How does everyone pay for their trips??

[chefgirl96]

Hi all! Grandma will be paying for my girls' first trip early next year & I will be going along as well. Girls only! I'm sure I will want to take the family back though & am scratching my head as to how everyone pays for their trips. It feels as if many people on these boards are frequent WDWers, some going more than once a year. We are a SAHM, homeschooling family with very modest means and have never taken a vacation where we have flown anywhere.

Does you just save a little bit {like a few hundred!} every month? Do you charge all your trips & worry about it later? Are you a dual-income family? If you're a SAHM, do you have a part-time job or sell things {ebay/creative items} on the side? Do you use your tax return?

I know this might be too personal for some, but I'd really like some insight as to how to make MAGIC for my family too! TIA!

 

[saraheeyore]

in our case save for a long long time but its worth it. we are in england so flights cost a bit as well. Took us 2 and a half years to save for last one. I esaved up by saving half the child tax credit each month, my hubby's bonuses i do work part time so every extra shift was put into it as well. I am pregnant at the moment and will probablt start saving again after we have sorted out all baby stuff and my daughters new bedroom so here's to our next trip in 3 years time

 

[3goofyboys]

I'm a SAHM and we just put a little bit aside every month. We like to stay Deluxe, so it'll take us a total of 18 months to save for our upcoming 10 day trip. If we stayed at a Value or for fewer days, we could go much more frequently.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

I book for the next year as soon as the rates for the next year comes out and I put the minimum $200.00 deposit down and then take the balance and divide it up into the amount of months I have until final payment is due and make payments on it as if it were a bill, I just work it into our budget and it works great for us. At first, DH couldn't understand why I was booking so far in advance, now he's happy I do!!!

 

[Captain_Hook]

The last time DH and I were responsible for the entire bill was in 06 (now my parents are DVC so we stay for "free" -- free for us, not for them!). Anyway, we had talked about it for awhile and decided when to go -- they were offering free dining at the time. We booked about 6 months in advance and gave them a deposit on my Visa/bank card. I would call periodically (usually after I got paid) and would give them another $100 or so. Doing it that way, I was able to pay for the entire trip before we went! It was great!

We didn't have our DS yet, we stayed on property at Pop and we had the free dining plan.

It can be done! Just look for discounts -- I hear they are offering some doozies right now!

Good luck!

 

[Raidra]

We're using our tax refund. We're terrible at saving money and this is the only way we could manage it.

We have a TON of toys and kid stuff in the attic (thanks to grandparents who spoil the kids) and we plan on having a yardsale before we go. We'll tell the kids that whatever they want to sell, they can keep the money from and use for souveniers.

We're also staying in a value resort, bringing lots of our own food, etc to save money.

 

[disneybridetobe]

I'm a SAHM too We're also living on pretty modest means. I don't have a P/T job because I want to make the most out of our family time. So, we save and save and save. I throw every coin I see into our "Disney Fund Bucket." I do also have a cash Disney Fund going, I put all extra/unexpected cash in there, and that really adds up. I don't tell DH when I'm doing this-- he thinks it magically appears or something, he doesn't contribute. I also ask for Disney gift cards for Christmas! I have $35/week transferred automatically from our checking to savings, but sometimes an unexpected bill comes up, and poof! there it goes. Every little bit helps. Sometimes a portion of our tax return goes into the fund, too.

YAY for the girls' only trip! My mom won't go, but I have a feeling DD and I will have a "Mommy and Me" trip in our future, even if it's a 2-3 day trip.

Have fun, and have fun saving It's a nice feeling seeing a little bit of money turn into a lot of money!

 

[RMulieri]

We use some of our tax refunds.

 

[disneybound2010]

I'm also a SAHM and this is going to be our first trip! Not only are we planning to pay for ourselves,but we are also taking our parents with us and paying fully for them. We are on a very tight budget so it is taking us awhile to get there,but it is so going to be worth it! I have been saving at least $100 a month, any coins go into the "disney jar" and we are taking part of our tax refund from this year and pretty much all of next year's. I have also been cutting out "extras" and any money saved there goes into the fund as well.

 

[becca1125]

My dh is military and Im a SAHM. He is deployed now so that has given us extra money plus our income tax. The ticket offer they have for military is what is saving us $$. We also arent staying at a Disney resort, we booked the Best Western on Disney property so thats saving us some. I hope to have close to $2000 saved by the time we leave. Ive already paid for the hotel so that $2000 is for food, gas (we are driving), and souvies.
Of course grandma has started a "disney jar". She lets the kids do little things here and there to earn some $$ and I also put $$ in for good grades. Kind of like an allowance but its for disney use only. I have a 7 and 10 yr old so they like having their own $$

 

[ryanshana]

SAHM too! We used our tax refund....but this is the last year we are going to get a big refund, cause we adjusted our witholdings in the hope to break even. So this year for next years vaca we are saving a couple hundred a month....

