The cost of summer camp + budgeting

[Anonymous]

We have 2 ES aged kids who go to day camp for most of the summer. I budget for it at about the same cost as 2 months of daycare because we need childcare. Recently, I’ve started to look at sleep away camps and I’m blown away by the cost. On the one hand, a lot of staff are needed, and the cost includes activities, food, accommodations, etc. On the other hand, it’s so much more expensive than day camp. The extra cost could fund a really nice family vacation, 529 accounts, or retirement. In some groups, sleep away camp seems fairly common. In others, less so. Right now, it feels like more of a budget decision than a “kid would enjoy” decision.

Do you send your kid(s) to sleep away camp? How do you budget for it? What % of your HHI do you spend on camp?

[Anonymous]

Kids are older now (working at camps they attended in ES), but: budget as if paying 2 months of daycare for each child is correct for day camp. Sleep away is so much more.

For sleep away, of you have a girl scout, and are able to be online when their sleep away camps open, it's much more affordable. Next up, YMCA sleep away camp (Camp Letts- they are not as organized, camp registration still won't be open for a while, but it's much less than lots of other places).

And, many people in DC make a lot of money, so it is not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes churches have short (one week) camps that aren’t as expensive. I suppose other houses of worship do also. That’s what I did so they would get the sleep away experience for at least a year or two (combined with day camp). I also had a friend who got help from her synagogue for her kids to attend Jewish camp every summer.

[Anonymous]

We send our kids to a sleepaway camp that is about $7k for four weeks. It is a lot of money and the payments are spread throughout the year. The money comes out of non-retirement savings and we also switched to cheaper day camps for the weeks they dont go to sleepaway camp. I grew up going to sleepaway camp and it is important to me to provide that experience to my kids. Plus our kids go to a school with very few Jewish kids and so Jewish sleepaway camp is important to us from that perspective.

[Anonymous]

It’s how rich kids spend summer. If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. Most kids don’t go and yours will also be fine not going.

[Anonymous]

Kids dad and I make 250k combined which is not much for DCUM, but I am happy to pay 2k per kid per year so that my 2 kids can go for 2 weeks. The rest of the summer they are doing swim team and other low cost activities and maybe a low cost trip to my brother’s lake house or another trip. I budget for summer, and sleep away camp partly by funneling a small amount of money each paycheck to another bank account I have. I don’t see it and don’t miss it. Kids’s dad pays half.

[Anonymous]

Nope. $5k per kid? That’s summer vacation for our whole family. And it’s not that they haven’t begged. They have..

[Anonymous]

We have four kids. Two had zero interest in sleepaway despite enjoying sleepovers. One could take it or leave it and one wants to go but only for four weeks, max.

Dh and I felt very strongly about not having kids unless/until we were prepared to give them the childhood we wanted to. So we budgeted for things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes churches have short (one week) camps that aren’t as expensive. I suppose other houses of worship do also. That’s what I did so they would get the sleep away experience for at least a year or two (combined with day camp). I also had a friend who got help from her synagogue for her kids to attend Jewish camp every summer.

There are some very inexpensive overnight Christian camps in PA that run Sunday-Friday. Your kid might come home Born Again but the normal camp activities are in there along with the chapel sessions.

[Anonymous]

Camp ~7k, 2 kids in private school. Our HHI ~700k. We can afford it, but our savings is smaller for it. It all depends on what you prioritize. Summer camp gives kids the opportunity to try new things, make new friends, find good role models, etc. In a safe parent approved environment. Yes, they can learn these things different ways too. Private school is a priority for us, camp is to a lesser extent.

[Anonymous]

No we do day camp but not sleep away camp.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t you all scared of potential sexual abuse at sleep away camps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t you all scared of potential sexual abuse at sleep away camps?

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t you all scared of potential sexual abuse at sleep away camps?

No

Another no here.

[Anonymous]

It's a ton. Though I have two sons and last summer the grocery bills savings were amazing while they were away at camp! So maybe wait till your kids are hungry tweens/teens, because that offsets the high price somewhat.