Need ideas for rasing $300 for our trip to WDW

[MomofSixinSC]

The car I would use for running around delivering newspapers is a small sedan. The vehicle we hope to drive to WDW is much larger so it can seat all the children and carry the stuff we need to camp. They're not the same vehicle.

 

[mrsklamc]

Not an assumption on the car issue. .

Sure it is. Maybe her DH commutes in their other, newer vehicle, so fine for Disney but not available for her to do a paper route.

 

[crisi]

I might be a strange budget boarder, but you made a commitment to your kids to go, now you need to figure out a way to do it. This isn't a case where your circumstances have changed between when THEY worked to get their tickets and now - they held up their end of the bargain and there hasn't been job loss or illness or something else kids can understand - just poor planning by their parents. That may mean eBaying, having a big garage sale, working a job nights and weekends, you and your husband selling your plasma - but you made a committment to your kids - you need to find a way to keep it.

Then learn from this. Not being able to scrape together another $300 in six months to meet a commitment to your kids is not a good sign that you can meet the larger committment to your kids of providing a financially stable situation. Keep the part time job, keep the expenses cut, keep doing surveys, keep selling plasma.

Also, make sure you can pay for the nearly inevitable emergency on the trip. At this point that might be making sure you have a credit card. Even a new car could break down on the trip. Or you discover you need something you didn't pack. Or someone gets ill and a visit to urgent care is required.

Best of luck and have a great time.

 

[karice2]

Just thought of something else. Are there people you know who have stuff that they want to craigslist or ebay but don't have the time. You could do some sort of split with them, you list, ship and process and take a percentage of the sale price.

 

[punkin]

I agree with crisi. OP promised the kids and needs to find a way to make it work. I think ebaying or a garage sale is a great idea. Talk to your neighbors. See if they need a house cleaned or a lawn mowed (your boys can do that) or children sat for. $300 is not a huge amount of money. My DD made more than that babysitting this summer and believe me she did not sit every day.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

If you homeschool, maybe there's another mom who needs help teaching a certain subject or tutoring?

I think this is a great idea. You could even do small classes if you have a needed skill like computer programming or art or something. Could be fun, too. I taught a couple dog obedience classes for our h/s group -- didn't charge anything, but from the turnout it looked like it was a high-interest class!

I haven't read all the posts closely, but what about having the kids pitch in, too? They could all do odd jobs and pool their funds together. Might even be the start of a family mini-biz! Kids could sell night crawlers to fishermen, or offer to wipe down the nice boats as they come out of the lake (if you've got one near you). Can you tell my hubby's an angler and my kids have earned $$ from this type of stuff?

 

[tinkermom23]

I might be a strange budget boarder, but you made a commitment to your kids to go, now you need to figure out a way to do it.

I agree!
It's not my place to judge your financial situation, but I do agree that you made a promise to your kids and you should go if there is any possible way.

When we need some extra cash and we don't want to touch the regular budget, we look around and think creatively.

Do you have anything to sell? We cleaned up my MIL yard/woods and found old scrap metal and sold it to a salvage yard for almost $100.

I offered to clean our elderly neighbors carpets this summer. DH helped me move all the furniture, DS10 dusted and wiped windows while I did the carpet cleaner. DS4 & DD4 visited with her and played. She said it was a fantastic weekend! ??? The rental & detergent cost us about $40 and it took a couple days. We were very tired but it was worth it! She paid us $400 which was enough for us to go away for a weekend at a hotel w/pool and doing some fun stuff as a family, and put some $ in our Disney jar. The kids thought we should do it more often!

Think about what you are able to do that someone else might not be able to or might not want to do. If I had the money I'd pay someone to clean my bathroom once a week! Do you sew? My neighbor pays me $1/leg to hem her pants & more for other mending. I know it's little but every little bit helps!

Oh, one more thought. This spring we hired a guy to till our garden. He said his wife has a big garden and he bought a new tiller. He needed to figure out how to make it pay for itself. He charged us $20 and it took him about 15 minutes to till our average-sized garden. He will come back this fall to till it again, worth the $20 to us!!

