Saving For WDW?

[AKL_Megs]

How do you budget saving for your WDW vacations?

We are in the process of buying a house, so every extra dollar goes towards that.

I would love to save money in either our savings or checking account, but worry that if it is saved there, we will just end up using it on things related to the house.

What do you do?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I purchase Disney Gift Cards ~
*Ships for free https://tickets.disney.go.com/buy/T...wtbjyX1JNqm2RYqU41yNIgAIeIiRK2oKPx3IWWxP2YrM=

I try and put $100 on a card each month ~ you can purchase a new card each time or add to an exsisting card by calling Disneyland DelivEARS (1-800-760-3566) and not the number that's on the back of the GC. They'll mail you a receipt within a couple days. I think they're great ~ I use them all over the place at DLR, I recently learned one can pay for their room (DLR hotels) with a Disney GC ~ I plan to do this for our 1 night @ the GCH in Sept.


*Adding ~

For our upcoming WDW trip ~ we booked this in April which gives us plenty of time to make payments. Heck if we enjoy WDW and I'm sure we will I'll book the next trip even further out so we'd have even longer to make payments. Our airfare is already purchased. For our DLR trips (we now have APs) I'll purchase our parkhoppers about 3 months or more out ~ purchase 1, the next month purchase another and just before we go purchase the last ticket. Last week DD and I dined with the princesses ~ I purchased character meal vouchers (which saved me some $$) a few weeks before our visit.

 

[starann]

Our plan is to put money away each month, then each month make a payment on our trip. I also figured that if we put it in a vacation saving account that if something came up, it would be the 1st account we 'borrow' (and never pay back) from. If I call WDW and make the payment, I can't 'borrow' it later!!!!!


Good Luck!

 

[VAN]

When I first bought a house, I could not afford to go on a nice vacation. If, as you say, every $ is going to the house, then you probably don't have an emergency fund.

My recommendation to to forget about a Disney vacation until you have a proper emergency account funded. Look around, people are losing their homes, etc because they spent money on things they could not afford.

Congratulations on the new home ... be patient ... a time will come when a Disney vacation is in the cards ... but I'd recommend working on that emergency fund first.

Sorry that this is not what you want to hear, but it is today's reality - especially as I see you live in Michigan ... double-digit unemployment and getting worse every day. Thank you Jennifer!!!

 

[Justsyd2]

We have a vacation savings account that we put money in each month. We don't go on vacation until there's enough to pay for the trip and cover our expenses.

 

[KELLY]

WE get a big tax refund every year. That is what we use.

 

[BLK]

Disney Visa dollars + Tax refund

 

[ccgirl]

As a PP mentioned, I also use Disney gift cards. Whether I keep it in my savings account, or keep it in a jar in my house, I always end up spending it. You could also consider a Vacation club account if your bank has one. Mine gives you a check in May and you get penalized if you withdraw early (so I'm not so tempted to do that). I also purchase major store gift cards a couple of months before Christmas and use those for my Christmas shopping. (again, can't just borrow the money if it's on the card).

Good luck saving for the house and have fun on vacation!!

 

[PinkRhombus]

I totally disagree with the idea of buying gift cards. Everything and anything can happen where you may need that money and you cannot get the money back off of the cards.

Start a separate savings for vacations if you like. Maybe you could do the payments to Disney...that can be refunded.

If you don't have an emergency fund set up, and if something does happen, like a new air conditioner that costs $3000, that savings account should be the first account that should be tapped into if it's not set aside in another account.

Needs before wants.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

When planning our trips I round everything up (like I figure food to be about $65 per person every day even though some days it won't cost that and figure room cost on rack rate even though I've never paid rack rate, etc.) and divide the cost by how many months I have until the trip. I then set up an automatic deposit to ING every paycheck for the amount I need to save (even though ING is only paying barely over 1% now~don't get me started~I still like how their website is laid out). Once I have enough money saved to buy tickets I usually do as ticket prices always go up. I'm currently saving for our 2011 trip (my bf surprised me with a trip next month but I want to vacation somewhere else next year) this way and will have $50-$100 paid in interest (depending, of course, on interest rates) by then.

