DH wants me to cut budget by $1500??!!

[Marshmelo]

If that is the trip you want keep it. I usually go on a spree around this house every few months and make A LOT of money from ebay or craigs list etc. DH wanted a 1500.00 tv from Costco last week. I said sure but let's see what we can get rid of to help fund that (rather than saying you don't NEED a new tv yours is only 2 years old!!) and I sold an amazing amount of stuff from an already clutter free home to pretty much cover the TV. I tend to do that than take a cheaper way out b/c when I settle for less I am never happy. Used toys around the house? Gold jewelry? Anything???

Love this. It is the trip that will make me happy, so we are keeping it as is except for the extra MK day, which will give us a chance to have a rest/swim/DD day and save over $200. Other than that, I really want to go to HS and US. Our DS will be 8 in Nov and he is tall, currently 51" so can ride most rides at US, plus I love US and don't want to skip it

 

[sk!mom]

If that is the trip you want keep it. I usually go on a spree around this house every few months and make A LOT of money from ebay or craigs list etc. DH wanted a 1500.00 tv from Costco last week. I said sure but let's see what we can get rid of to help fund that (rather than saying you don't NEED a new tv yours is only 2 years old!!) and I sold an amazing amount of stuff from an already clutter free home to pretty much cover the TV. I tend to do that than take a cheaper way out b/c when I settle for less I am never happy. Used toys around the house? Gold jewelry? Anything???

I'm honestly not trying to be snarky but just really curious. How in the world do you have enough stuff to sell "every few months" that you can make "a lot of money" that often?

 

[LovesTimone]

I apologize, this is LONG! I'm pretty sure there is no way possible to cut this much, but hoping for some ideas on how/where I can save some. I thought I had done a pretty good job budgeting and getting good rates, but want to make sure. It will be the two of us and our 7yo DS. So, here is a rundown on our costs and stay details:

Air: $786 RT on Southwest (already paid for) fly out IND morning 10/13, back morning 10/21 direct flights
Car: $155 for midsize Alamo for p/u noon on 10/13, return 4pm 10/20 (I keep an eye to see if rate drops)
Rental villa $800 for 5 nights (already put down a dp)
Beach Hotel (Alden Suites) on St. Pete beach 2 nights $284.93 (also already put down deposit)
3 day base park tix $835 (from my local AAA) for MK 2 full days and HS 1 day
Universal Studios 1 day 2 park tix $445 (also from AAA) (+$210 for express passes)
MCO Hyatt hotel night before flight $216
parking at theme parks: $85
parking at our local airport $81
Food $800 (no idea if I'm in the ballpark or not on this one)
MNSSHP tix $231 (already purchased), doing this arrival day
I also have already purchased memory maker and the universal photo pass

For food:
10/13 - Trex lunch after flight lands, counter service dinner at MNSSHP
10/14 - HS: lunch at Sci Fi, dinner at Mama Melrose (Fantasmic package)
10/15 - breakfast at BOG, CS lunch, dinner at BOG
10/16 - breakfast at BOG, CS lunch and Rainforest Cafe dinner at DD
10/17 - breakfast Universal character breakfast, CS lunch and CS dinner (Monsters Cafe, Thunder Falls)
10/18 and 10/19 we will be at St. Pete Beach
10/20 - lunch at Planet Hollywood, dinner ? maybe at hotel or airport
Also would probably allow one purchased snack a day in the parks. We plan to use Brita bottles and get free ice water.

All that being said, the only places to save that I can find are the $210 for express passes at Universal, but I almost see that as necessary being as we have only 1 day to do both parks there. The other area would be to not stay at the Hyatt inside the airport and instead stay at the Holiday Inn with the shuttle to the airport which would save $110 but would be more of a hassle because we would still want to return the rental car on the 20th so we would have to get a shuttle from the airport to the Holiday Inn and then again back to the airport to catch our flight the next morning. I've even looked at changing our flight to leave on the 20th (it was much cheaper to leave on the 21st when I booked, and still is, but if that goes down I can change that for no fee and save the hotel cost.) Again, no major savings though.

