How do you save for a trip?

[Disneyaddictz]

For all of you saying you put hundreds of dollars a month in a Disney vacation fund, I hope you're putting money into a regular savings account, too for a cushion when that "must-have" disney trip is done and paid for, effectively emptying your account.

For us this is a totally separate savings account that has grown over the years. Call it our entertainment account!

My disney account is far more important than my regular savings account anyways....vacation is what work for, it's what brings fun, happiness and endless memories for our family, it's what makes the day to day work hard worth it all. Stuff happens yes, and if and when it does we have some money aside but we don't save endlessly for the end of the world fund, I know it's not everyone's way or views but it's ours. I watch too many loved ones stuck in Groundhog Day waiting for retirement... I have a secure/stable job, health, good credit and no debt.

I know you people dont mean ill by asking about savings but it is many peoples first reaction, and it's ok. I can't take my savings with me and my children will enjoy the memories over moms huge savings account! xoxo

 

[Kimi313]

For us this is a totally separate savings account that has grown over the years. Call it our entertainment account! My disney account is far more important than my regular savings account anyways....vacation is what work for, it's what brings fun, happiness and endless memories for our family, it's what makes the day to day work hard worth it all. Stuff happens yes, and if and when it does we have some money aside but we don't save endlessly for the end of the world fund, I know it's not everyone's way or views but it's ours. I watch too many loved ones stuck in Groundhog Day waiting for retirement... I have a secure/stable job, health, good credit and no debt. I know you people dont mean ill by asking about savings but it is many peoples first reaction, and it's ok. I can't take my savings with me and my children will enjoy the memories over moms huge savings account! xoxo

I totally agree with you! My mom was diagnosed with dementia 5 years ago and as her memory fades she still talks about our trips to disney world that she took when she was in her 60's with the kids and grandkids. She never went as a child or took us when we were little. But she still talks of returning and those are memories money can't buy, well yea it did take money lol.

 

[ken2]

We are AAA members.The DW calls our agent(which has been the same person for many many years now)and tells her we want this and that and she handles everything.She gets us a price and breaks it down in monthly payments.We just make the payments each month.We dont have car payments so we use that for Disney.We also attend Nascar races and accounts at certian tracks that take payments out of checking each month.

 

[redheadx3]

I will pay for things in cash, $20 bills, especially things like fast food, small stuff under $10. All the 1's and 5's go in a separate section of my wallet to put in my mad Disney stash. I also pet sit for neighbors over the holidays since we usually always stick around the house. This Thanskgiving holiday, haven't added it all up yet but probably bring in $500+ for pet sitting. Last Christmas, I made almost a thousand for pet sitting. Easy $$ and I'm still way cheaper than the pet resort.
My mom always gives us a nice check for birthday and Christmas. Mine always gets put into the Disney fund.

 

[wdwobsessed!]

I appreciate all these answers! It's neat to see everyone's different ways of saving for a trip!

Since I am the OP of the thread, I feel like I should share a little background.

I live with my DF and our 2 year old son. While we have our own separate bills (credit cards, car payment) we spilt rent and utility bills. As for myself I have 5 credit cards but only 2 have balances. But DF on the other hand, has plenty more than me and more than 2 have balances.

I see a lot of people have use their tax return as a way of saving a big chunk of their trip. And that's. Smart idea! We did that with our trip this past May. DF said once we pay cards off/down, then we will talk about planning a trip (little does he know I've already planned one, I'm just waiting for his OK to book it).

I make less than DF but I get more back in taxes because I claim our son and don't make as much as DF because we don't have a sitter for our son and daycare cost is outrageous where we live, so I work from home and take care of our DS. So basically my tax return pays off our credit card bills, which I have no problem with.

I was just curious as to what are some other ways people used to save for a big trip!

 

[cuechik]

Ok.. I've just recently gotten into the 'saving for Disney' mind frame. usually, we use tax return money to make our yearly vacation plans.. and it's worked for the most part, but until recently, I've never considered (I have no idea why) saving even more.

Now, I work full-time for a living. So does DH. We both work menial jobs in retail so we don't make a whole lot of $$$. We've also added TWO car payments this year (he got a job out of town, the single car we had finally gave up the ghost) - we have a 16 year old son that likes to eat us out of house and home. We make the bills, but there is little left over so, I didn't see where on earth I could save any "extra"... how very, very silly of me.

