Best money saving tips?

[MnzWildcat28]

Looking for anyone's best tips and ideas on how to save all that money for a Disney trip. Thanks for any and all tips!

 

[dworldlovers]

Are you looking for tips on how to save money in order to go to Disney? I have a Disney Visa card and I highly recommend it for everyone!! (no, I don't work for Chase bank!!) You get reward points when you use the card which you can turn into a Disney gift card. This can be used toward your trip, food, merchandise, etc... It also gives you 6 month no interest when you book a Disney trip! Another perk by being a card holder, you get advance booking opportunities at Disney along with other card holder specials. We also save quarters in a special piggy bank when we're planning a trip! We take that cash and use it for tipping, food, goodies-whatever!! Good luck! We love Disney and planning a trip is a very exciting aspect of going!!

 

[JandD75]

We take homemade beef jerky, cheese slices, trail mix, and granola bars as well as sodas, so we avoid a lot of the expensive snacks. Not only does this save money, but protein snacks like these keep us calm--no sugar rushes or crashes. For lunch and dinner, we often order one entree and divide it, thus saving on food. Also, table service is not necessary at every meal--we like some of the quick service and counter service restaurants. We take cereal, milk, juice and plastic bowls, and have breakfast in our room--this saves both time and money.

 

[MataHari22]

Well, I don't really buy anything for myself, or go to the movies (maybe 4x a year??), or eat out, and every time I see something I think I want to treat myself to, I ask if I want it more than a trip to WDW. Usually 9/10 times, the answer is no. I don't drink or smoke, so no money spent there.

Other things I do to save money:

Pay yourself first. Put money directly into a savings account before you do anything else. I have always done this from the time I got my first job. No, I'm not rich, and I don't have a ton in savings, but I do not have debt either.

Keep a budget and stick to it.

Track your expenses. It's an eye opener if you've never done it. It became obvious the places that I could cut back.

Garden in the summer. I'm mostly a vegetarian, very little meat (cannot swallow it :-/ ) All those garden veggies, save a ton on my grocery bill. Garden isn't even that big, but believe me, it feeds 5 of us (I share it with 4 other people. It's small though, 10x20 or 15x30 tops), and I often trade produce with my friend that also has a huge garden, and she gives us things I don't grow. Or, just make friends with someone like me, or my friend, we are always looking to give away tomatoes, zucchini, and string beans. Lol

When I do buy meat, even though I only cook for myself, I buy the big pack to get the cheaper price, and then properly wrap each piece and then freeze.

When I food shop, I look for the things on sale that I regularly use and buy them then. Shop using the flyer. Just by paying attention, I routinely save $15-25 a trip, and that money goes in my WDW stash. I don't really use any prepared foods or drinks. I also usually stick to the perimeter of the store. I go with a list and stick to it. Also, my store loyalty card, gives me points off my gas. I pay anywhere from 10¢- 50¢ a gallon less for my fuel.

Go through things you don't need and have a yard sale. Ended up with $500 that way.

Sold old gold jewelry. Actually, I didn't use that for WDW, but I did buy an iPad.

Eat a good healthy breakfast everyday. Breakfast fills you up, keeps you from eating expensive junk.

Brown bag your lunch if working. Saves tons.

My friend swears by using her clothes line and not a dryer for her laundry. I hate line dried clothing, but she got her electric bill down to $80 for a huge 9 room house.

Unplug electrical devices that you are not using. Turn off lights.

Get rid of cable or satellite channels you do not watch or do not need.

I buy my staples in bulk, even though it's just me. It's usually cheaper and less trips to the store saves on fuel.

Have friends over for pot luck dinners and a movie. It's fun and doesn't cost a lot. Instead of going out or buying a DVD. Likely they have movies that you do not and vice versa.

Check your community calendar for fun free things to do. Things I've done in the summer that cost no or very little money: Dog walk, pet fair, craft fair, sidewalk astronomy party, local church's ice cream social, and a day at a local pool - $4 to get in, and I packed a lunch.

