Advice on money for the kids

[PKS44]

How do people handle money for the kids at Disney?

Pay for everything out of mom and dad's wallet with Mom and Dad screening and approving all purchases.
Budget a set amount for each kid in general or two different amounts- one for souvenirs and maybe another amount for extra treats/food that you otherwise would dissuade them from were you controlling the purse strings. (obviously with Mom and Dad as "advisors")
If yes- how much / Age specific (mine are 8 and 5)

Let them bring their own saved money? How much?

I welcome any and all advice...(going in 43 days)

Paul

[MiknMinMouse]

My son usually has a set amount he takes in his wallet which I usually carry for him (he's 10 this year). He gets Disney Dollars during the year for presents and good grades, end of school year, whatever. We have him use his DisneyDollars for any suvenier he wants to purchase and of course they pay for the lego set he always comes home with from DTD. Our daughter is still pretty young so we haven't done this for her yet. I guess it also depends on the kids. Our son doesn't usually ask for much so he always comes home with money and I always end up getting him stuff while we're down there. If your kids will drive you crazy wanting stuff, then I would give them a set budget and say when you're done with this money, that's it. We've never had any probs w/our son over money ~ he even uses some of his to buy a gift for his sister and best friend.

[imgoingtodisney]

My son has about $200 (I have to doublecheck) in Disney dollars saved up from tooth fairy, report cards, birthdays, valentines day, easter bunny, etc. We have 5 Disney park days, day at Sea World, day at Kennedy, and our arrival day that he may want to spend his money. So $200 for 8 days is about $25 per day. I'll trade about $50 of his Disney dollars for real money so he has money for Sea World and Kennedy. It will go into his fanny pack and he will buy his own souveniers. I am planning on buying his snacks myself but we shall see how that goes.

[Jordan's MOM]

Our Ds ,(9) also has been earning Disney Dollars for our January trip.He will also get some for Christmas too.He knows that I will buy 1 t-shirt and Donald ears the first day to wear to the Breakfastsarus and his snacks when we all have a snack together.Everything else is up to him.He earns Disney Dollars for extra chores, behavior etc so he knows he is in control of how much he will have.I estimate he will have about 150.00.Sounds like a lot for a kid, but divided up over a week, that is not a lot for a place like Disney. He loves junk snacks so we added the rule about he having to pay for snack that he has above what the rest of us have.Have a great trip
Jordan's Mom

[casmanuel]

My DS, who was 6 on our last trip, never met a toy he didn't like. He has no concept of the value of a dollar and can get very emotional when the wicked word "No" is spoken. Our Disney trip was his first real learning experience with budgeting his money and cost comparison. He had his own money to spend, but we would not let him plop it down on the first thing that caught his eye in the gift shop that ended each attraction. Instead, we kept a mental list of things he liked and waited at least one day before buying each thing. I'd also remind him of the things we hadn't seen yet, like Al's Toy Barn at MGM and suggest he wait until he saw what they had. We occasionally counted his money to see how he was doing and that helped with the "wait and think about it" planning. The most frivolous thing he bought was one of those spinning light-up things. He eyed them all week and just had to have one. The kids still play with that silly thing.

[imgoingtodisney]

I counted my DS money this morning and it comes to about $160. That's about $20 per day. Not as much as I originally thought but still good for a 9yr old.

[bobcat]

I have done both a set budget (when they were younger) and also had the kids earn their own spending money (this year). I have found that my kids don't ask for everything they see when they know they have to pay for it themselves ;) , they become very selective fo their purchases.

Last trip DD 9 had $75 and DS 6 had $50. I bought little things for them, like autograph books, but everything else they bought. They still came home with a ton of stuff.

[CindyAnn]

Last year DS (7) and DD (4) each carried a waistpack containing their Disney Dollar quota ($10 per day) and an individual snack pack of animal crackers. I vowed not to nag about either, and I'm proud to say I didn't. If they decided to eat the animal crackers 5 minutes before lunch - fine, their decision. We also bought a more substantial snack each day, too. They decided exactly how to spend their money and could save it up or borrow a dollar or two from the next day. We had absolutely no arguing or fussing about what they could or couldn't have, and quite honestly I'd been dreading 10 days of "But Mommy, I WANT it". Nothing. Zip. Nada.

We bought them each a hat and a T-shirt (autograph books & pens were a present for the plane) and the rest was their responsibility. They also had a bit of extra spending money from the grandmothers that we kept for them to buy something larger. Even DD could understand that if she bought the beanie baby she'd only have 5 dollars left to spend. Like Bobcat says, it's amazing how selective they become when they're spending their own money.

