How do you feed your need for Disney?

[TnTWalter]

I am surprised so many of you get big tax refunds. We try really hard NOT to get tax refunds. That's our money and we don't like loaning it to the government for 0% interest.

We don't go to Disney as often as many but we do vacation every year. We save monthly. Again, we don't give too much out in tax money every month so we have money to put in savings earning Interest [we have a money market account that earns almost 5%]. I moved it all from ING when ING dropped below 2%.

Love all the tips, especially earning money for WDW that's not a paycheck. That's a lot of work but obviously huge reward! Kudos!

Trish

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I am surprised so many of you get big tax refunds. We try really hard NOT to get tax refunds. That's our money and we don't like loaning it to the government for 0% interest.
We don't go to Disney as often as many but we do vacation every year. We save monthly. Again, we don't give too much out in tax money every month so we have money to put in savings earning Interest [we have a money market account that earns almost 5%]. I moved it all from ING when ING dropped below 2%.

Love all the tips, especially earning money for WDW that's not a paycheck. That's a lot of work but obviously huge reward! Kudos!

Trish

Yeah that is a topic that comes up every tax season and debated for pages and pages. After reading those threads it seems that it is just a personal decision and that some people are better "savers" than others. Some just feel more comfortable getting a check back from the government than relying onthemselves to save it out. Others who are saver like you get the bonus of interest. We are somewhere in between. We get some back but not a lot.

We save like many of you do
returnables bottles/cans

loose change

cash found in washing machine (the rule is you leave money in the pocket and it washes out in the wash it goes in the Disney fund) this was put in place after I found $$ time and time again and no one in the family knew if it was theirs
saving in ING

surveys and rewards programs

 

[hsmamato2]

Now...I have to keep things simple...it's how my brain works so I use just one rewards cc that gives cash back on everything we buy all year.....and I keep a written tally in my budget book of various rewards checks, interest earned,etc that goes into our acct.- so it's not separate from other funds, but all year long I figure ways to add/or save extra bits of $$$ to our household account, so when the time comes for us to plan a trip, the money is there. I know, doesn't work for everyone, but it works for us! It's not so different from most others here,just not as specifically earmarked....since I'm a SAHM, my job is to figure out how to live well on the income we have,and that means searching the web for bargains,bargains,and more bargains on travel,etc.
But we're not easily tempted to spend $$ b/c we have it,either,I think that's why this works for us.....

 

[budcollector]

i save for mine, i have a savings account [disney fund] that i put a hundred dollars a month into, i go once a year so i have time to save from year to year, i also go solo and book when the new discounts come out in Dec. for my May trips.

 

[Mellie2162]

Question 1: Can you buy a Disney gift card from The Disney Store and then go back weekly or bi-weekly and add more to it? Can those cards be used for anything in WDW?

We are now in the "talking" stages of planning a trip for next year (finally!) and these tips are all good for saving for the trip.

Question 2: Can you not make your payments to Disney or do you just prefer to make them to savings accounts, and why?

 

[Marionnette]

Question 1: Can you buy a Disney gift card from The Disney Store and then go back weekly or bi-weekly and add more to it? Can those cards be used for anything in WDW?

We are now in the "talking" stages of planning a trip for next year (finally!) and these tips are all good for saving for the trip.

Question 2: Can you not make your payments to Disney or do you just prefer to make them to savings accounts, and why?

Yes you can add funds to a gift card at the store. Yes you can use the gift card at most places in disney. But they have to be owned by disney. Doesnt work at the swan, dolphin or rainforest cafe. I wouldnt pay disney or put the money on a gift card. I prefer to keep my savings liquid in case of emergency. You cannot get a gift card refund. And it takes disney a while to refund any money you paid on your trip. Up to two billing cycles.

 

[Dismom55]

If I do not already have my money saved before I book the trip, I pretty much know I will by pay off day. Here are a few things that I do to save.

First I have a separate Disney Checking acct that pays interest.

I take my coupon money saved from grocery shopping and put that in my Disney acct.

We save aluminum cans, recycle them and put that money in the Disney acct.