I also pay EVERYTHING on my Disney VISA and pay it off every month (gas, groceries, new tires, vet appt.'s, anything and everything I can). I usually have a few hundred dollars every couple of years saved up.

I also have a regular, small, no-fee savings account at my credit union. I get direct deposit with my paycheck so I'll go online and transfer whatever the change was on the check to the savings account. It's not much but it usually equals $30-$50 by the time I go (but I don't use my credit union savings account for anything else).

 

[worm761]

I am planning a trip in 2011. I stopped working last year with the plans to get a part time job. I got pregnant and now won't be going back to work. To earn my Disney money I do rewards programs that pay cash. They don't pay a ton but it adds up over time and I have two years to save for it. We also have to make trips up to New York where DBF's family is so they can see the baby. That is why Disney needs to come from someplace else. If you want any advice on the rewards programs, feel free to PM me and I will share with you the ones I do.

 

[AKL_Megs]

When I first bought a house, I could not afford to go on a nice vacation. If, as you say, every $ is going to the house, then you probably don't have an emergency fund.

My recommendation to to forget about a Disney vacation until you have a proper emergency account funded. Look around, people are losing their homes, etc because they spent money on things they could not afford.

Congratulations on the new home ... be patient ... a time will come when a Disney vacation is in the cards ... but I'd recommend working on that emergency fund first.

Sorry that this is not what you want to hear, but it is today's reality - especially as I see you live in Michigan ... double-digit unemployment and getting worse every day. Thank you Jennifer!!!

Actually, we have a seperate "emergency" savings account that we DO NOT touch. It's the whole "6 months salary" kind of savings account. So no, that is not the issue here! The issue is, that every extra dollar we make since we've started looking goes into our "down payment" savings account. I just wanted ideas on how to NOT be tempted to just save the money for that purpose. Yes, times are tough in Michigan, but *knock on wood* we are doing well.

We have a vacation savings account that we put money in each month. We don't go on vacation until there's enough to pay for the trip and cover our expenses.

So, you have a totally seperate savings account JUST for vacations?

WE get a big tax refund every year. That is what we use.

Nice. Didn't even think about that!

 

[monorailsilver]

I just started saving about a month ago (really saving vs throwing in loose change).

Our trip isn't until 2012 & I want to go for 2 week so I have alot of money I need to save. My dh told me I need at least $6K. But I know if I save half of that he will be OK (that includes the airfare).

What I have been doing is taking $20 out every week for the past 3 or 4 weeks & putting it in my big crayon bank.

I still do the rewards sites & I am really trying to do the surveys on them vs before when I would just skip them. So I am hoping between survey's, clicking the emails or the things on the sites & shopping thru the sites that I will have at least $500 in free money, if not more. Currently I have about $150 in free money that I earned from the sites either cashed out or waiting for me to cash out.

If I sell stuff on CL I put that in my bank too.

Once I have about $500 in there I am going to try to throw it into a special savings account & continue to add to it.

I do know if I continue with this $20 a week thing, I will have $3000 by the time we go in the summer of 2012. So if I can't do the 2 weeks at the BC/Poly, I know I will be able to just do one week at the Poly fully paid for.

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

Hey Megs--
I know what you mean about if the money is sitting in your regular account you will just spend it!

What works well for us is having a separate savings account at a bank other than the one we normally bank at. For you it could be a local credit union through work, just another bank in town, or ING online. Set it up to automatically withdraw $X from your regular bank account every month. Then the money is "gone" so you don't see it and spend it, but it is still cash, very accessible, and set aside for DISNEY!

Good luck and congrats on the house!

