Personal Finance Question

[MamaBelleRN]

All these various threads about the middle class have me curious about how everyone saves for your WDW/vacation fund? Do you make it part of your budget or fit it as you are able? We don't have a hardline in our budget for vacation, but we try to set aside as much as possible each month for extras (both fun and the unforeseen). Although we have been able to set aside a decent amount each month, after reviewing our February budget, I'm considering adding a specific vacation fund. Maybe seeing that would motivate me to stick to the other areas of our budget a little better

 

[kymom99]

Before everything in my life got so expensive I used to send 500 out of each paycheck directly to the credit union. That would cover catholic school tuition, property taxes and some left over for vacation. In the last couple years I increased it to 600 and it just covered tuition (which doubled from 2005-present) and property taxes (which increased since we own more property now). That's one big reason why we haven't taken a big vacation since 2013.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I use the same method as kymom99. A set amount goes to a credit union account for future fun. That includes Disney trips, camping and camper related costs, and pool maintenance. Time to adjust everything as I am going to drop my conventional bank and use just the credit union for banking withing the next 2 months, so I'll need to change my method. My big bank is changing fee structure and I don't want to pay. I expect to create multiple buckets within the same account for budgeting purposes. We are a family that doesn't travel to Disney unless the entire cost is covered before the trip.

One other way I am saving is using a JetBlue branded card for all purchases. That is the airline that makes the most sense for us and is very expensive during school breaks when we prefer to go. I have about 50,000 points now, and I calculated I'll need over 100,000 to fly free next April. Won't make it, but it is a worthy goal! I expect to switch to a Hilton card eventually when we move to off property trips.

 

[tvguy]

I never have used a budget. It always has prompted me to spend that amount of money, instead of just buying what I need, which is almost always less than the budget.
I have 3 months to pay off our WDW vacation, and while I may have to dip into savings, the reality is, the trip is costing about what 3 months house payment was. My house has been paid off for 17 years, so I know the money is in my budget if I don't spent it somewhere else.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

I use the same method as kymom99. A set amount goes to a credit union account for future fun. That includes Disney trips, camping and camper related costs, and pool maintenance. Time to adjust everything as I am going to drop my conventional bank and use just the credit union for banking withing the next 2 months, so I'll need to change my method. My big bank is changing fee structure and I don't want to pay. I expect to create multiple buckets within the same account for budgeting purposes. We are a family that doesn't travel to Disney unless the entire cost is covered before the trip.

One other way I am saving is using a JetBlue branded card for all purchases. That is the airline that makes the most sense for us and is very expensive during school breaks when we prefer to go. I have about 50,000 points now, and I calculated I'll need over 100,000 to fly free next April. Won't make it, but it is a worthy goal! I expect to switch to a Hilton card eventually when we move to off property trips.

Yes, we are the same in that nothing is booked until the entire trip is covered and our savings is maintained. My bank only allows for one savings account, so thus far our savings and fun money is all grouped into one. My bank also charges for external transfers which I find frustrating. I have been with this local bank for many years and it would be such a hassle to change to one of the local credit unions, but I have been considering it just to avoid those annoying fees!

We drive to WDW as we are a family of soon to be seven and it's much more economical for us. My kiddos are accustomed to long road trips as we go to Maine from IN every summer. WDW is about 100 miles farther than our Maine trip, so negligible when driving that far

 

[Tattylou]

DH usually gets a 3rd pay check in a month twice a year (just the way it works out) so I use those 2 "extra" paychecks for vacation fun. Then, if I need to pay anymore money than that towards the vacation I just chip away at it out of our regular pay checks. I always know we will take a summer vacation and stay within New England (so no flight = cheaper) and that we will take a more expensive April vacation someplace warm (most likely to WDW or DL). So, I just kind of have it figured into my budget in that way for the year. Vacation is important to me and not optional. My family growing up always valued vacation time together and WDW with my parents and my cousin are some of my greatest memories. I will forsake other things (fancy new cars for example) to ensure I get at least 2 vacations a year where we go on a trip. I also have a Disney visa so I'll use the points I have on that for flights or park tickets. Right now I have $400 worth of points.

 

[Imagineer5]

Right now we are working towards paying off debt, so I have it in my "budget" to take two trips that are approx. 3000 each per year. I have that in my plan for April & October and then work backwards saving enough $$ each month to pay for those. I don't have them automatically debited, but transfer the money over to a trip savings account as planned.

Our "end date" for the debt is December 2019. After that point, I have a set amount of $$ each month planned to go to a trip savings account (about three-fold what I intend on now!) to go towards much bigger vacations and more frequently :-D

 

[melanielll]

My husband works for a company with what I consider an unusual payroll policy. He gets paid twice a month (not unusual) and he gets a yearly bonus (the unusual part is that it is given every year and that it is considered part of his pay - he just gets it in a lump sum). So - instead of calculating the bonus into what we can spend each month, we live on the 24 regular paychecks. Then - Bonus Time! That money gets spent on things like trips, cars, and whatever things we want that don't fall into our regular spending.

 

[CoP Luv]

We have a set amount transferred to a specific account earmarked only for vacation every month. We use an online saving account which allows for multiple savings accounts. We also do this for property taxes, insurance payments, medical savings, home repairs, and a few other line items. This keeps our finances super organized and when I need to pay for something from one of those categories and transfer it out.

