Do you wait and save for the trip you want or make the trip fit your budget at the time?

[ozliz]

The subject line probably isn’t clear so I’ll clarify. With Disney trips that range from expensive to very expensive and higher, how do you plan or budget? Do you map out the dream and then work out a savings plan, maybe waiting longer before you go to be able to afford what you want? Or, do you decide when you want to/can go and then plan whatever trip you can make fit into the budget whether that means fewer days, off-site, etc?

 

[Minniesgal]

We use money already saved and got to that and then replace the savings

 

[Marionnette]

Travel is a line item in our budget. That includes our annual dues for DVC. We are always saving for a trip somewhere because we make regular deposits into a savings account that is only for travel expenses. Sometimes we spend less than what we saved up and it just stays in the account for the future. The cost of our trips never exceed the funds we have available.

 

[bnf0522]

We figure approximately how much the vacation we want will cost in the future and adjust the vacation fund in our budget to meet this type of vacation.

 

[npatellye]

Travel is a constant thing for us. We decided that traveling with our kids and making memories was a priority for us so we’ve made it part of our budget. We plan for DVC dues, airfare, car rental, food, and souvenirs. We also budget extra to allow for other trips simply because that was our habit pre-pandemic.

 

[gregskellington]

Like others posted, it's part of my regular budget. So far I haven't wanted to take a trip that wasn't in the funds, but if that came up I'd save to make it work. My job is pretty high stress so I want my vacations to be as relaxing and wonderful as possible.

 

[lockets]

Or, do you decide when you want to/can go and then plan whatever trip you can make fit into the budget whether that means fewer days, off-site, etc?

This.

We know our vacation days in advance every year because company is very rigid. We start investigating costs. Then when the total number is said out loud we are either like “ok that’s fair!” or “no way we are spending that when we can comparatively [fill in the blank ie “get a used car with that money,” “pay rent for three months with that money” etc!].

Typically it’s the latter scenario and we cut down from there. Less overall vacation days or less overall park days or sharing more meals etc.

 

[Her Dotness]

With Disney trips that range from expensive to very expensive and higher, how do you plan or budget? Do you map out the dream and then work out a savings plan, maybe waiting longer before you go to be able to afford what you want?

This. <pointing upward>

We're big on making dreams come true within reason.

So, we check costs for what we want and then set aside an estimated monthly amount until we've most of the money.

Easier for us, perhaps, than some as we're both very Disney-motivated, often saying things like, "Let's eat at home and bank the amount for Disney."

Beyond that, we wing it once we're on the way, although not going bonkers buying stuff so as not to run up a credit card bill we can't pay off next month.

And, Victoria & Albert's is a necessity, despite what most people say about it.

 

[loves to dive]

Years ago, I would save and we would go every other year. There were only deluxe resorts on property at the time (I do think maybe there was one moderate but I wasn't aware of it) so we always stayed deluxe. We had to go around my son's school schedule so it was usually in the summer.

Now, I just decide when I want to go and plan my stay around how much I want to spend, kind of. I don't really budget, I just decide what I want to spend on the resort. If I know (or think I know) how many times I'm going that year, that determines where I stay. How long I stay depends on that resort amount. Some years I have APs, some years I just buy tickets (always PHs). I don't budget for food or other things, I just know how much money I have in either my checking or savings account and go with that. I never spend more than I have either in cash or savings to pay for it.

Hubby doesn't like to vacation, although I had pretty good luck getting him to take a dive trip about twice a year before we got our current dog, who can't be boarded or left with anyone else. We now have a RV and we take it out about 2 to 3 times a year. Otherwise, he stays at home and I either go by myself or my son goes with me if his schedule allows. I usually go to WDW but there is a beach resort I like to take 4 day trips to and I love going to the Jekyll Island Club on long weekends. I will scatter a long weekend trip to Biltmore House in there about every other year.

 

[TJsMomSarahJane]

We go every other year. There are some things we are firm on - that we stay for 2 weeks, go during an EPCOT festival, get 10 day park tickets, dinner at Homecoming on arrival day, and flying Southwest from PVD.

Then, everything else is fit around the budget. We literally use a spreadsheet to list out expenses and the gift cards / savings we have. We don't want to have a 'bill' after our stay, so we try and account for every expense and have the funds before we leave for the trip. We set a daily budget for food / drinks / souvenirs knowing what we have spent in the past, and adjust upward or downward on that, depending on the savings that we have accumulated before the trip.

 

[tvguy]

We don't book a trip until we have the cash to pay for it.

 

[tvguy]

Travel is a constant thing for us. We decided that traveling with our kids and making memories was a priority for us so we’ve made it part of our budget. We plan for DVC dues, airfare, car rental, food, and souvenirs. We also budget extra to allow for other trips simply because that was our habit pre-pandemic.

Curious how often constant is? Seems like folks on the DIS have a lot more vacation time than I would expect most working folks to have. I expect folks to have 2, 3 or 4 weeks a year of vacation. My last employer did give up to 5 weeks vacation, but you didn't hit that mark until you had been there 30 years.

