Saving for disney....

[maurihart]

Need some creative ideas to pay off my Disney trip balance. How do you guys do it? We aren't able to pay all at once so I need to be sticking a little back every week.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

You can pay as little a 20.00 per payment on the Disney website. You can get hold back money in savings and when it gets closer to the 45 day mark you can buy discounted Disney gift cards
To pay the balance. You can pay with bonuses or tax refunds. We typically save then buy discounted Disney cards.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

We pay cash for most things - and all fives and ones go to the travel jar. Not allowed to spend them if you receive one.

Typically save $4,000 - $6,000 a year - and it is completely painless.

 

[cah5525]

Be very aware of every penny you spend from this point forward! With my goal in mind, I can easily talk myself out of impulse purchases. Right now, I'm sitting in my car on a dinner break (at work) eating my bagged lunch from home while my coworkers buy their dinner. I know what my planned budget is week to week and month to month and I don't deviate from it! I won't even start the car up unless I'm going to work, if I have errands to run, I do them before or after work, no unnecessary trips. And of course, all of my one dollar bills and coins go into a jar.

 

[Marionnette]

Need some creative ideas to pay off my Disney trip balance. How do you guys do it? We aren't able to pay all at once so I need to be sticking a little back every week.

I don't book trips without having the money to pay for them set aside already. I may make plans for a trip just to get an idea of how much I need to have, but I never actually book the trip until all of the money for it is in the bank.

If you have already booked and you don't have the money set aside, then you must have figured that there was room in your budget to pay for it. I suggest that you take whatever amount that is yet unpaid and divide it by the number of weeks remaining until your final payment is due. That's how much you need to put back every week.

Is that a reasonable amount? Only you can determine if it is or it isn't. Some people could easily put back $100/week for 5 months if I had to. OTOH, some people don't have a spare $20 at the end of a month. I don't know where you fall. The only thing I can say is that you need to add the vacation money into your regular budget and work from there.

 

[DawnM]

ING account takes money out automatically on the 15th of every month. If I don't see it, I don't know it is available.

 

[crisi]

I don't book trips without having the money to pay for them set aside already. I may make plans for a trip just to get an idea of how much I need to have, but I never actually book the trip until all of the money for it is in the bank.

If you have already booked and you don't have the money set aside, then you must have figured that there was room in your budget to pay for it. I suggest that you take whatever amount that is yet unpaid and divide it by the number of weeks remaining until your final payment is due. That's how much you need to put back every week.

Is that a reasonable amount? Only you can determine if it is or it isn't. Some people could easily put back $100/week for 5 months if I had to. OTOH, some people don't have a spare $20 at the end of a month. I don't know where you fall. The only thing I can say is that you need to add the vacation money into your regular budget and work from there.

And in order to add it, you may need to take something out.

Do you eat out? Are you currently couponing? Do you buy name brand groceries? Haircuts? Cable TV? Look over your budget and figure out what you can get rid of while you get your vacation paid off.

 

[Fiveisaparty]

I took the balance on my trip and divided it by how many paychecks we had before the 45 day mark. I have that amount of dollars taken out of every paycheck and put into a savings account automatically so I don't ever see the money.

 

[comicguy]

Got extra stuff hanging around the house/shed/garage that you don't want or need?

Have a yard sale to raise some money, depending on what you have that could put a decent dent into things.

 

[Aliceacc]

We're planning a trip for summer 2014, and are putting away $200 or $250 a paycheck. Last time I heard, we had $1600 saved.

I realize you only have 5 months left, so that may be a little trickier for you.

Let's look at your eating habits. Are you one of those people who stop every day on the way to work for coffee? I bet you could save a lot by eliminating that one stop. Do you brown bag or buy lunch? Hitting the supermarket for cold cuts and brown bagging will save you another nice chunk of change over 5 months.

Any big occasions coming up?? (Mother's Day, Father's Day... any birthdays???) Tell anyone who is likely to buy a gift that you want Disney Gift Cards. (We'll be doing that for every occasion for the next year. We'll hit Disney with $500 or $600 in gift cards-- that's our spending money! Though it could be applied to food or lodging.)

