How do you save money for Disney?

[sunlver]

Well I really mean is how do you save money when you know you are going to Disney, before hand, and once you get down there...

Beforehand...We are a one income family. Well I do dogsit out of my home for extra cash. I try to save a lot of that money for vacation.

I try to find Disney T's at the Disney store when they are on sale for me and the kids..A lot cheaper then buying them in the Parks.

I try to buy everything we will need before hand, expecially when driving.

We always stay off site. Honestly we probably could afford to stay at POP or one of those cheaper disney hotels..But I have read how small the rooms are and all that jazz. We are a family of 5. Our youngest is 2. We always find a room where it includes micorwave and fridge. It comes in so handy for keeping milk in the room, and other food for breakfast.We always pick a place with free cont breakfast as well...

Although parking cost money, we prefer to drive back and forth, and not wait on buses.

We try not too eat too many meals in the parks, but sometimes we just cant help it

We always bring our own water bottles in the park as well as plenty of snacks for the kids.We always bring our own stroller, dont want to pay money for rentals.

Ok, what are your money saving tips.????

 

[mommiepoppins]

I also like to pre pay. I will purchase a WDW gift card for our ch dining. I will also purchase a gift card for my souvies in WDW.
I bring lots of drinks (kool aid drop inns ) and food on the plane (checked in) I am renting a house this time and plan to spend 50-75 more for food I have to purchase at the store. I also bring my own laundry det and dish soap and sponges and garbage bags.
My kids save there own money all year long to spend on suvies
I pre purchase rain gear from the 1$ store.
I save money in my change jar ( I put 10 in quaters per week)
I also put dimes and nickels in the family jar - This I will use for food in the air port and tips.
I have a penny jar which I am saving for what ever
I pre pay my van rental
I gather up all my freebees and take them to.
Last year I went down with 2,000 (mind you I had to use 650 for gas beccause we drove)
I came home with 750$ and thats only because we splerged on the way home for food.
I also pre pay dining like Pizza Hut gift cards and we use our Book its

 

[tangiblehope]

A neat idea that my supervisor is doing is having people buy her kids disney bucks or gift cards for bdays and holidays prior to their trip. That way you don't have to worry about saving up spending money for your kids and it hypes them up for the trip.

Otherwise, I'm a big fan of direct deposit. Right now we're saving for a wedding and a house so each pay period I have a certain amount that goes directly to my savings account so I don't miss it and can't spend it. I started this on Jan. 1st of this year and it's amazing how quickly the account is growing and also how much I really don't miss that money. If it's in my checking account - I'm more apt to spend it!

Good luck with saving!

 

[crisi]

We participate in our employers ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) - that takes money out of every check and gives us back to us as stock with a guarenteed 15% return after six months. My husband and I both do this, my money comes in Feb and Sept, his arrives in April and October.

 

[MomofKatie]

To save for the trip:

- I set up an automatic transfer from checking into savings each pay period.

- I am a SAHM, but I signed up with some mystery shopping sites. I usually make around $125/month, which goes into the savings account.

To save ON the trip:

- I go over menus and figure out about how much we will spend on dining. Instead of using a cc or debit card, I go to the Disney store and purchase a Disney GC preloaded with the amount we will spend. It helps us to not go overboard if we know we only have a set amount (although I make it very generous- don't want us to starve on our last day because DH had a few beers with dinner that weren't "planned for").

- same thing with souvenirs. If I had a cc, I'd end up using it more than I should. With the preloaded GC, I stop when the $$ is gone.

- DD can be a shopaholic, so we have her earn her own spending money for the trip. She requests Disney Dollars from relatives for her birthday, Christmas, etc. When we get to WDW, she is in charge of her own spending $$. I don't interfere- she can buy what she wants. But, when the $$'s gone, it's gone.

 

[tiff211]

To save for the trip:

- I set up an automatic transfer from checking into savings each pay period.

