Keeping Busy During the Summer Used to be Almost Free

Cutting Back on Kum Ba Yah in The Wall Street Journal shares how one family may not be able to afford the $12,100 to send their two kids to camp this year. The article reports camp prices for this year range from $550 for a five days to $6500 for the summer. The benefits of camp including teaching kids independence, keeps kids busy during summer months and gives parents some alone time.

While I know times have changed, it sure seemed a lot cheaper to get the benefits of camp when I was a kid. During the summer, all the neighborhood kids would be out playing all day. We'd play tag, hide and seek, and pick up team games. We'd hike through the nearby woods, tromp through the creek, and collect crickets, grasshoppers and worms. We'd be out from daylight until dinner time, giving our parents any alone time they needed. The cost was free and the fun was priceless.

Of course, we still did attend some camps. I went to one week of Boy Scout camp for several summers and my sister and I did a two week swimming, tennis, trampoline day camp at the university my father was attending for his PhD. However, even with inflation adjustments, I know we were not spending the amounts of money that are needed for camps nowadays.

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This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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