 

[RamblingMad]

Disney raises prices every year. If you wait, you might be able to afford even less in the future. It's like saving 20% down payment for a home. Two years ago homes around me cost $350k. Now, they cost $500k. The cost of waiting is huge.

I'd look at what you have to spend and then decide. I typically go to Disneyland for my Disney fix and Orlando for my Universal fix. That's how I make it more affordable for me.

 

[Beer Me]

We have a dedicated travel fund. It’s part of our budget and a certain amount is transferred to a separate account every month. We’ve barely touched it the last 2+ years so the world is my oyster.

But just because it’s there doesn’t mean we have to spend it. There are a lot of things to see and do and I refuse to pay current Disney resort prices even if I have the money.

 

[npatellye]

Curious how often constant is? Seems like folks on the DIS have a lot more vacation time than I would expect most working folks to have. I expect folks to have 2, 3 or 4 weeks a year of vacation. My last employer did give up to 5 weeks vacation, but you didn't hit that mark until you had been there 30 years.

We usually take 2 bigger trips a year (8-10 nights each) and then a few long weekends (3-4 nights), plus some quick trips (either day trips or 1 night) each year. My husband and I both work full time but both of our jobs are closed for state and federal holidays. I work on a 10 month contract so I get two months a year off, as well as a week for Thanksgiving, 4 weeks from mid-December to mid-January, and a week in March. He earns a certain amount of PTO for x many hours worked and he worked a lot of extra hours between March 2020 and February 2022. My husband has been at his job since he was 21 (so over 20 years now) and he accrues PTO at a much higher rate now than he did when we were first married 10 years ago.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Like many others said travel is just part of our budget. We’ve been traveling long enough we pretty much know what we’re spending each year. Plan the realistic trip you want and save for it. If you have your heart set at staying at Grand Floridian, you are not going to be happy staying at All Star Sports. So why even spend the money going? But the key is being realistic. I’m assuming most people who don’t normally travel wouldn‘t insist on staying at a top tier Disney resort. For us, trips to WDW started at a value resort a couple times, then moved up to moderates, then we bought DVC. When we run out of DVC points and want more Disney we do moderate resorts as those are realistic accommodations for our normal travel.

 

[bnf0522]

Curious how often constant is? Seems like folks on the DIS have a lot more vacation time than I would expect most working folks to have. I expect folks to have 2, 3 or 4 weeks a year of vacation. My last employer did give up to 5 weeks vacation, but you didn't hit that mark until you had been there 30 years.

We take a 4 day trip every 2 years because that’s what works best for our budget and our vacation days. I’d love to be able to take a week or 2 every year, but it’s just not realistic for us at this time.

 

[DLgal]

I guess we do the second thing. We pay for travel things as we book them. It usually just fits into our monthly budget and we adjust our other spending for the month to fit it in. Like, we just booked 3 nights at the Grand Californian for July 4th weekend. The one night deposit was charged to the same card we use for all our monthly spending. We will just eat out less/do less Disneyland day trips over the next month and pay the bill in full as we always do.

This is generally how travel goes for us. I book the different components sort of scattered and just pay as I book. When we actually travel, anything due just gets charged and paid for when the bill comes due. We don't typically book packages or vacations where a large lump sum is due at some point prior to travel. I prefer a more a la carte approach. We have a few thousand dollars of wiggle room in our monthly budget. Usually, it gets thrown into savings, but when we need more to pay the bill, we take it out of that excess.

 

[lsutigers03]

We would like to go to Disney more but with two kids in private school we’re on the every two year plan for now. My wife is paid biweekly which means two months out of the year she gets three checks. We budget based on two every month so the third twice a year goes to our travel account. I get a quarterly bonus so the net increase gets saved. I also do a ton of credit card churning to cover flights, hotels, or just have extra cash to add to the budget. Last year my wife and I got the bonus on two Chase cards and two Southwest cards and that will pay for our flights to Orlando in May and the Universal part (Royal Pacific and park tickets) of our trip.

 

[tvguy]

We usually take 2 bigger trips a year (8-10 nights each) and then a few long weekends (3-4 nights), plus some quick trips (either day trips or 1 night) each year. My husband and I both work full time but both of our jobs are closed for state and federal holidays. I work on a 10 month contract in so I get two months a year off, as well as a week for Thanksgiving, 4 weeks from mid-December to mid-January, and a week in March. He earns a certain amount of PTO for x many hours worked and he worked a lot of extra hours between March 2020 and February 2022. My husband has been at his job since he was 21 (so over 20 years now) and he accrues PTO at a much higher rate now than he did when we were first married 10 years ago.

A lot of my former co-workers with children switched to teaching jobs so that their time off was the same as their kids. Doesn't hurt that we live in an area where teacher salaries are good so they can make more and have more time off. Also doesn't hurt that most schools here now have TV production classes. And at least one district will give you credit on the pay scale for your experience outside education if it is in the field you will be teaching.