It worked so well, I can't imagine doing it any other way!!

[lvs_eeyore]

Wow I feel a little like Ebenezer Scrooge LOL. My older boy had 20.00 cash and 10.00 in Disney Dollars for our last eight day trip. He spent the 20.00 but came home with the 10.00 in Disney Dollars. I wouldnt let him buy the first things he saw. I kept a mental note of the things he wanted and we went and got them on the last day. We have set up new rules for money and Disney. He is allowed to put half of his allowance each week away for Disney up to 30.00 then he has to put all of it into his bank for savings. When we come back he can start doing the same thing over again. We also go several times a year so several times he has the chance of saving up 30.00

[WDW2002]

I am in shock about how much spending money you give your kids. Even for WDW $25/day X 8 days is alot, IMO. I will my girls (9 & 12 by then) about $50 for the entire trip (12 days) for extra snacks and suveniors. They also get a weekly allowance that they save part of and can and I am sure will take some out for the trip.

[imgoingtodisney]

Yes, I believe my son has alot of spending money - $17 each day for 8 days. However, he has gone without alot of other presents this past year. At least $50 was his big birthday present this year when he turned 9. He received $5 Disney dollars for each of his report cards (As and a few Bpluses) instead of $5 in cash. The easter bunny had 25 $1s hidden in his eggs. My son didnt receive a large valentine filled with candy for valentines day. I gave him $10 disney dollars. So to get this money he did go without other things this year.

[Barb D]

Our deal is that I will buy each kid a T shirt. Other than that, they're on their own. They don't normally get an allowance, but they occasionally get $$ for a special treat or gift. (They each
'earned" $7 the first time they jogged a mile without stopping. DS spent his immediately on a Bionicle, but DD is saving hers for Disney. That kind of thing.) I think they'll each have $15 or $20 to spend at Disney.

[Snow Shoe]

We allow our DD about $20-25.00/ day. Now some of this is money is some that she has saved up on her own, and the rest is money that my wife and myself have decided to give her for the entire trip. However any purchase has to be checked/cleared by one of us before making it. We feel that this way, she just isn't buying things for the sake of buying. Some days she wont spend a dime and that then rolls into the next day. Our older sons when we took them, would save several days inorder to purchase something expensive that they really wanted, and we did them the same way with money.

However, what works for my kids may not work for yours.

[Owl]

We are going in mid October. In August, I told my kids, ages 8 and 10, that we would
match what they saved up to $50. We have an evelope hanging on the bulletin board for each of them to put their Disney money in. The day before we go we will count up what they have in there and match up to $50 and that will be their spending money for the trip. I plan to
stick with this. If they have $2 in their envelope, then they'll have $4 to spend. If they have $50, then they'll have $100 to spend. They get an allowance and can do some odd jobs to earn money. They can also put birthday money in there if they still have any. This is the first time we have tried this and if it works real well, we will try it again for other trips. We also told them the money will get matched even if they chose not to spend all of their money on the trip. My 8 year old is doing better at saving than the 10 year old.

We are also giving them the opportunity to earn tickets. We are trying to do a family walking
plan. So, for every 1/2 mile they walk, they get a ticket. 50 tickets will mean that we will get
them at Tshirt. We're allowing a few other things for getting tickets as well.

[AKASnowWhite]

WOW! I'm SHOCKED at how much money people let their kids spend....well, I guess that's good news for the economy! I, on the other hand, am MUCH more frugal with our money. (Note...that's frugal, not cheap. If something is truely worthy of my $$, I will buy it) My real issue is the STUFF. Just general clutter and junk that will be laying around the house after the novelty wears off. I just see that as a huge waste of hard earned money....either mine or theirs. We tell our kids to make a mental list (or they can write it down if they think they'll forget) of things they see that they THINK they may want to buy, especially at the begining of our stay. If later in the week they are still convinced that they MUST have it, then they can choose to spend their money on it. I think it's VERY important to teach my kids to be good money managers, and not impulsive consumers. Oh---and we do the mental list, because if it is THAT important an item, the kids will remember it...if it's forgotten, it wouldn't have been a smart purchase.

There are shops, stores, vendors EVERYWHERE at WDW, each vying for the cash in your kids (and your!) pockets. Temptation can be nearly impossible for a kid to handle unless you as a parent have set down some clear cut guidelines BEFORE YOU EVEN LEAVE YOUR HOUSE!

