Saving your way to Disney........

[momof3disneyholics]

I'm interested in hearing some ideas on ways you save for your trip. I do so many cost cutting things in the months prior to us going (not eating out as much, shopping the clearance racks, not giving in to every toy they see at the store, Mom doesn't get that expensive perfume) that it made me wonder if anyone else does the same. Our Disney vacations are so important to us because when we are on vacation it is all about our family being together. I'd like to hear some ways that other families sacrifice and save to do the same for their family.

 

[I Intrigue You]

We make a deposit into our vacation fund every payday. One thing that really works for me is saving change, I just counted and rolled up the change that I've been saving for the last year and we had $420.00. The biggest sacrifice that we make is not eating out as much which is a killer for us because we despise cooking I've always shopped clearance racks. I rarely ever pay full price for clothing.....I also go to garage sales you can get great deals on barely used children's clothes.

It's easy for me to save money when I know the end result will bring me to my favorite place in the world

Jenn

 

[Julle]

My DH and i don't have kids yet, but we still spend a lot of time saving for our disney trips. We don't put anything on credit cards, we pay for our disney trips upfront. Then there is no surprises when we come home. We are going from Sept. 21 - 28 and will be celebrating our third anniversary and my birthday!! (this will be our 5th disney trip!)

We haven't eaten out in months, don't buy clothes etc at all these last couple of months, and save all our change!! We buy esstenial disney survival stuff when its on sale (sunscreen, moleskin, socks etc!) I get an expense check with my job so that goes into our disney money also.

We also aren't reall into trying lots of restarurants while at disney - we are either too hot, too tired or having too much fun to eat!! We always eat at crystal palace (my favorite) and will do some special meal for our actual anniversary day.

 

[grinningghost]

The most important thing we do is book far enough ahead so we can pay off the hotel and park passes with cash before we arrive. We do use our credit card for meals, souveniers - but I'm very crazy about paying that off quickly when we get home (gotta think about the next trip you know ).

We also eat out less, don't make major purchases in the months prior to our trip, that kind of thing.

I usually do a garage sale just before the trip, but this year I actually don't have enough stuff to sell (I must have been very good at trashing stuff this year).

Best move I've made this time is we're going the final week of August, and I've held off on summer clothes purchases until August - when all the shorts and summer shirts are on clearance. We'll be well dressed for WDW at a fraction of the normal price.

 

[soccer mom]

Roll change, but we don't spend it either. If something costs $1.01, I won't give them a penny, I want my 99 cents back for Disney. Usually gives us about $50 a month. Rebates, refunds and "free" money, i.e. money in a card from mom, anything unexpected goes into disney fund. We have a special bank account for Disney only. Also have set amount transfered into that account every pay day. Also, we charge everything including utilities, insurance, etc. (and pay it off each month!!) and get money back once a year for that.

We all get into it and I think its good for the kids to realize you need to save for what you want.

 

[sherry8253]

We save all of our change throughout the year. Last year, we cashed in over $900 in change. Throughout the day, we pay for everything with bills and use no change at all and throw the change into a big jar at the end of the day. Sometimes the cashier at the cafeteria at my work place kind of glares at me when my bill is $2.01 and I give hime $3.00 so I get the 99 cents in change. But for some reason, it is almost painless to save this way. You don't seem to miss the money. We also put all of our income tax refunds into our Disney vacation fund. We save by driving instead of flying and renting a car. We are about 16 hours away and drive straight through rather than paying for an extra night at a hotel. Between the change & the tax refunds, and the amount we save by not having to pay for plane tickets or a rental car, we are pretty much set.

 

[TLinden16]

I have a special vacation bank account that I put $15 a week in right off the bat. I add my change (usually about $500 a year) to that whenever I can.

I get the same amount of money every week when i go to the bank machine. If I have money left at the end of the week, I put it in my vacation savings account.

I keep an envelope in my desk at work for snack money. Whenever I have the urge to hit the vending machine for a soda or a candy bar, I stop and ask myself if I really want that snack. If I decide not to get the snack, I put the dollar I would have spent in the envelope. When every I accumulate $20 or $30, the money goes into my bank account. It's amazing how much you can save when you cut out the little things.

Karen

 

[buckeye]

There's a great thread over on the Budget Board that has a lot of great money-saving ideas! I learned a lot reading it. It's called "Help... I want to go back to WDW...." It's on the first page of threads.

Good luck and Happy Saving!

 

[Ratpack]

Never spend any change, throw it in a jar at the end of each day and you will be surprised how quickly it adds up. Also we Ebay anything we can, extra cash and less house clutter. Then any extra money we get, B-day, Christmas, bonus and so forth goes to the trip. We try to plan a year or at least 6 months prior so that we have the time to pay for the trip before we leave. I set up a savings account just for trip money. That way I can check it online and see where we are.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I love all these great ideas! We also ebay alot. I sell all of my children's clothes on ebay, then buy all their clothes for the upcoming season on ebay as well. I love the idea about saving change. I have one of those huge pickle jars that I have been wondering what to do with. I am going to put a whole in the top and start today. My kids would love that because they are always finding change and hording it. Thanks so much for the ideas!