Just want to make sure I'm not missing something! Also, is my $800 estimated for food in the ballpark or not enough??

Oh, and I have purchased the Orlando Entertainment book when it was $7 to use at least the Rainforest and Planet Hollywood coupons.

Thanks!

It looks like you are going to be spending a lot of time running around and driving around. For us we like to stay in one spot and doing more vacationing, relaxing, touring the parks, swimming and slowing down, but that's just us.

So here's my 2 cents for what its worth.

Did you check on hotels staying on property, I would go this route, and package your room and Disney park tickets into a package. With that said run the numbers with a dinning plan to see how they come out, also check at special offers I did a quick search( I did not check for any special offers) at a moderate and came in at 3.819.45 at a CBR 8 nights, 6 days tickets ( no park hopper) and DDP with is 1 TS, 1 QS and 1 snack per person - per day. So this would cover your resort, transportation to and from the airport, park tickets, and most of your meals and snacks. If you wanted to add park hopper you can do so when you arrive.

Cancel Beach hotel, Airport hotel, Universal trip, Photo passes at both parks, you can still get pictures taken, and then pay for the ones you really really want once your home, and can pay for later on.

You can use magical express to and from the air port ( no charge) With the price of the car, you did not include gas, insurance or mileage. Eliminating the car rental will also get rid of the parking cost for the parks and using this you will not need the hotel at the airport. So more vacation time.

If going to the beach is really important to you, you can rent a car for 1 day head over to Cocoa Beach nice straight shot on the turnpike, If you head to St. Pete the traffic on I-4 is terrible they have the road work being done all over. Or you could spend a resort day and enjoy the pool and relax. Which the latter would get my vote.

800.00 for food is low, not unless your going to be splitting meals and only eating counter service, I can't see how you can do that many TS on 800.00 did you included, you need to budget in tips, snacks, milkshakes and above all adult beverages.

The 800.00 , and 284.93 for the villa rentals - I am assuming is off site, does that cost included parking, and cleaning fee, and any other resort fee? My friends got surprised once, so just check so no surprises. If you decide to go this route.

81.00 dollars for parking at airport at home, I don't really know if you can avoid this, do you have any family/ friends that might could drop off and pick up that would be willing?

You haven't included souvenirs in with your budget, but I am sure you will want to pick up a few things.

What I have noticed is that when budgeting you have to match apples to apples not apples to oranges, while the basic rate might be lower, you have to add in the extras tips, car rental, insurance, gas and mileage, resort fees not included in the basic price. Cleaning of villa, parking, wifi, pool access, a lot of this will be could be a additional charge.

Again just my 2 cents. No matter what have a magical trip.

 

[barkley]

It looks like you are going to be spending a lot of time running around and driving around. For us we like to stay in one spot and doing more vacationing, relaxing, touring the parks, swimming and slowing down, but that's just us.

So here's my 2 cents for what its worth.

Did you check on hotels staying on property, I would go this route, and package your room and Disney park tickets into a package. With that said run the numbers with a dinning plan to see how they come out, also check at special offers I did a quick search( I did not check for any special offers) at a moderate and came in at 3.819.45 at a CBR 8 nights, 6 days tickets ( no park hopper) and DDP with is 1 TS, 1 QS and 1 snack per person - per day. So this would cover your resort, transportation to and from the airport, park tickets, and most of your meals and snacks. If you wanted to add park hopper you can do so when you arrive.

Cancel Beach hotel, Airport hotel, Universal trip, Photo passes at both parks, you can still get pictures taken, and then pay for the ones you really really want once your home, and can pay for later on.

You can use magical express to and from the air port ( no charge) With the price of the car, you did not include gas, insurance or mileage. Eliminating the car rental will also get rid of the parking cost for the parks and using this you will not need the hotel at the airport. So more vacation time.

If going to the beach is really important to you, you can rent a car for 1 day head over to Cocoa Beach nice straight shot on the turnpike, If you head to St. Pete the traffic on I-4 is terrible they have the road work being done all over. Or you could spend a resort day and enjoy the pool and relax. Which the latter would get my vote.

