Sort of a budget ? about money in the parks

[cheermom1]

We will have all the money for this trip in June and i am trying to figure out how to carry all this money??

Should I put it on my prepaid card and do they have a limit of how much can be put on those cards? Or should we just carry the cash? I don;t really want to do that.

Also we want to give each kid about 50 bucks to spend and should I get gifts cards for them or just cash? I am asking b/c dh thinks cash in case they don't buy anything in disney.

Also we want to give each kid 15 bucks a day for food so i am wondering if we should put that on their card if we get them one all at once or give cash each day but then if we put the money on the card we can't give cash??

so confused

Breath breath!!!

 

[RedfromNL]

We will have all the money for this trip in June and i am trying to figure out how to carry all this money??

Should I put it on my prepaid card and do they have a limit of how much can be put on those cards? Or should we just carry the cash? I don;t really want to do that.

Also we want to give each kid about 50 bucks to spend and should I get gifts cards for them or just cash? I am asking b/c dh thinks cash in case they don't buy anything in disney.

Also we want to give each kid 15 bucks a day for food so i am wondering if we should put that on their card if we get them one all at once or give cash each day but then if we put the money on the card we can't give cash??

so confused

Breath breath!!!

Great idea

When I went on holidays with my parents as a kid we always got a certain amount in cash for souvenirs and or snacks. We new that that money had to last us the entire holiday and once gone we wouldn't get anymore.

So we wanted to spend it all on icecream: ok, our choice.

We always got cash in hand at the start of the holiday. Much nicer that way: It was REAL money and ( to us) a lot of it.

It did teach us how to budget and to consider what we really wanted instead of just wanting the first nice thing we saw

So I'd give them cash and good luck with i.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Marionnette]

We will have all the money for this trip in June and i am trying to figure out how to carry all this money??

Should I put it on my prepaid card and do they have a limit of how much can be put on those cards? Or should we just carry the cash? I don;t really want to do that.

Also we want to give each kid about 50 bucks to spend and should I get gifts cards for them or just cash? I am asking b/c dh thinks cash in case they don't buy anything in disney.

Also we want to give each kid 15 bucks a day for food so i am wondering if we should put that on their card if we get them one all at once or give cash each day but then if we put the money on the card we can't give cash??

so confused

Breath breath!!!

I'm not a big fan of prepaid cards. I usually take a combination of payment methods with me when I go. There's usually a pile of Disney gift cards earned from rewards programs. Then there's my debit card, two different credit cards and some cash. Between those, I have all my bases covered.

I keep a credit card on file with the resort and end up charging everything to my room. Then I pay it off with the GCs before I reach my spending limit. I carry some cash in case I run into somewhere that doesn't take the room key for purchases.

I would give the kids a certain amount of cash for their food each day or allow them charging privileges if you trust them not to go crazy in the arcades and gift shops. If giving them cash, I would not give it to them all at once.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Putting all of your money on one card is risky. It's a good idea to mix it up a bit.

Are your kids paying for their meals or just snacks?

 

[pigletto]

For the kids spending money I load it on to a Disney gift card when I get there (you can't buy them in Canada). They can hold on to them, or if they are younger, keep them in on you. Anytime you use it, you can ask for the balance remaining so you can keep track.
I'm not a fan of any prepaid cards simply because I don't want to pay a fee no matter how small.
This works for us, because we know we'll be going back at some point and the kids have their remaining balance to start them off on the next trip.

 

[Swan4Me]

$15 for food-exactly which meal is that for

One meal at a fast food-it will cover that-and thats it

 

[Nayan]

I think $15 for food isn't quite enough. I am a lightweight and don't consume much but even $15 wouldn't cover me. I would suggest heading over to AllEars to check out menus at the CS places in the park.

I do like the idea of putting money on the gift cards though .

 

[marie1203]

Are you staying at a Disney resort? If you are i would charge things to the room and pay it at the end. I would take some cash too but not too much. As for the kids you know them best, but $15 a day doesn't seem enough. At least $30 a day is what you will need for2 cs and a snack.

 

[punkin]

I generally put everything on a credit card. I do not like carrying cash around the parks all day (or leaving it in the room for that matter).

 

[PelletierBears]

I would think your kids are old enough to be responsible with cash (12 yr old maybe not? )

We usually give our kids (DS 18, DD 15) disney gift cards but our son isn't a big shopper so we buy his card back once home so he can have pocket $$$.
I hate the thought of them losing cash so a GC is more for my peace of mind.

