Anyone else obsessed with saving?

[mrsboz]

I am starting to get obsessed with saving for Disney. Every cent that I see I think I could save this it will add up fast. I'm trying so hard to squirrel away every cent that I have/find around the house. The kids now say to me, "Mom you always say you have no money!" Little do they know it's all going to a future trip!

 

[etwinchester]

Of course I am...

My DH knows to bring home his quarters left over from the day. I love saving quarters for Disney as they add up quicker. Other change is used for our yearly Knoebels and Wildwood trips.

I don't have another trip planned till 2008, maybe 2007 depending on when I decide to go back to work.

Mickey, till we meet again...

 

[justus3]

Our trip is in November, I have been seriously saving since January, but I don't mind, it will all be worth it in the end. I opened a saving account just for the trip, that way I don't spend any of it. I will leave enough in it to start on the next trip.

 

[HenDuck]

I think about saving money for Disney (among other things) all the time, but somehow, those dollars are just not adding up fast enough for me!

Actually, I'd say I am obsessed. I save change, dollar bills, balance my checking and savings account constantly. Look at my Disney budget practically everyday. Look at my itinerary and try to figure out ways to cut costs all the time.

It keeps me motivated and helps me feel in the Disney mood everyday.

What else am I supposed to do while I wait for my trip???

Actually, I read somewhere that, without a plan, you are less likely to reach a goal. So by putting my budget/plan on paper (or the computer) and looking at it everyday, it helps keep me on schedule and will ultimately mean I will reach my goal come December! (That is, assuming our Jeep does not die first! )

 

[Doodlebug939]

Well I have been half heartedly been saving. I know I should and save where I can. But I wanted to suprise my husband and book at the Poly for our trip. We went to Ohanas last year and feel in love with that resort. It is much more then I wanted to spend. We got a AAA rate for November of around $254 and I am praying that some kind of code comes out to bring it down to $200 at least. So NOW every quarter is a % off my room. See a penny and save it.

I have been looking at where we can cut costs and I have to say that going to Walmart and Sams club get entirely too much of my money. We used to go once a month to Sams club and spend about $120 and now it seems like we go in for two things each week and spend about a $100 a trip.
So now I am stopping that. We will only go once a month and stick to our normal budget. And dont even get me started on Walmart. I used to be that we would only go on Sundays early and get the few things that we needed and then that was it. Now it is summer and the kids need this and that and before you know it we have a cart of crap we dont need. So that has stopped as well.

Lastly we have been eating out too much. I tried to explain to myself that we can order chinese and take it home and save some money there or make pizza at home with the kids and quit giving so much of our money to local food establishments. So now we are going to only go out to eat TWICE a month. I am amazed at how if I apply myself I can figure out meals that we all enjoy on a decent budget.

Hey I feel like I am in a Shopaholic Meeting.

But now I will reward myself by sending $100 each payday (twice a month) to Disney to get this room paid for and suprise my husband. And have the sense of accomplishment that I have set out to do what I started.

 

[gigi1313]

we only decided two weeks ago to book a trip, so my time for saving is limited... so... i have been skrimping on little things (like no coffee/breakfast from the deli, refilling our water bottles instead of buying new, packing a lunch rather than running thru fast food) and putting $10 in an envelope every day! i can easily spend $10/day w/out thinking about it, so now i immediately toss $10 in the envelope and then go on w/my day... so far i've got $80, and hope to have over $600 by the time we leave for our trip... best part of all this is dh has no clue that i'm saving... he's planning on rolling all his change (HUGE JUG!) and using that for spending money, so we'll be in good shape when we get to disney between each of our ways of saving!

 

[Mom2R&D]

Yes, and it drives my family nuts! I wouldn't let DH use the ATM tonight (that's $2 that we can save for Disney!) and while in the grocery store yesterday I noticed that the cashier forgot to deduct a $1 coupon I had given her. I almost let it pass but then thought...uhuh...you guessed it..."that's $1 that we can save for Disney!"

 

[DiznEeyore]

Our next trip is over 2 years away, so I wasn't really giving it a lot of effort, but reading this board again on a regular basis has inspired me. Since April, I've squirreled away over $300 in my ING account, just in change and bottle returns. We're on a tight budget (putting an addition on the house right now) so I'm actually pretty impressed with myself for saving that much, LOL!!

 

[kimbac3]

We are going in Dec 05 and I review my budget daily. I have my DD6 so well trained that ANY money she finds goes into the Disney Bank. I'm trying really hard to figure out what to get my kids this Christmas that they can use next year at Disney..,other than their tickets!
I also have felt the pinch of going to Walmart too much. I was just reviewing my past walmart purchases right before I read this post. I find that if I send DH in for EXACTLY what I need, that is EXACTLY what I get. If the whole family goes in.....well, it gets a little crazy!
My catch phrase to the kids is "Do you want to go to Disney?"
I use that when the ask for all the un- essentials of life.
I must admit I am a plan-a-holic...so saving money is fun for me.

Kimba

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I wouldn't call it obsessed really. I tell you what though, if I find change on the ground I pick it up. Doesen't matter if it's pennies or quarters...they all add up quite quickly. Found a $5 bill on the floor at Ruby's one night and said...."yea! more money for Disney!"
I just counted my savings jar and there's $325 in it! I've only been saving since the 1st of May and I'm very proud of myself for being so disciplined to put money in every week. It's such a painless way to save and I'm not hurting the budget by putting the money aside. If anything, I'm helping it because if something comes up before Disney, the money will be there no matter what.