Can your kids rake yards? Or help people get ready for winter? I know you're wayyyy further south so I don't know what you guys do, but up here we have a lot to do to transition our homes/yards from summer to winter. People pay big money to have their cabins winterized and campers/boats put into storage.

Just a couple of my random thoughts, but I really hope you and your DH can figure out a way to make this trip work!!!

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

So the kids should work and give over the money so they can go on vacation?
So because she promised them a trip she has to do it? I think that if her youngest understands that they can't afford donuts then the others will understand why this trip might not happen.

 

[Nayan]

So the kids should work and give over the money so they can go on vacation?
So because she promised them a trip she has to do it? I think that if her youngest understands that they can't afford donuts then the others will understand why this trip might not happen.

I agree. If you can't manage to save $300 from Feb. until now, you probably shouldn't be going to Disney. Now don't get me wrong, I love to hear about folks planning budget trips and ways to cut costs. That's what the budget board is about! However, just by going on what the OP stated, that she knew about this in Feb. when she signed up and in these past 6 months has really no money saved for the trip and now is scrambling to come up with it, doesn't sound like a very wise idea to take such a trip. The kids will be sad, but they'll understand and then maybe the OP can start putting away some money for a trip in the future.

 

[crisi]

So the kids should work and give over the money so they can go on vacation?
So because she promised them a trip she has to do it? I think that if her youngest understands that they can't afford donuts then the others will understand why this trip might not happen.

I don't think the kids should work - they already did, under GAD.

I think when she made the promise to her kids to take a trip, she put herself under an obligation - just like when she signed a mortgage (if she has one). If she can't meet the obligation, she shouldn't have made it. If she can't afford a $300 trip on her regular budget, then frankly, she is a few months away from bankruptcy and needs to increase her income and/or cut expenses. Which may mean making sacrifices in terms of homeschooling or some other big values compromises. But in my values world, you don't promise your kids things you can't deliver.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

Had to respond here. First off, I would do a LOT more than sell stuff on ebay to continue homeschooling my kids. Like sell my plasma if I had to. Seriously. YOu have no idea what the OPs reasons are for homeschooling.

Secondly, we LOVE camping in a tent. We are already planning our dates for next spring. My youngest lives for roasted marshmallows and DD and I who are not good sleepers, love listening to all the sounds we hear around us. There was a really weird bird we heard last weekend actually that we are still trying to figure out. Lots and lots of people like camping. As verified by how very hard it is to get reservations at some state parks.

She stated in a post that it was religious not that he schools were over crowd or crime ridden.

Camping is great i'm sure. it's not something we do but i'm sure it is. I'm not judging OP just reading her comments ad using a bit of common sense. She could school choice her kids into a district she is comfortable with and then get a job. Maybe camp at home this year and then go to Disney after shes has saved for a few years.

 

[Melanie230]

Thanks for the ideas. I might look into a paper route, if my dh thinks the car is reliable enough. We have turned off the cable and don't eat out or buy coffee, so those won't help. I started a few weeks ago trying to put aside $25 per week, but only have $15 so far. *sigh*

I have set this evening aside to list items on e-bay. Hopefully, I can raise some money that way.

If it were me...I would try CRAIGSLIST first. You can list your items FREE and dont have to worry about shipping. I would also have a YARD SALE!! You may not get as much money for your items on Craigslist, BUT...ebay charges high fees now, and if they pay with a credit card you also lose there. If they dont sell on Craigslist...go to ebay. I would also offer up evening babysitting, or drop in care in my neighborhood.

 

[fabmic]

So the kids should work and give over the money so they can go on vacation?
So because she promised them a trip she has to do it? I think that if her youngest understands that they can't afford donuts then the others will understand why this trip might not happen.

If the choice for the kids was work and earn $300 or not go I am sure they would work. If the kids did work and paid the $300 I would think it would be a nice gesture for the parents to pay them that money back but it would be after the trip.