Now that DS is older he'll bring his own spending $$ and we'll give DD ...probably a gift card again since she loves to shop in Disney!

 

[KathleensKid]

Regarding whether to give your teenagers 50 dollar Disney gift cards depends on the kids and whether you care what they spend it on. If the money is for the trip only (use it or lose it) - gift cards are the way to go. If you don't mind if they wait until they get home and use the money on a new wii game (or whatever), then use cash or a non disney prepaid card. IF you trust them to not go over budget, you can also have them charge things on their KTTW cards and pay those off at your resort every day.

Regarding food money, I'd do that on a Disney card too. (whether $15 is enough depends on what you are expecting them to get with that money). Same as above, IF you trust them not to go over budget, have them charge to their KTTW cards.

I'm a big fan of gift cards - we bought several thousand dollars of Disney cards in the months leading up to our trip last year. We get double fuel points at our grocery store and saved a few hundred dollars in gas by getting the gift cards. I would buy them and go home and call Disney and apply them to our reservation. By the time we left, everything was paid and all we carried in the parks were our KTTW. I would then go to the desk to apply gift cards to our KTTW balance. It worked great and I figure that gas savings was "free" money that helped put a tiny dent in the overall cost of our trip.

 

[goofyredraider]

My kids have Mastercard debit/prepaid cards through USAA (yes, even my 6 year old). All their money they save goes in that account (tooth fairy, allowances, birthday, etc.). So, they will use those. I haven't decided yet, but I think we will add a little bit to it before our May trip rather than a GC.

As for us, we are buying GCs to use in the parks (I'm buying $25/week until we leave) will carry some cash. Whatever we don't use will be applied to the next trip we take to Disney.

 

[cheermom1]

Regarding whether to give your teenagers 50 dollar Disney gift cards depends on the kids and whether you care what they spend it on. If the money is for the trip only (use it or lose it) - gift cards are the way to go. If you don't mind if they wait until they get home and use the money on a new wii game (or whatever), then use cash or a non disney prepaid card. IF you trust them to not go over budget, you can also have them charge things on their KTTW cards and pay those off at your resort every day.

Regarding food money, I'd do that on a Disney card too. (whether $15 is enough depends on what you are expecting them to get with that money). Same as above, IF you trust them not to go over budget, have them charge to their KTTW cards.

I'm a big fan of gift cards - we bought several thousand dollars of Disney cards in the months leading up to our trip last year. We get double fuel points at our grocery store and saved a few hundred dollars in gas by getting the gift cards. I would buy them and go home and call Disney and apply them to our reservation. By the time we left, everything was paid and all we carried in the parks were our KTTW. I would then go to the desk to apply gift cards to our KTTW balance. It worked great and I figure that gas savings was "free" money that helped put a tiny dent in the overall cost of our trip.

First I am still working on reading

I do LOVE this idea of the gc and applying the money that way to the reservation before we leave thank you this idea.

And great ideas so far that I have read.

To answer a few questions I have been on allears and looking at the menus and we are looking at lunch only with that 15 bucks. I will have snacks and other things for them. Then dinner is together that is why it is only 15 bucks.

thanks now back to reading.

 

[cheermom1]

When they took our disney store out I haven't seen any GC for them anywhere. So i know I can get them on their site but I know myself and i probably won't buy them that way and I like the idea of buying so many a week.

Thanks for that idea. Thanks for all the idea here.

Some kids may spend all their money there and some may not. Since we don;t have a store here that is why i am so flip flop on the idea of GC for their spending money.

I also don;t think there is a program about buying gc to save on gas here. I have never heard of it. But I will look.

Thanks everyone

 

[disneyjunkie]

Don't forget to budget extra for snacks. No matter how many sacks you pack from home, the kids (and you) will want some of the yummy treats in the parks.

 

[Southernmiss]

When they took our disney store out I haven't seen any GC for them anywhere. So i know I can get them on their site but I know myself and i probably won't buy them that way and I like the idea of buying so many a week.

Thanks for that idea. Thanks for all the idea here.

Some kids may spend all their money there and some may not. Since we don;t have a store here that is why i am so flip flop on the idea of GC for their spending money.

I also don;t think there is a program about buying gc to save on gas here. I have never heard of it. But I will look.