I smoke (yes, not proud of it... but I'm working on that...again) and when I totaled up what I spend per week on this nasty, filthy, dangerous habit... it came to a whopping $1560 - $1600 per year!!! Say Whaaaat?

Then add to that the $1.70 I spend 5 days a week on a 20 ounce bottle of soda at work.. and it was another $447 per year. Total of $2000 - $2050 I spend to send my health into a dizzying downward spiral.

We here in my household are the masters of piddling away money with nothing to show for it at the end of the week.. oh yes... I can teach even the hardest of savers how to squander your paycheck nickel and dime at a time.

SO.. (if your still with me here and not snoring out of complete boredom) I've decided to make a few (ok.. a lot of) changes.

Jan. 1 is my quit date. Now, generally I would spend about $4.30 daily on smokes. Instead of forking over that money on a daily basis to the nearest convenience store, I'm going to make a daily deposit of that same amount into my Disney Fund. I will drink water at work and add to that the daily 'average' I spend on soda at work..another $1.50. so the total deposit each day $5.80.

Now.. we also give ourselves about $20 a week in pocket money. we have since banned the spending of any coins and throw all of our loose change into the 'Disney Jar' (cute little canister I decorated specifically for that purpose), and so far we've manged to save $31.15 over the course of 2 weeks. 'Found' money also goes into the jar, tips, gift money...etc.

Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll have close to (if not more than) $2500 in savings built up. Add to that the annual tax refund and we're talking a nice weeklong resort stay in WDW including DDP!

 

[think-like-tink]

We don't have credit cards. We payed them all off a few years ago and tore them bad boys up.

I work and DH works. We pay are monthly bills, and if nothing major comes up during the year we save our tax return for our summer trips. We file in January, and just sit on top of it. We do add to it at that time.

 

[cuechik]

Ok.. I've just recently gotten into the 'saving for Disney' mind frame. usually, we use tax return money to make our yearly vacation plans.. and it's worked for the most part, but until recently, I've never considered (I have no idea why) saving even more.

Now, I work full-time for a living. So does DH. We both work menial jobs in retail so we don't make a whole lot of $$$. We've also added TWO car payments this year (he got a job out of town, the single car we had finally gave up the ghost) - we have a 16 year old son that likes to eat us out of house and home. We make the bills, but there is little left over so, I didn't see where on earth I could save any "extra"... how very, very silly of me.

I smoke (yes, not proud of it... but I'm working on that...again) and when I totaled up what I spend per week on this nasty, filthy, dangerous habit... it came to a whopping $1560 - $1600 per year!!! Say Whaaaat?

Then add to that the $1.70 I spend 5 days a week on a 20 ounce bottle of soda at work.. and it was another $447 per year. Total of $2000 - $2050 I spend to send my health into a dizzying downward spiral.

We here in my household are the masters of piddling away money with nothing to show for it at the end of the week.. oh yes... I can teach even the hardest of savers how to squander your paycheck nickel and dime at a time.

SO.. (if your still with me hear and not snoring out of complete boredom) I've decided to make a few (ok.. a lot of) changes.

Jan. 1 is my quit date. Now, generally I would spend about $4.30 daily on smokes. Instead of forking over that money on a daily basis to the nearest convenience store, I'm going to make a daily deposit of that same amount into my Disney Fund. I will drink water at work and add to that the daily 'average' I spend on soda at work..another $1.50. so the total deposit each day $5.80.

No.. we also give ourselves about $20 a week in pocket money. we have since banned the spending of any coins and throw all of our loose change into the 'Disney Jar' (cute little canister I decorated specifically for that purpose), and so far we've manged to save $31.15 over the course of 2 weeks. 'Found' money also goes into the jar, tips, gift money...etc.

Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll have close to (if not more than) $2500 in savings built up. Add to that the annual tax refund and we're talking a nice weeklong resort stay in WDW including DDP!

 

[inour40th]

Case study:
Background: I just put finishing touches on our huge visit in February, all booked and paid for. (This will be a celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary which we are celebrating for our entire 40th year.) My wife and I are footing all costs for our all our kids and grandkids, 21 people in all. As you can imagine, the cost is significant, and we have been planning, strategizing, dreaming and saving for an entire year. The most important step is to use careful planning to cut the overall costs, because a penny not spent is actually better than one saved, since it isn't taxed.

