A point about your budget.

[nicknamy1996]

For those of us who budget down to the penny how much our trip will cost...

If you are trying to justify spending all that money on a trip and see your grand total and see how much this trip is costing you ($3454 for example) you might think that's how much you would save to stay home. But don't forget that even if you stay home that week, you will still have to eat, buy gas, shop, perhaps see a movie or do some type of other entertainment. We spend at around 500 week on misc. stuff so I usually(if only in my head) subtract that off the cost of the trip. That puts the "cost" under 3000 then if you figure a vacation anywhere is going to cost you at least a couple of grand, maybe you are paying an extra thousand to have that vacation at the happiest place on earth. And the experience and memories are priceless as far as I am concerned.

 

[sweet maxine]

Good morning from the Magnolia State!

I agree about vacation costs. Last summer when I was planning a trip for our family, I checked into the costs of a condo rental in Gulf Shores, AL. For the resort we wanted the rental price was about $2300/wk. just for the condo. This of course didn't include any entertainment, though the beach in itself provides plenty. I told my husband we could go to WDW for about the same price, and we did. Our FTP came in at about $100 more for a week with all tickets included. I think it's all in the planning, and what you feel will work for your family. I try to cut corners at every turn, and I know that once I have done that, it's the best I can do.

 

[kimbac3]

We are going on a quick trip to Lancaster PA and the room rate is $98 per night!!! Ouch!! I can't believe it's cheaper to stay at Disney on Disney property!


Kimba

 

[MrsPete]

$500 a week on miscellaneous stuff! Wow! We spend about $100/week on groceries, but we don't spend nearly that much on other stuff. We don't go to movies often, we don't do "recreational shopping" every week -- there's no way we'd add up to nearly that much.

 

[disneysteve]

nicknamy1996 - You are right. Staying home isn't free. You still need to eat, drive, etc. Another savings when we are on vacation is utilities. We turn the heat or AC all the way down, turn the hot water heater down, and unplug everything electrical that we can. Our gas, electric and water bills are always much lower during the month that we take vacation - 9 days of no one showering, doing laundry, flushing toilets, cooking, using the computer, etc. It all adds up.

kimbac3 - Where are you staying in Lancaster? You should be able to get a nice room for less than $98. Check the Hampton Inn on Greenfield Road or the Holiday Inn Visitor's Center also on Greenfield. A bit farther is the Fairfield Inn which is a possibility too. The farther you go from the heart of the shopping district near Rockvale Square, the better the rates usually get and its only a matter of 5 or 10 minutes in the car.

 

[hdecker]

I love it when people rationalize their Disney trips. Do you know that people have a habit of hearing DisneyWorld and automatically assuming you are spending your life savings to go there. Here's the reality - it's probably the cheapest place to go, (with the exception of park tickets). Offsite hotels can be found for 30 bucks a night with a free breakfast. Buffets abound on 192, the outlet malls are attractions in themselves and I've been known to spend a whole day in dtd. It is very easy to spend a comfortable week in Orlando with 4 Day ph for 2000.00, and for someone who is cheap by nature, this is the way we've always done it. Leaving in 17 days for trip #5!!!!!Wee Hee

 

[Taja]

A friend and I do a couple of extended weekend "ladies only" trips each year to various places to maintain our sanity. Since we live in the west, we typically go to Las Vegas (low airfare, reasonable hotel and entertainment costs) or San Diego, Santa Barbara, and one trip to Vancouver.

This year, however, we are going to WDW! We purchased annual passes for a trip last year (debated both of us purchasing them, as we only needed one for room discount, but decided we both would return to WDW during the 12 months and the price differential wasn't all that much). We both have roundtrip vouchers from Southwest (Rapid Rewards program) that need to be used, we already have our APs, a value resort room on AP discount (value season) with tax is about $55 per night, and our rental car for a week is under $200. At the moment, it's much less expensive than Las Vegas!

Since we will have family members at home, we don't have the luxury of turning off the air conditioning or a lack of food consumption, but it's still a very good value for us. And a change from Las Vegas!


__________________
Taja

 

[HenDuck]

I figure we spend about $100 a week on groceries and incidentals. Our electric bill comes out to about $35 a week. Our lunch spending comes to about $20 a week times 2 people. And our weekend expenses (like Jamba Juice ) is maybe another $25.

I never subtract that amount from my trip budget, but then it's always a nice surprise cushion for us when we have to pay off that credit card bill after the vacation!

I usually do try to cut back on my personal expenses for the last pay period before the trip so that I can take all of my usual spending money with me on vacation. It's like a nice little bonus that I use to buy my first mocha and magazine at the airport!

Good post. Thanks!

 

[bengalfreak]

I'm laughing my rear off at the justifications here. There are only two truths that matter regarding the price of a trip to the land of the Mouse.

1) WDW is outrageously expensive!!


2) It is absolutely worth every penny!!!!


Stop worrying about justifying it. Go have fun.

 

[curlyjbs]

DH and I just went shopping for patio furniture! The sets were well over $3,000

I told him forget it! We could go on another vacation for that amount! Ended up at Home Depot getting a set for around $600.

(Now, what am I gonna do with the other $2400??? just kidding)

curly

 

[powellrj]

I use the "per person" method..I figure the cost of the trip and divide it by 4. It makes it much easier to take when I tell DH the cost is $600 per person than to tell him I just spent $2400 on reservations!!