Teach me to be a cheapskate

[karenbtx]

I read a great thread once about the best cheapskate things ever seen at disney. For example a family brought a loaf of bread into the park. They bought a turkey leg and made sandwiches for four.

My family is going June 6-13 and staying at CSR. There are 4 of us DH and twin DS's (7). This is our second trip to WDW so we know our way around somewhat. One of my sons only eats hotdogs so we already plan to have groceries delivered by wegoshop.com and bring hotdogs into the parks with us.

I'm not really a cheapskate but I want to be one. Any and all nice suggestions are welcome.

June 2004 Land/Sea POR/Wonder
June 2005 CSR

 

[stahshee]

ok i am a mom of 4 i have some cheep rules
1. always have the children share drinks or get water
2. split food up between all of you. order pasta you get more for your money
3 bring some snacks into the park
4. bring sandwhich baggies to store your left overs
4. bring lunchables to the park or vienna sausage and place that on bread and use ketchup.
5 get free sample from laundry soap companys to bring on your trip.
6 do not buy pool toys at the hotel buy them at walmart and bring them with you

 

[MEM]

I read a great thread once about the best cheapskate things ever seen at disney. For example a family brought a loaf of bread into the park. They bought a turkey leg and made sandwiches for four.

My family is going June 6-13 and staying at CSR. There are 4 of us DH and twin DS's (7). This is our second trip to WDW so we know our way around somewhat. One of my sons only eats hotdogs so we already plan to have groceries delivered by wegoshop.com and bring hotdogs into the parks with us.

I'm not really a cheapskate but I want to be one. Any and all nice suggestions are welcome.

June 2004 Land/Sea POR/Wonder
June 2005 CSR

Are you talking about being more careful with money in your everyday life or just while at WDW? I would start by referring to yourself as "a frugal person" rather than "a cheapskate" which in my opinion has negative connotations.
I think of frugality as a game -- how much can I get for my money? Finding a great deal on something my family needs is very satisfying -- just this past weekend I hit a yardsale in which a teenager was selling her outgrown clothes for 25cents each. I purchased 6 nearly new sweaters for my daughter for next winter as well as a knit boa-type scarf for me, also for a quarter. I do not let my frugality make my family or friends uncomfortable which in my mind makes me "frugal" and not "cheap."

If you are talking about being frugal only while at the World, I have dozens of ideas I can share. I suggest you first try a search on this forum. Many of us are frugal in our day-to-day life so that we can let loose alittle while on vacation and also afford to take a vacation in the first place!

 

[karenbtx]

I want to hear great ideas for Disney. I hate it when I could have gotten something cheaper or for free and I didn't know about it. I like the word Cheapskate. It's sort of a status symbol in my neighborhood.

 

[dzneelvr]

We use our Disney Visa to build Reward Dollars that can be spent almost anywhere around WDW. It's not a "cheap" idea, but it is money that you are getting free for purchases you'd be making anyway. Also, check out the discounts for resorts up until you leave. We saved over $400 last trip on our room by getting a discount code and revising our original ressie (never cancel and re-do; always revise). That's a better deal than eating turkey legs and bread!!!!! Annual Passes are good for long trips even if you only go once a year. We get additional discounts off meals and purchases, so again, free money. I call it being smart

 

[karenbtx]

How do I find out about discount codes for my resort? I don't really care that much about saving money as I want to hear funny disney cheapskate ideas.

 

[momoftwins]

You did not say whether you were staying on a package or got one of those great PIN codes. If you did not get either and you have AAA, reprice your trip with Disney asking for a AAA discount. (If you did not get a PIN, some people are reporting they are getting them by asking if there is one under their name when they call).

We go at least every year, so we are buying 10 day hopper passes with no expiry and will get more than one trip out of them. We always needs to have down days so this works for us.

We always bring water into the parks. Waters are $1.25 ea for the smaller bottles, and I think $2.50 for the larger bottles. We always bring snacks. My twins are always hungry from all of the walking. As another OP suggested, we share food also. There are some very reasonable stands that sell fruit that is yummy.

Although it is nice to buy a few souvies in the parks, bring some with you that you can get on sale locally. My kids didn't care or know the difference.

Have fun planning.

 

[karenbtx]

We are on a package. MYW parkhopper. I'm going to try asking for a PIN. I'll post when I get an answer.

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming.

 

[DisneycrazedX6]

When we go to a buffet,I usually bring ziplock baggies for "some laters". Usually I just get candy,cereal,maybe an apple or banana. Last time though...we went to The Trailside Buffet and I took some Fried Chix. My three year old daughter loved it so much,I just had to take some for her.

 

[christinou]

Bring breakfast with you and eat breakfast in your room, I usually bring a couple of boxes of cereal, and just buy a quart of milk, then I just bring some plastic disposable bowls and voila insta breakfast that can be eaten at leisure.....
Buy the refillable mugs at the resort.

 

[ryanmilla]

We use our Disney Visa to build Reward Dollars that can be spent almost anywhere around WDW. It's not a "cheap" idea, but it is money that you are getting free for purchases you'd be making anyway.