 

[scanne]

We save our change, too and I can't wait to go to the bank in the next week or so to see what we're up to. I also teach voice lessons from my home (in addition to my full time teaching job) and I put my lesson money in a can that says "Disney or Bust!"

This year, when I go back to work (I'm a teacher and I'm off for the summer ) I am going to open a credit union account and have them deduct $100 a month and put it right in that account. This will be our Disney account and whenever I can put more towards it, I will.

With my lesson money for our last trip I saved up over $1000, so we had all our spending money. This time I'm up to about $700 plus a huge change jar that we have to cash in.

I can't wait to go get my traveler's cheques.......it means the trip is closer!!!

 

[zcomic]

This tip isn't about saving money but reducing the cost of our next trip. We have a Mastercard from Midwest Airlines and every dollar you spend is worth a mile. We charge EVERYTHING we can rather than writing checks then pay the bill at the end of the month. Add up how much you spend on food, gas, utilities, daycare, etc..... in a month and it's amazing how fast the miles pile up. Our family of 4 is flying for free this year and have more than enough miles left for another trip.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Something else I forgot to mention that we do in order to save for a trip is every month I budget 200.00 into our "disney bill". I take the money out of the bank and put it away in my secret hiding spot and therefore it is not there to temp me into spending it. I also book my resort as early as I can and then I budget that in the bills every month too and pay on it until it is paid off. We don't have any credit cards that offer rewards but some of you are tempting me into looking into that.
I love all these ideas that you are giving me. Sometimes when I read these threads I think most people must be rich and able to go to Disney without any worry. I see now that there are people like me that sacrifice and save to give their families a piece of the magic!

 

[BethC1952]

I save money by changing my commuting habits once the weather is warm enough. During the cold months, I take a train to the nearest station to my office, and then a cab to the office (a $4.00 ride, + the $1.30 train ride). I take a cab all the way home again $6.00) because of the train schedule so that I don't have to wait outside in the really cold weather. Once the weather turns nice, I eliminate the cab ride in both directions. The walk to and from my office to the station gives me two miles of exercise each day, plus I save all that money, which goes into my "Disney Fund Box" every day.

Like so many others, I also save all of my change. My daughter-in-law just wrapped $90.00 for me! I also do a lot of knitting, and sell my hand-made items. All profit (everything except the cost of materials) goes into the fund too.

My husband and I don't exchange cards or gifts during the year. We much prefer to take our trips together! We're also not exchanging gifts with my son and daughter-in-law. Our gift to them is all the nights at WDW which we added to our cruise package.

We also downsized our living arrangements this spring, and now live in an apartment rather than a house, which results in a lot of savings. Half of that money goes right into our Disney Fund each month...I write a check to myself and deposit it in my "secret bank account" when I pay all the rest of my bills.

It takes a lot of discipline, but it makes a great vacation! And no bills when I get home is a great benefit, too!

Beth

 

[walt's assistant]

Right up front we are quite aggressive about getting the best deals we can on everything...hotels, car, tickets, etc. For example, by continuing to shop every piece of our upcoming trip we've saved more than $1200 already.

Meanwhile, it is a matter of saving a certain sum every month until the vacation budget has been funded.

WA

 

[WebTink]

At little unorthodox, but....we refinanced our house! Okay, we were going to do this anyway, because the rates are so good, but when I found out the amount we are getting back at closing along with getting to skip a payment in September, equals the amount of our Fairy Tale Package at the Polynesian almost exactly, I was so excited! We've already paid for the trip on the old credit card, now we will pay it off once the refi closes. Plus, our house payment is going down $200 and we no longer have to pay mortgage insurance! Wheeeee!

 

[WebTink]

I just thought of something else that we are doing. Because my husband gets paid every two weeks, we end up with a couple of "extra" paydays every year. This year, most of that payday that doesn't have to go to feeding us for a week, will be for our spending money at WDW.

Also, hoping to use the retroactive Child Tax Credit refund that's coming. My DH's SSN is in the first batch to get mailed out on 7/25, so it should be here before we leave 8/2.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I have been thinking about that advance payment of next year's child tax credit too, with 3 kids that equals 1200.00! We are going again in November to the Poly for a week, so that will definately help out our trip too!
Hey Webtink, thanks for reminding me of that, and congrats on your refinance!

 

[WebTink]

Hey, momof3, you'll be able to put your refund in the bank and earn a little interest even!

 

[*Flower*]

We save change and $1 bills. The change goes into a jug that we don't touch, and the bills go into the drawer below the jug. Of course we took out some ones for our trip to NYC for our anniversary (thanks for all the help everyone), but it was just for tips and housekeeping, etc.

I also write a set amount of money out of the checking account each payday. I don't move it (though I should)- I just subtract it out of the ledger, and keep a running talley to show what's in the Christmas trip fund.

We're having my brother and his family join us for Christmas at Disney, and every little bit helps.
We already have the accommodations and the passes taken care of (of course now they're thinking about coming out earlier), and are tracking the airline websites for good fares.
I'm hoping that SW comes through for them..... they'll be coming from San Diego.

Good luck to everyone!!!