Saving for a big trip

[MAJ RN]

I would appriciate any words of wisdom and advice for all of you budget consious people out there. I am planning a big 2 week trip for March of 2005 and was wondering about money saving tips for the trip and for before the trip. Any info would be greatly appriciated!!


Thanks,
Melissa

 

[MAJ RN]

I really need to learn how to spell!!!!

 

[dpayne1969]

hello,
you have plenty of time to save,save,save.Start by saving any and ALL change from now till then You would not believe how that change adds up.Even those pennies will turn into dollars before you know it.Try to put up even 5.00 out of every paycheck as well.With the time you have until you go you should be able to save up a big chunk of money by doing little things without even missing the money.Good Luck.
Denise

 

[dolphincrazy]

Hello
the change idea is great, alot of us do rewards programs, mystery shopping, online surveys, sell on ebay etc.
I (and alot of others on here) opened an online savings account
with INGDIRECT big promotion going on having to do with
earning money by signing up through a referral but, we can't solicit referrals on the board but, at one point alot of us signed up and earned alot of money by referring others. I can't off the top of my head think of any other money earning tips ( long day
and burning, tired eyes lol) I'm sure someone will come up with more ideas,! good luck

 

[EthansMom]

We cut out cable, have only basic phone line service (no call waiting or caller id), and try to rent our movies from the store that rents for $1/night (less selection, though). We get our hair cut (even mine) at the cheapo place (right now, Great Clips is $5.99/cut).

We've also evaluated our eating out and cut down to one out-to-eat meal per week.

Also, I call around every couple of years to compare prices on our car and home insurance -- usually manage to find another insurance provider that saves money.

I hope this helps!

EthansMom

 

[vhoffman]

We did what I call our "budget reduction act". We went through all our expenses, large and small, to find ways to cut corners. Our biggest savings was refinancing our mortgage. That alone saved us $330 per month. We put that money into our kids college account. We don't save every penny for Disney. However, we found ways to cut down on almost every expenditure. Especially long distance, internet providers, and cell phone charges. These three are highly competitive and it pays to comparision shop. I don't like packing lunches every night, however, I decided to pack lunches twice a week for my kids and once a week for dh. The savings do add up and I don't get so burned out packing lunches. When I pack my kids lunch, I put a Disney sticker on the bag, so they know this is their way of saving for WDW. I aslo gave my ds a job--he's now "Light Captain". Its his job to make sure lights are turned off when not in use. When I showed him how much our electric bill is (he's 7 years old) he said "Wow! We could do a lot with that money!". Well, he does his job almost too well, he will turn the lights off when we're still using them! But I have seen a decrease in our electric bill, about $30 per month. Just look for little ways to trim the budget. The key is, don't go overboard or you'll wind up resenting it and give up. Just find ways to cut costs without giving up things you enjoy or a major change to your lifestyle. Also, look through this board for ways to make extra money. Things like surveys, mystery shopping, selling things on EBay, all those do add up. Sooner than you'd expect, you'll have a nice nest egg. Good Luck!

 

[CheapMom]

Just read these boards once in a while- these guys know all the best deals. Apply for a disney visa now so you can take advantage of great discounts and packages. The ingdirect account is great. I love it. Even if you can't solicit referals on the boards you can get friends and family to open accounts- it is a win win situation.

 

[vicnmickey]

I never use my change, it always goes in the piggy bank when I get home, last trip added up too $126 bucks
I have $25 dollars taken out of every check and put in a savings account, different bank then I do my weekly banking, this adds up too!!!
Write a list when we go shopping and stick too it, compulsive shopping gets me in trouble
We only go out for fast food, once a month(sacrifice is whats its about)
I make gift baskets on the side for friends, all that money goes into the vacation bucket
My kids ask alot for things, I just say Mickey I never plan a trip without talking to the kids and telling them that we have to do without the little things so we can go.
Good luck

 

[bunnyfoo]

I have a savings account and I transfer $50 into each week. It doesn't sound like much but it does eventually add up I also try not to eat out as much and put all of my change into a change jar.

 

[McKelly]

I have seen mystery shopping as a source of income for a few people on these boards. What does this entail? Can you bring your kids? What is the pay like? How do you sign up, is there a website? Or do you just look in local papers? Thanks for any help!

 

[darlene9947]

I increased the deductible on my homeowners policy from $500 to $1000. Saved $182. Yeah!

 

[tikilyn]

Mckelly I PM you about the mystery shopping

 

[mad4themouse]

Our upcoming trip is a big vacation for which I've been saving for over 2 years. I wanted this to be a longer trip than usual and to stay at nicer places since it may be the last time I can convince DH to go for a few years.

I began by pricing things out (airfare, hotel, passes, food and rental car). It gave me a ballpark figure to shoot for. I then figured out how many months and how much I needed to save each month to cover those expenses.

