How do you save for Disney?

[pa. dad]

The curse of paying everything with my debit card is the.fect that I never carry cash with me, so I never have change back that I can put away Maybe I should change my ways...

OMG, I actually thought about buying Disney shares yesterday! I am not sure how that would help me on my trips as I do not undertand the stock markets very well, but I am more excited about the prospect of owning a piece of Disney

I own Disney stock. Right now it's trading fairly high so I wouldn't buy more- just an opinion.
As far as saving for your vacation, I think it's more of a lifestyle thing.
When you go out to dinner, avoiding costly appetizers and drinks. Going to the movies at a different time might be half price. Buying a book used instead of new. Things like that done on a daily and weekly basis will leave you with more money in the wallet come vacation time.

 

[racefans44]

I use the Disney Savings Account. I really like it because I don't necessarily miss money that I never see. For every $1000 you spend toward a trip, you receive a Disney Gift Card for $20, that's not a lot, but it does help. I also buy GC's at Target and save 5% and I deposit them in the Disney Savings Account. That's an initial 5% savings, and an additional 2%. If you purchase several cards, you life will be made easier if you use the Disney Gift Card app so you can combine them on one card. Good luck!

 

[MrsRoyale]

Is the Disney Gift Card app for iPhone only? I can't seem to find it in Android. Also, for the Disney Sabings Account....right now I am buying gift cards and just stashing them at home, should I just start adding them to the Disney Savings Account? I am concerned about "losing" them somehow.

 

[smd8z]

In the past we have purchased Disney gift cards from Target to save 5%. We also have a rewards Visa card which we use for everything so we can rack up miles to book flights . This year we also did something different and decluttered our house! All our old stuff that we had stored in the basement; kids clothes, old toys, extra furniture, etc we sold at yard sales and through FB online yard sales. We raised over $2000 in 6 months.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

My savings strategy has been to use my FSA dependent care account as my vacation account. I only request funds back when I'm going on vacation, and at the end of the year to pay my DVC dues.

 

[pinkprincess30]

When we get in saving-for-Disney mode, I start saying no to little expenses that come up (when I can) and put that money in the Disney jar on the spot! Pass up Starbucks when you really wanted one? That's $5 in the jar! Tell the kids no when they want an ice cream cone? $10 in the jar! Cook at home when what you really want is dinner out? That's $40 in the jar! See a cute shirt on sale but you don't really need it? $20 in the jar! It makes sacrificing in order to save so much easier when you see the dollars stack up each time you deny yourself those splurge items. We also have a "miscellaneous fund" every week for little things that come up outside of our regular bills. If we get to the end of the week and there is still money left....you guessed it....in the jar! Lol

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Much of the same here.
I always pay cash for small purchases (coffee, pack of gum, etc.) and at the end of every day I take the 5's, 1's and any change and throw them in an empty 5gallon water bottle. Last time I filled it to the top it was about $4,000.

Also as others have mentioned. Get a credit card that offers reward points and use that for any/all monthly bills you can. (Just be responsible and pay it off in full each month)

I also use my rewards card to buy discounted Disney gift cards at Sam's Club. I think a $500 card sells for $474.99 so that adds up if buying a few thousand worth (I know many on here get their Disney gift cards at Target but my local target stores never seem to have them in stock.)

I also stash away some extra cash in small increments when I feel I need to pay myself. An example of this is when I make lunch at home to bring to work with me I throw $10 in there because I would have spent at least that much if I bought lunch out that day.

 

[LaRapsodia]

I have separate saving accounts set up for different goals, and each account is named that way ("Travel", "Emergency", etc.). Then I have money auto transferred at the beginning of every month.

A good trick for long term savings goals, to keep you from raiding the piggy bank, is to buy a CD with the money in the account when it gets to a certain amount (say, $500). I find this keeps me from touching it, because the money can't be withdrawn or transferred online: I actually have to call the bank and talk to a human to cash out the CD (and there's a penalty).

I do that with our emergency fund, but it would also be a great strategy for saving several years for a trip.

I think the credit card rewards are dangerous for a lot of people (like me!) unless you're super disciplined about not running a balance (unlike me!).

 

[Princess Minnie321]

My DH and I both got the venture capital one with the 40,000 miles bonus. We charged one leg of the trip on my card and the other on his. That gave us $920 towards airfare.

We started a budget over the winter and just by cutting back on eating out and frivolous spending, we started funneling the extra money we were spending to a separate savings account for our trip.

