Save First or Partial Payments?

[joannamet]

After booking my Nov. FD Package I started thinking about how much I needed to add to savings to pay it off by the due date and I realized that I can make partial payments on the website. Instead of putting the money into savings every week and risk spending on something else that will inevitably come up, I can apply it to the amount due and pay for our vacation a little at a time.

I'm wondering how many other people use this option and what are the pros and cons?

No comments, please, about irresponsible spending habits. Obviously it would be better to wait until I have the money but saving and budgeting are a challenge for some of us.

 

[AquaDame]

The pro is, as you said, you can't spend it. The con is, you guessed it, you can't spend it if something DOES come up. If you have an emergency and need to cancel the trip it can take weeks to get your funds back (though honestly every refund I have ever gotten from Disney has come though much more quickly, I wouldn't bet on it).

 

[jhoannam]

That's how we paid for our last vacation and will probably pay for our next vacation. I buy target gift cards every paycheck and I just enter it into MDE.

 

[Marionnette]

After booking my Nov. FD Package I started thinking about how much I needed to add to savings to pay it off by the due date and I realized that I can make partial payments on the website. Instead of putting the money into savings every week and risk spending on something else that will inevitably come up, I can apply it to the amount due and pay for our vacation a little at a time.

I'm wondering how many other people use this option and what are the pros and cons?

No comments, please, about irresponsible spending habits. Obviously it would be better to wait until I have the money but saving and budgeting are a challenge for some of us.

The major drawback is the inability to access your cash quickly if you need to cancel your trip. It can take Disney a while to return that money to its original form of payment.

If you pay using a credit card, that cash will first be applied to any remaining balance on that credit card. it won't get refunded to you as cash.

If you pay with a debit card, you may wait for weeks to see that money appear in your bank account.

I buy discounted Disney GCs throughout the year but that's because I will have to pay my DVC dues regardless of whether I go to Disney or not. So, the GCs will get used anyway. But if I didn't have DVC dues to pay, I wouldn't tie my money up in Disney GCs.

On the plus side, you won't be able to spend that money if you can't touch it.

Really, you're the only one who can decide if it's worth it to pay down your trip over time.

 

[lauradis]

This is our first trip with paying monthly in discounted Gift Cards.

Im not worried if we have to cancel, that just means I have pre paid for another Disney trip down the road.

The board has reported in the past that if you pay in installments of credit card or debt card that it take up to 10-14 days max for the funds to be back in your acct from the date that you cancel.

The real question is are you going? will you go again? how bad do you need the money now?

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I made payment one year and it worked out fine.

 

[bjscheel]

If it works for you, go ahead. What I do is have a Capital One 360 online savings account. I move vacation money into it every payday. Pretend it isn't available for any other use. At 45 days out, I make the payment for the vacation with the Disney Visa. Then I make small payments on it until the 6 months no interest is up, and pay it off with the money in savings. The interest I make keeping the funds there for the extra time is pretty nominal, but when I opened it, it was paying 4.5%. Still do it the same way now even though it's more like .5%- oh well.

 

[casnider]

That's how we paid for our last vacation and will probably pay for our next vacation. I buy target gift cards every paycheck and I just enter it into MDE.

I live near a Target now, what is this that you are talking about? I am interested!

 

[jhoannam]

I live near a Target now, what is this that you are talking about? I am interested!

Sorry, mean to say Disney gift cards purchased at Target with my RedCard.

 

[verleniahall]

we did the payments, but budgeted it as any other bill - so it didn't effect us any.

However is going to work best for you - that is what will work. We tried just saving outside of the account, and it didn't work so well for us. paying it off worked much better

 

[casnider]

Sorry, mean to say Disney gift cards purchased at Target with my RedCard.

Now I don't have the RedCard but I could get gift cards in there. I have never looked for them. I will have to check that out. Does the RedCard give you any extra specialness for doing it that way?

 

[jhoannam]

Now I don't have the RedCard but I could get gift cards in there. I have never looked for them. I will have to check that out. Does the RedCard give you any extra specialness for doing it that way?

checkout this thread. You need a target redcard (credit or debit).
You can buy discounted target gift cards, online and then use them to buy Disney gift cards at Target.com, but you have to have a target redcard linked to the account to get an additional 5%.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I save for a year or so in advance, trying to sock away 200 dollars a month, then I book around 7 months out and pay the balance when due. This may not work for everyone, but I'm on a fixed income and *have* to budget or I won't make it.