1 Year to SAVE!!!

[zeferjen]

Congrats to all the good savers on here! We are in the process of saving ourselves. Just had a question though... How long did the Visa DVC tour take and what did it entail? I received one of those offers too.

The tour took probably 15 mins. I had a few questions because I am a bit interested in DVC. Very nice folks and no pressure whatsoever.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

We just had our department Christmas party. I work as an Administrative Assistant at a university. Our department faculty members just gave me $240 for Christmas!!!! I have been here two years, and they have never done this before. I am overwhelmed!!!!! Soooo...I will spend $40 for myself and put $200 in the Mickey jar.

Goal: $1000
Former Balance: $625.08
Saved today: $200!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left to Save: $425.08

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

The tour took probably 15 mins. I had a few questions because I am a bit interested in DVC. Very nice folks and no pressure whatsoever.

Thank you!

 

[scrappinmom]

Hey everyone! - I have not fallen off the face of the earth...although wowsers it felt like it.

When I last wrote, I has saved about $800 towards our July 2012 trip.

Then.....my dd's senior pictures happened, (minus 200),

Then...dd's car broke down (another 200)

then my dh fell down the basement stairs & spent a week in the hospital & is still at home....(no minus, but no plus!)

So I'm at about 480 towards our trip. Not doing so well...BUT I have news that is more exciting than I can stand!

DD won one of the 100 spots in the Disney Dreamers Academy - what does that mean? It means she & I are going to WDW in March FOR FREE!!!! We just received the prize packet yesterday so I'm still kinda speechless...basically she wrote an essay about what it means to be a dreamer. It's a contest put on each year by Steve Harvey & Essence magazine. She did it really as a practice for her college app essays. Anyway, somehow she WON!

So perhaps the tide of luck has changed for us finally!

So now...the money saved for July, may have to get used in March....I'm still counting on gifts & tax return for the July trip....

 

[Marionnette]

Hey everyone! - I have not fallen off the face of the earth...although wowsers it felt like it.

When I last wrote, I has saved about $800 towards our July 2012 trip.

Then.....my dd's senior pictures happened, (minus 200),

Then...dd's car broke down (another 200)

then my dh fell down the basement stairs & spent a week in the hospital & is still at home....(no minus, but no plus!)

So I'm at about 480 towards our trip. Not doing so well...BUT I have news that is more exciting than I can stand!

DD won one of the 100 spots in the Disney Dreamers Academy - what does that mean? It means she & I are going to WDW in March FOR FREE!!!! We just received the prize packet yesterday so I'm still kinda speechless...basically she wrote an essay about what it means to be a dreamer. It's a contest put on each year by Steve Harvey & Essence magazine. She did it really as a practice for her college app essays. Anyway, somehow she WON!

So perhaps the tide of luck has changed for us finally!

So now...the money saved for July, may have to get used in March....I'm still counting on gifts & tax return for the July trip....

That's a shame about all of the unfortunate incidents you've had. Especially your husband's mishap. I hope that he continues to recover.

But congratulations on the contest win! That is so amazing! You'll have to fill us in on the details of the prize package. I'm always curious as to what gets included in them.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Hey everyone! - I have not fallen off the face of the earth...although wowsers it felt like it.

When I last wrote, I has saved about $800 towards our July 2012 trip.

Then.....my dd's senior pictures happened, (minus 200),

Then...dd's car broke down (another 200)

then my dh fell down the basement stairs & spent a week in the hospital & is still at home....(no minus, but no plus!)

So I'm at about 480 towards our trip. Not doing so well...BUT I have news that is more exciting than I can stand!

DD won one of the 100 spots in the Disney Dreamers Academy - what does that mean? It means she & I are going to WDW in March FOR FREE!!!! We just received the prize packet yesterday so I'm still kinda speechless...basically she wrote an essay about what it means to be a dreamer. It's a contest put on each year by Steve Harvey & Essence magazine. She did it really as a practice for her college app essays. Anyway, somehow she WON!

So perhaps the tide of luck has changed for us finally!

So now...the money saved for July, may have to get used in March....I'm still counting on gifts & tax return for the July trip....

WOOHOOO!!!! Way to go DD!!!! And so glad you all get an extra trip...so sorry about all the setbacks! Sometimes life just isn't fair at all...

