What's your favorite way to stash/save $ for your trip?

[05ChristmasSurprise]

We have had to change our travel dates to MAY (instead of November) and we need some handy little "money saving" tips to save up as much as we can in the next two months.

Any ideas? :)

What's your favorite?
Thanks!

[christinadei]

I made a Disney Piggy bank and put it by the front door. I don't spend any change and all the change or loose $ bills go in there. I also try to work a little overtime and take it out and save it for disney.

[debster812]

There are a lot more expert folks than me, but here's what we do:

I have $90 every 2 weeks deposited into a savings account at my credit union. I have NO ATM/Debit card for this account, and it is about a 35 minute drive away, so getting that money is VERY inconvenient. This is the 'vacation fund'

If I'm at the mall, I take whatever singles (up to $10) or a $5 and buy Disney Dollars. They get stashed at home.

We have a change jar that we will not roll until about 3 weeks before the trip.

I make the resort reservation as far out as possible (room only, we have APs) and pay on it when we have the money to do so. Our room is generally paid in full at rack rate before AP rates come out, and then if AP rates are available, we will either upgrade our resort OR use the extra money for charging back to the room.

Hope this helps.

[thelittlemermaid]

I like my ING account. I can put money away in there and ONLY I can get to it. DH DOES NOT have access to it or "his" account. LOL!!!

It's better that way cause he would always need something for his saltwater tank and take money out.

We have a change jar, but I have noticed instead of it getting fuller, it keeps going down. :guilty: Guess I am going to have to hide that now.

[christinadei]

We also try to save in our ING account (but that's not happening this trip, we keep needing it for bill money!) and we try to have our room paid for in advance as well as some meal vouchers (too bad this will be the last trip for those). That way we don't need as much money when we are there.

[DznyDreams]

I hide my change jar in different places every month. Otherwise, DH robs it for car wash money (quarters). I also like to roll coins and then deposit to savings once a month. This way, the quarters and extra bills that get stashed actually have a chance to grow. If I left them in the jar until just before our trip, I seriously doubt I'd save as much because it's "more convenient than driving to the ATM." :rolleyes: (DHs favorite line.)

With the monthly emptying and moving of the jar, I am usually able to save quite a large amount.

[beattyfamily]

Of course we save all our extra change.

We opened an ING savings account for our vacation and any extra money goes in there and $20 a month.

I also earn Webcertificates at www.mypoints.com but only about $25 a year.

That's all I can think of!

[Tiggerlover91]

What works best for me is throwing loose change and odd dollars into my change jar that I have. I very rarely if at all, give exact change anywhere that I go, so I let the change build up in my wallet and every 4 days or so, I empty it out. You would be amazed at how fast that adds up! :teeth: I'm also able to put $20 a week into my savings jar from waiting tables. Between my savings jar and two ING accounts, DH and I almost have $1000 saved!! :cheer2: :cheer2: So excited about that, as we have NEVER had that much in savings and I can't believe how easy it was to do. :goodvibes

[crisrn2003]

I've been reading alot about that and much like everyone else, I spend only larger bills $5's and above. Then any $1's I get, I put back. Once I accumulated $50 (about 2 weeks!!) I converted those into Disney Dollars. It amazed me how quickly it added up. I've also been doing a little something like that for Christmas too--every couple of weeks, I purchase a gift card to somewhere. When the season comes, I will either have a gift card to give them, or I can take the gift card to the store and purchase something for them. I've also been using a few survey websites. In about 2 weeks (less I think), I've managed to save $80. There are several "free trial" offers. The website pays you a certain amount of money to sign up for them--they have a free 30 day, no money charge. I sign up, then cancel them the next day. Kinda cheesy, but I figure if I'm sitting at home watching tv, it's easily made money.

[aka-mad4themouse]

Could you stand two months of
not eating out?
Brown-bagging your lunches?
Not buying any new clothes?
Cutting back on snack foods, convenience foods and desserts?
Walking or taking public transportation instead of driving the car?
Dropping the thermostat to 62º (or raising it to 75º if you're using air-conditioning)?
Forgoing any entertainment expenses like going to the movies, theater, roller rink or concerts?
Avoiding all impulse purchases?

Do you think you could find a few things around the house to sell on eBay? or at a garage sale? or a children's turnabout sale?

