Let's Talk About Saving for Disney!

[theLavers]

I'm a stay at home mom that lives in Florida. I love me some Disney, so I usually go at least once or twice a year. Our family is one income and we budget our money carefully and don't use credit for vacations.

Soooo, I am planning a trip for early November for myself and my two daughters. We all have the FL weekday APs. We are driving down and staying three days and two nights at a value resort. I know it's not a long trip, but it's our second this year, and how we usually travel to Disney.

The trip will cost about $500 including hotel, gas, food and my souveniers. My girls must save souvenier $ from their allowances if they want to buy souveniers. I am saving $19 every week from my personal spending money, which goes directly into my Disney piggy bank. This will get me to the $500 by November.

Am I the last old-school Disney vaca budgeter? How do you plan and save for your trips?

MaryPat

 

[jenny105]

I don't like relying on credit cards either! I belong to a couple of reward sites. I take surveys to earn extra money. So far I've earned $245 worth of Disney gift cards and $150 in Paypal deposits from those sites. I also have an automatic bi-weekly amount of $40 that gets put into my fund every time I get a paycheck. The only thing I have left to pay off is my dining plan ($214 to go!) and get my spending money up to $1000 ($483 to go!).

 

[Karenj2]

The way my family usually saves for disney is that we use our Disney Visa for EVERYTHING we can, pay it off in full every month, and we use the DRDs we earn towards either the trip itself or our spending money, depending on how much it is.

DH is also in sales, so he gets rewards - the last few trips he was able to get enough Disney GCs to cover most of the trip! If that weren't happening, we would just budget a certain amount in our "Vacation" line of the budget so that we could save up for our trip before we have to pay for it. (We usually put down $200, then hold onto our money until 45 days out, then pay it off with the CC, and pay off the CC.)

It works well for us, since we have been going once a year, and now will probably be going every other year.

 

[Heluvsme]

You are definitely not the only one who budgets and saves for Disney, it can be a very expensive vacation!!

We cut corners everywhere we can when we know we're saving for a vacation. We also do not use credit cards for our vacations. We have done everything from clipping coupons and putting the amount saved into an account, searching ad nauseum for the best prices on everything from the hotel room to food to transportation, to taking our own water bottles into the park so we aren't paying upwards of $3-$4 for water! We are very budget minded! You will find a lot of tips here on the budget board that will come in handy!

Have a great time!!!

 

[marmalade]

The main thing that we do is have a change jar. It adds up pretty fast without even missing a thing. I also have a savings account that I have a whopping $25 transferred to every month. I am also enrolled in BOA keep the change and the difference is deposited into that account. I usually have about $25/month deposited with keep the change.

Over the course of a year using these 3 methods, we usually have around $800-$900 spending money and it was all accumulated without ever noticing it.

 

[Zim]

I'm actually enjoying saving for our Cruise in December 2013! I got the upgraded Disney VISA card and put everything on the card - including our trip for this September, during this initial 3 month 5% back offer. Consequently, I now have $500+ in Disney rewards. Almost half our cruise is paid for! Woo hoo!

I'm a cheapskate at heart though, once our last big hurrah is done between this September and the cruise, I'll go back to my non-fee Amazon card, which gives cash back.

 

[Scubee]

Traveling is very much a part of our family life. It's how we enjoy spending our discretionary income (after savings of course). So our monthly budget has a vacation category. We put money aside each month into a money market account (sadly only earning around .9% these days) and leave it there.

When it's time to book, we put the full amount on our rewards card to get the cashback reward and pay it off in full immediately. Our kiddos have a piggy bank for their spending money and they often take a bit to by a toy or extra souvenir. We use our VISA while on the trip knowing cash is sitting in the MMA to pay it off when we get home.

 

[Zhoen]

We seem to be going about once every 5 years, with a bonus day at Disneyland two years ago when that huge snowstorm stranded us on the way home from Hawaii. My goal is one "big" vacation every 2-3 years, with plenty of little ones (in-laws live halfway across the country, so Christmas is our main travel) in between. Fortunately we're near DC, so we have all the great stuff there, plus Lancaster County up in Pennsylvania, Ocean City to the East, and the Shenandoah to the south... we never run out of weekender options...

So for our once-in-a-great-while trip we're about to go on, I planned for 13 months in advance... booked the condo a year out and paid cash, bought the autotrain tickets the same way. Of course by "cash", I mean we got the Disney Rewards Visa, held on to that $200 gc that came with it, and charged EVERYTHING for the last year (paying it off monthly, or sometimes semi-monthly just so we could charge the next thing-- it's not that high a limit) I just transferred the points last week, and the rewards card should be coming today... all put together, I'm not expecting to have to pay for a single meal for the five of us while we're there. For snacks, souvies, and if our meals run over, we have the tax return in savings. That's usually how we fund our "big" trips... it's money that's already been taken out once, so we don't miss it if we just squirrel it away in savings every year for the next big trip.

I've been collecting little disney things here-and-there, with some good finds at thrift shops and yard sales, and did the mypoints thing to get a Landry's gift card that we will use along with the $.99 kids meal promo.

