Please Read: How do you guys do it??????

[imgointoDis]

Danacara!!! Where do you come from and how do I clone you??!!! You have got to be the neatest 21 year old I have ever encountered. You should be very proud of yourself!!!!

 

[dmfuru]

It's simple for us. Work hard and save.....

 

[ChisJo]

So, I decided in 99 to go, even though we had 0 money in the account, owed the government back taxes (for filing incorrectly) and had 5 maxed credit cards. Were we dumb to go?? NO. It was such a relief to go. It was relaxing and the thought of money never crossed my mind. We had to save, es, but we were not making the bucks at all. In fact, we were comsidered poor. To boot, we live in Canada, so after exchange, the dollar really hit us. But, after that experience, we vowed to go every 3 years. We save all our change and deposit it every 6 months into an interest bearing account, plus we save minimum $15 a week. In 3 months, I have saved over $600 just in change ~ not bad. I am a full time college student, I even take classes in spring and summer, and fiance is laborer, not making much. But as long as we don't touch our change and disney accounts, we'll be fine. It's our holiday, our time to escape and our time to be with each other. It is truly magical there, no words to describe it. It is worth every penny. If you are worried about money, this site offers plenty of help as to how to save ~ that is how we will be doing our trips, saving money, getting good deals, and learning how to adjust a budget to suit our needs.

Joline

 

[ROOKIE2WDW]

These stories that you have all told are all inspiring, it makes me realize things you have can be gone in a heart beat, all that wealth and everything you own. I am suprised to read how some are a single parent raising kids and also going to WDW with their single parent budget. I think now i am gonna be cutting up coupons and learning how to save my money. YOU ALL DESERVE A PAT IN THE BACK!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for replying to the post is very inspiring.

 

[Disneybound2002]

Originally posted by JUST4JENNA
i am one of those people who believes that life is too short and can be taken away at any time. yes, we could be banking all this money we spend on our DISNEY vacations, had we done this, we'd probaly have a hefty bank account by now. i want to enjoy life to its fullest while i have the chance to, and i dont worry about what will be 20 years from now. we r not rich, and we realize that we are very lucky to be able to go to DISNEY as often as we do. my husband is a controller for a doll manufacturer in NEW YORK, and also works a 2nd job during tax season. we look forward to our family vacations in DISNEY, and 20 years from now we will still remember the "MAGIC"!

 

[Pegg]

All the prayers and PD for your DD.

Tell the school you are taking her and she can make up the work.

Tell them they have no choice.

Luckliy we are going in August due to the fact
I am out of school too.


Sometimes the kids needs a break to fantasy land, too
not just us.

 

[SandraC]

We are basically a one income family. dh works full time in the printing industry, he's been there about 24 years and he's only 42 yo. Blue collar type of guy. I work part time as a fitness/yoga instructor. I work a couple nights a week (two classes per night). I work about 10 classes when dd is in school. I also teach Kingergym and art classes. I do workshops that pay very well too. My income goes straight into the DISNEY ACCOUNT. I put about $200.00 to $800.00 a month away in the DISNEY ACCOUNT depending on the time of year and number of classes I teach (sometime I use DISNEY ACCT $$$ for other vacation stuff). It helps that our house is paid off. We bought a big townhouse at a great price 15 years ago, so we are lucky there. We don't drive the greatest new cars, as a matter of fact, I'll be needed a new car soon. I try to subcribe to a few rewards programs, Club Z (Zeller's in Canada) and Air Miles. We have enough Air Miles for about $200.00 of groceries so I'll be cashing them in, buy $200.00 of groceries for FREE. Since that's $200.00 free money, I'll take about $100.00 of grocery money and put that into the DISNEY ACCT. So we'll be $100.00 UP! I also keep track of coupons that I use. If I have about $20.00 of coupons for groceries and diapers in a week, I put half that $10.00 from the grocery account to the DISNEY ACCT.

I saved three years for our April 2001 trip. Because I saved more than we needed I was thinking about buying AP's and taking two trips this year. But instead, I'll put most of the money towards a car and take one WDW trip.