Those are just a few possible hidden sources of vacation money that I use if I want to raise some cash in a short period of time.

[cruisnfamily]

've also been using a few survey websites. In about 2 weeks (less I think), I've managed to save $80. There are several "free trial" offers. The website pays you a certain amount of money to sign up for them--they have a free 30 day, no money charge. I sign up, then cancel them the next day. Kinda cheesy, but I figure if I'm sitting at home watching tv, it's easily made money.Which websites are you using? I do tons of surveys but it takes FOREVER to earn anything.

[crisrn2003]

I use www.inboxdollars.com and when I see the trial offers on a variety of sites, I always go thru the same one so that I get the most credit on one site versus being spread out on a variety of sites. There are also referrals which I have been using for my family and friends, though they have to make some money too before I get credit. It certainly opens you up to getting a lot of junk mail but as long as you don't mind, what the heck.

[crazymomof4]

In addition to what's already been posted (change jar, ING account, eBay) I put aside any cash or checks I get that aren't a paycheck. For example, my DH gets small travel re-imbursement checks when he uses his vehicle to go to a business meeting or job site. These are only about $14-16 but they are seperate from his paycheck, so they get put into the "Disney Fund". I do the same with any rebate checks I get in the mail. These can be $1 for small grocery items or up to $10-20 for computer software, etc. Also, if I pick up something for my mom at the grocery store, I put it on the credit card when I buy it. When I drop off the items to her she gives me cash and I put it in the Disney Fund!

[Forevryoung]

I have been using inboxdollars too- I am putting this money towards my KTTK tour and a pin collection. At the end of this month I will ask for a check. I set up a seperate Yahoo account for all that added junkmail.

[Chrisypoo]

I've also been doing a little something like that for Christmas too--every couple of weeks, I purchase a gift card to somewhere. When the season comes, I will either have a gift card to give them, or I can take the gift card to the store and purchase something for them.

Hi there...

Make sure when you do this you read the fine print on the card...most stores charge a monthly "maintenance" fee on gift cards that are over 6 months old.

Christine

[FigmentGuy]

I can join in on the bandwagon for the "change jar" and the "ING". I also return return our bottles for thier deposit (dime a bottle in MI). As long as I agree to return the bottles and then exit. I can make a quick $25 to add to the change bank. haha. Yes I know. Quite a few bottles. Another thing im considering is I live in a neighborhood full of elderly peopleand I was thinking of offering to mow thier lawns for a few bucks and put that money in the change jar. This will work out as a double bonus as it'll be good exercise for me.

Also another thing you could try is to see if you can reduce any bills. Any "movie channels" u dont watch on your cable, Phone extras on your cell/land line.etc Cancel them, and put that monthly difference into your savings account/change jar!

For those of us in warmer climates or a couple tricks for this summer could be... Wash your own car at home instead of driving it through an automatic wash. Then throw that $ you would of spent into the change jar. Same w/us folks who use public laundry mats... take your clothes home to air dry! Save a few bucks there too?

Another trick I've learned is to save on expensive house cleaners! I love to clean, but all those cleaners can be costly. Ive found that cheap items like vinegar, bleach and rubbing alcohal with a lil bit of elbow grease can do a great if not better job! These are a few of the things I do to be able to put a few bucks extra towards the trip!

[HenDuck]

I just made up envelopes for MYW tickets, food, and rental car.

I'm bringing home lunch 4 out of 5 days per week, savings to the "MYW" envelope.

I'm cutting back on junk food at the grocery store, all savings under my weekly grocery budget go to the "food" envelope.

I am also allowing myself to "steal" from the grocery budget for the 1 to 1 1/2 weeks that we'll be in Disney. That's another $100-$150.

Getting a whopping $.05 on cans and bottles :rolleyes: . I don't think that will even be enough to treat everyone to ice cream, but we're doing it for Disney. :teeth:

We do the coin jar. My DH doesn't realize it, but 90% of the coins in there are from him. I usually tally it up before we travel and then announce, this ____, is on DH!" It also gives me evil pleasure to "steal" his money right out from under his nose! :rotfl:

I also have a set amount directly deposited to my savings at the credit union. That's for everything, not just Disney. I figure the vacation rental home will come from that savings.

