Proven method to "Help" finance your camping trips
When my wife and I found ourselves in a position where we had to replace our (home) washing machine and dryer, and the cost was a bit more than we anticipated, we decided to start a simple "saving" plan that would finance the next time we needed to replace them. It worked quite well. So we continued to do so, then we had to figure out what to do with the excess cash (a really hard choice hum: :B). So we decided to use the excess to fund our camping trips, and this has worked so well, we've been doing it ever since.
How do we do it? Simple? If you have your own washing machine and dryer, chances are you've not been to a laundry mat in a while. Have you noticed how MUCH it costs for a single load to wash and dry? Sheesh!
So, instead of plopping money into a laundry mat, we've become our own laundry mat. Initially, every time we put a load of clothing in the washing machine, we paid ourselves a dollar. It had to be cash and it had to physically go into a can we keep in the laundry room. On Saturday, 4 loads of laundry = $4.00 in the can. And this funded many, many of our camping trips over the last several years.
Fast forward a little, and a year ago I finished remodeling our house, which was a 3 year project and the last room was the laundry room. We changed from top loaders to front loaders, (because we saved enough $1.00 bills to not only fund our camping trips, but to pay for new front loader washer and dryer without having to dip into any other funds or credit cards!
Well, when we got the front loaders installed, we decided to "up" our laundry payments to $3.00 a load. There again, have you checked a laundry mat lately? That was a year ago in February when we got the new machines. Over the course of the next 10 months, by paying ourselves $3.00 we had enough cash it completely funded our Florida Christmas trip, fuel, campground expenses, and all food!
I just did a new count of the cash in that can this morning, and since January 1, we now have $312 already for camping expenses for this year!
It's a simple savings plan, and it works well for us because, from November 1 to April 1, we're pretty much stuck at home. It give time for the fund to build, and even in the summer, we do it! The secret is, you've got to be disciplined enough to make sure you have the cash when you do laundry, and disciplined enough to never take money out of the "can" until you're ready to use it for the designated purpose. But this is so simple, and it works so well, I really wanted to share with everyone this simple saving strategy.
I highly recommend trying it, even if you start out with a quarter a load! After a while, you'll be amazed how fast it grows!
Oh, we also toss our change into a bucket at the end of the day too. That also is designated for camping. We empty it once a year. Last year we had almost $400 in that can! That all went to camping!
How do we do it? Simple? If you have your own washing machine and dryer, chances are you've not been to a laundry mat in a while. Have you noticed how MUCH it costs for a single load to wash and dry? Sheesh!
So, instead of plopping money into a laundry mat, we've become our own laundry mat. Initially, every time we put a load of clothing in the washing machine, we paid ourselves a dollar. It had to be cash and it had to physically go into a can we keep in the laundry room. On Saturday, 4 loads of laundry = $4.00 in the can. And this funded many, many of our camping trips over the last several years.
Fast forward a little, and a year ago I finished remodeling our house, which was a 3 year project and the last room was the laundry room. We changed from top loaders to front loaders, (because we saved enough $1.00 bills to not only fund our camping trips, but to pay for new front loader washer and dryer without having to dip into any other funds or credit cards!
Well, when we got the front loaders installed, we decided to "up" our laundry payments to $3.00 a load. There again, have you checked a laundry mat lately? That was a year ago in February when we got the new machines. Over the course of the next 10 months, by paying ourselves $3.00 we had enough cash it completely funded our Florida Christmas trip, fuel, campground expenses, and all food!
I just did a new count of the cash in that can this morning, and since January 1, we now have $312 already for camping expenses for this year!
It's a simple savings plan, and it works well for us because, from November 1 to April 1, we're pretty much stuck at home. It give time for the fund to build, and even in the summer, we do it! The secret is, you've got to be disciplined enough to make sure you have the cash when you do laundry, and disciplined enough to never take money out of the "can" until you're ready to use it for the designated purpose. But this is so simple, and it works so well, I really wanted to share with everyone this simple saving strategy.
I highly recommend trying it, even if you start out with a quarter a load! After a while, you'll be amazed how fast it grows!
Oh, we also toss our change into a bucket at the end of the day too. That also is designated for camping. We empty it once a year. Last year we had almost $400 in that can! That all went to camping!
