DISers who can easily afford a cruise need not post...

[jwann]

Okay people,
I LOVE to go on Disney cruises. ("Preaching to the choir" I suppose.) My husband and I are seriously considering having me quit my job and manage our household instead. I am willing to sacrifice ALOT to make this happen but.....not my beloved cruise. So here goes -- we recently booked our next cruise, a 7-day for our family of 4 for $2800.

That's $233/mo for one year (I assume we will go once a year).
OR
That's $7.67/day for one year.

My question is.......

What are your ideas for saving this kind of money?

Things we are going to try include -
Skipping our "eat out" meal easch week
Letting some magazine supscriptions lapse
Buying generic soda instead of pepsi/coke

Bring on your ideas!

 

[AnnMorin]

I only teach part time preschool.. I use my preschool income to buy disney dollars for excursions etc.
however how we do it each year is we simply DO NOT GO OUT, not at all, not once.. Some people think it is radical and kooky but for me to sit on that veranda for a week is well worth it! I am a good cook so we eat in. We don't go to the movies etc. It is amazing once you give that up the amount of money you can put aside. For many families it is not worth it but for us it is. There is nothing I enjoy more that my annual cruise.. and then I get to eat out 21 times (3 meals a day for 7 days) _

 

[NCRedding]

DH and I unfortunately eat out alot for lunch because of job committments. We've decided to start drinking water with our meals and just tucking away the money we would have spent on soda/tea, etc. We also are trying to eat more meals at home. The other thing we do is really think through each purchase ( i had several items in my buggy that I ordinarily would have thought nothing about purchasing--instead, I put them back on the shelf, and put the money I almost spent aside.)

 

[DisneyGator01]

I found one of the best ways and easiest ways to save money... is to really look at your utility bill and research power saving techniques.. Like turing off the ceiling fans in a room when you are not using it can save you $5 a month per fan. Or turning off your computer when you are not using it can save you $10 a month. Sure you can't knock $200 off, but I am saving sometimes $40-50 a month just by doing little things to save power.

Coupon shopping... really looking at the groceries and the unit price. Just by coupon and by one get one free I can save $50 a month in groceries.

I also started to document every non-bill expense (everything other then basic utilities, phone, rent, insurance) and then tried to cut 1/3rd.. I really started thinking about the household items, clothing, food, dining out, entertainment spending... Can really save a lot there.

I also transfered all my CC balances to a card offering interest free for the next year, to help save some of the interest.

Hope that helps some.

 

[Surfergirl]

I book about 18 months ahead. That gives me lots of time to save but the downside is a long wait.

 

[Twinave]

Great post! I agree that saving money takes a little work and planning. Since we got back from our last trip, 10/11 and have booked for 10/02/04 I have some savings to do. Mostly I'm cutting out a lot of the "it's just $20-40 a month expenses. I got rid of my cell phone, started making the kids pack lunches, and try to space out our haircuts. Also got DS a buzz cut so we can do this ourselves.
I am also working a lot of hours at my second job, and bring my own lunch as well.
It will be well worth it!!!!

 

[Cruisin]

Another way to go cheaply is to book a Category 11 cabin, we are just happy to go, and we don't spend much time in the cabin except to sleep. You can save a lot like that.
Another way to save a bit is to put all of your change from your purse, pocket or wallet away at the end of the day, it doesn't add up to hundreds of dollars but you would be surprised how much you do accumulate in a year.

 

[IGDDDF]

My big, big, HUGE question to you is HOW DID YOU BOOK A SEVEN NIGHT CRUISE FOR $2,800.?

We have been getting quotes for a cruise next August and one place on the web quoted a price of $13,000.00. The next gave us a quote of $9,000.00. We are a family of five planning on taking our first cruise with my beloved Disney. However, it seems that I may have to sell one or more of my children to realize this dream. Well, maybe then the price would be a little cheaper.

Anyway, please tell how, when, where you got this (to me) terrific rate.

Thanks much

 

[MommyTo5]

We are savers too! DH works a full time and a part time job (2 nights a week)... I stay at home with our 5 kids. We are by no means rich... actually, quite the opposite... but we do like to take Wonderful Disney vacations! I definitely feel that the sacrifices we are making for me to be able to stay home with our kids and create a lifetime of Disney Memories are worth it!!!

We don't go out... well... maybe a concert once every 18 months or so! It gets expensive when you have to pay a babysitter.

We don't eat in 'sit down' restaurants... other than on vacation.

We eat fast food (or delivery pizza) twice a week and the rest of the time, we eat at home. We do not order drinks out... we buy a 2 liter take the food home to eat which is much cheaper!

DH takes leftovers for lunch... or skips lunch altogether.

When we decided to book our cruise (by far - our most expensive vacation to date), we also let our cell phone go... that alone is saving us $50 a month. We've found we really didn't NEED it as much as we thought we did.

I buy all of our clothes/kids clothes on sale (or on eBay) and resell on eBay when we are done with the items.

We've cut way back in gifts to other people... a $15 gift is often as nice as a $50 gift if you put time and creative effort into it.