My most important tip is to keep reading the budget boards for inspiration. It sure helps me. :earboy2:

Good luck!

princess:

[kccmommy]

Something I started doing at the first of the year was my husband has the pretaxed medical expenses taken out of his paycheck and we plan to file the reimbursement right before we go. Now I don't hate to pay at the pharmacy or the dentist knowing it will come back to me as Disney money.

[eeyoreforever]

We do the coin jar. My DH doesn't realize it, but 90% of the coins in there are from him. I usually tally it up before we travel and then announce, this ____, is on DH!" It also gives me evil pleasure to "steal" his money right out from under his nose! :rotfl:


:


I do this to my dh too. In the mornings he will be looking for his little pile of change to put back in his pocket. I tell him its in my Disney jar. He doesn't think its fair for me to take all of his change when he isn't even going with us, but I told him if money is laying on the counter-that makes it fair game. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[pumpkinfish]

Ooooo...I LOVE going through DH's pockets for change. I do this at night after he changes out of his work clothes ;) He will hear the jingle of change and "know" I am adding it to our Disney Vaca jar. My mother bought it for us from Hallmark last year! I love it!

Also, I ALWAYS add any spare dollars I have left, after every couple of days. When I got b-day money (usually $10 here and there) I add that in too. Sometimes I purposely take out $40 from the ATM instead of $20 just so I can add it to the jar. It may not sound right, but I do what works. Also, I "bury" the dollars under the change so that I am not tempted.

DH also has it worked out that $75 goes into our vaca fund every paycheck (every week). You'd be surprised how fast this adds up ;)

[vettechick99]

I don't have direct deposit, so when I get my paycheck I physically have to deposit it. I have the teller hold back $100 (or more if I can afford it) and get it in a hundred dollar bill. I stash that away somewhere (out of sight, out of mind!) and I'm not likely to spend it because I hate to break a big bill. I won't break $50 bills either, but the larger the better.

Saving can actually be fun and addictive if you make it interesting. Just make sure that if you use coupons or other household budgeting techniques, you put that saved money away. Otherwise, you'll end up spending it on whatever. :wizard:

[nancydrew]

In addition to some of the tips posted here, I also got on the website and "guessitmated" how much money we'd need for our trip and when we wanted to go. I figured it would take me a year to save enough. I took the total amount I thought we'd need, divided by 12 and tried to put that amount into savings each month. Some months I couldn't do it; but in other months, I had a little extra, so it seemed to work out. My "vices" that I tried to cut back on were my fast-food fixes and my ebay addiction.

[05ChristmasSurprise]

great ideas!!!
Right now we're living on a budget and I'm hoping we can save up enough.
I might also make up some tote/diaper bags and try to sell them on ebay to add some funds to the trip. I don't think it will amount to much, but it's worth a shot! :)

I'm charging the camera batteries as we speak, so maybe some ebay money will come in hand. I have a paypal debit card, so I can always just bring that down there with me for extra spending money.

[crazymomof4]

When we came home from our '03 WDW trip I put the leftover cash (yes, there was some left over!) in my secret stash box. Then I forgot about. TOTALLy forgot!!!
Well, about 2 months ago when I cashed some rebate checks,etc. I decided to store this cash in my secret stash box until I could open our ING "Disney Fund" for our Sept trip. Guess what I found in there? Yup! The left over $$ from the last trip. It was $500!!!!!!!!! :jumping1:

[MUFFYCAT]

I made a Disney Piggy bank and put it by the front door. I don't spend any change and all the change or loose $ bills go in there.

We also do the same. The last 3 trips we saved $875, $700 & $450.00
We slacked off last year, hopefully this we can recover! :)

[christinadei]

I also save any extra money, like if we get rebates or money back for anything, things like that that we wouldn't normally have.

[YetanotherMouseFan]

I "help myself" to DH's change, also. And 1's....and a 10 or so...and change from last-minute grocery store runs.
And, of course, all "laundry change' belongs to the Laundress and gets dumped in the jar, too!