I just picked up our discount tickets today, also paying cash (and by "cash" I mean this time I used our Upromise card, since we are no longer interested in racking up Disney points... and we'll pay that balance as soon as it posts.)

So for things left to pay for... nothing major is left, and for the things we will be paying for here and there, there's two big gcs and money in savings... so no, you're not the last one... While I am all for spontanaity (heck, we weren't PLANNING on that snowstorm), I can't enjoy a vacation if I'm thinking in the back of my head "it will take me YEARS to pay this off." Much better to do it "delayed gratification."

 

[Pesky]

Heck I'm starting to save now and our DLR trip isn't until next December and our DCL trip looks like it will get pushed to 2015! We have a couple of family reunions scattered in there so I pull money aside each month into a special account. We also do a change jar for spending cash and impose the $5 rule ($5 bills go into a savings pot) as we get closer to big spending (like now for patio furniture). But yep, I don't like to charge it unless I am doing so for points or cash back and have the cash to immediately pay it off.

 

[Colleen27]

Check out the One Year to Save thread for a ton of great ideas and inspiration!

I'm a SAHM and I have about 95% of my goal of $1200 for our Memorial Day trip, mostly from selling on Craigslist/Facebook, doing reward sites religiously, saving change, and depositing my couponing savings into the vacation fund. The garage sale we're planning for the weekend should get me the rest of the way there, and unloading so much of our clutter isn't a bad little bonus either.

 

[GMU MOM]

No you're not the only one. I think the vacation is so much more enjoyable when it has been paid for in full before leaving.

For us, I deposit semi-monthly the amount of $125 into the vacation fund ($250a month). That should cover the whole package: resort, park tickets and dining. Flights will be covered using our credit card points. Money earned from rebates also gets added to that fund. Any gift money the kids received over Easter this year was put on Disney Gift Cards and that will be their spending money. We are also saving all coins we come across in a jar and that money will be put on another GC for the whole family to spend.

 

[julluvsdisney]

this summer we are going to disney on my birthday trip. This wasnt in the plans but I got the itch! I told my DH I would do everything I could to make this trip almost FREE! My awesome husband agreed! Heres what I have done! We are going aug 24-sept 1st. and got free dining staying at POR 2505 is out total cost. 200 down payment came from tax refund~ 380 back I got for school books from my work~ 100 for doing taxes for a few of my family members~ my husband had a 30th bday party for me and I took all my bday money and put it toward the trip that was about 900~ 250 for changing my Fios plan~150 for my gym membership refund from my health insurance~50 for a survey I filled out for work~ thats 2000 total so far! We are having a yardsale this weekend and I hope that pays the other 505 off! I was given $50 disney dollers(paper ones) I am saving that for our tips. I am working on my my surveys online hoping to get to 200 by the time we leave so that will be the rest of our money for tips and food and souvies. I am also using viggle for our food money while driving to and from disney. I also won a hotel gift card thatll be used during the drive. That leaves gas money and tolls! My husband is shocked I was actually able to keep my promise and make it a "FREE TRIP"! Hopfully I can will some cash somewhere for gas and tolls lol! I cant wait!

 

[thelionqueen]

You are definitely not the only one! Our trip is in October..planned then for many reasons..mainly my son's Fall break.

I am a single mother of 2 boys who makes just enough to make ends meet with a little extra..so taking this trip is a HUGE commitment.

I have $250 from every paycheck directly deposited into a separate checking account. Doing that will pay for our Airfare (over $1,000), park tickets and lodging. I will use my entire check that I get right before our trip for incidentals.

Having it go into a separate account without me seeing it helps..but I have had to dig into it a little here and there, but NO more! I'm going to be doing the "change saving" thing too starting today. That should add up pretty quickly if I use cash a lot and get change no matter what the total.

 

[momto2inKC]

We always do a change jar. All of our loose change goes into it and we always end up with several hundred dollars. That usually goes to the kids for their spending money.
Another thing i'm doing now is Viggle. I'm saving my gift cards I earn for our next trip (Starbucks, Papa Johns, Chili's, Burger King).

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

We are on the 3 year disney vacation plan as a family
(I have gone alone to run the disney princess half)
We both work but its still not enough money to go crazy with.

So first I signed up for the Southwest Credit Card.. My air for the 4 of us was $20 (add $100 for the credit card free)

Then I have been saving for the past 3 years, just here and there, putting our change in a jar to give us our spending money. I am up to $1200


We have free dinning and I used our income tax to pay for the trip in full and put it on the upgrated Disney Visa.

The only thing I still need to have money for is our rental car and gardengrocer.com

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

By nature, we are not last-minute people, so we tend to plan our vacation quite far out. We usually start thinking about our summer getaway on Christmas vacation but as odd as it seems, it usually means we end up travelling much cheaper than if we threw together a trip within 30 days or less.

In particular, by booking our accomodations quite far out, we tend to get really, really good room rates as occupancy levels are generally quite low when our reservations are made.