All the little things add up fast!

 

[ducklite]

DH is a Java programmer, and I am a web designer who also handles a lot of web strategy for a certain segment of my company. We both work for Fortune 500 corps. We both made the decision to stay slow but steady and not do the dot.com or Y2K thing, ie take a job for a fabulous amount of money that likely wouldn't be there in a couple years.

I work a p/t job as well, and every penny goes direct deposit right into a special savings account for vacations.

We live in one of the most expensive areas of the US, but have chosen to live in a townhome rather than a $400,000 house so we can afford to take a lot of vacations We also drive Saturns rather than BMW's.

We bought in to DVC a few years back, that has afforded us to take a few trips we never would have been able to otherwise.

Anne

 

[*Flower*]

You all have really inspired me!
We used to go on vacation and "hang the expenses". Of course DH had a lot of fun spending like crazy on EVERYTHING!
I don't mean just on Disney, but anything!
We went down the road of "I must be within my budget if my credit card isn't maxxed out yet". He'd do the debt consolidation loans, pay off the cards and get so excited about zero balances that he'd charge them up again.
Now he's finally listening to me, and I've been digging us out of debt. Of course I took his cards away except for two, and he checks with me before he uses them. We only have three cards left that have balances, and two of those will be paid off in a couple of months.

When I think about how buried in debt we were, I'm amazed that we qualified for a mortgage! And didn't go the bankruptcy route either.

He's on his second career now- retired military and working for a company who will help to keep his WDW trips alive.

Thanks for this thread!
(BTW, we've cancelled over $xx,xxx worth of credit cards. Isn't that obscene?)

 

[mhopset]

Well, Here are my 2 cents: I work for Discover Card and my wife is a LPN on the maternity ward at a local hospital. We have 1 son that is 5 years old. We have been to WDW several times. Basically we save a little and charge a little. Only charge on DISCOVER CARD!!!!!
We have a change jar for my son that he saves his money in for his souviners. We stay at ASMo, which in my opinion is fantastic. Yes, one day I want to stay at GF, but I think once I do that there will be nothing to shoot for. I have like so many people read reports where people think that staying at one of the All Stars is low-grade hotel. We had a total BLAST!!!!!!!! We may go back in December of this year who knows. Vacations are our thing and always have been. We get teased a lot at work for going on so many. Some people save for houses and lands we save for WDW, Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg, Lake Erie, Kings Island, Cedar Pointe, and Longaberger Baskets LOL. That last one belongs to my wife. When you save you will appreceiate it a lot more and like most people say planning is half the fun.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

After reading some of these wonderful post, I don't really know if I can add anything of value. But, here's my side of the story.

DH and I are living on one income, his. He's a locomotive engineer and God has blessed us by allowing me to be able to stay at home. DH is diabetic and it's important for me to cook him the proper meals. I also never wanted anyone else to raise my 2 DSs. I realize that sometimes you just have to have the 2 incomes to make it. Each situation is different. So, we make our sacrafices. One of them IS NOT vacations, however. My father would never work enough for us to be able to take vacations and when DH and I married, we both decided that we would go somewhere every year on vacation, big or small.

We save a little throughout the year for next year's vacation. I also us the tax refund that we get each April, which is usually almost enough to pay for vacation. This year we're taking a little vacation so that next year, we can take the Disney Cruise and then go back to WDW in October for 4 nights at the WL. This will probably be our last time to go since DH IS NOT a Disney lover. That's ok. His opinion is valuable to me and vacation without him isn't the same.

I refuse to go on vacation and use the credit cards. I just couldn't enjoy it. Once again, it amounts to sacrafice!

 

[Kaa]

Okay - enough. MikeP and DisneyFix please make a point of going to the posting guidelines and reading them. You will find that we ask that you not attack people on these boards. If you wish to continue this discussion between yourselves, do so in email.

