I need ideas!

[Sugar Jones]

I need some more idea's on how to put away money for another Disney trip.

Right now we have a Disney fund started. It's an old coffee can with Disney characters taped to the outside of it The kids and I put all our spare change in it and I put all the money I find from dh pockets in there when I do laundry - he knows the rules, anything in your pocket is a gift for the laundry fairy!

With loonies & toonies the change does add up pretty quickly.

I am putting all my Child Tax Benefit & Universal childcare cheques into a seperate account.

All my earnings from my Etsy shop goes directly to my Disney fund.

We've stopped eating out - this was a hard one. I would guess we used to eat out about once a week. It's been since before Christmas - yippee for us!

Where do you all find coupons? Aside from some that come on already purchased items, I can honestly say I've never used a coupon.

Selling gold? - I'm serious, I have some old gold jewellery I never wear, things from old boyfriends that have no meaning to me etc...

hmmmm...what else can I do?

 

[katesorad]

I need some more idea's on how to put away money for another Disney trip.

Right now we have a Disney fund started. It's an old coffee can with Disney characters taped to the outside of it The kids and I put all our spare change in it and I put all the money I find from dh pockets in there when I do laundry - he knows the rules, anything in your pocket is a gift for the laundry fairy!

With loonies & toonies the change does add up pretty quickly.

I am putting all my Child Tax Benefit & Universal childcare cheques into a seperate account.

All my earnings from my Etsy shop goes directly to my Disney fund.

We've stopped eating out - this was a hard one. I would guess we used to eat out about once a week. It's been since before Christmas - yippee for us!

Where do you all find coupons? Aside from some that come on already purchased items, I can honestly say I've never used a coupon.

Selling gold? - I'm serious, I have some old gold jewellery I never wear, things from old boyfriends that have no meaning to me etc...

hmmmm...what else can I do?

http://www.coupons.com is an awesome site for coupons, depending on what you eat. For instance, there is currently 55 cents off a jar of pickles and $1.00 off any 2 boxes of Big G Cereal right on the front page.

When you do go grocery shopping, make sure you always stick to your list. You can find some great budget meals and tips here or on Hillbilly Housewife. If you're able to cut down your grocery bill by anything (say if you're spending $200 now a week, and you cut it down to $150), take that extra $50 and put 1/2 of it into your Disney jar and the other half into your regular savings account.

If you have a Facebook account, there are always companies giving coupons for free things away on their page. Last year, I got a free pack of Oreo's because I was one of the first to sign up for the free coupon possibility. Also, Old Navy's Facebook page has a section called "Barker's Bones", where you can get coupons. Currently, there's a 25% off coupon for one item on there that you can grab and use toward whatever you may need there.

Do you have enough unused/unwanted items to do a garage sale? These can be a lot of work, but you could probably end up making some decent money if you have enough items. Advertise like crazy, on Craigslist, etc. Also, get a few packs of Kool Aid and have drinks for your shoppers to purchase for 50 cents. You can get a bunch of plastic cups for only $1 from the Dollar Tree.

Do you shop at the Dollar Tree or another dollar store in your area? I go there for a lot of things. You can get pretty decent cleaning supplies, paper towels, paper plates, snacks, kitchen items, Ziplock baggies, trash bags, etc., there for $1.

Good luck!

 

[Sugar Jones]

Thanks!

I don't think those coupons will work though since I'm Canadian. It asks for a zipcode, but I appreciate your response

I am also doing the No buy. I was 100% successful in January

 

[susanv]

I need some more idea's on how to put away money for another Disney trip.

Right now we have a Disney fund started. It's an old coffee can with Disney characters taped to the outside of it The kids and I put all our spare change in it and I put all the money I find from dh pockets in there when I do laundry - he knows the rules, anything in your pocket is a gift for the laundry fairy!

With loonies & toonies the change does add up pretty quickly.

I am putting all my Child Tax Benefit & Universal childcare cheques into a seperate account.

All my earnings from my Etsy shop goes directly to my Disney fund.

We've stopped eating out - this was a hard one. I would guess we used to eat out about once a week. It's been since before Christmas - yippee for us!

Where do you all find coupons? Aside from some that come on already purchased items, I can honestly say I've never used a coupon.

Selling gold? - I'm serious, I have some old gold jewellery I never wear, things from old boyfriends that have no meaning to me etc...

hmmmm...what else can I do?

