Help me save $700!!!

[pianoronni37]

So DH and I are going to WDW in January 2010.

Right now we are planning on staying at Pop with the DxDP - total cost (without ANY discounts) = $2150

Now.

I want to stay Deluxe. So does DH. We want to stay at the Wilderness Lodge.

If a great code comes out, we can do the exact same package with WL for probably around $2500 - not bad.

However, if we don't get a PIN headache or if the discount isn't that great mad we will have to have saved an extra $700 for the trip - but cut it down by a night, so it's 7 days.

What can we do? How can we cut back?

Give us pointers to save an extra $700 by November!!!

 

[Handbag Lady]

Change at the end of the day goes into a jar.

Is there anything annoying you in your house you can sell? An odd piece of furniture? Something used but clean? Older handbags can go on ebay, for example.

Coke cans: stop putting them in community recycle and take them in yourself. My sister gets about $300 a year doing this.

I've done expo TV before. I think it now is $100 a month in maximum money you can get but hey, there is at least 7 months until January!

 

[DanenRox]

OK, here's my plan. Rent DVC points on this board staying instead at the Villa's at Wilderness Lodge. 7 nights in a studio = $1,040.00 (renting points at $10.00/pt) Rent a car for approx $150 to allow for off site dining. Buy 7 day single day passes from AAA for $230.91 each (minus tax).

Villa... $1040
car... 150
meals.... 450
park tix.. 460.00

Total....$ 2,100

If you follow car rental prices you can get decent deals. January is a very "dealy" month. Off-site dining has better food and bigger portions which is handy because your villa will have a refrigerator and a microwave. You can still visit your favorite resort restaurants, simply pay out of pocket. You can also keep snacks and other drinks in your room which will keep expenses down. Evenings in January are cold, so you may not head back into the parks at night...so a 1 day 1 park pass is not unreasonable. Just a suggestion. Good luck!

 

[ceecee]

I actually liked the POP better than the Wilderness Lodge. It was dark and not nearly as fun. I guess DH and I are kids at heart!

 

[ElleBren]

OK, here's my plan. Rent DVC points on this board staying instead at the Villa's at Wilderness Lodge. 7 nights in a studio = $1,040.00 (renting points at $10.00/pt) Rent a car for approx $150 to allow for off site dining. Buy 7 day single day passes from AAA for $230.91 each (minus tax).

Villa... $1040
car... 150
meals.... 450
park tix.. 460.00

Total....$ 2,100

If you follow car rental prices you can get decent deals. January is a very "dealy" month. Off-site dining has better food and bigger portions which is handy because your villa will have a refrigerator and a microwave. You can still visit your favorite resort restaurants, simply pay out of pocket. You can also keep snacks and other drinks in your room which will keep expenses down. Evenings in January are cold, so you may not head back into the parks at night...so a 1 day 1 park pass is not unreasonable. Just a suggestion. Good luck!

If she rents DVC points she can still get the DDP. You just have to pay for it at least 2 days before you check-in. Not sure how much it cost as I have never done it, but it should probably equal out to the 450 you listed for food.

DVC rental is a great idea!!

 

[taylor3297]

I intentionally pay for things with bills and all the change goes into a jar. Once the jar is full, I then cash it in at the bank and put that money into a special account. I have already filled the jar once, and when I cashed it in, I had a little over $114. Also, I try to pay with bills higher than a $5. All the one dollar bills left at the end of the day go into an envelope. I started this a month ago and I have $130 so far. When the jar is full again I am going to deposit all the money into the special account. I haven't told my DH about the one dollar bills yet, he will try to use them if he knows I have them.

 

[DanenRox]

If she rents DVC points she can still get the DDP. You just have to pay for it at least 2 days before you check-in. Not sure how much it cost as I have never done it, but it should probably equal out to the 450 you listed for food.

DVC rental is a great idea!!

OK good point. If she gets the basic DDP added to the room it would be about $80 per day for 2 or $560 for the 7 nights (which is $110 more than I budgeted BUT then they wouldn't need a car which would save them money.) I'd still suggest a grocery run or grocery delivery to the villa for breakfast items and snacks in room...also of course, beer and mixes for cocktails so they can enjoy "happy hour" in the evening before their dinner reservations. !!!

 

[Darcy03231]

If you get coffee on the way to work start bringing your own and put the money you save in a special fund. Same with buying lunch or dinner out. I'm amazed at how much I've saved just by stopping my daily Dunkin Donuts stop ($2/day) and buying my lunch 1-2 x per week (at $6-$7 day). Same with eating out. We've cut back to one night a week and now get take-out (pizza, subs, chinese, etc.). We drink the drinks we have at home and don't have to tip (I pick up on my way home rather than do delivery).

Use the library for free books and movies instead of renting/buying.

These are just a couple of really easy things to do. You can also review your cable bill/channels and see if you can cut anything out there. We got rid or our landline and went to just cell phones (saved $75/mo right there).

