Money question

[katt789]

I usually keep it budgeted out for the week in envelopes and then take only the days worth with me & leave the rest in the safe or stashed somewhere else in the room.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Visa Debit Card all the way!!!!
Works at WDW and most business's in the States. We have used it in California, NY and our last trip in Jan 2016 to WDW. Carry a small amount of cash for places that only take cash but for most of our purchases we used our Debit Visa Card.
http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,8130,00.html

The only reason I would not use this is because they charge 2.5% extra on the exchange. As mentioned before, I think it is better to get a USD$ Credit Card (BMO has them) that you can pay off with CDN to USD at whatever the posted rate is (without the 2.5% extra added on).

Here is the fine print from the VISA debit card (2 at the bottom of this page http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,2823,00.html):

"A foreign exchange fee will apply when converting from U.S dollars to Canadian dollars. Acxsys Corporation on our behalf determines the exchange rate on the date of conversion. This rate may be different from the rate in effect on the date your Direct Payment occurred. The rate includes an additional 2.5%. Furthermore, a Cardholder Service Fee of $1.00 will apply on a per transaction basis and these transactions will count towards your monthly transactions as specified in your account plan and all regular account fees will apply."

 

[ottawamom]

Thanks cdnSpinalTap, I didn't think it could be quite so straightforward but without reading all the fine print I wasn't about to challenge it. Thank you for getting to the bottom of it so others can be well informed.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Thanks cdnSpinalTap, I didn't think it could be quite so straightforward but without reading all the fine print I wasn't about to challenge it. Thank you for getting to the bottom of it so others can be well informed.

No worries - I have both a US$ bank account and a US$ MasterCard (free if you spend >$1000), both from BMO. This helps me avoid any extra fees like that. By the way - not sure if people do this or not - but I never just walk into the bank and pay the rate they give me. If you are exchanging a larger amount (say greater than $2000) you can always do better by talking to the manager and having them call and see if they can get you a better rate. I always at least ask, just in case.

 

[Mintycake]

Back in the day when I was younger, I backpacked and kept my cash ON me physically wearing a money belt under my clothes.
Due to the exchange and the extra fees debit and credit cards charge when in the US I am contemplating cash for our upcoming trip (tough habit to break since we pay for everything on credit cards here to get points). How much cash do you guys think a family of 3 will need for a week at DW? We are planning to do a TS meal each day (not on DDP).

 

[ottawamom]

There are a number of Disney websites that have up to date menus. You should be able to review those and budget what your family is likely to spend for each meal. The only other things you may need will be snacks, and souvenirs. Snacks you can look up online as well and as for souvenirs set a budget and stick to it.
Try TouringPlans.com for the menus.

Everyone here will give you a different number that you should budget for cash for a day. It's really a very personal decision. I've taken trips on the cheap and on others we've splurged.

 

[alc571]

Back in the day when I was younger, I backpacked and kept my cash ON me physically wearing a money belt under my clothes.
Due to the exchange and the extra fees debit and credit cards charge when in the US I am contemplating cash for our upcoming trip (tough habit to break since we pay for everything on credit cards here to get points). How much cash do you guys think a family of 3 will need for a week at DW? We are planning to do a TS meal each day (not on DDP).

Mintycake, we are a family of 3. We don't do a TS meal every day, but we do do 3 QS a day and snacks. We tend to splurge on vacation, and don't tend to "budget". We bring $200/day. Our last trip was 10 full days, and we brought $2000. I came home with $200 still in my pocket - and that was after a small spending spree by me on our last day. (I like to spend it all! lol)

 

[ottawamom]

Mintycake, we are a family of 3. We don't do a TS meal every day, but we do do 3 QS a day and snacks. We tend to splurge on vacation, and don't tend to "budget". We bring $200/day. Our last trip was 10 full days, and we brought $2000. I came home with $200 still in my pocket - and that was after a small spending spree by me on our last day. (I like to spend it all! lol)

"Budgeting" doesn't necessarily involve doing things on the cheap. It is just planning ahead so you are not caught off guard. Many people go on holiday without thinking about what it's really going to cost and end up in trouble when they get home because they got carried away and splurged when they shouldn't have.

(And yes I am an anal accountant! But because I budget for things I sleep easily at night.)

 

[alc571]

"Budgeting" doesn't necessarily involve doing things on the cheap. It is just planning ahead so you are not caught off guard. Many people go on holiday without thinking about what it's really going to cost and end up in trouble when they get home because they got carried away and splurged when they shouldn't have.

