Money Matters

With gas prices hovering around 4 dollars a gallon, and the cost of everything, from groceries to restaurants, having a child, or two or three, playing on sports travel team is becoming a luxury many American families can no longer afford.

So what are families doing to save money on the cost of playing on a travel team or to afford playing in a tournament five hundred miles from home? We asked parents in the MomsTeam forums.

Often overlooked in the quest to keep youth sports in perspective and balance for your children and your family is the need to keep sports from overwhelming the family budget. Participation in youth sports can be, and often is, expensive. One mother estimated that her family's expenses for her three children at $100,000 over a 10 year period.

With the cost of everything from gas to food going through the roof, now perhaps more than ever parents are looking for ways to save on the cost of sports gear for their child. Here are some simple tips:

Buy used equipment...