How much???

[M&Mwish]

For those who have completed their CP: roughly how much money did you budget for food and spend money?

Obviously, it is different for everyone, but an idea would be helpful.

I realize that some people cook some meals, bring lunch to work, buy food with discount.......

Your experience is most helpful CP's!!!!!!!!

Michele

 

[Wishes Count]

I would say about $50 per week in groceries. It really depends on what you buy. I try to follow that now but usually I don't even spend that much. Keep in mind the first time will cost a lot more. I spent like $150 on food alone the first day because you need to buy everything that you would normally have (like ketchup, salad dressing etc)

I didn't really budget for entertainment. It depends on how much you go out or go out to eat. A lot of times CPs go to steak and shake iHop or Denny's when their really late shifts get out. So keep that in mind. Also many night clubs are 18+ so that's about $10-15 with the party bus there and back. Also think about snacks while playing in the parks! Maybe like $50 a week depending on what you can afford and how social you are.

Also it will be tempting to buy every cool souvenir you see! Especially at property control where you can buy slightly damaged stuff for 75% off. But try to resist. I spent way to much money there and no have a ton of Disney stuff cluttering my apartment at home. Because really the only place you will wear Disney clothing is Disney.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[misscpround2]

ok I guess you can say I was cheap, but I brought my lunch to work and my own snacks in the parks. I also tried to eat everything I brought before buying more food. and when I cooked I made enough to last me the whole week. I probably spent $100 to $150 on food and that includes nights out.

 

[misscpround2]

a month

 

[eadavis]

I use Mint.com, its a free site through Intuit (the same people who do Turbotax).

You can plug all your income/expenses to make a monthly budget. It helped me out.

 

[SFGamerBabe]

To be on the conservative side, I'm budgeting $100 per week on groceries and $50 per week for eating out/entertainment. I do have a gluten allergy though, so I cook a lot more for myself than most and I also buy a lot of organic foods/natural meats which are always pricier. I'm planning to make virtually all of my breakfasts and lunches.

That's a good point about controlling yourself when it comes to buying Disney merchandise/clothing. I'm going to try to resist impulse buys...I've never bought Mickey ears during any of my trips to Disney because, as cute as they are, I know I'll never wear them back home. So I'm going to try to keep that mindset and maybe tell myself at the beginning of the CP that I can spend something like $200-250 on merchandise over the course of the program. I'll have to decide, do I want spend $100+ of that right off the bat and not be able to buy as much over the holidays, or pace myself?

 

[leeg229]

First week you're always going to spend more. I spent $125. For each following week restocking only cost me maybe $30. Making my own food saved me a ton of money, and I learned I'm a pretty good cook!

 

[Lyanne and Stitch]

That's a good point about controlling yourself when it comes to buying Disney merchandise/clothing. I'm going to try to resist impulse buys...I've never bought Mickey ears during any of my trips to Disney because, as cute as they are, I know I'll never wear them back home. So I'm going to try to keep that mindset and maybe tell myself at the beginning of the CP that I can spend something like $200-250 on merchandise over the course of the program. I'll have to decide, do I want spend $100+ of that right off the bat and not be able to buy as much over the holidays, or pace myself?

I also agree. Disney merchandise is so tempting but it's the best moment for some self control.

I'd say that's a good budget for merchandise and I would suggest that you *do* wait till the holidays since the cast member discount is 40% then.