The change jar is adding up!!!

[PrincessDana]

OK, I just had to check my change jar tonight (got some coin wrappers at the bank today) and thus far my balance is $71.00!!!

I'm excited, the change jar money is strictly for souvenirs for my October trip!!! I think I've been saving seriously for about three months. Still five more months to save!!

My ebay account is at $75+ (with only six items sold so far, I've got about 10 more definite things to list) and my goal is to earn enough from ebay to cover our food (only DD8 and myself).

The big yard sale is in four weeks and my total from that will determine our lodging (hoping for at least $500+--I'm selling some pretty big ticket items and people around here LOVE yard sales, I normally make $350+ with just my regular stuff).

I am anticipating an "extra" paycheck by mid-August (the extra comes from paying everything a few days ahead each month until all my bills are actually a month ahead of time) to pay for transportation.

And I'm receiving a check any day now to cover (2) 7-day PHP (which will be split up between this visit and a visit 12/04).

I just love planning for WDW!!!

Does all of the above seem like a weird way to save for a trip?? I'm a single mom and I feel overwhelmed if I think that I have to save this $$$$ large lump sum amount. I find that if I break the vacation into money categories it seems to come a little easier.

Anyway.....

I'm excited, can you tell???

 

[mad4themouse]

You GO, Girl! Those are some great ways to painlessly sock the bucks away!

I do the same thing as far as breaking things down into categories. Since I do a lot of rewards programs, I try to decide how the incentives from each program can be used for my WDW trip. Some rewards will pay for park passes, some for food, others for transportation. If I had to look at the big picture, it would set my head spinning!

I like the idea of paying the bills off a few days earlier every month until you're a full month ahead. What a great way to save ahead. My DH always pays the mortgage early to save on interest but I never thought of doing the same with some of the other bills. Hmmm, you just gave me some food for thought.

 

[beansmom]

I don't think it's weird at all.

I've been selling snacks at work for the last two months and have
made $115 so far. My mypoints goes for gas cards to use on the trip down $40 so far. Rebates, coupons savings, survey checks and other unexpected cash goes into my ing.com account.

We will also have a couple of 'free' paychecks and those will go into the ing as well until it is time to go.

I'm gonna put a few more things on ebay. I'm thinking about a yard sale but really don't have much except my extra stockpile of groceries. Maybe I will sell that. I;m a 'cleaner outer' and therefore have very little for ebay or yard sales. I will also try my hand at selling home-decorated wreaths on ebay this fall.

Alas, the change jar is empty-we pay for almost everything with our check card and carry very little cash.

But we'll get there. I've only just begun to think. (I guess I'd better stay out of the scrapbook stores for a while!)

 

[ticketwm35]

Speaking of saving change it does work.Last week my mom decided it was time to cash in Dad's Pennies nothing but pennies and guess how much we had 109.00 plus the coinstar machine took out there 10.00 So the grand total was 119.00.That was a ton of pennies.We were at the coinstar for 45 minutes.My father has always collected change.So guess what we are going to work on next you got it nickels here we come.

Ticketwm35

 

[pooh2001]

My amount is nothing like yours - But....
I rolled coins today while everyone was out
doing activities. Rolled $18.50 in coins.

Hey that's almost 2 days of ice cream or a t-shirt.

Every penny counts

Good luck to everyone saving.
Where there is a will, there is a way !

 

[house_of_princesses]

Our DD's (10, 9, 4 & 2) decided to save change and all "dollars" that came their way for holidays (Valentine's Day, Easter) went into the jar as well. They even agreed that one gift for their birthday and Christmas would do, if the money I would have spent goes in the jar. Of course I agreed, and my DH was so taken with their gesture he said he'll match what they save. (I think he'll be doing more than matching !) When asked what they wanted to save for, their immediate response was "A Disney Cruise!" We've never cruised before, so I don't know where this came from, but we're booked for 11/04 and the change has added up to just over $200.00!

 

[off2disney]

I just rolled my change ($60.00) and used it to open a separate account that's going to be my ebay account. I've researched and established an account and it's going to be my Disney fund

 

[capegirl]

We are leaving on Tuesday, and I am heading for the CoinStar machine at our local Stop & Shop tonight. This year we managed to fill 3 large jars. I can't wait to see how much we've saved!!!

 

[Tracie]

My 2 DS started saving change and any money gifts right after our trip last June. They have $332 and still have until June!!

