For people on a budget... how do you still make Disney work?

[jude&jonah]

My husband and I are on a pretty strict budget for the next few years as we save for our first home. We thought initially we would keep Disney out of the picture for awhile- but to be honest... our Disney vacations mean so much to us that I would rather find ways to justify it.

How has your family made it work? Have you taken on an extra seasonal job or perhaps what have you chose to sacrifice in life to make sure you can still do your annual Disney vacation? Also- how have you modified your Disney vacations over the years to make them as affordable as possible?

I know for some people- modifying your life for Disney might not be worth it- and to be honest- it's too soon for us to be able to tell if it is or isn't for us.... but I'm sure there are probably some of you out there who make Disney work despite budgeting.

 

[bigmom04]

A few things that I am doing to make it to disney is swagbucks, perk tv, ibotta and savingstar. I also use coupons and disney change jar.

 

[adudeinblue]

I think a lot of people on this forum are very good at stretching their dollars. The biggest example would be the Disney GC Thread that is nearing 300 pages. A lot of people are also doing reward apps and sites to earn a little extra GC here and there.

My GF and I have a tight budget right now as well. But we like to day dream about WDW because I have never been (we're in California). So we are saving here and there for it. Mostly when there's a discount on GCs and occasionally doing the swagbucks/perktv route.

 

[Marionnette]

My husband and I are on a pretty strict budget for the next few years as we save for our first home. We thought initially we would keep Disney out of the picture for awhile- but to be honest... our Disney vacations mean so much to us that I would rather find ways to justify it.

How has your family made it work? Have you taken on an extra seasonal job or perhaps what have you chose to sacrifice in life to make sure you can still do your annual Disney vacation? Also- how have you modified your Disney vacations over the years to make them as affordable as possible?

I know for some people- modifying your life for Disney might not be worth it- and to be honest- it's too soon for us to be able to tell if it is or isn't for us.... but I'm sure there are probably some of you out there who make Disney work despite budgeting.

I believe in living 365 days a year, not in living like a pauper for 51 weeks so that I can spend one week in Disney. We don't give up cable, eat Ramen noodles or buy thrift store clothing.

I also value my weekends and holidays, so I won't do seasonal work. Working behind the scenes for our business keeps me busy enough as it is.

Like the PP, I do Perk and Swagbucks (search for threads about those programs on this forum)
http://www.disboards.com/threads/perk-tv.3303716/
http://www.disboards.com/threads/those-using-swagbucks.3222525/

and I buy Disney GCs at a discount (look a thread about Disney GC deals on this forum as well).
http://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-gift-card-deals.2941964/page-295#post-54448063

I use CC rewards to pay for whatever vacation expenses that I can (FF miles, travel perks, statement credits, etc). Google terms like "credit card churning" and "manufactured spending" to learn how to use rewards credit cards to your advantage.

And we also treat saving for a vacation like a regular budget line item, so that there's always money set aside to pay for travel.

 

[jude&jonah]

Thank you guys! Great feedback. You know- I've never thought about some of these little tricks of the trade. I'm going to check out some of those threads. Thank you for those great tips!

We don't do credit cards (I don't judge anyone who does- I just don't trust myself with them personally)- so that won't work for us- but some of the other stuff sounds like it would be helpful!

And totally agree. I could never live without any luxuries 51 weeks out of the year for one week at Disney- definitely not! I love Disney... but I love our cable, eating out 1-2 x per month, etc.

 

[andiraye]

I'm not on an extremely tight budget, but I have found ways to make Disney more affordable, which you might find helpful (you also might find them obvious!).

1) try to go in the off season. Airline tix and hotels are less expensive (if you fly).

2) stay off property in a villa or house. HUGE savings to be had there. Plus, you can cook, make breakfast, pack lunches and snacks.

3) reserve a rental car in advance but check weekly for price decreases. They drop dramatically in the last few weeks. Also, join the car rental insider clubs and search for coupon codes. There are discounts to be found.

4) if you have kids, bring glow sticks and autograph books from the dollar store.

 

[Minnesota!]

