Our last trip together as a couple me first went camping was around the year 22. We didn’t like the experience, and so did not make camping a top priority. However, some of our friends wanted to go camping together with families during the summer and we reluctantly decided to join.
Despite having no camping gear, we were able to save money during our first camping trip with a variety of strategies. We did not mind going camping this time around, particularly because our children loved the experience so greatly. We’re planning a second trip for October.
Table of Contents
How to Saved Money on First Setting up Camping Trip
We didn’t want to purchase lots of things to be prepared in the event that we decide (again) to go camping wasn’t our thing. We only bought the following items:
A Tent
We purchased a 9-person tent on Amazon which was $149.99. We bought it at a discount at $99.99. In hindsight, I could have purchased this in person. I was unaware that the tent was made of large mesh openings that don’t have flaps to shut them. Instead there’s a rain flap which covers the entire tent. Although the design is suitable for camping in summer however, I’m worried that we’ll be cold when we head out in October since we’re not able to stop the mesh from openings.
Hiking beds
We had a sleeping bag in our in our home. So we purchased three additional. I also bought them on Amazon during an offer. The price for each sleeping bag was $22.99. On our initial camping experience, the sleeping bag of our daughter already had holes. We weren’t thrilled with the situation.
Setting up camp Cooking Set
We purchased a camping cooking equipment set for $24.99 that includes a knife sharpener as well as roasting sticks. Since we didn’t want spend more money on cooking equipment, we prepared everything on a stick in front of the flame: hot sausages, s’mores, hot dogs, breakfast sausage. We called it cooking on sticks. Anything we couldn’t cook on a stick, we took cold.
Wood
The day before the outing, the group purchased wood at $7.99. We used all that wood in a single day, which means we’ll need to buy more before we travel in October.
We paid $202 for the above-mentioned essentials to make our camping experience the first of its kind.
What I Might want to Purchase from here on out
If we decide to stay in camp and camp, there are other things we’d like us to do to add to make our camp more enjoyable
Inflatable Sleeping cushions
My husband and I aren’t that young and we’d rather sleeping on a mattress made of air rather than lying on the ground.
A Grill Grate
Although cooking with sticks was great on the first trip however, it may get a bit old by the time we return. If we plan to camp more frequently we’d like to get an grill grate that we can place on top of the fire, and also hold an oven to cook eggs as well as other meals.
A Superior Tent
Our tent is great for mild weather, however when we plan to camp during the winter and spring it would be nice to have a tent which is better at of keeping our warm.
Final Thoughts
We paid $202 for the first camping gear. We’ll likely hold off until we’ve gone on a second excursion or two to determine whether we’ll need additional items. In the meantime, every camping trip can help reduce the cost of our initial purchase of equipment.