Can you please help me save money?

[Carina]

I now my suggestions are litterally just a few $ here and there but...

********COUPONS*************

On our last trip tp DL ( via car) I knew I was going to buy a lot of real food at grocery stores along the way, so I started writing companys who's food I thought I would possibly purchase and and asking them for coupons.

I explained that I was Canadian therefore unable to get American coupons here. I told them truthfully that I was going to the US on Holidays and I buy their product here in Canada.

I got a very good return for my requests. I even got free product coupons from 2 companies (PM me if intrested)

I was able to save money on Peanut Butter, bagged salad, fruit cups, rasins, Instant Potatoes ( eww but handy to make in a hotel room with our hot chicken) Frozen TV dinners ( back to the hotel room thing again), tuna,

You can also print coupons ( much closer to the date of course) I got printable coupons from swagbucks and mypoints.

I know its a pretty time comsuming way to shave $10-15 dollars off your food bill, but it was 10-15 more dollars I had to spend on other things. Besides I just kept a list on my computer of who I wrote ( to save duplicating requests) and would do it in the evening while watching TV.

I was able to find a list of what companys have a good track record of sending coupons, and their online contact info, on Hot Coupon World ( didn't save the link I found it on goggle)

********GIFT CARDS*************

I also used airmiles for Best Western gift cards. Which got us 2 nights on the road free. and they had a promo going at the time, I got a $50 gift card for staying 2 nights within their promo window

I got shell gas gift cards from Mypoints. And a rainforest cafe GC from mypoints as well. I use Bzz Agent to boost my mypoints.

********SMALL STUFF*************

I also bring a lot of stuff from home. I know on my trips I'll want mustard, but not a whole bottle, so I save up 10 or so of the little fast food packets, same with salt and peppers, I bring my own teabags, because I have plenty at home and I dont need to buy a whole box that way. None of the stuff I bring ( besides actual "food" we eat enroute that goes in the cooler) takes up a lot of room, In fact it ends up all fitting in a gallon sized ziplock, but it saves a lot of money on the food budget.

(Note I ASK for the extra things at a fast food place I dont just take, so no flaming me guys)

********SAMPLES*************

Keep an eye out on the brandsampler website here in Canada (It's currently active, but hurry it won't be for long) https://www.pgbrandsampler.ca/en_CA/home.php
and
https://www.pgbrandsamplerformen.ca/en_CA/home.php

We use the free razors, small pit stick, travel shampoo, etc, even the laundry soap samples, on our holidays.
Once again it saves is $ on those things before we go.

The brandsaver site is active about every 3 months, so in the course of a year I can usually get enough small shampoos and such to last for our whole vacation.

********SUMMARY*************

I know none of my suggestions will buy you another week, but all combined there is a potential to save a couple hundred, assuming you have airmiles or time to do mypoints, Otherwise you should still save enough for a few churros!

 

[ShariVT]

We also drive so I always make some extra meals and freeze them so I have less cooking to do when I am on vacation. Last time I spent some time arrival day shopping and then I made pasta salad, and potato salad. So when we went back to the house we had sandwiches or hot dogs quick easy and cheap! I totally think you should buy 1 annual pass not much more then the 10 day ticket and and will save you 140 in parking.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Wanted to share this website with you. With the site you can put in a starting city and Toronto is listed, then put in Lake Buena Vista, Fl- which is the city that Disney is located. Then put in your car info such as the make and model. It will tell you based on the current gas prices what your total fuel cost are.. It will tell you when you will been to fill the gas tank and also where the nearest cheap gas station is. And what the price per gallon is. The night before you leave I was rerun the search so you have updated info. Plus you may want to add some money to the total cost since you will be traveling with 7 bodies and luggage which will add to fuel consumption.
Give it a try.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx

 

[Brer Shay]

We stayed for 2 weeks in an off site rental home (there were 9 of us) and didn't spend anywhere near what you have planned for food.

We ate a big breakfast in every morning and brought snacks to the parks with us (we also bought some snacks there), along with bottled water. We found what worked best for us was to get up early and get going, go back to the house for a mid-afternoon break (naps/swimming), have a late lunch/early dinner at the house, and then go back to the parks at night.

For the two weeks we were there we spent a total of about $400 in groceries.

