How do you "earmark" the $ you save for Disney?

[Fjobe]

I recently (yesterday) discovered Disney Vacation Accounts. https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/ You can make a one time payment and/or have recurring transactions. For every $1000 put toward a Disney vacation, you get a $20 gift card. The account has to be open 120 days to be eligible for a gift card. It is not interest bearing, but can be a good Disney Vacation saving tool.

ETA: You can also use a gift card to make your contribution, so it looks like you can still use your Target card to purchase GCs and enter those into your account if you wanted to maximize benefits. In addition, you can use your Disney Vacation account even if you use a travel agent. I am going to try this with the Target GCs - I hate asking my TA to put all those cards in separately, and this will avoid that while helping me gain some extra Disney $$.

 

[Marionnette]

After losing my job this year, I am now new to budgeting and saving. Fortunately DH still has a great job, but all of our "extra" money is gone. Our trip for June is paid for, but I would like to start planning and saving for the next as soon as we get back.

Do you have separate accounts at the bank that you deposit vacation money? If cable/phone/utilities, etc are lower than budget do you transfer to that account? Same for groceries?

All ideas welcome and appreciated!

I haven't updated since November, but this is how my Disney saving is working for next year:
One Year to Save 2013-2014 Edition

Last year, there was a long-running thread by the title One Year to Save. The idea was to encourage each other and offer ideas of how to meet your goal of paying off your vacation before going on it. It was interesting to see how everyone did and the creative ways that they had for funding their trips. Is anyone game for 2013-2014?

I haven't made my reservations yet, but I plan to get back before the time in Sept. 2014 when my PAP expires.

Here's the plan so far:

Airfare: 20K+ SWA RR points currently available (approx. $330 in Wanna Get Away fares).

Goal is to have enough points for 2 RT tickets by spring of 2014 when fall fares become available.
Needed: approx. 20K more points. Continue to accrue points using eRewards, e-Miles and SWA CC.
8/13/2013 - Re-booked current flights using LUV vouchers and canceled old reservation. 20K+ RR miles used for the old reservation were refunded to my account immediately. Airfare for 2014 is now covered!
10/24/13 - 1,000 RR added to my SWA account using e-rewards plus 4,000+ RR from purchases made with the SWA Visa last month (also signed up for the 3K bonus WYS $5,000 between Oct-Dec.). It's nice to have a buffer in case airfare skyrockets or to cover an additional trip!
​

Room: Using DVC points. Dues will be assessed in January.

Approx. $900 will be needed at the time. Payable using Disney GCs. If purchased at Target using Pharmacy Rewards discount + REDCard, total OOP cost will be about $810 give or take a few dollars.
Current amount saved for 2014 DVC dues: $960 ($20/week into my DVC savings account starting each Sept.).
8/25/2013 - Used a Target GC from iphone purchase to pay for a $50 Disney GC on Target.com. OOP cost = $22.50 after using my REDCard!​

Tickets: PAPs from current year. Vouchers to be activated during upcoming trip.

Cost = $0 for 2014.​

Food: One lunch at Yak & Yet using Landry's GC from MyPoints, plus groceries for the room and misc. meals using TiW discount.

Estimated OOP cost: $1K.
Currently saved: $0. My biggest line item by far. My plan is to begin putting $20 per week into vacation savings (separate from DVC savings) in order to cover meals, starting after we return from our vacation this year.
10/04/2013 We never used the Landry's GCs during our 2013 trip, so I have $90 to spend at Yak & Yeti in 2014!
10/04/2103 $173.60 in leftover Disney GCs from 2013 trip to be applied to 2014 trip.
10/29/13 - Decided to use the Landry's GCs and leftover Disney GCs for a quick trip with daughter in December. Savings for Fall 2014 are back to $0​

Tips: Estimating at least $20 per TS meal with one TS meal per night.

Needed: $150.
Saved: $0. Will pay for tips by saving change for a year.
​

Other Tips: Valet, skycaps and bell services, airport ground transportation to/from home.

Needed: approx. $150.
Will pay for these using money earned from rebates.
10/24/13 - Rebates of $2.99 (Melaluca), $3.99 (Staples) and $10 (P&G)
10/29/13 - $32.38 refund from cable company
11/18/13 - $85.61 from Ebates
​

Souvenirs:

Budgeting about $300.
Current savings: $0. Will be paid using my rewards from the Disney Visa.
10/24/13 - $41 in Disney Rewards Dollars in my Disney Visa accounts
​

Rental Car: Not a necessity and an item than we will scratch if I cannot get a good rate or fail to meet my savings goal.