 

[KELLY]

I try to go to Disney Every Year and it does happen. I think I'm very lucky to be able to go once a year. My husband and I gross before taxes is 43,000 we have no kids. Two dogs they are expensive between shots and getting sick every so often. My husband will go to disney every year if he didn't have to fly. He hates flying and he is in a rock band and dosn't have the time to take off. So I usually go with my mother and a friend we split the hotel and the rental car three ways. I love Disney and I'm 26 My parents took us once evey year and it was great. I didn't start going to Disney Until I was 10 and my brothers 5, and 2 months. But we went every year. I didn't go a couple of years in high school teenage years had a boyfriend that kind of thing. But I truly appreciate everything my parents did by bringing us to Disney. It is just a magical place and if I had kids I would make sure they went. Disney is a truly magical place.
I will be going April 2002 for & night we are booked at the All Star MOvies that split three ways is 284.82 a person. Renatl car about 75.00 a person. I had so much fun on the last all girls trip. We went to the hoop dee doo reuve at 900. They gave the friend a wash board it was just to funny. People on are bus on the way back had to go up on stage and I think the whole bus was laughing about something we just never figured out what. I actually had tears from laughing so hard. Adults wearing funny hats only in Disney What a wonderful place. My point being I do use a credit card to go but always pay it off asap. Never do I not have it paid off before the next rip. This is my luxry and I love it. My husband has his guitars and I have Disney. KELLY

 

[RAMWDWFAN]

Dear Rookie,

I'm an attorney who works primarily with children in juvenile court. I represent them in cases where they have been neglected, abused and ignored by their parents and other adults. I also represent them in cases where they have broken the law.

In the past I have used credit cards to pay for my vacations, but since my practice is getting more profitable, I can save a little each month to pay for them. I will begin saving soon to buy into DVC again (had to sell last year).

One thing I have learned over the years is the importance of taking vacations. As a kid, we never went anywhere. I envied my friends who went on vacation every summer, even if it was to Grandma's house in the next town!

I make it a priority to vacation as much as possible, within my budget. Although debt repayment is at the top of my list for now (please watch out for credit cards), saving for vacations comes a close second.

 

[nurse metal]

I had to add my two cents... live while you can. we live in a rural area and with a combined income of just under 50,000 and two kids 8 and 4 we have little to spare in extras. we have house payments, car payments lots of bills to pay and its easy to say ' lets wait untill next year or untill this or that is paid off ' ... but we may not have next year
I watched my father work hard and save for someday untill he was dx with cancer at 52 yrs. The first thing he did was spend some of that saved money to buy a camper so he could spent the rest of his time relaxing with his family, he never even got to use it. he died just weeks later.....dont wait to make memories, I wish I had more of daddy but he was always working and never took the time to play.
We are going to wdw this year for the first time and will have to put some on the card but we will save what we can and then after the balence is paid well go again. I may not work for everyone but I will for us. 54 days to go.... L

 

[nancycels]

like many of u, my husband and i are far from rich... he's an area mgr in retail, and i'm a medical researcher, neither of them the most lucrative jobs in the world! <G> but some things are just worth saving for! i use coupons and comparison shop all yr and put whatever i save from that in the vacation acct(DH has NO CLUE how much vacation costs). I also bought a timeshare which allows us to go more often than we might otherwise. Since we go in the summer, right after our birthdays, our birthday gifts from our parents cover our passes(almost) and now my kids are older, they get to pay for part of theirs.(they're 19 and 24 and both work, one still in school as well) my kids are handicapped, so it will be a long time before we ever vacation w/o them, but it doesn' t mean they don't need to learn to budget themselves. Our tax return goes to pay for plane fare. And I pay for the rest. Why do we do this instead of waiting yrs and yrs for a 'big' fancy vacation in a deluxe hotel? Well, when i was growing up, I used to wonder why my dad always insisted on going on expensive vacations..we spent winters in the caribbean or the keys for a few weeks every year, and lived yr round on a lake, so yes, we were spoiled. But the reason he did that was he knew he had a bad heart... and every vacation might be the last he could take w/us. I was lucky, he lived until i was almost 17, and we all have great memories w/him. But i'm so glad he took time out of his job as a VP to spend those uninterrupted weeks with us. So, I guess my motto is, try to live every day as fully as possible and work on creating opportunities for quality one on one time with your families! We tend to do 2 yrs at DIS for 2 wks each yr, then one yr off(this allows us to buy annual passes and maximize their use) so, we think its worth it... the girls are getting older now, and we frequently take along a few of their friends as well. (WE don't pay for their park passes/expenses/etc. just provide lodging and transportation in Orlando) but its nice for them to have some time to go off on their own, then the 2nd week we are just family. The best thing about being there 2 wks is u can leisurely enjoy your stay, not just race from ride to ride! So, yes, its worth it, u can make it too... it just takes a lot of planning, and these boards are great for that! So happy traveling!