Once those numbers were crunched, I started my savings plan. All change and even $1 bills go into the savings. I put all rebates, money earned from rewards programs, and eBay sales into my Disney fund. I began selling my used books on Half.com. I tutor French to elementary students for a small stipend. I do test drives and market research surveys and get rewarded for it.

I recently opened an INGdirect savings account. I got a $25 bonus for signing up thru a referral. I referred my children and they each got $25 and I got $10 for each of them. I wich I knew more people who want to have a cyber-savings account because the children and I have 73 referrals that we can still give out but most of my family is computer-shy. I have $50 transferred every 2 weeks from my regular checking account into my INGdirect account. It's automatic and so far it's been painless. The account earns 2% interest, which is better than any other savings account that I've seen locally.

I have 2 rewards credit cards and I use them for everything. One card is for major purchases (furniture, appliances, orthodentist) and the other is used for everyday expenses (groceries, gasoline, heating oil, telephone bill). The rewards go towards trip-related expenses. DH is self-employed and has business rewards credit cards to pay business expenses. We all fly for free using the award miles he gets from those cards. Each and every card is paid off in full every month and does not have an annual fee.

I keep an eye out for specials on park passes, room discounts and rental car codes. I booked the room, car and airfare last August. The airfare was paid for with frequent flier miles. By booking early, I was able to get all 4 of us on great non-stop flights for free. My minivan rental rate is the lowest I've seen since reserving it ($199/week), plus the 10% discount for being an Emerald Club member at National. I was able to apply an Entertainment Book coupon for $20 off last week. The book cost me $15 with free shipping thru Mousesavers. The $20 off resulted in $23+ off after taxes were deducted. I'll also use other coupons in the book for this trip, so it will have saved me at least double what it cost me.

I bought 2 Universal APs last year when they had a buy-1-get-1-half-off offer. I bought 5-day Universal passes using me MasterCard and got 5 for the price of 4. I kept 3 and sold 2 to a friend for face value.

I purchased 5-day PHPs with 4 pluses last fall when Ticketmania had a special. I got DQ passes thru a Mousesavers Newsletter link to Ticketmania.

I joined Hotwire and began ordering the meal vouchers. They will either save me a few dollars or I will break even. As long as I break even, I'll be happy.

I bid on a few GCs from restaurant.com on eBay. For a few dollars, they could save me a lot on food. I especially like the Pirates' Dinner Adventure GC for 50% off for up to 4 people. That's worth about $80.

As my dates get closer, I'll continue to look for lower rates at the hotels. I continue to hope for some sort of discount for my WDW room. Because Disney has been so slow to come up with anything, I've already chosen to stay at the Peabody and PBH for a 5 nights. I hope Disney wakes up and realizes that they are losing business to surrounding resorts because of they've been slow to put those discounts out there.

 

[Doodlebug939]

Madforthemouse,

Just sent you a PM

 

[dsnycrzy]

Hi all,
1. I live in DE and recently it has been warm out so off went the heat. After school it has started getting chilly again and when I was about to turn the heat back on, my kids screamed "No we need the $ for WDW. We'll put on our sweatsuits". This is instead of running around with T-shirts on. LOL- fine with me. If I can keep it off for the rest of the winter, that will work.

2. The other electric saver I did was the 3 light rule. We are only allowed 3 lights on in the house at a time. Has worked all week so far.

3. I started washing dishes again instead of using the dishwasher and

4.I hang up the wash instead of putting them in the dryer. (My son even insisted I start washing clothes in the sink, I then told him he was taking WDW to far, LOL).

5. We started our change jar thing.
Never count out change for a purchase, pay with the dollar so you can put the change in the jar.

6. And I have become the ebay selling queen. All of my kids had really nice clothes and then the school started the uniform thing and all of that stuff just sat there. I just went through my stuff today and there is plenty of nice stuff -I WON'T FIT AGAIN-LOL. It's easier to sell it rather then giving it away, so I'm not to heart broken to let it go.

7. I sub- at a daycare.

8. And I do "favors" (That what my sisters call it) for a fee. Can you take me....? Sure for $5. $4 for my gass tank and $1 for my WDW jar. That really works to my advantage b/c now they realize it's cheaper to take the bus and leave me alone unless it absolutely nessecary (sp).

9. Tax money buys the bulk stuff like tickets and trainfare.

You have a lot of time to save. I usually have to start now due to me out doing X-mas every year, and I go in August.

Just stay focused on saving and you can't go wrong.

 

[djm99]

For my upcoming trip this August (10 days 9 nights) this is how I'm saving....

