OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The start of March means getting ready for spring sports.
And for parents, gearing up — to pay.
From uniforms to equipment, the cost of keeping kids active keeps going up.
The Aspen Institute says families in the U.S. spend an estimated $30 to $40 billion each year on sports for kids.
Richard Messina, the owner of Play It Again Sports said they're gearing up for a busy spring as more customers look for deals on equipment.
People are buying both new and used gear, but he's seen a huge increase in the latter.
"The amount of the used gear that we're buying and selling is increasing. Month to month we see that,” said Messina. “We offer both but it's that used that's kind of the lifeblood of our business."
Jordan Grady is a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual.
She admitted it's not easy. Grady says having kids in sports on average costs about $1,000 per kid, per sport.
Equipment, fees and travel are some of the biggest expenses she said.
Her advice for families who want to stick with it is to make some financial room.
"Having just an outside opinion in your budget, seeing what things that you could maybe make some cuts on so that you could continue doing that, would be some of my advice,” Grady said. “Another thing would be trying out different clubs. Different teams to see if the dynamic works for your kid."
Grady highlights the importance of sports for kids saying the benefits can outweigh the cost.
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