How do you save for your Disney trip?

[mickeystoontown]

I am a seller on ebay and the last three vacations to Disney have been paid for with my sales. For our spending money, I have a jar that we keep our change in. Sometimes, I'll pick up something for my mother at the store or we'll by her dinner and she'll pay me back. That money goes into the jar as well. I am a paralegal and if somebody comes in wanting a Deed, Will, Living Will or a simple divorce and I do most of the work, my boss gives me a portion of the fee he charges. That money goes into the jar too.

We have a large rummage sale before we go to Disney and that money is our kids' spending money.

I also book our vacation as far in advance as I can so that I can begin making payment on it.

 

[dstevens]

You guys have covered all my tips and then some . These are awesome tips. I am going to start using some that we aren't already using. DVC is IMO a real savings. Use me as a reference to join and i'll split the reward with you. This is a very helpful thread. Good job OP.

 

[reelmom]

I work part time at a church preschool to pay for our trips. The preschool is on the same schedule as my kids elementary school so I only work during the school year. All that money goes to pay for our trips. We usually stay off site so we are able to take more than one trip a year.

 

[BigMickeyFan]

These are great tips - a lot of them I already use, but a few were new to me. Thanks!

 

[michelleiada]

I put between $25-40 a week in an envelope. It adds up quickly. If I have extra cash I'll stick an extra $10 in from time to time. I also have Disney Visa card and we put everything on it and pay bill at the end of month. Our last trip I had over 1000 points which almost paid for our 9 night dining plan for the four of us. We don't go every year, although I would love to. We have been going every other for the last few years. We just went in May and stayed at Beach Club Villas in a two bedroom. I continually watch airfare to get the best possible cost for flights. If you plan well...you can find ways to cut costs.

 

[RMulieri]

For us it is Simple. We don't eat out,I make large meals and freeze them or we eat left overs all week.We have basic cell service and phones, basic cable.We don't go to the movies or out often( we do subscribe to netflix).We don't buy high ticket items and the latest gadgets, and we keep our cars till we absolutely have to.We also only have one child ( not by choice though) so that cuts on costs.We have no debt other than our mortgage.I work per diem as an RN and my money is the vacation/spending money.We save save save all year long.

 

[wdwgirl100]

Thanks for all the tips. I consider myself a good budgeter but I can see ways to save more. My goal is more Disney trips and you have really helped.

 

[Csaks]

Loonies and Toonies, they add up fast. My fellow Canadian's will know what I'm talking about .In two years of saving everything is paid for, including all spending money.

 

[KELLY]

Tax return. Those 2 little deductions help.

 

[jphilhower]

I sell on Ebay which has paid for all my trips. Plus I save our change and set aside a certain amount of money. My wife is always amazed how much I'm able to save for the trips.

 

[Blessedx3]

Tax Return for me......

Ditto. One of our trips we usually do 2-3 a yr is always tax return. The others are usually only a week and we try to find deals, codes, and AAA for discounts.

 

[wickywinn]

I am signed up with over a dozen focus group/study companies. In the past 24 hours I've made $300 on a focus group about kitty litter ($100), a Wal Mart shop with study (they came to my house and went shopping with me for $200) and Pizza Hut tonight (I'm stuffed $50 later). Last week I did 4 and dh did 3. You get the idea. Can't beat talking around a round table for 1.5 - 2 hrs and getting paid between $75 and $200 for it. My favorite was when we went to the culinary focus facility for TGI Fridays to taste test a new gourmet burger they're thinking about putting out. Three different scrumptious plates of goodness later we waddled out of there with $200. Do a search online for focus groups in your area. I know my area (Dallas) is a big hub for them.

 

[k5thbeatle]

I have always wondered how people can do multiple Disney trips in a year. Anyone willing to share their ideas on how they save up for it?

I'm probably repeating what others do but we save little by little. Years ago we bought a couple of banks shaped like Mickey and Minnie and all our pocket change goes in there. Does it pay for the whole trip?...Of course not but you'd be surprised how much change you can save over several months and it pays for a dinner or two anyway.

Another fun idea you can do if you have a Disney store still in your area (Sadly ours have closed) is to occasionally buy Disney dollars and then surprise your spouse with them by hiding them in places they will find them. I used to hide some in my wifes lunch. Besides allowing us to build up some spending money little by little doing this also builds up the anticipation.

Either way I agree that the best way is to save a bit each day/week/month.

