Lazy Man and Money

The Cost of Summer Camp (2023 Edition)

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The Cost of Summer Camp (2023 Edition)

Last year, I wrote about the cost of summer camp, and it generated some interesting conversations. Most of the article was about how expensive camps are nowadays compared to when I was a kid. I think I remember a story saying she paid $25 to send me to camp for a whole week. It was 40 years ago and must have been subsidized.

That camp had the typical things like sports, arts and crafts, hikes, and some swim lessons and “free swim.” It was terrible doing swim lessons at 9 AM in a 60-degree pool, but it was a requirement for afternoon free swim. That was the best because by then, it was 90 degrees out, the water was nice, and we got to do whatever silly pool stuff we wanted.

We tried the local YMCA for years here. It was the closest thing to that. The price for the YMCA is reasonable, and they have long hours, which is good for us parents. I think they have a lot of donors and subsidies to keep the cost of camp low, so the most working family have a more affordable option. I suspect that the camp counselors aren’t paid very well, and they have a lot of kids in one group. It makes sense. That’s how they can keep the costs low and have long hours. Unfortunately, the kids hate the YMCA camp. The camp counselor takes away anything fun if one kid misbehaves. Because of the big groups, there’s always one kid that spoils it for the whole group.

We gave up on the YMCA camp two years ago and went with specialty camps. Last year my youngest (then 8) ended up doing a lot of camps at his school, but he was often the oldest of the kids, and some of the weeks weren’t fun. They wouldn’t let him work with scissors strong enough to cut cardboard for the safety of the younger kids. Ironically, his school now has a woodworking class, and he’s working with power tools. It was quite a change in 2-3 months. This is the first year we aren’t doing those camps for grades 3-4 and under. They grow up so fast, right?

Putting together summer camps for us is a complex logic puzzle. They like some of the same things but can’t be in the same class at the same time. Whenever they are, fighting and calls home ensue. However, they are naturally very different personalities, so that doesn’t become a problem. It only creates a problem of dropping off and picking them up when they all start around the same time. Naturally, the camps they like tend to be the most expensive ones. At least there’s some enrichment to them. I like when they learn or improve valuable skills.

Kid 1: Ten-Year-Old

Last year, I insisted he try sailing camp. Sailing is big in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s so big that the National Sailing Hall of Fame has moved here. It was a massive failure at first. He got anxious and wouldn’t do anything. We had to commit to a two-week session, so it was scary that they could just cancel everything. Fortunately, with two strikes, he got better. By the end, he was okay with sailing… but not okay enough to want to do it again. At least he tried it and is now comfortable enough on some small boats. It was good growth to overcome the fear. Even though sailing may not be for him, I’ll consider it a win.

He also started with a theater camp which is run by his school. It started off like sailing, “It’s all girls here! This is the worst!” After that initial drop-off and sign-in, he must have worked it out. He LOVED it when I picked him up at the end of the day. It has a lot of older kids (all the way to 17 and 18, I think), which is generally good for him. Over three weeks, they created their own musical – plot, songs, everything. I legitimately enjoyed it. I would have paid at least $10 to see it. Turns out that we paid a good deal more – LOL.

Kid 1 at cooking camp two years ago
To round things out, we did two things that worked well the previous two years: veterinarian camp and cooking camp. The vet camp works well with my dog boarding business. I’m a huge fan of kids learning cooking – it’s a lifelong skill that will save them a lot of money.

This year, we’re building on the success of the theater camp. He’s doing the musical camp again. After that, he’s going to do Shakespeare camp. I feel that Shakespeare may be too tough for an almost fifth-grader, but Shakespeare, when performed as a play, was always easier to understand for me. Also, it’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is an easier, fun level of Shakespeare. We’ll see how it goes.

We’re ditching the sailing and keeping cooking and vet camp. The cooking camp is technically for 11-16-year-olds, but I emailed them, and they are confident that my kid can handle it since he has two years with them and has familiarity with the kitchen. Plus, he’ll only be a couple of months shy of being officially 11 by the time camp starts.

Kid 2: Nine-Year-Old

Since he’s too old for all the weeklong activities that his school had last year, we have another four weeks to fill.

Like Kid 1, I insisted Kid 2 try sailing camp last year. Since they are very different people, kid 2 LOVED it. It was easy to sign him up for that again.