800.00 for food is low, not unless your going to be splitting meals and only eating counter service, I can't see how you can do that many TS on 800.00 did you included, you need to budget in tips, snacks, milkshakes and above all adult beverages.

The 800.00 , and 284.93 for the villa rentals - I am assuming is off site, does that cost included parking, and cleaning fee, and any other resort fee? My friends got surprised once, so just check so no surprises. If you decide to go this route.

81.00 dollars for parking at airport at home, I don't really know if you can avoid this, do you have any family/ friends that might could drop off and pick up that would be willing?

You haven't included souvenirs in with your budget, but I am sure you will want to pick up a few things.

What I have noticed is that when budgeting you have to match apples to apples not apples to oranges, while the basic rate might be lower, you have to add in the extras tips, car rental, insurance, gas and mileage, resort fees not included in the basic price. Cleaning of villa, parking, wifi, pool access, a lot of this will be could be a additional charge.

Again just my 2 cents. No matter what have a magical trip.

excellent point. wherever we vacation I'm always crunching the numbers on what the TRUE price of one lodging option will cost us over another. I look at all that one location offers and charges then compare it with others-and in my experience the 'cheap' often comes out more expensive in the long run. it ends up being much more cost effective for us as a family (of 3-4 travelers) if I pay a bit more for lodging that includes free breakfast every morning vs. trying to save 10 or 20 dollars per night on a room rate at a place that doesn't offer breakfast. if I pay a few extra dollars a night and can get a room with a microwave and mini fridge that means we're not wasting leftovers from eating out (and can take or pick up some much less expensive food options). paying a bit more to stay on site (or off with a free shuttle to my destination) saves me rental car, insurance, gas AND the horrendous parking fees not only at the destination but what is becoming the common practice at many hotels. as far as airport parking goes-if we cant get a ride from a friend it's more often than not less expensive for us to do the park and fly packages at the hotels near the airport we are departing from. cripes-covered parking (a necessity for us during snowy periods) runs $140 for 2 weeks at the airport, I can book a park and fly package for $108 that lets me leave my car in the hotel's secured lot, provides a couple of cocktails free for dh and I the night we check in, includes breakfast for all of us the next morning AND provides a shuttle straight to the check-in area for my chosen airline/from the luggage pickup area upon our return. much more cost effective.


btw-I also think the $800 food budget may be very off. the way I read the o/p that's to cover 3 people for 9 days? (cuz I assume unless it's a heck a short flight there will be some eating of at least breakfast prior to boarding). when we last went to wdw (2 years ago) we stayed in a rental condo, and despite being able to save $$$ by eating breakfast before we left, opting a few nights for off property chain restaurants (read less expensive-largely due to freebie coupons I got ahead of time by joining their on-line loyalty clubs) and not doing allot of table service restaurants-we still spent a good deal more than that for a family of (then) 4-with one kid who eats next to nothing. I mean, just going to something like Wendy's locally and getting burgers, fries and drinks for the 3 us at home now runs over $30 so add in the increased wdw prices at just the counter service places and you're looking with maybe one snack each during the day spending over 75% of your daily food budget BEFORE you've paid for breakfast or dinner. I think that number really needs to be recalculated.

 

[Marshmelo]

It looks like you are going to be spending a lot of time running around and driving around. For us we like to stay in one spot and doing more vacationing, relaxing, touring the parks, swimming and slowing down, but that's just us.

So here's my 2 cents for what its worth.

Did you check on hotels staying on property, I would go this route, and package your room and Disney park tickets into a package. With that said run the numbers with a dinning plan to see how they come out, also check at special offers I did a quick search( I did not check for any special offers) at a moderate and came in at 3.819.45 at a CBR 8 nights, 6 days tickets ( no park hopper) and DDP with is 1 TS, 1 QS and 1 snack per person - per day. So this would cover your resort, transportation to and from the airport, park tickets, and most of your meals and snacks. If you wanted to add park hopper you can do so when you arrive.

