Summer Fun Doesn't Come Cheap

Day camp, swim lessons, transportation, weekend vacations...it all adds up to a lot—as in $16 billion a lot, according to a survey from the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker, which found that American families spend an average of $601 per-child during the summer months.

"Affluent families (defined as those with a minimum household income of $100,000 will spend nearly double that: $1,116," writes KJ Dell'Antonia on The Motherlode, the parenting blog of The New York Times.

While keeping kids busy from June through August may not be easy on your wallet, it does save the school districts money, notes Dell'Antonia. Still, the hefty price gives new meaning to the question of how to spend your summer.