Dave Ramseying to Disney!Some final thoughts 8/18

[999ghostslover]

I love the Unofficial Guide because it's thorough and has the touring plans. Birnbaum's tells you info you can find anywhere else. I recently read the Complete Walt Disney World, and found it to be interesting, but not something I would buy. I'd get that from the library. I have a Passporter and I love all the pockets and worksheets. I would buy a Passporter, and subscribe to the Unofficial Guide website to get the crowd calendar, and it has a lot of the info from the book on the website, at least in regards to the parks/dining.

Okay, I think I will branch out. Birnbaum's holds a special place in my heart b/c it was the first guide I ever bought--back in 2004 and became a planning junkie. I think I read it cover to cover in bed in one night. But I have to say I disagree with almost all of their recommendations and usually you can borrow that from someone. I saw you mention Complete Walt Disney as having good pics, but so does the Dis, right?
So, I think I will try passporters. I usually like to make a big binder but I may switch it up this tip and keep important stuff on my phone/ipod/laptop and use the pockets in the passpoter for other stuff.

Hi Erin,
We are practically neighbors. I live in the Hazel Green area. I plan all our family trips and help many friends and relatives. I do love the passporters guide, it seems much more detailed to me. I just purchase the 2010 . We already have trips planned for June, Oct, Nov and Dec of this year and March already next year. I would be glad to help you on anything I could just give me a shout. I do have some suggestions already if you are interested. And by the way loving your report already.

Hello neighbor! It is so nice to meet another local. You sure get down to Disney a lot! Are you a DVC owner? We are now talking about renting points and doing a treehouse or BLT with my parents IF I can ever find the time to get to that board and learn about it. I would love love love any and all suggestions. I really feel like I planned the perfect trip last time and I thought this would be easier but now I see that there is even more to obsess about AND I have to live up to the last one.

 

[999ghostslover]

I have not had a chance to do updates in awhile because it has been one thing after another here. My DH is ill with a sinus infection, my DD has an ear infection. She hasn't been sick in years so that threw us for a loop and one night the baby decided to throw up from one end of the kitchen to the next. I guess he does not like stage 3 food because he certainly wasn't "sick" and my middle son has been having a really bad bout with some GI stuff. I don't want to be an and get all depressed and into it too much BUT we may be looking at a bad chronic illness kind of a diagnosis and I am praying we are wrong. So when I wasn't busy cleaning up a house filled with bodily functions I was googling dark and scary diseases on the internet. What I should have been doing is coming here to get my mind off of it because Mama needs a break, y'all! I swear every year this family of mine really makes me work for whatever treats Mother's Day will behold. Okay, I am being mean. I really do hope that they hurry up and get better. I hate seeing them all so miserable. So I have made a couple of cool decisions thanks to your help and I will tell you about them soon. Peace and lots of love to you all. More later..

 

[999ghostslover]

Well this week has been busy but we are all back to good health. Thank God! I finally decided on a travel agent...and more importantly finally called her. She said that there are already some discounts out for the time period we are looking for next year. How can that be? Well, we'll take it. I would like a rough estimate of how much we are looking to put away. She is in the middle of all of the free dining plan crazies and will call me back at some point (I actually told her not to rush. I am finally growing some patience).

Which leaves me with my next topic that I will be discussing...