Saw you still getting Universal Childcare benefits, if your youngest are still in need of diapers there were some good coupons in the local papers on Feb. 1. Your local paper might have some of those inserts left (think they were Smart Source, but I could be wrong). A lot of grocery stores have coupons on the shelves, but you have to keep your eyes open and they are often times not in front of the product. Websaver.ca and Save.ca have good coupons sometimes and if you sign up with Brand Saver on line (from Proctor and Gamble) you can often get coupons off of there.
Also have found some good deals with WagJag.com but they are only a good deal if you need them (found $10 for $20 of product from The Apple Factory by Brampton, Ontario on Thursday).
Also, I like to check Craigslist and Kijiji for deals. They even have a free section and you never know what someone else doesn't want that you do. Also Freecycle can be quite handy and helpful but very hit and miss. Yardsale time is coming up in two months, YEAH!!!!

Good Luck,
Susan

 

[susanv]

Had another thought for you. Found "Smart Canucks" to be a great site to get a heads up on good deals and even some freebies (mostly for facebook users of which I am not one, but the coupons and freebies almost make it worthwhile!).

 

[pigletto]

I see you are Canadian. The very best Canadian coupon and savings website is SmartCanucks. Go past the blog and explore the forums. It's a large site and takes getting used to, but if you follow the couponing forums e.t.c you will save a TON.
I used to think there was no Canadian coupons either. Not true at all. I just didn't know where to look. That forum taught me where to look, when to use them and has really saved me a lot of money

 

[Sugar Jones]

Thank you so much!

 

[a1tinkfans]

you can get rid of old unused electronics at gazelle dot com

They were on the news lately and were recommended. Have not used them myself but you can prob research a bit, google it

 

[a1tinkfans]

Oh geeze, Canada...I am not sure. pls check the website for the info.Good Luck!

 

[deezeealum]

I have used Gazeele a couple of times and have never had a problem. You answer questions on their site about the condition of your item, then send it to them. When we sent our old cell phones, they sent a box and free shipping, but when we sent our old laptp, we had to pay . We hae always received a check and that helped our Disney fund! If gazelle feels they disagree with your items assesment, they send oyu an email an you can decide if you want the item back or recycle it responsibly w/o getting paid. I have suggested them to many friends and noone has ever had a problem.

 

[weezyree]

I have a few ideas that we have used and love it.

I make our own laundry detergent which saves 17 to 20 cents per load with Tide to about 1 to 2 cents per load. We also switched to all natural cleaning products with the exception of windex, clorox and dish soap. I make a vinegar/water spray for all-purpose cleaning, my own furniture polish which I like better than anything I have bought. I use baking soda to scrub the tubs and then after rinsing, I give it a good clorox rinse. Same goes for the toilets and sinks. I made my own dishwashing detergent as well. I practically skip the cleaning products aisle when shopping.

We also eat at home and never eat out anymore. It has made us more conscious of where money was being spent on silly things and also made us spend more time together in the kitchen bonding and cooking.

We raised our deductibles on our vehicle insurance to $1000 the max to save on monthly premiums.

We took a look at our cell bill and went to the Verizon store to put a stop to ring back tones and other silly music stuff we pay for as well as blocking all those text messages you have to pay for. Our girls were notorious for abusing the texting that cost money. That immediately saved us $20 a month. If I knew my hubby wouldn't have a coronary, I would get rid of the TV too!!

You could downsize where you live if you are renting. Housing expenses are our biggest expense.

You could sell your gold, but be wary of those that are out to steal money.

You also could Ebay other items or Craigslist them. Find a consignment shop and consign some stuff.

Just some ideas and good luck!

 

[lizabu]

I'm Canadian too. We don't rent movies. We check them out for free at the local public library. Our city also has a Free Store. You can drop off stuff you don't want and pick up stuff you do want. Even if you don't have stuff to drop off you can pick up anything you want and it's free. Freecycle.com has a board for most cities. Lots of people giving away free stuff. Price matching stores are your best friend. Make your grocery list then look through your flyers. Any flyer that has an item you need take it with you. Walmart price matches for sure and No Frills does it too. Other stores probably do. They will have a sign up or advertise it (for example "we won't be beat" etc). Fill your cart up with all your shopping and when you get to the cash register point out each item you want to price match in the flyer and they will adjust the price. I'm not sure what bank you use but I us TD Canada Trust and they have a savings plan where everytime you use your debit card they put 50 cents or other amount you specify into your savings account. If you use your debit card often it will really add up.

 

[jennsuko]

Would love to get your recipe for the furniture polish!

I have a few ideas that we have used and love it.

