Does anyone have any creative ways to earn money for their Disney trip?

[Lisa3]

We are planning another trip to WDW in Nov. 2003. This will be our second trip in a year since we want to use our APs but this is also a stretch for us financially. Since I have 10 months to save I was wondering if any of you have any creative ways you have saved/earn extra money for your Disney trips. I am already planning a garage sale for the spring and we save all our loose change but this will be our 20th Anniversary trip and I really want to make it special.

Thanks!

 

[Desnik]

We also are planning a trip in Nov.2003. We also save all loose change. Lately we have been selling alot of our "garage sale" stuff on e-bay. We have been very successful and get more $$$ for items than we would at a garage sale. We then take this $$$ and buy Disney dollars so we won't spend it on anything else. For the Holidays between now and then, and birthdays we give eachother and DD Disney dollars. We will also have a garage sale in the late spring(We are expecting our second child 4/03)if I can swing it!! We will also put $20 a week away for spending $$$ from now until Nov. Another option is to save some or all of your tax return. Good luck!

 

[april riddle]

I am very lucky to be in a profession that there is a shortage in. I also work for a company who compensates their staff for hard work by offering bonuses for working extra. Everytime I think about spending money for Disney I just call the scheduling office to see if I can pick up a shift - that is how our next trip is being paid for.

 

[ilovediznee]

I also save all loose change, sell stuff on ebay AND keep all the money in my paypal account so I dont' spend it. Another idea is to get a part-time job of some kind and use that money just for Disney. I work FT and many others do too so that may not be a viable option for you. Another idea is to bring your lunch to work at least twice per week. For me that is $10.00. That adds up over a number of weeks.

Good luck!

 

[bennie]

When I plan a trip (not just Disney), I start with a spreadsheet that I developed. It helps me calculate the cost of airfare, hotels, food , admission etc. I use the internet to determine what the total cost of the trip will be. Sites like this one and Deb Will's are great for helping with this. You can know in advance what the price of almost anything is - even meals when you look at the menus. I've gotten so good at anticipating what we will spend on any trip that once I was only off by 17 cents between the estimate and the actual cost.

Once I know the total cost, I divide the total by the number of weeks before the trip. This tells me how much I have to save per week to meet my budget. After I know what I need to do each week, I start throwing money (literally) into a box each time I do one of the things listed below.

1. Bring lunch from home. Saves $6 per day - $6 goes into the box.
2. Use the library for best sellers rather than Amazon. Saves $10-15 per book. The price of the book goes into the box.
3. Save change. $5/week
5. Reduce impulse spending - varies but averages $20/week. Anytime I'm in Target or Walgreens or other stores and I reach for some gatzie that I really should do without, I put it back and the price of the gatzie goes in the box when I get home.
6. Bring a 12 pack of soda to work instead of buying from machine. Saves about $6/week that goes into the box.
7. Any bonuses, cash birthday or Christmas gifts, lottery winnings or other unexpected sources of cash go into the box - this varies every year - this year its added a good $1200 to the box. I work in a field where bonuses are rare so I consider myself very lucky this year.

I also keep track of what money is in the box very carefully and keep the tally posted on the spread sheet. As deposits are due or airfare needs to be paid, the money comes out of the box and into our checking.

I never manage to pay for an entire trip this way but we have enough leeway in our monthly budget to absorb the shortfall.
I just like seeing the money build and like working toward a goal. I use this same method to save for other niceties too - like new furniture or a spiffy new bike etc.

Good luck with your budget and your trip.

 

[mad4themouse]

1). Rewards Programs. MyPoints, CreationsRewards, ClicktotheMagic. Visit the Rewards Board here on the DIS to see what they are all about.

2). eBay it or sell it at a garage sale. Take outgrown but quality clothing to a consignment shop to sell. Clean out your basement and attic. You'd be amazed at what you can get rid of for a profit.

3). Begin using coupons for anything that offers them. I don't have to be brand-loyal for most things. The savings can add up, especially if your local markets do double coupons. Toss your weekly savings in a piggy bank.

4). If you don't have a cashback credit card, get one. Use it for everything and pay it off every month. I have a Chase i-card which pays in Webcertificates every month. I also have a plastic Webcertificates card which is accepted any place that MasterCard is taken. It works like a debit card.

5). Join a frequent flier program. Even if you don't fly often, just a few round trips here and there can add to your total. Make sure that you use their partners (hotels, rental cars, long distance carrier) when you can to add to the miles earned.

6). Pay the kids half of their allowance in Disney Dollars. Let them use the $DD for their own purchases in WDW. It is amazing how cost-conscious they become when it is their own money that is being spent!

7). Buy GC's for restaurants that you will visit before you go. Rainforest Café, Planet Hollywood, and any of the the off-site chains like Olive Garden. Consider joining and purchasing Connections vouchers for the WDW restaurants. If doing so, wait until Connections offers vouchers that expire after your anticipated trip. Currently offered vouchers expire May 31, 2003.

