My Fun Fund and My (Almost ) Free Vacation

[Luv Bunnies]

Wanted to share something I did this year to help pay for our yearly vacation. Since DH has been unemployed for over a year, we planned a very cheap week-long vacation. My parents own a vacation home in Lake Tahoe and we usually reserve it for a week every summer. Last year we also took a trip to Disneyland but this year we only did our week in Tahoe since the accommodations are free.

Last July, I decided I wanted to save up as much money as I could for this year's vacation in case DH was still unemployed (which he is). I started doing online surveys and saving cans and bottles for recycling. Everytime I got paid for the surveys or recycling, I put the cash in an envelope and kept it separate from our regular money. I called it my "Fun Fund." I enjoyed taking it out and counting it everytime I had more to add. By this July, I had saved $526!

We just returned from our Tahoe trip yesterday. While it was really nice to have the money saved, it was sad and scary to watch how quickly it disappeared from my envelope! We spent it on gas, one meal out each day, miniature golf, a movie, arcade money for the kids and a few little souveniers. I only spent $6 on slot machines this time because I couldn't bear to watch my Fun Fund go down the drain. I didn't even pay for everything we did. My mom and sister joined us for the first few days of our trip. My mom paid for all of the meals while she was with us (as she usually does when we go out together). My sister had bought some rather pricey train tickets for my son's birthday since he really wanted to ride a certain excursion train. I didn't really start spending my fun money until three days into our trip.

We came home yesterday with $6 and some change. My Fun Fund envelope is almost empty! But, we also came home with two bags of plastic bottles to recycle and I did a bunch of surveys while we were there. Next year, we want to go back to Disneyland and I want to have over $1000 saved to cover our tickets and other expenses. I figure I need to average $3 a day for the rest of the year. We've very happy that we didn't touch our credit card during our trip except for gas on the way home that will last me all week. Looking forward to another Fun Fund vacation next year!

 

[Justsyd2]

Congratulations! It sounds like you did an awesome job!

 

[crazelion]

I know what mean. I putting together a free trip to Universal Studios , Florida this my self. I have hotel paid for , gas paid for. I am working on our meals now by getting gift cards from my reward sites. i am doing good to.

With rate i am going. I am not have spending any cash money. That is blessing since I own to my seasonal job right now.

 

[tweedlemom]

I stash away $20 cash every week. That gives me $1040 for next year's vacation!

 

[drinkme]

Good for you!!!!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Hi:
Would you mind sharing your favorite survey sites? I've signed up with quite a few through Volition.com but still am lucky to make $3.00 a month.

What's the secret to doing it?

 

[jenseib]

We recycle cans, but really are lucky to make $20-30 a year on that and we have alot of cans. I never heard of getting paid for bottles though. Where do you take them? and how much are they worth?

 

[LisaInNc]

Congratulations, I think that when you work that hard for something it means more! I am glad it turned out so nicely for you!!

Lisa

 

[dsilva51]

There is actually a blog called "Couponing to Disney" and she is doing the same thing.

She is doing a lot through rebates and surveys. She was able to save over $3,000 last year in "Found" money.

Here is her link. http://www.couponingtodisney.com/


You could also do swagbucks and once you hit that certain amount of points you can get $5.00 deposited into your paypal account.

 

[mafibisha]

Someone gave me a great book about a *funding* system and it works! I've never seen it explained this easy and so far its very effective and helpful!
HTH

http://www.amazon.com/Step-Ahead-Yo...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280667079&sr=1-1

 

[wdwfan16]

Good Luck

 

[skysmom99]

Great job, OP! Keep it up!


There is a section called Disney Rewards Programs which gives a ton of info on survey stuff over in the Just for Fun section here on the DIS.

 

[leebee]

We recycle cans, but really are lucky to make $20-30 a year on that and we have alot of cans. I never heard of getting paid for bottles though. Where do you take them? and how much are they worth?

If I am remembering correctly, Ohio doesn't have a can deposit fee, correct? Here in Maine, we pay 5 cents deposit on most cans and bottles (soda, juice, beer, water) and 15 cents on wine bottles. Yes, it really is money you already had, as you have to pay the money when you purchase the beverage, but that is sort-of the cost of living. I love to return bottles! We use a lot of them (I know, bad, but that's the way it goes), and get about $30 in returns every 4-6 weeks, depending on the season and who is doing what. It's found money, in my book, and DD and I save it for our Disney trips. I bet we have over $300 a year in returns, but you have to live in a state that charges deposits.

In MICHIGAN, you pay a ten cent deposit. Once again, it's oop money when you buy the drinks, but when you return the empties, you feel positively rich!! Earlier this month DD and I returned $35 worth of bottles. Nice money, but all I could think was, "If we still lived in MI, this would be SEVENTY BUCKS!!"

 

[skysmom99]

If I am remembering correctly, Ohio doesn't have a can deposit fee, correct? Here in Maine, we pay 5 cents deposit on most cans and bottles (soda, juice, beer, water) and 15 cents on wine bottles. Yes, it really is money you already had, as you have to pay the money when you purchase the beverage, but that is sort-of the cost of living. I love to return bottles! We use a lot of them (I know, bad, but that's the way it goes), and get about $30 in returns every 4-6 weeks, depending on the season and who is doing what. It's found money, in my book, and DD and I save it for our Disney trips. I bet we have over $300 a year in returns, but you have to live in a state that charges deposits.

In MICHIGAN, you pay a ten cent deposit. Once again, it's oop money when you buy the drinks, but when you return the empties, you feel positively rich!! Earlier this month DD and I returned $35 worth of bottles. Nice money, but all I could think was, "If we still lived in MI, this would be SEVENTY BUCKS!!"

Until recently, I just put all the bottle return money toward the grocery bill. Lately, I've taken the attitude that it is money that would be better spent in my vacation fund. We don't have tons of bottles/cans, but the last time I returned them, I put $25 into my Disney jar. I probably have another $30-35 built up in bags in the garage right now.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We drink a lot of water and soda in plastic bottles. My parents and my sister also save theirs for us. When we take 6 or 7 big garbage bags full to the recycling center. We end up with around $25. We tend to go every other month or when our shed gets full.

 

[MomToOne]

We recycle cans, but really are lucky to make $20-30 a year on that and we have alot of cans. I never heard of getting paid for bottles though. Where do you take them? and how much are they worth?

In California, we have to pay $.05 per aluminum can in "California Redemption Value" when you buy it. Then you basically get that back when you take it to a recycling center. The same holds true for glass and plastic drink bottles, although I forget the exact CRV amount in those cases.

 

[njsweetP]

Sounds like you did well OP!!!

I've also been putting $20 a week into our Disney fund for next year's trip. I also click thru all the emails for mypoints and usually get a GC for a restaurant we enjoy. I also keep a look out on restaurants.com for restaurants around where we say in Lake Buena Vista. This year I got a $25 GC for $2 for House of Blues in DTD. Every little bit helps and seeing the money grow is quite satisfying!

 

[mrsklamc]

I'm excited to start doing this after our next vacation. We're doing Dave Ramsey so all the extra money had been going to debt and now it's going to our 3-6 month emergency fund. We hope to finish that in time to take a cheap budgeted trip in January, and then I hope to start saving 'found' money for the next trip after that. It's encouraging to see others' progress.

 

[heatherleigh]

We need to start recycling. My son was having fun with it last yr, but my husband wound up tossing his collection. We typically drink from glass coke bottles. I wonder if that would make a difference. The only states listed on the bottle are IA & MI. We don't live in either place.

 

[jenseib]

I can't find a recycling place listed anywhere in my area that "pays" for plastic. Bummer.