What do you do to save money to WDW?

[SandraC]

Hi, I would love to be inspired or inspire others on TIPS on how to save $$$$ for WDW trips!

I'll start!

(1) I teach Yoga, Fitness, Kindergym and Artful Toddler classes and save my income for trips. Since it's only part-time work and I enjoy it so much it makes saving fun!

(2) I do as many consumer tests for cash as I can. They can take time but I make a minimum of $10.00 per test.

(3) I do a few rewards programs as a surf or chat on the internet. I have not cashed out any yet, but they are slowly building and in a few months I'll make about $100.00 or more.

(4) I used to babysit children and save the cash, but I don't it that anymore.

(5) I have enough "birthday and Christmas gift" type things from family members. This year for my birthday and Christmas I will be asking for practical travel things, toiletries or even Disney Dollars.

(6) We have a "swear jar", there are a couple days a month I tend to fill it pretty full.

(7) I get paid to TALK! I do workshops on subjects that I have become somewhat of an expert on. It paid very well. All my jobs give me freedom to pick me hours and bring me kids!

I would love to hear your ideas!

[CapHook]

What kind of consumer test do you do?

[sherry7]

I am also interested in what type of consumer test you do. I signed up for one of these on the internet, but it only gave me the chance to win money. I did it a few times, but all I got out of it was a lot of spam. I'd be interested in something that actually paid you.

[bashful4]

I list WDW as a bill on my budget every month. I "pay " a separate savings account at my credit union with the money.

I also save change and put it into that account.

I had a yard sale last week and made enough money for all my tip envelopes, one character meal, and the Alice Tea Party.


:) :bounce: :)

[imgoingtodisney]

Back to saving money for Disney world
The major ways I save are:

The months that have 5 paychecks instead of 4 I put the 5th towards the Wilderness Lodge.

Once a month I visit Disney store and charge $100 in Disney dollars to put towards our PS meals. Its easier to pay off $100 per month than $1,000 all at once.

Then every paycheck I put $35 from my spending money towards the trip. I know this will be more difficult after summer begins and I start to take the 6 long summer weekend trips have planned.

Also 9 yr old son and husband have been getting Disney dollars for birthdays, fathers day, easter, valentines day, report cards, tooth fairy, etc.

[chatty]

Sold my Blood, Volunteered as a Human Guinea Pig, Donated most of my Bodily Organs, Shared part of my Brain, Sold my Hair, Became a Surrogate mother Twice, Sold only two of our Children, Tried to Marry Mickey Mouse for his World, and got Hubby a Third Job...Anything Short of selling my Body or Soul...( just having fun ) Truthfully Garage Sales, Save Change, Put away Birthday, Anniv.,Holiday Money ect...Pop Bottles, Lottery Winnings ( you know those $ 2.00 winners ), Make the Check out at the Grocery Store for a few extra Dollars,( DH never knows ) And if we get our extra money from the State that Too. Have A Great One...
Chatty

[sherry7]

ROFLMAO!

[jgates]

Actually, if they would let me sell my blood I would! I can't get dh & ds to do it! They could make about $35 a week a piece but neither will go for it. It would be worth the gas to drive them there!

[aide4]

We started saving for our trip to WDW in May 2000. We put a minimum of $25.00 from each paycheck that comes to us(I get paid weekly, DH bi-weekly) and we also have a change jar that we put into savings.We've also put some money we received last xmas. As the saying goes, pay yourself FIRST!!! To date we have saved $2691.75 and we are going February 9-16 2002!!! Our kids (DD8 and DS12) know we've been saving and are as excited as we are!!!They also know that the trip is xmas this year for the whole family!!!

[mummajea]

In michigan we have a 10 cent deposit on all soda and beer cans and bottles. When we return them my DD gets that as part of her spending money.

Also the good old Change in a bucket, garage sales, refund checks. They all eventually add up.

[thinkerbell]

I also am curious about the consumer tests for cash. Sandra, please tell us about this.

[Yvette Q.O.D.]

My DH is in sales and gets commission, about twice a year he gets REALLY good checks. One usually around Christmas and the other in spring.

