How to save some extra spending money

[goofybabe2001]

We will be leaving on May 30 and I wanted to know if anyone has suggestions on how to save some extra spending money from now to then. Please help!!!!

 

[phorsenuf]

I bought a large round glass jar from the local craft store and decorated the top to look like Mickey's head. (it's really cute!) I put some stickers on it and it's labeled Mickey Mouse Fun Money. I put all my change in it. I also stick bills in, like at the end of the week if I have a bunch of ones or something. Plus my survey check money and my husband work expense reimbursement. I also put in any rebate checks I get.
I don't know how much is there exactly, probably at least $150. and we've only been adding for a month or so.

I also have a paypal account (if you don't have one, PM me and I'll tell you about it!) I transfer $100 into that every week. Since it's an online account, I don't access it. I have a debit card for it, which I'll use as my charging account while on vacation.

Some people do Ebay. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to for my July trip. If you have enough time, you could hold a yard/bake sale maybe.

Hope some of this helps. Good Luck!!!

 

[mad4themouse]

Here's my 2¢ worth:

• Start clipping coupons and put the saved money into your vacation account. Try to shop where they double the coupon value. I usually save $20 - $30 per shopping trip this way.
• Reward yourself for passing up impulse purchases. I pay my vacation account 1/2 of what I would have spent on an impulse buy.
• Start paying the kids' allowances in Disney Dollars instead of cash.
• Eat out less often. Put the money you would have spent into your vacation fund. Just avoiding McDonald's (or whatever fast food joint you choose) once a week can save you $40 or more per month.
• Bring a thermos of coffee from home instead of buying it at work. A cup of rather nasty coffee at the hospital where I work is 80¢. (Translating to $8.00 per week; $32.00 per month!) I make better coffee at home and it costs me less. Brown bagging your lunch can save even more.
• Remember that your weekly grocery/entertainment/gasoline $$ budgeted for home can be used on vacation. I spend at least $150 per week on groceries with another $50 in gasoline between the 2 of us. That's $200 that I wouldn't think I have for vacation that I actually do. Also, any heating, air conditioning and electricity costs are much lower for the week when your house is empty.
• Drop any preminum channels from your cable TV. The money saved may be well worth the cost of re-installing them months later and often the cable company will offer incentives to get you back. You may find that you don't miss them anyway.

Hope you can use some of these suggestions. Good luck saving!

 

[SusanD]

Before our annual vacation we usually have a garage sale. It gets things more organized by paring down the clutter. It also provides us with enough for spending money on our trip.

 

[bliss4us]

I do three things to save money for Disney:

One, on my weekly grocery trip, I pay with my debit card, and I withdraw an extra $20 while I'm there, and set the money aside. This adds up fast!

Two, I have a second checking account just for Disney money. I bank online, and set up an automatic transfer that plops another $10 a week into that account from our primary checking account. I don't carry an ATM card or checks for the vacation account, so I never spend it until we go to Disney.

Three, I pick a habit I want to break, like chowing down on potato chips. I set aside the money I would have spent on chips (It's more than I want to admit) and put it in the vacation account.

I did that last one with cigarettes when I was in college, and ended up with enough money for a new TV before I knew it! Plus, I quit for good.

Daisy

 

[Mrs.A]

I quit smoking Dec of 01, the money I would use in a week for smokes, I started a saving account .Didn't know what I was saving for at the time I started, decided on a trip to Disney. We save change also, and I've also put extra in the savings. I'm happy to say that I've saved enough for our trip this Aug. 8 days at the Swan club level, and 4 days at the AKL savanna view.

 

[beansmom]

I save my coupon savings, rebates, survey checks--also any money made on Ebay.

And this won't work for everyone but it does for me. I purchase snacks cheap at the grocery store and re-sell them at a profit at work. AFter my store bought snacks are gone, I will make homebaked cookies and do the same. I've made over $80 in the last 8 weeks. NOt bad for something I can just leave on my desk and rake in the cash. The snack machine has nothing but gross stale stuff so everyone is happy with it.

I'm also thinking of a garage sale but I think ebay is actually better.

 

[mad4themouse]

If you're having a garage sale, let the kids set up their own refreshment booth. They can sell homemade cookies, coffee & tea, iced tea and lemonade. Let them keep the money for their own souvenir shopping.

 

[crisi]

Basically, there are four ways to save money:

1) Move it and hide it so you don't spend it. This is the "Christmas Club approach" or the "take an extra $20 out every week and set it aside. On a small scale its the change jar. This is my approach - I set aside money every month into savings, and also save my "found" money - checks from stock dividends, my dependant care spending account, etc.

2) Don't spend money you would have spent. This is the "take your own coffee, bring lunch approach, skip the manicure, give up smoking" approach. Watch the little stuff - a girlfriend buys her son a $.75 Matchbox car every time they go to Target - adds up to nearly $40 a year - and he just looses the darn things anyway. It also works if you defer expenses. If you get your hair colored every six weeks for $40, every eight weeks will save you $40 in a couple months. An extra week between hair cuts will save money over the course of a year. Buying a box of ColorGirl and having your girlfriend cut your hair - or wearing it in the "soccer mom's ponytail" saves even more. If you need new shoes, can you put it off a month? A month will make your investment in the old shoes that much more economical (of course, if the shoes already have holes in them.....)