We have found the costs for a WDW vacation can be roughly divided into nearly equal thirds: 1/3 airfair, 1/3 park admissions, 1/3 food and lodging.

For airfare, we were looking at over $8800, but by using an aggressive frequent flyer point-building strategy, (working together with our adult kids), we were able to reduce the airfare (from the pacific NW) to under $1000 total cost. That's with my wife and I flying first class! Warning: this is not for anyone with credit problems or unable to discipline spending or prone to carry credit balances. Search 'the points guy' or 'million mile secrets', they can give the inside scoop. Basically, it's all about the sign-up bonuses, and you need several months to make it happen. (In case you are wondering, my credit score actually went up 65 points!) We cut the cost for airfare about 90%.

For Park Admissions: I haven't seen any way to get a significant discount. Savings: 0%

Food/lodging: simple...we just planned for a time when Free Dining was likely to be available. Another strategy would be to scrimp on food and stay offsite. We've done that in the past, but prefer onsite with dining just because it doesn't require car rentals and micro-managing the meal costs...less stress. Savings about 40% for us, YMMV.

Bottom line: $90 per person per park day average, all-inclusive, staying at Riverside 8 days for my wife and I, 6 days for everyone else. Total Savings 48% over 'list price', including airfare, projected tips at TS dining, and airport hotel/parking. Plus, we had enough points left over for my wife and I to take a quick trip to Seaworld in San Diego (free air and hotel), and still have enough for free 5 days at Dolphin/Swan (with airfair) later in the year, and airfare/hotel to Hawaii some time in the future if I don't run out of vacation time.

Even on a smaller scale, these strategies work as long as they fit your own situation. Just please....DON'T GO INTO DEBT!

 

[PippiDancer]

I haven't tried it yet, I just came up with this plan, but hopefully it will help. Sam's Club sells $150 packs of Disney gift cars for $142. It is only an $8 difference, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up. I figured out that if I use those cards to pay off my remaining balance of $1,500 I'll save $80!

 

[avic77]

We are a one income family as I am a stay at home mom and I homeschool the kids. To pay for Disney I find odd jobs I can do at home (seamstress work, Cake decorating, Dog sitting) I also use coupon apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51, reward programs like Swagbucks and Perk, and answer surveys for $$ (like Pinecone). It all adds up. Since March 2014 I have "made" nearly $3000 for our trip next year.

 

[MsSweet]

We go annually and always have a trip booked a year in advance. We actually have a Disney line item in our monthly budget and make a payment on our reservation every month. We always have our trips paid off at least a month in advance.

I really like your idea. I willbe creating a new budget for 2015 and this will come in handy.

 

[TinkGirl]

Every time I go the the grocery store I get a cash back and put it away to pay for trip expenses.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I have a jar that I throw my change into from waiting tables. Think I'm at nearly $50 right now. I use vacation pay for spending money and our income tax refund to pay for the trip. I put the first night on my credit card when I booked last week, but I'll pay that off before we even get there.

 

[Lynn2205]

hubby and I use one of those pot money banks and we each put £5 in each month plus any loose change. this adds up and gives us a little extra to play with in the parks. it makes our spending money that bit easier to save up.

To save for the whole holiday if i can afford to do, i split my wage nearly in half and put it in a bank account where i won't be tempted to touch it. some months i'm not able to save as much but i aim for about £400 a month to put away. It is hard but its so worth it.

 

[v3rs3]

I'm a single father (24/7/365) to a 7 year old boy.

The two of us went to WDW the first time in April this year for his 7th birthday. We had such a blast that I've already booked another trip for the first two weeks of December 2015.

Our trip in April I basically just used 85% of my tax return to fly us down and stay for a week with 5 park tickets (Pop Century).

Our next trip in December (two-weeks at Pop Century, 10 park tickets) I paid the booking deposit and now I'm putting $300 a pay check (bi-monthly) into the account. I'll almost have it paid off before my tax returns even come back, so all that money will just go into savings. May even upgrade to POFQ (hopefully) or POR if/when winter discounts come out.

Within the next year my credit should be back to a good rating and I might be able to get a rewards credit card (only have a $2300 limit secured card now). That'd help pay for the little things. The older I get (29 now) the wiser I get with my money and actually have money saved up in savings account. My mom would be proud . hahaha