Saving for next trip

[DisneyGuy758]

IF (and that's a BIG IF) you're good with credit cards and track and pay off your balances every month, you could try using the Disney Visa. (But you must be able to pay it off every month!!!) I run everything I can thru mine, and I make a couple hundred a year in rewards that can be used for trips. If you're registering on the Disney website, maybe you will get an offer for $200 reward dollars for signing up.

Credit cards and I don't really get along. I have tow with VERY low limits. I try to pay them off as often as I can.

As for pricing your trip, $5k is an awful lot for a family of 4. You might have every extra in there. Does that include airfare? Do you really need DDP, or is QSDP good enough? Given the ages of your kids, you may not want that many sit-down meals. Are you going prime-time? Can you go during a value season? That will lower your costs some, and get you away from the crowds.

Technically a family of five...but the last one won't count when we're there.

As for my quote, it is 8 days, 9 nights ASMu Family Suite, Park Hopper with Water Park, with DDP (this is a big must, yes). When we went in 2007 (one boy was 7 the other was 1), we used the DDP to our advantage and ate like kings. The time frame we're going is the last week of August (HOT, I know) which is a value season. I'm waiting to see if an August code pops up for 2012...

 

[DisneyGuy758]

Does your current job allow time for small pt work? I was thinking lawn care. Around here an average 70x100 lot gets about $30. If you could get 2 per week, that could be an extra $720 or so depending on how long the season goes up there. And it would only be about 2-3 hours per week depending on the lawn. Get up early on Saturday and you could be home before the family is up (depending on the family of course!)

I would be able to work a part time job where I'm working, no problem.

I need to see if my old job (liquor store) would have some evening hours open.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Buy Disney gift cards from Walgreens or wherever. I've been buying $25 a week and it's adding up. They can be used for rooms, tickets etc. Right now I have everything paid for but food and souiveners so I'm just buying the cards for that. I have over $100 and still have 5 months to go, so I should have $600 in spending. Since it's just me and a friend, I don't see me spending that much in food and souviners. So I might start $25 every other week.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I save out of my commission check every month. I also use part of that fifth pay check I get once every three or four months.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Credit cards and I don't really get along. I have tow with VERY low limits. I try to pay them off as often as I can.



Technically a family of five...but the last one won't count when we're there.

As for my quote, it is 8 days, 9 nights ASMu Family Suite, Park Hopper with Water Park, with DDP (this is a big must, yes). When we went in 2007 (one boy was 7 the other was 1), we used the DDP to our advantage and ate like kings. The time frame we're going is the last week of August (HOT, I know) which is a value season. I'm waiting to see if an August code pops up for 2012...

That sounds like alot for a value resort. Can you tell us the breakdown? Do you really need park hoppers and the water parks??? I think you can save if you DON'T do the dining plan. Have breakfast in your room everyday etc. Does this include airfare? Something just doesn't seem right.

 

[tzeitel]

OP you mentioned MyPoints - I do MyPoints and when we go to WDW I usually save my points for Rainforest Cafe/T Rex gift cards. But of course they have tons of other gift cards that can be used directly or indirectly towards the trip.

I also do Swagbucks and so far have accumulated enough Amazon cards to get myself and DD new shoes to wear when we go to DLR in Oct. Now I am saving them for a new camera bag. With MyPoints I have $100 in gas cards (driving to DLR), I know you are flying but that could be used at home and just stash the $100 you would have spent on gas in your Disney fund - same with many other cards for things you would normally buy anyway. You can get tons of points by booking your flights etc through them as well.

Our DLR trip in Oct has been paid off for a few months now because I took a part time server job. I put my regular check in our checking account but put all my tips in our Disney piggy (actually Tiki Mickey) bank. So if you can get a part time job on top of setting a specific amount from your regular pay you should be in pretty good shape. I did the math for our trip and then added a couple of hundred on top for souvenirs etc. so don't forget to add a little extra! Good luck!

 

[DisneyGuy758]

I do want park hopper tickets. I've always had them, on every trip. I will look into what the difference would be with out it though.

On our trip in 2007, we did not go to any of the water parks, even though we had the option to. We would like to do this this time, and actually plan on half a day at a water park and then the rest at the hotel, relaxing.

We plan on eating breakfast in our room already. The DDP would just make it one less thing I would have to budget for the trip. I'm not the best budgeter in the world, so something that kind of limits that, works for me.

It does not include airfare, but I can get that fairly cheap through our local airport.

 

[amberdburke]

I agree with PP that said once they start saving, it's easy to cut extras out.

We have cut out all other "vacations" including local weekend trips, local fairs, etc. this summer and saving the $ instead.

We have been able to cut our grocery bill down to $40-$60 a week (for a family of 3 and daycare kids). And yes, we eat fresh fruit/veggies and I make dinner from scratch nightly.

We have earned a $25 Rainforest Cafe gift card from Mypoints. I have gotten some $20 checks from Toluna and a ton of $5 giftcards from Reward TV (hey they add up). We are using the $5 cards for our trip down for gas, fast food, etc.