That said, I don't even want to tell you exactly how little money we spend on souvniers. Suffice it to say, our memrobelia is purchased with care, so they definitely have meaning to us, and won't find their way to the next garage sale.

[Jordan's MOM]

First let me say that addressing money issues with children is a very personal decision and that I respect & like to read about everyones ideas. Every parent knows whatis best for their child. As a parent of a child who will have $20.00 or so each day (He is earning most of it), let me share why he will have that amount to spend as he chooses.Our family, including DS(9) has saved and scrimped for a long time so that we will not have to watch every penny on this trip. DH and I have made most of the big money decisions.(How to get there, where to stay etc) We also made choices for things WE want to do, such as nice meals etc.DS would be happy eating popcorn all week and spending all that money in the arcade.We feel he is on vacation too and should have the chance to let loose a little.DS sees often how we budget our money.He knows we have to make choices and we only have so much to spend.We include him in giving to others and regular giving to our church.I will offer advice during the trip and remind him of other things he saw, but I won't nag or try to change his mind. He will make some mistakes but we have ALL made money mistakes and he will learn to spend wisely if I give him some time and some money. DS has showed good judgement in the past and I expect him to come back with money.He has already offered to buy me all the beaver tails Iwant! Don't forget it's not the money it's the place and the family that count!
Jordan's Mom

BTW-DS is an only child so that makes it much easier to be a little more generous .

[imgoingtodisney]

My 9 yr son is also an only child. He hasnt been getting much for presents (birthday, valentines, etc) from me over the past year. Most likely he would have been given "stuff" for his birthday but I opted not to do it. Whatever he chooses from Disney is fine with me as long as we can carry it home. By giving him Disney dollars instead of presents all year long I dont need to shell out my money during our vacation when he says he wants something.

[cheri goode]

I give all the kids 10.00 in disney money for each meal ( we eat mostly at the
cheaper fast foods) whatever is left from the meals is theirs to keep so they
can spend it on xtra snacks or save til the last day for a souvenir.:bounce:

[kristikae]

We are going for a week in December. I am giving my 4 kids $50 each per day for food and souvenirs. That probably seems like a lot but my kids deserve it! We have never been able to afford to go on vacation. They have been raised by a single mom and gone without any luxuries for most of their lives. They don't get toys or clothes other than Christmas and birthdays. This is the one time I don't want to have to say, "No, we can't afford it". By giving them their money to spend and making them buy their own meals they will still have to budget and excercise some self control.

[Super Mom]

My whole family (self, DH and 3 DS's - 9, 7, & 3 yrs.) have been saving change since just after Christmas. It is really cute, when the little one finds a penny on the floor and runs to the change jar saying "more pennies for Disney World."

We took out $200 to buy Sea world tickets and there was still over $200 left. We will have 8 park days (5 at Disney, 2 at US/IOA, and 1 at Sea World). We told the boys that they will each have $10/day to spend however they want.

We will buy T-shirts and snacks. We figure that food and clothing are parental responsibilities LOL! We are hoping that having to budget their own money will limit the "gimmees"

We are leaving in 20 days. I will let you know how it worked out.

[WDW2002]

So many of the posters on this thread talking in terms of giving their children $X per day. I have never even thought in terms of $X per day it has always been $X for the trip. I am one of those who don't like to buy or have my kids waste their money on "junk" they will never even care about when they got home. So I do limit the amount they get to spend on suveniors and such. Like I said in a previous post my kids will likely have $50 for the entire 12 day trip for extra snacks and suveniors. They will have this money on day one and if by day 7 they have no money left, then they are out of money for the trip.

So can someone explain to me the idea of giving $x per day instead of $x for the trip??

[Jordan's MOM]

Hi WDW2002,

We too are a 2002 (January) trip and are getting excited. I am one who will give my son an amount per day rather than the whole amount per trip. My reason for this is to help him budget his money. He has never had this much money to spend and I feel he still needs that help in controling the flow of it. For older children or teens I would budget the amount for the whole trip to give them more responability for their spending. Many families budget their food the same way.For example they give themselves 100.00 per day and then plan their meal around that amount. We don't realy do that but it works for many couples.As I said in another post,whatever works best for your family is what that family should do. Have a wonderful trip!

