How a lot are Canadian households (actually) spending on extracurricular actions—and might they afford it?

“Sadly, they ended up liking it,” Christine jokes. As her daughters obtained older, they signed up for added dance courses. Charges elevated over time and two years in the past, her oldest daughter joined the studio’s aggressive crew. Christine now pays $731 per 30 days for varied courses plus a number of thousand {dollars} in competitors charges, costume charges, and journey bills all year long—to not point out the price of swimming classes and different actions.

Whereas Christine and her husband have the means to cowl these bills, she is aware of that many others aren’t in the identical place. “And when your children are having fun with it, you don’t wish to take it away.”

Present knowledge is missing, however a 2001 report from the Authorities of Canada indicated that 86% of Canadian kids between the ages of 6 and 17 had participated in a number of extracurricular actions. A 2017 Carry them again shared that 71% of Canadian dad and mom felt that it was essential to maintain their children busy with organized actions, and knowledge from the identical 12 months instructed that dad and mom pay a median of $1,160 per 12 months on extracurriculars.

Maybe most significantly, the identical report discovered that 55% of Canadians felt monetary pressure on account of their kids’s extracurricular chargesand 32% of households have been going into debt to fund these actions.

To be taught extra about how a lot households are paying and the way they’ll make extracurriculars match into their finances (or not), we spoke to Lianne Hannaway, a CPA and wealth coach in Toronto.

A have a look at the numbers

The price of extracurricular actions for kids varies wildly by kind, location, and group, and may also take many various types: six weeks of artwork classes, a summer time baseball league, 10 months of dance courses per 12 months or year-round swim classes, for instance. Some actions require cost in full at registration and others include a month-to-month invoice. Many aggressive sports activities groups have registration charges on high of month-to-month prices, and oldsters are virtually at all times chargeable for buying gear—to not point out add-ons like spiritwear, loads of concession stand coffees, and the occasional pound of wings after a sport.

Whereas the typical household in Canada pays $1,160 a 12 months for after-school actions, the associated fee will be considerably larger for these in high-cost athletics, actions with a journey element, or specialty packages—much more so when you have a number of kids enrolled. Listed below are some present examples from Canadian dad and mom:

• “I pay round $5,500 a 12 months for my 14-year-old daughter’s aggressive volleyball crew and $6000 a 12 months for her aggressive dance.” —Elizabeth in Hamilton, Ontario
• “$1,375 per 12 months for every of my two children’ theatre classes. After which we pay to see them carry out!” —Sophie in London, Ontario
• “$489 per 30 days for aggressive dance plus round $2,500 in added prices throughout competitors season.” —Carrie in Burlington, Ontario
• “$150 per 30 days for cello classes plus $500 a 12 months to lease the instrument.” —Emily in Toronto, Ontario
• “$243 per 30 days for vocal classes, $1,413 per 12 months for scholar theatre, $840 in annual charges for jazz orchestra, and $2,800 for a summer time music academy in Cuba.” —Maureen in Burlington, Ontario
• “With three children in aggressive cheer, baseball, and hockey, I pay extra for his or her actions than I do for my mortgage when factoring in journey, motels, for tournaments, and so on. We paid for 40 resort nights in 4 completely different provinces in 2025 alone.” —Amanda in Ottawa, Ontario
• “$10,000 a 12 months for aggressive dance together with classes, competitions, costumes and different charges.” —Caitlin in Toronto, Ontario
• “Our son made a rep hockey crew and we ended up saying no as a result of the registration price alone was $3,000. He’s seven!” —Annie in Burlington, Ontario

Coping with strain—and sticking to what you possibly can afford

Placing your children in extracurricular packages isn’t nearly retaining them busy after college or nurturing their skills. For a lot of dad and mom, there’s an underlying strain to offer publicity to a various array of experiences, giving your kids useful enrichment experiences and/or serving to them sustain with their friends. That strain can result in extreme spending—particularly in case your children fall in love with a high-cost exercise.

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Whether or not your baby is into music, dance, sports activities, or artwork courses, Hannaway notes that these actions have to suit into your loved ones’s finances. “Saying ‘sure’ to an exercise that can create monetary stress is just not a present to your kids,” she emphasizes. This doesn’t essentially imply saying no to extracurricular packages; extra so, Hannaway suggests being picky about what kind the exercise takes.

“When your children are younger—underneath 12—preserve it native and exploratory,” Hannaway suggests, noting that as your children become old and hone in on their passions, you could wish to make investments extra in a particular exercise. However there’s no want to affix an costly sports activities crew with a journey element when your baby would additionally take pleasure in enjoying for a neighborhood crew with considerably decrease prices. Until they’re the subsequent Sidney Crosby, Hannaway says, home league will allow them to take pleasure in the identical sport at a extra inexpensive worth level. “The concept isn’t excellence; it’s publicity. And the associated fee needs to be consistent with your monetary actuality.”

Inexpensive choices and financial savings ideas

As soon as you know the way a lot rep hockey or aggressive dance prices, it may be exhausting to imagine that inexpensive extracurricular packages exist—however thankfully, they do.

In case you’d prefer to enroll your children in packages that don’t break the financial institution, begin by exploring what’s provided by your native library and/or neighborhood centre. There could also be weekly or drop-in packages together with dance, gymnastics, artwork, coding, and extra. Metropolis-run swimming classes are much more inexpensive than classes at personal swimming pools, and your neighborhood might have youth golf equipment which can be free or contain minimal charges to affix. One other low-fee choice is becoming a member of the Beaver Scouts or Woman Guides of Canadawhich generally prices lower than $300 for your complete 12 months. Older children may also be a part of school-based sport or dance packages for an enriching, team-building athletic expertise that doesn’t include a giant month-to-month invoice.

In case your baby is registered in dearer exercise choices, there are a number of methods to decrease your prices, Hannaway says. Protecting actions native will at all times price much less. Shopping for secondhand gear is a serious cost-saver, and gear swaps are a wonderful alternative to measurement up with out paying a lot (or something). Many youth groups and golf equipment maintain fundraisers to decrease prices for households, and a few will decrease your charges in case you volunteer inside the group.

In case your child is devoted to an exercise that’s barely out of your finances, there are methods to get inventive. “You possibly can redirect reward giving from grandparents,” Hannaway suggests. “It’s an actual game-changer if as an alternative of shopping for toys, the grandparents give a hockey stick, for instance.” She provides that when this occurs, it usually encourages grandparents to attend video games as a result of they’ve invested within the exercise. This provides to your baby’s help community in additional methods than one.

A fantastic childhood doesn’t require an enormous price ticket

As dad and mom, all of us need the most effective for our youngsters—however that doesn’t imply placing your self into debt to keep away from disappointment or sustain with the Joneses. Merely put, if an exercise is just not inside your means, it’s not the proper name for your loved ones. As a substitute, do the most effective you are able to do inside your finances, and do not forget that unstructured play and downtime are useful for youths, too.

“Guilt is the #1 enemy of fine monetary selections,” Hannaway asserts, encouraging dad and mom to create monetary boundaries and persist with them. “When an expense doesn’t match into your loved ones’s monetary actuality, it’s an awesome alternative to show children that monetary selections contain trade-offs. Youngsters can deal with the reality. Share your monetary knowledge with them. It’s not deprivation—it’s a life lesson.”