Cancel Beach hotel, Airport hotel, Universal trip, Photo passes at both parks, you can still get pictures taken, and then pay for the ones you really really want once your home, and can pay for later on.

You can use magical express to and from the air port ( no charge) With the price of the car, you did not include gas, insurance or mileage. Eliminating the car rental will also get rid of the parking cost for the parks and using this you will not need the hotel at the airport. So more vacation time.

If going to the beach is really important to you, you can rent a car for 1 day head over to Cocoa Beach nice straight shot on the turnpike, If you head to St. Pete the traffic on I-4 is terrible they have the road work being done all over. Or you could spend a resort day and enjoy the pool and relax. Which the latter would get my vote.

800.00 for food is low, not unless your going to be splitting meals and only eating counter service, I can't see how you can do that many TS on 800.00 did you included, you need to budget in tips, snacks, milkshakes and above all adult beverages.

The 800.00 , and 284.93 for the villa rentals - I am assuming is off site, does that cost included parking, and cleaning fee, and any other resort fee? My friends got surprised once, so just check so no surprises. If you decide to go this route.

81.00 dollars for parking at airport at home, I don't really know if you can avoid this, do you have any family/ friends that might could drop off and pick up that would be willing?

You haven't included souvenirs in with your budget, but I am sure you will want to pick up a few things.

What I have noticed is that when budgeting you have to match apples to apples not apples to oranges, while the basic rate might be lower, you have to add in the extras tips, car rental, insurance, gas and mileage, resort fees not included in the basic price. Cleaning of villa, parking, wifi, pool access, a lot of this will be could be a additional charge.

Again just my 2 cents. No matter what have a magical trip.

Thanks again to everyone replying. These will be good tips to keep in mind for next trip. We had considered staying on property, but liked the idea of having our own house and pool. Yes, the $800 is complete cost, even including pool heat and is in the Rolling Hills neighborhood, so very close.

I did the food calculator someone posted and it was right on, came to $799 which included the gratuity at TS meals and one snack a day/pp. And that was before I cut one of our MK days. It also showed me how that compared to dining plans and we were better off not using a dining plan.

As for the beach, our DS has never been to a beach and DH really wants beach time.

All this said, that is why I asked the question just to make sure I wasn't missing things we could save on without drastically changing everything. I knew it wasn't possible, but asked to humor DH. I just laughed when he asked me if we could cut out that much!

 

[Marionnette]

I think that we all have limitations as to how far we are willing to compromise in order to save money. I think that you will have a very enjoyable vacation, OP. It may cost more than what your DH would like to pay, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and pay. There are minimum costs for everything and once you hit those minimums, that's it for cutting costs. Any further cuts would have to come at the expense of compromising on the things that you find necessary to make your trip enjoyable. Go and have fun!

 

[rigs32]

OP, I think you got a lot of great advice regarding ways to alter your trip to keep it fun but decrease costs. But the only thing you're willing to do is drop one day of MK. There's no magic wand anyone can wave to find you secret discounts.

Orlando pricing structure is, as others have said, geared toward longer stays at WDW or Universal. The price of having both plus the beach is a total cost for your week that is nearly double. Two day tickets at WDW are about $100/day/person. If you got a 7 day pass instead, that becomes less than $50/day/person and you don't have to force yourself to travel commando every day to get your money and time maximized.

If you're dropping a day of MK, then why can't you switch your Universal day to a weekday and lose the express pass?

Also, there are dozens of 3 star MCO hotels for $50-100. You don't have to spend $200+.

 

[leebee]

I know that you have decided on your changes and it'll save a little, but not near what your DH would have liked. Unfortunately, you had paid for too many things to be able to really change your plans to save much money. Next trip, investigate/ask before putting down payments or buying things and you might be able to save 20% or more! However, a penny saved is a penny less to give to the mouse, so keep trying to shave down some of the costs. Here are my suggestions/considerations:

On the rental car... Did you go to mousesavers.com to find codes, coupons, and learn how to stack them for better rates? Also, check out carrentalsavers.com. On our last few trips, I found they had the most competitive car prices, and one trip the price there dropped the day before departure. Keep checking!

