Bring in extra $$ - what do you do to pay for that vacay?

[ruadisneyfan2]

Hmmmm. You booked a Deluxe resort? That seems like a big expenditure for someone looking to scrape up some extra cash. It’s your money and your sacrifices, but I would have chosen a cheaper resort and had more money for fun.

For many people, staying at a deluxe resort is part of the fun. If you only need a clean place to sleep and shower, this probably wouldn’t make any sense.

 

[robinb]

For many people, staying at a deluxe resort is part of the fun. If you only need a clean place to sleep and shower, this probably wouldn’t make any sense.

I get that. Heck, we bought into DVC after just one stay at All Star Music. AND, I'm all for saving money on Disney vacations. For instance, I purchase gift cards to pay for my DVC dues and for my expenses once I'm on vacation.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I get that. Heck, we bought into DVC after just one stay at All Star Music. AND, I'm all for saving money on Disney vacations. For instance, I purchase gift cards to pay for my DVC dues and for my expenses once I'm on vacation.

I think many overbuy points at DVC. We actually bought enough points at first to only take a trip of a week every 3 years by banking and borrowing. We did add on and now can do a week every other year.

 

[robinb]

I think many overbuy points at DVC. We actually bought enough points at first to only take a trip of a week every 3 years by banking and borrowing. We did add on and now can do a week every other year.

Part of that has to do with the minimum direct point purchase for new DVC owners. Disney will only sell a minimum of 150 points to new members. Back when I bought , nearly 30 years ago, the minimum was 230 points. Even if you buy resale, there are far more larger point contracts on the market because of the minimums. FWIW, I have downsized my DVC since then.

 

[crazymomof4]

Get your name out there to the fancier neighborhoods if you don’t already live in one… usually via joint neighborhood Facebook groups. Where I live it’s 20-25$ an hour for baby sitting in the nicer neighborhoods.

I would have never thought of doing "babysitting" but dang! for that money, I'll tote a baby on my hip again!!! I'm a mom to 4 (now adult) children and a retired RN. I guess I could market that! When I was a teen babysitter I got $1/hr!

 

[crazymomof4]

I appreciate your opinion but could do without your judgement.

I don’t need to justify myself to you, but for anyone else who may be wondering since you brought it up, it actually was cheaper for our larger family to book there with free dining than to have to get two rooms at a value. Be sure to watch those specials!
I didn’t ask the question because we couldn’t afford it, I asked as a means to help bring the bill down.

To those with kind and helpful comments - thank you so much!! I have been using many of your tips and helps and it has helped so much! This is a once in a lifetime dream trip for my family. These kids are growing so fast and next year will look much different than this year at this time. I am very thankful!

We did the same when we were 5 disney-adults (3 teen kids with us). For 2 trips we stayed at BC with free dining. It was cheaper than 2 value rooms, like you said. That was '14 and '16 and our kids STILL talk about those trips. Great memories and we enjoyed the heck out of that resort!!!! Since then we've stayed in other deluxes by renting DVC points. That's a good deal bc you don't pay the "extra adult" fee there! So keep that in mind for when your kids are older! All of my ways to earn Vaca $$ have already been mentioned here... Probably because I LEARNED them here, many years ago! . Have a great vacation!!

 

[bbak30]

RN here. I work in the ER full time and I’m also a sexual assault nurse, which is a contract position through the coroner’s office. My contract job pays really well and finances all of our travel and extras. And when I’m feeling spicy—I’ll pick up an extra shift in the ER as long as the bonus is at least $300.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would have never thought of doing "babysitting" but dang! for that money, I'll tote a baby on my hip again!!! I'm a mom to 4 (now adult) children and a retired RN. I guess I could market that! When I was a teen babysitter I got $1/hr!

Yes! There were times when my nieces or kids would gag on something they were eating as toddlers, despite cutting it into tiny pieces. I would always worry if I'd remember what to do for choking. Having a nurse there who is experienced in CPR plus years of being a mother would be very reassuring to most parents. It should pay more than what the average clueless teenager gets paid, who would likely be on her phone half the time.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Another thought for the RNs--my DD29's BFF just had a baby, and the friend is paying for a night nurse, once a week. It's wonderful for the new parents--they get at least one night where they can sleep! And I imagine it's a fairly easy gig, especially for an experienced mom with nursing skills. I thought the idea is so great, I'm filing it away for if/when MY DD29 ever has a baby!

 

[robinb]

I would have never thought of doing "babysitting" but dang! for that money, I'll tote a baby on my hip again!!! I'm a mom to 4 (now adult) children and a retired RN. I guess I could market that! When I was a teen babysitter I got $1/hr!

You would definitely be popular! I recall a babysitting company around WDW (Fairy Godmothers) that sent older adult women to your hotel room to babysit.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Another thought for the RNs--my DD29's BFF just had a baby, and the friend is paying for a night nurse, once a week. It's wonderful for the new parents--they get at least one night where they can sleep! And I imagine it's a fairly easy gig, especially for an experienced mom with nursing skills. I thought the idea is so great, I'm filing it away for if/when MY DD29 ever has a baby!

That is a great gift idea!

 

[QueenIsabella]

That is a great gift idea!

IKR? Especially if you have a new family that doesn't need/want a lot of "things". I've already been told that I spoil DD29's cat too much with "stuff"! This would be a great "grandparent" gift!

