Some school expenses get delayed. Some get financed. And some get canceled — a season, a club, a trip a kid was counting on.

That last group is bigger than most parents realize. Accredited Debt Relief’s back-to-school survey of more than 1,000 parents of K-12 students found that 19% kept a child out of an activity because of the cost. It’s the one cut that never shows up on a credit card statement, and research going back decades suggests cutting activities does more than save money — it could potentially narrow your child’s opportunities in the long-term. 

Key Takeaways

• 19% of parents kept a child out of an activity because of school-related costs, and 76% made at least one financial trade-off.
• 60% of parents are carrying school-related debt, and 54% are still paying it down when holiday shopping begins.
• 86% of parents who already owe $1,000 or more still plan to spend at least $1,000 per child this fall.

Cutting an Activity Is the Trade-Off Parents Make Last

Three-quarters of parents surveyed — 76% — said school costs forced at least one financial trade-off. Most start with the changes that are easiest to make: 29% made minimum-only credit card payments, 28% postponed savings or debt payoff and 26% delayed a bill. Those are the same moves people reach for first when they’re paying down debt on a tight budget.

But some parents had to find even more room in their budgets to cover costs. A quarter of parents cut back on groceries or utilities, and 19% kept a child out of an activity.

Cutting an extra curricular can free up a significant amount of money. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play found that the average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on one child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase since 2019. All in, parents pay about $1,500 to cover a year’s worth of sports-related costs.

By the time parents are weighing taking their kid out of a sport or band trip for financial reasons, they have usually already tried everything easier. And the long-term impact of those hard choices on children is something researchers have spent decades tracking.

You Can Play if You Can Pay

An analysis published in the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science examined four national longitudinal surveys of American high school students and documented a sharp increase in the class gap in extracurricular involvement. Since the 1970s, upper-middle-class students have grown more active in school clubs and sports teams. Participation among working-class students moved the opposite direction.

The authors tie that split to three forces arriving together: rising income inequality, the spread of pay-to-play programs and the growing investment of time and money upper-middle-class parents can afford to their children’s development. And there’s a reason wealthier families choose to make that investment: There’s evidence that it betters a child’s outcomes as they grow.

Participation Is Linked to Better Grades and Stronger Social Skills

The University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy found that higher-income youth are roughly one and a half times as likely to participate in extracurricular activities as their lower-income peers. Consistent participation, the report notes, is linked to improved academic achievement and prosocial behaviors, and the activities keep adolescents engaged during high-risk hours.

It’s a system that creates a feedback loop, too. Many schools set a minimum GPA before a student can join a school-sponsored activity. When lower-income students have lower academic achievement, their opportunity to participate shrinks — and because participation is linked to better grades, sitting out can pull achievement down further.

Parents can’t easily make up a season their child missed — but there are ways to keep kids in the activities that matter to them.

Keeping Kids Involved on a Budget

Per our survey, 60% of parents carry school-related debt now, and 54% are still paying off back-to-school expenses once holiday shopping begins. Among parents who already owe $1,000 or more, 86% still plan to spend at least $1,000 per child this fall.

But some programs might be more flexible about costs than others. Talk to your school, coaches and local community groups about ways to reduce extracurricular costs. A few things worth doing before the next registration deadline:

• Ask about fee waivers. Many districts and nonprofit leagues keep hardship funds or sliding-scale rates, but families usually have to ask for them.
• Ask about a payment plan. Splitting a fee across the season costs nothing and keeps the charge off a credit card.
• Buy equipment used. League swap nights, secondhand sporting goods stores and team hand-me-downs cover most of what a beginner needs.
• Choose the school or rec version first. A child can find out whether they love a sport without a club roster fee.
• Skip the optional travel. Tournament weekends, hotel blocks and out-of-state showcases are the fastest way to double a season’s cost.

Those choices can bring a $1,000 sport down to a couple hundred dollars. But what they can’t do is free up money that’s earmarked for old debts. When the minimum payment is taking the room a family needs and you’ve trimmed your expenses, start exploring other options that can help you save on the debt. 

Our award-winning program does just that. We work with creditors to reduce monthly payments and can help you become debt-free in as little as 24–48 months. In fact, our clients save an average of $608 a month — that’s significant breathing room in your budget. Talk to a Certified Debt Specialist today: There’s no obligation, and it’s 100% free to check your options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth borrowing to keep my child in an activity? 

Consistent participation is linked to stronger academic outcomes, so the instinct to protect it is well founded. What’s harder to see is what that fee costs you if you carry it for years. Before the next one comes due, review the free debt help resources available to you and find out what your options are.

Why doesn’t my balance move even though I pay every month? 

It’s a known pattern, sometimes called the minimum payment trap. Minimum payments are calculated to cover accrued interest first, so at 22.15% only a small share of what you send each month reduces what you actually owe. Changing the structure of the debt tends to do more than raising your payment by a few dollars.

What can I do if none of that is working? 

A U.S.-based Certified Debt Specialist can walk you through which of your balances work for a debt relief program and what a realistic payoff timeline looks like, at no cost and with no obligation.

Sources Cited

1. “60% of Parents Are Carrying School-Related Debt. Most Are Still Planning to Add More This Fall.” Accredited Debt Relief. August 4, 2026.
2. “Project Play survey: Family spending on youth sports rises 46% over five years.” Aspen Institute Project Play. February 24, 2025.
3. “The Engagement Gap: Social Mobility and Extracurricular Participation among American Youth.” ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. January 2015.
4. “After the Bell: Youth Activity Engagement in Relation to Income and Metropolitan Status.” Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire. May 16, 2017.

The information on this site is provided as a general resource and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. While we strive to ensure accuracy, this content, including any third-party sources referenced, should not be the basis for any financial decision. For guidance specific to your situation, we recommend consulting a qualified professional. Individual results may vary.