(And yes I am an anal accountant! But because I budget for things I sleep easily at night.)

I think you misunderstood my comment. I budget every penny of my money at home so I can splurge on vacation. I have complicated Excel spreadsheets and I can tell you exactly how much money there is in my account - on any given day into 2017. Never in a million years would I ever spend $200 per day in my home life, but I do on vacation. We don't use credit cards, and only spend the cash we bring. The last day of our last trip I spent an hour running around MouseGears trying to spend the remaining cash I had because I had saved it throughout the trip, and the money in my pocket was reserved for this trip, was part of our budget, and so it was to be spent while there.

 

[ottawamom]

Point taken. You do "budget" for your holiday. It's just that you plan for your splurges instead of spending just because. My issue with the word "budget" in your original post is that it implied a lack of planning and forthought.

 

[busymommy2pink]

Our bank charges a conversion fee, so we choose not to use the visa debit. I do link our CC to our room at Disney, but we travel with only cash and spend only cash. If staying on site you can charge a certain amount to the room ($500 value, $1000 Mod, $1500 deluxe) before they run your card. We just go down and pay cash at the end of every day. Each section of our budget has an envelope(dining tips, each persons spending, food, misc costs) and they are all stored in the safe. We write on them what we take out and when. Easier to keep track of that way. We take $20-40 with us to the park plus the dining tip for that evening and then leave the rest in the safe. Has worked very well for us!

 

[Sue M]

At Cibc I have a US checking acct and a US Visa. I'm not comfortable carrying large amounts of cash so before I go I preload up my US Visa card and take a small amount of US cash.
Having a US acct, when Loonie goes up I buy USD, and spread it out, so I end up buying about once a month. This is my US vacay acct. the Loonie isn't too bad lately, will prob buy some more on payday this week.

My Wdw hotel is already paid in full. So now I just have to budget for food & some suvies. The Suvie budget has suffered since our Loonie fell :-(. As well as our food budget. This trip cutting TS dining by 50%.
But CS is getting better at Wdw, last time we only had a burger once in our 2 week stay.

 

[BLAZEY]

I have a Mastercard (used to be Sears Mastercard, now it's a Scotia One) that has no foreign currency transaction fee I also carry some US cash as I buy bit here and there when the rate is good. This year with the magic bands we just carded to the room and paid it off with the cash at the end of each day.

 

[Debbie]

I have a US account and US Mastercard through BMO. I buy US money each week to offset all the flux in the dollar. I also have an Amazon VISA. It does not charge the foreign exchange fees.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Hello,

I saw this while looking for other Credit Card options - it's the Rogers Platinum MasterCard. They do not charge the traditional 2.5% transaction fee on foreign transactions. While not for me for other reasons, I know that some posters were concerned about this fee.

https://rogersbank.com/en/?offercode=OZ1A01

 

[Starwind]

Check before you go to purchase. Our CAA stopped selling them a few years ago.

However, CAA does have prepaid visa or mastercard (forget which) "travel cards" which are not quite a prepaid visa but work very similarly. Also accepted in more places (not everywhere accepts travelers checks).

As for safeguarding valuable things, including cash, in one's hotel room:

An option to consider is that many hotels (including the WDW ones I have stayed at) have hotel safe deposit boxes available via the front desk. Similar to a bank safe deposit box, generally they are double keyed so you are given one key and the hotel has the other key and both are needed to open "your" box [note: don't lose the key -- they have to bring in a locksmith to drill out the lock and you get to pay for it; it is NOT cheap !! usually in the neighourhood of at least $150 -- they should inform you of that cost when you first get the box, as part of the paperwork you have to sign to get it]. There are usually various sizes -- I have used small ones as well as ones big enough to hold multiple laptops and other things at the same time.

I have used many hotel safe deposit boxes and have been satisfied with doing so; they have always been free of charge. The main disadvantage is they are behind the front desk (at Wilderness Lodge, for example, they are in a special secure room behind the front desk area) and that can be a hike from the room. however, I found I could usually fairly easily plan my journey to/from the room to include the safe deposit stop if needed -- e.g. on the way out to the parks (or during breakfast) and the way back to the room at the end of the day if a laptop was being locked up.

Note that per most jurisdiction's inns and hotels laws (er, I forget the proper name, sorry), the hotel has very limited liability for anything NOT kept in the hotel's safe deposit box, including for things kept in the room safe.

SW