 

[Lifeangel1]

We have extra taxes taken out our checks so our tax refund is more. This is our vaca fund every year. We only get to go to WDW every 4 years so we put aside money in our disney savings account every year. This time we had extra money in there and so we could upgrade to a moderate.

 

[rowbear]

People ask me that all the time and I love to tell them.

First - For the resort, park tickets and dining - I book as far in advance as I can (sometimes I have to change the dates around but I've it booked). Once the deposit is paid I make small payments on the trip until the deadline. In the old days (90's) I sent them a check for what I could Every Friday (sometimes it was just $5). These days I divide out the number of weeks until the deadline and set up an auto pay from my checking acct (this trip is $35 every week - never missed it). Then I watch for a code (I've always gotten one) which brings down the cost. .

For Airline tickets. Every time DH takes a check to the bank he gets two $20 rolls of quarters. I'm not likely to break them apart to spend in a crunch so I'm putting away $40 on a regular basis. When SW opens up for the dates of our trip I usually have the amount of the tickets covered. I put the tickets on a credit card - deposit the coins in the bank and pay the cc bill.

Spending money - We continue getting the rolls of coins for spending money and cash them in for either cash or visa gift card before we leave.

Piggy bank money used to be turned into Disney Dollars but we no longer have a Disney Store so I simply cash it in just before we go.

Our first trip was at my insistance. On our 2nd day there my DH (layinig on a chaise lounge by the pool) asked "how much we will have to pay when we check out?" To which I replied "absolutely nothing!" We've gone back 6 times! We have Always had our trips paid for before we ever leave home which makes for a much more relaxing trip for us!

I don't get this coin thing. Why not have the money in an interest bearing account?

 

[carmiedog]

We only do Disney every couple years, but we do vacation each year and pay it with our TAX RETURN. We have 3 kids but both dh and I only claim one dependent through the year so that we get a large amount back. We can't earn interest using this method, but it keeps us from touching the money.

This year, however, we ended up with quite a bit of our trip on credit cards. DH was laid off a few months which messed us up. But we went ahead with the trip (it was very much worth it!) and now are working on paying off the CC as quickly as possible.

 

[MusiqChic99]

I don't get this coin thing. Why not have the money in an interest bearing account?

I think it's more fun for the kids to do sometimes. It's a way for them to contribute and see that money is being saved for the trip.

We save our change and use it for gas money there and back.

Otherwise I have an account just for a Disney fund. On a "bad" month I put about $100 a month in it and on a "good" month up to $300. Any extra cash from ebay sales or bonuses go into the account too on top of what I contribute.

 

[pioneer89]

I don't save specifically for Disney, but I do take my vacation money out of my savings, and this is how I save:

Once my wife and I got 'stable' in our expenses (mortgage, cars, insurance, electric, phone, etc.) we took all the extra money and started prioritizing.

First, the extra went to 401k ( free money from company match). Then some more went to saving for the kids education, then what little was left went into a savings account.

Once we knew we could keep it up, the savings went automatic, and over the years, as I got raises or promotions, ALL the extra money was pushed automatically into a savings account.

We basicly live on the same income as we did 10 years ago, and my checking account makes it look like we do. But as my income has gone up, so has our savings, thus I have money for Disney

 

[marcielm]

Tax return. Those 2 little deductions help.

I agree. My FOUR little deductions paid for our trip last spring!

Since returning from my trip, and to support my new found Disney addiction, I've started working as a TA on the side. All the income from my TA work is going a seperate acct.; and after I pay my self employment tax, all the extra is for my next Disney trip.

edited to add: DH dumps all of his change in a jar. This was used for gas (last time we drove... next year I plan to fly!) and meals on the road and such. I've been better about dumping my change in as well, and it really adds up quick.

 

[MrsJD]

If my DH had a job with a regular paycheck, my planning would be so much easier. But being a business owner it's very irregular. I started a piggy bank a few months ago and decided that any cash gifts we recieved would go into it. With generous in-laws I was able to save enough to go for a short trip this July. Our change and small bills go to the college fund, so I don't get that $$$ for vacation. But I am not the kind of person that is able to go on vacation unless it is all paid for up front before I leave the house. I'm just not a CC kind of person. Also we never get a tax return so that plan won't work for me. Now that I think about it, I have no idea how I am going to plan/save for this week trip in Feb!!! Ahhhhhhh!