I try to do rebates on products I would normally use and deposit that money into the Disney acct.

Change at the end of the day goes into the Disney Jar. Folding Money at the end of the pay period goes into the Disney jar.

I do online points earning on several different sites, the points are used to purchase gas gift cards to help with travel costs.

When I do my grocery shopping I purchase Disney gift cards (one or two a month). These cards will pay for out of pocket meals while at Disney or souvies.

On pay day, I transfer money from my pay deposit to the Disney acct, this amount varies, but basically I pay my Disney acct before I start my weekend shopping.

Anything extra during the year goes into my Disney acct.

My bank does rewards cash back attatched to my debit card, I get more if I have the rewards money deposited to my savings acct. I do that then later transfer that money to my Disney acct.

We get a small annuity each year, some of that will be put in the Disney acct, even if I am not planning a trip, I still save some there for future trips.

If we have a good month were bills were less or we did better at grocery shopping, I will transfer extra money to the Disney acct.

Found money on the ground goes to the Disney acct.

One thing I used to do was sell my homemade crafts, that was my Disney money making venture.

Well, pretty much that is where my Disney money come from. I find it adds up fast as long as I am consistent. I feel every single penny helps me to achieve my goal of another Disney trip.

 

[amylynne01]

Question 2: Can you not make your payments to Disney or do you just prefer to make them to savings accounts, and why?

You can. However, none of my trip is booked through Disney (DVC points is private transaction, getting tickets from Undercover Tourist, flights are from Delta, etc) because it was much cheaper for us than getting a package through Disney. Plus if you have a Disney savings account, you can earn interest which is more free money.

 

[loislane]

Question 2: Can you not make your payments to Disney or do you just prefer to make them to savings accounts, and why?

You don't have to pay Disney regularly as long as you pay off your trip before the 45 day mark. I think it depends really on how disciplined you are. The key to success there is to be able to save it and not touch it, kwim?

My younger brother is "saving" on his own for a Disney trip, but I use the term loosely because even he says he likes knowing the money is there if he needs it. For many people, if it's there, you spend it - or in his case, his wife spends it on him.

For us, paying directly on our trip weekly means we are paying that balance down and that we're going to Disney baby.

 

[Mellie2162]

You can. However, none of my trip is booked through Disney (DVC points is private transaction, getting tickets from Undercover Tourist, flights are from Delta, etc) because it was much cheaper for us than getting a package through Disney. Plus if you have a Disney savings account, you can earn interest which is more free money.

So you have a savings specifically for Disney?

 

[Fantasmic23]

This is our "mad money" for the trip for souvenirs, TS meals, etc.

To fill the jar, we toss in loose change, put in the money from returning bottles and cans, etc. Little stuff like that adds up fast! Today, I added $12 to the jar just from taking back bottles and emptying out my loose change!

Curious what others do to be able to afford a trip to the most magical place on Earth? [/QUOTE]

I love the jar! We have a "mad money" jar, too! Actually our "jar" is a Cinderella's Castle bank with Mickey and the whole gang posing in front of it. We toss all of our loose change in every week. The kids get a big kick out of redeeming the bottles and cans at our local grocery store and waiting for the voucher to come out of the machine!

I also do those often tedious online surveys (Opinion Outpost mainly). The pay is basically peanuts but whenever my account is over $5.00, I'm allowed to request a check. I add that to our mad money as well. I sometimes participate in local product test panels (laundry detergent, hand cream, etc.). Couponing is big in our house and any money saved from using coupons goes into the mad money jar, too.

 

[amylynne01]

So you have a savings specifically for Disney?

Yup! I have it at Capital One which is online only. It is a money market fund which once had 4% interest and now is a measly 1%. Since I have no debit card for it, it's awfully hard to spend it, and it makes me think twice before touching it. If I kept the money in my regular checking account, I'd totally spend it lol.

 

[DawnM]

We have gotten large refund for the past 3 years, but it is because we were getting tax credit refunds/reimbursements for our $22K adoption. There is no way to do it other than to get it back at tax season. We got a total of $17K back from federal and state but it took 3 years. DH's work reimbursed us $5K, so essentially we got it all paid back.

