From rising education costs to the price of essentials and extracurriculars, raising kids can be expensive — especially if they want to be an elite athlete one day.
Arthur Liu, father of Olympian and 2025 world champion figure skater Alysa Liu, estimates he’s spent a total of $500,000 to $1 million on her training alone, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” earlier this month.
“I spared no money, no time,” on the now 20-year-old skater’s training, Arthur Liu said.
Certainly not everyone is going to spend as much as Liu did — the average U.S. family spent $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2024, according to a report by The Aspen Institute — but paying for your child’s extracurriculars adds up, says Joe Piszczor, a certified financial planner and founder of Washington Family Wealth in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Given the cost of international travel, coaching, equipment and entry fees at an elite level, six to seven figures not a wildly outrageous amount to spend on a child’s activities, and footing that bill is OK, Piszczor says, as long as you are aware of your goals and financial situation first.