[HenDuck]

When we came home from our '03 WDW trip I put the leftover cash (yes, there was some left over!) in my secret stash box. Then I forgot about. TOTALLy forgot!!!
Well, about 2 months ago when I cashed some rebate checks,etc. I decided to store this cash in my secret stash box until I could open our ING "Disney Fund" for our Sept trip. Guess what I found in there? Yup! The left over $$ from the last trip. It was $500!!!!!!!!! :jumping1:

OMG!! I too forgot about my stash in my travel wallet!! :cool1:

To be honest, I don't even know how much I left in there after our Dec. trip to DL...ohhhh, I can't wait to check it later tonite!

Sometimes you have to trick yourself into saving...whatever works!!!

:wizard:

[MAGICX2]

Stupid question, but what on earth is an ING account? Let me in on this trick of the trade please! :listen:

[DznyDreams]

Stupid question, but what on earth is an ING account? Let me in on this trick of the trade please! :listen:

Several of us have savings accounts through ING Direct. The reason so many of us do is because you can open an account for very little (used to be as little as a dollar, and this still may be true as far as I know). The real reason we all like it so much is that they'll give you $25.00 dollars right off the bat if you have a referral from someone who already has an account. The person doing the referring also gets $10.00 for their ING account. There is a thread stuck to the top of this board that will tell you more about ING if you're interested. The best part of ING is the rate - currently 2.6%, I believe. You can link your checking account to this ING account and transfer money (online) as you wish, or have it set up to debit your checking account each month for any amount of your choice on any date of your choice. It's very flexible and VERY worth it, IMO.

[tifandjim]

I CANNOT save money, I am just horrible! So, every time I use my debit card, or write a check, I add an additional $1.00 to the amount. Last year, I saved over $1800 doing this!! That is where our vacation money comes from!! I just don't think about the extra money, since it has been deducted from the balance of my checkbook! I hope someone finds this usefull...

[dkrause716]

We do the change thing and also I have been selling some things on E-bay. This year I am calling weekly to pay on our room. Last time I did it monthly but this seems more painless!!

[Forevryoung]

Ok, I am trying this out- It surfs the web while you do your thing online. I have "free" internet through my campus account so I am online all day every day. You start off getting .45 cents an hour. If you do it for a few months you could probably fund a disney trip! How cool would that be? PM me for the link-
So far I am up to $2 and change and I have been doing my schoolwork all evening (well by schoolwork I mean reading the disboards :rotfl2: )
-K

[05ChristmasSurprise]

I CANNOT save money, I am just horrible! So, every time I use my debit card, or write a check, I add an additional $1.00 to the amount. Last year, I saved over $1800 doing this!! That is where our vacation money comes from!! I just don't think about the extra money, since it has been deducted from the balance of my checkbook! I hope someone finds this usefull...

I LOVE IT!

That is probably the ONLY way I could do it - I"m totally going to use this!
THANK YOU!

[vettechick99]

I CANNOT save money, I am just horrible! So, every time I use my debit card, or write a check, I add an additional $1.00 to the amount. Last year, I saved over $1800 doing this!! That is where our vacation money comes from!! I just don't think about the extra money, since it has been deducted from the balance of my checkbook! I hope someone finds this usefull...

But how do you balance your checkbook? Don't you see extra money in it and think you have x amount...or do you take that extra money out of the account every month?

[HayGan]

In saving for our upcoming Disney trip I'm doing the following:

Change jar (we always save this way for vacations and usually have $300 - $500 in there)

buying $20 in disney dollars every time I go to the mall (right now I'm just putting a $20 bill in the envelope each week as our Disney Store is out of Disney Dollars :sad2: )

I set up one of those Bank of America accounts and got $50 free and I have $50 put into it every pay. I picked some obscure pin number (that I can't remember) so I'm not tempted to use it :confused3 I'll have it reset about a month and a half before we go. BTW, if you are in a PNC Bank state you can get $101 free for setting up a new account and having direct deposit :teeth:

I'm not submitting my day care expenses to my savings account at work until a month before we go (all Disney money)

I'm using my 2 extra paychecks this year (I get paid bi-weekly) all for Disney expenses.

I plan on taking stuff to the flea market or having a garage sale in the spring and fall as well as selling on ebay (when I get some free time)

With all of these things I will have way over saved for our trip but we will be able to have a great trip and probably pay for next year's trip to the Poly as soon as we get back :cheer2:

[Savin4Disney]

Another thing I just started. I signed up for a paypal debtcard. So then when I have about 20.00 in on my account. I will make another payment to my vacation.