Depending on your mortgage company you might be able to make your mortgage payments with your Disney Visa. Then just send your normal mortgage payment to the Visa card rather than your mortgage company. That is a quick way to rack up reward dollars. We are in the process of refinancing and I am definitely doing that. Hopefully, for our March trip we will have a bit saved up.

 

[TNKBELL]

Depending on your mortgage company you might be able to make your mortgage payments with your Disney Visa. Then just send your normal mortgage payment to the Visa card rather than your mortgage company. That is a quick way to rack up reward dollars. We are in the process of refinancing and I am definitely doing that. Hopefully, for our March trip we will have a bit saved up.

Now that is a great idea!!!!!!!! I have been putting off getting another credit card but now I may just have too!!!

 

[buzz2400]

Some ways to save money at disney:
if have car, go to walmart or food store and buy soda and snacks.
bring snacks into the park.
all counter service will give you free ice water.
if you go to ak, buy the meal plan where you get a meal and soda, plus coupons to later buy ice cream/popcorn and another soda.
if don't have access to car, buy the refillable mugs at resorts.
if you have kids, buy a noodle for the pool at walmart. only about $1 and gives them hours of enjoyment.

 

[pjlla]

When we go to a buffet,I usually bring ziplock baggies for "some laters". Usually I just get candy,cereal,maybe an apple or banana. Last time though...we went to The Trailside Buffet and I took some Fried Chix. My three year old daughter loved it so much,I just had to take some for her.

Just a warning... you may be flamed for admitting this. I am not going to give you a hard time because heaven knows I am far from perfect.... but lots of people will feel free to flame you heavily for admitting to "stealing" from the buffet...............P

 

[CheapMom]

I think you may find that it is pretty hard to pay your mortgage with a CC. Many won't take CCs and others that do charge a fee. If there are any banks that take CCs as mortgage payment- I would love to know which ones do this. (If I ever refinance I would consider this for the rewards)

 

[flagdaytwins]

To me, a cheapskate is someone who is staying off-site but parks at a resort and takes Disney transportation to the parks.....to save a whole $8 (nevermind violate a few rules!).

Being frugal to me is the same as being money smart -- why would you spend $2.50 on a 99 cent bag of chips at Disney???? Well...that would be when you forgot to pack snacks of course! It was tough to carry around all our snacks and water.....but we saved some $$.

 

[karenbtx]

To me, a cheapskate is someone who is staying off-site but parks at a resort and takes Disney transportation to the parks.....to save a whole $8 (nevermind violate a few rules!).

Being frugal to me is the same as being money smart -- why would you spend $2.50 on a 99 cent bag of chips at Disney???? Well...that would be when you forgot to pack snacks of course! It was tough to carry around all our snacks and water.....but we saved some $$.

Ok based on that definition I guess I don't really want to be a cheapskate. I have gotten a few really good ideas. I don't want to break any rules but still get something cheap or free. I do admit that I take my own sodas into the movie so you know I'm bring them into the parks. More ideas are welcome. We leave June 5th.

 

[flagdaytwins]

Definately bring your own sodas and snacks....

I didn't see if you had kids -- toddlers -- ours like the individual fruit cups that Dole makes. They are easy to pack and loaded with sugar (a treat for my kids)....no need to refrigerate -- and they give my kids the energy they need to make it thru the day.

We bought all of our souvenirs at Wal-Mart down there in Kissimee....I felt so embarassed...but I saved some $$. They don't sell mouse ears tho -- plan accordingly!

I'm a stay at home mom so every penny counts!

 

[barb45]

I agree with the meal sharing and breakfast in the room. Even though we flew in last time I had brought a box of cereal in my luggage. Every night (we didn't have a fridge in our room) my 15 year old son ran down to the food court and bought milk which I put in the ice bucket over night. And there's breakfast! We also learned the hard way (it was just the 2 of us that trip) that we could share meals. Even though the waitress that we asked said that the meals weren't that big - they were! We only ate half of our food each - which means we could have ordered one entree and shared it thus making it half the price. One day we went to Disney Quest and weren't feeling to hungry. I decided to order just a Caesar Salad and my son had "just" nachos. When we were totally stuffed it didn't even look like we had touched our food. It felt a shame to throw it out but you can't keep food like that from going bad. Next time we will definitely share. Have fun with this.

Oh - here's a funny one for you (no flames please). We had to go into Orlando one day (when my husband was with us) to find a new bathing suit. While I went into the discount souvie store my husband started to chat it up with the guy at the "discount ticket booth". Since it was around lunch time and they were offering us $100.00 and free lunch buffet to look at a time share we took them up on the offer. After the tour we said no, took our money and our full bellies back to WDW.

 

[karenbtx]

Since it was around lunch time and they were offering us $100.00 and free lunch buffet to look at a time share we took them up on the offer. After the tour we said no, took our money and our full bellies back to WDW.

I don't think that is terrible at all especially at meal time. $100 and lunch is good for those things. Usually they want to give you some cheesy carriage ride. Thanks for the meal ideas.