Disney tickets... For MK, I see you are doing one party day and now one regular day. Would it be more cost effective to just do two party days? You get 8 hours in MK for the price of MNSSHP tickets... plenty long enough. Also, regarding BOG; it's worth it to do one meal there to see the castle, but you're on BOG overload. I'd suggest doing lunch there once, if you keep that MK day, and let the rest go.

You have a car. Don't bother to bring food from home. Stop at Publix and stock up on whatever you'll need for breakfasts and snacks.

 

[sk!mom]

Thanks again to everyone replying. These will be good tips to keep in mind for next trip.
As for the beach, our DS has never been to a beach and DH really wants beach time.

All this said, that is why I asked the question just to make sure I wasn't missing things we could save on without drastically changing everything. I knew it wasn't possible, but asked to humor DH. I just laughed when he asked me if we could cut out that much!

If you know that there will be another trip and your DH is concerned about costs, then why not change the trip? Do Disney or Universal this trip with a couple of beach days and the other on the next trip.

Honestly, you know your DH is uncomfortable with the cost but have you asked him if he would prefer to switch to one park or the other to bring the cost down and save the other for the next trip?

You seem really unwilling to make changes and the fact that he wants to cut sooooo much would have me concerned about him really enjoying it given the cost.

 

[barkley]

just thought of something else to take into consideration w/the cost-you're not going to be home those 9 days you will be on vacation which means you won't be spending whatever you normally budget/spend for food at home for that period of time. if you do a monthly grocery budget you might want to look at how much you would normally spend for those 9 days and earmark that towards offsetting some of the vacation costs.

 

[LovesTimone]

Thanks again to everyone replying. These will be good tips to keep in mind for next trip. We had considered staying on property, but liked the idea of having our own house and pool. Yes, the $800 is complete cost, even including pool heat and is in the Rolling Hills neighborhood, so very close.

I did the food calculator someone posted and it was right on, came to $799 which included the gratuity at TS meals and one snack a day/pp. And that was before I cut one of our MK days. It also showed me how that compared to dining plans and we were better off not using a dining plan.

As for the beach, our DS has never been to a beach and DH really wants beach time.

All this said, that is why I asked the question just to make sure I wasn't missing things we could save on without drastically changing everything. I knew it wasn't possible, but asked to humor DH. I just laughed when he asked me if we could cut out that much!

I did the food calculator someone posted and it was right on, came to $799 which included the gratuity at TS meals and one snack a day/pp. And that was before I cut one of our MK days. It also showed me how that compared to dining plans and we were better off not using a dining plan. - I just want to make sure that I am reading this right is the 800.00 for food only for WDW? or for the whole trip? The way I was reading it was 800.00 for food for the whole trip not just the WDW portion. Because the food calculator is only for WDW restaurants... Right?

As for the beach, our DS has never been to a beach and DH really wants beach time. - As I suggested you could go over just for the day with rental car. Doubletree Resort at DTD has rental car office. This way DS get his day on the beach, but what if he's not that into it. You never know with kids. I know that when my kiddos were that age given the choice they would rather stay at WDW and the pool or go to the water park, instead of heading to the beach. On a side note ... I know that if my DH said he wanted a beach day, that is code for down time, and lounger and some adult beverages, that why I suggested the pool day, if you go that route you can cut out 1 days cost of ticket and only go for a 5 day.

I did not know if you were aware that St. Pete beach is almost 100 miles away from Walt Disney give or take depending on where you are staying at, the time that they list is about a hour and a half drive. No way, with all the construction and time your on the road.. you are looking at more like three and half to four hours one way, It's takes me over and hour to go to Lakeland where my parents live, and I live in Orlando, and I drive the toll roads as much as possible.

I am just giving you some of my thoughts and suggestions. Have a magical trip.