 

[Disney Doll]

Well I'm a nurse and DH is a realtor...read he doesn't get paid unless he sells a house, and then he doesn't get paid what peole think realtors make!

We have no kids. For several years we incurred some fairly steep medical bills, but that's over now. We save, use coupons,bought into the DVC, and live fairly simple lives per se. We're not into a lot of "stuff", have an average house, 2 average cars.

We both
think it's very important to go on vacation. It's one thing I've always done since I was little. My family went on a big vacation every year.DH wasn't as much of a traveller when he was younger...his family had 4 kids, so things were a little different. As a young adult, I travelled a lot with friends.DH didn't do much travelling. When we met, one of the things I made clear was very important to me was travelling. I gave DH the bug, and now we love it.

 

[crazyforpooh]

It's so good to see so many people feel the same way about family and the importance of making memories.

This Christmas will be out 3rd trip to Disney as a family and our daughters 5th (she was lucky enough that an aunt took her and we let her go on a special Eco Quest trip with school this past march). I am looking forward to this trip more than any other vacation we have taken. You are all right life is just to short and we don't realize until something happens the little things we all take for granted.

Our last trip was in August 1999 our first big vacation since buying our home in the country in 1992. We had a wonderful time, then in Oct my DH had a near fatal accident and was hospitized for 4 months during many family holidays. Thank God he is alive. He was burned from his waist down and lost one of his legs.

Now we don't have alot of $$ either but, making family memories are important to both DH and I for our daughter. I am a office manager for a small construction co. and DH works as much as he can, but I don't really care if he ever works he is alive.

This will most likely be out last vacation to Disney for awhile but I'm sure it will be Christmas we will never forget for the rest of our lives.

We are saving with a coin jar, coupon clipping, and mostly the help of these boards.

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. And my hat goes off to all the single parents out there after my short experience of it for four months God Bless you all.


Laura

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Thanks for your reply. DD starts school Wednesday and I plan on asking the principal then. Also, the peds neurologist feels she had her first migraine as well. He said its unlikely the meds caused it, but you never know. We may go ahead with an EEG anyway. He said it was up to us, but at this point, the MRI was completely normal. DD is scared of getting numb again and throwing up (I think more so of the last part Since our conversation, I received a postcard rate of $84/night at moderates! That's hard to resist.

 

[disneymom28]

I am from a family that always had six kids , my parents were foster parents now there are only five kids we adopted the last foster child at birth he is handicaped . My father worked so hard all our lives and took us camping every summer my mom was a homeaker so my dad being the only one working ( gas company )I guess you could say we were poor but we were rich with love and togetherness . My youngest brother is now 16 I am married with my own children they are 6 and 17months and I still vacation with my family we go in a group of 13 every other year to WDW since the about 89. My 6 yo and my baby were both there even in the womb this is my 6yo 3rd trip we are going next saturday. We us our taxes when we go and save what we can my dd has $155 of here own money.I am not working and my husband works his butt off, he just got a new, better job at a steel plant about 6 months ago so he cant go. He always complains about going to disney and spending money we dont have but now that he cant go he is very upset. It will be our babies first time I JUST WANT MY CHILDREN TO EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC I did. I will continue to vist every two yrs because we all love disney, need a vaction and most of all we are all together as a family my parents my kids and my sister and brothers and niece and nephews and they are memories to last a life time . We are by no means wealthy we don t even own a home yet but we dont live forever so we need to enjoy life and each other while we can!