I make our own laundry detergent which saves 17 to 20 cents per load with Tide to about 1 to 2 cents per load. We also switched to all natural cleaning products with the exception of windex, clorox and dish soap. I make a vinegar/water spray for all-purpose cleaning, my own furniture polish which I like better than anything I have bought. I use baking soda to scrub the tubs and then after rinsing, I give it a good clorox rinse. Same goes for the toilets and sinks. I made my own dishwashing detergent as well. I practically skip the cleaning products aisle when shopping.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Our tax return is funding a lot of our trip.

I also try to sell things as the year goes on. I do at least one large yard sale a year, and that money goes towards trips. I also sell on ebay/craigslist throughout the year too. Before you sell anything, check to see what it goes for on ebay. We had some toys lying around that my DD didn't play with anymore. I was going to put them into the yard sale box with a $1 tag on them. Sold the lot on ebay for $250! So check before you sell!

This doesn't work with my family (wish it did), but could you ask for Disney gift cards (or even cash) for gifts (birthday, holidays etc)? Then just tuck them away and save for the trip.

The year before our first big family trip, I did babysitting. I saved for a year to pay for the vacation! My kids were 8, 6 and 3 at the time, and I could watch kids right along with my kids, so it worked well. You could also do other part-time jobs - like dog walking, pet sitting, house sitting etc. Could you tutor? Or clean homes?

Take your gold to a jeweler - actually, to several - and have them give you a price for it. You may be surprised at how much you can get for a small amount of gold.

Do you have any consignment stores in your area where you can take your clothes/shoes/handbags that you no longer wear?

Good luck on saving for your trip - sounds like you are off to a great start (I am seriously impressed with the no-eating-out thing!).

 

[weezyree]

Would love to get your recipe for the furniture polish!

I have a few ideas that we have used and love it.

I make our own laundry detergent which saves 17 to 20 cents per load with Tide to about 1 to 2 cents per load. We also switched to all natural cleaning products with the exception of windex, clorox and dish soap. I make a vinegar/water spray for all-purpose cleaning, my own furniture polish which I like better than anything I have bought. I use baking soda to scrub the tubs and then after rinsing, I give it a good clorox rinse. Same goes for the toilets and sinks. I made my own dishwashing detergent as well. I practically skip the cleaning products aisle when shopping.

The furniture polish recipe is 2 TBS of lemon juice, 16 oz of vinegar and a few drops of olive oil. Place it in a spray bottle and then shake it real well before using.

 

[sww_travelagent]

Since you are Canadian and I'm not sure what your province is like for recyclables...

In my province they give us .05 cents for every plastic bottle we bring back to the redemption center and .10 cents for every glass liquor bottle we bring back. Save em up and it actually ends up adding up to a substantial amount. Just the other day we got 12.00 for bottle return. Asking friends and family for their spare bottles couldn't hurt either.

If you are handy with a sewing machine, look into making and selling outfits for Ball Jointed Dolls. This is an extremely popular and really expensive hobby regarding Japanese dolls. I know girls who will pay top dollar (like, the same prices you'd spend on regular clothing) for tiny outfits. Look it up on ebay and you will know what I mean! Essentially find a niche market for things you CAN make and everything else will fall into place!

Put ALL OF YOUR CHANGE away. Loonies, Toonies, Quarters, whatever you have in your pockets at the end of the day.

Garage sales are good, maybe not this time of year cause it's snowing as we speak, but you can easily grab a table at a local flea market.

If you make things by hand, make a raffle basket for when you go to the flea market. Have the kids sell tickets on the basket, as people are more likely to donate to children selling a raffle basket than an adult. (if the kids are old enough).

Good Luck!

 

[starwood]

Homemade Window Wipes

1/2 roll Paper towels
1 c Glass cleaner
1 1/2 c Water

-= Instructions =-
Mix together and soak paper towels.


Homemade Laundry Stain Remover (I haven't tried this)

1/3 cup Dawn Dishsoap
1/3 cup Ammonia
3 Tbsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Water

-= Instructions =-
Mix all ingredients together and store in an empty spray bottle

Antistatic Spray

-= Ingredients =-
1/4 cup Liquid fabric softener
1/4 cup Ammonia
2 cups Water

-= Instructions =-
1. Mix ingredients and store in spray-type plastic bottle. To Use: Avoid spraying directly onto terminal, key board or disk drive, Spray rug, shoes, chair, desktop or file cabinet - anything metal or nylon. To use on fabric - make without ammonia. yield 20 oz.