i week away money problems please help

[disneycrazy730]

we leave in exactly 1 week we have already paid all hotels in full staying at the pop and airport hotel food is paid as far as dinners we have q and c vouchers and planet hollywood gift certificates actually we have eougngfor every nite of our stay and breakfast voucher for chef mickeys the only thing i have left to buy are park tickets we have 150 disney dollars also there is just 2 of us me and dd we had a family emergency and i had no choice but to use my park ticket money so now i get paid this week i was gonna use that money to use for incedentals at the hotels but i will have eougng money for the tickets and mears but that will be about it do i have to give them my cc at checkin can i just tell them i dont want charging privleges or can i tell them i only want to charge 100.00 orsomething like that for souvioners i aint gonna cancel now i have come too close i wish disney had like universal where you buy a ap and pay 15.00 amonth for it that would be great im sitting here worried and its stressing me out please can someone give me some advice

 

[zurgswife]

Your limit at POP will be $500 if you only want to spend around $100 then make sure you stay in your limit....

as far as a monthly payment my life theory is that it is only money......People get so worked up about being in debt.....You know what you don't know what will happen to you or your dd at any time....spend the money and don't stress....life is too short.....

I've lost 2 family members recently and money and stressing over spending or not spending it have stopped bothering me....FAMILY and enjoying life is much to important and if it takes you 2,4, 6 months to pay the cc back then go ahead and do....but don't fret!!!

 

[disneycrazy730]

ty and i agree about life being to short my worry is dont the charge your card the 500 at checkin?????

 

[dg39]

You have everything paid for already. Resort room, food, and your tickets will be paid for by the time you need them. You don't have to give them your cc at check in for charging anything. Just tell them when you check in that you don't want to charge anything to yur card or room and you'll be fine. The main things are room, tickets and food and you have all that covered. Don't worry about souveniers, you don't need to get them. Your memories will be enough. Get a disposable camera and take lots of pictures. What incidentals are you talking about that you would need to get at the hotel? This sounds like a budget trip, which is the way most people go anyway. Get a refillable mug at the resort and use that for sodas/coffee when you and your dd want it. Thats a nice souvenier in itself. Make some room in your luggage and bring things that you may need from home. Most of all don't worry and have a great time. Lots of people worry about money, for the short time your vacation is, forget about your troubles and stress. Go with a clear head and enjoy your stay.

 

[Ishy]

I dont want the room keys to have charging privies - that is a feature not a requirement.

Also = being in debt is normal - some of the most well to do people I know owe a lifetime of debt. Its not how much in debt you are - its how well you manage it (I dont manage it very well either - too stressful).

Its too bad you dont have a family member that can throw you an extra buck or two for traveling money. Have a last minute garage sale?

Also on mousesavers.com or allearsnet.com there is a list of free or almost free things to do while your in disney that totally rocks. Cut out one day in the parks maybe and do the free stuff.

I am stressing about the final cost of everything too - one week out _ I didnt sleep last night. I am a frugal person at heart and never spent so much on vacation before... all budgets have been busted.

Most importantly - just relax, have a great time - if your DD is little - you can go to a dollar store and buy suvies ahead of time and bring them with you. If she is older - then make a game out of having the most fun within a budget.

 

[Maude4Disney]

They don't charge the 500 to your card at check-in. It's only after you've reached the 500 mark, then they'll charge your card and you can start over. But you don't have to do it that way. You can use your credit card yourself for charging. We give them the cc number to charge to our room, only so we don't have to carry anything more with us than is necessary. If you only have 100 to spend, then I think you can tell them that you only want the limit set at 100. Or keep track of what your spending and don't go over the 100. I know that money problems can cause alot of stress, especially when trying to plan the perfect trip, but you can always come back and I have to agree w/ the other posters... Life is way to short and family is way more important than money. Go and have a great trip with your dd.

