Being Frugal while planning for WDW....addicting? :P

[DawnM]

Two things to add....

We had our roof done in 2009. The big company wanted $13,500 and would accept CC payment but would charge a 3% fee on top of that (which they didn't tell us until we asked specifically). The small company agreed to do the entire roof for $7,800 if we paid cash. So, make sure and ask if they will cut you a break for cash payment. And, shop around!

Also, the Fidelity AmEx card pays out 2% for every purchase, doubling our Disney money. We have a Disney card too, but we opt to use the Fidelity card when we can to double our money.

Dawn

Last, if you are going to do Disney often I would recommend applying for the Disney Chase Visa. We have had one since my son was a babe. The card is free and the reward is $1 Disney Dollar for every $100 you spend on the account. Our last visit was Christmas 2010 and our Spring Break trip is paid for in full (campground, tickets, and extra for food.) We have always had enough to either cover the price of our tickets or help with the cost of the hotel, or both. We use it for all of our household spending--bills, grocery, gas, etc. and make one payment to the card instead of to each bill. It is amazing how we are able to budget our expenses and still earn points. We have a cruise booked in December and hope that several large budget item projects around the house (roof, carpet, painting) will help boost our Disney savings.

Good Luck everyone!

 

[punkin]

I pre-made some meals when we went down 2 years ago and stayed off site. It worked out very well. I think we will do the same thing when we go down this April. The only thing I would say is make things that re-heat well. I don't think it makes sense to pre-make burgers (which only take 15 minutes to make anyway). Something like a lasagne or a pot roast, which can be popped in the oven to warm and be ready by the time you make a salad to go with it is probably better.

 

[punkin]

Posted twice. Sorry.

 

[MissManda]

I am so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way! For every trip, I plan and save and find the best bargains I can. I enjoy the thrill of the "hunt."

I'm right there with you. I love digging for good bargains. In fact when I was discussing all of my trip planning the other day at work, one of my co-workers laughed and said I was going to have to plan her next trip because I was getting costs down so much. Maybe I've missed my calling...budget travel agent!

Usually its just my DH and I travelling to WDW but this year we are taking our niece and two nephews. So, I've really been searching for a lot of good bargins this time around.

Here is what I've managed to budget so far with a trip for 5 to WDW:

- Lodging- $179- timeshare exchange fee. Staying offsite in a 3 bedroom condo (Grand Beach).

- Airline tickets- $450: Got the Southwest Visa with 50,000 rapid reward points. Would have been well over $1,000 had I not gotten the Visa card. (SN: not the concerned about the yearly fee on card because you get $100 in rapid reward points. Which will be used later. To me this is an exchange I'm willing to make). (Another SN: Yes we could drive 12 hours each way and possibly save a little more money but with cost of gas these days and three kids from 8 - 14... this cost is worth flying to me).

- Rental Car- $200- currently have a Ford Escape rented through Budget (still looking for better deals).

- Park Tickets $964- 6 day park hopper passes for 5 people through the YES program (kids weren't thrilled about taking a class, but they can deal with it. Same tickets would have been $1,350 without the YES classes)

- Food- still no real budget for this yet, still working the numbers. We do have a couple of table reservations. Mostly will do quick service in parks and bring our drinks and snacks. Eat breakfast at the condo. Tentatively budgeting $1,000 (which will be paid for by disney reward points and gift cards that I've been collecting for a year now). Not sure if this is a high or low budget though (last couple of trips with just DH and I have been free dining so prices are throwing me a bit).

- Obviously will have to pay parking each day at the parks.

- Also still need to figure out reasonable budget for souvenirs. Thinking of giving each child a gift card for them to use.

Looking forward to a magical (and budget conscious) trip!

 

[ValpoCory]

"Being Frugal" and going to Disney World multiple times a year sounds hypocritical to non-DISers. But not to us!

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Everyone for your replies! I am glad that I am not alone and that there are people on here that have done some great things to save money while on vacation yet had a great time!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'll bet you have a bridge to sell too.

Why, you buying??? Seriously, though I'm just that cheap, and we drive so it's not that big of a deal for us to haul food. I have to be that cheap. ~5 years ago the Mrs. took a much, much lower paying job to spend more time with the kids, as things really *appeared* to be looking up at my job. Instead, my industry took a big hit when the economy went bust. I haven't had a raise since 2007, not even for my so-called "promotion" . We love family vacations, but it requires cutting every corner possible and not just while on vacation.

Our most recent restaurant visit we left with 6 McDonalds hamburgers & 1 order of fries. The burgers were free - we took my daughter's report card & they give 1 free burger for every A on the report card. We paid for the fries & took everything home to eat so we wouldn't have to buy drinks, added our own cheese slices at home too because the free burgers don't come with cheese. I can feed my family of 4 at Taco Bell for $6 as long as we order with budget in mind and don't just pick whatever happens to "look good"

Point is, there are bargains and/or savings everywhere if you're willing to look for them & work for them. Is it a PITA? Sure, at times - most of the time, actually. But hey, ya do what you've got to do. And crazy stuff like this just might make the difference in whether my kids get to Disney or not

 

[cyndik1111]

added our own cheese slices at home too

OMG LMAO, that is the BEST. And I thought I was cheap! I am gonna quote you to all my friends!
Good for you for making it work. You are teaching you children valuable lessons. My mom was cheap (she would do the cheese thing too) and my sister and I are really good with money- not "cheese slice" cheap, but good with money.