I rarely if ever use my charge card and I NEVER keep a credit card balance.

If you use cash, just use bills and put all your change in a jar. When I was 20 yrs old, I paid for a trip to the Bahamas that way.

Just some of the things I can think of at the moment.

 

[Kirby]

Set a budget for your groceries and pay for them with cash. Any money left over you set aside. I saved $1000 one year doing this. It's fun to see how much money you can not spend at the grocery store each week.

 

[Monykalyn]

Well, I don't really buy anything for myself, or go to the movies (maybe 4x a year??), or eat out, and every time I see something I think I want to treat myself to, I ask if I want it more than a trip to WDW. Usually 9/10 times, the answer is no. I don't drink or smoke, so no money spent there. Other things I do to save money: Pay yourself first. Put money directly into a savings account before you do anything else. I have always done this from the time I got my first job. No, I'm not rich, and I don't have a ton in savings, but I do not have debt either. Keep a budget and stick to it. Track your expenses. It's an eye opener if you've never done it. It became obvious the places that I could cut back. Garden in the summer. I'm mostly a vegetarian, very little meat (cannot swallow it :-/ ) All those garden veggies, save a ton on my grocery bill. Garden isn't even that big, but believe me, it feeds 5 of us (I share it with 4 other people. It's small though, 10x20 or 15x30 tops), and I often trade produce with my friend that also has a huge garden, and she gives us things I don't grow. Or, just make friends with someone like me, or my friend, we are always looking to give away tomatoes, zucchini, and string beans. Lol When I do buy meat, even though I only cook for myself, I buy the big pack to get the cheaper price, and then properly wrap each piece and then freeze. When I food shop, I look for the things on sale that I regularly use and buy them then. Shop using the flyer. Just by paying attention, I routinely save $15-25 a trip, and that money goes in my WDW stash. I don't really use any prepared foods or drinks. I also usually stick to the perimeter of the store. I go with a list and stick to it. Also, my store loyalty card, gives me points off my gas. I pay anywhere from 10¢- 50¢ a gallon less for my fuel. Go through things you don't need and have a yard sale. Ended up with $500 that way. Sold old gold jewelry. Actually, I didn't use that for WDW, but I did buy an iPad. Eat a good healthy breakfast everyday. Breakfast fills you up, keeps you from eating expensive junk. Brown bag your lunch if working. Saves tons. My friend swears by using her clothes line and not a dryer for her laundry. I hate line dried clothing, but she got her electric bill down to $80 for a huge 9 room house. Unplug electrical devices that you are not using. Turn off lights. Get rid of cable or satellite channels you do not watch or do not need. I buy my staples in bulk, even though it's just me. It's usually cheaper and less trips to the store saves on fuel. Have friends over for pot luck dinners and a movie. It's fun and doesn't cost a lot. Instead of going out or buying a DVD. Likely they have movies that you do not and vice versa. Check your community calendar for fun free things to do. Things I've done in the summer that cost no or very little money: Dog walk, pet fair, craft fair, sidewalk astronomy party, local church's ice cream social, and a day at a local pool - $4 to get in, and I packed a lunch. I rarely if ever use my charge card and I NEVER keep a credit card balance. If you use cash, just use bills and put all your change in a jar. When I was 20 yrs old, I paid for a trip to the Bahamas that way. Just some of the things I can think of at the moment.

Tons of great tips here! One thing I read on another thread is look at your receipt- every time you have a "savings line" showing what you saved at that store/purchase put that amount into a separate vacation account.

If you are disciplined -cash back/rewards cards are actually great ways to sneak savings; we use our cash back credit cards for nearly everything and pay in full every month. Payed for plane tix to WDW this past June and for our adult only trip to Vegas next month.

Buying in bulk! Share with others if you have to or don't have storage space. Even small gardens can add up. Take that amount that you would normally spend and save. I also do checkout 51- cash back for buying items u probably would normally buy (less than 3 weeks and I have $7).

Budget tracking is huge as well.
There is a thread about one year to save for Disney and she has done a phenomenal job saving using "found" money