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[Piper]

Cash here too! I use my Visa debit card for everything and use my Passporter to stash cash for meals and misc. items. I use the net to plan meals, etc. -- then stash cash in the pockets for each day as I save it. Right before I leave, I trade the cash for traveller's checks. I don't like to carry a lot of cash on me. I only need to pay for two more day's food and the ecv rental and I am ready for the trip in May!

 

[kdibattista]

Strictly a cash gal here

 

[TandyR]

We use debit cards and AmEx and cash. We get points on our AmEx card that we turn into things to help pay for our trip so I do use it often but I know I need to pay it in a month.
We also use our tax return. This years tax return is sitting in a CD earning $3.30 per month for our next trip Feburary 2004 so I know we will have cash to pay for the trip. I figure my job is to make sure what we want fits within the amount of money that we have for the trip (I am a SAH mom so budgeting is a big part of my daily life). Our last two trips we came back with extra cash....I am very proud of that.

 

[Pembo]

We have almost all the money saved before we go. Which is why we won't be going again for awhile.

 

[mad4themouse]

I'm one of those who likes the convenience of plastic. With all those rewards points/$$$ out there to be earned from big ticket expenses like a vacation, I would be foolish not to put it on a credit card. Our final payment for our cruise will go on a rewards card, as will any shipboard charges. It's easier than carrying large amounts of cash or travelers' checks. I should get quite a few rewards dollars for that trip.

However, the cardinal rule in our house is:Pay it off, in full & on time every month! And there are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. I don't charge anything that I couldn't buy with the cash in my pocket or bank account at the moment of sale. But just about anything that can be charged, does get put on plastic. I keep very careful track of all charges and save all receipts. I can also check my card balance online to make sure that I haven't misplaced a receipt or forgotten about an online purchase.

 

[kfeuer]

I couldn't go on a vacation that I didn't have the money for and actually enjoy it. To us, a vacation is a luxury, not a necessity of life. If we can't afford it, we don't go. My budget for this trip feels rich ($2,500 plus all the gift certs/disney dollars from my rewards/test drives) but it's pretty small compared to some of you. Thanks for making me not feel so bad

Actually, we don't have airfare and that saves alot, plus we normally don't buy that much in the parks or eat at alot of the fancy restaurants. Just being at Disney is a treat to us! Of course, this is our first trip with our kids, so the budget for buying things in the park is sure to be higher then what we did when it was just the two of us. However, I intend to pick up little things at the Disney Store and Disney outlet to have on hand before we go, hopefully that will help.

 

[dahess]

We charge everything on Discover & then pay it off when we get back before interest charges are added on.

 

[cinlee3]

We pay cash for everything. We did bring a credit card for emergencies but that was it - didn't use it. We actually came back from our last trip with cash. It was a good thing too because DH lost his job two days after we got home. Can you imagine if we would have had credit card bills from our trip to pay off.

 

[mom2bandp]

We go to WDW 3 times a year on average (we're in a days driving distance), and we always use cash and our debit card. We figure ahead of time how much actual cash we'll need, and keep the rest of the money in our checking account, for use with our debit card. We use it for things like the tickets, gas, room, and non-counter service meals. We also save points from online rewards programs and redeem them within a few weeks of the trip for things like gas cards and restaurant gift cards.

BTW, this is my first post and I just want to say hello everyone! This site is the best!

 

[*Flower*]

mom2bandp-

Welcome to the DIS!!

I warn you though..... it can be seriously addictive

 

[kilee]

We don't have one single credit card-- not even for emergencies. Therefore, everything is in cash-- we do have the Visa symbol on our debit card-- but that's all our money. After many years of credit card debt, it's nice not having that burden anymore. However, it can make things alittle difficult. More and more places are beginning to not accept my "check cashing visa".

 

[Mrs.A]

We are going in Aug., staying at POR for 8 nights and AKL for 4 nights . Already have the cash saved for the rooms, now we are saving for our dinners. Plan on doing quite a few nice sit down dinners and character meals. Started saving for this trip May 02. A little here and there really adds up especially the change jar.

 

[bigs1923t]

We did three trips in the past year for a total of 42 days. Paid for all in cash. Made some ressies on credit card but paid them off. Want to go more but with kids in school scheduling gets to be a problem. Went last week for 5 days but son was considered being "in school" due to trip being for his high school marching band to participate in Disneys Magic Music days. AWSOME time! What a memory watching your child march in Disneyworld. Came home & daughters cheerleading squad won the Cheer Tech National Championship this past weekend. March has been good to me )))

 

[Grand Canyon]

*********Tax Return**********
We have paid for the House, Florida Fun in The sun tickets, Aps to US/IOA and have put away money for gas and fun!
We went in debt years ago but we found it took some of the fun out of the vacation.

 

[crazymomof4]

C.Ann~ You're Dad sounds like mine! We sort of live by Dad's values but have a slight improvement. For our Disney trip we will do as we do in our eveyday life, we will put everything on our Discover Card. We always pay it off each month so no finance charge BUT we get cash back!! The more we put on the card, the more our cashback award grows. We have a special savings account for the trip and that will be used to pay the trip-related costs that appear on each statement. I agree w/ most previous posters. If I knew we were coming home from the trip w/ the Debt-Monster on our backs, the trip itself would be less enjoyable.

 

[NancyIL]

I agree with the sentiments of having the money in hand before going on vacation - but I don't part with my money any sooner than I have to. We put most things on charge cards and pay them off each month. We earn cash-back with Discover, Marriott hotel points with our Visa, and Starwood points with our AMEX.

 

[tidoublegger]

We booked our hotel/air/car through expedia and used our debit card w/visa logo on it. The money was from our tax return. I have been stashing disney dollars away for our character meals and have saved enough money now to buy our passes at the Disney Store prior to departure. I am rolling coins too. I will pay with cash or debit card for our other meals. The local Disney Store closed yesterday and I scored some *major* bargains! I will pack the items I bought for my daughter and won't be buying souveniors there. We used to charge everything and got into debt that way. Paying cash is the most guilt-free, financially smart way to go on vacation!!

WDW bound 05/03!

 

[DeDixie]

We put everything we can on credit cards, to get the rewards, then pay them off in full each month. We plan our budget for our trips and have never spent more then we had planned - usually less. Whatever money is left will be saved for the next trip.

 

[ricka47]

We charge everything to get the bonus points and to avoid carrying cash. Then pay the whole thing off. We don't go unless we can afford to pay for it.

 

[Bunchkin]

We also save our $$ before our trip. And then pay for the resort, passes, food and souveniers with our debit card.
NO credit cards in our household!!!! Haven't had them for many years!! Don't need them. I haven't come across ANYONE who doesn't accept a debit card these days.
We bring some cash for tips, snacks/treats in the parks and the like.
We also bring Disney Dollars too.

Saving is part of the fun!