Spending money for children while at WDW

[scrapbookmommy]

I'm trying to figure out what will work best for my kids for their spending money. DD is 13 and DS is 5 and I know she will understand the money she has and how much is left and it has to last her. DS is just 5 so he is going to have a harder time with it. So I wondered do you all find it best to give them so much to spend per day so they don't spend it all at once. Also I was thinking about putting their money on Disney gift card. It seems this would be safest for DD so she isn't keeping up with cash but for DS I worried it would be harder for him to understand how much he has left but I don't want him to feel left out that she got a cute little gift card. What do you all find works best for the kiddos? So far as the gc goes can they be bought on site or do you have to buy them ahead of time online? Also how much do you all give your kids to spend each day or for a 1 week stay? TIA

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I would think too that a gift card would be too hard for a 5 yo to understand that there is only so much left on it. Cash or Disney dollars would be much easier from that perspective. As far as DD13 goes, if she looses the gift card she will still be in the same boat as if she lost cash. I doubt she would get it back.
My kids only really asked for stuff when we were in the gift shops and they saw something that they wanted. Otherwise, they were too busy with the rides and characters to care about "stuff". So staying out of the gift shops is key to cutting down on the "I wants". Some people find that something everyday is best and others find that waiting until the day they leave to buy something works best so I can't really say which will work for your family.

 

[ScrapperBelle]

Our kids always had their own spending money. Youngest DS was 4 when he 1st went to WDW. When we left for the trip, I explained to him how much money he had and showed it to him. We laid it all out on the table and counted it. I kept the money on me and gave him some when he wanted to buy something. He would buy what he wanted and that evening back at the hotel, we could count out his money again and take away from it whatever he spent.

It was easier for him to handle the concept of seeing his actual money and watching the money being deducted from it than the vague idea of money on a card. He could have handled the card concept better a couple of years later.

As for how much they spend, the most our 2 boys ever spent was $150 (during a 12 day stay). DD once spent $300 in the 1st few days! (but she was 16 and had saved money all year...this was mostly for clothes). She spent a total of about $500 on that trip. We don't "give" our kids any spending money. They earn money and save their bday & Christmas money. DH and I usually buy 1 thing for them during our trip.

 

[Faldred]

I bought some "play money" at a dollar store for DS3. He'll get an "allowance" per day, which he can spend on anything he fancies (exceptions: no food as we'll have plenty on DxDP, nothing we deem too dangerous for him or to have around DD2/DS2), or save up to buy something bigger later in the week.

It'll be a good opportunity to teach a small lesson about the value of money and saving. He's only 3 (almost 4), so I don't expect a huge success on that front, but you got to start somewhere...

Using the "play money" means he'll be allowed to keep and use his own "money" without any fear of real loss if he misplaces it. If he wants to buy something, he can "pay" me or DW for it, and then we'll actually buy it on the KTTW card. This will allow us to "fudge" issues like sales tax and things like that which are beyond him at this age.

 

[wishtdream]

My DD is 6. The last 3 years she has had $50 per 4 days of vacation. That way she has a back up if she spends the money on nonsense. We hold the cash. We vacation at least 2x per year so she has had lots of practice with this system. She usually has lots of money left. She also receives a weekly allowance as long as she does what she is supposed to. It helps her learn to manage her money.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I carried my kids spending money.
I was going to do a gift card for DS13 but he said he would rather have the cash. He cracked me up too. He only bought one thing with his 75.00 and then saved the rest for when we got home so he could get a video game.

I figured that I wanted to keep DD9's money cash so she could keep an eye on her spending. I was right - she wanted, wanted, wanted tons of stuff but once she realized she only had so much cash she was more careful with her money.

 

[cbrooks45]

so do you guys think $40 per day for a 13 and 16 year old is sufficient?

 

[jaminmd]

I gave my DD 11 a combination of cash (up to $40 at a time), Disney dollars ($20) & a Disney gift card ($50). She's very responsible about carefully opening/closing her fanny pack & making sure she didn't lose any money.

In all, she had $500 to spend, so I held on to most of it & replenished it as needed with the exception of the above. Yes, $500 is excessive for a child that age (in case anyone feels the need to question that). She's been told she has a $200 limit for the next trip.

 

[kristinw3girls]

I have always kept each girls $ in a baggie W/ her name on i. We stressed to them that when the $ is gone, so are the presents. My girls were five years old and up and handled this very well. None of them blew the $ on the 1st day, and they actually saved some for the airport! Too funny! They took their own $ (around $100 each), and always come home W/ some left.

 

[wishtdream]

so do you guys think $40 per day for a 13 and 16 year old is sufficient?

Per child? That depends on what you are expecting them to buy with it. If it is just souvenirs then yes. If you are including lunch and snacks maybe. Anything more than that would be pushing it.

 

[Mandychelle79]

Each of my kids had about 200 dollars when we last went to disney (when they were 2 and 4). My parents saved their change and dollars for them ( their choice) so we wouldnt have to worry about presents for them. We divided the money up each day and thats what they had to spend. They typically got one thing from each park that we went to and on the last day we let them go hog wild with what they had left.

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

i held my kids money - they each picked a couple things to buy with their own money but were much too busy on rides & shows. Then again they were 4 & 3 & 9months. ( the 9 month ol did not have her own money) We did buy some pins too. I think they each had about $60 to spend the whole trip of "Their" money - we bought them a couple things too but kept them hidden until we got home.