What's your best money saving tip?

[Debi]

How do you save for WDW vacations? What do you find adds up the quickest? For me, I use two different things:

First, I save all my change. You'd be surprised how fast that change adds up. Over the course of a year, I had saved over $100 just in change; this made great souviner money!

Second, with every paycheck, I set aside $10 for WDW. Because it was only $10 per week, I really didn't miss it, but over the course of a year, it turned out to be $500.

What do your best money saving tips for WDW?

Debi, co-moderator of the
<a href="http://wdwinfo.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&s=40009993&a=corfrm&cf=87009194">Disney Tips Board</a>
Cast Members Only board
<img height="200" src="http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/photos/millennium/tap02.jpg">

"You can never run from trouble. Ain't no place that far."

 

[mikess]

I also save my coins. I average about $40 a month doing that. We also do yard sales twice a year. I have made a TON of money on Ebay. I was trying to sell alot of my old CD & books in yard sales for .50 cents each. I put them up on Ebay and sold some of those same books and CDs for $40+.

 

[MinnieMe2]

DH and I both save our change. I keep a little blue piggy bank on the kitchen counter for quarters only, nickels and dimes go into a plastic bucket and pennies into a coffee can (the bucket and can are UGLY, so they're hidden). We also have an old white pitcher in the china cupboard in the dining room that we both put $1 a day into, unless we're having a good streak and toss in an extra $5. Between Christmas and Valentine's Day we saved $600 this way. I'm also thinking we need to have a yard sale in the spring to clear out the cellar. Hopefully, we'll make some 'extra' $$ on that. We're hoping to buy membership in the Vacation Club, so we'll need to keep saving for more trips to Florida!!!

Counting the Hours Til We're Back in the World

Mother-of-Four (Five, If You Count My Husband)

 

[scauzilloc]

A great way to save money is to be an annual pass holder. if you live close to Disney and you go over 4 times a year you will save a fortune. I have saved 1000's of dollars and its a great way to visit Disney and park hop. I averaged it out and it came to less than a movie for both my wife and I.

 

[isles_nyi]

About 6 months before we go, I start depositing my entire paycheck on payday. that way I don't have any money in my wallet waiting to be spent on things I don't really need. If we need to buy something, we have to take it out or write a check for it. In other words, impulse buying becomes alomost non-existant.

You'd be amazed at the difference it makes!

Isles

Disneyland - 1974
Disneyland - 1975
Disneyland - 1976
Disneyland - 1978
Disneyland - 1980
WDW - 1990
WDW - 1992
WDW - 1999
WDW - 2001 (4/28-5/5)

 

[BostonTigger]

I'm in school, so I have a student loan to live off of. So I take my paycheck from my part-time job at the Disney Store(great way to get myself phsyc'd over Disney) and just put it into my savings account. Another good way is to buy $20-$30 in Disney Dollars a week. This way you can only spend it at Disney and no where else. And I also save my change.

 

[curlyjbs]

I spend time on these boards instead of the mall.
that saves me TONS! LOL

<font Color =FF0000>HIFS 10/01
<marquee direction ="right" align="middle" behavior="alternate">can't wait, can't wait, CAN'T WAIT!!</marquee>

 

[Fleur]

I decided to do the Disney Dollars. It's like not even having the money, so I'm not tempted to spend it. I'm also doing the change thing.

I also use a flex-spending account. Money is withheld from my pay and goes into a special account. Then I "reimburse" myself for my childcare expenses. I don't have that check, and don't plan to get it until 4-6 weeks before our trip. It's all going toward our vacation, though.

 

[dizneenut]

I save change, also, and I also do the rewards programs. I can get gas cards, Disney Dollars, food gift certificates, hotel gift certificates, and webcertificates & a rewardzcard (which are like debit cards).

<font face="Comic Sans MS">

</img>

<font color="blue">first family vacation--WDW--July 2001</font>

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

In addition to the change jar, we have a dollar jar. All singles go into it - it is amazing how much we can save.

We buy annual passes every year, have saved lots of money on rooms with them.

Never balance my checkbook!! What I mean is, if I write a check for $58.19, I actually deduct $59.00. At the end of each year, I usually have an extra $1000. (I write checks for everything - no ATM cards here - my husband has lost 8 cards)

 

[egc2]

I ask for Disney Dollars instead of presents!

 

[Shellie722]

For our December trip last year I started buying Disney Dollars In June usually al least $10 a week, more as the trip got closer. Also ,I tend bar and waitress so I get alot of change. I quit cashing my change in in July so by one week before our trip I had about $1000. The change (putting it in the piggy bank everyday) and the Disney Dollars really worked out great.
This time I only had about 2 months from when we decided to go to the dates so I'm putting ones in the pig also. I've also paid for part of the trip everytime we've had extra money (first airfare, then hotel...and so on).
Sorry this is so long but this is what somebody else wrote on these boards last year and I wanted to pass it on.

