How much spending $ for kids?

[WishingOnAStar]

I want to give the kids their own "mickey money" for the trip (we will have it in their gift bags that they'll open to find out about us going the morning we leave!). I already have $20 each, but I'm thinking it should be $40 or $60 each. (they will be 6, 7, and 8 years old)

For those that give your kids a preset amount- do they buy their own snacks during the day, too? Or is it just for souveniers? I'm thinking if they had to buy their own Mickey ice cream, maybe they won't be asking for it every 2 seconds! What is a reasonable amount for 8 1/2 park days (1 of which is a water park day)?

In their gift bags will be a stuffed Minnie or Mickey, fans, glow sticks, Mickey shirt, Disney sunglasses and croakies, guest of honor badges, disposable cameras, etc. I'm hoping that I've already bought a lot of the "junk" they'd want.

 

[stacy6552]

My kids earn their spending money for about 4-6 weeks ahead of time. Its especially good when you have to drag them through the mall: "for every store we go into that you dont fight, you get a dollar..."

They get to spend it on whatever they want. Snacks, toys, whatever. Its really sweet when one buys something for another.......

 

[Jordan's MOM]

For that age I would budget about 10.00 per day per child. That can be all gift or you can make them earn it. About that age DS was having issues sleeping in his own room and earned disney money for each night he did. As he got a little older he also has done chores. I would divide the money into days and put each days in a envelope. They can save from one day to the next to buy someting bigger, but can't borrow ahead. I also have the rule that I will not carry anything bought in the park. That helps with ipulse buying. If they really still want it at the end of the day, then you go get it.
Our rule for snack has always been if we all have a snack, adults pay. It just DS wants a extra snack, he pays, but I can also veto a snack too close to a meal, even if he is paying. My junk food junkie kid has never spent any of "HIS" money for snacks. It works pretty well putting them in crontrol and you never hear them "beg" you for stuff. Good luck and have a blast!!'

Jordans' mom

 

[eeyore kelly]

My DS will be 13 and my DD 10 when we go. They are earning their own money. When we go they will get $20.00 a day of their money for Mad Money, and snacks they want. DH and I will fund one snack a day. If they see something they want over their allotted $20, they have to talk to us. (Let us talk them out of it) However, DH and I have agreed to let them go over one day apiece. I plan on buying them one thing in the park each. Their birthdays are both in early Feb., so their B-Day gifts will be a couple of pins, autograph books, Fanny packs etc.

 

[WishingOnAStar]

Thanks for the great ideas! I love the idea of the kids earning their own money. But our kids won't know about the trip until that morning.

It sounds like even $60 for the 8 1/2 days won't be enough.... I guess I'll have to budge some more for them. I'm making a trip to the Disney Store tomorrow to get some Disney dollars.

 

[mareed]

My 2 DS's have been getting $5/day for souvenirs since they were 3 & 6. They average 2 Disney trips a year and are now 5 & 8. We don't actually give them the money, but we keep track of it daily, and they can carry over to a future day if they don't spend it all on a given day. We buy food treats for them, so it doesn't come of of their money. $5 is enough since they go fairly often, and there's really just not that much left that they can find that they want. I'd recommend more for someone who doesn't go frequently because there is a lot to be tempted by.

 

[jajuan]

WOW! I have 11, 9, 4 and 2 yr olds. I usually give them 30-40 for a 7 day trip. They can buy the souviners that I know will break in a week or that extra Mickey bar. They are so excited when I give them that much and they always budget very well. I do buy their pins and one sweet snack a day as well as something they choose in downtown disney. I guess what I am trying to say is that they will be happy even with a smaller amount. My children have even budgeted so well that they brought Disney $ home last year and get to have more this year.

 

[NotUrsula]

We allow our 7 yo $20 for spending, but we don't allow snack-buying in the parks. (That goes for grownups, too, btw.) DS has a small appetite, and if he were allowed to snack in a big way at WDW, we would never get him to eat a real meal in the course of the entire trip. I do carry small snacks in my bag, of course; like pretzels or granola bars; he can have those without spending a dime.