Thanks everyone

Our Walgreens has Disney Gift Cards on their gift card wall. Maybe you could find some gift cards there.

I carry a very small amount of cash into the park each day, maybe $20 and never have used it. We charge to the room (we do keep a CC on file for charges) and then pay it off at the end of the trip with our CC.

The kids carry their own $ but not more than $50 a day unless they are buying something specific. I am just funny about carrying lots of $ around all day.

 

[cheermom1]

Don't forget to budget extra for snacks. No matter how many sacks you pack from home, the kids (and you) will want some of the yummy treats in the parks.

Yep since I will be bring lots of snacks and they will have them available to them any time they want so if they want something in the park they can take it out of their own money. Thanks

 

[cheermom1]

Regarding whether to give your teenagers 50 dollar Disney gift cards depends on the kids and whether you care what they spend it on. If the money is for the trip only (use it or lose it) - gift cards are the way to go. If you don't mind if they wait until they get home and use the money on a new wii game (or whatever), then use cash or a non disney prepaid card. IF you trust them to not go over budget, you can also have them charge things on their KTTW cards and pay those off at your resort every day.

Regarding food money, I'd do that on a Disney card too. (whether $15 is enough depends on what you are expecting them to get with that money). Same as above, IF you trust them not to go over budget, have them charge to their KTTW cards.

I'm a big fan of gift cards - we bought several thousand dollars of Disney cards in the months leading up to our trip last year. We get double fuel points at our grocery store and saved a few hundred dollars in gas by getting the gift cards. I would buy them and go home and call Disney and apply them to our reservation. By the time we left, everything was paid and all we carried in the parks were our KTTW. I would then go to the desk to apply gift cards to our KTTW balance. It worked great and I figure that gas savings was "free" money that helped put a tiny dent in the overall cost of our trip.

How does this gas program work?? I have never heard of something like this so if you could tell me how it works so that I might be able to see if it something we can do. thanks

 

[ZehnJahren]

When I was a kid, there weren't gift cards - there was Mickey Money, but that was more for fun. I was given a certain amount of money, and if I lost it or spent it, then my tears were in vain because that's all I got. I lost a little money once and after I realized I wasn't going to get it replaced, I learned a valuable lesson about watching it like a hawk! I was relatively young when this practice started (definitely younger than 10, probably more like around 6 or 7), but I understood that my parents were sticking by it.

I say take cash (either with you, or go to an ATM) and store it in the safe until you need it. Use CC for big purchases and meals that you can charge back to the room; then you can pay for that with your debit card or gift cards. I'm traveling cash-only next week while I'm in the park (cc will, of course, come for emergencies). I'll be bringing the cash with me and storing it in the safe until I need it - no room-charging for me this trip!

 

[KathleensKid]

How does this gas program work?? I have never heard of something like this so if you could tell me how it works so that I might be able to see if it something we can do. thanks

Our grocery stores Kroger and Martins offer fuel savings with your grocery rewards card. I never pay full price for gas b/c of this program.
Basically every dollar you spend at the grocery store is equal to 1 point. However, at Kroger, gift cards are worth double points and sometimes during specials, gift cards are worth 4 points per dollar!
100 points equals 10cents off per gallon.
and that accumulates so
200 points = 20 cents off
up to
1000 points = 1.00 off per gallon.

Depending on how much I've been spending at the grocery store I usually save 10-50 cents a gallon. It is easy free money. I just use my rewards card at the store and then swipe it at a participating gas station. No thought required and with a 20 gallon tank on my minivan, even 10 cents off adds up!

We did not do a budget vacation last time (9 days, deluxe hotels and a ton of character meals, souvenirs, etc) so I think I bought 3,000 dollars in gift cards. Some were worth quadruple points and some worth double points. So just from our Disney gift card, I got about 10,000 points.

Our Kroger has a massive display of gift cards from hundreds of places. I have friends who get gift cards at the grocery store many of their other purchases to gain fuel points.
Heading to Applebees for dinner? Go get a gift card first. Heading to the movies, get a gift card first. Need to order something from Amazon, go get a gift card and so on.

Here's the info from Kroger:
http://www.kroger.com/in_store/fuel/Pages/b.aspx
And Martins:
http://richmond.martinsfoods.com/shareddev/sharedcontent/OurStores/Departments/fuelperks/index.cfm