We are big Dave Ramsey fans and are currently enrolled in week 9 of Financial Peace University. We don't have a lot of debt and are blessed with a great well-paying job for my husband and I am able to stay-at-home which is important to us while our kids are young. But we do (or did) have a lot of stupid habits with money. We are the kind of people who just ignored the problems. Almost all of our investing is through my husband's job. We hadn't updated our life insurance in 5 years. 2 big promotion salary jumps ago. And with three kids (one about to start private school) we were starting to cut it really close each month. We ended up putting quite a bit of Christmas on our Disney card and then for the first time in a long time carried a balance for a month. That makes me toss and turn at night and Mama needs her sleep!
So we decided to start FPU and it has been amazing. We've increased our insurance (and we understand they why and how in the term and amount we chose), we've rearranged some investments, paid off that credit card of course and are now making extra payments on two student loans. We are couponing, not going out to eat and holding off on some non-essential house stuff (tax refund was going to go to new window treatments and cabinets in the laundry room-we can wait). Most importantly we are telling our money where to go instead of wondering where it all went (I think Starbucks probably put out a missing person poster for me).
So if you know Dave at all then you KNOW Disney does not fit into his baby steps. Well, you are right. BUT we can't put off living until we are old. We just can't. So we are incorporating all of his guidelines and creating a Disney account that will also be fed. Maybe we won't be at the Wilderness Lodge this time and maybe we won't eat an extra meal at T-Rex. Heck, maybe we will be on the Quick Service dining plan. But to me, I can clip coupons, watch sales and cut out buying non-essential stuff as long as I have a short-term goal in mind. And Disney is my goal. So, I think that the major focus of this PT is going to shift to HOW we can accomplish this with as little financial strain as possible. I have really been inspired by the blog Couponing to Disney and have even started my own much-less polished version HERE. Okay, I won't even call it a version of that blog. It is just going to be an account of all of the creative financial management techniques that we employ to get to Disney.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Hey! Erin
happy to hear that you have decided on a TA! I like your financial planning...good for you that you guys were able to pay down your CC debt. We have decided that we are going to start paying more on the principal of our home ( we only have 13 yr left on our mortgage so we are now shooting for 8 yrs). I agree that you still need to live and enjoy your life with your children while you can. Disney can be affordable (still expensive) but doable...we skipped the mods and went with the values. We also settled for one sit down breakfast instead of three sit downs. We, too, do QS (although we do it OOP; we don't spend as much as the DDP) it took a great deal of homework to figure it out.

happy planning!

 

[999ghostslover]

Thanks Connie! Yes, I think it will be fun. And doing it on a strict budget really makes you appreciate everything a little more. Any tips you can share are very appreciated!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! ERIN
HOPE YOUR DAY IS A WONDERFUL AND RELAXING ONE!​

 

[999ghostslover]

Thank you!

 

[999ghostslover]

Hope you are all having one Mother of a Mother's Day!!!

 

[Disneychix]

Just found your PTR! I hope you had a happy and healthy mother's day!

I have a little Brady of my own Little boys are the best!

Can't wait to see what resort you pick and all the other good stuff!

 

[999ghostslover]

Just found your PTR! I hope you had a happy and healthy mother's day!

I have a little Brady of my own Little boys are the best!

Can't wait to see what resort you pick and all the other good stuff!

Yes, we love our boys. I had my princess first and really thought I could die happy only having cute girly girls and didn't know how I would take to my boys but now that Brady is almost 2 and SO full of personality and spunk I really love my little guys. Plus every once in a while I get a glimmer of what my DDs teen years have in store for me and i shudder.

And my Brady is Brady Thomas named for the greatest QB ever Mr. Tom Brady!

 

[Disneychix]

And my Brady is Brady Thomas named for the greatest QB ever Mr. Tom Brady!

People ask me that all the time! But our Brady is named after Brady Quinn, my Notre Dame QB crush while I was pregnant!!
Actually, Colin was a back-up choice for us too. DH chose Brady cause it means 'spirited' and our little Brady came into the world with TONS of spirit!

 

[999ghostslover]

and Quinn was a name we considered. That is too freaky!
We did Colin because we wanted an A,B, C. We realized the pattern and had to a C name.

 

[999ghostslover]

So I want to mentally prepare myself for staying at a value property. I am 90% sure we will end up doing a value this trip. So I have a few questions out there.
What is your favorite value?
Which has the best bus service?
Is a preferred room location worth it?

 

[bellebookworm9]

So I want to mentally prepare myself for staying at a value property. I am 90% sure we will end up doing a value this trip. So I have a few questions out there.
What is your favorite value?
Which has the best bus service?
Is a preferred room location worth it?