He also enjoyed the vet camp last year. He only fit the 1-3 grade range last year, but this year, we got him doing more difficult pet care with the 4-7th graders.

We had him signed up for a short e-day cooking camp last year, but we had to cancel for our Disney Cruise. They were able to refund all our money, which was great. This year, he’s getting a full week, the same as Kid 1 got the last two years. He loves cooking with mom, so I suspect this will be a win. Fortunately, he’s doing a different level and different week than his brother, so their streams won’t cross (surprise Ghostbusters reference!). We did the same thing with the vet camp above.

That takes us through half the summer, but we still have four weeks to go.

We signed him up with the local art museum’s Animation Camp. Kid 2 loves art, and he went there two years ago. Nothing worked out at the art camp last year. We got lucky that this worked out. A lot of what they have are finger painting and pottery. This is the perfect activity at the perfect age (9 to 12-year-olds).

Lastly, he’s going to musical camp with Kid 1. Streams crossing alert! It actually works out that he’ll be separate from his brother as he’ll be working on “techie” side – stage design, lighting, sound, etc. They don’t work together that much with the actors. It’s perfect as they can be there to support each other as necessary, but they won’t be getting in each other’s way.

The Cost of Summer Camp

Summer camp has become a big business. Consumers will pay for the education of their kids. Perhaps it is a trap, but I’ve fallen for it.

I don’t really believe that. I think it’s genuinely expensive to provide some special training and kid care. Also, if the vet camp makes some extra money, it’s going to help the animal shelter. If the theater camp makes extra money, it’s going back to my kids’ school, so they’ll benefit that way.

Each kid is signed up for eight weeks of camp. Kid 1’s camps are $2,810. Kid 2’s camps are $2,595. That averages to $351 and $324 a week each. Ironically the sailing camp for Kid 2 is cheaper than the other camps, so we save a little money on him.

That’s $5400 in camps. Last year we only did seven weeks of camps. The average weekly price back then was $321 and $307, so this is more expensive. It would be easy to blame inflation, but when I look a little deeper at each camp, it’s more about them going with more expensive choices this year.

It’s tempting to say that it’s too much money, but the alternative is often travel – which is a lot more expensive. We can’t travel too much, though, because my wife doesn’t get unlimited vacation time. I also do my best business during the summer tourist season. It’s also impossible to compare camps to the experience of traveling with family full-time.

Other People Shop For Me – Am I Lazy?

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Today’s article is from Kosmo. My answer to his question in the title is yes and as Lazy Man, that should carry some weight. Can he convince you otherwise? Read on to find out.

A while ago, there was an article on my local news station’s Facebook page about the trend toward stores providing drive-up service. One person commented that the people who took advantage of this service were lazy unless they were disabled or elderly.

I’ll admit that we use this service pretty regularly. We really hadn’t before COVID, but when we went into lockdown mode, we started using drive-up and delivery services regularly. For a period of a few months, we almost never set foot in an actual store.

We’ve backed off from the level we were at, but we still use the drive-up services a lot. If we need laundry detergent, toilet paper, and paper towels, we just place the order in the Target app. A couple of hours later, we pull into a designated spot, click a few buttons, and someone loads the items into the trunk.

Every week, we place a grocery order with the local Hy-Vee (midwestern chain). We pull into a spot, they load the loot, and we race home to unload.- This has made life a lot easier.

This means that other people take my lists and do actual shopping – cruising the aisles and collecting the items. Am I being lazy?

Harm to others?

The first question I ask myself is whether we’re taking opportunities away from the disabled or elderly. This would be unethical if the service was restricted to those groups and we were somehow circumventing the rules. That’s not the case in this situation.

I’d also feel bad if this service had limited capacity and we were squeezing other people out. That’s also not the case. The stores are openly advertising the service, and it’s clear (from my observations) that they still have some excess capacity for this service.

Better experience for others?

In fact, I believe that taking advantage of this service actually makes the experience better for other customers. I am not an efficient grocery shopper. I often struggle to figure out where the hell certain items are. Fresh fruit, canned fruit, and fruit in plastic cups are in three completely different areas of the store, despite the fact that they’re all fruit.

Typically, I find myself backtracking multiple times and taking forever to get through the store. Although I try not to be an obstacle for others, I’m sure I am quite often.

