Quick ways to save $$$ for Disney trips!

[PixieMama]

I'm planning a trip to WDW for September, and am looking for quick and easy ways to save money.

Here are a few ideas I have so far:

saving loose change in a jar

anytime I get a $10 bill (whether it's from the ATM or as change) I immediately put it away

using the "envelope system" for groceries (at the beginning of the month, taking out cash from the bank for groceries... at the end of the month, whatever is left will be put towards the Disney fund)



What are some ways you save money for Disney trips?

 

[DawnM]

I have an ING account and $$ is automatically deducted from my checking and put in there.

You have 5 months.....how much is your trip going to be? Divide that amount by 5 and find an account to save your money into.

Dawn

 

[nhtinkerbell]

i have a disney gift card that i put money on every other week. i have one for our DS also. its a great way to save and i can't spend it.

 

[PixieMama]

i have a disney gift card that i put money on every other week. i have one for our DS also. its a great way to save and i can't spend it.

Ooooo, I like that idea! You're right, you can't be tempted to spend a Disney gift card like you can with cash!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We save cans and plastic bottles and take them to the recycling center. We make about $25 every three months. It's not much, but it goes directly into my "fun fund" which will be paying for our Disneyland trip in July. It requires relatively little effort and it's $25 that I wouldn't have if I just left it at the curb for pick-up.

 

[MomofKatie]

We opened one of those "automatic saving" accounts at our bank. Every time we use our debit card, an extra $1 is taken out of checking and put into savings. In the first year we had the account, we accumulated about $1400- that's more than 100 debit card transactions per month!! We also set up an automatic transfer of $30 per pay period, which added close to $800 to the total.

$2200+ in savings, all done painlessly- pretty awesome!!

 

[sissy_ib]

I'm planning a trip to WDW for September, and am looking for quick and easy ways to save money.

Here are a few ideas I have so far:

saving loose change in a jar

anytime I get a $10 bill (whether it's from the ATM or as change) I immediately put it away

using the "envelope system" for groceries (at the beginning of the month, taking out cash from the bank for groceries... at the end of the month, whatever is left will be put towards the Disney fund)


What are some ways you save money for Disney trips?

I don't see how this could work. What if you need $40 cash and the ATM gives you four $10 bills?
The only that works for me is putting money in my savings account and buying Disney gift cards. I don't carry cash so the loose change thing doesn't work for me.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

I have been couponing a lot and saving quite a bit of money

I have found an on-line site to earn amazon gift cards-it costs me nothing but it is helping me buy things through amazon without using any of our own money b/c it all comes from points. That extra money will be used at Disney. Started in January, and there is $150 in my amazon account so far

I have been buying Disney gift cards at the grocery store. Doing so also gives me gas credit (10cents off per gallon) and will help me at WDW not have to pay for things we buy at the park b/c the gift cards should cover it

I run a small business and have been putting my business expenses on my Disney Visa card rather than debit card and paying it off monthly so no fees. I have about $500 so far and hope to have at least $100 more on there by November

eta-we are also saving our change, and all of the "laundry change" ends up in the bucket as well. The conatiner I am using was a large gift canister I got at Christmas for a perfum set, so my kids don't even know I am collecting it like we usually do before Disney since weare surprising them, LOL

 

[crazelion]

I used reward programs to save for WDW. Pick up coke cans out of the parking lot of places and put in the truck in special box. Once get enough go cash them in. But the money in vacation account got set up the bank.

 

[PixieMama]

I don't see how this could work. What if you need $40 cash and the ATM gives you four $10 bills?
The only that works for me is putting money in my savings account and buying Disney gift cards. I don't carry cash so the loose change thing doesn't work for me.

I can see how this might not work 100% of the time. I was talking to a friend about this and the ATMs at her bank only give out 20s, so she questioned how this would work, too. But my bank's ATMs gives out cash in multiples of 10, so I can go through and take out $50 instead of $40 and just put that extra $10 bill away.

 

[PixieMama]

We save cans and plastic bottles and take them to the recycling center. We make about $25 every three months. It's not much, but it goes directly into my "fun fund" which will be paying for our Disneyland trip in July. It requires relatively little effort and it's $25 that I wouldn't have if I just left it at the curb for pick-up.

Every little bit helps, right?

 

[PixieMama]

We opened one of those "automatic saving" accounts at our bank. Every time we use our debit card, an extra $1 is taken out of checking and put into savings. In the first year we had the account, we accumulated about $1400- that's more than 100 debit card transactions per month!! We also set up an automatic transfer of $30 per pay period, which added close to $800 to the total.

$2200+ in savings, all done painlessly- pretty awesome!!

Wow! I'll have to see if my bank offers anything like this (we just use a local credit union)

 

[PixieMama]

I have been couponing a lot and saving quite a bit of money

I have found an on-line site to earn amazon gift cards-it costs me nothing but it is helping me buy things through amazon without using any of our own money b/c it all comes from points. That extra money will be used at Disney. Started in January, and there is $150 in my amazon account so far

I have been buying Disney gift cards at the grocery store. Doing so also gives me gas credit (10cents off per gallon) and will help me at WDW not have to pay for things we buy at the park b/c the gift cards should cover it

I run a small business and have been putting my business expenses on my Disney Visa card rather than debit card and paying it off monthly so no fees. I have about $500 so far and hope to have at least $100 more on there by November

eta-we are also saving our change, and all of the "laundry change" ends up in the bucket as well. The conatiner I am using was a large gift canister I got at Christmas for a perfum set, so my kids don't even know I am collecting it like we usually do before Disney since weare surprising them, LOL

I have a few on-line sites where I earn points to redeem for gift cards or cash. I have about $47 in one, $18 in another... and the one where I can get gift cards, I think I'm going to get a gas gift card.

 

[brattosa]

A friend of ours is having their family collect "D Dollars" to fund their first WDW trip. For each dollar bill they receive, they look at the mint mark. If it has a D mint mark, the bill goes into their Disney vacation bank. Something kind of fun and different that their kids can participate in, too.

 

[ktmo]

I like to shop online. Lots of impulse shopping. So, if I decide not to buy the item, I'll take that money I was going to spend and move it into my savings account.

I also take the "money" that I saved at the grocery store and move that money into my savings. So, if at the bottom of my receipt it says I saved $40 with coupons and store promotions, I'll move that $40 into savings.

 

[MomofKatie]

Wow! I'll have to see if my bank offers anything like this (we just use a local credit union)

We are with Wachovia (Wells Fargo)- the account is called Way 2 Save. I know Bank of America also has a similar account- called Keep the Change. It takes every debit card transaction and rounds the change up to the next dollar, then deposits the change in your account.

 

[dfchelbay]

Don't forget that the spring/summer season is upon us. Good time for spring cleaning, de-cluttering, and purging for a garage sale. Good way to earn some extra money for the Disney fund.

 

[ajseagles3]

craigslist things you just have sitting around

 

[ctnurse]

i have a disney gift card that i put money on every other week. i have one for our DS also. its a great way to save and i can't spend it.

I have two questions...Can you use disney gift cards to pay for the trip? And how do you add the cash to the giftcard?Thanks

 

[MomofKatie]

I have two questions...Can you use disney gift cards to pay for the trip? And how do you add the cash to the giftcard?Thanks

Yes, you can use the cards to pay for WDW resort hotel rooms and for your vacation package . To add cash, just bring your card back to the Disney Store with you and ask to add $$ to it. It is a reloadable card, just like at other retailers. I don't know if you can add more $$ to a card purchased at another location, like your local grocery store.