That's our saving plan for Disney.
:p

[Sleepy]

We have the change jar which adds up quick in this family. One other way is buying Disney dollars. Yet another way I find to save money is on those nights that I really don't want to cook dinner and the family agrees to eat out, I drag myself into the kitchen and cook anyway. The $20 I would have spent on takeout is thrown in the money jar. It adds up pretty fast around here since I never want to cook.

[AverageJoe]

Sleepy,

Funny you should mention that one. We just returned from WDW and I asked if the kids would like to go back. They said "Sure." Well, then we had an economics lesson. i told them in stead of ordering pizza what if we took the money and put into a Disney jar What would they rather have Disney or DOminoes? They answer was DISNEY!

WE currently have $11.09.:earsgirl:

[lmmollohan]

We are doing essentially all the same things. We are saving for our trip in Oct. 2002...just started about 2 weeks ago. We get the whole family involved (me,dh, ds,dd,dd). We made a Disney can by covering it with pictures from a WDW brocure. We set a goal and started savings.

We are on a very tight budget so the money has to come from creative places. When I go grocery shopping I look at the receipt to see how much we saved with coupons or with the store discount card. What ever amount that is we put into the can. When we do not do something that we had planned to do...example: I have to pay $4.00 a week for babysitting at my bible study and $4.00 a week to play volleyball but now that summer is here I do not do those things so I take that $8.00 that I would have spent and put it away.

We do the same thing with going out to eat or buying goodies. It adds up quickly.

The one other thing we do is when we buy something and than have to return it or if someone pays us back money for a group gift or something like that, we put that money in the can. We are already used to living without it so we do not miss it.

I also send in rebates. My son collects aluminum. We tell everyone we know that we are looking to save money and we will take any side jobs. My DH just made $150.00 helping a lady move. Not bad for 4 hours work!

It all adds up...now if I could just get time to fly I would be doing good!:D

Lisa

[WDW Lover]

Aren't many people supposed to be getting that unexpected tax refund check, due to the new tax plan, some time during the summer of fall?

If I get one, it's going straight into the Disney Bank!

[Sleepy]

As this tax refund has been explained to me, it does not add up to extra money for Disney for us because it is an ADVANCE of next years normal refund and well, we always use our refund for the Disney fund anyway.

[SandraC]

CONSUMER TESTING

I heard of the consumer testing companies (2) thru friends, otherwise I don't know how one would go about learning of them.

The first one is a food testing company. I make between $10.00 and $30.00 for testing products. It takes about 30 minutes.

I registered with the second comany last week and haven't heard from them, but they pay between $25.00 - $1000.00 depending on the test. The $1000.00 would be for a one year test. My friend made $500.00 for a 6 month trial.

[WorknFires]

We joined DVC. I can't remember exactly how much but about $110/month. Eventually our membership will be paid in full and then we will only be paying maintenance dues which are currently about $35 per month. I've bought discount meal certificates thru connections123.com and will pay for my annual pass (which entitles me to other discounts) with my Disney Credit Card so I can pay that back over the next year.
Other than that, I don't really save. I just rob Peter to pay Paul for the next month. ;) but then I don't have children unless you count my husband LOL

Cheryl :bounce:

[sherry7]

SandraC....can you be more specific about the consumer testing? Can you tell us how we could find out information about doing this? Example: phone number, website address, etc. Thanks in advance for any help.

[madge62]

SandraC, I would also be most interested in learning how you make those extra $ consumer testing, is it specifically for Canadians?
Thanks!

[SandraC]

Hi, thanks for writing. Regarding consumer testing, like I wrote in previous posts, I learned about the two I do thru friends, they learned about it thru their friends and so on and so on. Unless you live in Mississauga, the companies I use will not accept your application. I suggest you just ask EVERYONE you know if they have heard to them in your area. Perhaps you can just surf the internet or look in the yellow pages under consumer testing or similar definitions you will get lucky. Good Luck!

Keeping with the theme of the original post, I have another tip on saving cash for WDW trips!

I have a separate back account I call THE DISNEY ACCOUNT! It was getting a crappy interest rate so at the beginning of May I changed the account to a GIC (Canada) and I could $20.00 INTEREST this month! Since I keep adding to this account, in one year I'll earn over $300.00 extra for the trip! YIPPY!