I have started paying every week. Whatever extra money I have the Sunday before payday goes to the trip.

This week I managed to pay $75.00 on my trip and I should be able to make another payment this weekend.

I saved $10 this week just having my son take his lunch to school. I even make it for him so there is no battles. I think I am going to take that money and put in an envelope for his spending his money.

all these little tricks make this a lot more painless then I thought it would be.

[scillacc]

At birthday and christmas, easter and valentines, I give each kid about 20 dollars in disney dollars with their name written on it. I then take it back from them and keep it till we go to disney. Then I had them their money back, and that is their spending money. That means I dont have to come up with that money, which with 4 kids amounts to about 400.00. They also get to only spend their money and not ask me for any. Another thing I try to do is pay for my hotel before I go, paying one night a month. My b/f and I also have set up an ebay paypal account and are frantically working on selling stuff to finance our next trip, June 06, when my oldest two kids will get their Ph.D and Masters. That's what they wanted as a graduation gift, a trip to disney with their siblings. How could I say no?

[nluvwithdisney]

Our household budget is based per month. I get paid bi weekly. Usually there are 2 "extra" checks each year which go to vacation fund.

[liveforthemagic]

We also do the change thing in the Disney Jar

The kids get an allowance - $2/wk and $1/wk goes into the Disney jar

Any "free" money we get--like rebate checks or I just got a credit on a dinint table I bought because the leaf is scratched--all that money goes into a savings account only for Disney

We have an Am Exp card that earns frequent flyer miles with every dollar you charge. We charge EVERYTHING--you can't get into trouble cause you have to pay it off at the end of the month--but this trip we are getting 2 or our 4 tickets free--that saves us $600!

Finally- we tell everybody we are going and shamelessly ask for Disney Dollars at any gift giving event. Its really great for the relatives that live out of town--they can send them in a Christmas card or birthday card and not have to pay extra shipping. We have $300 in dollars just waiting to buy food at the parks!

[Colinsmom]

Our Disney vacation fund (for Sept 2005) is currently over $3100. We did it solely by selling on eBay over the last 3 months! I'll also put $850 into it when we finish changing over our car and homeowners insurance (one years' savings over our current premiums, for the same coverage). And we're getting new life insurance for DH - twice the face amount for about $500/year less. So that may go into the fund. At that point, we'll probably have money left over for 2006, or we may treat my parents to this years' trip!

[nuzmom]

We do the change jar and I sell a little on ebay (although I've been "off" for a while now), but my "new" way to save is by giving lessons.

You see, I coach archery and was approached about giving some lessons. Well, I only charge $10 - $15 and I'm doing it at MY convience. I'm hoping to add some lessons this summer at my home. You know, kids play in our backyard and I give a lesson in the front.

All of that money will be for our WDW trip.

[Forevryoung]

I have been toying with the idea of teaching computer skills to adults. I know a lot about the current technology and I have a way of figuring out the "I dont know what I did but it wont turn on" or the "I keep getting this error message" issues. I taught my grandparents to use the computer so I have had some experience. Any thoughts on how to get the word out about my "skills"? How much should I charge?

[chrismiss56]

I am also jumping the change jar/Ing account wagon. I also put aside any insurance reimbursement checks that come in (we have to pay our prescriptions up front and then are reimbursed a portion).

Also I gave up going to Starbucks which was about $5.00 a day. I found a coffemaker with milk frother and make my lattes at home. So the $5.00 goes into an envelope each day.

Love this thread!!

Have a magical Disney Day!!:)

[mrsbornkuntry]

I have been toying with the idea of teaching computer skills to adults. I know a lot about the current technology and I have a way of figuring out the "I dont know what I did but it wont turn on" or the "I keep getting this error message" issues. I taught my grandparents to use the computer so I have had some experience. Any thoughts on how to get the word out about my "skills"? How much should I charge?


I'm not sure how much you would charge for that, but one idea for getting the word out would be flyers on a library bulletin board.

[experiment626mom]

Years ago my dh bought me a Tigger bank and we put any money left over from our weeks "allowance" in there. Everything from change to bills. It's amazing how you really think about what you're spending in a week when you realize it's money that could be going towards Disney!!!