At any rate, as I bought the sandwich stuff for lunch on Wednesday (my responsibility), my husband made a comment about spending money. Which made me laugh because I spent $20 on stuff to take. The camping trip (with gas + other costs) will be significantly less than our recent excursion to Boise. Indeed, camping is one of those frugal vacation ideas. Provided, of course, that you get a tent and sleeping bags, rather than going a more expensive RV route. Here is how we will save money by camping over another type of vacation:

• Fix all of our own food, rather than eating out.
• Sleep in a tent (I do bring an old air mattress) rather than paying for a hotel. The campground costs between $5 and $20 per night.
• Swim in the lake, rather than having to pay for entrance elsewhere.
• Plenty of free activities for the kids and the adults (hiking, running around with each other, identifying plants and animals). My sister is bringing their portable DVD player — just in case.

We could make the camping trip even less expensive by having it closer to where I live, however. I’m going to have to drive about four hours to get the campsite. But still, a remarkably frugal way to have fun.

Image source: Laurel Fan via Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Frugal Vacation: Camping