We did very similar to this - there were five of us for 12 days, and our total grocery bill was about $300. I also had a Disney Gift Card for $300 that I used to pay for all of our snacks and an occasional counter service kids meal. I think you've overbudgeted for meals/snacks unless you're eating out all the time.

I'd also drop the Pirate Cruise, and with the amounts you have budgeted for food/snacks and activities, I'm not sure what the "Other $1000" is for?

 

[DaniB]

I know people say to drop the P&PF cruise, but if you can manage to keep it in, it is so worth it! And your kids are the perfect age for it!!

I love the ideas from others to get the YES tickets. It should drop a huge amount of your ticket prices and the classes look so fun! Not all the kids have to attend, and it's only 1 short class. That and cutting down the food cost should save you a large amount of money!! With staying off-site, I totally agree with having most meals at the rental house.

When you come back from your trip, I would love if you can post how it worked for you. And maybe (pretty please!) post what you think your final costs where?

We keep toying with the idea of inviting a young cousin and our son's good friend to come with us in a couple of years. I already started spreadsheets on off-site versus off-site.

On our last trip tp DL ( via car) I knew I was going to buy a lot of real food at grocery stores along the way, so I started writing companys who's food I thought I would possibly purchase and and asking them for coupons.

I explained that I was Canadian therefore unable to get American coupons here. I told them truthfully that I was going to the US on Holidays and I buy their product here in Canada.

I got a very good return for my requests. I even got free product coupons from 2 companies (PM me if intrested)

Keep an eye out on the brandsampler website here in Canada (It's currently active, but hurry it won't be for long)

What a great idea! Thanks for posting it. I would have never thought of writing to them... Last year I kept trying to get coupons to print, and many company websites would recoganize my being in Canada and refuse. I'm copying & pasting many of these tip into my off-site scenario.

Ohh, and thanks for the reminder about the P&G! I did get an e-mail from them, but forgot.

Wanted to share this website with you. With the site you can put in a starting city and Toronto is listed, then put in Lake Buena Vista, Fl- which is the city that Disney is located. Then put in your car info such as the make and model. It will tell you based on the current gas prices what your total fuel cost are.. It will tell you when you will been to fill the gas tank and also where the nearest cheap gas station is. And what the price per gallon is.

That is a fantastic site!!! I tried to find something last year when we debated driving over flying but couldn't. Thanks for the link!!!

 

[JB2K]

Have you gotten a Disney visa deal for signing up? A lot of people have gotten $200 in rewards points that would help shave off your food budget.

OP is in Canada -- no Chase/Disney Visa cards, there...different country...

 

[Gr8t Fan]

MrsPopeye, I missed where you said you bought an 8 day ticket through the YES program. I didn't see that, but I'll go back and look again.

You have to go part way through the registration process before you get to the 8 day option. You also may want to look into the premium ticket upgrade- it would get you a bunch of water park visits. I don't think you can upgrade to 10 days, but I think the expirations are different- Y.E.S. tickets are good based on your arrival and departure dates, I think-while regular tickets expire 14 days after first use.

The 8 day YES Premium tickets (which include park hopping + 8 days at the waterparks and/or Disney Quest) are $208.92 each.

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

Deleting....my question was already answered .

 

[canadianjovigirl]

We went in Nov. 09 to Florida for 26 days for our family of 5 and spent less than $10,000 so it can be done. We spent 4 days in Clearwater (hotel) and the rest in a 4 bedroom rental home in Davenport. We also flew and had a rental van. We did a week at Disney, 2 days at Universal, Discovery Cove, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Daytona Beach, Daytona 500, Cirque de Soile, Kennedy Space Center as well as some down days at the house, shopping and exploring Florida.

We ate breakfast at the house, took some snacks to the parks and ate lunch out and sometimes supper when we were at the parks late. My kids had spending money, but we did buy the odd treat in the park or soda. We had a fabulous time and you guys will to.

My kids loved going to the citrus fields and picking oranges and also a candy factory...........cheap excursions that they enjoyed. They also loved the days at the rental house by the pool and BBQ dinner.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Right now restaurant.com has a code for 80% off all gift certificates. There are lots of places in the WDW/Orlando area. The code is Easter and the gift certificates are good for one year after you purchase them. Have a great trip! It's my dream to someday stay as long as your family may be able to.

