Every year, we make up a rough budget for how much we want to spend on camping. We budget for campground reservations, round trip gas and tolls, food, beverage, local attractions, etc. We manage to stay within budget unless something happens beyond our control like a blown tire or TV repairs needed. Do others try to budget camping expenses?
Yeppers - my annual budget is $650 for campground fees, and another $100 per trip for one dinner out, maybe a souvenier, propane refill. Groceries come from home and/or are part of the home grocery budget.
I used to camp at either private campgrounds, or, state parks, until I realized my camping frequency/duration was breaking my bank. That's when I bought a membership and it's been a wallet saver ever since.
Our annual family reunion camping trip (2 weeks) was running over $200 in campground fees alone. I now split this with my cousin who stays with me, and we utilize a senior discount.....it's the only way I could do this trip.
With anticipated gas price increases (which means 'across the board' increases for goods and services), my belt will be tightened another notch or two.
I spend money until DW says we are poor :dunno: That goes for anything
I usually look at it as it only costs the price of the campsite and a little gas. We are eating the same food we would eat at home :chef: and I am drinking the same beer :cheers: Maybe a 6 pack of wine coolers for DW and a bag of ice extra. I guess 1 trip costs us an additional $75-100 per trip.
I refuse to pay for wood. If I don't have any at home to bring then I will drive to another spot in the park and gather some. There is usually no wood on the ground around the campsite but I have found that if you go to a day use area there is tons of dead wood laying on the ground. 20 minutes of gathering and I'm good. :camperkid:
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
We reserve our sites during the winter months, the money comes out then....not really budgeted, but definitely spent.
The food is same as at home, not on a camping budget.
Ice, Wood, Tolls, and gas are part of the budget, admissions to sight seeing, boarding for the dog sometimes.
Oy, that adds up to more than I want to think it is!
We don't actually have a budget but we do try to go to reasonably priced places for the most part. We usually do a 10 day trip in the summer and allow approx $1000. for everything. We want to take our DGD a few historical places this summer so it may cost us a bit more. We don't usually look for a place that has much extra to do in the area just a place to relax, maybe fish, and set around a campfire. Our entertainment is yard sales if we get bored.
I use Wachovia for banking and they have the Way2save program where every time I use my debit card 1 dollar gets transferred to this savings account. We use this saving account for our mad money like ebay purchases, camping or Jeep stuff or whatever is outside our normal budget. So far I have paid for 2 2-night reservations with it and when it gets up a bit more I will make another. This way all we have is gas and food for the trips and our trips are going to mostly stay in state so the gas won't be too bad.
And no, I don't use my debit card more to push more cash into the savings! ;D
We don't really have a budget for camping. I do start making reservations in the winter (one camping trip per paycheck beginning in January). That way most of the sites are paid for before the season actually starts, and it helps to spread the cost out over the year. Except for special trips, ours are usually just weekends at state parks. We try to get in one or two of these a month from April to November. The only extra costs to camp are for firewood, gas, and propane. My husband fishes and I like to hike and explore the parks....all free. We eat the same food we'd eat at home, and we don't usually go out looking for area attractions to spend money on. We are taking a longer, and more expensive trip, in June to Gatlinburg with kids and grandkids. The campsite is $334 for 4 nights, which is WAY more than we'd normally spend for camping. But, this is a special trip, more of a vacation. Plus, we only have to pay for half of the expenses, so it's really not so bad.
Our kids are grown and gone. It's just my DH, myself, and our dog. We don't really spend much money on any extras except for camping.
We don't have number for camping, but it does come under the category of necessity ;D
Actually, we treat it like Lynn mentioned. We plan for one weekend a month April through October except for a week long trip sometime during the summer. So we begin reserving in January and that does spread the CG reservation cost from January through April.
And most of our activity centers on biking and canoeing so our primary expense during summer is getting there.
BUT - can't forget those spring and fall camper upkeep expenses.
Well I hope DW doesn't see this one, but I think she'll still go, she suggests most of our dates and then we figure when we are actually going. I think the food thing is what most are saying, that we'dbe making meals at home anyway, we're just making it at camp. Beer's the same. So fees and now extra for Gas. So I guess I'll see what we actually spend and we'll see if it's in our "budget".
I can't say that we really ever thought about it.
We try to get out every other weekend from mid-April (earlier if the weather cooperates) through October (maybe November, again with the weather). State park fees aren't too bad, although they manage to tack on an increase way too often, the camper is paid for, food would be the same as home, and driving is close to the same whether we're home or camping.
When we bought our '07 Flagstaff DW set up a spreadsheet that calculated the cost per night, based on the price of the camper. The whole thing was just for grins, but if we had taken it seriously it could have been discouraging for the first few years!
John
769
17
1 Guest(s)