 

[Marshmelo]

I did the food calculator someone posted and it was right on, came to $799 which included the gratuity at TS meals and one snack a day/pp. And that was before I cut one of our MK days. It also showed me how that compared to dining plans and we were better off not using a dining plan. - I just want to make sure that I am reading this right is the 800.00 for food only for WDW? or for the whole trip? The way I was reading it was 800.00 for food for the whole trip not just the WDW portion. Because the food calculator is only for WDW restaurants... Right?

As for the beach, our DS has never been to a beach and DH really wants beach time. - As I suggested you could go over just for the day with rental car. Doubletree Resort at DTD has rental car office. This way DS get his day on the beach, but what if he's not that into it. You never know with kids. I know that when my kiddos were that age given the choice they would rather stay at WDW and the pool or go to the water park, instead of heading to the beach. On a side note ... I know that if my DH said he wanted a beach day, that is code for down time, and lounger and some adult beverages, that why I suggested the pool day, if you go that route you can cut out 1 days cost of ticket and only go for a 5 day.

I did not know if you were aware that St. Pete beach is almost 100 miles away from Walt Disney give or take depending on where you are staying at, the time that they list is about a hour and a half drive. No way, with all the construction and time your on the road.. you are looking at more like three and half to four hours one way, It's takes me over and hour to go to Lakeland where my parents live, and I live in Orlando, and I drive the toll roads as much as possible.

I am just giving you some of my thoughts and suggestions. Have a magical trip.

I added an extra day in the meal calculator to account for Universal. The CS meal prices there are pretty similar to wdw I figure. So the only food it didn't account for was what we will buy at store for breakfasts/snacks and meals on our beach days.

 

[LovesTimone]

I added an extra day in the meal calculator to account for Universal. The CS meal prices there are pretty similar to wdw I figure. So the only food it didn't account for was what we will buy at store for breakfasts/snacks and meals on our beach days.

Okay, I was wondering... but that still puts you way over your budget of 800.00 for the whole trip, If you are at the beach 2 nights that at least that's at least 4 meals each if you eat breakfast in room. On check out day, that another breakfast, and lunch on the road, and dinner at the airport, breakfast and possible lunch depending on your departure time. 9 nights and 800.00 that's only 88.89 for each day for all for 3 of you. I would up the budget to at least 1400.00. I hope you don't think that I am being rude, but I had some friends come and I tried to warn them about what food cost, by the 3rd day they had almost blown through their budget, and her DH was miserable the rest of the trip, and watched everything that they ordered like a hawk, they ended up putting quite a bundled on the credit cards. I am just putting it out there if your DH is asking you to cut the budget and you end up spending even more than planned, will he be okay? Again hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[barkley]

Okay, I was wondering... but that still puts you way over your budget of 800.00 for the whole trip, If you are at the beach 2 nights that at least that's at least 4 meals each if you eat breakfast in room. On check out day, that another breakfast, and lunch on the road, and dinner at the airport, breakfast and possible lunch depending on your departure time. 9 nights and 800.00 that's only 88.89 for each day for all for 3 of you. I would up the budget to at least 1400.00. I hope you don't think that I am being rude, but I had some friends come and I tried to warn them about what food cost, by the 3rd day they had almost blown through their budget, and her DH was miserable the rest of the trip, and watched everything that they ordered like a hawk, they ended up putting quite a bundled on the credit cards. I am just putting it out there if your DH is asking you to cut the budget and you end up spending even more than planned, will he be okay? Again hope you have a wonderful time.

these are my thoughts as well-and keep in mind that while the price of food at wdw and universal are spendy the airport isn't much less AND you've got limited choices. limited even more so until you actually check out of the hotel and check in for your flight the next day and go through security (micro versions of fast food places/sub sandwich shops, abbreviated menus at macaroni grill and chilis-but all at higher prices than we've ever paid at their non airport counterparts). other than these it's the VERY spendy restaurants and room service at the hyatt (if we're staying there we either try to eat prior to check in or time it out so we've picked up to-go food offsite to eat in the room).

I was curious so I just looked at what the airport Hyatt's NON ROOM SERVICE breakfast options are-same as when we were there, just the one place w/few options. the average (lowest end items) meals w/each person having either milk or coffee or juice (not both for any one person) w/tax and modest tip runs for 3 people about $60.00. dinner runs SIGNIFICANTLY more (and trying to save anything by eating dinner earlier on the lunch menu is still a bust when the burgers alone start w/out tax and tip around $13).