From there, we try to map out our "bare minimum" (hotel, flight, attraction must-do's and food) and make a plan to have it all paid off before we leave. My husband's job allows for overtime on a pretty regular basis, so once we decide to take the plunge, he will pick up extra shifts here and there which we allocate almost entirely to paying down our getaway. Both DH and I also have a second job (in addition to our "regular" jobs) from which we try to allocate all revenue to family fun endeavours. These second jobs only take up a small amount of time each month (probably only 10 hours max for me and maybe 15 for DH .... both able to be done from our home office) but add hundreds to the budget. Once the initial expenditures are fully paid, then we add on any extras from our family "wish list" as the budget allows. By starting early, we almost ALWAYS add on some really amazing extra stuff before our travel date arrives, making a great trip even better .

We have $25 per pay deposited to a separate savings account which we use for spending cash, gas, and other incidentals on the trip (plus our park and fly hotel charges) and if it really mounts up, we can use it to purchase extra attraction tickets not budgeted for in the original plans.

We watch Groupon, Living Social, and other sites likes hawks to secure great deals on things to do or places to eat. We've picked up deeply discounted tickets to mini golf, bowling, dinner shows, etc. which enhance our plans quite nicely. We use reputable discount ticket sites like Undercover Tourist to save a few dollars here and there, and sign up for each attractions mailing list (and even "like" them on Facebook) to be sure we are notified of ticket deals.

We faithfully watch car rental prices and rebook reservations when rates fall.

We try to purchase all our attraction tickets in advance of the trip, as generally prices are always higher at the gate/door than they are when pre-purchased in advance.

We always inquire about discounts available through CAA membership, etc. and have found some great savings this way from time to time.

We scour the web for coupons (the International Drive website has some great ones) and use the many discounts available in the display at the hotel. Buy-one-get-one-free coupons for places like Cici's Pizza are readily available, for example, as are percent or dollar off offers for mini golf and many attractions.

We usually add something to the upcoming vacation in lieu of special occasion gifts (for example, we recently celebrated our anniversary, and instead of buying each other something, we purchased dinner show tickets to a venue we had been wanting to visit which will be used on our trip).

When all is said and done, it results in a fully-paid for vacation in advance of our departure date with ample cash in hand for souvenirs, shopping, and some impromptu extra fun along the way and meaning we have the flexibility to spoil ourselves a little while we are away. We pay cash for all meals (which we always budget for on the high side, meaning we can eat like kings and usually come home with money we didn't spend). And any excess that is left over from the current getaway gets carried over to the next vacation. We brought enough money home from our January vacation to fully purchase our airline tickets for our August trip.

The family joke is that I rarely pay full price for anything, and with enough leg work, it can easily carry over to vacation planning!

 

[theLavers]

Thanks everyone! It's interesting hearing all the different way y'all budget and save for your trip. I'm pretty surprised to hear how many people use rewards credit cards toward their vacations. I guess the Budget board is full of "exceptions to the rule" people who know how to use a credit card only when they have the money to pay it off immediately.

I'm going to get a Target debit card so I can get the 5% discount on Disney gift cards to pay for my resort, food and my souvineirs. I will also buy $50 gas cards when they are $10 off at Publix. These are my only non-Disney discounts I use.

Keep your budget planning tips coming, and thanks.

MaryPat

 

[Meetmeinmontauk]

I try & save every way I can. DBF & I are still in college but we both work at least 30 hours a week. I used to coupon a LOT but I stopped doing that so much when I realized how much junk I was buying. Most of the groceries we buy are on sale & I do still use some coupons.

I belong to rewards sites that give you gift cards after you accumulate so many points. My discover card offers cashback bonus each month for something different so I do that. I really want a Disney Visa card though. Once I get one of those everything is going on my card & it will be paid at the end of the month.

I recently got a Target REDCard Debit card & I get 5% off the Disney gift cards. Also, once you buy 5 prescriptions with that card you get an additional 5% for a day. I plan on using the 10% off when I am buying the bulk of my gift cards for our 2013 trip. I also sell sell sell on eBay! Depending on how much I am working I also budget money each month into a savings account that earns interest. If I am in school I'm only working 30 hours a week. During summer & holidays it can get close to 40 hours!

 

[taylor3297]

We save up for our trips too so we can pay cash. We do put the trip on our Disney Visa Rewards card for the points, but pay the trip off when the bill comes in.

The two things that we do the most is a change jar and I have a money bucket. When I pay with a $10 or a $20, I take the ones and put those in the buckets. Every once in awhile, I will through a $5 in there too.

 

[twoboysintow]

I don't like relying on credit cards either! I belong to a couple of reward sites. I take surveys to earn extra money. So far I've earned $245 worth of Disney gift cards and $150 in Paypal deposits from those sites. I also have an automatic bi-weekly amount of $40 that gets put into my fund every time I get a paycheck. The only thing I have left to pay off is my dining plan ($214 to go!) and get my spending money up to $1000 ($483 to go!).

Are the reward sites something anyone could do? I'm looking to earn some money for our trip and this could really help, but I'm so skeptical about some of the sites that offer this. I'd love to join a good one.