Our budget includes a % of every check that goes into a vacation account. We treat it as a bill.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

I learned a ton about earning little 'extra' money via Swagbucks/PerkTV and saving up gift cards. We don't make an art of it, like some, but just running Swagbucks TV on my husband's phone every night will earn us about $100 in 7.5 months, plus I have earned $90 this month just by lucking into some special offers for stuff I normally buy.

I did give up cable, but that is only because I was getting irritated spending $1200/yr, just so I could have HBO. I was already an Amazon Prime and Netflix customer, so by buying a Roku, adding Hulu Plus and the WWE Network, and getting a digital antenna, we saved $600 in the first year and more than $750 the second. I don't feel like I miss anything (except Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live). Once HBO Now is available for Roku without Sling TV, our streaming bill will go up $15/mo, but I call that a bargain.

 

[stayhomemom77]

We are in a similar circumstance. Right now, ALL of the savings in the budget (except for $100 a month towards our emergency fund) is being used for a down payment. For one year, the house savings trumps the vacation savings and we are not building savings for new electronics, furniture or any other large purchases. But, we still want to go on vacation next summer, so we've had to find some creative ways to fund a 2016 trip.

I do surveys on two different sites and use checkout 51 to get money back on grocery purchases. I also earn credit card rewards on two different cards. We have a change jar and we also zero out our budget categories at the end of the month. For example, I budget $60 a week for gasoline but I don't generally spend it all. If, at the end of the month I have anything left over, that money goes into the vacation account.

We do make some small sacrifices....like agreeing to only ONE dinner out per month and trying to find free/cheap family fun activities most weeks, but overall our day to day hasn't changed much from a few years ago.

We find when we have a specific trip in mind, it's a lot easier to find ways to save the extra leftover bits for that specific purpose.

Good luck finding and implementing a plan that helps you get to Disney without sacrificing the savings for your down payment!

 

[alyssa810]

We get 5 cents back for bottles and cans, and that was how we originally started saving for our first Disney trip many moons ago. We also used to each put $10 a week in our "Disney jar" - my DH puts a lot of his extra change in there too. In more recent years, we had to bump up our contribution to $25 each every other week since there's 3 of us now, and we usually do this in gift card form. I finally got the Target Red card, and I've started accumulating cards for 5% less. I also use mypoints, quickrewards.net, ibotta and savingsstar - all the extra goes into our vacation fund. From Quick rewards, I cash out a disney gift card. from my points, i usually get a Landry's gift card. From Ibotta, we redeem for starbucks gift cards, which is even better now that there are starbucks in the parks! Saving star is straight cash back.
I've always been a "charge everything" person, but I've also always been one who pays the entire bill every month. All of my credit cards give me some sort of rewards, whether it's hotel, miles, or straight cash back, and we use these rewards for vacations. It's good for your credit to have a credit card too; you just need to be disciplined and know your budget - also good in case of emergency.

 

[starry_solo]

Set aside funds for your house and set aside funds for the vacation.

I have no idea what you set aside for your house, but maybe set aside 10% of that amount (that you set aside for the house) towards vacations? Sell your unused/unwanted clothing, supplies, etc. at garage sales.

Recycle.

Sign up for surveys, etc. so you can get cash back when you shop.

Check out Southwest Airlines credit card when they have 50,000 miles for signing up for their credit card with the annual fee (which is waived the first year). Sign up for it maybe 6 months before you leave so you can book the airfare and it will be free.

Perhaps stay OFF property for cheaper? If you want to stay on property, but not at a WDW resort, check out Wyndham Bonnet Creek and purchase groceries (delivered to the resort) for cheaper meals (like only one counter service or table service per day [lunch] and do breakfast and dinner at the resort)

I plan my trips at least 2 years in advance and budget accordingly. I've only gone to WDW once (2012) and am going again in 2 years (2017). I already know which resorts I want to stay at (I am renting DVC points) and when I want to go. Airfare was $500 round trip from CA when I went so I'm budgeting for $700-800 now since those prices seem to go up.

Mainly, you need to set a budget for when you want to go (plan on prices rising 10-20% yearly. as their rates seem to increase more than the cost of inflation) and just set aside funds for when you go.

