Impulsive spening at WDW..

[C.Ann]

Okay - here's the deal.. One of the reasons my son-in-law was reluctant to let my DD and granddaughter go to WDW with me is that my DD tends to be a VERY impulsive spender when it comes to souveniers and such.. She knows it - everyone else knows it - so it's not like I'm "telling tales out of school" here.. LOL

On our last trip I tried to get her to wait until we went to the Disney outlet stores but she saw this safari Mickey hat in AK and HAD to have it - right then and there.. I think she paid like $16.99 for it.. Several days later we went to the outlets and they had it there for $2.99 !!!!!!

I realize that spending money at WDW is part of the fun (I usually just buy post cards though cause I'm such a cheapskate - lol) but I don't think it's unreasonable or unusual for people to have some kind of "budget" while they're vacationing.. I talked to DD about this yesterday and she seemed "open" to it but what do you think a good per day/per week budget would be?

Can you suggest some smaller items that would satisfy this urge to "buy" without breaking the bank? I'm hoping we'll get to the outlets as well, but spending a little in the parks is fun too!

I DO have $220 here that I've been holding for DD that was supposed to go towards our trip to Nashville that never materialized, so if she wanted that one "special" item she could use part of that money to buy it..

Also - how about items for my granddaughter? Any suggestions on some smaller, less expensive "fun" items in the parks?

Thanks all... You're going to have to put up with these crazy questions from me until Nov. 30th - aren't you all lucky?? LOL..

 

[BedKnobbery2]

C.Ann, I didn't contribute on your other thread, but I just wanted to tell you how thrilled I was to see your joy in being able to plan and take this trip. I'm so glad that all of you have a wonderful thing to look forward to!

I'm not sure you could interest your DD in this, but I bet your granddaughter would be interested in pin trading. You have to be careful with it--it can end up costing a lot more than you think LOL--and it would require an initial investment to get set up, but the nice thing about it is you can trade pins, which gives you the "I have a cool new thing!" feeling without spending additional monies. Plus the pin trading events can be so much fun to attend. I should add, don't completely discount your daughter from the idea....heck, I'm a grown woman and I *love* pin-trading!!

One way I reigned in the souviner monster on our trips is by dividing my kids spending money into envelopes marked for each day of our trip. They were allowed to spend that money on anything they wanted, no questions asked (unless it was a big snack right before a meal), or they could save it and roll it over to the next day to make a bigger purchase. One of my kids was a "spend it all right away" kid and the other was a "save it all and get something big and fancy!" kid, but they were both completely happy with their decisions.

Also, you may want to check on the budget board for other suggestions!!

Enjoy the planning!! Sometimes I feel like that's the most fun part!

edited to add....I actually used the envelope system for myself, too, I didn't mean to imply it was only good for kids! It definitely kept me from spending a small fortune at the pin stations. LOL

 

[grinningghost]

I love World of Disney at Downtown Disney. There's lots of little stuff that won't make you broke. Antenna toppers, pens, that kind of thing. You still get genuine Disney souveniers, but you won't have to spend all your money on just one thing.

And by the way C. Ann, you spend as much as you want dear - you've had quite a year - you deserve it.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

How fun for her to be going with you!

I'm another advocate of the preplanned-souvenir-money-in-an-envelope method

This worked great with my oldest DS who was only 4. He knew when the $$ was gone, it was gone.

Of course, I did have to bite my tongue when the first souvenir he chose was a $7.00 plastic mickey bucket filled with popcorn. It was HIS money, my DH reminded me.

And he still plays with that bucket

HTH!!!

 

[mom2grace]

I soooo agree with the all cash advice.

We use cash for the entire Disney vacation, this makes DH feel a whole lot better, that I'm not recklessly spending on the credit card. (I would!)

We go so far as having an envelope for all expenses for each day. Maybe you could hold onto to the breakfast, lunch, and dinner $$$, then give DD and DGD money each day for snacks and souvenirs.

Doing this with all of the $ would probably make DSIL feel more comfortable too! I would even go so far as the leave my credit cards at home, give one to you in an emergency!!

I too as soo excited for you. I always read your posts, you are an extraordinary woman!