Sleep away camp costs!!

[jthorn1995]

Exactly - if you are making less than $100,000 a year, you aren't living her. People making $150,000 aren't rich, are cutting coupons, and are watching their pennies. If it's common for kids to attend private school and summer camp, parents will cut the budget in other areas to make this happen. Camps aren't big where I am in NJ, but parents will scrimp to pay for their kids various activities.

holymoly! I am down in GA and $150k would be considered VERY upper in most of the state! Only around the ATL metro area does the cost of living get so much higher that the pay rates follow suit. Anyone that doesn't commute is pretty much left in middle class (50-80K!)- and that's with both parents working fulltime. We have a longer family vacation planned just after Thanksgiving, and a few days down on the Gulf Coast during the summer, but Sleepaway camps just aren't found down here...unless it is a boot camp for behavioral issues, or a health camp, aka "fat farm" type place!

Our DD9 will be at a church camp only about 5 minutes from our house for 2 different weeks- only about $150 week, (Woodland camp . org) and at one of the Girl Scout Camps (There are a BUNCH around the state here!) for a week. The week at GS camp would have cost $450 plus about $17 for shirt, pin, patch, out-of-pocket. That said, she sold cookies this year, and got $55 discount, She had $25 cookie dough from last year, and then we applied for, and RECEIVED a "campership" of $235!! We only paid about $100 cash for the week!

We have a friend whose daughter has grown up with our DD and will be watching her for a couple of days a week- on the weeks she isn't in camp or travelling! A local university is offering a bunch of different half-day week camps for only $35 a week- i paid for the babysitter's daughter to go to, so she will dropoff and pickup both girls!!
I also got both our girls in an AWESOME day camp that is being held by our local police department for FREE! There is a limit of 40 kids per week and they even provide lunch! They will get to learn all kinds of things- Fingerprinting, hiking, biking safety, "solving" mysteries, teamwork... Several kids and folks from our church are involved as well- it is a great program. ALWAYS check the local places like universities and hospitals, Rec departments, etc...