 

[BLAZEY]

I have a Vacation account and a $ amount is automatically deposited into that account each payday. I collect Air Miles and have used these for FREE 5 day parkhoppers to disneyland 2 years ago and 7 day base tickets for our upcoming November WDW trip. We don't have acble but haven't in years. We do have internet, and netflix, and we eat out about once a week. Going on vacation is important, but we don't do a "big trip" every year. We also never travel in peak summer season as I'm unable to get enough time off due to the nature of my industry.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I'm very fortunate that my job allows me to work as many or as few hours as I want, and that the days can be up to 20 hours long, so hours can add up fast if I want them to. When we have a trip coming up, I work a few extra shifts to pay for it. Usually 4 extra days of work will cover a trip.

We are also semi- frugal on our trips. I prefer to eat breakfast in room and bring food into parks so that we only eat out 1 meal per day, tops. It keeps us on a semi healthy diet and helps keep costs down.

 

[LJSquishy]

We don't take annual vacations for one. Our last trip was WDW...in Feb of 2012. We're finally going back next month, so 44 months later. Our only trips during the year are weekend trips to visit my parents. Aside from those weekend trips 3hrs away, we haven't been anywhere since 2012.

We don't give up anything in order to go on a trip. I do things like Receipt Hog, Swagbucks, etc but that is so minimal it doesn't boost our income enough to make a dent...maybe enough for a dinner out yearly. LOL

 

[myhoney]

When we went last time, we paid half with our tax return and saved the rest. We get a healthy return each year, which I know we shouldn't do, but if we get it in our paycheck, we fritter it away. Getting the larger lump sum causes us to think about how we want to spend it instead of just taking it slowly from the ATM. The next trip, we will again pay for part of it with bonuses/return money, but also by working extra shifts.

 

[sheetz]

For many people reducing food costs can result in huge savings. If you eat out on a regular basis cutting back even a little will make a difference. Brown bag it for lunch. For your groceries shop at Aldi if you have one near by. Eat more veggies and less meat.

 

[momtosam]

Stay off site!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Definitely the swagbucks/target/disney gift card algorithm. I've saved up $250 since starting on July 19 of this year. I haven't spent a dime out of pocket either. I also am an e-rewards member to accrue Southwest rapid rewards. I use mPlaces, Ibotta, ReceiptHog, Saving Star, Checkout 51, and Mobisave. It's a lot to keep up with, but it's like a game for me, so I enjoy it!

It's funny you asked this question, because DH and I were just having a discussion today on traveling next year. We took our Disney honeymoon in April, and I would really like to go back for a four day weekend in April. DH discussed wanting to go somewhere else, but we're purchasing our first house and want to recoup our downpayment as soon as possible. Disney might honestly be a cheap option for us with the gift cards. I know there will be room discounts again, and I can keep accruing gift cards between now and then. Orlando is also a direct flight on Southwest for us, so it's cheap and easy at less than two hours.

 

[disny_luvr]

We don't really give up anything either. Every time I get paid money automatically gets transferred into a Capital One 360 account (it used to be ING). I don't miss that money because I never really had it in my account. I usually save all my one dollar bills, too. That adds up quickly. I coupon and I take the money I save each week in coupons and transfer that amount into the vacation account. These things usually cover most of our trips. I make up the difference using money from our tax return or DH's bonuses from work.

 

[bianca]

If you're not adverse to camping, you could fly into Orlando with all of your camping gear in a large suitcase and just small personal bags with your clothes and stuff. This is on my bucket list of things to do at Disney and now that my kids are gone, we are going to make it happen. DH and I purchased a "Camp in a bag" that is basically a large wheeled suitcase with a tent (10x10), sleeping bags, folding chairs, flashlight and small pillows in it. We are waiting for a cheap flight via Spirit at the right time of the year to do it. You can still use Magical Express, camp at FW for cheap and avoid renting a car. FW has washers/dryers so you can pack minimally, nice comfort stations and food is available at the Outpost. We are kind iof wondering how cheaply we can do this, but are definitely looking forward to our experiment.