How do you afford Disney - Single Parents and One Income families?

[Savin4Disney]

I am curious as a single mom how you afford Disney whether it is once a year or more. We are going on our first trip after me "talking" about it for 4 years. I do know what made it happen this year is my income has gotten better and when I had the money to book the package I did it. When I had the money for plane tickets I did it. In the past I would have spent the money on other things and said oh I will do that next time.

I would like to make vacations (not always Disney -- well I would not sure DS would) a yearly thing for the next 5 years till he is 18.

But I would love some hints on how you do it. I am not trying to make people upset I just really want to learn some ideas that I have not thought of or do not put to good use.

Thanks so much!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The simple answer is study! Seriously, look at www.mousesavers.com and www.allearsnet.com so you can go in lower price season, etc. Also, it is generlly better to price things separately rather than use a package.

There are some false economies. For example, staying off property may be less expensice than a value resort, but then you either have to pay for parking or rely on the bus service schedule of where you are staying.

Also, make plans to make the best of your time. It does tend to be worthwile to get park hoppers, but skip the plus features and no expiration. For example, late fall to early spring AK closes at 5:00, but Epcot is open until at least 9:00 all year. You really don't need the water parks.

These are just some ideas.

 

[LIGrumpyGirl]

I am a single mom with a boyfriend so not sure if that technically qualifies me but here are my thoughts:

I know not everybody on here likes the Disney Visa but I do. In one year I have saved over 150 dollars to spend on my trip. You can only use this though if you pay everything off at the end of the month. THe interest will kill you.

We also save $ in a change jug and use that as spending money. You would be surprised how much you save in quarters.

Another thing others don't like but I do it Disney dollars. I give them to my 3 yr old as gifts, rewards etc. You can give your child half their allowance in disney dollars so it is a forced savings for Disney.

If I think of anything else, I will post it later.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I have a friend who is a single mother. She uses her tax refund, a change jar throughout the year,takes old (nice )clothes to the consignment shop,does Mypoints.com ( to get rainforest Cafe gift cert) and I'm sure a few other things I'm not aware of.

 

[littlestix]

I'm a single mom of 1 son ( no child support) and Ithis will be my 2nd trip to Disney in 2 yrs. I'm still in the learning process.

1. I put all my change in a jar. If I'm shopping and toal is 9.01 i pay with
a 10 & put ALL change in the jar.

2. claim 0 on my paycheck = big tax refund.

3. I prefer to stay offsite and get rental car. If you shop around and get tips
you can get a rental car/hotel for a great rate. This allows you to eat meals outside of Disney and make grocery shops. You can drive yourself from airport instead of using a towncar.

4. I use the Disney Visa too. Only for things I can pay off. Such as gas,food,
and phone bill.

4. Keep it SIMPLE. buy base tickets (use mouseavers for tips & sign up for
(newsletter). Avoid sit-down meals & shows. The parks have some good shows that are included in the price of your ticket. If you go with the rental car you can take a day to hit the outlets for souv. There are LOTS of things to see and do even if you can't afford the water parks.

Hope this helps

 

[westjones]

I set up a vacation club account at my bank and pay into it each month.

Also, we use our Disney Visa for everything that we need (don't let it go over a monthly budget that might cause you to pay interest).

I stick extra $1's and Quarters away through out the year for tips and laundry at WDW or tolls on the Florida tollroad.

I use to do a yard sale once a year (my neighborhood does this).

Basically, the thing that happened is we put it in our monthly budget. There is NO way that I could come up with that kind of money all at once. But I put away $200 a month into our account and any 'extra' checks that come in (reimbursements from my medical account and any rebates, etc.) and by the end of the year we have money for our trip.

You can alternate and take a big trip one year and a smaller trip the next. Go somewhere within driving distance for 3 or 4 days instead of a week. It can still be a fun trip.

Good Luck! Vacations are wonderful and Oh, the memories! They are priceless!
DJ

 

[WDWlover]

I honestly, would suggest getting AP's each year...not necessarily renewing them, but even if you decided you wanted to do a week there each year. Buy the AP to use on a vacation one year, then go back a week earlier the next year. Let the AP expire, and then when you're ready to go again, buy another one and do the same thing. I know renewing costs less, but if you're only gonna use the AP that you renewed one time, it doesn't make much sense. This way, you can always get the AP hotel discounts IF they offer them for when you go.