3) Don't spend as "much" money as your would have spent. Buy the same things, but coupon it. Or buy the cheaper version. Shop discount. Use less of stuff - if you can get buy with 90% of the laundry detergent and get the clothes just as clean, you end up saving money.

4) Find a way to bring more money in. Gargage sale or e-bay. A Saturday afternoon job at Target. Watching the neighbors kids one day a week. Accepting overtime.

Way one is really just moving money around. You haven't changed cash flow at all...but it really does help a lot of people (including myself) save. The rest of the ways actually change your cash flow, with #2 being the slowest way to savings.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I have a change jar and I empty my pockets when I come home every night. I find its quite easy since my wallet doesn't have space for coins. I also do reward programs and surveys and I transfer $50 a week from my checking into my savings account. It all adds up really quickly I also stopped eating out more than twice a week, mostly to lose weight, but its also a great way to save money!

 

[jilljill]

If you live in a state that you have to pay the 5¢ or more bottle deposit start saving bottles and turn them in for cash. Over the course of the year we have enough money for gas for the drive to WDW. Also, recycling aluminium cans for cash is a good idea.

 

[allenx6]

We are leaving for WDW in less than a week and saved over $200 with change alone during a couple of months. I also saved all of my refund checks, survey checks and mileage checks towards our first ever family vacation. I spent over two months on disability this winter and I was afraid our Disney dream was going to fade, but with creative saving techniques it is alive and well. I also returned about $50 in soda and beer bottles last night to add to the total. We are driving from WNY and I am hoping that my extra savings has added up to enough for our travel expenses. I also took our entire tax refund this year and put it in a saving account just for our trip. That is paying for our offsite rental home and disney tickets for a family of 6. The kids have been doing extra jobs to save money for Disney and earning Disney dollars by getting good grades on their report cards.

There are many ways that you can save for your trip. If I had realized all the ways that I could have made this happen years ago, this wouldn't be our first trip, it would be an annual or semi-annual thing. It is all about discipline, something I'm not real good at from time to time.

 

[megnsamsgrace]

First, this is DH's busy season, he is a carpenter for a VERY small business (okay, just the owner and DH and my BIL...) They have a very liberal overtime policy, work as much as you want. So unless more time is needed, DH is going to work 3 hours over every week, which will be $90 after taxes... that is half going into our "Disney pot" we made and the other half to remodeling the house (baby #4 is on the way). Then, I also started a small ebay business. I made enough in the last 2 weeks to put the $200 deposit down on the condo. I hope this will net me about another $200 and I would be THRILLED! If more, AWESOME. All of the profits (its a hand made item) will go into the pot too. Also, we were eating out 2 times a week, for a family of 5 that is about $45-$50 a week... but a Disney trip is worth more, so I am trying to take about $30 of that and putting it in the pot. Also, all cans/bottles recycling will get put into the pot along with any change around the house. Now, I know that there will be some weeks we need the extra money for the house remodel. But then there are going to be weeks where DH's OT money will be about $200 after taxes, so thats $100 into the pot. I also do triple coupons to cut out some extra spending money and really watch what I buy at the store. I hope this gives you some tips, we did last years trip on 3 weeks notice and this time we want to REALLY enjoy our 2 weeks so we are starting early... Steph mom to Sam 6 Megan 4 Grace 2 and baby #4????

 

[Feralpeg]

I won $800.00 at the casino this afternoon. I had just booked a quick 4 day trip for DD and I at the end of October so that we could see MNSSHP. This will just about pay for it. Yeah!

 

[crazymomof4]

My husband's family owns a local pizza place/restaurant. When we needed a bit of extra money I worked there delivering pizza!
I don't think it's a job that many persons would ever think about but it worked out perfectly for me. I only worked 3 days/week (my FIL did the other days) from 11am-2pm. With the (small) wage and tips I averaged $50/day! That's over $16/hour! Not bad for a job that requires no training, experience, or commitment. It's great for stay-at-home moms because the kids are in school. Most pizza places that deliver are desperate for a reliable delivery person bc. it's hard to find people who only want to work 3 hours a day. I recommend it to anyone looking for a temporary job just to bring in some extra cash. HINT: look for a pizza place that delivers mainly to businesses in the area.... one that is near industrial parks. They tip better than residential.

 

[mcnuss]

Here's what I do...it's not so much about saving per se, but about spreading out the costs (and hence the pain...).

I'll use this trip as an example, we are going 10/6.

Every month, I will buy one pass, and I will buy one each month until I have all three.
Every week or so, I will take about $10 - $20 and buy Disney Dollars (that way I can't raid my fund). That will give me about $40-80/month for the next 5 months, and that will be all the spending money we need in the parks.
I will pre-pay anything I can...like the rental car.

Maybe this will help someone...