We now have it so that we will get very little back, if anything. We just do NOT want to OWE!

We will get $1500 back for our heat pump reimbursement.....or was that last year?

Dawn

Yeah that is a topic that comes up every tax season and debated for pages and pages. After reading those threads it seems that it is just a personal decision and that some people are better "savers" than others. Some just feel more comfortable getting a check back from the government than relying onthemselves to save it out. Others who are saver like you get the bonus of interest. We are somewhere in between. We get some back but not a lot.

We save like many of you do
returnables bottles/cans

loose change

cash found in washing machine (the rule is you leave money in the pocket and it washes out in the wash it goes in the Disney fund) this was put in place after I found $$ time and time again and no one in the family knew if it was theirs
saving in ING

surveys and rewards programs

 

[DawnM]

This is how I view my "Job" staying at home too.

I could go back to work, but for now, this is what I need to do.

Dawn

Now...I have to keep things simple...it's how my brain works so I use just one rewards cc that gives cash back on everything we buy all year.....and I keep a written tally in my budget book of various rewards checks, interest earned,etc that goes into our acct.- so it's not separate from other funds, but all year long I figure ways to add/or save extra bits of $$$ to our household account, so when the time comes for us to plan a trip, the money is there. I know, doesn't work for everyone, but it works for us! It's not so different from most others here,just not as specifically earmarked....since I'm a SAHM, my job is to figure out how to live well on the income we have,and that means searching the web for bargains,bargains,and more bargains on travel,etc.
But we're not easily tempted to spend $$ b/c we have it,either,I think that's why this works for us.....

 

[Tweevil]

I guess I feed my need for Disney by working at a job that I hate because it pays enough for a savings for vacation... (working on rectifying that though)

And, by skimping where I can and putting it in the jar - or in my case the plastic Maxwell house jug!

 

[Rekenna]

Don't forget to look for unclaimed funds! http://www.unclaimed.org/

I am receiving a check soon for close to $400 from my unclaimed funds! Woo Hoo-gas money for our 30+ hour round-trip drive.

 

[fallcolors]

Your jar idea will certainly help. In our family - each of the kids determined what they were willing to contribute. Then the kids would rake leaves, shovel snow, take on extra chores, etc. And the change in the jar really adds up over time. good luck

 

[nrhenley]

I have been with ING Direct for about 10 years. As you may know, they have a referral program and if a person refers another to ING, the person receivng the referral receives incentives. If you are going to open an account PM me and I will send you the referral. Or better yet, get a friend to do the referral so they make the money!

Either way, have a great trip!

 

[wmharley]

I have just opened up an ING account for Disney. This will be for next year at this point.

We did Give A Day and will use those towards our tickets.

I have a Disney CC and use rewards points for Disney.

We do Disney as cheap as possible so we can go more often.

Dawn

Correct me if i'm wrong, but don' tyou have to use the vouchers by Dec 15th? So you won't be able to use them next year, unless you came down before or just to buy tickets and use them on a return.

I am surprised so many of you get big tax refunds. We try really hard NOT to get tax refunds. That's our money and we don't like loaning it to the government for 0% interest.

I don't like the government using my money either, but if I can live without it on a monthly basis, then come tax return, its a nice chunk. With our 2nd kid we've gotten more back, and make sure to claim all the deductions we can on the 1040s. We've been as low as $80 (I have had to pay before when I had a business) and as high as $5K.

I don't expect the $5K this yr though.

Sicne I live an hour away, I just work enough to have days off. Tell the supervisor. Coordinate a day with my wife's schedule (so she can be off and help with the kids when me and the DD and/or DS come back at night), then make sure I have gas. hehehehe

 

[mousiemom]

we always know we are going to disney so we booked as soon as a deal comes out so we have longer to pay it off. if its a package, i will get the 2 day base tickets for everyone so then when we get there we upgrade our tickets to have more time to save more money. once the package is paid off, then we start saving for spending money. sometimes, we use income tax $ to pay off package. we know we will be at disney every year so we plan ahead.