A new account

[mskayjay]

On tomorrow's agenda is opening a new account at the bank for just WDW. I don't technically *need* to do this as we are always careful with our money but I want a seperate place to put my change jar money when I cash it out, those rebate checks I get, "found" money like things I wasn't expecting at all........ I want a seperate account so I feel no guilt when I tell DH "baby pack your bags 'cause we're going to the Mouse's house for vacation again!"

 

[Mojodisney]

Great idea! We used to have a savings account that we would put our end of the day change into every couple of months and that became part of our down payment on our condo. Then it became vacation money! Go for it!!!

 

[trekkie2]

I did the same thing and although we haven't made the trip yet, so far its working great!! After this trip, I am going to keep the account so I can start right away saving on the next trip.

 

[tatooed goofy]

very smart idea

 

[thespouseandi]

Love this idea...I may do it too!

 

[buzzandwoodysmom07]

We just did this as well. A friend recommended TCF Bank since they have a change machine (for FREE) and a $50 bonus for opening a new account that was a nice bonus tp start the fund! My friend got $25 for referring as too!

So DH and DS's have a ritual, as soon as the change jar is full - the 3 of them head to the bank put it in the machine and deposit it.

Not only is it fun for them, but they are learning great life lessons about saving for what we want - A trip to CALIFORNIA!!!!!

 

[cheesekate2005]

I just opened a new account with Key Bank...it is a checking account. I had 2 purposes in opening the account, a new vacation account and to get a free Garmin GPS! The offer is on their website if you are interested!

 

[Jennifer in MI]

We did this too! It's been SO awesome to see it grow. We do what you're doing - putting all the "extra" and "surprise" money in there.

Also, call all your utilities/insurance/cell phone/cable companies and see how you can reduce your bills. We did that and saved $150/month. I take that and put it into that account.

We also budgeted a certain amount for our electric/gas/water bills. Any month we are below that amount, I add it to the Disney account. This gets the kids involved in everything from turning off lights, to living with the house a couple degrees cooler/warmer (depending on the season), to not putting clothes in the laundry unless they're really dirty, to taking shorter showers, to walking to activities, etc, etc, etc!!

Good luck!!! Ours has grown so much faster than I thought it would! Now the debate is: do we add to our January vacation or take a second one? Seriously!!

 

[mskayjay]

Ohmygosh I am thrilled but embarassed at the same time. I finally made it to the credit union today and dumpes all the change and small bills......

Final total was $572.80

Yes, it has been a while since we did this.

 

[SamSam]

Also, call all your utilities/insurance/cell phone/cable companies and see how you can reduce your bills. We did that and saved $150/month. I take that and put it into that account.

Wow! Would you mind elaborating on how to do this....what you ask, etc.?

 

[cheesekate2005]

Ohmygosh I am thrilled but embarassed at the same time. I finally made it to the credit union today and dumpes all the change and small bills......

Final total was $572.80

Yes, it has been a while since we did this.

What a great start! Congratulations!

 

[bigbabyblues]

I did the same thing in 2004, that's 6 trips ago!!!

 

[mskayjay]

"Also, call all your utilities/insurance/cell phone/cable companies and see how you can reduce your bills. We did that and saved $150/month. I take that and put it into that account."

Wow! Would you mind elaborating on how to do this....what you ask, etc.?

We did this also. A lot of it is in streamlining your services and "plans" that are now available. You take the time to really go over what you're getting, whether you need it and whether cutting something or doing a bundled package might be more prudent.

 

[fun4me]

We just started doing this a few months ago. I was surprised at how quickly it adds up. We have rebates, cashbacks and change going into our vacation savings. Our vacation is in a couple of months and that money will be the extra spending money. I decided that we will continue to do this to hopefully fully fund the next vacation.

 

[monorailsilver]

I just told my dh 2 days ago when I have $500 in my change crayon I am going to do this, well I was going to look at CD's since we aren't going for 3 years.

A month ago, I had $300, as of 2 days ago, I had just under $500 but now I am just over since I added $25.

So I need to start looking at where to put my money to earn me a bit more. I already rolled the change & have about $450 or so in paper money.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

Wow! Would you mind elaborating on how to do this....what you ask, etc.?

Sure! First, we started out by calling our insurance company. We have our cars and house insured by the same company. They couldn't give us a better rate. So, we called around and asked them to compare what we had with what they could offer us. We ended up saving a ton on the car insurance, but our house insurance went up a little. Overall, $80/month saved. It took a couple hours though.

Second, we called our cable company. We currently have Comcast and have our internet, phone, and cable tv through them. We were honest with them. Told them that we were looking to cut back and what offers were out there right now for us? The guy was AWESOME!! He helped get our bill down another $40/month. We did have to decrease our cable a bit, but these were channels I didn't even know I had!

Third, we called our cell phone company. We were still under contract on both phones, so we didn't expect them to decrease our bill at all. We just called to find out how much longer our contract was. The guy told us and asked us why. We were honest - we told him that although we liked our coverage and plan, if we could find something cheaper with another company, we'd be switching. He went over our bill with us and found that we were on a plan with 1500 minutes and we'd never used more than 750. So, he decreased that for us. He also threw in 500 free text messages! It saved us $30/month.

Fourth, the utility bills, we work on ourselves here at home. We budgeted $220 (it was the average from the year before). We talked with the kids about things that cost extra money and how we can save it. Even my 3 yo dd turns off lights and makes sure the clothes she's putting in the laundry really are dirty. It's working!!!

I hope something works for you!!