I got groceries for $80 of the $100 budget this week. So that is $20 for Mickey!!!

Goal: $1000
Former balance: $425.08
Saved this week: $20.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left to save: $405.08

 

[rnorwo1]

I've been lurking on this thread for awhile, I've been so surprised at how all of these little bits are adding up for everyone, y'all are doing amazing! Congrats!

I had one question though... what are you doing with all of the money that you're saving (ie, where are you actually putting it)? I keep savings accounts for things we want to purchase/vacations, but I just put set amounts in there once a month or so. I'm letting my little savings each day slip away in our checking account, and it seems like y'all are making so much progress just by targeting those everyday savings. So, when you save money out of your grocery budget, for example, do you move the cash to an envelope or money jar, move that amount to a savings account, or just shuffle numbers on your budget sheets? Thanks, hoping to pick up some better savings habits!

 

[zeferjen]

We just had our department Christmas party. I work as an Administrative Assistant at a university. Our department faculty members just gave me $240 for Christmas!!!! I have been here two years, and they have never done this before. I am overwhelmed!!!!! Soooo...I will spend $40 for myself and put $200 in the Mickey jar.

Goal: $1000
Former Balance: $625.08
Saved today: $200!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left to Save: $425.08

Excellent news!!!

 

[zeferjen]

Update:
Former Balance: 1410 (I had a math error).
Amount needed: 3900 (another math error!).

New savings:

I had an AMAZING week selling things on eBay. I told DH about my plan to sell things and declutter the basement. He came up with a big pile of electronics that he no longer uses. That, plus some toys and I made another $1200 in the last week! I still have a few more auctions to clear so hopefully a little more to come there.

Another $10 in Swag bucks.

I also got another $160 through a small job I did. And another $245 through extra pay related to a work trip.

Still waiting on the $40 for the DVC tour. I also have $15 in Quickrewards, but I am waiting to get to $25 before I cash out for another Disney Gift card. I will wait to count both of these.

New totals:

New Balance: 3025.
Amount needed: 3900.

 

[TwinPrincessMama]

Hi, I'm joining in this fabulous thread. You guys are great and given me some wonderful ideas. I would like to go in October 2012 so I have a little less than a year but I sort of started saving already. Since September (when I decided to go to Disney) I've been taking $1 out of my checking (and into savings). Unfortunately between christmas, my new house and some unexpected schooling expenses (I waited to long to buy a book and had to buy it from the publisher) I've used all that money. I should be able to replace that from next month's "paycheck."

BUT I was at walgreens at they had a Disney gift card with a 3d ornament. So I added $5 to it and then I can start adding money to that. I think for every $100 I save I will add $25 to the gift card and add the other $75 to my "extra" savings account. I don't like the thought of having all the money tied up in gift cards.

 

[squirrel]

Sorry if this is a repeat, I didn't read all of the pages.

Have you tried saving money by turning down the heat in winter and leaving it warmer in the summer.

 

[Couchy]

As soon as I came back last April I knew I wanted to go back so I started saving a few different ways:

9 nights @ Swan- already booked and paid so no need to save

9 day PH tix -
10 days food OOP (lots of of TS and signature)
misc expenses
Total : Prob $2500

I started putting cash in an envelope in my secret stash and am up to $1120 ( sold about $350 on craigslist)
Disney Rewards $200
Chase Cash Back Rewards $350
DVC Card $40

$1710 with more than 3 months to go

 

[Colleen27]

I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late with one heck of a goal... We were going to take a fall trip to Universal with extended family and just DH & I slip away to Disney for a few days to celebrate our 10th anniversary, but now the big US/IoA trip is looking questionable for several reasons and DH doesn't feel like we can afford to fly down just us. So I want to surprise him with the anniversary trip we've been talking about for years!

Tickets: already have
Plane fare: about $400
Room: about $400 (renting points so we can still add dining)
DxDDP: $514
Backstage Magic tour: $488
Total: ~$1800 plus tips and spending

I'm a SAHM and very crafty so I plan on testing the Etsy waters as well as reselling some of my kids' outgrown custom Disney, Halloween, and holiday outfits. I'm in the middle of a massive decluttering effort, and a garage sale is already in the plans for spring and in the meantime I'll be listing some of the larger/higher value items on Craigslist. And I'm determined to put a little more time into the rewards sites; I'm a Sunshine Rewards member but I've joined Swagbucks and QuickRewards since reading this thread and will explore other options as I come across them.

