SUMMER CAMP

Save $320
Redeem in September
Four weeks at a typical sleepaway summer camp costs $3,200, and an average camp raises its price 5 to 10 percent a year, according to Jeff Solomon, executive director of the National Camp Association, a New York City–based organization that offers guidance in choosing a camp. To lower your camp costs, lock in your rate the year before. For a month or two after the end of each summer session, many camps offer early-bird specials, letting you sign up for next year’s camp at this year’s prices. This deal typically applies to general summer camps but not to one-week specialty sports camps, says Eve Eifler, who runs TipsOnTripsAndCamps. com, a referral service that matches kids and camps. Some camps may even let you lock in a lifetime rate if you’re willing to commit to — and pay for — several years in advance.

MORTGAGE

Save $933 a year
Redeem Monthly
Sometimes it seems as if you’ll never pay off your mortgage. The typical American homeowner has about $70,000 left on it, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey, and about a third owe more than $100,000. To cut down the number of years before you’re finally free of debt, make one extra mortgage payment each year, says Susan Jones, the author of The Money Rules: 50 Ways Savvy Women Can Make More, Save More, and Have More! (McGraw-Hill, $13). Instead of sending in a whole extra month, which can be difficult for many families, divide your monthly payment by 12, then add that small amount to each check you send to the bank. You’ll cut almost six years off a 30-year mortgage and save about $28,000 in interest on a $100,000 mortgage financed at 6.5 percent. To find out exactly how much you’ll save — and how much quicker you’ll own your home outright — use a mortgage calculator at a site such as www.bankrate.com.

NEW CAR

Save $4,300
Redeem in September or October
Buying used is almost always a better deal, but if you have to know that you’re a car’s first driver, buy new in the fall. Automakers release new models in September, so that’s when they generally slash prices on the previous year’s cars. You can save a lot of money by buying last year’s model, especially if the car has been extensively redesigned, says Phil Reed, the author of Strategies for Smart Car Buyers (Edmunds Publications, $15). When Ford rolled out its redesigned 2005 Mustang, the sticker price for the basic two-door coupe was about $25,700. At the time, savvy car-buyers could get the 2004 model, which had a sticker price of about $24,800, for about $20,500. You can save even more money by waiting until December and buying one of the last old models on the lot.