Also could the OP use the Christmas money to fund this trip and then cut back on Christmas presents just a short time later. Make the trip part of Christmas. With six kids that is only $50/kid.

 

[DawnM]

First of all, school choice is not something that is available to ALL areas. Most of the highly desireable schools are full and you can't just get your first choice and voila!

Second of all, homeschooling is a conviction, not a "well, just stick them in school" way of thinking.

Thirdly, she has pre-school aged children. She cannot just go get a job.....unless she has a well paying career, her pay will go towards child care.

I don't see the "just pick the school you want and your kids will get in and go get a job" as being common sense at all.

Dawn

She stated in a post that it was religious not that he schools were over crowd or crime ridden.

Camping is great i'm sure. it's not something we do but i'm sure it is. I'm not judging OP just reading her comments ad using a bit of common sense. She could school choice her kids into a district she is comfortable with and then get a job. Maybe camp at home this year and then go to Disney after shes has saved for a few years.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

I don't think the kids should work - they already did, under GAD.

I think when she made the promise to her kids to take a trip, she put herself under an obligation - just like when she signed a mortgage (if she has one). If she can't meet the obligation, she shouldn't have made it. If she can't afford a $300 trip on her regular budget, then frankly, she is a few months away from bankruptcy and needs to increase her income and/or cut expenses. Which may mean making sacrifices in terms of homeschooling or some other big values compromises. But in my values world, you don't promise your kids things you can't deliver.

Ahh i see your point. Here is mine: Life happens and sometimes promises are broken, not intentionally but they get broken. If she does everything she promises theses kids are going to enter into a world that is going to disappoint them A LOT.
My heart goes out to theses kids I hope the girls grow up and go to college, have strong careers and make great choices for their kids.

 

[DawnM]

Hey, do you live near Charlotte? I have some work I could use help with.

Dawn

If the choice for the kids was work and earn $300 or not go I am sure they would work. If the kids did work and paid the $300 I would think it would be a nice gesture for the parents to pay them that money back but it would be after the trip.

Also could the OP use the Christmas money to fund this trip and then cut back on Christmas presents just a short time later. Make the trip part of Christmas. With six kids that is only $50/kid.

 

[fabmic]

Hey, do you live near Charlotte? I have some work I could use help with.

Dawn

Are you asking me or the OP?

 

[DawnM]

Oh, the OP, sorry.

Dawn

Are you asking me or the OP?

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

First of all, school choice is not something that is available to ALL areas. Most of the highly desireable schools are full and you can't just get your first choice and voila!

Second of all, homeschooling is a conviction, not a "well, just stick them in school" way of thinking.

Thirdly, she has pre-school aged children. She cannot just go get a job.....unless she has a well paying career, her pay will go towards child care.

I don't see the "just pick the school you want and your kids will get in and go get a job" as being common sense at all.

Dawn

These are the things you think about before you have 6 kid though. If you know that you don't like the schools for the first one why wouldn't you move into an area where the district is good or start looking into school choice before you have the next one.
My heart goes out to these kids, especially the girls. Sounds like they have a lot of God and Love and not much else. Hopefully they don't grow up to resent their parents for not doing good by them.

 

[crisi]

[/B]


Ahh i see your point. Here is mine: Life happens and sometimes promises are broken, not intentionally but they get broken. If she does everything she promises theses kids are going to enter into a world that is going to disappoint them A LOT.
My heart goes out to theses kids I hope the girls grow up and go to college, have strong careers and make great choices for their kids.

But in this case, it doesn't seem that life did happen....or nothing the OP shouldn't have been able to plan for...at least that I've seen. There isn't an event that the kids will understand as a good reason for not keeping a promise - job loss, illness, major expense. Just Mom and Dad make promises they don't keep because they don't have discipline to keep them - and that's ok. That isn't a lesson I want my kids to learn, that its ok to make promises you don't follow through on.