 

[mzlee]

We have a separate savings account just for vacations. We have a set amount direct deposited everytime we get paid. We also started saving loose change earlier this year and I'm anxious to see how much change I have as I've only been saving that for about six months but I have one gallon milk jug already full and another one about 3/4 full. I just purchased our tickets this week and I'm happy to say that our upcoming trip is all paid for without using any credit cards. All we have to worry about is food and spending money which I think my change will cover.

 

[dawson5]

I purchase Disney Gift Cards ~
*Ships for free [cut URL, can't post links, even in quotes]

Are these the same gift cards that you can buy at the Disney stores in the mall? My best friend is taking her kids the day after Christmas, I was thinking about giving them gift cards for Christmas for when they are down there. I just thought I could buy those in the mall and give them to them, if it's not the same, I need to plan a bit more in advance.

 

[Kion10]

My goal is to save enough money by bargain shopping to take my family to Disney again. We went for 10 days (8 days in the parks) in May 2009 and had the time of our lives. We want to go again, but we want to do it without setting aside any money out of the budget. We don't want to feel the pinch of a Disney vacation.

I decided to challenge myself to see if I can save approximately $2200 in 51 weeks for our vacation. My blog chronicles my efforts as well as teaches you how I am doing it. You can chose to save your money for Disney, other vacations, other pleasures or anything in the world. The resources are out there. You just have got to know how to apply them to your life.

Here are the main ways I am saving the money:

* Rebates

* Surveys

* Saving My Coins

* Selling Items Around The House

* Money Left From The Grocery Budget

* Found Money

Since I started saving for Disney, I have saved approximately $106. (As this amount increases, I add it to the right side of my blog.) I have lots of pending money (rebates coming in the mail, surevey money that hasn't reached it cash out minimum yet, Paypal that I haven't cashed out, etc) that I will be adding to the funds in the next few weeks as it starts to arrive.

I opened up a separate savings account at the bank just for the Disney fund. The banker was so excited to learn about my efforts. My kids can't wait to return to Disney. They are helping me save too.

My husband gets paid every other Thursday. I allow us $150 every week. This money is for groceries, out to eat, entertainment, every item that we might need, every outing we might go on, etc. etc. comes out of this money. I get cash from the bank and I only break dollar bills. All coins go towards our trip.

Every Thursday, before we go to the bank to get the weeks allowance out and deposit whatever Disney funds we have accumulated over the week, my kids help me count out our coins and deposit them into their piggy banks.

Hope this helps!

 

[palavra]

Kion10, love your post and ideas!
We definitely can't afford a Disney vacation every year. At most, I hope to be able to save enough for one every 2-3 years. We are saving some each month by using coupons, getting out a set amount of money for food, clothing, entertainment, etc. and using found money (change found anywhere and selling small items). We put the deposit on a credit card that I will pay off before the trip. Dh also gets a bonus in September that we will use.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I have an interest bearing account that gets a little money every month. I purposely "forget" my log-in ID so I have to go through a complicated process to get access to the account. . .

The account only gets a little bit here or there, but it adds up. I'm currently plotting how I will keep DH's fingers out of it when he buys his truck next spring (we plan to pay cash for it) as if the account is raided there will be no Harry Potter and WDW next October. (And if there is no HP and WDW in 10/2010? I will NOT be fit to live with!)

 

[AshleyW]

We have a separate savings account through etrade that we use to save for vacation. We have a budget set up on Mint.com, and if we don't use up all of our budget then that money gets divided into our different savings accounts: emergency, gifts, vacation, etc. along with the money we regularly put in savings every month. My fiance and I are both still in school, so at the end of the semester, we sell our textbooks on half.com or Amazon and that money gets put into our savings account as well, instead of spending it. I also started working for kgb_ (kind of like ChaCha) and ALL of the money I make doing that gets put into our Disney fund.

Lately we've even gotten kind of addicted to savings, so it's fun each month to see how little we can spend and how much we can put towards Disney