We stayed at All Star Music and we were planning on staying there again, so no complaints. We also considered Pop Century. I would pick whichever theme most appeals to you. We had no issues with the bus service, but something to consider is that Pop only has one bus stop, but the All Stars may stop at all 3 in the order of Sports, Music, Movies-I don't recall this happening much on our trip though. Only once did we stop at Movies because it was scheduled, another time the Movies bus picked up at Epcot and since there were so few people at their stop, and tons at ours (it was a school music department trip), they picked some of us up as well. I absolutely think a preferred room is worth it. At All Star Music we were in Country Fair aka the furthest possible building. We were planning on shelling out the extra for a preferred, because it was a good extra bit of walking, and especially with the ages of your kids, even if you have strollers, it's a lot. I'm also assuming you will be using Disney transportation? If not, then the preferred room may not be worth it since you can park close to the room.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I just wanted to say Hi! We did FPU (via dvd) and we paid off over 16k in debt (2 cars and lasik) I'm so glad we found Dave! He's made out live SOOOOOOO much easier!!!!!!!!!

(I should mention while i do try to follow Dave to a "T" But the Disney rewards card was to good to pass up for us Disney lovers. I have a lot of self control and i pay my balance off each month. I still stick to my written budget but instead i use my card instead of debt or cash) also if you get a second check out my website i love coupons!! weheartdisney .com (no space)

 

[longing2Batdisney]

So I want to mentally prepare myself for staying at a value property. I am 90% sure we will end up doing a value this trip. So I have a few questions out there.
What is your favorite value?
Which has the best bus service?
Is a preferred room location worth it?

We stayed at All Star Sports last year and POP Century this year...
as for the resorts the pools are nicer for the kids at POP (water sprayer's), but as for the rooms the were equal to one another...the food was about the same (just different choices--both had hamburgers, pizza, soups, and subs)...the bus system...well, we stayed at ASSp so we were the first to picked up and dropped off. The lines at the parks were long to get onto a bus because of the three resorts together.

POP busses: you are the only resort the busses cater to! so, you may have long lines when leaving the parks but they move pretty quickly because it is an on demand transport system for the POP--meaning they call more busses in as needed...

as far preferred or non-p: we did the non-p room last year and this year...all building have both so you need to review the thread of your hotel choice and look at the building layouts. We were in the first 50's bldg (Lady) this year and we were just steps away from Classic Hall (map of resort= http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/pop.htm ). Last year we were in the #10 (here is the link for the map of the resort= http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarsportsmap.htm )

hope this helps...
So, to me if I were doing value again I would stick with POP just for the bus system...but, the All Star resorts are equal in all other aspects!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm joining in on your PTR.

I've never done Dave Ramsey but you have my interest peaked. My husband and I have been watching Gail Vaz-Oxlade on CNBC. She does this TV show called Till Debt Do Us Part. It's great and eye opening.

I'm going to follow your blog too.

Go with Pop. You can't beat their bus system. It's very efficient. I thought the All Stars bus system was bad, made more stops and seemed to take way too long.

 

[999ghostslover]

I absolutely think a preferred room is worth it. At All Star Music we were in Country Fair aka the furthest possible building. We were planning on shelling out the extra for a preferred, because it was a good extra bit of walking, and especially with the ages of your kids, even if you have strollers, it's a lot. I'm also assuming you will be using Disney transportation? If not, then the preferred room may not be worth it since you can park close to the room.

Great to know. Yeah, we'll have a double stroller at least. Last trip we would drive to whatever park we were going to for the day, take the bus to the hotel for a break, bus back to the park and drive home at night.

I just wanted to say Hi! We did FPU (via dvd) and we paid off over 16k in debt (2 cars and lasik) I'm so glad we found Dave! He's made out live SOOOOOOO much easier!!!!!!!!!