I don't know about anyone else-but when I'm vacationing the last thing I want to be dealing with either dh or I stressing over being right at or well over budget.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I like the idea of trying to make cuts to the budget (or earn/save) to make up for that $1500 difference. We generally fund the bulk of our vacation costs with what I call "found" or "magic" money. We have a change jar, I do surveys, we have sold unnecessary household items, we have trimmed the food and gasoline (and sometimes monthly entertainment) budgets, put birthday and Christmas money towards the savings, save up credit card rewards, and just generally tried to syphon off whatever excess monies we can to our vacation account.

Last year I started saving for a Christmas trip in secret and managed to save/earn $1000 in about 4 months. I started out slow...DH would have said something if he had felt the pinch, but I was so stealthy, he had no idea...never noticed a thing. When I finally announced how much I had gathered, he was thrilled and he and the kids assisted in the race to come up with the rest of what we needed, and it went even faster after that! It's like a game now, to see how fast we can build up the vacation account!!

We currently have other savings goals that leave nothing in the budget for vacations (sniff, sniff) for the next 18-24 months, so next summer we'll have ONLY what we can "magic" up between now and then to spend. For the first time, instead of finding the funds to fit a particular vacation, we will be finding a vacation to fit a particular fund.

Besides the ways to earn/save stated above, we plan to zero out the checking account every month the night before payday (and it's usually less than $10, but every penny counts!), get better at couponing (I price match but couponing is still new to me) and find any and all ways to be more frugal so there's more money to go towards vacations.

I'll bet if you try, you can make up some or possibly even all of that $1500 by trying some of these tips and tricks!

Good luck (should you choose to try) and have a great vacation!!

**Edit: I forgot to say that I think your $800 for food is probably fine. People are constantly telling me our food budgets while travelling are shockingly low, but we always come in at or under budget. You seem to have a good handle on it, since you did the meal plan calculator thing...didn't want you to second guess that too much.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

If that is the trip you want keep it. I usually go on a spree around this house every few months and make A LOT of money from ebay or craigs list etc. DH wanted a 1500.00 tv from Costco last week. I said sure but let's see what we can get rid of to help fund that (rather than saying you don't NEED a new tv yours is only 2 years old!!) and I sold an amazing amount of stuff from an already clutter free home to pretty much cover the TV. I tend to do that than take a cheaper way out b/c when I settle for less I am never happy. Used toys around the house? Gold jewelry? Anything???

I have to ask. What did you find laying around your clutter free home to sell for 1500 on craigslist and ebay?

 

[3boymthr]

Just one other thought - when are you going? You mentioned MNSSHP and that your son will be 8 in November. The beach may not be the best place to be in Late October/November. The average temps in Florida in November are only in the mid 60's. Cold for the beach or at least for swimming at the beach. We live on the coast so the beach is no big deal for us and I get that living in the middle of the country being so near to the beach makes it very enticing (we have family in OH and when they came here the beach was a BIG deal) so a few days at the beach may seem like a great idea but take it from someone who spent today at the bike path that went right by the beach - when the temp at noon was 64 - you may want to extend your time in Orlando and plan it as a day trip from Orlando rather than several days there.

 

[Marshmelo]

Just one other thought - when are you going? You mentioned MNSSHP and that your son will be 8 in November. The beach may not be the best place to be in Late October/November. The average temps in Florida in November are only in the mid 60's. Cold for the beach or at least for swimming at the beach. We live on the coast so the beach is no big deal for us and I get that living in the middle of the country being so near to the beach makes it very enticing (we have family in OH and when they came here the beach was a BIG deal) so a few days at the beach may seem like a great idea but take it from someone who spent today at the bike path that went right by the beach - when the temp at noon was 64 - you may want to extend your time in Orlando and plan it as a day trip from Orlando rather than several days there.