We no longer use extra services... call waiting, call notes (voice mail through the phone company), etc... all those little expenses do add up.

We don't call long distance... except to Grandma. We use 10-10-987 which is CHEAP!!!

We no longer rent movies, video games, etc... there are plenty of movies on tv and the kids are always getting games as birthday/Christmas presents. We do have cable... but no premium movies channels.

In the Winter, we keep the Heat set at 75 and in the Summer, we keep the AC at 80. We used to keep our house at a perfect 78 degrees all year but those couple degrees definitely make a difference! Our Utility bills prove it!!!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Oh...... and I am an online Tupperware Manager!!! I started with Tupperware in March and promoted to Manager in May. I now have over 35 Consultants under me... so I'm able to make easy extra $$ from home and never even have to leave my house! LOVE it!!!

~ Angie
MommyTo5

 

[ivanova]

get a 5 gallon water jug and put all of your spare change into it EVERY NIGHT when you empty your pockets (or make a point of emptying your wallet of spare change).

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by jwann

Buying generic soda instead of pepsi/coke

Bring on your ideas!

Haven't read the responses, but wanted to quickly mention (dinner is almost ready, so I don't have time)

but...save even MORE money.....drink water!

I also see you are a WISHer....this will not only help the pocketbook, but also the waistline.

I used to be a 3 or 4 cans a day Coke drinker, but now I drink mostly water with a lemon wedge. I haven't had to buy Coke in a LONG time! I do treat myself to about one a week and it tastes MUCH better now that I don't have it constantly!

HTH!

 

[AnnMorin]

Quote:
****************
In the Winter, we keep the Heat set at 75 and in the Summer, we keep the AC at 80. We used to keep our house at a perfect 78 degrees all year but those couple degrees definitely make a difference! Our Utility bills prove it!!!
************************

In the winter here the heat is set at 68 degrees at night and 63 during the day. When it is twenty below outside with the windchill I could not pay the mortgage it the heat was at 75!!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

We are sailing 12/20 - over Christmas. The entire Christmas budget, except for gifts for our nonnuclear family members, is going to the cruise, and then some. We decided that the children rarely remember from year to year what they receive for presents, and a Disney cruise would be a memory they will have forever! I have been saving miscellaneous checks that come into the house - reimbursement for things I buy for PTO at school, DH's mileage reimbursements for work related things he does, etc. I am cashing these and putting the money in travelers' checks for spending/tip money. I am also depositing into our onboard account every two weeks.

We applied for a Disney Visa card and booked our cruise with it. This gets us $50 onboard credit, and a disney dollar for each 100 on the card - so far, we have made $125 off this card. I am charging groceries, gas, clothing, etc. and if I could figure out a way to pay my utilities, car insurance and house payment using it, I would!! I am going to transfer the balance over to my miles card - so I can earn miles off this balance too, before paying it off.


Take a look at the budget board on this site -- there are lots of good ideas - IMHO this is the best thread there -

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=436630

With two girls, we have more than enough stuff around our house to go on two cruises, I am sure - It will just take a concentrated effort on our part to get it all together and put it up on ebay.

By the way, congratulations on your decision to stay home with your children - mine are teens now, and I find that being home is as important, if not more so, than when they were little.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Like the original poster, we recently became a one-income family. We're trying a lot of things to cut costs. Some of the things that we've done:

-Re-financed our house. Rates are still pretty low. We got 5% this summer.

-Generic soda. After a day or two, I didn't even notice the difference.

-Make a pizza from scratch rather than order out. This is a lot easier than you think, and it's kind of fun.

-Make lunch rather than eat out. A loaf of bread, a bag of chips, and some cold cuts for a week's worth of lunches will cost about the same as a single fast-food lunch.

-Coupons!

-Plan a menu each week and only go shopping once. If you have to stop at the store to pick something up every day or so, you'll inevitably also buy things that you wouldn't have, and you don't need.

-Got rid of both our cell phones and now have just one, with a pay-as-you-go plan, no monthly fees.

-Rent movies rather than go to a theatre, and use a cheaper local rental store rather than the big chains. The selection isn't as good, but you'll get to see the new releases eventually.

-Never pay for anything with change. For example, you buy something for $2.50, you give them a 5, and get 2 ones and 2 quarters as change. Then you go to another store and buy something for, say, $10.35. Instead of giving them the two quarters in your pocket, pay with bills. At the end of the day, dump all of your change into a can or a bank. You'll be surprised how quickly this adds up.

-Cancelled magazine subscriptions. You can read almost all of these online.

-Speaking of online, stick with dial-up for your ISP, it's slower, but much cheaper.

-Walk or ride a bike, when feasible.

-If you're a reader, find a used book store or a thrift store. You can usually get paperbacks for under a dollar, as opposed to $7 at a bookstore.

-If you have student loans, consolidate them! You can probably save a couple hundered dollars a month right here.

These are some of the things we're trying to do, and so far, so good. Best of luck to you!

 

[mobetsy]

Grumpy's mom, try asking various service providers if they will charge your credit card! Utilities usually won't, but my cell phone bill, my church pledge, newpaper subscription (Sat. & Sun only...that's one way we cut costs) have all been easy to switch to a credit card payment.

