Don’t Have 100 bucks or more each week for summer camp? Why not create your own?

In the Parenting magazine article, “Start Your Own Kids Camp,” a mom describes how she saved hundreds of dollars on summer camp and got several days worth of quality “me” time. Given the right set of parents and kids, I think it’s a genius idea.

The first step is to find a few dependable parents of kids around your child’s age who are willing to take a turn creating and hosting a camp. Figure out how long you want each camp to run –any where from, say, one day to a week, depending on what parents are up for. Each parent designs activities, games and snacks around a chosen theme (animals, space, art, bugs, etc.) for their camp. The campers rotate through each camp. When it’s not their turn to play camp counselor, each parent gets free time. Obviously, the more kids who participate, the more “off” days for you. Check out the article at Parenting.com for more details and ideas.

What do you think? Would you be interested in setting up your own kids’ camp?

Welcome to guest post week here at Baby Cheapskate. This guest post is by Karen (Thanks, Karen!):

It’s summer! Which means time for the annual family vacation. Whether you’re taking a staycation in town, or flying across the country, here are some tips to save some cash on your next trip:

Driving
If you’re trying to figure out whether it’s worth driving to your destination, check out AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator.  Enter in your starting city, destination, make and model of your vehicle and the website will help you break down the one-way and round-trip fuel costs.

If you have a AAA membership, visit your local AAA office for discounted travel gear, luggage, free maps and more. I’ve even used my membership for free passport photos and discounts at stores like Payless Shoes and New York & Company.

Make sure to check your car before leaving for a road trip. It costs less to perform routine maintenance than to pay for emergency car repair when you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere!

Flying
Check Kayak.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com and Orbitz.com for deals on flights. Sign up to receive notification emails when your destination’s flight prices drop below a certain level. This will ensure that you won’t miss a good deal.

Trying to figure out the best seat on your flight? Use SeatGuru.com. Enter in your flight information to reveal a color-coded map of the plane, showing you the best and worst seats on-board.

Accommodations
I’ve found the best hotel reviews on Trip Advisor. Reviews are candid and often give a detailed description of the property, services and amenities. Hotels are also ranked for each city, making it easy to narrow down the search.

If you are trying to score a great deal on Hotwire or Priceline and want a really good guess at the hotel you’ll be staying at, take a look at the user-submitted tips at BetterBidding.com. Select the region that you’re booking, the website you’re using and compare the futures offered by the hotel to determine which hotel it might be.

If traveling with a group, consider renting a condo or villa instead of getting multiple hotel rooms. Group accommodations often have kitchen and laundry facilities. Splitting the cost of the rental is often cheaper than paying for a hotel room each. VRBO.com offers vacation home rentals directly from the people who own the properties.

If you have the Entertainment/Happenings Book, check for additional hotel discount. I was able to redeem a $10 mail-in rebate for Hotwire by just filling out a simple form and sending it in with a print out of my confirmation receipt.

Pick a hotel that offer free breakfast to help save money on eating out. If that’s not an option, bring along oatmeal packets and use cups and hot water from the in-room coffee maker to prepare. If you have the opportunity, stop by a local grocery store upon arrival to stock up on bagels, bread, fruit, granola bars and bottled water for quick and easy snack options.

Travel Items
Remember to pack your camera, sunscreen, bug spray and snacks, instead of buying them en-route at highly inflated gift shop prices.

If you have a toddler, the Cosco Scenera car seat is a safe and inexpensive option to bring aboard your flight. BabyCheapskate often features this car seat on sale for about $35-40.

Instead of bringing a bulky car seat on-board your flight, the CARES Child Aviation Restraint System is an option for kids 22 to 44 pounds. More information can be found on their website.

Picking a Destination
Go off-peak! Traveling off-peak offers a multitude of benefits, namely cheaper flights and hotel rooms, smaller crowds and shorter lines at attractions. If you’re planning a Disney vacation, check MouseSavers.com for recommendations and discounts.

Borrow travel books from your local library to read up on destinations. Guide books are revised annually, so you’ll be able to get the latest information without the expense of purchasing the book.

Saving Up for a Trip
Start a separate savings account to help finance your next trip. I know some  people who even “dedicate” certain bills in their wallet towards trips. For example, every time they receive a $5 bill, it goes towards the vacation savings fund.

Growing up, my parents would give us spending money for our upcoming trips as birthday and holiday gifts. This teaches kids how to budget for treats and souvenirs.

Karen is a mom to a 2-year old daughter and 3-month old son. When she’s not busy working, she loves to travel and shop. Karen finds out about most deals on BabyCheapskate.com. She swears that in the long run, it saves her money! (At least that’s what she tells her husband).

What are your best tips for saving on family trips?