HTH

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I work solely to play.

My husband earns a pretty good income, but I work 1-3 days a week as an RN so we can play. Going out to eat, movies, and vacations. My kids are 10 and 5 and my mom is retired so she babysits.

Sometimes I'll complain to DH about working, he just says, fine quit, no more eating out and vacations will only be every 2-3 years instead of 2 per year. That straightens my butt out. LOL

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

We save and sometimes use either our income tax return money. We go about once a year, even though this year we will probably go more often, but for shorter times. We're getting an AP, and with the tickets paid it makes it 10 times easier to go.
This time around we are also staying deluxe for the first time, but we are renting points, which in our opinion was sooo worth it money-wise. We always stayed moderate and the price came out to the same by renting points.

 

[scottish mum]

I'm a SAHM too I just have a direct debit that comes out each month into a seperate account that is just for disney. We have 3 kids and the youngest is 4 now so it has got dearer now. we have been every year for the last 3 years but are giving it a miss this year and saving towards next year.
I know some put it on credit cards but personally I would hate paying it back afterwards, I like saving so I can look forward to it. It would make me depressed to have to pay it all with nothing to look forward to

 

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

I am a SAHM .. DH is in the Navy. This year we are using out tax refund because we couldnt pass up the great deals for military right now a WDW (instead of waiting until next year like we originally planned)

Starting the day we return I will start putting money aside into a Disney/vacation only savings and once we have a decent amount that is when we go. Normally every other year!

 

[chefgirl96]

Thanks guys! I love reading about how different people have different ways of financing their vacation. It seems for me, the best way is plugging away at it, little by little. $5 here & $20 there will really add up over the course of a year or two. I have an ING direct account, so I guess I could open a separate account labeled "Disney" and just start funneling the nickels & dimes into that.

Love the yardsale idea! The toys have taken over our house & what better way to de-clutter & have the money have a purpose {WDW spending}!

Keep those thoughts comin'!

 

[ScrapperBelle]

We are a single income family. We have no debt other than our mortgage. I make our ressies and then figure out how much I need to save each month to pay for our room, tickets, and food. I like having those things paid for in advance. Each person in our family is responsible for their own spending money. DH and I will buy the kids something special during the trip, but they are responsible for their daily spending money (souvies only...we pay for all the snacks). I do use my credit card during the trip, but only because I don't like carrying a wad of cash around. We use the room key to charge incidentals, snacks and such. We have a preset limit on how much before our trip and I pay it off as soon as we return home. The most we have ever charged was about $350 for a 12 day stay.

We take long trips. The most frequently we have been is once a year. Most of our trips are in the 14-18 mos. apart range. DH is very "type A" and he says he doesn't relax until about 3 days into the trip, so we like longer trips. We do like the deluxe resorts, but usually only stay at them when we are lucky enough to get a discount. A nice resort where we can enjoy some "downtime" is a priority in our vacation planning.

 

[nessz79]

We are a dual income family. We are both teachers so we make modest salaries, but it's enough to support short trips to Disney. We usually do not go more than 3 nights...we live 3.5 hours away so we can do that. We pay out of the money that we have available. Rarely do we put anything on a credit card. We usually pay a deposit on the room and then pay tickets and the balance when they are due.

We can't afford to go more than about once a year except for an occasional day trip. We also travel to Washington DC regularly, but we drive and stay with relatives.

 

[JKSWonder]

DH and I discuss whether or not we want to go on vacation. If yes, I book about 9 to 12 months in advance. I put down the minimum $200.00 deposit.

Dh will then work overtime to pay it off, which is relatively easy to come by where he works. If he works just one overtime shift a month for a year, he can earn an extra $4800. We set aside this money and use it to pay the rest of the trip in cash.

 

[mom2aiden]

I have a flexible spending account (FSA) through work for daycare expenses. Basically I pay my daycare bill each month, and every time I get paid $$ goes out of my paycheck, tax-free, to the FSA.

The money collects there until I request to withdraw it. The max is $5000 per year that you can put it. So, I just let it accumulate until I have enough to pay for my trip in cash! Easy way to save without having to think about it.