 

[tami82]

I started saving last August right after our vacation. My husband pays for the bulk of the trip, I agreed to pay for food so my goal was $100 a month which I would just put into an envelope. Some months I would put double or extra if my sales were good on my home business. I was done around March. Now I'm just thinking of buying a few Disney cards for snacks, Minnie cookies to take home, souvenirs, etc... so it would be paid for already and won't have to use cash. I also pick up little things each week that we will need on our trip,so I won't have to buy it all at once.

 

[catra121]

I saved money for my current trip by telling everyone for the last 2 years that all I wanted for birthdays, christmas, holidays, etc was Disney gift cards so I could take my daughter (who is 18 months old now) to Disney World. We have enough Disney gift cards to pay for the entire trip this year which means if we do this we will probably be able to go every other year. For airfare I just move a little over to savings every month and there is enough for all of our tickets and then some.

 

[rg35]

My savings strategy has been to use my FSA dependent care account as my vacation account. I only request funds back when I'm going on vacation, and at the end of the year to pay my DVC dues.

FSA dependent care accounts are for legitimate child care expenses - daycare, au pair, summer camp, etc. They are not vacation savings accounts.

 

[LaRapsodia]

FSA dependent care accounts are for legitimate child care expenses - daycare, au pair, summer camp, etc. They are not vacation savings accounts.

I'm sure what they mean here is that they have eligible expenses, but they just wait to claim them for reimbursement all at once, so it acts like a savings account.

 

[MrsRoyale]

I saved money for my current trip by telling everyone for the last 2 years that all I wanted for birthdays, christmas, holidays, etc was Disney gift cards so I could take my daughter (who is 18 months old now) to Disney World. We have enough Disney gift cards to pay for the entire trip this year which means if we do this we will probably be able to go every other year. For airfare I just move a little over to savings every month and there is enough for all of our tickets and then some.

That's what I have been doing, too! Every month I purchase a $25 gift card. Since I am not going to Disney until 2018 I figured it would be enough time to save and I was right. I already got the money saved to buy the tickets for all of us

 

[mrsp1030]

We have a vacation savings account we use for all vacations. We put money aside each month in that account and when we get extra money we will transfer it at months end. My DH also travels for work so we save up miles and hotel stays but typically we drive and only fly when we are going on cruises. We use our Bank of America Travel Rewards CC for everything and my DH uses his AMEX Platinum card. The Platinum card gives generous rewards which we use to change into Gift Cards to purchase many items in our house, gifts, etc...Whatever we don't spend, it more money at month's end. The Bank of America Travel Rewards Cards can be used for Disney if you charge all purchases to room and also your hotel, tickets, etc...

 

[disneyduonj]

I also will use various credit cards for their sign up bonuses which will go towatds flights, hotel and 1 ticket on my first trip in January. Also started doing Swagbucks recently, get target gift cards with SB and buy disney gift cards. Have enough for one 5 day ticket already.

 

[JulieAlane80]

We are saving lose change and any cash that makes it into the laundry. This all goes into a jar designated for Disney. This will help with souvenirs and other spending we end up doing once there.

 

[DisneyArie]

--I opened a high interest savings account and had payroll take out $200 every paycheck. I never missed the money since I never saw it.
--I also purchased 30 Disney gift cards at 20% off. (In hindsight, I should have gotten more, but I still have some left over)
--I used Bing Rewards to earn (so far) $90 worth of Amazon gift cards. This will help with buying items for the trip.
--I used Ibotta to earn extra money.
--I have been a mystery shopper for over 3 years. This year, I started doing more shops, putting aside the money earned in my Disney account. Also, instead of spending my own money for small vacations and family outings, I will just sign up for shops. We do lots of family activities--restaurants, resorts, amusement parks, etc.

 

[disneyduonj]

--I opened a high interest savings account and had payroll take out $200 every paycheck. I never missed the money since I never saw it.
--I also purchased 30 Disney gift cards at 20% off. (In hindsight, I should have gotten more, but I still have some left over)
--I used Bing Rewards to earn (so far) $90 worth of Amazon gift cards. This will help with buying items for the trip.
--I used Ibotta to earn extra money.
--I have been a mystery shopper for over 3 years. This year, I started doing more shops, putting aside the money earned in my Disney account. Also, instead of spending my own money for small vacations and family outings, I will just sign up for shops. We do lots of family activities--restaurants, resorts, amusement parks, etc.

HOW did you get disney gift cards for 20% off?

 

[DisneyArie]

HOW did you get disney gift cards for 20% off?

HEB (a Texas grocery store) sells them for 20% off 1-2x every year year. The last time was back in February.