- I am a SAHM, but I signed up with some mystery shopping sites. I usually make around $125/month, which goes into the savings account.

To save ON the trip:

- I go over menus and figure out about how much we will spend on dining. Instead of using a cc or debit card, I go to the Disney store and purchase a Disney GC preloaded with the amount we will spend. It helps us to not go overboard if we know we only have a set amount (although I make it very generous- don't want us to starve on our last day because DH had a few beers with dinner that weren't "planned for").

- same thing with souvenirs. If I had a cc, I'd end up using it more than I should. With the preloaded GC, I stop when the $$ is gone.

- DD can be a shopaholic, so we have her earn her own spending money for the trip. She requests Disney Dollars from relatives for her birthday, Christmas, etc. When we get to WDW, she is in charge of her own spending $$. I don't interfere- she can buy what she wants. But, when the $$'s gone, it's gone.

Wait......you can use GC from the Disney store at the parks???

 

[MomofKatie]

Wait......you can use GC from the Disney store at the parks???

Yes! They sell the Disney Gift Card- you can use it at the parks, on DisneyShopping.com, or at the Disney Store. If you go onto disney.com, you can read all about it. There are a few non-Disney run restaurants that don't take the card (McDonald's at DTD, I think one or 2 other DTD places), but otherwise, you can use it to pay for just about everything at WDW. The resorts, tickets, food, merchandise- you can do it all with the GC.

 

[ilovediznee]

We are DVC members and a lot of people think that are tickets are included, and they are not! Nor is food.

Before the trip, I have a box that I keep with items we need for the condo - detergent, rags, etc. We also go the grocery store near Disney before we check in to buy b'fast items.

I have a change jar and I'm going to the fleamarket in May with a friend. Between now and then, I'm going to do some "major" sorting and cleaning to get rid of stuff. My friend as a huge collection of beanie babies, so that is all she is selling, but I want to really get rid of alot so it equals $$$$.

I also got a PT job that one pay check per month goes towards expenses based on my budget and the other will go to my Disney ING acct.

Good luck and keep those ideas coming!

Diane

 

[sunlver]

Thanks everybody for sharing your tips with me. When I tell people we are going again(we dont go every year)they usually say how they wish they could afford it.
Honestly, the money I saved could/should go for other things...but heck, its Disney, you only life once

We are driving this year, we have done it before. Though, I prefer flying. It will be the first road trip for my 2 1/2 yr old. I have been buying some previously viewed movies from Blockbuster and hiding them. That way it will give all 3 kids some new movies to watch. We also have 2 portable dvd players for the van..so my 12 yr old isnt stuck watching baby movies the whole way.

 

[ducklite]

I used to work a second job P/T and had that entire paycheck deposited into a savings account that we used for vacations.

You would be surprised how fast 10-15 hours a week added up!

because it was direct deposited into a dedicated savings account, I never saw it so I never missed it.

Anne

 

[WillCAD]

I save up in several ways

1) I buy Disney Dollars or put money on a Disney Gift Card each payday. Usually it's about $20, but some weeks if I have a little extra it might be $30 or $40.

2) I get paid every two weeks, which means 2 paydays per month. But two months of the year there are 3 paydays, and I always sock away some money from those extra paydays on my Gift Card.

3) Like so many people, I put my coins into a sorter every night and roll them. I usually wind up with about $200 per year.

4) I always shop around for the best deals I can find on airfare, rental car, and hotel accomodations. I am not afraid to stay off-site, or to rent a car from an off-airport company like Thrifty, and I look for codes and coupons constantly throughout the year.

 

[LeeAnn]

MomofKatie

How did you make $125/month w/some mystery shopping sites.

What are the mystery shopping sites.


I'm also a SAHM and it's so hard financially. Have 3 kids, DD4, DS3, DD1. And that amount can cover a tuition for Preschool. This coming Sept, I'll have 2 in Preschool. Don't know how will mange but I guess we all do what we gotta do.