Needed: $350
Saved: 81 Ultimate Rewards Points (worth about 81 cents!). Will use points from Chase Sapphire UR to pay for car if there are enough to cover the cost.
10/05/2013 40,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards Points posted to my account today. That's worth $400 in the form of a statement credit or cash. Looks like the rental car is paid for!
10/24/13 - 8,000 Sapphire Rewards added from a furniture purchase. I can rent a really nice car or use the extra points for cash back (8K pts. = $80)​

So, is anyone else interested in sharing their savings progress? I would love to see other people's ideas and how they meet their goals. Who's in?

As you can see, a lot of it relies on rewards programs and rebates with only a little bit actually coming out of my pocket as cash.

 

[DawnM]

You didn't budget or save at all when you had a job?

Most of us, even if we have decent salaries, do budget and save.

We have an ING account. One category is listed as "Disney" and $100/mo goes into it. I don't always have to use that money as we go in November and that is about when DH gets his bonus, so we often just use some of that for our vacations.

 

[MomToOne]

I don't really track "savings" for vacation. Instead, when I do my annual budget, I identify the amount I can afford to spend on vacations during the year. It becomes just another line item expense in the budget. Obviously, it impacts the amount that can otherwise go into savings or towards other goals, so I just play with the trade-offs among all items in the budget to get everything to where I want it. I then have to plan the vacations (sometimes none, sometimes one, sometimes more than one) so that they come in at the dollar amount allotted.

This works well for me, but I am very good at following my budget once it is set - I treat the numbers I set in all categories as golden, and work VERY hard to stay at or under them. But I have been doing this for years, and as my best friend says, I am the "Queen of Self Denial" when it comes to making sure I follow my budget - I simply don't allow myself to spend more than I've set for things. I also know my expenses very well and am rarely surprised by unplanned expenses (and even if I am, well, then that is what an emergency fund is for, and I use it as such - but then replacing any money raided becomes a new budget item). I admit it is all a major control thing for me, and not all people are quite as anal as I am so this technique might not work for others

 

[pocomom]

I recently (yesterday) discovered Disney Vacation Accounts. www.disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com You can make a one time payment and/or have a recurring transactions. For every $1000 put toward a Disney vacation, you get a $20 gift card. The account has to be open 120 days to be eligible for a gift card. It is not interest bearing, but can be a good Disney Vacation saving tool.

ETA: You can also use a gift card to make your contribution, so it looks like you can still use your Target card to purchase GCs and enter those into your account if you wanted to maximize benefits. In addition, you can use your Disney Vacation account even if you use a travel agent. I am going to try this with the Target GCs - I hate asking my TA to put all those cards in separately, and this will avoid that while helping me gain some extra Disney $$.

Thank you for this! I have Disney gift cards I bought at 8% off at giftcard resellers. I like to use them ASAP so I can get a refund if there is any problem. I opened an account this morning and just put all my giftcards in it. I can add the rewards from my Disney visa too. Easy and if I get to the point I have $1000 in it I'll get an extra $20!

 

[MomToOne]

Easy and if I get to the point I have $1000 in it I'll get an extra $20!

Just a clarification - based on how I read the FAQ and Terms and Conditions, you will get the $20 giftcard only once you use $1000 from the account to pay for Disney expenses, not once you have $1000 saved in the account.

 

[Debbie]

We have an ING account. One category is listed as "Disney" and $100/mo goes into it. I don't always have to use that money as we go in November and that is about when DH gets his bonus, so we often just use some of that for our vacations.

Same here. A certain amount automatically goes into my "Mickey" account each pay. It is going to HAL, though, this year, as we are sailing to Alaska not on Disney. I'm sure that that automatic transfer makes a difference! I use Quicken and do the same virtually for other expenses, too.

 

[Marionnette]

Just a clarification - based on how I read the FAQ and Terms and Conditions, you will get the $20 giftcard only once you use $1000 from the account to pay for Disney expenses, not once you have $1000 saved in the account.

Not only that, the bonus only applies for certain situations:

What is the Bonus program?

You'll be eligible for a $20 Disney Gift Card for every $1000 you spend on qualified vacation purchases with your Disney Vacation Account prior to December 31, 2015 (date subject to extension), up to a total maximum of $500 in Disney Gift Card(s) per household. Your Disney Vacation Account must be active for a minimum of 120 days at the time of spending in order to receive this Bonus. All accounts registered to the same address are considered part of the same household.

