raising spending $ for cruise???

[precious2flh]

Does anyone have good suggestions for saving / raising spending money for the crusie trip. I have been laid off from my job and although the cruise is paid for, I want some spending money for my kids....I'd love suggestions...we cruise in 6 months!

Thanks !

 

[dtuleya]

We have two great boards that might give you some ideas.

Disney Reward Programs

Budget Board

I'm also sending you a PM.

 

[jwann]

We had a great thread going awhile back - full of suggestions and ideas. Check it out:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=461855

 

[confal1]

Of course there are the usual yard sales or ebay. I actually just printed out an order form from the Disney Cruise line website and plan on handing it out to anyone asking what to get me or my hubby for our bday's or mothers or fathers day. People can call the 800 # and give $$$$$ towards your onboard account and then you can use it for whatever once you are onboard. I will fill out the info on the order form like name and reservation # so there is no confusion for the person calling. Good Luck.

 

[dtuleya]

Originally posted by confal1
Of course there are the usual yard sales or ebay. I actually just printed out an order form from the Disney Cruise line website and plan on handing it out to anyone asking what to get me or my hubby for our bday's or mothers or fathers day. People can call the 800 # and give $$$$$ towards your onboard account and then you can use it for whatever once you are onboard. I will fill out the info on the order form like name and reservation # so there is no confusion for the person calling. Good Luck.

Can you only do this if you book directly through the DCL site and not a TA?

 

[prymsu]

I keep an enevelope with a recipe card in it with all my bill stuff. When we get paid, I write an amount that I can afford to save for that pay period toward vaca money on the recipe card, and then subtract it out of the check book as if i wrote a check. This has worked really well for us.

 

[lillygator]

These are all great ideas....I love the idea of other people giving you shipboard credits for gifts!! Do you know if your cruise has to be fully paid for before they can do that or if you can add it once your cruise is booked?

 

[CACruiser]

We are a one income family and I am an at home Mom.
One way I have saved spending money is by using a coin sorter we got as a gift. There are fancy ones, but you can find inexspensive battery powered ones at wal-mart or target.

Everytime we have change or find coins on the street, it goes into the coin sorter. I wrap them up when full and squirrel them away.

This really does add up! I have been doing this for over a year and have over $150! This is just change!!!

My husband was out of work briefly last year. (3 mos) I saved $ was by cutting out extras that we really did'nt need. We cut our cable back to basic. We cut our cell phone plan to the bare minimum. We used email over long distance calls. I limited my mocha trips to 1x a week and learned how to make a lot of "take out" style food at home! Our lifestyle did'nt change, but our choices did! You can easily save a few hundred a month by making simple choices.

I would also get the kids involved! If they are old enough ask them to be creative in earning $. Helping with yardwork with neighbors is a great way to pull in extra cash and they can have the pride of participating in their own spending money.

 

[feenie]

we save change.
I have been saving just since we got back from our last trip in September and I have a little over $100.00 in quarters alone. Of course I am a little compulsive and DH and I are not allowed to spend any change at all. If you owe 1.02, you give 2 and get lots of extra change for the bucket!!
Also we buy Disney dollars every now and then when we happen to be near a Disney store.

 

[pth]

Things I do are: save change, sell any unneeded stuff on ebay and I take a portion of my overtime pay and put that aside.

 

[smchan]

I've mentioned this in other threads, but I get extra income by writing technical articles. Each article typically earns $500-$1,000 and require a few weeks of part-time work.

There are lots of magazines, etc that take freelance articles. The hardest part, I think, is selling the first one or two, but once over that hurdle, it's easier. (Would you believe I have 20-something articles in the pipeline now to be published over the next 12-24 months? That's some good cruisin' cash!)

Just from looking over the threads here, I see several topics that would possibly sell to magazines:
- traveling with autistic or disabled children
- Disney on a budget
- eating and exercise strategies for dieting cruisers
- selecting and planning a family cruise

All these are topics I could easily write a dozen or more pages on just based on personal experiences and information I've gleaned from this boards. I mean, how do you think the folks at Deb's digest, Passporter, etc do it?

Sam

 

[SNicksed]

Everyday, the pocket change goes into the "cruise fund".

 

[confal1]

I do believe that you do not have to book directly through DCL to use the form and you do not have to be paid in full. I like going through DCL because that cuts out the middle man. Good Luck and have fun.