For books and videos, try the public library; even if you occasionally have something overdue you can still come out way ahead in $$ not spent on books or video rentals.

I regularly search the clearance shelves at Target for toys that will make good birthday presents for both my boys and for b'day parties they go to. I order lots of books from the Scholastic flyers that come home from school for the same reason. We can still give a nice gift, but it cost $5 instead of $10-15.

 

[MommyTo5]

In the winter here the heat is set at 68 degrees at night and 63 during the day. When it is twenty below outside with the windchill I could not pay the mortgage it the heat was at 75!!

Oh Ann!!! And here I thought we were really making a sacrifice! That is COLD!!! I must be a total wimp!

I actually do think it's a bit chilly in our house right now at 75 degrees! Yesterday, we had a high of 75 outside (very humid too) so of course it was very HOT inside our house. So hot, I was even tempted to turn on the AC. Right now though, we are currently at 41 degrees with the heat back on... I think the highest the temp got today was 43! Gotta love this Midwest weather! Shorts one day and sweatshirts/jackets the next!

I guess I'll go and be thankful right now!

~ Angie
MommyTo5

 

[CRSNDSNY]

DH is a full-time student and it is just me (full-time job plus 2 adjunct positions AND independent design contracting) to juggle student loans, mortage, car loans and all other bills, so...this is what we do to afford DCL and WDW:

1 - COUPONS COUPONS and more COUPONS (I am an expert bargain shopper, too)

2 - Eat out less frequently and when we do it is at very inexpensive places (think pizza -- with coupons )

3 - Wash our own cars

4 - Save all of our change -- adds up quickly! $$$

5 - Only purchase clothing and household items when absolutely DIRE

6 - Take our lunches to work/school

7 - Bathe our dogs ourselves instead of through a groomer

8 - Micromanage air conditioners in summer and heat in winter (during winter we do not go above 67 but keep it as low as 62 during the day)

9 - Calling cards instead of expensive toll and long distance charges (Sam's Club rechargable phone cards are 3 cents a minute)

10 - We are conservative with our groceries and do not buy junk food like ice cream, soda, cookies, etc. That saves a little bit at a time on our grocery bill. We budget ourselves to $300/month (there are only 2 of us and 2 dogs). Before I started conserving I would spend up to almost $500 a month.

11 - Use our Disney Visa to accumulate for onboard credit.

12 - There are countless ways to conserve on other household expenses (as others have said), as well...can't pinpoint them now.

I am really enjoying reading others' strategies...keem them coming!!!

 

[Cindyluwho]

I've found the easiest way to cut back was to tell my husband ABSOLUTELY no Starbucks, no lattes, no mochas, etc. One or two of those a day can really add up! Here in Seattle it's blasphemy to utter such notions but it really works. And, if you're a smoker, what a great time to quit! At $5+ a pack, you'd have your Disney cruise paid for in no time!

Another good one is to ask the checker at the supermarket to give you a subtotal before you run your "club card" (Safeway, Albertson's, et). Then write your check for the total amount. When she gives you your change-put it directly in an envelope to go to the bank. I saved $480+ dollars in just one year doing that at the local Safeway. You can do the same thing with coupons.

I'm lovin' reading everyone's ideas.

 

[Grumbo]

IGDDF asked...

My big, big, HUGE question to you is HOW DID YOU BOOK A SEVEN NIGHT CRUISE FOR $2,800.?

Its not difficult actually. If you look (for an example only) All Season's 2005 prices you'll see you can get Cat 11 up to Cat 9 rooms for 4 for under $2600. $5137 is the cheapest I can see for a family of 5 in a Category 4. Now you're booking early but big difference between $13,000. Also if some of your children are over 12 years old its $200 per person more but the MOST it would cost is $5737 if they're all adults.

We pay a bit off when we have extra cash. We paid off our March 2004 cruise a few months ago this way. You don't miss it quite as much that way. Now saving for some excursions and the second week at WDW.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[debm]

We love our Disney vacations too! And we tease ourselves about our DVC debt being a small house payment. It is very hard for us to cut back---we love our lunches out etc. But we cut small things out such as we share a drink or our kids share a meal out--they never eat it all anyhow. I've tried all the home business stuff out there it : Longaberger, Tupperware, Creative Memories, etc. It seems it only supports my habit of buying the products. Recently though my husband and I have started a home business together. (www.safeandhealthyhomes.com) We are very excited about it because our goal is to pay for our Disney vacations! We started by buying safer and healthier products for our home from Melaleuca: The Wellness Company. I'd always wanted something safer because I've heard about all the chemicals in cleaning products and laundry soap etc. but never knew where to buy safer ones. Once we started using these products--we love them! And we found they offer a great program for referring other people, allowing you to make your own business out of it and getting residual income month after month on all the other customers that you refer. There are people earning anywhere from an extra $100 a month to an extra $10,000 a month, and higher. And the company really helps you achieve your goal. This is our 2nd month and we are really enjoying it. We are working towards paying for our cruise in May! And future ones....one a year sounds good to me too! I love reading about all these hints to save money.

Debi