Conversely, the store’s shoppers know the store layout like the back of their hand and can zip through an order in a fraction of the time it takes me.

Competitive advantage to the store?

Although there is sometimes a charge for the service if the order is for a minimal amount, it’s typically free if your purchase exceeds a fairly low threshold. Naturally, the stores aren’t doing this just to be nice – they do it because it gives them competitive advantages.

By eliminating inefficient shoppers like me, the store can provide a less crowded experience for other shoppers, which helps the store’s image. Not only are the store’s shoppers more efficient, but the store can schedule their shopping to occur at less crowded times – especially for items that don’t need to be kept cold.

Providing the service also gives them a competitive advantage over other grocery stores in the area, which boosts their revenue. I don’t have a particular preference, but my wife prefers a competing store (Fareway). Prior to COVID, we usually shopped at Fareway. During COVID, we pivoted to Hy-Vee entirely because of their drive-up service, boosting their revenue.  The competing store noticed, and Fareway now has a similar service.  I still prefer Hy-Vee, because the app’s search function is quite a bit better.

Decreased theft?

I wonder if the drive-up service, and the accompanying decrease in foot traffic in stores, makes it easier to spot shoplifters. I don’t have any actual data on this, but it seems logical that if there are fewer people in a store, it would be less work to keep eyes on everybody.

My verdict

You can probably tell by the slant of the article, but I don’t consider the use of drive-up services to be lazy. I don’t see how it’s harming anyone, and it might actually benefit the store and other customers.

In fact, I’m puzzled regarding why anyone would consider it to be lazy. We live in a world where we pay for a lot of different services.

  • I pay someone at Subway to throw some meat, cheese, and mayo onto some bread. I’m capable of making a sandwich, but it’s convenient. Most of us could cook the items that appear on many restaurant menus, from places as basic as McDonald’s to as fancy as Pizza Hut. Yet, restaurants are bustling with business, and nobody considers the customers to be lazy.
  • I can, in theory, change the oil in my car. I’ve actually done it before. Like many people, I pay someone else to do it. It’s just not worth the time and effort to do it myself, and there’s a benefit in having a professional take a look at my car every few months.
  • I’m capable of entertaining myself with my writing. I can write fiction that amuses me, and the cost of creating this content is minimal. Yet, year after year, I pay Lawrence Block, John Grisham, Nelson DeMille, and others to provide this service to me – to say nothing to the fine folks at DirecTV and NetFlix.
  • All it takes to sew clothes is a needle, thread, and some cloth. Most people choose to buy their clothes from a store, already assembled.
  • I could take my garbage to the city dump by myself. I don’t do this, nor do any of my neighbors. As crazy as it sounds, there’s actually a truck that comes by once per week and hauls away all the crap!
  • I cut my own hair, but there are millions of slackers out there who pay someone to do it!

We all use services

Aside from people who are completely off the grid, all of us use various types of services. Everyone uses a different set. I have no need for Geek Squad since I can handle any computer issues on my own. On the other hand, I’m happy to pay someone else to fix a problem with my car’s emission system.

Where do you fall in the spectrum – are you mostly self-sufficient, or do you rely on others for a lot of services?

Three Things I Often Buy on Amazon Subscribe and Save

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This week we had a major financial event. Today was going to be my first chance to write about it. Unfortunately, I was so focused on the event, I only have time for a quicker article. I also like to end the week on lighter, fluffier post.

Here are some items that I get most (or all) months from Amazon Subscrible and Save. They are affiliate links, so if you choose to buy them I may earn a commission. That disclosure aside, I buy all these products (that’s the point of this post obviously), so I feel it’s more than fair to recommend them.

KIND Bar Minis, Variety Pack (30 count)

My kids gravitate to junk food. That’s almost all they’ll eat. However, they eat these Kind bars as if they were candy. And is a way they kind of are. We might have to start ordering two of these to get us through the month.

The only downside is that these are mostly nut-based, so we can’t pack them in the kids’ school lunches.

HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Puffs (48 ounces)

My wife started buying these at the store for the kids. I wouldn’t have bought them because they are super expensive. The kids love them, they are healthy (at least much as a “puff” can be), and they can go to school.

Buying in bulk and with the 15% Subscribe and Save discount makes it more manageable. They each bring about an ounce and a half, so two kids eat 3 ounces a day. That’s 16 days, enough to get us through most months.

