How to get DH to save for Disney?

[JoshAndEvsMom]

We just got back from a trip to WDW in April and were all excited to start planning for another trip in two years, 2013. Now that we have settled back into "real life" my DH has lost the magic and cringes when I mention Disney.

He automatically shuts down and says we can't afford it. How do I soften him to saving? I'm willing to really work at saving for the next two years. Any ideas from any of you Disney veterans? I want this to be a really memorable trip! Not one where DH is stressing about $$$ the whole time!

 

[chris31997]

Try getting a change jug/jar and collect change. Some have even suggested single dollar bills.

We pay cash for alot of things, so when we have extra cash left over that goes into our vacation savings I don't tell hubby the amount cause I am the saver and he is the spender but he knows and is all good with it

 

[Pre]

I'm going in 2013 to! I've made a plan to save $100 for Disney each month until I go. By the time my trip comes I'll be so happy because I saved that money instead of dumping all the money at one time.
To keep me happy about Disney Saving I've been saving change in belle coin banks!
Good luck with the saving and think every dollar saved can go to a Mickey ice cream!

 

[Carina]

We just got back from a trip to WDW in April and were all excited to start planning for another trip in two years, 2013. Now that we have settled back into "real life" my DH has lost the magic and cringes when I mention Disney.

He automatically shuts down and says we can't afford it. How do I soften him to saving? I'm willing to really work at saving for the next two years. Any ideas from any of you Disney veterans? I want this to be a really memorable trip! Not one where DH is stressing about $$$ the whole time!

Don't mention it for awhile. Could he be cringeing at the thought of hearing you say "saving for disney" non stop for 2 years. 2 years is a LONG time

I ask because its like that at my house. My hubby knows what I am saving for - but he dosent want to hear about it. In fact he said when I have $5000 saved I can talk about it all I want but until then 'shush'

My son has caught on and now says " when we go to "Blank World".... "

I would suggest QUIETLY start saving for Disney - and when you have more than 1/2 the money tucked away - then bring it up ( see we can afford it)

- by quietly I don't mean secretly, I just mean do you really need to say what your coin jar is for? Or call it a more generic 'Vacation Fund'

 

[marcemc]

We just got back from a trip to WDW in April and were all excited to start planning for another trip in two years, 2013. Now that we have settled back into "real life" my DH has lost the magic and cringes when I mention Disney.

He automatically shuts down and says we can't afford it. How do I soften him to saving? I'm willing to really work at saving for the next two years. Any ideas from any of you Disney veterans? I want this to be a really memorable trip! Not one where DH is stressing about $$$ the whole time!

Maybe he has a Disney overload & just needs a break from the whole thing. My DH loves to go but he is not like me, he doesn't talk about it everyday, he doesn't daydream about, or spends hours in this board....

Start saving on the side & next time you hear about a good promotion (free dining, kids stay for free, etc) bring it up again & see how he reacts.

Maybe he feels like it's his turn to pick a vacation spot? not everyone is Disney crazy like us

Good luck!

 

[Cin]

I have the credit union take it out of my paycheck for my Disney trip. I also have hubby give me a small amount of his check every payday for "vacation". I stick every available dollar in my Disney fund too (birthday money, Christmas money. etc.) Hubby knows I still have my Christmas money banked for WDW. Sometimes I will get $20 cash back at the grocery store and then stash it in my Disney fund. I am not allowed to mention "Disney" but it is a given that is my destination of choice. I have an itinerary written out with costs broken down for our next trip tentatively scheduled for Nov 2012 posted on our bulletin board. I can't go every year though (gotta do his destinations too), not yet, so I have to do his choice of trips for a while and then I can get another Disney vacay!

 

[ssawka]

It might be an ego thing. It could be that he knows how much you enjoyed it and wishes he could just take you without having to save. When you mention saving for Disney, it is a constant reminder that you cannot just go whenever you want to and that you have to work really hard to afford the trip. Things like that really bother us men because we judge ourself based on how good of a provider we are.

 

[tweedlemom]

Simply putting $20 away every week will give you over $2000 for your trip 2 years from now.

 

[puffkin]

I budget $100/week for groceries which for my family is very generous. I also use a lot of coupons. Most weeks I don't come anywhere near that $100 so I try to buy a $25 Disney gift card every time I have the extra money. Some weeks I am even able to get the $50 card!!! It adds up fast

 

[eliza61]

Maybe he has a Disney overload & just needs a break from the whole thing. My DH loves to go but he is not like me, he doesn't talk about it everyday, he doesn't daydream about, or spends hours in this board....

Start saving on the side & next time you hear about a good promotion (free dining, kids stay for free, etc) bring it up again & see how he reacts.

Maybe he feels like it's his turn to pick a vacation spot? not everyone is Disney crazy like us

Good luck!

Great post!

Op, why not say you are simply saving for a big vacation. You don't have to commit to a spot just yet. He just got back from a disney vacation so he may want to try some thing new. Back off a little and just say let's save for another vacation.

 

[kkmcan]

Save quietly. I started saving any xmas money I received plus my birthday money. I didn't talk about it too much though. He knew what it was for but I didn't make a big thing out it. Then I'd add whatever extra dollars I had in my wallet and it started to build. After every DL trip that jar is empty but as soon as I get a few more dollars it goes in the jar and we start saving again for Disney.

It's been this way for a few years now and now DH offers his "found" money to add to the jar. Things such as reimbursements from work, poker game winnings, birthday money etc.