One thing we do also, is ebay and put all our ebay money towards Disney. This time, we booked a vacation package and only paid the $200 down from our tax refund. We had bills to catch up because we were running behind because I was off work due to bedrest the last 2 months of my pregnancy. Otherwise, we would have paid the whole thing off. Now, every time we get a couple hundred dollars, we'll pay off part of our trip and we're hoping to have it paid off by this summer. Then all we have to save up for is the gas to get down there and back

We also have a change jar that can hold about 400-500 dollars in it, and it's about 1/3 full just from the past month and a half. We only spend our dollar bills as well and then all the coins go in the jar.

Now, remember we're doing the package, and we have 2 adults, and 3 kids (1 infant though), so our trips are a little more costly. And this is the FIRST time I have ever booked a package deal, but it's more for experiment. I want to see if spending that little bit extra that we would spend is worth the less headache of worrying about our food budget (we also purchased the dining package).

Also, any money we're not counting on getting that we do get goes towards Disney as well. For example, anything we get for birthdays or Christmas or whatever (my family gives us money gifts because we don't NEED anything). All of this goes towards Disney.

 

[RobinMarie]

There are a lot of threads asking for advice and some which pronouce us to be wealthy for vacationing so often. I've always been a person who can stretch a dollar and I think that is what is key. I applaud you for placing importance on vacations with your son, I am sure he will value the memories you create.

It sounds like it will be just you and your son vacationing which could mean studio stays are a possibility without feeling cramped! I have learned how to stay off site cheaply and on site for a couple of nights at the end - it really works out for us, we feel we get the best of both worlds.

I would recommend browsing: www.skyauction.com - I have gotten some fabulous places to stay for very cheap!

I'm a huge Disney fan, but vacationing on a budget to me means I am open to other destinations. One year I found a great place for April vacation in Williamsburg, VA so that is where we stayed.

I also like my ING accounts - I have some of my paycheck directly deposited into there. I also use the account for other 'found' money for vacation.

I belong to every points program known to man. For our upcoming vacation our Disneyland passes will cost no cash - my Marriott points and Disney Visa Rewards will pay for it. Our Delta skymiles paid for one of our multi-leg flights.

Birthdays, holidays and other gift giving occassions revolve around vacation for us too - clothing, bathing suits, Disney Dollars, etc are what we ask and receive for those occasions.

The biggest thing you can do is watch your daily spending - coffee and lunch out, gums, mints .. stuff like that. A dollar a day means you have 365.00 extra dollars to spend on vacation!

I'm also a big recycler and reuser for environmental reasons and for value!

Good luck to you, you can do it!

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm a single mom with a 13-year-old son.

I use mypoints to get Rainforest Cafe GC. Last year my son and I were able to use the GCs for a big lunch and a little shopping spree. This year I have 2 $25.00 GCs. We'll use one for breakfast and one for a snack. My son can't wait to order the volcano.

I joined pinecone research last year. The surveys are an easy and quick way to earn $5.00. I've made about $100.00 so far. My son earned $35.00 by doing a teen survey.

I have a change jar that I toss all change into. I also throw in my instant winning from the NY lottery. I have about $80.00 in lottery instant win tickets

Send in a deposit for the room and pay it off little by little. I AAA to get a small discount on our room. Have my fingers crossed that a code will come out sometime soon.

My son loves Disney Quest and the water parks, so we have to get passes that include everything. Last year I bought our passes from ticketmania. (FITS) I'm thinking of getting tickets from them again because they are less than Disney's. However, I really want to do the meal plan so I may buy a one day ticket in order to book the package. (Won’t save much, but I'll get what I want.)

If your trip is After May 4, you could use ME for free shuttle service to WDW. You could also wegoshop to deliver groceries to your room.

I try to pay off as much as I can in advance. Then use my vacation pay for spending money. I don’t charge anything.

 

[Savin4Disney]

Hi Everyone!

And thank you. I do not think people who go to Disney are RICH! but I sure do think they are lucky.

Well I am in the process of starting on Ebay. My first sale did not go well. The woman left me bad feedback so trying to build that up. and I have a ton of stuff to sell. I am also watching what I buy and bring in to the house so it does not end up on ebay.

