Depressed...

[CharityLynn]

So we've been saving up for Disney since the beginning of the year, first thing to happen was we needed a new well pump ($900) then the rack and pinion went out on our van ($450) and now we need a new rear axle assembly for our van ($700) all of that money has come out of our vacation fund. SO we now have $5 in our savings for vacation and 2 and a half months until our vacation.

Our kids don't know about the vacation, so I'll be canceling my daughter's BBB appointment. We eat 2 meals in our villa already (Rent points from the inlaws) and we don't need a ton of souvenirs. We drive.

I guess I need to figure out the minimum we need to go. SO sad.

 

[beansmom]

i don't mean this to sound snarky because i know you were so looking forward to your vacation but there are sooo many people who will never be able to afford to go to DW. I think your DD will enjoy it just as much even without BBB.

Look at what you still get to do and not what you won't. DIsney is great even on the shoestring. Hope you have a wonderful trip. Hey! We'll be there close to the same time...Oct 15-23.

 

[ouran92]

It's ok . You can still save up to go again . When there is still time, there is still hope.

 

[CharityLynn]

The BB thing doesn't bother me at all honestly, its just one thing I know I can cut.

 

[sandgrace]

I'm sorry for the things that have gone wrong for you lately. Try not to be too depressed (easier said than done, I know) focus on the positives you're going to Disney, that's never a bad thing IMHO! Have Fun and just enjoy your family! I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

I am so sorry. Maybe think of ways to generate some extra money. I had a yard sale a month ago and I made about 150.00. It is still summertime ... see what is around the house that you don't use. I also love that it gets rid of all the clutter in my house!!!

 

[Melynny]

I know it's sad... The same thing always happens to us! It seems like our "things" know the minute we get a bit in our extra savings or we have a bit of extra money. So in the last few years we make a game out of it, we don't talk out loud of how much extra money we have in front of the car, the fridge (or any appliance for that matter) or the boat, etc... it seems to work... I know, I know. It's silly but it kind of makes a joke out of life... Just when you get a bit ahead.. somthing happens. And you will save enough to make it on your trip, or you will save for a better one! WDW will aways be there!

 

[Vivianne]

I am so sorry you're having a hard time. I am truly rooting for you that
somehow you can make this work and find a way to make your Disney vacation possible with your family.

It will be so much sweeter once you find your way to this goal

After all, it's all about being with your family what it' s all about...

 

[wendydarling826]

I understand your frustration, but with 2 1/2 months to go, I would say scale back on the expensive things like BBB and do what you can to get together enough money to go. You can eat inexpensively, and there is so much magic to be had, the extras are really not necessary to make it a memorable vacation.

 

[dreamin_disney]

dont be depressed you still get to go. I think you can still have a fun and great vacation. I think kids are fine with the basic but as parent we tend to want to go all out. I think keeping it simple and focus on the family time. BE HAPPY! lol! I've only been to wdw once and it took me 10 years lol! I probably wont go again until another 5-10 year. Have fun

 

[gnargle2988]

You can always do your own BBB before you leave for the park in the morning. My friend did this for her niece and said she looked better and had just as much fun as the girls who went to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. They got some cheap hair things and glitter from the dollar store and just did her hair at their hotel. The hair-do's are pretty easy to copy and your daughter won't know she is missing out on anything.

 

[disneymama83]

I don't even have daughters, but this is a great idea! I think the op little girl would find this fun!

 

[Local_Girl]

OP, I understand your frustration...it always seems like something comes along to gobble up the Disney Fund! My DH has a great perspective though; instead of lamenting the fact that we have to spend our "extra" money on XYZ, he says it's a good thing we have the money to cover that unexpected expense!

That said, we have a trip planned for Nov. and it's going to be on a tight budget. When we first made the plans at the beginning of the year, the budget wasn't quite so tight, but stuff happened and we're having to scale back. Being a regular on the DIS has its upside (discovering cool ways to make your trip special) and its downside (discovering that some of these cool things to make your trip special cost $$$ ). I know we can avoid the stuff that costs big $$ and still have a great trip, with good planning and using tips from the DIS.

Good luck to you and your family, I hope you guys have a great trip!

 

[junebugs]

Well, I can relate - if that helps at all ???

At the beginning of the month my husband's car broke down and it cost $350 to fix. Two weeks later the head casket blew on his car and it cost $1,500 more! . This week his car needed inspection and it ended cost $890 to replace the entire exhaust system.

We do live very frugally - but even for me this was a major budget buster of a month. We NEVER do seem to get ahead.

I guess it WAS good that I didn't have a WDW trip scheduled (which was bugging me all summer).

Starting at square one to start saving for a trip to WDW again. Better luck next year!

 

[Sugar Jones]

I can totally relate!!! 6 months ago our finances were totally fine.....fast forward to now - not so great


The smart thing for us to do would be to cancel, but I refuse to do that. Dh is going to Bristol to the Nascar race 3 weeks before we go, so if he won't cancel that, I refuse to cancel Disney. We are just going to have to use our CC's and figure something out after.


We thought I'd have a new job by now, or that my little home business would make a little bit more spending money for us, but so far no luck


Just remember that the kids won't even notice the cutbacks because they will just be happy to be there

 

[edk35]

I know the feeling. We just got back from two weeks at WDW/Vero. A little less than a month before our trip...we had to replace two tires on our 2008 van and the tires were fine. We picked up a roofer's nail in one of the front tires. They are run flats and it could not be repaired and they recommended replacing two tires at a time. So that was about 450 bucks. THEN we had an emergency vet overnight stay for our puppy in ICU that cost us over 500. She got a hold of my son's inhaler and had a bad reaction. THEN our older van that we rarely drive.... broke down on our son on the way to get the brakes done in our 2008 van. He was following me to drop the Sienna off and then we would drive back in the 98 Caravan. That ended up costing about 850 I think. So we had to get that van fixed that day then take the Sienna back to get the front brakes done. We were surprised when Toyota told us we needed front brakes already. It is a 2008....it had less than 27,000 miles on it. We drove to FL for the first time since 2002 sooooooooo we got that done too to be on the safe side. Not to mention having the oil changed and the air filter changed. Needless to say...I saw our money DWINDLE DOWN TOO. The entire time we were at WDW I kept thinking about how we don't need to go wild and spend a bunch of money.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Well I guess I feel blessed as I have only been once and that was in 06. I havent been able to afford to go since. Even my kids never went, my ex would not let us take vacations like that because he doesnt like parks. So feel blessed you get to take your kids and enjoy it with them. Jo

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

My mom used to have a magnet on her refrigerator that said "Life is what happens while you are making other plans". How true, huh?

July was an expensive month for us - some planned expenses (car registration renewals, transmission fluid change for car, school supplies & clothes [school starts August 10!]), some not ($235 to have the windshield replaced in our SUV because a rock flew into it as I was driving and the chip/crack was too big to repair and $177 to have our leaking dishwasher repaired).

 

[irishsharon]

Trust me I know how you feel! My husbands car died and we had to replace it two weeks ago,We had to cancel our Aug23-31 trip(thank goodness we got the insurance) it was going to be our boys first trip. I know it's so hard when things don't go as planned but just remember back to when you were a kid and your favorite memories. It's about the people not the things,stop and smell the roses it's free!

 

[lttlmc3]

Well, you could be in my position. My husband lost his job due to an injury and hasn't been able to work for six months. Our savings is gone and I don't know how we are going to make our mortgage this month. I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, I just mean count your blessings!