some of their activities using allowance, gifts or you can match what they save for an activity. For older kids and teens, the key is to be clear about what you will pay for and what you expect them to pay for.

• Look for other ways to do an activity that is less expensive such as group lessons, YMCA, or town recreation league.

• Equipment can be expense – look for sales, rent, buy gently used or trade with a friend (make sure it is still in good condition and safe to use). Maybe you pay for the lessons or team dues and let your child pay for their equipment.

• Volunteer your time for a discount price.

• If needed, ask for a scholarship.

It’s always the “extras” that bust your budget!