 

[Weluvdisny]

I'm saving about $15 in change and a $20 from my paycheck every week for Disney. I read these boards everyday and I can't stop!! My DH thinks I'm nuts because I mention to him what I have learned on here and he can't understand why I look at this site so much. He just doesn't get it.

He says everything we do reminds me of Disney! It's not true (ok, so i'm trying to get him to like it as much as me) and it's now become the running joke in my house.

If it makes me happy to talk about it, he shouldn't pick on me, right?

 

[hookedup]

I totally have become obsessed in saving up for our Dec trip - and you guys and this board have really inspiring me! Thank you!!!!

 

[PattiPB]

I have always been a goal-oriented saver, and my Disney obsession has been the happy beneficiary for YEARS now!

I think of pretty much every expenditure in terms of Mickey Bars. Before I spend anything, and whenever I add change or singles to our banks, I think to myself: How many Mickey Bars can I buy with this? The promise of future ice cream has kept me going plenty of times over the years!

Funny thing is, I don't eat Mickey Bars!!!! I eat the frozen strawberry lemonade things!!! The kids and DH eat the Mickey Bars. Don't know why or when I started thinking in terms of Mickey Bars, but it sure has helped!!!

I may need a twelve step program...

 

[cooldisneymom]

Hello, my name is Kristen, and I'm obsessed with saving money for WDW!!

*sees 40 year old mother on side of road holding sign*... "Will work for Park Hoppers!!..."

 

[MiraDawl]

Thankfully, I'm not alone in my obsession! Thanks guys!

My Boyfriend and I have decided on early June 2005, warm weather, e-nights (hopefully!) and nothing but Disney fun all week! He's pretty relaxed about the whole thing, but I'm nuts about it. I've been saving every penny into a savings account, and love watching the balance grow.

I just found a great cardboard tube (mail delivery @ work) that I've brought home and covered with paper and Disney pitures. I'm going to slip it between my computer desk and the wall so I can add extra dollars and a few coins (quarters or dollar coins only) into this seperate hideaway. I already have a large jar on a bookshelf for the majoirty of our change. Because I can't see inside the tube I figure this "invisible" money can be used for a tour, fancy meal, or something special for our upcomming trip.

Keep up with your obsessions!! It seems having a goal (Disney 2005) has been the only way to get me to save. I tried to cut out a lot of extra spending. I skip going shopping as an activity now. I avoid even Wal-Mart because I know I won't walk out of there without spending at least $60. My town is opening an Old Navy soon and I thought to myself "great, there goes my budget!"

However, this is one goal I'm keeping!!

~Mira

We're going to Disney!

 

[sarahsmom73]

Me Me ME!!!! I am obsessed.... I should be getting an extra curricular check today.. I will cash it and put it in the Christmas 2005 Disney Stash.... I have been returning all the bottles and cans we have had stashed in our shed for 2 years... (Dh deosn't feel like returning) I took the job and it goes into my stash... So daoes any online survey money.. I pay myself $50. per week... Kind of an allowance (Dh is an ATM addict so if he can give himself and allowance so can I)...

Do I need help!!!

 

[mrsboz]

As a few of you mentioned, I am also defintely trying not to go in stores. If I go into a store it's all over. I try to only go food shopping - that's it. With every item I pick up I think do I really need it. It's fun to see how (less) much money you can spend at the food store and still have food in the house. The rest goes to savings.

 

[crisi]

You guys have really inspired me as well.

We are fortunate to have a fairly large income, so I'm not worried about getting to Disney on change....but you guys have convinced me that I can get real money out of our budget - and if it isn't for Disney, than it likely won't go to waste - at very least my kids can spend it after we are dead.

So far -

I dropped a club membership - $45 a month
Dropped the newspaper (I don't clip coupons) - $20 a month
Didn't rehire the housekeeper when she quit - $400 a month! (I might regret this later, but I can always find someone else).
Limited my manicares - from $100 a month to more like $25 every two months.

I also went out and got a Sam's Club membership. Saves me $.05 a gallon on gas - thats about $12 a month for us. Plus it saves a little on things like laundry detergent. Milk (of all things) is a $1 a gallon cheaper, worth swinging through as we go through three gallons a week. And Sam's Club isn't fun for "shopping" which limits my buying.

(oh, and there is about $200 in my change jar. Which isn't a change for me, I've always kept a change jar).

 

[barbeml]

DH and I have no kids and make a decent combined income, so we could easily charge it all and pay it off right away. However...

YES I ADMIT I AM OBSESSED WITH SAVING FOR WDW!!!

We have a giant plastic crayon bank. Every day, we empty our change into it. (As soon as we get back from WDW I empty change into the bank for next trip!). I also remove all the singles from our wallets at the end of the week and into the crayon they go.

I take $100 from my pay check every month and put it in the crayon, along with any expense checks and earnings from online surveys. I already have $1200 squirreled away. DH says I should put it in the real bank, but they aren't paying squat for interest and I like having my WDW money separate.

Plus, I participate in some rewards programs and am using points for room nights on the road, dinner at Bahama Breeze, and tickets to the Space Center.

Because my BIL is going with us this year and has limited $$, I am working harder than ever to save $$ and get freebies.

Barbe

 

[PatriciaH]

Yes, I love to save. For Disney and other trips as well as our IRA's, money market and stock! Hope to retire early!

barbeml you should open an ING account. APR is 2.10% right now and there is a $25 bonus if you get a referral from someone on the DISboards. Plus you get 25 referrals at $10 each.