Qualified vacation purchases include vacation packages for the Walt Disney World Resort or the Disneyland Resort, theme park tickets, room stays, cruise fare, and vacations by Adventures By Disney. Purchases of Disney Gift Cards are not qualified vacation purchases for purposes of this Bonus program.

Request your Disney Gift Card(s) 4 to 6 weeks in advance of your vacation date to allow time for delivery to your mailing address.

As long as you understand the terms of the bonus, I see no reason not to take advantage of putting your Disney GCs into an account.

 

[pocomom]

Just a clarification - based on how I read the FAQ and Terms and Conditions, you will get the $20 giftcard only once you use $1000 from the account to pay for Disney expenses, not once you have $1000 saved in the account.

Yes, sorry should have worded that differently!

 

[bjscheel]

I do the separate accounts. I love to earmark and have to keep it separate or it won't feel right! We have two Capital One 360 accounts. One is for vacation and one for savings. My deposits used to be random, but the last month or so I have determined to put 10% of my paycheck in Disney and 10% of what I transfer from DH's business account, to savings. I also use part of my bonus for vacation and part for debt.

Also, when it gets close to time to pay, I cash out the rewards on DH's Capital One card which is usually between a few and several hundred dollars. He charges a lot for business and divides it between earning cash and earning SW miles.

Extra change and pop can redemption money goes in a bottle and that is for the kids to use for souvenirs.

Otherwise, we could just transfer money out of DH's business account to pay for vacation all at once, but the saving and earmarking feels better.

 

[Sydnoahmom]

Ok, I just completed an online automatic 2x month transfer to a savings acct that is designated as vacation. I am doing a total of $200 a month that will come out of our grocery/restaurant budget.

I have spent the past few days working on recipes and shopping lists that will cut down on our grocery store budget. My biggest problem has been not having a list and then deciding at the store what we are eating without looking at sales and what we have on hand. I also Have a dry erase board on pantry door that lists what we are having each meal so everyone knows and can take responsibility for starting a meal if I am not home instead of ordering take out.

I may be a bit too optimistic, but I am willing to give it a try and see how it goes. My goal is too increase the amount after I get better at sale shopping and finding recipes we will all eat instead of just a few boring stand bys.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Minnesota!]

we have separate accounts for everything - disney vacations, other vacations, my boys sports, medical bills, car expenses, house expenses, etc. that way nothing gets spent on things it shouldn't be. Whatever is left at the end of the pay period that wasn't fed into an account, is spending money!

 

[zy144622]

If I have anything left over from another area groceries or gas for example I add that to the fund also. What ever fund I'm focused most on at the time anyway.

 

[mm1971]

We do several things for vacations.

1) I have both a SW airlines and Disney Visa. Based on the purchase, I use the cards and then use the rewards towards our flights and expenses. It adds up pretty quickly.

2) I have a separate savings account where $$ is direct deposited each pay period. By doing this, I don't even notice it is being deducted.

3) If we spend less $$ than expected on something, we take the extra and deposit it.

4) We collect all of our change at the end of the day, put it in a jar, and when the jar is filled it's off to the bank to deposit the money. This is usually every 4-6 weeks and it's about $30-40 each time. Every little bit helps.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

We keep it in our normal savings account.

For some people its better to have that money buy its self.

 

[jkbaker]

I started couponing aggressively 2 years ago. I normally use my two local grocery stores, CVS, and Target. Target will double coupon. I keep track of what I save and that money is put into my vacation fund. I try not to make myself crazy coupling...but, it is unbelievable how much you can save with a little effort.

 

[Pesky]

We have a regular savings account (Cap One 360 now) that is for ER/short term and that includes vacations, though I think I will break out for a separate vacation one now we are doing more regular vacations. I save my rewards on my Disney Visa and also buy GCs at Target whenever I get my extra pharmacy rewards 5% off so I start saving that way. It's amazing how it adds up over time! That paid for our last vacation to DLR.

 

[bohemian74]

We do the 360 account as well. I have one for travel that has a monthly amount taken out at the start of every month. Then I have a "disney bonus" account that I put my couponing/selling (used clothes, toys, etc) into. Capitalone360 has the most consistent high interest rates, they aren't spectacular anymore but 10 years ago when I started with them as ING they were!

 

[mom2t]

I have my mad money envelope that I stick money in. Anytime I spend less than budgeted or get extra money (received a refund check on a medical Bill Friday) it goes in there. It adds up quickly.

 

[blessedby3]

We put money each pay period into a savings acct marked for vacations. I also buy up gift cards for Disney and restaurants along the way when we have extra money.