 

[redrosesix]

We are blessed to be able to travel frequently as a family, and we plan accordingly for that, however these are some of the ways we add to our Disney fun money - basically what we use to pay for our ideas of "magical extras", like a behind the scenes tour(Keys to the Kingdom, Behind the Seeds) or other fun activities like the Amphicars, etc when we go:

*All rebate checks, cash back apps, Rakuten, class action settlements, etc get cashed and added in
*We participate in several focus groups a year which are paid opinion panels - we have several research marketing groups locally and we are signed up to participate if we qualify for the studies.
*Reselling on Poshmark - I sell a ton of my very gently used clothes - and over the years a lot of the things my son wore(or didn't wear).
*We love Fetch for earning gift cards - for our trip next week we just cashed in some of our points for two hefty Starbucks gift cards, we load to our app and use for breakfast sandwiches, coffees etc in the parks.
*100 envelope savings challenge - we have 100 envelopes numbered 1-100. Whenever we have extra cash on hand that is in our wallets at the end of the week, we put it in one of the envelopes, ie. $30 in the envelope marked 30). When we finish filling all of the envelopes, we have $5,050...which actually pays for a trip! This one is our current challenge - we are having fun trying to see if we can complete it by Christmas this year.

I love the envelope challenge I never have extra money because I have a very old house, and I can always find something to spend money on or save for...electrical is done but I want to install solar panels and insulation and need to do some other things eventually.

But I could see us using this for sacrificing short term fun for long term goals...like making burgers rather than going out (which I don't do but my family members sure do...a lot. I don't like fast food at all and would much rather have a picnic barbeque)

 

[crazymomof4]

You would definitely be popular! I recall a babysitting company around WDW (Fairy Godmothers) that sent older adult women to your hotel room to babysit.

After so many years following the Budget Board here, I didn't think I'd find a *new* idea to fund our vacations...............and yet here we are!!! Will look into this after our upcoming WDW trip. 2025 we're going back to California so I'll need to beef up that vaca fund!!!

 

[crazymomof4]

I thought of another side hustle! My adult DD has a full time job but she does house/pet sitting on the side, for friends and family. She does both live-in and twice-daily visits, whichever the owner prefers.

 

[redrosesix]

What kinds of things do you do to bring in extra money to pay for your trip?

I’ve done sales of stuff just around the home and thought of making and selling some simple things , but really don’t know where to start.

Really want to help fund this trip so I need tips and ideas!

I have a friend who works a pt job on weekends, not a lot of hours but all of her pay goes to traveling and she does a lot. Her most recent trip was 3 weeks to Europe including Greece. I've tried to get something set up like this for years, but except for a brief stint at a gift shop at Christmas time I haven't been able to find something that fits into my erratic work schedule

I do make some nice jewelry and I tried to sell that once but it just didn't go. A friend told me my prices were too low and people probably thought it was imported or junk. I didn't try Etsy though, but I've been thinking about it because sellers are charging 2 to 3 times what I priced mine at. Another friend bought stuff on Alibaba wholesale and resold it and she sells out every Christmas...and locally so no fuss with shipping and all.

I mostly save money by not having a car, but that's going to change soon so I want to find more ways to save up for trips and now that covid is over I want to travel a lot more.

 

[cookies44]

I have a Disney credit card and use my points.

 

[bighuskermav]

I like to chase checking account sign-up bonuses (you can find a list of current offers on doctor of credit). A lot of places will give you $200-$300+ for setting up a checking account and doing direct deposits.

My company’s payroll system is entirely automated and lets me have up to 4 different deposit accounts per paycheck. Many banks are not that strict and will also accept a standard ACH/Billpay transfer as a “direct deposit”.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but I usually make an extra $2,000/year doing this. The only downside is that it counts as bank interest income so it’s taxable. I also take advantage of CC sign up bonuses, which aren’t taxable. In my experience- the checking accounts are a lot easier to get approved for en masse. I’ve only got denied once. Lol

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I like to chase checking account sign-up bonuses (you can find a list of current offers on doctor of credit). A lot of places will give you $200-$300+ for setting up a checking account and doing direct deposits.

My company’s payroll system is entirely automated and lets me have up to 4 different deposit accounts per paycheck. Many banks are not that strict and will also accept a standard ACH/Billpay transfer as a “direct deposit”.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but I usually make an extra $2,000/year doing this. The only downside is that it counts as bank interest income so it’s taxable. I also take advantage of CC sign up bonuses, which aren’t taxable. In my experience- the checking accounts are a lot easier to get approved for en masse. I’ve only got denied once. Lol

Before I started taking care of my dad on my days off (and handling his bill payments on his 2 houses) I was hitting these pretty hard. I would do one in my name and one in dh’s name.
I did so many, I had our DL#s memorized.
For 2 years we earned $5000/yr in bonuses.
Then I started helping our sons to pay off student loans and car loans with the bonuses. It was such easy money; I couldn’t resist.


Sure you have to declare it as income, but would you refuse a $5000/year raise from your employer because you’d have to pay taxes on it?
Of course not.

 

[crazymomof4]

Many banks are not that strict and will also accept a standard ACH/Billpay transfer as a “direct deposit”.

Many banks are not that strict and will also accept a standard ACH/Billpay transfer as a “direct deposit”.

DH and I are both retired, so no paycheck to direct deposit. (we aren't collecting SS checks yet either) Trying to find out if there's a way we could do this. What is a "standard ACH/billpay transfer"?