Those who have been following my blog know about my weekly $10 Stockpile posts. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had been delegating $10 per week to stockpiling on products our family uses on a regular basis. While pay periods got thin, and I had to put the stockpiling on hold, that does not mean I’ve given up on my $10 Stockpile concept. For the next month though, I am refocusing my $10 stockpile efforts to getting prepared for an upcoming camping staycation.
There are one to two whole weeks throughout the year that both hubby & I put away all of our work stuff. We make time off from our work lives and totally focus on family. It’s a time we have to budget for, as it’s a lessening of income, no doubt. My online business in some respects keeps going, plus there are ways for me to still be making some money, and hubby gets some paid time off. Over the years though, we have learned to budget ahead for our staycations, so this next month our extra $10 stockpiling budget item is going toward that. Plan ahead. Make ahead. Save ahead. 
These are what we’re budgeting for…
Meals – We may share some meals with the other families camping with us – so that each of us potlucks it, we eat the same meal together, and each provide a dish. Big family meal, where those who may not want to camp still come out and we have a huge group to feed. Then there are family only meals – breakfast and lunch we have together as a family. I don’t mind going grocery shopping at some point during the staycation; however, I’m using our $10 stockpile budget for camping staycation now – making some freezer meals, and planning others to keep spending down to a minimum before we start it.
Outdoor living expenses -We spend most of our time outside during our campng staycation. Those expenses, like sunscreen and mosquito repellent come into play when you consider the expense for several days/nights of each. Not to mention making sure we are stocked up on first-aid, allergy and other medications. Prepare for the unexpected.
Personal care products -This is where my previous $10 stockpiling efforts will benefit us this year. We are covered, for the most part, in this area. There are a few 1st aid products I want to add to our kit, like grown up band-aids and Neosporin. Otherwise, we are set, in this staycation budget category, including toiletries, and other personal care needs.
Family Entertainment -Now granted, a lot of our entertainment is free. It comes from spending time with family and friends. On our camping staycation, we pretty much just hang out with each other inside, and out and don’t require much in the way of expense. Because we do have access to a TV, computer, game system and there are at least 10-12 kids to entertain, we parents do cave and allow them online game, or game system time, not to mention the big movie night. This camping staycation category though does not really take a big chunk out of the budget.
The unexpected – There is always something. We have to plan for whatever we may not have planned for in a way. Things like replacing camping equipment, or buying supplies may be necessary. Last year it was seam sealer for the tent that we didn’t discover we needed until it rained!
Planning the camping staycation budget ahead of time, and having already stockpiled on some of the things we will need, we have put ourselves in a good position to afford to take this upcoming time off. We aren’t budgeting for a huge Disney vacation, we’re keeping it local, and therefore don’t need a huge budget. But we still want to make sure that financially we are ready for our family’s camping staycation.
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