Arrival date is 10/13. Which beach are you near? 64 midday in August??!!

 

[barkley]

I like the idea of trying to make cuts to the budget (or earn/save) to make up for that $1500 difference. We generally fund the bulk of our vacation costs with what I call "found" or "magic" money. We have a change jar, I do surveys, we have sold unnecessary household items, we have trimmed the food and gasoline (and sometimes monthly entertainment) budgets, put birthday and Christmas money towards the savings, save up credit card rewards, and just generally tried to syphon off whatever excess monies we can to our vacation account.

Last year I started saving for a Christmas trip in secret and managed to save/earn $1000 in about 4 months. I started out slow...DH would have said something if he had felt the pinch, but I was so stealthy, he had no idea...never noticed a thing. When I finally announced how much I had gathered, he was thrilled and he and the kids assisted in the race to come up with the rest of what we needed, and it went even faster after that! It's like a game now, to see how fast we can build up the vacation account!!

just goes to show-it's different strokes for different folks. in our household every dollar is budgeted for w/dh and i on the same page budget wise such that despite my doing surveys and having a change jar (don't buy/acquire 'unnecessary items so no ability to sell, monthly 'entertainment' is forgone if planning a vacation short or long term and don't do credit card rewards for the most part b/c w/ the exception of our free Costco amex card all the rest charge fees and since we prefer to live debt free we see no advantage in paying for a credit card to earn rewards)-if I managed to somehow secretly squirrel away $1000 over the course of 4 months my husband wouldn't have noticed it via feeling a 'pinch'-he would have noticed it not going into a designated savings account to earn some (even minor form) of interest (emergency, reserve, vacation, gift/Christmas, or long term savings)

We currently have other savings goals that leave nothing in the budget for vacations (sniff, sniff) for the next 18-24 months, so next summer we'll have ONLY what we can "magic" up between now and then to spend. For the first time, instead of finding the funds to fit a particular vacation, we will be finding a vacation to fit a particular fund.

again-different strokes...for us it's always the vacation that fits the funds (even if it means putting off the vacation until the funds are available) vs. finding the funds to fit the vacation.

Besides the ways to earn/save stated above, we plan to zero out the checking account every month the night before payday (and it's usually less than $10, but every penny counts!), get better at couponing (I price match but couponing is still new to me) and find any and all ways to be more frugal so there's more money to go towards vacations.

be careful and check your bank's rules-w/some if you hit a zero balance if you've got overdraft protection they will pull (w/a fee) from another of your accounts to keep the checking open OR just suspend the checking account which entails a physical trip to the bank (and spent time and gas money) to reactivate (our bank will bounce direct deposits if the account is suspended so then it entails getting the employer to agree to do a redeposit which can cause delays, which if you have credit card and mortgage bills due can result in hefty penalties). w/coupons-eeeeh. for us the cost of a newspaper subscription (even just sunday) outweighs the savings, and the online ones cost more in ink and copy paper to benefit f
I'll bet if you try, you can make up some or possibly even all of that $1500 by trying some of these tips and tricks!

Good luck (should you choose to try) and have a great vacation!!

**Edit: I forgot to say that I think your $800 for food is probably fine. People are constantly telling me our food budgets while travelling are shockingly low, but we always come in at or under budget. You seem to have a good handle on it, since you did the meal plan calculator thing...didn't want you to second guess that too much.

just want to say-not trying to be rude or judgmental in my comments-it's just that we've worked really hard despite some incredible financial setbacks over the last 12 years to manage to become debt free (including our mortgage) and get to the point where despite being on a yearly decreasing income (due to increasing share of health care costs w/employer) where watching every penny allows us to save over 50% of our gross income per year. again-NOT BRAGGING. it just comes down to tracking as a spousal team every penny such that if $1000 over 4 months went missing from spending or somehow appeared it would be a huge red flag that in hindsight we were somehow wasting/missed earning on average $250 a month ($3000 per year) that we could have been saving.

 

[carissa1970]

You may want to look into VRBO for a rental. We stayed 5 nights in a nice 3 bdrm home with pool for $400 this summer.