Some of the things I have done or doing:
1. Booked a package w/ dining and base tickets ..have 13 year old boy-- 6 feet tall and 195 pounds (so that alone says $$$$ on food)

2. I have a fantasmic popcorn bucket saving change. I also have a small jar on my desk saving change there too.. if I forget to take it out of my purse at home it goes in the work one

3. Booked my plane tickets with my taxes. So got them at a good price. 4217.40 each round trip..direct flight..great times..thanksgiving week.

4. I have a flex spending medical plan. And all that money goes to pay on the package.

5. Any child support goes to package...my checks are so low.. I save them up. Really not worth doing anything else with them.

6. Ebay selling

7. Have a rummage planned for June.

8. Any expense checks from work go to Disney fund.. since I alreaday spent the money. I don't see it as needed to go back in household. Always under $20.00

9. Next step is to tighten the household budget. It needs it anyways using it to pay off debt and pay for vacation.

10. I buy Disney Dollars when at the mall. Have $115.00 so far.

Staying offsite is not for us. I do not have a car so want to be onsite and not have to travel to get to the park to travel more.

Keep those ideas coming!

 

[basketrn]

I would book a year or so out and make "payments". You only have to put a deposit down when you initally book and final payment is not till 30 or 60 days out (can't remember). And its interest free.

 

[WDWlover]

final payment for packages is 45 days out...

as far as ebay...here's what we do: we go to household auctions around our area and watch for things that we think would go on ebay. Donate what we won't sell because it won't bring any money in and keep the rest. You would be amazed at what you can do with somebody elses "junk"! We had gotten a bunch of magazines that was in another lot from an auction and I was gonna throw them away, but decided to look them up on ebay. I'm glad I did, because there was ONE magazine in there that we sold for $55. Keep in mind that we spent a TOTAL of $38 at this auction and had 2 full car loads of things as well as some to go in a truck!

 

[pjlla]

In some ways it is a matter of priorities also. For some people having new clothes and a new car are the priority. For others it is lots of meals out.... for most of us here on the Dis our priority is a Disney vacation. If you take a look at your budget you may find ways to save, if Disney is a priority for you.

Let me just use myself for an example. I haven't seen the inside of a real hairdresser's for over a year. Partly because I am happy with my long, straight hair, and partly because I don't want the expense of having to get my hair cut every 6-8 weeks. I like low cost and low maintenance. So obviously, having fancy hair is not a priority for me. But the money I save by not getting my hair done regularly is going toward other things that ARE a priority, like a Disney vacation!

I also don't buy myself (or anyone in my family) lots of new clothes. I get most of my kids clothes at resale shops, Goodwill, or as hand-me-downs. Not that we are "poor"....but new fancy clothes are just not a priority for me. (Well... maybe my DD would say different!).

We currently have no car payments and I like it that way. I don't plan on buying a newer car for at least 2 more years. I am happy driving an older, less fancy car.

Anyhow, as you can see it is a matter of priorities. For some of us Disney is "THE" priority.... for others it isn't.

Yes, sometimes someone just doesn't have the money, no matter how much of a priority it is. There are people who make the wisest, most frugal financial decisions and still don't have money to spend on a Disney vacation. But most of us an find an area to conserve $$, if it is enough of a priority.
JMHO........................P

 

[kjs1976]

All your advice is AWESOME! I wanted to contribute, but you have said all of mine too! So BUMP!

This thread just goes to show that you can make a WDW vacation happen if you really want to no matter what your income is!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

For us our Disney trips are our entertainment. We would rather travel than spend money on the weekends when we are at home. We had dinner with friends last night we love dearly. A couple of comments they made about how often we go to Disneyworld and Disneyland struck me as amusing. They have a much nicer house than we do. They drive a very expensive SUV. They had just ordered a brand new Toyota Avalon, they have season tickets for hockey, baseball, football, arena footbal. To them we probably seem spend happy but I think we spend about the same, we just spend differently. As for being a single mom and affording to go to Disney, it probably just depends on what you make and how good the child support is. I know my sister who has been a single mom for 21 years now started travelling more when her son didn't have daycare expenses anymore and her ex finally started paying child support.