(I should mention while i do try to follow Dave to a "T" But the Disney rewards card was to good to pass up for us Disney lovers. I have a lot of self control and i pay my balance off each month. I still stick to my written budget but instead i use my card instead of debt or cash) also if you get a second check out my website i love coupons!! weheartdisney .com (no space)

Great site! We are the same way about Dave. If we had massive amounts of debt OR my husband's job was in danger I know we could and would strictly adhere to his teaching and be totally gazelle BUT we have student loans and one car and the house of course. We have good income and for us applying 90% of his stuff has made a huge difference. The other 10% would make life absolutely no fun at all. We have the disney card too and we just weren't good with it. I HATED carrying a balance. My DH would always say it would get paid off the same month and too often it slipped. So, it got put in the back of a drawer to never be heard from again--hopefully. But we do have $80 of Disney dollars on there so we have that money to use. Yeah!

POP busses: you are the only resort the busses cater to! so, you may have long lines when leaving the parks but they move pretty quickly because it is an on demand transport system for the POP--meaning they call more busses in as needed...

as far preferred or non-p: we did the non-p room last year and this year...all building have both so you need to review the thread of your hotel choice and look at the building layouts. We were in the first 50's bldg (Lady) this year and we were just steps away from Classic Hall (map of resort= http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/pop.htm ). Last year we were in the #10 (here is the link for the map of the resort= http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarsportsmap.htm )

hope this helps...
So, to me if I were doing value again I would stick with POP just for the bus system...but, the All Star resorts are equal in all other aspects!

Yeah, all things considered the buses can make all of the difference. We HATE waiting for buses!!!

I'm joining in on your PTR.

I've never done Dave Ramsey but you have my interest peaked. My husband and I have been watching Gail Vaz-Oxlade on CNBC. She does this TV show called Till Debt Do Us Part. It's great and eye opening.

I'm going to follow your blog too.

Go with Pop. You can't beat their bus system. It's very efficient. I thought the All Stars bus system was bad, made more stops and seemed to take way too long.

Pop it is! Thanks. I am so glad you are going to follow along. I wish I could go and shake my former self and force myself to listen to Dave back then. We used to go out to eat all of time, bought pretty much what we wanted when we wanted. We have nothing to show for it. Saving money and doing Dave's baby steps has really helped. There are a lot of similar financial motivators out there and so i say find who speaks to you and stick with it. Dave is really good about working with married people and his FPU series is Christian-based. His total money makeover is non-christian based I believe. We have learned to communicate about money and have defined roles now which has really helped. I hope you like my blog. I feel like a celebrity is following me!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Pop it is! Thanks. I am so glad you are going to follow along. I wish I could go and shake my former self and force myself to listen to Dave back then. We used to go out to eat all of time, bought pretty much what we wanted when we wanted. We have nothing to show for it. Saving money and doing Dave's baby steps has really helped. There are a lot of similar financial motivators out there and so i say find who speaks to you and stick with it. Dave is really good about working with married people and his FPU series is Christian-based. His total money makeover is non-christian based I believe. We have learned to communicate about money and have defined roles now which has really helped. I hope you like my blog. I feel like a celebrity is following me!

I am so NOT a celebrity but thank you.

I'm going to look into Dave Ramsey. Marc & I have quite a bit of debt and it drives me nuts. We have great incomes and NOTHING to show for it so we are trying to get back on track. The only reason we are going to Disney in September is because Marc got a part time job to pay for the job and then after the trip is paid for all the extra $$ is going to debt repayment. I want to be in a better position before we have a baby.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I am so NOT a celebrity but thank you.

I'm going to look into Dave Ramsey. Marc & I have quite a bit of debt and it drives me nuts. We have great incomes and NOTHING to show for it so we are trying to get back on track. The only reason we are going to Disney in September is because Marc got a part time job to pay for the job and then after the trip is paid for all the extra $$ is going to debt repayment. I want to be in a better position before we have a baby.

That is what we are doing too, Id like to be a stay at home mom, and we are saving like nuts (besides disney)

Dave has REALLY improved our lives.