Any extra cash is helpful. I hope you don't mine sharing your info. I apreciate it.

 

[Kimmumum]

I do research studies too. Yesterday I went and picked up lipstick which I have to wear for a week, answer a couple of questions and get my $40. All of this will go to the Disney fund. My kids will do the studies too. The last one of my DS's did was to taste test Lunchables. It's a tough job but someone has to do it

We have 3 research places by us. If they don't call us, we'll call them.

 

[HeatherC]

One thing we do is redeem rewards points on our American Express card.

I use this card for EVERYTHING to rack up points and then come home and pay it the same day out of the checking account. They let you make a payment every 24 hours which is great compared to some cards like Citibank where you can only make a couple of online payments a month.

We use these points for everything from hotel nights to SeaWorld tickets (free for 5 of us the last two years) to restaurants. They are now offering Olive Garden and Red Lobster which we like. We also stay offsite so the restaurant gift cards come in handy when we get there.

HeatherC

 

[ilovediznee]

If you would, please share the sites were you can shop and do survey's.

Thanks - Diane

 

[mom2my3kids]

I put a big chunk of our tax return on our reservation this includes the dining plan. I am sending X amount of dollars per month until Aug for our trip. For spending money I send 25.00 a week from our checking into our savings, plus I have a change jar that I cash in once a month and deposit that into our spending fund. I also do surveys online and I get 5.00 here and there and deposit that into our savings. I am planning on one big yard sale this summer also and the kids can sell drinks for some extra spending money. I am hoping to bring around 1500 spending money with us in Sept.

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

We do a couple of things:

1. CHANGE JAR: ALLLLLLLLLLLL change goes into this. If something costs $1.06 I give them $2.00, $.94 right to the change jar

2. We take $20.00 a week and put it in an envelope and promised NOT TO TOUCH IT. It adds up fast.

3. Kids get Disney Dollars for bdays, holidays etc as we get closer to trip time.

4. Kids also save their allowance for spending money

5. Sometimes when I am at WalMart and have a few extra dollars, I will get a roll of dimes or quarters.

Hope these help someone

 

[MomofKatie]

MomofKatie

How did you make $125/month w/some mystery shopping sites.

What are the mystery shopping sites.


I'm also a SAHM and it's so hard financially. Have 3 kids, DD4, DS3, DD1. And that amount can cover a tuition for Preschool. This coming Sept, I'll have 2 in Preschool. Don't know how will mange but I guess we all do what we gotta do.

Any extra cash is helpful. I hope you don't mine sharing your info. I apreciate it.

There is a great website out there- www.volition.com , that lists many many mystery shopping sites (none of which are pay sites). I found some really good resources from them.

The 2 that I regularly shop for are www.second-to-none.com and www.baiservices.com . Second To None does mostly Starbucks shops. They are quick and easy. Bare Int'l does shops for a grocery store chain here in NC. Those shops can take from 5 mins to 30 mins, and they are easy as well.

Hope this info helps! I really like doing mystery shopping- it doesn't pay great, but for a SAHM, it's a great way to earn a little extra $$ without worrying about schedules or what to do with a sick kid when you have to work.

 

[mommiepoppins]

We do a couple of things:

1. CHANGE JAR: ALLLLLLLLLLLL change goes into this. If something costs $1.06 I give them $2.00, $.94 right to the change jar

2. We take $20.00 a week and put it in an envelope and promised NOT TO TOUCH IT. It adds up fast.

3. Kids get Disney Dollars for bdays, holidays etc as we get closer to trip time.

4. Kids also save their allowance for spending money

5. Sometimes when I am at WalMart and have a few extra dollars, I will get a roll of dimes or quarters.

Hope these help someone

Sometimes at wal mart if I get an extra 5$ or 10$ I will go to the game room in walmart and change it all into quaters

 

[Mrs.Reese]

Thanks for the site info! Between the sample hand-outs and these mystery shops I might not have to work this summer