We also restrict *when* souvenir shopping is allowed. We set a time period for it, such as the final hour of a park day, or on the afternoon of the last day of the trip. The hard rule is that we will NOT carry purchases for him. He either carries them himself and takes responsibility for the possibility of losing them, or he has them sent to the gate or our resort.

We give him his money in the form of scrip, so he has it to hold and see how much he has, without us having to replace real money if he loses it. When he has decided what he wants to buy, he exchanges the scrip with us for real cash just before the purchase. Quite frequently he does not make any purchases at all except for a few pressed pennies; he ends up keeping his money and putting into more important (to him) savings goals, such as a piece of sporting equipment or what have you.

BTW, we're not tight for the sake of it, it is just that we very severely discourage souvenir shopping as a given thing. We don't do it ourselves, and we want DS to understand that the point of travel is the experience, not stuff. We travel extensively, and we follow this policy everywhere, not just at WDW.

 

[WishingOnAStar]

Thank you everyone for all your help. I got each child another $40 for a total of $60 each. I think we'll probably not allow to many snack purchases as we will be bringing some small snacks anyway.
Since this is their first trip to Disney, I'm sure they'll want to buy something nice to bring home. They're usually good about getting something we won't donating to Goodwill the next month (my DD-8 has a charm bracelet and will probably want to add a Disney charm to it).

I like your idea, NotUrsula, of restricting 'buying time' because I can see how that would mess with our daily schedules! I also love the scrip thing because then I know they're real money is safe. Great idea!

 

[gigi1313]

we're doing the prince/princess add-on so each kid (ds7 & dd9) are each getting the $50 that comes as part of that package and that's their spending money for the week...

they know the "deal" is that they have to use their money for anything that's not a "family" expense... if dh or i want ice cream, we buy everyone ice cream... if we have a nice lunch and dd doesn't eat anything and wants ice cream ten minutes later, she can use her own money... arcades are on their own money... i have already bought a few "family" souvies such as disney tee shirts, some glow necklaces, water bottle leashes, etc and some "pillow gifts" (i.e. stuffed mickey/minnie) for each child... but after that, it's all up to them...

as far as souvies go, we are leaving the last day of our trip totally unplanned and that way, if someone saw something in a gift shop and was "on the fence" about buying it, we can then go back and get it... i am letting them know this (and will probably say it a zillion times: why don't you think about it, we can come back sunday if you don't find something you like better") 'cause we were at the bronx zoo last week and dd was permitted to buy one stuffed animal... so she did, at the first gift shop we entered (and yeah, i had to carry it all day!) and of course, at the end of the day, she liked another better and it was a huge hassle to return to one gift shop in order to buy from another... i hope she learned that lesson...

 

[bigbabyblues]

We're only going to buy one souvenier each, including me and DH. My 1-yo won't care, and my 3-yo is not the type to ask for things, so he'll be thrilled to get something! It's almost sad, the poor kid never asks for anything at the store except grapes, cereal, or bananas; never once has asked for a toy, or to go to the toy aisles, nothing. We aren't poor (not rich either, lol), we certainly have plenty, he just isn't geared that way I guess. Maybe because DH and I don't usually buy a lot of things for ourselves....

Anyway, that's our plan. It probably wouldn't work for everyone, and obviously my boys are little, so it's easier for us.

 

[etwinchester]

Last year, when my DD was 3, she managed to save $300 in 9 months for our two week trip. She had birthday and christmas money along with the money she got from grandparents. Everytime she saw them she asked for $3 for disney and of course, they would give it to her. Have no idea why that amount, maybe since it was her age?? Was a smart idea and was mad that I didn't think of it or could pull it off...

I'm flesh and blood and I was always told:

* what do you think I'm made of
* money doesn't grow on trees
* get a job

Wish it was that easy for me to get money. I should've told her to ask for $5 and give me the remaining $2. Yeah, like she would have given it up.

Anyway, it will be over 3 years till our next trip. I can only imagine what she will have saved. She'll have more money to spend than us.