Dance, hockey, gymnastics, baseball... i think every single kids' activity has become more expensive, and it's hard to keep up!
We are all pinching our pennies (fun fact: we no longer have pennies in Canada, the price gets rounded to the nearest .05), and sacrificing in our own ways so we can fund these kids' dreams - so how can we make it more affordable?
Here are the best ways we've found to cut down on the cost of All. The. Things.
Volunteer. Our Lacrosse association basically pays you for helping with the big casino fundraiser, by way of taking that amount off of our kids' registration fees. We've also had travel costs covered for bigger trips by being the manager for the team - this didn't happen until our kids were a little older, but it's been an amazing perk! If your association doesn't have something like this set up, maybe ask if there are any roles that need to be filled, in exchange for a reduced registration fees?
Bottle Drives. Did ya know that you can do as many bottle drives as your heart desires, regardless of if the whole team is in on it or not? If funds are tight, send a message on TeamSnap, or whatever other of the kazillion team apps that run our lives... and see if any other players/families want to get together for a bottle drive. Go with who wants to, and watch your kids' sports get more affordable!
Sponsorships. Where we live, most of our teams have custom jerseys each year, which provides the opportunity to add a company name to the jersey. Help your kiddo write up a letter, and bring it to local businesses (use his/her cuteness for ALL it's worth) to see who would be interested in being your kid's jersey sponsor. In exchange for their moolah, you can take the jersey to a local print shop and get their logo put on it!
2nd hand gear. We are BIG fans of buying used gear, whether that's straight up from the sports replay shop, or you find a player who is a big bigger than your own and buy their gear as they grow out of it, it will save you a TON of money. Up until our oldest became man-sized, he actually preferred used skates because they were already broken in and he found them more comfy! Gymnastics + Dance studios often have used suit sales, or a network of mamas on a facebook page posting what they have to pass on. If this doesn't exist where you are, get it started! Our kids all grow out of EVERYTHING - it's the best to be able to pass it onto someone who will use it, and maybe make back a little bit of money to put towards the next set of gear!
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