Got laid off - still wanna go - can we pull it off?

[hookedup]

To make a long drama condensed - my office is closing and I will be out of work very shortly. DH & I want to try and live off one income so I can be at home with our son. I am not going to find another job (at least right away).

We had been planning a trip to WDW the week before Christmas. We have non-refundable plane tickets we bought last month. We have 4 days of passes left from our last trip. So basically we have plane tickets and park admission. That leaves hotel and food and possibly rental car if we are off property (which is highly likely due to budget concerns.) I have a lot of Starwood points and we could stay at the Sheraton Safari for free.

In our 3 trips we have always stayed onsite so we have no experience with planning a trip this way. Will we hate staying offsite? Do we have to have a rental car?
Any other budgeting tips would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Twende]

We saved an incredible amount of money using food vouchers. Read the sticky thread about them and see if going to one of the mentioned food servers would work for you and your schedule.

We packed easy breakfast items to eat in our room and took a few little snack type things in our fanny packs. We carried our own refillable water bottles and learned to accept the taste of Disney water.

We spilt one voucher a day and made sure it was a great meal like Prime Rib at Pepper market and we were very content and not hungry at all!

We stayed at the Pop and found it very nive and the price was cheap enough that we felt better staying there and using Disney buses than renting a car.

We also used the LYNX public buses to get to Disney from the airport. At a cost of $1.25 per person one way it saved us a bundle in shuttle or taxi fees!

 

[kild]

I have never stayed off site, so I can't help you on that part. But if you already have the plane and park tickets and likely to have the room for free, you have the big stuff out of the way.

I would suggest going a month or two, if possible, after you are out of work before making your final decision. That would let you know how your budget is going to work.

 

[mrsstats]

You can do it. Get a rental car and stay off site. Get the cheapest car you can fit into.

We did this several years ago when hubby lost his job, except we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks. Everything was paid for before he lost his job except for food and car rental.

 

[MouseLover]

Stay at the Sheraton Safari with your points. I have not stayed there, but it is right near downtown Disney. I'm sure they have shuttles, but I would prefer a rental. Watch here & Mousesavers for rental codes & check back often -- they change frequently. That leaves just food. You can eat instant oatmeal or cereal in your room for breakfast, and eat as cheaply as you need to in the parks. On our 2001 trip, I think we ate ONLY counter service and McDonald's/fastfood. We were on a pretty strict budget, so we opted for the Ice Cream Social instead of a character meal. This cost less than $30, as opposed to more than $60 for a meal.

 

[arminnie]

I stayed at the Sheraton Safari last October and really liked it. I think they may also have the heavenly beds installed by now - I know that had one in the lobby as a preview of what was coming.

I never mind staying off site but then I always get a car. I usually check the rates at Travelocity and Hotwire. I like Hertz and I have Hertz Gold so I will usually try them also. Sometimes I make a reservation at someplace that can be cancelled and keep checking Hotwire closer to actually leaving. If you book Hotwire too soon and the rates go down you cannot make a change.

You should get a fairly decent rate the week before Christmas.

I would go with the smallest car since there are just three of you.

 

[Jaklackus]

Tickets and plane are paid for....hotel can be free..lots of time to get a deal on a rental car. It's do-able. Money is gone already anyway. Food and souvenirs can be done cheaply too.

And if the trip isn't until December..plenty of time to retrain your spending habits, restructure your budget and get comfortable with the new situation. I started buying in bulk at BJs and restaurant supply stores, we dropped the house phone in favor of two cell phones on a family plan(saved $50 a month), cut back cable(saved $40 a month), cut back on eating out(we did this alot cause we both worked 70 hours a week and were too tired to cook-saved $600 a month..ouch), you'll save alot on work clothes and lunch, if you have a gym membership you can drop that in favor of daily walks and workout tapes, I cut DH back to 1 new video game every other month(he was buying one or two a week at one point-$200-400 a month)

I'm assuming that you are saving money on daycare being home with your son..so you may want to consider something part-time on your husband's days off to make up the difference between your old paycheck and daycare expenses. Your DH might be able to pick up some overtime to make up the difference, or you can look into Avon, Tupperware, etc which you can schedule around your husband's job and commute. And there is always EBay too..this can be a good alternative if your DH's work schedule changes alot or he travels.
Quitting my job was the scariest thing that I've ever done..but to be home with my son is worth every moment of stress trying to balance the budget. Good luck to you!

 

[Jaklackus]

I almost forgot ...the loss of your income may drop you into a lower tax bracket..I know we paid about 12k less in taxes last year....so with my income from odd jobs here and there( was about a third of what I used to make) we actually only lost a few thousand overall over the course of the year...we just gave up our usual refund to pay my self employment taxes and income taxes.

 

[Microcell]

Hooked,

You will not regret the financial sacrifices you have to make to stay at home with your kids. I have mac and cheese out my ears to afford this trip, but it can be done. Today we added hot dogs for a fun twist. We barely break even every month and look forward to the kids going to school so I can work some more to help out, but I love every minute I have with them, and I am so happy I don't have to leave them at a daycare or babysitter every day!

 

[Doodlebug939]

I am a stay at home mom as well and really I am thankful that I can do it. When my daughter starts school then I will start back to work.

I would not cancel your vacation because it seems like you have so much already paid for. Just cut out some things that you can handle cutting out without feeling deprived.

We love to eat out. We used to go out about once or twice a week. Now we go out every two weeks maybe. I dont mind for the most part. We get creative. We do theme nights at the house. Where we make food and watch a movie. Like pasta and watch Lady and the Tramp.

I also save envelopes for what ever we want to do like Chef Mickeys. When I get the desired amount in the envelope then I seal it and move the the next.