 

[indimom]

We're a bit different. We just save fun money in a separate account until we feel like it is padded enough to take a trip, Then, we figure out what type of vacation we can afford, book it, and pay for it.

This year's trip is a bit different, we haven't been able to save consistently the last couple years. Too many life events getting in the way. This trip is 90% funded through credit card rewards we earned.

Running everything from braces to monthly utilities through your credit card before paying it off each month is a completely painless way to pay for a trip if you can refrain from over-charging!

 

[blessedby3]

We pay ourselves monthly. I have a "vacation" account and everytime that DH gets paid, I transfer money straight to that account. I treat it as a "bill". That way, we have our trips paid for ahead of time instead of paying for them afterwards.
I would watch everything you are spending and cut out eating out and buying anything that is not an essential right now. I also take our kids clothes they have outgrown and take them to Once Upon a Child (consignment shop). They pay cash on the spot. Thankfully we also have a Platos Closet (for teen clothes...I have 2 of those!) so I take my older kids stuff there. They dont pay a ton, but every little bit helps. You could also go through toys and house hold stuff and list on craigslist. Good luck to you!

 

[ZoeCoerse]

We treat our Disney vacation (whether a cruise or a park trip) as a fixed monthly bill. In our case we set aside $200 monthly and basically pay ourselves by transferring the $ into a special savings account we use for vacations. Try to come up with a set amount you can afford monthly and try to do it. Good Luck!

 

[carissa1970]

We treat our Disney vacation (whether a cruise or a park trip) as a fixed monthly bill. In our case we set aside $200 monthly and basically pay ourselves by transferring the $ into a special savings account we use for vacations. Try to come up with a set amount you can afford monthly and try to do it. Good Luck!

That is an excellent plan. I need to do that myself. Switch from charging it and en paying $200 a month to pay it off, and get to the other side and pay it ahead.

http://www.***********************/tickers/kwkz3p9ufbl3koi6.png

 

[crisi]

We're a bit different. We just save fun money in a separate account until we feel like it is padded enough to take a trip, Then, we figure out what type of vacation we can afford, book it, and pay for it.

That's what we do. I don't keep a "vacation" account - I keep a savings account + money in the stock market that has money for vacations, new cars, and the emergency fund. We are going to recarpet the house next off it. So for us it isn't just "fun" money.

 

[crisi]

That is an excellent plan. I need to do that myself. Switch from charging it and en paying $200 a month to pay it off, and get to the other side and pay it ahead.

http://www.***********************/tickers/kwkz3p9ufbl3koi6.png

It will change your life. You'll be shocked at how much faster money saves than paying off the same "balance" with credit card interest.

 

[jm0925]

I also take our kids clothes they have outgrown and take them to Once Upon a Child (consignment shop). They pay cash on the spot.

Thank you for mentioning this store. I just checked their website and a store right down the street opened up. My son has so many toys that he has hardly played with and clothes that he has worn a few times and already outgrew. I will definitely check them out. Every little bit of money helps.

 

[Kimi313]

I guess the two most important things we do is one we put X amount of money back every week. The second thing we do is I charge everything on our Disney Visa and we always get $600 in rewards every year. I don't do on-line checking so every time we charge gas, groceries, daughter's tuition etc I automatically deduct it from my checking account so I don't slip into charging more than we have then when the bill comes in it is paid.

We have always given up certain things so we can go on our vacations from brown bagging it to living in a smaller house. So its been nice to see others sacrifice a little too for their magical vacations. I get a lot of flack from family that I could afford more nicer things if I didn't spend so much on vacations but to us we find it worth it.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I've been doing some ebaying, my goal being about $100 a month net earnings. Everything from my paypal acct goes towards my trip. And I also am going to pay at least $75 a month from my check. Hopefully, if I do well enough, I can add on the DDP.

 

[vhartwell]

I am using swag bucks to earn extra money. Right now I have enough for a $200 PayPal deposit. PM and I will tell more.