 

[fam4jc]

Hi. I am sorry you had to use your money earmarked for Disney. Things like that happen! It is commendable that you don't want to be in debt, but sometimes it is worth it for a Family time. You can still go and have a great time. Just ask your DD ahead of time what she likes most about Disney. Seeing the princess, Mickey, a ride, etc. Focus on getting her those experiences NOT on buying something extra. Maybe write a list and check them off as you get them done for her. I also have purchased items at the dollar store. Last trip I bought my DD's four packs of Disney stickers and two cute notebooks. That cost me $6 and they loved making pictures and writing out little stories about their day at WDW each night. They made their own suveniers!

Don't stress about what you don't have. Just go have a wonderful time! It's a blessing that you have so much already paid for! Good for you.

 

[SB in KY]

Well if you can get the park and Mears tickets, and you have $150 in Disney dollars on hand you should be fine!!

If you have the Q&C vouchers already that is one BIG meal per day. When we are strapped for cash I just pack a box of things we can have in the room for breakfast (juice boxes, poptarts, applesauce and fruit cups, etc) and snacks that can go to the park or have in the room, and check the box as luggage on the plane. I also pack a reusable water bottle and some Crystal Light or whatever, since my DD's got tired of plain water in the parks... I could shake a little powder in the bottle each AM, add water, fill up the bottle with ice and throw it in the park bag. It wasn't high nutrition, but hey...it was VACATION!! Their teeth didn't rot and no one died of malnutrition in a week!!

The other thing I always did to handle the shopping thing was I gave each child X dollars to shop with (and often it wasn't much) but I told them since they only had a few dollars we needed to look all week to make sure they found the "absolutely best ever" Disney item and then we would buy on the last day....they had so much fun shopping all week and deciding what to get (they usually changed their minds 15 times over the week!!) that it was almost more fun than actually getting something.

I think you have been really smart to plan and budget for this special trip so carefully... Just decide how much $$ you have to spend each day and then don't worry about it. If you have $150 for a weeks trip then you have $20/day plus $10 for shopping or whatever. If you have 1 big meal per day paid for with your Q&C vouchers that should be plenty. Remember if you want another meal out, you can always order a kids meal for yourself as well as your daughter...or split an adult meal with her...we are BIG eaters and often share because portions are generally huge.

Planning pays off...just know how much you can spend and then be creative...there is always a way to make it stretch and at disney that way is usually pretty fun!!

 

[disneycrazy730]

ty all i feel better already im sure we will be fine

 

[debandbub]

About the "no need to buy a lot of souvenirs"... I agree! What we did one year (kind of started by accident) was used our camera to take a picture of my gf wearing hats from all over the place. We had a blast! A chef's hat from the kitchen store in Disney Marketplace, a beret from France in EPCOT, a pirate hat from POTC gift shop, a fez from Morocco...you get the picture (no pun intened!) It was really neat to see them all after we got home, and it was just as much fun as buying a little something from everywhere! ENJOY!!!

 

[disneycrazy730]

i think ill apply my disney dollars to my room for the credit

 

[LisaZoe]

After reading your post this morning, I got to thinking that with your trip so soon, something you might consider is using the CC while on the trip then trying some of the money raising ideas found on the Budget board. That way you might be able to get the CC charges paid off before too much interest and other fees accumulate. It's not as reassuring as having the money before the trip but better than the stress of trying to pay off CC charges out of the refular budget - and if it's anything like mine, the after vacation budget is tight... about like after Christmas.

 

[ciera321]

Zurgswife couldn't have said it better. And besides, if anything is worth going into debt for it's DISNEY WORLD!!

 

[Ishy]

I have been stressing for you as much as for me! ---

I always get a one subject notebook and keep a silly lighthearted view the things we do. If you spend 10 minutes writing about the day and rides and fun and what you ate - use only one side - keep the back side for photos - YEARS later your kid wont have that 5$ glow necklace you HAD to buy - but she will have a disney vacation tape, next to her homemade memory book...

my 18 year old put on her tapes, and thumbs through the last one - from when she was about 9.