How do you save money for Disney?

[bettyann29]

Yes- they will add to the one you have. You won't have to carry a big stack of GCs to WDW.

The other nice thing about the Disney GC- as you use it, on every reciept, it will show your remaining balance on the card. Great for keeping track of the budget!

Thanks so much! I didnt realize you could do this.. This makes more sense for me to just go and put money on a card rather than carrying all those Disney dollars.. In past I would go each paycheck and buy disney dollars rather than just putting money back because that way I cant spend the money.. In past if I put money back something might come up and I would dip into the disney savings to pay for it.. with disney dollars I cant do that.. but the card would be much easier.. I know what Im gonna do from now on!

 

[GingerbreadCoffin]

One of our biggest problems was spending money on movies, books and eating out. We now have a designated movie/take-out night. We also visit our library once a week. I don't have any idea how much we have saved by not buying so many happy meals and getting our movie rentals and books for free, but I am sure its quite a bit

We've also started using our Sam's Club membership and just in diaper money alone I am saving a fortune.

Another thing that has helped has been taking advantage of things like parks. Instead of taking the kids out to lunch and to the zoo we'll pack a picnic and go for a nature walk. We all enjoy ourselves so much more and its FREE!

 

[jpaxton1118]

Is there a list of resterants that you can or can not use the Disney gift card? What about the worldshowcase? I know that some of them are owned by outside vendors?

Thanks.

 

[Alice28]

Have you considered doing Sunshine Rewards? I love it. I earned about $500 in the last year by doing surveys, trial offers, and shopping online but clicking thru this site first. The owner, Tricia, is a member here in the DIS and her customer service is great. She gives rewards in Disney Dollars or Disney gift cards (as well as paypal and other retail gift cards). Give it a try! I also do mypoints more casually and earned $50 in rain forest cafe gift cards thru their site.

I also do NFO surveys every once in awhile, as well as Pine Cone for probably about $80 a year between the two.

I also save change and we saved $100+ in six months. And if I am at the mall and have an extra $20 or so, I change it into Disney Dollars, so it forces me to save that money instead of spending it.

 

[Alice28]

Is there a list of resterants that you can or can not use the Disney gift card? What about the worldshowcase? I know that some of them are owned by outside vendors?

Thanks.

I am fairly certain you can use the gift card anywhere on Disney property, with the exception of some of the Downtown Disney stores and restaurants (like Bongos, Basin, Lego, etc will not take them....but anywhere inside the parks/disney hotels will take them).

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

We all throw our spare change into the change jar. I have an ebay store and sell regularly. I normally use that money for the kids stuff...clothing, movies, mcdonalds. bday parties,etc. BUT I have been saving $25/ month to put towards spending money for our trip. I am also a chacha guide and 100% of my earnings will also go towards our spending money. We tend to waste money on going out to dinner. We decided to limit it to 1x/week. Hope that helps

 

[PartyOf5]

You guys have provided some great tips...the best one being the Disney Gift card! I had NO idea this existed as described. I think this would be a better option than allowing my kids to charge on their room keys. It will be much easier to set their limits. Thanks so much!

 

[3dog2kidmom]

• I do Sunshine Rewards, too. I've earned over $600 in the last 9 months or so doing trial offers, online shopping through the site, and paid clicks & emails. I cash out for Disney gift cards when they run specials so my "free" money goes even farther!
  
• I have also been saving change, extra dollars, rebates, etc. in a coffee can. I just got a thing in the mail for an ING account and $25 to get started so I will be transfering all this to there.
  
• Everything I can possibly charge gets charged to my Chase Disney Visa to earn rewards dollars.
  
• I have about $50 from each paycheck deposited into a special savings account. I've been using this for regular expenses lately, but if I am actively saving for a particular trip I'll leave the money there and it does add up quickly.
  
• I an an Arbonne consultant and ALL profits from those sales along with my overrides from the company go into my Disney account.
  
• Ebay/Craigslist/garage sales -- this money all goes towards vacations!