Budgeting for Trip

[chasingthtdream08]

Hi All!

This is my first post on the DIS! I am a HUGE lurker and WDW Fanatic. I did two CPs and lived in Orlando for about three years. I just moved back "home" to the Midwest and have again been bitten by the Disney bug that I've been trying to push away.

I am currently in the process of paying off my credit card debt & student loan debt. But I've just been thinking about Disney non-stop! I decided my best course of action would be to book a trip wayyyyy in the future (Nov 30 - Dec 7, 2016) and make payments every month until paid off. It's almost like my little savings account for Disney but I actually have a trip planned/resort booked. And planning is half the fun, right?

Also, I've created a savings jar for all my change. This will go towards souvenir shopping as we have the Dining Plan. Everyday pocket change will go into this as well as an extra $5 per week. To "un-temp" me to go in this change jar, I'm getting a $5 roll of dimes per week. I mean, what in the world would I need dimes for?

This will be the first REAL vacation for DBF & I. He visited me a few times when I did my CP programs but it was always on the super cheap and I wanna splurge a little for this vacation, which is why it's a long one for us!

No questions here, just wanted to share with everyone the best way that I decided to budget for my trip.

 

[LJSquishy]

Welcome!

Your plan sounds great -- I am a huge planner like you and actually prefer to book as far out as possible and have something to look forward to! It will also give you a great opportunity to wait for a great (as "great" as deals are in this day and age anyway) airfare deal if you're flying. It really helps being able to save over such a long period of time instead of booking a trip only a few months in advance.

My only suggestion is to really consider whether the dining plan is best for you or not. For adults, it rarely makes financial sense, and there are little things here and there you'll probably still pay out of pocket for food wise. We had free dining in 2012 and it was nothing but desserts it seemed like. Now, if you do each want to eat a dessert at both lunch and dinner plus have a snack, that's fine, but most people don't naturally eat that way. I remember we turned down most desserts after the 3rd day or so, and that was with us using our snack credits for breakfast (yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits). We wanted more real food and less sugar! We are paying out of pocket for food this time and it will allow us to order appetizers instead of entrees, eat more snacks and less meals, or eat more meals and less desserts than we were able to last time. We also preferred to drink water with our meals so with the dining plan coming with a beverage at meals, it was pretty wasteful for us financially (it was free for us, but still). It will also give us the freedom of doing more table service restaurants or counter service places depending on our mood. Just something to think about which could very likely actually save you more money.

 

[chasingthtdream08]

Thanks LJSquishy! I have actually mauled over the Dining Plan and used several "DDP Calculators" found online as well as my own spreadsheet. It appears that we may come out either even or a little under. And I'm honestly okay with that. I'm a terrible saver and would rather just pre-pay our meals rather than have to save and get picky about what I can eat off the menu (based on pricing). Both my DBF & I are very good eaters. We've used DDP every time we've gone to Disney and for us, it's the way to go! I've read many threads on opposing views on the DDP and for me I just love the fact that everything is taken care of ahead of time and I don't have to worry about pricing when it comes to vacation time! And I can spend what money I have on Disney goodies. I also like the all-inclusive feel.