Orajel Jurassic World Anticavity Fluoride Toothpaste – Berry Blast Flavor

My kids will only use one kind of toothpaste and this is it. It’s hard to find, so I’m happy that Amazon carries it. I probably don’t need to get it as often as I do, but I’m nervous they’ll stop making it someday. At a price of around $2.50 it’s a great filler item to get up to 5 items for 15% off.

Caffeine Pills (250 tablets)

I’m adding this last one as a bonus. I don’t have to buy these very often. I use a pill splitter to make a 200mg pill a 100mg pill. For a little more than $10, I have around 500 days of caffeine. That’s two cents a day in caffeine costs. How Much is Your Caffeine Costing You?

Now it’s your turn. I can use a few ideas to get to the five items to unlock the 15% Subscribe and Save this month. What are some items that you buy on Amazon most months?

The Cost of Summer Camp

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This past weekend, I finished signing up the kids for summer camp. Camps have changed a lot since I was a kid. I think my mother said she spent about $25 to send me to camp for a week. That was around 40 years ago though. It might have also been subsidized. In any case, we pay a lot more than that for our kids to go to summer camp nowadays.

We used to send the kids to the local YMCA for most of the weeks. That was similar to the camp I had growing up. Play sports, do arts and crafts, go on hikes, and have a little swim time. The price for the YMCA is reasonable and they have long hours which is good for me. Unfortunately, the kids hate the YMCA camp. The camp counselor takes away anything fun if one kid misbehaves. Their groups are big (that’s how they keep the price reasonable), so there’s always one kid that spoils it for the whole group.

This is the first year that we skipped YMCA or a general, old-fashioned camp. Instead, the kids have picked the camps they enjoyed the most over the last few years. Unfortunately, those happen to be the most expensive camps. This is one of those cases where Kids Ain’t Cheap. The good news is that there’s a lot of enrichment.

Kid 1: Nine-Year-Old

We signed up our oldest for 4 camps. He’s doing a theater camp, a sailing camp, a veterinarian camp, and a cooking camp. The theater camp is 3 weeks and the sailing camp is two weeks.

Sailing is big in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s so big that the National Sailing Hall of Fame is moving here. The theater camp is fairly renowned. The veterinarian camp fits well with my dog boarding business. If I’m going to spend a lot for a camp, I don’t mind the money helping out our local animal shelter. I’m a huge fan of kids learning cooking – it’s a lifelong skill that will save them a lot of money.

Kid 2: Eight-Year-Old

Our youngest is signed up for 6 different types of camps. One camp has four separate weeks of activities. They are a maker camp, art camp, Lego robotics, and a sports camp. Drawing and building are what he loves and does best. It’s also being done at his school, so there’s a good chance he’ll know some kids.

Like his older brother, he has a sailing camp and a veterinarian camp (a more junior version of the same veterinarian camp). He also has a cooking camp, but it’s only 3 days as an introduction. Essentially he traded his brother’s theater camp for building and art.

The Cost of Summer Camp

Summer camp has become a big business. Consumers will pay for the education of their kids. Perhaps it is a trap, but I’ve fallen for it.

The 9-year-old’s camps add up to $2,150. The 8-year-old’s camps add up to $2,420. That’s over $4,500 for two kids to have 7 weeks of camp. We are taking three weeks of camp off, but they’ll be small road trips. With hotels and driving and events, they’ll be even more expensive than the camps.

Are we spending too much on camp, or are we investing in education and things we believe in. Perhaps it is a little of both? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

A Very Spendy Christmas

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I know, Christmas is now more than a month ago. I was hoping to put this article before now, but COVID had different plans for me and our family. I had been debating about whether is wise to publicly put this out there. Usually, I’m usually quite frugal and all this spending is very off-brand. However, since we aren’t spending money on vacations and we have a lot more dog boarding money, we have a lot more money to spend than we usually would.

Here are a few of the deals we bought, what they might typically cost, and what we along with the prices we paid. Please note that some of the products have Amazon links and I may get a small commission if you click through and buy from there.

  • Oculus Quest 2
    This was the only thing I wrote a review about (see link above) and it was worth every penny

    Typical Cost: $299
    Our Cost: $299 (but with a $50 Amazon gift card)

    It wasn’t a big savings, but it seems like the Oculus Quest 2 is never on sale. It’s the best VR you can buy, so it doesn’t have to be.

