Money Saving Ideas

[Donald Applecore]

Hi all!
DW and I are going to Disney World in May to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. We were hoping some of you folks would be so kind as to share any creative ways to save up money for our trip. We’ve already got our jar of change going but any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sugar223]

Hi, welcome to the DIS. It's a great place to hang out.
Another way to save money is to save all your one
and five dollar bills. Then when you have $100 or so,
convert them to Disney Dollars if you have a store nearby.

Or, buy Disney Dollars a little at a time each week from
your paycheck. They're so cute.

Any money saved at the grocery store from coupons
could be added to your jar too.

Eat out one day a week less and put the money you
would have spent into your Disney fund.

If you pay a deposit on soda cans, etc. redeem the
cans then add the cash to your fund.

Start a Christmas fund/vacation fund at your bank.
It's a disciplined way of saving money relatively
painlessly.

Ask relatives to give the kids Disney Dollars for holidays,
birthdays, etc.

Have the kids earn money (Disney Dollars) from doing
chores around the house so they'll have their own
spending money when you go.

You'll learn a lot from these boards. Visit often.
Hope this helps.

 

[Donald Applecore]

Thanks for the great ideas! DW and I have a bad habit of eating out too much, so I'm sure we could save a small fortune in that alone!

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad says.......................................... Get a part time job, I know it's not fun or fancy but it works. I'm not talking twenty hours a week. Where I work we hire people to count just on Saturday for six or seven hours, after taxes it's probably $40-$45. It is ironic that since April I have had to work on Saturdays. In a way I found my part time job ,but I get time and a half!! I do 8 to 10 taxes each year and all that goes to travel. So does any windfall we get. One year we got $80 back from State Farm, this year there was the tax rebate. Each year my mother gives Cindy (DW) and I $100 each for both birthday and Xmas. That $400 goes straight to travel. I put money in a stock option plan at work each week. Last year I was going to take it out and use it travel, because you can withdraw at anytime and get your money back. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for "travel" , the stock tripled so we have stock instead of travel money. I'm doing it again this year and the stock is down. If it stays down I will cancel in May and get back maybe $1300-$1400 that I put into it. Like an Xmas club account, but with a possibility of good gains!!

 

[tonilea]

I quit drinking diet coke, just cutting out just one soda per day (the 20 oz) would save a dollar. That is $365 in a year and enough for an annual pass.....

I quit smoking, not because I wanted to, but to finance my Disney habit! LOL

There are lots of small, seemingly incidental habits that you can change that will save big bucks.

Start taking your lunch to work. It is cheaper and healthier.

I saved hundreds, literally, by reading these boards. Thanks in no small part to Gail Hayden and her advise on rental cars, ect.

After years of not taking real vacations, we have decided that our vacations are a priority and we treat them as such. When something is important to you, you will discover ways to make it happen.

I can hardly wait! ASMovies Nov/Dec!!
Toni

 

[WorknFires]

the change jars have worked wonders for me. I've got well over $900 and expect to top $1000 before we leave in 16 days. But I'll admit, I've really been trying to put money in those jars. ALL the change has really added up and I'm bad to leave paper money in pockets so that money goes into the jars too.

Cheryl

 

[Meagansmom]

Here are a few things we do - some are repeats:

1) the change jar really adds up - every time we buy something we try to pay with
dollars and throw the change in the change jar.

2) have a garage sale - this brings in an average of $400.00 - $500.00 everytime.

3) we buy disney dollars every opportunity we can.

4) we give disney dollars to our daughter for a job well done, part of her allowance,
and for good grades at school.

5) everytime I get a rebate for things such as computer programs, medicines, etc., they go
into the fund.

It is unlimited the ways you can save. Just think of things you can live without for just a short time. Enjoy!!!

 

[kissafrog]

Check out the DIS rewards board; there are a lot of programs you can do that will earn you cash, disney dollars, or gift certificates that can be used for your trip (or use the gc's for 'normal expenses' such as gift giving, and put the money you would have otherwise spent into a WDW fund). Earning is a little slow, but even a little bit helps! Many programs can also be done by more than one person per household, as long as you have separate email accounts.
I also save a few dollars by borrowing videos/dvds from the library instead of renting them from the video store - they have a great selection, and you get them for a week instead of overnight.
Grocery coupons also help. You could try putting the money you save each week with coupons in a WDW account. I usually have at least $5-10 worth of coupons a week, so it can really add up.
HTH!

 

[BansheeBlue]

I quit smoking, not because I wanted to, but to finance my Disney habit! LOL

LOL!! Now THAT is a great incentive, let me see if I can get my SO to quit smoking by dangling that carrot in front of him!

What great money-saving tips. I read about the Change Jar tip a while back, and started one of my own (it's actually a Change Flower Vase for me, but same difference!). I'm gonna wait till it's full to the top before counting, but still it's satisfying to hear that CLINK when I throw loose change into it, knowing that every CLINK is a teeny bit towards a posher WDW trip.

I had to come up with ways to save $$$ when the economy started slipping and my main "rent" job cut my hours, and now with the attacks here in NYC there's even more worry about the economy, but I found a few tricks DO add up to savings, and these can work just as well for Disney $$!

My big money-waster was ordering out food when I was at my job, I would easily spend $10-$12 a day! Now I just stock up on frozen dinners at the beginning of the week (weight watchers and lean cuisine mostly!) which cost at the most $4 a day. Saving money and calories, can't beat that.

I stopped using halogen lights in my apartment (the electic co. inspector I had in to assess my energy usage said halogen lights are the BIGGEST energy waster and can pull down 10x the wattage!), and replaced bulbs with the long life energy saver bulbs. The month after I did this, my energy bill went down by $30!!!!

If you are going away for two weeks or more, you can call your cell phone company, cable company, and sometimes your internet service provider and tell them you won't be home, can you suspend service for two weeks or what have you. You'll then not get billed for those days on your bill (but I suppose that might have something to do with what companies you deal with, so check ahead of time I'd think).

When I do laundry (at the laundromat, I live in NYC after all) I use the smallest (and cheapest) size washer I can. Any leftover quarters from laundry go in the Change Flower Vase.

But best and most helpful money saver of all, READ THESE BOARDS, and become an Internet Bargain Warrior! The internet is a powerful leveraging tool when it comes to finding bargains and codes and coupons, make it work for you!

 

[Donald Applecore]

WOW!
You guys are amazing!
Thanks for all the helpful tips. I'm sure we'll be able to scrape and scrounge a small fortune now.

 

[Blue dear.]

Gonna have to try that change-in-the-jar trick. Wonder how much we would have in three months...

 

[Feralpeg]

I find that buying travelers checks works well. Each payday, I buy $100.00 in traveler's checks. By the time I'm ready to leave, I've saved a lot. I am not tempted to spend the traveler's checks the way I would cash.

 

[lazysusan]

I have a vacation savings account at my bank, and all extra money goes into it, therefore I also earn interest (even though now interest is very low). I do the change jar thing BUT every 2 or 3 months I take that money to the bank for deposit into the vacation account.
I also use coupons at the grocery store, and take the money I saved using them and deposit that into the account. Same thing with rebates and cash back on purchases.

I also believe in the saying "tuckabuckawayaday". that also goes into the account.
Right now I have about $3500.00 in the saving account and I have already bought my tickets and paid almost half towards my room @ YC.

Since this is the FIRST time I will stay "inside" I am very excited. ( We have always stayed outside to "save money")


Susan