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3 Sports You Can Play While Eliminating Debt

When you are trying to eliminate debt, you may develop a debt management plan that cuts unnecessary expenses. That said, I have found that sports help my physical and mental health, so I wanted to provide you with 3 sports that won’t break your bank.

In addition, these 3 sports may provide a new hobby that is much less costly than other hobbies such as shopping or vacations.

Let’s jump right in.

1) Pickleball

There’s a reason that pickleball continues to be the fastest growing sport in America for the third year in a row. The game can take 5 minutes to learn how to play, and it’s not age restrictive.

For example, I just played pickleball this past week with a 6 year old, and I have seen folks potentially in their 70s and 80s playing pickleball daily.

Pickleball is also an extremely affordable sport. For example, you can find a budget pickleball paddle in the range of $7-$10. A pickleball ball can cost as little as $1-$3 each, and many pickleball courts are public spaces.

So, you can play pickleball potentially under $10!

In addition, you can often find pickleball paddle promotion and discount codes that will make pickleball even cheaper. For example, BePickleBaller’s discount code database provides anywhere from $10 to 15% off pickleball paddles, and you can often use those codes for discounted and blemished paddles.

So, let’s go through the list. Pickleball is:

Cheap
Fun
Easy To Learn
Fun place to make new friends

Now you can see why pickleball is a great sport to play while you’re trying to get out of debt.

2) Tennis

Tennis is another sport that is easy to learn. Like pickleball, you only need to purchase a tennis racket and a ball.

Thankfully, there are many tennis courts around the United States that are free to play with. One of the downsides of tennis though is that I have found that it’s harder to play while I have gotten older.

And, you can fit 4 pickleball courts on 1 tennis court, which shows that you are moving around less in pickleball potentially, making it easier to play while you are older.

In addition, you can play pickleball alone and you can also play tennis alone if you have a wall to practice on.

Voila.

3) Basketball

Basketball is the third sport that you can play while you eliminate debt. That said, it cane be somewhat age restrictive, meaning that you may not see as many retirees play basketball like they would pickleball.

In addition, basketball is an inexpensive sport because you only need to purchase a basketball then find a public court to play.

That said, one of the reasons that basketball is ranked 3 here is that it may be challenging to find 10 players to play a game of basketball.

You can play pickleball or tennis with just 2 players, and you can potentially play pickleball alone as well.

Conclusion

Hopefully, pickleball, tennis or basketball can be a great hobby sport that you can pick up while you are trying to get out of debt.

Thankfully, each of these sports have a low cost barrier to entry and are fun to play.

Ben Tejes

This article was written by Ben T. who thoroughly enjoys pickleball and actively researches how to stay healthy playing the sport. In his free time, you can find Ben going on adventures with his wife and 4 young children exploring the Bay Area, California.

Saving Money on Dog Food

by Hope

I’ve removed social media from my phone. I found myself just spending way to much time scrolling. And I have plenty of other things to do around here. But I’m still on it 3-4 times a week for work. And it was during this time, I saw an announcement that someone opened a butcher shop downtown. (Really any new business around here is exciting, especially if we don’t already have one!)

But I had a brainstorm. Now that I’m back to making my dogs’ food, perhaps I could get a deal on meat at this new butcher. Currently, I go to our local Quality Food and buy all the weird cheap meat – turkey necks, pigs feet, chicken leg quarters, etc. And buy their soup bones to make bone broth. Then I add in veggies (some frozen, some from my garden), brown rice, and/or kidney beans. Etc. It is truly much more healthy and so economical. But the meat cost does add up.

Image from their Facebook page

This week, I wandered into this new butcher shop and inquired about meat for dog food. Holy cow, I got about 100 lbs of meet for $40. And it’s good stuff…lamb, steak, etc. And he’s agreed to sell me his “scraps” every week going forward. We exchanged numbers and I walked out of there with two large, heavy bags of meat scraps.

My dogs eat a mixture of raw and cooked foods. While most of this haul went in the freezer, I cooked up a bunch of lamb with kidney beans, sweet potatoes, and water plus turmeric and parsley in the crockpot. That will last the rest of this week. (It doesn’t look for smell good to me, but the dogs LOVE it!) And I’ll be packing up individual meals in freezer bags with meals to send with Princess when Jake goes to live with her. Sophie will most likely return to kibble when she moves to Virginia in July.

With no more big family to cook for and time on my hands, I am enjoying returning to preparing my dog’s food from scratch. (I do still wish I could make it a side hustle, but after looking at the regulations, it’s just too much.)

Hope

Hope is a resourceful and solutions-driven business manager who has spent nearly two decades helping clients streamline their operations and grow their businesses through project management, digital marketing, and tech expertise. Recently transitioning from her role as a single mom of five foster/adoptive children to an empty nester, Hope is navigating the emotional and practical challenges of redefining her life while maintaining her determination to regain financial control and eliminate debt.

Living in a cozy small town in northeast Georgia with her three dogs, Hope cherishes the serenity of the mountains over the bustle of the beach. Though her kids are now finding their footing in the world—pursuing education, careers, and independence—she remains deeply committed to supporting them in this next chapter, even as she faces the bittersweet tug of letting go.

Since joining the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015, Hope has candidly shared her journey of financial ups and downs. Now, with a renewed focus and a clear path ahead, she’s ready to tackle her finances with the same passion and perseverance that she’s brought to her life and career. Through her writing, she continues to inspire others to confront their own financial challenges and strive for a brighter future.