Hope some of these ideas help.

 

[Alice28]

Lots of great ideas here! One thing I did is dug through all of our CD's and gathered about 20 of them we don't listen to anymore...then I went to our local Wherehouse store and sold them back. He took about 15 of them and gave me $40. It was easy money and painless. I also live in a state where you pay .05 for every can of soda/beer you buy at the store. Then you can return your cans and get your money back. All that money goes into our Disney fund. We are using the bulk of our tax return to pay for our flights & hotel room. Then my husband is getting a bonus and that is paying for our tickets, food and time lost from work. (My work is weird- I don't get vacation days, but I get a check in June for x number of vacation days...) Also, some used bookstores will pay decent money if you have tons of books you would like to sell. At a garage sale you will only get a quarter or whatever, but one time we sold back 2-3 boxes of books and got $150. Maybe we will do that again now that I think of it! Good luck!

 

[CajunDixie]

For selling used books I'd also suggest Half.com. I recently gave it a try and sold an older paperback mystery for $3.50. Half adds in media mail postage automatically. Now that I've given it a try I'm going to list more books and CDs and a few VHS videos my kids have outgrown. I'd suggest looking up whatever item you have and seeing how it is priced by other sellers then price your item a few cents lower. If a specific book is only selling for $.25 then you'd probably make more on it if you took it to a used bookstore.

mad4themouse suggested Reward Programs.....if you decide to join CreationRewards be sure to also join Lift-a-Gift from that site...in 1000 point increments points there can be converted to Creation points. It will take you about 4 months to get 1000 points if you only click on the dailies but every lil bit helps. If you do any online shopping at all visit $drawer to see what programs reward for your favorite stores.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.....................................A part time job works well, you'd be surprized at what's out there. We hire counters that work only on Saturday for about six hours. Two of the three have full time jobs. They probably net $40 a week after taxes.
I used to work for the election poeple, only one night a year but it's a few bucks. My wife used to mystery shop oil changes, we went 3 or 4 years without paying for one. Lucky for me, I work six days a week most of the time, so while my Saturday guys may get $40, but I clear anywhere from $100 to $150!!! It probably won't last much longer, but I grab it while I can!
Be a scorekeeper at your local softball leagues, I did that many years ago. I can't do it, but some people sell blood or plasma, I just think it is kinda wierd, but hey if it gets you to the "world", go for it.

 

[zman]

In addition to these great responses:

1) find the rebates, use the rebates and put those $$$s in your vacation fund
2) with your garage sale, try to organize a street sale/neighborhood sale and advertise it...the increased traffic could payoff greatly
3) I agree with bringing your lunch to work instead of buying but it still costs money...so incorporate a diet as well, if you need to...put the savings into the Disney vacation fund.

Good luck!

 

[starwood]

Take all your saved money and open a savings account. That way you won't spend it and make a little extra with interest.

 

[Soccer Princess]

Hmm..well my CREATIVE idea is to make a swimsuit calander and sell it ... BUT if that's not up your alley... Seriously, drinking water(not bottled) instead of cokes saves you tons of money. At restaurants, work and even at home! It all adds up really quick and it's much healthier!

 

[catwho]

This is our savings plan (which echos several other suggestions) We are a family of 5, so eating out (even fast food) costs us a miniumum of $18. So everytime we decide to not eat out and eat something we already have at home, we drop a $20 into our Disney Fund (DF) All loose change and single $1 bills goes into the DF at the end of each day (some days this is $3 some days this is nothing LOL!) All change found on the street, on the floor, outside, etc. goes into the DF. Even our 4yo ds does this. All birthday money, Christmas money and bonuses goes into the DF. When my dh travels he gets a per diem reimbursement. He eats frugally so we always make extra money. Instead of depositing the check into our account and just taking the bonus amount, we put the whole check into our DF. We have a "cafeteria plan" at my dh's work that reimburses us for medical expenses that aren't covered by our insurance. Those checks also go into our DF (we joke that we have a tax free vacation LOL!) We save aluminum cans and cash those in once a year. We've gotten as much as $50 and we don't drink the soda (we pick them up from the street and our parents give us their cans) That's $50 more to the DF. And then the blessed tax return! That goes straight into the DF, do not pass go, but collect that $200+!

A friend of ours did a project with her kids to show them how quickly money can grow. They started by putting 1 penny in a pot the first day. 2 pennies the second, 4 pennies the 3rd, 8 pennies the 4th, etc. They did this for just 12 days and ended up with $20.48. Now imagine if you continued doing this over and over Adding $20 every 12 days. Or if you did this every 13 days you would add $40.96 every 13 days. It seems small but it builds quickly!