Budget board sure has changed

[pooh4evr]

My faves were the ones explaining how to make grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, etc., using the irons in hotel rooms! Gross.

Agree! We need a good eatin' a can o' corn on Main Street thread every now and again!

 

[crisi]

The fact of the matter is there just aren't that many new ways to save, that would be a pretty inactive board. If you have specific questions about ways to save, like on meals for example, ask and you will get plenty of tips. Or you could use the search because those topics have been covered repeatedly and there's just not any new info to add.

And the ways there are to save have almost completely gone by the wayside - or are more effectively covered on other boards.

Want to save on airfare? - the transportation board is a better spot. Want an offsite hotel? - there is a board for that.

And we've gotten too judgmental. We've gotten to the point where if someone suggests splitting meals it must be because their family will have their house foreclosed on and face bankruptcy if they spend the full cost of the meal. But, you really don't need that many calories Not everyone needs to do a Disney trip with three character meals and Bibbity Bobbity Boutique - and I think we need to be a little more tolerant of the shoestring budget - it doesn't mean that they are living beyond their means, they could simply be trying to live within them.

That doesn't mean you should bring your can opener and can of corn But it does mean I think we should be more open to "hey, the Days Inn is clean and close and since you'll have a car anyway" and not so quick to say "by the time you pay for parking you might as well stay at a Value, its so much nicer and not that much more expensive after factoring in parking"

 

[tink2dw]

You should have been here at Christmas! I was amazed at a post, Which tablet is better for a 5 year old, the $1,200.00 or the $800.00? Which one is best?

I did not have that problem. My 5 year old wanted a Disney movie, a Barbie, and Candyland [a board game, you played on the floor, with your friends or cousins, you laughed out loud, and someone complained someone had 2 turns!] Those were the Days!!

In the whole of my life time I have never had $800.00 I could spend on gifts for a whole family, let alone one 5 year old. My used car cost $600.00 and I still drive it!

 

[disneychrista]

I think we need to be a little more tolerant of the shoestring budget - it doesn't mean that they are living beyond their means, they could simply be trying to live within them.

 

[Colleen27]

And we've gotten too judgmental. We've gotten to the point where if someone suggests splitting meals it must be because their family will have their house foreclosed on and face bankruptcy if they spend the full cost of the meal. But, you really don't need that many calories Not everyone needs to do a Disney trip with three character meals and Bibbity Bobbity Boutique - and I think we need to be a little more tolerant of the shoestring budget - it doesn't mean that they are living beyond their means, they could simply be trying to live within them.

That's the one thing I'd change about this board. Ask a question about saving or cutting corners on a Disney trip and you get the third degree from the Dave Ramsey disciples over whether you can really afford the trip in the first place. Ask a question about a real-life budget concern and the first thing you get is people picking apart any future or recent past trips in your signature. It certainly gets very judgmental at times and I think that sends a lot of average people - the ones doing a little better than paycheck-to-paycheck who have managable credit card debt or car payments and haven't fully funded their retirement and kids' college, but who <gasp> vacation anyway - to other boards with their budget-related questions or concerns.

 

[KCmike]

If I'm scrounging up old soap and wiping my behind on washcloths I don't have the cash for a phone or Internet, let alone even thinking of planning a Disney trip. Please Budget Board friends, if those days ever come, tell me to spend my cash on something more worthwhile.

I literally and uncontrollably laughed out loud while my family and I was watching tv. Hilarious.

 

[Robbi]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1342354
Not sure if that link will work but that is the thread with all the cheap things that people did but there were also lots of threads about reusable sanitary pads, and washing sponges, and many other frugal ideas. It certainly is not everyone's cup of tea but everybody spends money in different ways.

I remember lurking here several years ago when planning a trip to WDW and seeing a Budget Board thread about people dumpster diving for Wendy's cups to get a flight with Air Tran. I didn't join.
Came back a few months ago and finally signed up for the DIS.

 

[crisi]

That's the one thing I'd change about this board. Ask a question about saving or cutting corners on a Disney trip and you get the third degree from the Dave Ramsey disciples over whether you can really afford the trip in the first place. Ask a question about a real-life budget concern and the first thing you get is people picking apart any future or recent past trips in your signature. It certainly gets very judgmental at times and I think that sends a lot of average people - the ones doing a little better than paycheck-to-paycheck who have managable credit card debt or car payments and haven't fully funded their retirement and kids' college, but who <gasp> vacation anyway - to other boards with their budget-related questions or concerns.

I'll be among the first to be judgmental when it comes to "we can't pay the mortgage and my husband has been laid off for a year - but we DESERVE this trip." But I do think we scare off people for whom taking a Disney trip is a reasonable ambition.