Jordan'sMom

[curlyjbs]

DH and I decided that we will buy each of our 3 dds ONE souvie of their choice, and of course all their meals, snacks etc. They have pooled their disney dollars and are paying for their pirate cruise and one chef mickey charactor meal. The rest they divided equally among themselves. Each should have about $10/day to spend as they wish. We have all saved long and hard for this trip and my girls are proud of their $10! Mom and dad are proud too!



curly

6 MORE DAYS!! YES, WE ARE STILL GOING!!!!!!

[aprincessmom]

I gave my DD a $50 limit over the course of the vacation (8 days -- 5 at WDW and 3 at the beach) and she can spend it on what ever she wishes to buy. This past Feb. she bought a Socerer Mickey spinning light thing-a-ma-jiggy **not the technical name** and did a bunch of pressed pennies. As a result, she spent a grand total of $17.59 of her $50. I asked her several times if she wanted a tshirt, sweatshirt, etc. Nothing doing.

I don't count snacks or food into the total for her as I would normally feed her whether we are at WDW or at home :D. This money is for spending on whatever she wishes.

Having said that, I have to say she is not the kind of kid that asks for much or spends lots at home either. Her spending habits and purchases were in line with what she normally wants at home -- not much. She noted that a lot of the stuff could easily be gotten at home at the Disney store and she was more interested in seeing the sights and riding rides than shopping in a gift shop.

[ktkcsmom]

We have set aside $50 for each child for souveniers but will definately be vetoing any useless purchase. Whatever they buy must be memorable -- after all this is their first (and probably only) big vacation as a family (oldest will be leaving home soon).

[gingajane]

My two older kids got very smart in the last couple of years. They asked relatives for Disney$ instead of gifts for birthdays and Christmas. They knew a Disney trip was coming and have had two birthdays come and go to collect. My 10yo has about $200, my 7 yo has about $100 (my 2 yo even has a few!!). They had to do without a bunch of gifts on special occasions, but I believe that they feel the sacrifice was worth it (or they will come November). Hey, to become smart consumers they have to have a bit of practice with their money don't ya think?? I will probably only allow them to buy during the last two days of our four day trip. Other than that, if they can carry it, they can buy it. It is their money. MJ

[mam]

My son is like aprincessmom's daughter. He wasn't interested in t shirts and disney stuff, EXCEPT for that light up spinning thing too. He had 30 dollars - his own $$ - to spend and we let him charge on his card. He loved that. I don't give him money for grades - I don't think kids should be rewarded for what is expected of them - his was b-day money he saved. He bought some snacks too. I'm not sure I spent the kind of money some of these other kids seem to have spent!

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.............................................. .. My God, most of you are turning out our next generation of over spend/want to haves. Thank god it will help our economy! Lucky for me my daughter has a great sense of value, and my biggest problem is when she goes into a shop and says "that's way expensive" (acceptable) or " No one is that stupid to pay that much!" ( not acceptable). Her budget is ten dollars a day of which we will provide maybe 30 %. But she is smart enough to know that it really means more like $25 a day for four days and zero on the other days. She doesn't buy junk and looks for sales!! So smart for 11, but she was like that in 1999 when she was 9!

[AKASnowWhite]

I agree with you Disnee Dad 100%.......and I think I offended a whole lot of people with my previous post. That wasn't my intention, just expressing my personal opinion. And in MY OPINION, my kids will be better off for it 20 years from now!

[mam]

Too many parents are confused about being able to provide so much for their kids and whether they really need to provide that much. They will have a lot of trouble in a few years because kids are never going to want less than before and now they will have reason to expect it.

[gingajane]

We, doubtless, are avid consumers. Hey, just taking them to Disney is a spoiler and we are all guilty of that. I just enjoy the knowlege that so many parents spend precious moments with their children(regardless of lavishness or conservativeness). MJ

[cboudre1]

My son gets $100 for the whole trip. Anything over that and he has to use his allowance money. I buy him a shirt or a hat if I think he will wear it when we leave WDW. I also give him money for video games everyday.

[Owl]

It seems like a few of the responses are getting too judgmental. This is a forum to share ideas on how to have a great time at WDW. It isn't a parenting forum. No one should be made to feel guilty for how they plan to make their trip special for their children. For some people this may be the only time they get to take their children to WDW while they still live at home. Others may go every year. Regardless, financial skills, are something children learn based upon what they are taught every day of the year. No trip to WDW is going to succeed as the sole teacher of financial skills nor will a relaxing of rules for a few days cause children to unlearn skills that they have been learning on a consistent basis. So just stick to the original question and share ideas.

[kristikae]

Well said Owl!