I love all your money saving tips! Keep 'em coming!

[DreadpiratK]

This may not work for everyone, but my wife, who is usually a stay at home mom, works at a day camp in the summer as the director. She gets to take the kids for free, and all of her earnings go straight to the vacation fund. $1500 in 6 weeks. enough for most expenses except room and tickets!

Most camps around here are always looking for good, qualified people over the age of 18. Mostly all they can find to hire are high-school aged kids, who don't make the most reliable employees.
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[katamarana]

I gave up sodas, but I couldn't convince hubby to give up Copenhagen. Too bad on that one. We also recycle our cans. We don't have a deposit, but land $150 every time we drop off 3 barrels of crushed cans. Takes about 3 months to do. A little longer now that I have given up the sodas. Also, we do a lot of the same things you do. Oh, and hubby gets 6 weeks a year paid vacation. We always save 2 weeks to Sell Back at the end of the year.

[katamarana]

Oh, I almost forgot. We do consumer testing in Dallas, TX. It's through a company called Dallas Focus. They even called my seven year old in once and paid her $50 to give her opinions on Chuck E Cheese.

[wddad]

The way that we saved some extra money for our trip this year was to round off our checking account to the nearest dollar every time we wrote a check.If we wrote a check in the amount of 35.14 we would actually subtract 36.00 off the the total balance.This is sort of like throwing money in a jar at the end of the day but you don't have direct access to it and if you write a lot of checks this can add up very fast...very fast.We could easily save up an extra 1000-1500 dollars in a year. :pinkbounc

[linda bignell]

Hi Sandra,

I just realised that since Danny works for the City of Brampton it could be considered govt., couldn't it?
If is, do you think we could qualify for the govt. rates we keep hearing about?

Let me know your thoughts.
P.S. Today is my birthday. Oh it's ok, you don't need to buy me any expensive gift or anything;) I just mentioned it because I got the nicest surprise this morning when I checked my email. I received a Birthday Card from the Swan and Dolphin Resorts. I have never even stayed there. Actually, the only time I was even close to it was while driving to one of the Parks! It made my day:jester:
Talk at you soon.

Linda Bignell

[vkasal]

Here's what I'm doing to save:

1) Got a part time job 2-3 nights a week (in addition to my full time job) and all money from it goes towards the trip

2) We keep all our change and put it in a large plastic container at the end of the day. We easily put $1-$2 in it each day and it adds up fast!

3) I've been selling some stuff on eBay. I have a few leftover things from my wedding, some old collectible toys, and other misc. stuff that we don't need anymore. I've already made about $300 and I still have plenty of stuff left to sell!!

3) I signed up for My Points early last year and plan on redeeming my points before we go to Disney for a gift certificate to Target, so that I can buy some things I will need for my trip (sunscreen, antibacterial wipes, etc.)

4) I signed up for several different survey websites that pay for your opinions and whatnot. I've made about $20 or so doing that - not a lot but more than I had to begin with!

5) I comb the internet daily for freebies that I may be able to use on my trip. I've found tons of free samples for shampoo/conditioner, lotions, sunscreens, a free disposable camera, etc. If its free, I'll take it ;-)

6) I signed up to be a "Mystery Shopper". I get paid $10 for every assignment I do. My first assignment is tonight!

7) If my budget allows, I take anywhere between $25-$100 out of each of my hubby's and mine paychecks and put it toward the trip.

Wow - after rereading this, I didn't realize I was doing so much LOL

[Beanie]

The only money saving thing I do is Rewards programs, but they are awesome!! I get Gas Cards for when we drive, rainforest cafe gc's, fast food gc's, Walmart, Target...Takes about a year to get a good amount, but it is so great when we stop for a quick bite to eat on the way down and don't have to pay for it!! :)

[UrsulaFan]

We claim no dependents to get a larger tax refund & get a CD that comes due just before we leave. I also have a Christmas/Vacation club at the bank that draws money out of my checking acct. each & every week. We make our reservations 1 year or so in advance & I mail in every extra dollar we have until resort is paid then start purchasing passes, usually 1 every 2-3 weeks. Next comes transportation payments. When that's done just cash in CD & club check & we're off to the airport!