Lately we have been saving for annual passes for DL. I had $800 in cash in the jar + I had saved $450 in Disney Visa Reward dollars. We bought the passes the day before the ticket price increase 2 weeks ago and now the jar is empty again. The rest of our Oct trip is just gas and food (hotel is inlaws timeshare) so we are set for our next trip.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

:

Op, why not say you are simply saving for a big vacation. You don't have to commit to a spot just yet. He just got back from a disney vacation so he may want to try some thing new. Back off a little and just say let's save for another vacation.

I like this idea. I know when my husband has just left Disney, it is often the BEST time to talk about another vacation there because the Pixie Dust is still on his hair! LOL But, maybe he's not like that.

Sit down and talk about how much fun you have traveling as a family and talk about places he'd like to go. Commit to a budget and find ways to make it work.

I do all sorts of things to get money for our trips. I try to squeeze money out of our normal budget so I don't feel like I'm actually paying for the trip. KWIM?

1. Call ALL of your providers - insurance, cable, cell phone, etc. Ask about getting cheaper rates. We did that and saved $250/month! I stuck the extra into a separate account just for vacation.

2. I book the vacation WAY in advance and make payments on it each month. It's usually around $200/month, which for us, is very do-able.

3. Change jar. Start NOW! ANY found coins get put in there. Occasionally, if I've had a bill in my purse for longer than a week, I stick it in the jar.

4. Collect returnable cans. In our state they're 10 cents each. We take them in and make about $100/year. That money goes directly into our change jar. (The change jar usually nets around $450 for our trips - so, this obviously works for us!)

5. I do Swagbucks and redeem them for Amazon gift cards. I take the money I saved and stick it into the vacation bank account.

6. I have a budget for our groceries and electric/gas bills. Anytime I'm below them, I stick the extra into that vacation account.

There's more. But, that's where we get the majority of our vacation money!!

 

[GinnyEmma]

Great post!

Op, why not say you are simply saving for a big vacation. You don't have to commit to a spot just yet. He just got back from a disney vacation so he may want to try some thing new. Back off a little and just say let's save for another vacation.

You might even let him have some say on the "family" vacation. Maybe he wants to go elsewhere.

 

[DawnM]

We have always just used part of our tax return and/or DH's bonus to pay for vacations, whether they were Disney or not.

Does he want to go anywhere? Or does he want no vacation for the next couple of years?

Dawn

 

[miralys]

I have found it is hard to get people to save if it is not a goal they are enthusiastic about. I agree with other posters; instead of calling it a Disney fund, call it a vaction fund or family bonding fund or whatever.

Also I know people who say "We can't afford x item" when what they really mean is "I don't want x item" but think that blaming the lack thereof on finances will go over more smoothly.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I handle the finances in our house, DH never sees his paycheck, so I just budget what we need and move it from his checking to a savings acct each week. I also make contributions from my paycheck as well, but not as regularly as I do from his. He gets paid weekly, so every couple of months, I am able to put a whole check away for saving adn our trip budget.

We also have a change jar, which he will dip into for change, because neither of us ever carry's any cash.

We drink alot of canned drinks, so we save the empty cans and recycle them for money, you don't get much, but it is better than nothing.

Suzanne

 

[furb & dez]

I agree with other posters... stop mentioning it, just put the money away yourself.

Further: It's surprising how many people don't understand this, but nagging is the most unsexy, uninviting, unflattering thing you can do to your spouse. Even the sexiest, funniest, mad-about-you, can't-imagine-life-without-you spouse can be turned into a shrieking, nagging, harpy-like shrew with continued nagging. STOP IT! (What's the bumper sticker? "No matter how hot the girl, some guy out there is tired of her s***")

Some people don't like to plan every detail of a vacation for the next two years. Give him and break and deal with it. It could be that when you do things like this, you make the vacation all about you, and perhaps he resents that. Maybe he's worried about money and doesn't want to think about vacations at this time.

See, there's a lot that could be going on here. Give it a rest.

 

[Glenn]

Besides thinking about how to save money remember what your last trip was like. Some feel like they have to do a ton of sit down or character meals, special expensive activities. Sit down with hubby to see what he thinks. What did he enjoy, what he felt was too expensive. How about giving all of us and idea what you did on your last trip so the board can make suggestions to your budget. Also look at mousesavers for ideas. Good luck both on savings and planning a budget that both of you will feel comfortable with.

 

[PHXscuba]

Check out Couponing to Disney. It's a great money-saver blog by a very nice woman who wanted to go to Disney World more often without having to take money out of their regular paychecks, bonuses, etc. Her goal is to pay for her trips with "found money" -- couponing savings, survey earnings, buying on clearance/sale.

I have the same philosophy. DH goes around in a "money circle" where sometimes he thinks we can buy anything, and sometimes he wants to hoard every cent and hunker down. I simply smile through the panic attacks, and when I have a good amount of money saved, then I go to him and say, "I've already saved X for the (whatever) trip. With only this-much more, we can go." When I tell DH how much I've managed to save without it impacting our lifestyle or him giving anything up, I think he also understands how much it means for me to work my "magic" to get us there.

I think PPs ideas for calling it "saving for our next big vacation" are spot-on, as well as silently saving on your own.

PHXscuba

 

[timmac]

Coming from the perspective of sometimes having this same feeling when talking with DGF about larger expenditures that may occur at some point down the road, it could simply be that he just doesn't want to keep hearing about it.

He may have enjoyed the trip very much, but the overall price tag is probably rather overwhelming to him, and hearing about it is probably a stressor.

I like the suggestion about quietly (not secretly) working on saving slowly.