Help! I leave in less than 24 hours. Cash or debit?

[NvrBnToWDW]

I was originally going to take envelopes with each day's food budget ($75), but that's like $600 in cash. Is this safe? I was going to carry that day's envelope and store the rest in the hotel room's safe. I also have my kids' spending cash in envelopes with their names on them. I was going to use debit for me & DH's souvenirs and miscellaneous. Is this too much cash to deal with? I'm afraid if we only use the debit for food, kids' souvenirs and our souvenirs we'll lose track and go over budget. What do you suggest? I need to know soon because I go to the bank tomorrow and we leave in the morning .

 

[jenndisney]

I agree that is too much cash to carry. I would do travelers checks or the debit card.

What do you suggest?

You can keep track of everyone's money in a notebook or blank check register. I would pull the cash you need out at the beginning of each day or maybe every two. I do not like taking out cash all the time and paying the surcharge.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I was originally going to take envelopes with each day's food budget ($75), but that's like $600 in cash. Is this safe? I was going to carry that day's envelope and store the rest in the hotel room's safe. I also have my kids' spending cash in envelopes with their names on them. I was going to use debit for me & DH's souvenirs and miscellaneous. Is this too much cash to deal with? I'm afraid if we only use the debit for food, kids' souvenirs and our souvenirs we'll lose track and go over budget. What do you suggest? I need to know soon because I go to the bank tomorrow and we leave in the morning .

I suggest Traveler's Cheques IMMEDIATELY! $600 is entirely too much cash to be carrying around on vacation, anything can happen. If you lose the Traveler's Cheques, they CAN be replaced, your money cannot. Take all but maybe $100 of your money and make it Traveler's Cheques. It's better to be safe than sorry.

HAVE A BLAST!!

BLESSINGS ALWAYS,

Denise

 

[safetymom]

Debit card.

 

[Disney_Freak56]

If it's not too late -- get Traveler's checks and put the daily amount in the envelope instead of cash. Way safer and also helps to keep you "on budget." This is one of my favorite tips for more than 20 years.

 

[rcraw45425]

We check in with our debit and tie it to th eroom, but then we are blessed with a bank that doesn't nickel and dime us for transactions, just fees for out of service ATM's. that way we don't have to take hardly any cash. Even the vendor carts we encountered in April took the room cards as payment. I have noticed more and more places (offsite, around our town) that say no travelers checks accepted. This is really bad as we have a huge military base here and a lot of out of towners visiting kids at basic training. Has anyone tried out the pre paid debit cards yet?

 

[Stiff]

I carry some cash....the rest I leave in the bank and use a CREDIT CARD...then when I get back, I send the amount we spent straight to the credit card

I do keep about $500 in cash though, for snacks, tips, etc

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I also give them my debit to attach to my room key and then use the room key for everything. Safe, easy, and no bank charges.

And depending on the number of people in your family, may I suggest rethinking the $75/day food limit. Unless you are strictly eating at counter services and not getting any snacks. DH and I aren't big eaters and we spent probably about $100/day in food on our last trip...and that's just the two of us. Two people at a sitdown will easily run $50. Counter service meals are $20/two and if you get a couple of drinks or snacks in the park you'll probably spend another $20/day on that. Hence why we are doing the dining plan this time.

 

[Magalex]

The week before we left for Disney..We were there 4/22-4/30! We stopped at our local AAA office for a tripticket(we drove). We had a few traveler's checks but they now offer a prepaid credit card back by Visa. It is called AAA Travelers Money Visa Card. You can put a pre-determined amount of the card(almost like a gift card). It was used everywhere. We had a few dollars left over on it and used it at our local Wal-Mart when we got home. Some of the CMs at the stores comment on it that it must be very convenient. It was. Will definitely be using it again on another vacation.

Magalex
Fantastic time at POP 4/22-4/30

 

[rcraw45425]

Cool! Can you reload it at a later date or must you get a new one each time? I also assume you must be a AAA member to get one also?

 

[Magalex]

Yes you can reload the prepaid Traveler Money card! Yes we are AAA members!

Magalex