Does anyone have ideas on a good place to sell used books? I have literally dozens of boxes of books of all sorts to get rid of but Half.com just doesn't seem to be what it used to before eBay took over.

 

[ryem's mom]

I will join everyone saving. We were supposed March 2012, but the employment situation for me didn't work out how it was suppose to. I am now planning a trip for March 2013.

We bought a plain piggy bank at Michaels. We decorated with "Saving to Florida" and "Disney World". As I have been cleaning the house for the holidays, all the loose change I have been finding is going in this piggy bank. Not sure how much is in there yet, but I have only been at it for a couple of days.

I am planning on joining some of the survey sites. I also coupon. I have sat down and start planning meals so we don't eat out as often.

Good luck to everyone!!!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

If, after your tax refund, all you need is $1000, just cut back $25 a week on your grocery shopping. Put it in an envelope and after a year you will have $1200.

 

[poohbear8]

I'm just checking in. Life got crazy and busy with the holidays. Saturday night we actually had everyone at the table for dinner (doesn't happen much now that DS is in college and DH is always working late) Dh said he had a happy day and had met a lady named Melissa. It went right over my head. He continues on and tells me he is taking me to Disney in January for a mini vacation! (Melissa is my Disney Travel Agent and DD helped DH get the info)

I'll admit my first thought was, "I have NO ADRs and we leave in less than a month?!" Thankfully, I have been able to get everything I think I want.

As for the 16th birthday trip I am saving for, it's still happening, but the money I save is going into the house. We are still waiting for DH's paycheck to get fixed, then he has said he will take some each month and put it in my account. Someone had asked where it goes. I opened a special vacation account at TD Bank. No fees and I can withdraw anytime I need to and I get to use their change counting machine for free!

I did win $100 on a contest from a Disney Blog I follow, so that money is waiting to be deposited. I also had my DD clean out my coupon box, so I am ready to start using them again once I get a stash saved again. I had cancelled my Sunday paper so I haven't had coupons for about 3 months. DH found a deal on Sundays only, so I am back in business there!

 

[TwinPrincessMama]

I downloaded the budget software YNAB. I love it. So I made a budget and yesterday was my first test for grocery shopping. Oops, went over used like 2/3 of the monthly budget for the week. I'm not good a grocery shopping and it showed me that I need a bigger budget. So I upped the budget a little, but now I'm stocked up for the month+ so I should only need meat and fresh veggies and I think I can keep to the new budget.

Also I found some rolled change $24. I plan to get that to the bank friday.

Total Savings : $24

 

[oopsiDAISY]

We had a crazy busy weekend, but I still managed to come $20 under budget on groceries...

Goal: $1000
Former balance: $405.08
Saved this week: $20.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left to save: $385.08

DH and I had our anniversary this past Tuesday and only got cards for each other. Payday is tomorrow and we can talk about how much $ to throw in the Mickey jar since we didn't get gifts or go out to dinner...

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

We had a crazy busy weekend, but I still managed to come $20 under budget on groceries...

Goal: $1000
Former balance: $405.08
Saved this week: $20.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left to save: $385.08

DH and I had our anniversary this past Tuesday and only got cards for each other. Payday is tomorrow and we can talk about how much $ to throw in the Mickey jar since we didn't get gifts or go out to dinner...

Yes, we don't go out to dinner on our anniversary either!! When my girlfriends say " He didn't even take you out to dinner?" I just laugh and say "He takes me out to dinner every night on our Disney cruise!!" ALOHA, Karen

 

[disneygal2007]

Jumping in! We are going in Nov 2012 14-22. We just decided this Christmas day so we haven't started saving yet. So since I handle the money I hope to put away 300 bi weekly for our trip. This is gonna be the first time we have to fly so I hope to catch some flight sales. I am trying to do the military discount and then add 3 more days to that. I hope to put the deposit down in Feb. Keep your fingers crossed!!