So, we went through the budget from now until August and have determined how much to set aside each month in order to get together what we need for the rest of the cruise expenses. Since we are driving down and it's not TOO far out of the way...we decided to stay in Washington DC for a couple of nights before the cruise. Then I decided to add a night in Disney on the way home! All these costs need to come from found money...needless to say...I am highly motivated to ensure the funds we need are available so we can extend this trip.
Our activities in the capitol will be free, so we will just need money to cover: hotel, parking, food
We will not be doing a park at Disney, so we will need money to cover: hotel, food, possibly the kid's club so mom and dad can have a date at a signature restaurant
Besides this I have to come up with travel costs, so basically the money to cover: gasoline, travel food, misc cash for tolls etc Obviously this is the priority, then the Washington money and LASTLY the Disney money.
**The Disney portion is a bit of a pipe dream at the moment. Originally, I wanted to stay at a value resort and hit up a water park. I was willing to use my monthly spending allowance to facilitate this. DH doubts that our rather ride-tentative kids would go on enough things to make it worthwhile. It would cost us $300 CAD for the park tickets and he figured all the kids would use would be the lazy river.
After consideration, I wondered if our money would be better spent on a night at the Beach Club. They have a great pool and staying there has long been on my bucket list. I figured at $400 USD a night...one night would have to be enough to satisfy that requirement!! LOL I told him if we tried this scenario, we could dump the kids at the Sandcastle club and go to the Yachtsman steakhouse for dinner. DATE NIGHT!!
If we can't scrape the money together for this scenario...I'll find a cheaper option. A pool day and quick service meals at a value resort will be enough for me to "squeak in a little Mouse"...but I'm swinging for the fence with Beach Club and got my fingers crossed a room discount for my date comes out soon. Sadly, the one that just came out ends JUST before we get off the cruise ship. Boo!
However...
I earned $9.83 since yesterday because I...
earned $1.35 from quickrewards...
earned $0.45 from isay...
earned $1.50 in credit card rewards...
earned $2.78 in credit card rewards...
added $2.75 to the Disney jar...
added $0 to the USD cash pouch...
added $1.00 to the bank account...
So the new totals are:
$46.42 in quickrewards...
$37.80 in isay points....
$91.91 in credit card rewards...
$19.63 in credit card rewards...
$62.25 in the Disney jar...
$10.54 in USD cash pouch...
$21.00 in the bank account...
...for a GRAND TOTAL of $289.55
Breaking it down further:
Travel expenses: $942.50 needed, $205.33 earned, $737.17 outstanding
Washington: $513.17 needed, $84.22 earned, $428.95 outstanding
Disney: $875.71 needed, $0 earned, $875.71 outstanding