 

[dimimi]

I would rent DVC points. We've done this before and loved it. We stay at Beach Club. We are a minority and don't care for the darkness of Wilderness lodge. To us...Wilderness lodge is like the Great Wolf Water Parks. But you can rent DVC points for any resort you want...so you can decide.

Enjoy.

 

[BrettS]

Well, dividing it out, you have about 7 months between now and November (depending on when you're going in November). That's $100 per month, or about $25 per week, or about $3.33 per day. $3 per day isn't too hard to do... just try to save money on some little things... don't buy a cup of coffee in the morning or have water instead of a drink for lunch... or better yet, don't eat out for lunch. Each time you save money like that keep track of it and put that amount in your savings account... try to stay on target for $3.33 per day or $25 per week and you should have what you need by November

 

[Melani]

Check out this thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2098510

My DH & I use our Visa for everything. We earned more than $250 last year.

The trick is to treat it like cash or check. For the first 8 months I was writing everything down in a checkbook ledger I keep in my wallet. Then once a week I would check it online & pay it off. If you are diligent it can work. NEVER carry a balance or you loose. Maybe use it only for bills & big purchases at first.

Coke cans: stop putting them in community recycle and take them in yourself. My sister gets about $300 a year doing this.

I did the math on this last year for my DS's teach. If every kid (25) brought ten cans a week for 24 weeks, the class could make $300. I call 3 recyclers in our area to get the $/lb. & cans/lb. rates.

 

[pianoronni37]

To tell you the truth - I had no idea about renting DVC points!!

I will have to head over to that thread and take a look, that sounds awesome.

Although, DH and I did put a deposit down on our trip for September and we had to cancel that - would we lose our $200? Even if we do, it would probably still be cheaper in the long run to rent points... I'm going to do some research, thanks everyone!

Also, we DEFINITELY can stop eating out, we probably do it 2x per week and that's just for dinner, I participate in "ordering in" whenever someone in the office does... so that can be cut back, silly me, these tips are great!!!

 

[DanenRox]

At the risk of pushing too far, can I just offer...since your considering renting points, look at Boardwalk Villa's. They have category's of rooms depending on the view, but in an effort to save money, you might consider the "standard room studio". It would reduce your cost of room to about $820. The Boardwalk area is a beautiful part of Disney that I think appeals more to adults. Also, you're within walking distance to EPCOT and Disney Studios. At night you can stroll into International Showcase, have dinner or just see the fireworks. It's a great area. While January is a slow month, Boardwalk Villa's standard studio's can rent out quickly (because of the low point/cost). Of course, for a little more $$$, the boardwalk view rooms are rumored to be fabulous. Enough from me, I'll leave you to plan, good luck.....
P.S. your deposit is refundable (up to 5 days before or something like that)

 

[wall*e2008]

Drop the DxDDP.

 

[pianoronni37]

Honestly, the Boardwalk is my dream resort - I'll look into renting points there. I'm not really sure how to go about it, so I'm probably going to need some advice - if anyone could PM me that would be great.

As far as dropping the DxDP - no can do. That was the stipulation DH gave to go back - he wants to eat at all of the Signature Restaurants, ever since falling in love with California Grill. He wants to try each and every one - PLUS he has some TS that he wants to squeeze in (Sci-Fi, Kona, WCC).

I'm gonna be full, but I added up the costs and it will save us a considerable amount of $$ as opposed to doing either nothing or the regular DDP and paying OOP for some meals.

Sooooo.... let me do some number crunching, and I really really appreciate your feedback!

If anything, we'll still be at Disney in January 2010, happily sleeping in Pop and eating (and lingering!) in the Deluxes!

 

[DanenRox]

I pm'd

 

[torinsmom]

Looks like you are going during value season, so if you are staying at a deluxe, join AAA and save 15% off the rack rate. That could be a pretty big savings when paying $300+ a night. I bet there will a better deal than that though, since the economy is not getting any better.

You could sell things on ebay and/or Craigslist, cut out lunches out, etc. Lots of ways to save, especially when it is for something you really want.

Marsha

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

At the risk of pushing too far, can I just offer...since your considering renting points, look at Boardwalk Villa's. They have category's of rooms depending on the view, but in an effort to save money, you might consider the "standard room studio". It would reduce your cost of room to about $820. The Boardwalk area is a beautiful part of Disney that I think appeals more to adults. Also, you're within walking distance to EPCOT and Disney Studios. At night you can stroll into International Showcase, have dinner or just see the fireworks. It's a great area. While January is a slow month, Boardwalk Villa's standard studio's can rent out quickly (because of the low point/cost). Of course, for a little more $$$, the boardwalk view rooms are rumored to be fabulous. Enough from me, I'll leave you to plan, good luck.....
P.S. your deposit is refundable (up to 5 days before or something like that)

It is refundable in FULL up to 45 days prior to the trip, UNLESS she purchased trip insurance and that amount is NOT refundable.

Suzanne