A Six Months (or so) Saving Extravaganza!

[ratharp12]

I saw another thread on here from a while ago about only having one year to save. The original poster was using it to help keep herself accountable. I intend to do the same thing with this post to help me keep track of all I've (hopefully) earned! I'm hoping it will be motivational to see the little pieces adding up to a big chunk!

For a little background information, we are heading to WDW in June of 2015. My DFi and I are paying for my sister, niece, and his brother. We have the rooms taken care of already as we are DVC members (as of Thursday! Woo-hoo!) So, we have the dues and such worked into our everyday budget. We are still looking at about $3,500 that we need to save however because we are using DDP, and we will, of course, need tickets into the parks. I'm hoping to utilize swagbucks, pick up some extra hours at work, and start doing an early morning babysitting job to help earn extra money. I'm also trying to cut back on my "Every day" money in our budget. Even then, I think we'll be cutting it a little close, but I think we can do it! We have $500 in our DVA, so we really only need $3,000 more. Anyways, here it goes!

Today's stats:
Gift cards: $225
Swagbucks Points: $12.05
Envelope/Jar Money: $80
Disney Vacation Account: $500

For a whopping total of.....$817.05

I'm a little higher than I thought I had been planning on using the GCs for souvenirs, but I want to make sure we have enough to go before I start putting away for that lol

 

[tzolkin]

We moved across country over the summer and our cost of living has gone up.

We also are planning a big Disney trip when our kids get out of school this year. We are thinking of it as possibly our last family vacation since our oldest will be heading to college.

In order to motivate us to save, we implemented a new system for tracking our expenses. I calculated our average take-home pay and subtracted out our set expenses (mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc). I posted a running total of how much we should have left and we keep track of all our receipts (separated into envelopes by category)

Ex. $3500 avg monthly income - $2000 avg monthly expenses = $1500 to spend each month. Subtract each purchase (food, clothing, dining out, gas, etc) from this $1500 and see what you wind up with.

At the end of the month I make adjustments (overtime/extra income and fluctuations in utilities) and see what we actually have left over. I then transfer that amount into a separate vacation savings account so we can watch it grow.

 

[ratharp12]

Very cool! We got down to it and made a budget the night before last. We are using the envelope system for expenses like groceries that aren't set in stone. We have a $60/week budget for them and whatever extra we can save goes into the saving jar!

Yesterday I earned/added...

$1.15 from Swagbucks!

$3 to The Jar!

Yesterday's stats:

Giftcards: $225
Swagbucks: $13.20
Envelope/Jar Money: $83
Disney Vacation Account: $500

For a whopping total of....$821.20

Every little bit counts!

 

[tzolkin]

We started doing an alternate version of the envelope system. Cash in envelopes doesn't work for us because DH and I would both need to carry them around. Plus we prefer to use a credit card to earn rewards and it makes it easier to electronically keep track of our purchases.

I do, however, have envelopes where I keep the receipts for the month sorted by category. I keep a running tally of how much money I have "left" in imaginary cash in the envelopes. For example, I have a "Grocery" envelope and I write the starting balance of $650. Each time I add a receipt to the envelope, I subtract that amount from my balance.

 

[ratharp12]

That's a very interesting idea! I prefer to use my credit card as well for the rewards, but we thought cash might be easier to stay in the budget. I'll have to suggest your receipt idea to my DFi. I think he might like it! Thanks for your input

 

[ratharp12]

I'm feeling pretty good about today!

Today I earned/added...

$25 to Gift Cards (from taking the DVC tour)
$1.95 to Swagbucks (mostly from SBTV)
$5 from Global Test Market (I killed it in surveys today!)
$18 to the Envelope (I decided to just put away this week's WAM)
$15 to the Jar (DFi got a tip at work!)

Today's Ending Stats:
Giftcards: $250
Swagbucks: $16.15
Global Test Market: $5
Envelope/Jar Money: $116
Disney Vacation Account: $500

For a whopping total of...887.15

It's so fun to see it adding up!

 

[ratharp12]

Yesterday, I earned/added....

$0.40 to Swagbucks
$5 from Global Test Market

Not a whole lot, but every penny counts

Yesterday's stats:
Giftcards: $250
Swagbucks: $16.55
Global Test Market: $10
Envelope/Jar Money: $116
Disney Vacation Account: $500

For a whopping total of.....$892.55!!

I'm hopping to hit $900 by the end of the day

 

[ratharp12]

I'm a little behind after a few busy days. Not a huge deal as there isn't a huge amount to report as of late. We unfortunately went $10 over budget today on the grocery bill, so that's a no-go for getting extra money into the Disney budget.

I've added/earned...

$0.45 to Swagbucks

I need to get back on my game!

Today's Stats:
Giftcards: $250
Swagbucks: $17
Global Test Market: $10
Envelope/Jar Money: $116
Disney Vacation Account: $500

For a whopping total of.....$893!!

 

[ratharp12]

Today I added/earned...

$0.45 from Isay

$0.40 from Swagbucks

$25 to the Disney Vacation Account

Every little bit counts I guess I'm hoping to hit $1,000 by the end of the year, but I think that will be challenging with the holidays coming up.

Anyways....Today's Stats:
Giftcards: $250
Isay: $1
Swagbucks: $17.40
Global Test Market: $10
Envelope/Jar Money: $116
Disney Vacation Account: $525

I now have a new whopping total of....919.40!

 

[ratharp12]

Over the last few days I've earned/added...

$3.40 from Isay

$1.40 from Swagbucks

$20 from Global Test Market

Today's Stats:
Giftcards: $250
Isay: $4.40
Swagbucks: $18.80
Global Test Market: $30
Envelope/Jar Money: $116
Disney Vacation Account: $525

For a whopping new total of...944.20!

Maybe I will be able to hit that 1k by the end of the year! I just have to keep hoping for more good survey opportunities! Global Test Market has been awesome for me!