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

Ohhhhhh, thanks for the coupon idea. I will definitely contact some companies to get coupons. I will also check out the sites you posted.

Thanks for the gas site. That is great and we were WAY off for fuel. It will only be around $400.

I'm going to check out restaurant.com right now. Thanks

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

Right now restaurant.com has a code for 80% off all gift certificates. There are lots of places in the WDW/Orlando area. The code is Easter and the gift certificates are good for one year after you purchase them. Have a great trip! It's my dream to someday stay as long as your family may be able to.

Thanks for the info. Where do I enter the code? Does this work for any of the restaurants listed on that site?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Thanks for the info. Where do I enter the code? Does this work for any of the restaurants listed on that site?

You enter the code on the checkout page and it works for all of the restaurants that have available certificates. Just be sure to read the restrictions for each restaurant -- some have a minimum purchase, some require the purchase of a certain number of entrees, most exclude alcoholic beverages, etc.

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks for the info. Where do I enter the code? Does this work for any of the restaurants listed on that site?

I'm not the poster asked but it works on any coupons on the restaurant.com site. You enter it in the Enter Promo Code box once you choose one. I have used them before and they are quite a savings.

 

[mrspopeye]

My kids loved going to the citrus fields and picking oranges and also a candy factory...........cheap excursions that they enjoyed. They also loved the days at the rental house by the pool and BBQ dinner.

We did a few cheap excursions too. My kids really like this place. There are also picnic tables and a small playground.

http://www.showcaseofcitrus.com/

I love the idea of visiting the barn at Fort Wilderness. I know they have campfire sing-a-longs too, but I am not sure if that is open to those not staying on site. We also like watching fireworks and the Electrical Water Parade from the Polynesian Resort Beach. Just walking around some of the resorts was fun also, especially seeing the animals at Animal Kingdom's Lodge.

It seems that the 8 day YES ticket may be just right for 2 weeks. Remember it is good for the entire length of your trip, which you will enter into the system. It additionally includes 8 days of water parks, so with several park days, water park days, cheaper excursion days, lazy day at the pool, etc. You could even have a Disney movie day at the townhouse. Make up your own dinner show. Windsor Hills has a very nice pool, playground and I think they may have a small movie theater too. You would literally save hundreds of dollars over purchasing 10 day park tickets.

You can go all the way through the process online up until the screen where you pay and see what is available.

Giordano's is one of our favorite restaurants that we use a restaurant.com coupon for. We always have leftover pizza, so that is like getting 2 meals.

 

[tpinc]

Some of the grocery store chains in the USA discount their gas (yes, some grocery stores sell gasoline) when you sign up for their customer loyalty card. Kroger and Schnucks are two examples. Shell gas stations honor the Kroger loyalty card discount as well. Some Wal-Marts also sell gasoline and will discount 3 cents per gallon when you pay at the pump with a Wal-Mart gift card.

 

[jmsaj]

(/QUOTE) Fuel - way too high! We live a few hours from you, and it just cost us $625.00 for all fuel (driving to WDW, back home, in Disney), plus 2 hotels (1 on way down $125/night and way home $100.00). I think you can totally do it for cheaper than this. We have a minvan, and so gas was less than $400.00[/QUOTE]

Please keep in mind that currently the gas in the states is creeping close to $4.00 a gallon now(at least where I am). Not sure if you reference to pricing was from a recent visit to Disney. It has gone up 11 cents in one night. They are predicting over $4 by Memorial Day. I would rather see overbudgeting for gas then not budgeting enough.

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

Showcase of Citrus looks great! My kids love apple picking (we go every fall), so I know they would love this. Thanks for the suggestion.

We're going to book the 8 day Yes program tonight when dh gets home from work. I'm so excited!!! Thanks so much! I'm so glad I asked for help .

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

I'll check out the savings for gas at the grocery stores. Thanks again! Great suggestion!

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

My dh called and talked to someone at the Yes program and they said our tickets are valid for 7 days before the program date until 7 days after the program date (unless Dh misunderstood). My dd wants to go to the Ocean Discoveries which is Oct 17, but we don't arrrive until Oct 15 and that would mean we have to use all our tickets by October 24th.....does that sound right? I know I've read more than once on here that the tickets are valid the entire length of your stay. I just asked dh to call them back to clarify.