<font size=3><font color=Orange><marquee>Charter Member of the Swan/Dolphin Cheerleading Team!!</marquee></font>

 

[jns1094]

We always deposit our check right into the bank and never carry cash on us. We pretty much stop buying frivilous things. We don't eat out for lunch or dinner, we don't go to movies (which we love), don't go to the mall, etc. When we have a goal in mind, we can save like crazy. We usually put $100 or $150 out of each of our checks in the bank. And it works really well because my husband gets paid one week and I get paid the next. Oh, and we also save our change.

<font face="comic sans ms" font color=#9900FF font size="4"><marquee direction="right" align="middle" behavior="alternate">Disneyworld, were dreams really do come true!!</marquee> </font>

<font face="comic sans ms" font color=#3333FF>All Star Movies May 1999 </font>
<font face="comic sans ms" font color=#FF66FF>All Star Movies May 2000</font

 

[magical]

I also take my change every day and put it in a big jar. I saved about 300.00 in a year. My DD would also throw in any change that she had/found. Every penny helps.

Disney Magic 11/99
Disney Magic 2/01
Disney Magic 2/02

 

[GlennandAnn]

We also put all of our change in a jar, adn we put aside a special envelope marked "Disney" and throw in whatever singles or fives we have at the end of the day. We have also taken all of the change you accumulate on a trip to WDW, saved it, and put it into a jar when we get home. Our next trip will be a quick weekend in April- we can't wait!

 

[ReneeQ]

This isn't really how *I* save, but it's along the same lines. I usually take my godchildren (ages 5 and 9) to Disney every other year. Sometimes their mom (my best friend goes) and sometimes not. I'm a DVC member.

My godchildren have more toys and "stuff" than they will ever need. After Christmas 1999 I vowed to NEVER get them anymore toys. Since then I have been giving them $15 or 20 Disney Dollars for Birthdays and Christmas and $5 for every other holiday - Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, etc. If there is a month without a holiday, I make something up and still give them the $5.

By the time we go they have around $150 to spend on their own stuff - souvenirs, snacks, anything they want. They know when it's gone, it's gone. They are very careful how they spend it because it's "their" money. They also seem more thrilled with receiving the Disney Dollars than they did the toys!

This actually saves me money because I would have bought them the souvenirs anyway, and now I'm not buying more toys and junk for holidays that they don't need!

 

[Trekker]

We have a lar jar - I mean large - about 3 - 4 gallon, that I decorated with Disney Stickers. All change goes in here every day. And sometimes $1.

We have a Disney Store at our local mall. Mr DW, DS, DD are addicted to going to the mall. They are only allowed in the mall if they promise to bring home Disney $s. My wife has to bring home $5 and each kid has to bring home $1.
This can be as much as $30 - $40 in a weekend - cause each seperate trip counts - if you go 2 times in one day you pay 2 times.

I have in my budget a set amount $$ I can spend monthly. I usually spend less $$. All left-over is converted to Disney $s.

<img width="60" height="68" src=Http://homestead.juno.com/rpeot/files/glittermick.gif><img width="68" height="68" src=http://homestead.juno.com/rpeot/files/TiggerFrog.gif>
<FONT color=darkblue size=2>Feb 1995 - Caribbean Beach</FONT>
<FONT color=cadetblue size=2>Feb 1997 - Port Orleans</FONT>
<FONT color=darkred size=2>Nov 1997 - Offsite</FONT>
<FONT color=darkgoldenrod size=2>Feb 2000 - Dixie Landings</FONT>
<FONT color=orangered size=2>Nov 2001 - All Star Movies </FONT>

 

[Pluto]

Me and DH receive an allowance everyweek, this elimanates alot of spending and we have to save our allowance ourselves to buy things for us plus this cuts down on the spontaneous spendings, we each try to save $10.00 a week from it. We have a budget for groceries, so any money we save goes to the Disney can. I put $100.00 from my paycheck, am paid monthly, into the Disney Can. We take $10.00 a week out of checking. We have a garage sale every year for Disney money. Then another thing we do is we use our Discover Card for everything, mind you we always make sure we have the money to cover and we immediatly deduct it from our checking account, and this adds up our cashback bonus award that we receive at the end of the year. They send you a check! Most of the time it is at least $100-$200! Now it takes a while to build up 1% cashback but once you are there it is just like extra money. We charge groceries, clothes, and home furnishings. One time DH had a wreck in his car and it cost $2000 in repairs, I took the insurance check deposited it and then went to the dealer who was fixed the car and charged it on Discover. He looked at me and asked if the insurance company had not paid me, and I said yes but I want my cashback bonus so I can go to Disney World, he just laughed!

WDW 92,93,94,95,96,97,97,98,99,00,00

 

[Heidi]

Paying the IRS money would KILL me!!! I claim 0 dependants. I get back a large refund every year. This year I will get $2,500! All for our vacation!!!

 

[Heidi]

If you smoke...QUIT!!! Between my DH and myself I figured we spend at least $9.00 a day. That would add up to $3,204 in a year. (I have to admit I have not managed to quit, but this is my incentive and I am TRYING!!!)