You can do it and you will love it. Hey now you can make a paper chain with your child and each night rip off one link. My kids loved that idea!!!

 

[frannn]

you obviously feel like you can survive one income. If you can do so at your current standard of living, it would not take a lot of cutbacks to afford the leftover costs of your trip. Don't forget that if you were home for the time you will be at Disney, you would have to buy food anyway (ok, maybe it would be a bit cheaper!). If you budget wisely, you should be able to do it. It would be smart to compare how the cost of staying onsite using WDW buses (with a shuttle from the airport) compares to staying offsite for your points, and renting a car. If you rent, you can always eat offsite for cheaper. Counter service meals are not extremely expensive in WDW either. There is enough time between now and Dec to determine if you can survive on one income, and if you can afford this trip. At the very worst, at least with the airline tickets, you can cancel them and receive credit good for a year (usually). We were able to do this on the day of the flight for DDs, who decided last minute to stay home with my ex.

 

[arminnie]

Since your office is closing - will you be getting a severance package or unemployment benefits?

If you seriously look for another equivalent job you probably would be eligible for unemployment benefits. In a tight market like most of California you might not find employment right away and you would legitimately be entitled to the benefits if you looked for a new job. I'm not trying to suggest anything that is not above board.

 

[HeatherC]

I, too, think you can definitely do it. After all....you have to eat at home too, right? Just take that food money for the week with you. Plus, if you a put like $5 away each week between now and then you will have extra so you don't necessarily have to eat every meal out of your cooler.

One other suggestion....you could consider doing EBAY. Just doing this for 2 1/2 months this past Jan, Feb and part of March I made well over $1000 which is my spending money for Disney in two weeks. And that is with just getting rid of stuff I had in the house.

I'm also a stay at home mom with 3 kids. I think it takes a while to get used to the loss of paycheck shock, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The kids are growing SO FAST and I've been there to experience every moment. Even the ones I wish I could miss...like tantrums, etc. LOL!

Good luck with whatever your decision you make.

Heather C

 

[tar heel]

Any chance you have enough Starwood points to stay at the Swan or Dolphin? Even if you had to pay for a night or two, you wouldn't be renting a car.

 

[hookedup]

Gosh! Thanks for a great response so quickly!
I am looking forward to staying home with my son. Although it will be a big change for us financially (I was the one with the larger income - my husband is a school teacher) we are looking forward to the change but are quite nervous too. I have been miserable every day that I have missed with him since I went back to work.

I would love to stay on property but having a free hotel is more sensible. I could use points to stay at the Dolphin but that uses A LOT of Starpoints - where the Safari is only a 'level one' property, and would use less than half the amount a stay at the Swan or Dolphin would. If the Safari is decent then that is fine with me.

I think having a rental car would give us some freedom too. The past 3 trips we have done the exact same thing - towncar transfer and a week at a deluxe property. So this is very different kind of planning this year!!

I am not complaining - after all if I get to go to WDW I could sleep in my car there and be happy! LOL!!!!

Thanks for the tips and I am going to look into some E-Bay selling too.

 

[Traveliz]

I think if I had the Starwood points even though you would be using more I would definitely vote for staying onsite that week before Christmas and depending on Disney transportation. Especially if your days fall closer to Christmas when it is getting busier (and sometimes park closings occur then).

I also think you have plenty of time to gather the little extra money you will need...airfare paid for, hotel taken care of one way or another, letfover tickets, you have a GREAT start.


Liz

 

[floridagirrl2]

Sounds like the entire trip is almost paid for, so I say, go for it! I think you will be happier if you can swing a rental car--you might call the Sheraton Safari and find out what their bus schedule is like, but you will have a lot more choices of places to eat/grocery trips if you have a car.

 

[sk!mom]

You might try Priceline for the rental car. We got a car from Alamo on our last rip for $15 per day. It was a compact, but with only three in you family it should be fine. I say go for it!

 

[Microcell]

The closer you get to your date the better the deal on a car. I would get one soon just to be safe then change to cheaper and cheaper as you get closer. There are no penalties to cancel so you should be fine on the car front.

BTW I want to share something just to get you geared up for the financial hardship (that is far outweighed by your kids smiles and hugs) you may encounter. My DD had appendix taken out a couple of weeks ago so we are even more poor than usual. Both kids birthdays are in April and we had to blow off DS's b- day (2) because of aforementioned appy not for financial, but rather DD was very sick on his B-day. So now Grandma wants to have a cookout this Sunday and I thought, cool, saves me some money and heartache over planning. DH tells me this morning we need to supply the cake. Costco has huge cakes for $14.99. Cheaper than the grocery store. I check my account because Costco only takes check/debit and I do not have the extra $14.99 in my checking! I battle this all the time on bigger stuff usually! It gets pretty tight. We are going to get rid of cable modem, that just kills me, but we have decided to do what we have to to keep them home. Yes, I am going to make a cake! Wish my family well on that one!

 

[tinaluis]

We've stayed at the Sheraton Safari and loved it. I agree that a car will be a necessity and agree that you should book something now and just watch the rates every now and then. They usually go down and then you can re-book. Also, as your trip approaches, try Hotwire for the rental car. We tried Hotwire for ours but their quote was too high so we ended up going with Priceline. As our trip approaches, I keep getting emails from Hotwire that car rental rates have dropped and the price they quoted me has gone down by $5 a day on a standard car -- down to $17 a day for a standard car. We've already booked with Priceline but I definitely will do things differently for our next trip. Good luck to you and enjoy your time with your little one. It goes by SOOOO fast. Before you know it you'll be back to work wishing you are home.