Kids' sports can cost families up to $10,000 a year

Published: Thursday, May 31 2012 12:18 p.m. MDT

Many parents drive their children to various sports, but those sports can take a toll on a family budget, according to Reuters.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News 2011

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Many parents drive their children to various sports, but those sports can take a toll on a family budget, according to Reuters.

"There are costs for joining teams, for buying equipment, for arranging private lessons, for travel," Jodi Furman, a 38-year-old personal-finance blogger at www.livefabuLESS.com and mother of three, told Reuters. "It can really add up; I know families who spend over $10,000 a year on sports for their kids. Parents need to go into it with their eyes — and wallets — open."

Kid sports are estimated to be a $5 billion-a-year industry, Mark Hyman, author of "The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today's Families," told Reuters.

"Parents are extremely vulnerable, because we all want the best for our kids," Hyman told Reuters. "Any time we can help them, we automatically reach for that credit card. And the people in the business of selling all this stuff understand that very well."

EMAIL: bbullock@desnews.com

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