 

[Brendita]

My Son & I have always taken 1 vacation a year.
I was a single parent for 5 years with my youngest.
First I always but zero on my w/2 @ work.
Like a savings, than file with your dependents.
Never eat out. Pack lunchs for work & school.
Check out what's to do for free in your area.
Goodwill, garage sale, coupons.
Only thing I buy new is underwear & shoes.
Put a little away each payday even if it's only $10.00.
My Son learned fast that if he didn't always get to do the little things now.
The big reward was soon to come.
Let the kids know what the goal is.
Makes it much easier for them.
My Son even put in his pennies.
Disneyland 1997
Disneyland 1998
Disneyland 1999
Disneyland 2000
Walt Disney World 2001
Disneyland Paris 2002
Disneyland 2003
With work and school there isn't a lot of free time with our children.
So take the time time and enjoy.
Mother of 4 33 32 26 11
Good Luck hope this helps you out.

 

[tinaluis]

We're a 1 income family with 3 daughters. As others have said, WDW is a priority for us. We don't eat many meals out and when we do we usually have a coupon/special deal that we take advantage of. We rarely buy clothes that aren't on clearance or from Goodwill. We do a lot of free stuff here in Chicago like festivals and free admission days at the museums nearby. Overall, WDW is our one splurge. We stay offiste (Priceline), bring snacks, juices, breakfast foods, etc., and we also have annual passes for Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. We have 10 day MYW passes which we will spread out over 4-5 trips. Good luck in planning your trip. Remember that all the sacrifices you make will be worth it when you're there. Once you've been there, it will be easier to save for the next trip when you see what a great time you've had.

 

[WDWlover]

See...making Disney a priority is our thing as well, and some people just don't understand it. This is how I see it - we don't buy many things throughout the year, and our kids don't get toys and such every time we go to the store, like I know some do. Instead, they would rather go to WDW. Even our 7 year old wants to save up money so that we can go again - that means no toys with his birthday money his choice LOL.

I never buy the boys new clothes unless they're a dollar or two on clearance. We have a 2nd had kids store here and 2 times a year, they have what they call a $6.00 bag sale. You can FILL...and I mean pack full overflowing...a walmart size bag of clothes and the whole bag costs $6.00. I generally spend about $24-$30..now with the new baby it will probably be more like $42 or so, but that's it and I do this 2 times a year. That's spending maybe $100 on clothes for an entire year for all 3 kids!!! Of course, we buy new socks, underwear, shoes, hats and mittens for them. But still...for us, that's what we choose to to do in order to save for Disney.

We went 3 times within a 12 month period because we had AP's. The first trip was right at $3000 for the 4 of us for 2 FULL WEEKS at WDW for everything. So that was a little high for us at the time, but we did it, and we stayed on budget. Next trip was just Tim & I and that was for 5 nights with no kids....that cost us about $700 total including airfare (we drove the other times). The 3rd cost us $1000 TOTAL for all 4 of us and we even went to MNSSHP also.

It's all about what you want to do and what you want to give up to do it. You need to put a rating to it as far as how important it is to you and we have proven that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen somehow.

 

[minnie1928]

1. Open an ING account and have it automatically make deposits from your checking account every XXX weeks. Rate is 2.60%, much better than a savings account/vacation club at a bank (And I work for a bank! )
2. Coupon at the grocery store and take your savings and put them back for WDW. Rebates would work the same way.
3. Consign some clothing
4. Can you cut your son's hair? I save a fortune on this one. My husband also cuts his own hair (although there isn't much left anymore! )

If I think of others I'll let you know....

 

[RobinMarie]

You really CAN have fun throughout the year WHILE saving for your vacation:

- Use your library card and return items on time to avoid fees. We have seen lots of great movies from the library not to mention read a few guidebooks.

- Visit all of your state parks this summer rather than spend on arcades and other $$ items. We pack a picnic lunch and have a great day!


I have also found cleaning products were a large part of my shopping budget so I took a hold of that. I use bleach, ammonia, white vinegar, pledge and baking soda. It's amazing the difference in your household budget when you use white vinegar rather than windex, ammonia rather than MR. Clean .. etc.

I've mentioned this site before but I think it's worth another mention:

www.freecycle.org

I have gotten some fabulous needed items from here and have exchanged lots of stuff as well. It's purpose is to recycle and reuse and it can come in quite handy!