  • Dyson V8 Fluffy HEPA Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

    When my wife was deployed they had a V7 version of these at her pharmacy. She said it was incredible. Then I read another blogger say they had one that was incredible. Dyson’s are expensive, but I have to admit that it comes as advertised. It’s so light, quiet, and strong. It does wonders for picking up dog hair, which is very important when you run a dog boarding business. This particular model comes with a brush for hardwood floors, which is 75% of our house… and 90% of the dog hair.

    Typical Cost: $449
    Our Cost: $299

    A deal site had highlighted this one at NewEgg. I was originally looking for a refurbished one because I read that’s where the best deals are at. However, refurbished Dysons seem to be in very limited supply. I’m surprised to have gotten as good a deal on a brand new one.

  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Tab
    I’ve never paid more than $200 for a tablet before now. I had a $99 HP Touchpad and a bunch of $100 10″ Kindle Fire HD. My biggest splurge was a Google Nexus 7 for $183.

    However, I’ve been in the market for a tablet that my kids can use to learn digital drawing. (I want to learn as well.) It seemed like getting into the Apple iPad ecosystem was going to be $300 – per kid. And then I’d have to get pens (at additional cost) or share pens.

    I happened to catch a flash deal on Samsung S7 Tab (their latest at the time) where it included their S-Pen and their wireless earbuds. If you traded in a tablet (anything working) it brought the price to under $200. Trading in that old Nexus 7 worked. I plan on selling the earbuds, so maybe it gets under $100.

    Typical Cost: $510
    Our Cost: $187 minus whatever we can sell the earbuds for.

  • DJI Mavic Mini – Fly More Combo

    I’ve wanted a good drone for a long time. I’ve had some cheap ones for about $25. They are perfect if you have kids ages 6-8. They can’t mess up things too much. They are perfect for kids to practice on. I even have a step-up option for the kids that has a camera for recording video. It should be all they need for a year or two.

    I wanted to explore with something better, so a DJI Mavic is the best way to go. The first-generation Mini is probably the cheapest entry-level you can get. It’s still usually $350-$400. DJI has been selling refurbished models on eBay at a big discount. I paid a little more for extra batteries so we can “fly more.”

    Typical Cost: $469
    Our Cost: $230

    Everyone on the deal sites says that this is the best deal you can get. It went away a couple of hours after I bought it. I guess it comes back every now and again though.

  • Canadian Goose Coat

    My wife has wanted a Canadian Goose Coat for a long time. After buying some of these gadgets for me and the kids, it made sense that my wife get something nice for herself too. A vacuum wasn’t going to cut it. She’s not into drones or tablets. She does love the Oculus though.

    Also, when you have a year when the President of the United States thanks you for visiting him – well, that’s something to celebrate.

    Typical Cost: ???
    Our Cost: ???

    My wife knows the cost because she paid for it. I didn’t ask, but I played games like, “I can’t believe you spent $600 on a coat. I mean $800 is way too much for a coat. A $1200 coat? For $1,600 it better fly you to Canada.” It didn’t get a reaction and I’ve gone all the up to about $40,000. I could probably look up the cost online, but that’s no fun.

    I’m a little jealous because it looks great on her. My coat is wool and all the dog hair sticks to it. Sometimes people make fun of it and I just say, “I love my business so much that I bring it with me wherever I go!”

  • Finished Basement

    My wife was deployed until the week before Christmas. We rushed Christmas through. We told the kids that the big gift was the finished basement. It wasn’t intended to be a Christmas gift, but the timing just worked out. They love having the space – even though we have to furnish it (and do some final decluttering).

    Typical Cost: ???
    Our Cost: $25,000 – estimated

    Yes, it is expensive. However, it turns our 1800 sq. ft home into about a 2100 sq. ft. That’s much cheaper than buying a different bigger house.

    • Outside of the last two items, we spent $1018 on things that would have normally cost $1727. Because of the $50 gift card that came with the Oculus and the Galaxy earbuds that came with the tablet, we probably spent about 50% of retail. And, notably, these things usually don’t have sales. I had to resort to buying refurbished with the drone, but I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from brand new.

    The kids got other things for Christmas that were more appropriate for their age.