 

[Darcy03231]

All these various threads about the middle class have me curious about how everyone saves for your WDW/vacation fund? Do you make it part of your budget or fit it as you are able? We don't have a hardline in our budget for vacation, but we try to set aside as much as possible each month for extras (both fun and the unforeseen). Although we have been able to set aside a decent amount each month, after reviewing our February budget, I'm considering adding a specific vacation fund. Maybe seeing that would motivate me to stick to the other areas of our budget a little better

I think a lot depends on where you are in your life. If you're a young family just starting out with young children, mortgage, car payments, school/college tuition, etc., you're going to have a lot less to spend on vacation/fun than those whose children are grown and gone, home is paid off, etc.

When we were in the first category I treated it like a line item in my budget. A set dollar amount was put aside each week for vacations in a separate account. DH and I both worked full-time and had good jobs.

Now that we're in the second category (DH is retired and collecting his pension and SS and I'm still working) there's a lot more money available for vacations/travel. At this point I just keep a certain dollar amount in checking to live on and the rest goes into savings. When we want to travel the money just comes out of savings.

 

[Anthony1971]

got to any dollar store (with 5 kids likely no need as you will have what you need) buy a pen and pad x2 (you and your husband) write down everything you buy most important each time you buy it in the store in your car NOT when you get home.... It will make you think twice about a lot of purchases.. put that money in a vacation fund.

 

[klick182]

I transfer over 70 a week into another savings/vacation account. Out of sight, out of mind, I just work around everything else. It saved me enough for a couple vacations a year for me and the family. Will up to 100 a week soon All depends on how much you're taking home as well. I've noticed if I dont do something with the money in my account, im most likely going to spend it. Even after pay increase, it still seemed like I was living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We live beneath our means. We drive older cars. Put at least 150K miles on them. We buy some store brand groceries. We go to thrift stores and Dollar tree. We clip coupons. We pay off our credit card each month and enjoy 2% cash back on all purchases. We love sales if the value is good on the item. We often stay offsite to keep the price down. There is not a single designer purse in my "collection", etc, etc.

These daily, weekly, monthly choices help us afford things like a week long trip to Disney when we want to go.

 

[snoopy5386]

We use our tax return and also lots of points/miles earned from credit cards.

 

[loves to dive]

When my son was young and I was a single mom, I put whatever I could every pay check in savings, sometimes it was just $5. We would go to WDW every other year because it usually took me two years to save. In between trips we would take a couple of long weekend trips locally. Now I have a certain amount automatically taken out of my check that goes to savings. That was initially my "emergency" fund for unexpected things my son might need then when my parents got older and retired, it was to pay their house payment and doctor bills. Then they both died and my son got a viral infection while in the Navy and has permanent nerve damage to his spinal cord and is back in college. He gets the GI bill and is medically retired from the Navy so he gets a little bit from them but it's not enough to live on, so my savings goes to help him out when he needs it. I'm lucky enough that I can afford our trips to WDW now without having to dip into savings (most of the time), thanks in part to my honey how foots all the big household bills.

 

[trip]

Yes, we are the same in that nothing is booked until the entire trip is covered and our savings is maintained. My bank only allows for one savings account, so thus far our savings and fun money is all grouped into one. My bank also charges for external transfers which I find frustrating. I have been with this local bank for many years and it would be such a hassle to change to one of the local credit unions, but I have been considering it just to avoid those annoying fees!

We drive to WDW as we are a family of soon to be seven and it's much more economical for us. My kiddos are accustomed to long road trips as we go to Maine from IN every summer. WDW is about 100 miles farther than our Maine trip, so negligible when driving that far

Can't you have a joint savings account and then individual accounts for fun money?

 

[mmbrad02]

We do a combination of things... we have a very small amount ($20) a month that goes directly into a vacation savings account. Like others have mentioned, we have online banking accounts set up so we can individualize a lot of our savings. Then, to add to that account, I do rebates and all of those checks automatically go into that savings account. I also do other things like sell my daughters clothes at kids consignment sales, have yard sales, sell online, etc and that will also go to my vacation fund. I find it much more motivating to do those things if I use the earnings to do something fun like a vacation! We also charge all monthly expenses and the rewards to a credit card help pay for vacation. We both work full and time and have decent salaries but we have a daughter in school/daycare, mortgage, etc. Personally I don't like charging a vacation and paying for it after the fact so we get creative in order to take a nice trip and pay for it. Vacation is important to me as we are all busy and we need at least one week a year to get away from reality!

 

[Elleshoodat]

We have a line item in our budget for vacations, so it's treated like a bill and the money automatically transfers into a savings account.

We also put "found money" toward vacations: tax refunds, profit-sharing, proceeds from garage or Craigslist sales, etc.

Admittedly, it took us a long time to find a system which works for us, but it's been pretty flawless the last couple of years.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

We are a family that doesn't travel to Disney unless the entire cost is covered before the trip.
.

I am the exact same way. When we go to Disney, it is a lot more "fun" knowing that I am not going to spending months to pay off the "fun". Every trip we have taken, it was paid for 100%, before we left for the airport. I would not go any other way.

 

[afan]

I have a 2nd savings account at my credit union that I labeled vacation. My cu doesn't care how many savings accounts you have. The main one gets the best interest but it's only on the first 500, which is the same as checking.

I have a rental house so when I get the rent I split it between regular savings, paying down debt and the smallest portion goes to the vacation account. I also use swagbucks to earn money. Any extra/unexpected money goes to vacations, so tax return and bonuses.

I consider my tax refund as extra because of the rental since I have to pay taxes on the income and I never know if I'll have repair expenses to help lower what I owe or not. I pay the mortgage out of my paycheck because it works for me to do it this way.