 

[atheneze]

OH yah its addicting! I first got into couponing in 2005 when my husband was a Private in the military and we had a young son. Now its like my other full-time job, and I work full time as an RN. Just saving a buck and stockpilling ! Finding the lowest deal for Disney has been the same thing! But it ends up with a vacation!

Woot!

I am an RN too. And couponing is my SECOND PART-TIME job! I just love to save for our necessities so we could splurge on other things! LOL.

And another LOL for "pushing pills". Exactly how i feel!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

OMG LMAO, that is the BEST. And I thought I was cheap! I am gonna quote you to all my friends!

Oh, you don't know the half of it - we traded used kid clothes for daycare one time

 

[smidgy]

the thing about the pre-mdae burgers and hot dogs.

we don't do this to reheat them.. we do this if we are driving down,and have a cooler, and are in a room without a microwave. (CBR, POR, etc);;;; even at home, when we grill, we grill up extra burgers, brats, hot dogs, etc. cause we love grabbing them out of the fridge and munching on them cold.

so why not at WDW? why does everything have to be a "meal"? have stuff in the room to munch on when you're hungry.. stuff like this, and string cheese, chunks of cheddar cheese, sandwiches mac salad, etc.

then you can splurge on a couple nice sit down meals if you want, or thos pricey fancy drinks (not that we don't bring our own in the room)

when we do stay in a DVC villa, than we do bring some cans of beef stew, ravioli, chicken ala king to nuke up in the microwave. and tuna on toast (villas have a toaster).

to those who laugh and say we are "cheap".. no, this is the reason we can go at least 2X a year! next trip we a re splurging on the ALoha Luau. (I know it doesn't always get the best reviews. but I always wanted to try it, and we have done the Hoop de Due REVUE twice. I am using my christmas bonuses to pay for it) and I am going to get a Grand marinier Slushie in france, by golly.

sometrips you go as cheaply as possible, some you have a few nice dinners. you save money here and there.. you can go more often, and maybe do things like the segway around the world tour, or the keys to the kingdom tour.

 

[cyndik1111]

Oh, you don't know the half of it - we traded used kid clothes for daycare one time

Now that's not cheap, that's brilliant. You r my hero!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How about this one then - I've discovered that if I pour gas slowly into my wife's car from a can, I can squeeze about 3 extra gallons in compared to just letting the pump shut itself off (we have those stupid plastic shrouds around the nozzles at our pumps here). By squeezing that extra few gallons of cheap MO gas into the car, I can make it all the way across IL & KY without stopping, and then fill up in TN where it's cheap again Obviously, that only helps ONE time per trip, and to be honest I probably appreciate that more for the fact I can go farther on a tank than I do for the fact I'm saving a few pennies per gallon The wifey is the real saver though - we have stockpiles of free razors, antipersperant, laundry detergent, cat litter & other stuff we've gotten free with coupons. We haven't yet figured out how those extreme couponers manage to get all that free produce, soda, & meat though

 

[punkin]

How about this one then - I've discovered that if I pour gas slowly into my wife's car from a can, I can squeeze about 3 extra gallons in compared to just letting the pump shut itself off (we have those stupid plastic shrouds around the nozzles at our pumps here). By squeezing that extra few gallons of cheap MO gas into the car, I can make it all the way across IL & KY without stopping, and then fill up in TN where it's cheap again Obviously, that only helps ONE time per trip, and to be honest I probably appreciate that more for the fact I can go farther on a tank than I do for the fact I'm saving a few pennies per gallon The wifey is the real saver though - we have stockpiles of free razors, antipersperant, laundry detergent, cat litter & other stuff we've gotten free with coupons. We haven't yet figured out how those extreme couponers manage to get all that free produce, soda, & meat though

I have an irrational fear of running out of gas, so my car almost never dips below 1/4 tank. I could never do this.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I have an irrational fear of running out of gas, so my car almost never dips below 1/4 tank. I could never do this.

I can't let my wife see how low it's getting or she'd just lose it, although honestly we're usually in pretty good shape by the time we get to Nashville. It's a stretch to Chattanooga though But, she'd never let it get down to 1/4 tank even if she knew there was another station right up the road. When we venture into new areas, I'm much more conservative though.

My brother-in-law & I almost ran out in the middle of Kansas one time when we weren't paying close enough attention to the guage. Based on the previous tank and my "normal" mileage, we should have had PLENTY of gas, but we ended up driving into a 40MPH headwind & my truck dropped from 14 mpg to 10. We were 9 miles from the nearest gas station when we realized the guage was actually not registering any gas AT ALL. Limped in and put 25.3 gallons in my 26 gallon tank Don't want to get that close again!