My husband got a $75 hotel giftcard for doing a health assesment at work. We are using this for the trip down.

We have also been collecting the $5 gift cards from the Kellogg's cereal boxes and have $35 so far.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

Regarding Mypoints, what is the minimum amount needed to redeem for gift cards and the like?

I can't seem to find this info on the website.

 

[TarzansKat]

Regarding Mypoints, what is the minimum amount needed to redeem for gift cards and the like?

I can't seem to find this info on the website.

If you look under the tab that says rewards, and redeem rewards, it should give a breakdown of the point values for the gift cards they have available at that time.

 

[StitchBuddy]

Birthdays and Christmas, I don't know what you spend on these or your family situation. But, my niece bought her son his ticket to WDW for Christmas and just a couple of other small things. The rest of the family bought him stuff and he never really knew the difference. Most kids have more toys etc... than they can play with. We are big on buying Park Hoppers with Water Parks and more 10 day non-expiration tickets. This way the next time we go back all we really have to pay for is the hotel.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

I got a quote from Dreams Unlimited that is about $200 less than the Disney site price AND it includes hopper tickets and water park add on. The $200 would pay for the transportation from Sanford Airport to the hotel.

 

[clutter]

Credit cards and I don't really get along. I have tow with VERY low limits. I try to pay them off as often as I can.



Technically a family of five...but the last one won't count when we're there.

As for my quote, it is 8 days, 9 nights ASMu Family Suite, Park Hopper with Water Park, with DDP (this is a big must, yes). When we went in 2007 (one boy was 7 the other was 1), we used the DDP to our advantage and ate like kings. The time frame we're going is the last week of August (HOT, I know) which is a value season. I'm waiting to see if an August code pops up for 2012...

But the last week of August is my favorite time to go! Sure it'll be hot, but I've been there when it's been hotter. And the crowds are pretty slowed down. With luck, they'll add free dining for next year.

As for water parks, if you're only planning to go once, maybe it'll be less expensive to do one-day passes to them, instead of the add-on? I've never priced it out.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

As for water parks, if you're only planning to go once, maybe it'll be less expensive to do one-day passes to them, instead of the add-on? I've never priced it out.

A quick search found (and it may be wrong, so feel free to chime in people!) $45 for adults and $40 for kids. It would be about $170 for tickets for my family for one day. Is is a savings...so that's a consideration as well.

 

[neatokimmo]

I think going to a water park with an infant will be a PITA. You won't be doing anything as a family. Someone will have to stay at the chairs while the others are in the water. At least in the parks you can watch shows together.

 

[DisneyGuy758]

I think going to a water park with an infant will be a PITA. You won't be doing anything as a family. Someone will have to stay at the chairs while the others are in the water. At least in the parks you can watch shows together.

I know exactly what you're saying, but. My DW isn't much of a ride person, so I would be with the two older boys, and she'd have the younger boy (yes, the new one is a boy as well...ugh) in a splash pool.

When we went in 2007, my now DS4, had a blast and wasn't a PITA to have with us at any point. I'm looking forward to his return, and to see how my yet to be born will be around the characters. DS4 LOVED them...as seen here...

 

[disneychic2]

I've never priced it out, but others on the DIS have said that getting two connecting rooms is cheaper than the suites. You may want to check that out. I was going to suggest paying for just one day for the water parks, but I see someone already did. I think that's the way to go. I think you're smart with the park hopper since you'll be there so long. We can't do without them!

 

[DisneyGuy758]

Since I started going with my mother in 1996, I have never not had park hopper tickets. To quote one of my favorite movie characters.

"It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

 

[sydneysmom]

the best advice I can give you is put yourself on a budget. Write down ALL of your expenses....from auto insurance, gas, utilities, food shopping, etc...ALL of it. We did Dave Ramsey and it was THE best thing we ever did. At first, it's quite scary to see how much you actually spend, but there's a peace that comes with knowing exactly where your money's going and how much you have left for savings.

We refinanced our house 2 years ago and the difference that we saved each month on our mortgage came out to $ 155 / month. We decided we were going to open a vacation account and let that money be direct deposited into vacation. We already had the money budgeted for the mortgage, so we just didn't change our amount. It's amazing how fast it grows. But if you make a little vacation account and direct deposit money into it, you'll get used to it not being in your normal budget. It's hard at first, but you WILL adjust. You just make some changes elsewhere.

 

[momminnie]

As for my family, we have paid for the park hopper the past 3 times and have not made use of it. we stay in a park till it closes and we plan our meals for that park or our resort. We hopped parks 1 time before and it was a lot of wasted time we could have spent in a park. We don't go back to our resort to nap either. Even when our son was a baby, he would nap in the stroller and he was fine. I have made use of the baby station on a couple of occasions. We think we could have saved that money on the park hoppers and put it toward something of use for us. That is just our family and our opinion. Our son didn't need a break but I see where a family with 3 sons might. Hope everything works out great for all of you and congratulations on the up coming birth. The memories in Disney are the best and even with a small one it was not a PITA for us.Have a great time.