1.Travelers Cheques - I am a member of AAA and I live around the corner from a local store so I walk in and the Cheques are dollar for dollar (no fees or taxes). I get at least $50 a pay period and keep them in a safe place. (Goal $1500 - presently have $950)

2. I have a Buxx Visa that I keep at home. I put $10-$20 bi-weekly on the card. This reloadable Visa debit is used for gas, overnight hotel stay (we drive from St. Louis and stay overnight in Atlanta). It doesn't carry any fees either. Any reloadable visa/mc gift/card will do. (Goal $350 - presently $225)

3. Every time I go to the Mall I visit the Disney store and buy Disney Dollars (even if its only $5). Goal $200 presently $100

4. Disney Meal Vouchers 8 - Q & C vouchers. Goal Met!!!!!

5. 5 day Disney hopper plus 2 - adults $246.35 and 1 child $197.47 hotwiresavingsclub.com (Goal met!!!!)

6. 2 adults 2 day 2 park Universal/IOA hoppers for $90.49 each and 1 Childs $80.56 (I have not purchase the childs ticket yet).

7. Windsor Palms Rental 6 bedroom House ($1630) half the bill is shared with in-laws. (MY HALF IS PAID!!!)

8. Wal-Mart Gift Cards ($150) GOAL MET!!!!!! – for incidental stuff dish detergent, dishwashing detergent, groceries, laundry detergent, and anything else I’ve forgotten.

9. Area Restaurant gift certificates. Chili's $70, Don Pablos (got online) $50, $75 Outback. GOAL MET!!!!!!

10. I clean out my credit during the school year. I teach so I don’t usually use my credit cards during the school year, but I hoping for $0 balances to do some serious shopping at those outlet malls.

11. A few hundred dollars in cash. I don't like dealing with cash on vacations, but I know I'll need a little.

12. Whatever you can prepay for, do it. That way you will have open cash to spend in Disney world.

Planning has always been fun for me. And unfortunately saving “cash” for a vacation (either in a bank savings account or in my sock drawer) has been a struggle. Plus looking at the traveler’s cheques, gift cards, Disney dollars, and debit cards grow in “value” makes me that much more excited about this trip. Sit down and write out a realistic budget and make it happen – simple as that!!!!! Most importantly, have fun with!!!!

 

[CheapMom]

The account earns 2% interest, which is better than any other savings account that I've seen locally.

That is Mad4themouse on INGdierctSavings- She is SO right about that. I'll go one step further and say it is the best rate on any savings account I have seen locally, nationally, on the web or anywhere at all.
I have lots of referals left too because I signed up my husband and all 3 of my kids. (each account gets 25 referals) I have gotten my mom, dad, sister, sister-inlaw, and my brother to sign up. It is amazing that my Dad did it because he does not like the computer or "that machine" as he calls it. But he is smart about money and couldn't resist this account.

 

[vhoffman]

The great thing about the INGDirect account is that there's no fees or minimum balances, or minimum transaction amounts. While at the bank today, I happened to have about $10 in ones and change, so I deposited that and did an EFT (electronic funds transfer) to INGDirect while I was there. Otherwise, that $10 would just go for misc. Its a great way to save little by little. There are many good ways to save and make some extra cash on this board. However, none of them result in a large sum of money at once. Usually they just produce a few dollars here and there. However, if you have a place to stach that extra cash, it does add up. We also do the coin jar thing. Actually, ours is a milk carton. However, try convincing my dh husband to take it in to the bank. He says he feels like a geek walking around with a milk carton full of pennies! Well, I refuse to use the coin counter at the grocery store, because they charge about 9%. We're trying to save money! The coin counter at the bank is free for customers. So I convinced dh to take the coin jug along with the kids. Then everyone thinks its cute that they're saving for their college. Whatever! If anyone's interested in the INGDirect account, pm me for more details, and how to start your account with a $25 bonus. Happy savings!

 

[MELSMICE]

--We always save our change - never, never, ever spend it. It ended up being the down payment on our DVC purchase last December & within the next month or 2 I will be paying off the loan - the last payment coming from our change savings!!!

--I have started saving singles for Disney $'s - a recent tip from these boards.

--We have always rounded up when writing a check out of our checking account, but we have now started charging ourselves $1 for every transaction. I figure when a small resale comes along I am going to take the extra money from that account & buy the extra points!!!!! I keep checking the resale boards daily!!

Anyway, like someone else said, these are just little ways to save money, but they really do add up in the long run.

 

[diznee25]

Not everyone has the time or energy for this, but my suggestion would be to work overtime if your company allows. Even 5 hrs of overtime per week adds up. (Especially if you get time and a half like I do.)

This is how I was able to afford a trip to DisneyWorld 2 years ago.
My company wanted volunteers to work 20 hrs overtime per week, for 3 straight months, and I pushed myself thru!
Of course I scheduled my trip to happen right at the end of those 3 months, because I really needed a vacation then.

Diznee25