Creative Ways to Get Extra Disney Vacation Money

[Jmoore215]

Hi everyone, Disney World is awesome, but it can get expensive if you want to have as much fun as possible. If you plan on shopping, eating, and touring for more than a week, you need to use creative ways to earn extra cash. Using eBay is a great way to clean your home and earn extra money for an awesome Disney vacation, along with yard sales. Anyone else know of any other ways?

Herbert Moore Jr.

 

[Vickie46]

Welcome to Disboards!!!

I agree with the ebay and yard sales.... you can also do chacha and other survey sites!

Also check out the Craigslist.. I posted that I had a Little Tikes Coupe for sale and it sold within 10 minutes of posting it on the website.. and I didn't have to pay any fees!!! I got 20.00 cash! Yipee!!!!!!!!! My daughter and I decided that is going towards our Dole Whips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mericletwins]

I never use change to pay for anything. Even if something is $1.01 I will put out two one dollar bills. I put all change in a bank and cash it in as extra spending money before we go. It is amazing how fast that loose change adds up.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Some thing we do sometimes is to not buy groceries one week.There are plenty of things in the freezer or pantry to do us a week with out buying any thing new. It might not be what we want but we save a week of food money ,about 100.00 for us. WE just did that last week and we all live to tell the tale.

 

[MommyBoo!]

Check out the rewards forum here on the Disboards - there are some good sites to earn Disney $ from.

 

[nettii]

We do the no change thing it adds up fast! Also when our last trip was coming due to be paid for we decided not to eat out, pack our lunches, go on a buget for shopping. It works for short periods to save money and I also have a lil Disney stash that Ill put 5 bucks in here and their and soon it adds up fast and you never seem to miss just a few bucks! Good luck on your saving and have a great trip!Nettii

 

[maxtomsmom]

We don't order out or go out to eat for a month before we leave. This does add up even pizza. We make our own and use the extra money towards the trip. We also clean out our freezer and try not to shop one week to save $$. You could also look at what it is you are spending and try to cut that out like buying coffee. Use the money that you typically spend on those items and put them in a separate account. We also start a vacation account the moment we know we're going someplace expensive. We put a certain amount in and build from there.

We also cash in our points. If you are close to having the points, but are shy most credit cards will loan you the points. American express was great for this. We were 500 points shy of another free trip. We explained we were going to use the credit card on our vacation. They told us they will lend us the points so we ended up with three free round trip tickets.

Another thing you could do is bring some snacks from home rather than buying them at the park. We brought pretzels, cereal bars, raisins, cookies, etc. We also brought cereal as we are not the type to get up early just to eat breakfast. We want to sleep in (at least until 7:30am), eat a bit and go. If I can think of anything else, I will add more.

 

[Twingle]

I second the "no change", yard sale and craigslist - I don't like ebay, I've had two transactions that ended up "bad", to sum it up.

I signed up at ebates.com. I do so much shopping online, it just made sense. I've already gotten back almost $30, and I only joined the beginning of the month!

Also, when I grocery shop I always use coupons. Cut them out, put them in an organizer and put the organizer in your car. That way, you always have them when you need to stop on your way home. I pay for my groceries BEFORE the cashier rings up the coupons, and pocket that money.

If you're looking for a part-time job of some kind, on the budget board there was a thread about earning extra money with handing out food samples and such. I don't know how to link, but I think it was titled "Interested in earning extra money?"

Good luck!

 

[Kanga1]

Years and years ago, we bought this HUGE clear glass jug (the old fashioned looking kind that were used in those old general stores) and began filling it up with change. When the jug got almost full, we cashed in the change...over $1,000!!! Granted, this took years to accumulate, but it was a fantastic surprise for our first trip to Disney!

 

[Jmoore215]

Wholesale club stores allow you to buy by the bulk. You can buy more while paying less. If your family likes soda drinks, hamburger helper, and other kinds of snacks, you should consider wholesale shopping. Shopping this way also gives you extra food if you plan on driving to Disney World by car.

 

[wdwluver]

Last year for our christmas trip, I would dump loose change in my makeup bag. (only place DH couldn't think of to look ) by the end of two months, I had $74. I gave it to the kids for souvenirs. Boy were they excited. First trip I didn't have them constantly trying to get me to buy stuff.

I doing that again this year for our June trip. I am cheating a little. loose change has now been reclassified as smaller bills AND coins given as change from a larger bill purchase

 

[Jmoore215]

If someone is your family knows how to knit, you can earn some money using an auction site. The items must be orginal, because when bidders see something rare, they will start bidding, this is a great way to earn some Disney money.

 

[pbharris4]

I do surveys, change, and also have cut back on groceries. I always buy way more than we need every time I go. Probably because I don't do a list, but even DH said we could probably go for a month with only getting bread, milk, OJ..we have everything else. Also, I won't need groceries the week we are there so that's an extra $100. It's not to pay for the trip..just for the extras or hotels down and back. I used rewards from credit cards or debit cards and get gas cards for our trip as well as a dining gift card too.

Another tip would be through out the year when you have a few extra bucks buy a gas card here and there. Or when you are writing out bills, write a check out to self and put it away...do that every month and then a few days before you go cash them.