Saving for my Disney fund, Disney Gift Cards or cash

[GaDisneyFreak]

I save my Disney fund by adding money to Disney Gift Cards each month. So far I have about 1200 on them, well that money is on actual dummy reservations, but the money is from the gift cards. And yes, I do have them all and I keep up with all of them. But now I am thinking about the possibility of maybe next year if we get to go, renting DVC points and going through the YES program for the tickets. Huge savings doing that, amazing. Both of which you must pay in cash. UGGGHHH. Well now I am at the point of do I start saving in cash, and not Disney Gift Cards. If I save in cash, my vacation fund could possibly go towards something else and I do not want that. What to do, What to do.

 

[pantherlj]

I was stocking up on disney gift cards at target and stopped for the same reason. We are renting a condo and doing the YES program. I still feel like I don't have enough for food and souvenirs but also worry that I'll have cash tied up in disney gift cards that will be too much so am sticking cash aside.

 

[Dink37]

Save the cash. What I did is open an online savings account (Ally, INGDirect, etc) and stash it away in there. The online banks always have the best interest rates. Being that it was an account I only checked on one a month when the statements hit, it kind of "doesn't exist" in the normal week to week budget. I stash away a set amount every week from my paycheck, which I can luckily direct deposit into the online savings. By never seeing the money, I don't miss it, and when vacation time hits, all the cash is there and ready to go. Everyone has their own way of "tricking" themselves into saving, find what works best for you!

I also took advantage of the Target Disney GC deal, and although it works out nicely, I'd rather have extra cash at the end of my vacation rather that extra GC's! Although I don't think I'll have to worry about having either left over by the end of our WDW week

 

[gingerjohnjillian]

What is the Target Disney Gift Card deal?

 

[lilstint]

What is the Target Disney Gift Card deal?

If you use a Target debit card you will get 5% off your giftcard purchases.

 

[blessedby3]

I put cash in a savings account everytime DH gets paid. I just transfer it over. My bank acct has sub accounts...we have a main checking, savings, then also a Christmas acct, and vacation acct. That way our money does not get "lost" in other things. It is only for vacation in that subaccount.
I have also bought gift cards along the way before to use for food when we arent on the dining plan.

 

[AlternateEgo]

I second or third the savings account. I work at a bank and we have a limited access account... however since I am at the bank daily, I can access it. So I opened an account with Sallie Mae. It's a money market account, has the highest interest I could find at the time, and it comes with checks for when you want to deposit the money into checking to make your purchase.

ETA: Interest rates are very different between my bank and online. I get .4% on my savings accounts at work and .9 at sallie mae.