 

[disneyfan551]

Congrats on your savings!! I've also got my "disney slush fund" (i.e. change jar) going for our Disney cruise! I can't wait to be able to kick back and enjoy a frozen beverage, without having to worry about being the DD!

 

[beansmom]

house of princesess,

I had to laugh about your h matching. For our first trip, my h (new to us at the time, we had only been married about a year) told dd he would pay her $10 for every A she brought home and $5 for every b. A sucker bet if there ever was one. I TRIED to talk him out of it but he said no, he'd made the deal and was sticking to it. The one stipulation I could get is that it would be paid in Disney Dollars so that she would have to save for the trip.


Needless to say, that dd had well over $500 when we went.

This time we are going another route...she gets $20 every 2 wks for doing chores...$10 in cash and $10 in her savings for Disney (this way if we don't get to go, she can still have the money). She is also babysitting this summer and some of that will go to Disney fund as well.

 

[house_of_princesses]

Beansmom, LOL! I think I may try the "grade" incentive. We home educate, so I have final say over their grades! An even bigger incentive! (And if the fund is getting too big, maybe I'll hold off grading papers! )

 

[Geebs]

its funny how the change jar adds up...I decided to start one a few years ago....just because i didn't really don't like carrying it around everyday. I used an average sized jug from a water cooler. By the end of 14 or 15 months....it was so heavy...my dad had to help me pick it up off the ground. (it left huge divots in the carpet by the way). Well...after some time of counting...(we waited for a really big snow storm..one that kept us stuck inside) and popped a movie in....by the time we were done...we had $2300..yes..thats two thousand three hundred dollars. We used it for a cruise...but I think that it will work for Disney too!!!!
How did we get there you ask?? every..and I mean everynight..put every bit of change into it. if you get refunds on soda bottles and cans..put that in there...you can ask the people to give to you in change form. I keep change in the ash tray of my car (from when you go through the drive thru)...from the laundry machine...always find a dime or two there. Plus, if you pay cash at the store..never pay with exact change..or any change for that matter....use the cash that you get back as your contribution to the savings.

 

[MEM]

Here's a challenge for you -- how do you save change when your DH manages the budget down to the last penny? At any given time, he knows exactly how much is in his wallet. The only change in my pocket is leftover from my modest allowance and that has to last all month. There has to be a better way to come up with "fun money"! Even money earned at yard sales goes back into the yard sale fund.

For the record, he's the stay-at-home parent and I'm the breadwinner and I relinquished money management to him. I'm not looking for sympathy only creativity!! Thank you.

 

[Geebs]

Here's and idea...if he budgets so tightly..budget in the extra money. You could set up an account that you put extra money into. for example...if you pay a bill that is $45.78....write it is an you were paying $46. even. then..take the .22 and put it away in another acct...you could take the $$ out in a withdrwal once a month...all of the .22 add up quickly.

 

[MEM]

Great idea! I'll see if my 'banker' likes it.

 

[Snow Brite]

Mem it sounds like your fiscally responsible DH should actually be in charge of the saving! If he does not want to do it then:

Could you set up your paycheck so $20($5, $10, $50) every check goes directly into a seperate "Disney" savings account? If its never in the checking account, no one will spend it. This would only work if he knew about it, but is a great way to build up a savings account with no effort.

Also, have you tried using coupons? You could take the money you saved with coupons and put that aside. The budget for food would stay the same, but the money you saved would go into the Disney savings.

Consider too giving up a treat that you buy with your allowance and saving that money. If you get a mocha on the way to work every morning, skip it every other morning and pocket the money. If you get your hair cut every three weeks, could you push it to four? Then every third haircut, pocket the money for one haircut. Do you buy a lot of new books? Trade them in for credit at the Used Bookstore and get new ones there. Pocket this money. Do you rent a lot of movies at Blockbuster? Check out the selection at the library instead at try to get every other one there instead. Pocket the money. These are specific examples, but maybe you can think of something like this in your life you could do.

And finally there are the rewards programs. This would be "free" money that could be specifically earmarked for Disney. If you need more info on this, check out the Disboards Rewards Board.

Good luck!

Jennifer

 

[Gillian]

MEM, the couponing idea is a good one! I've started reading forums like this one, but for grocery coupons! I like fat wallet because it's friendly, but there are lots of others.

I've learned a lot and have even ordered coupons online from a clipping service. It sounds crazy to pay for coupons, but when you spend $5 and save $30, it's easy to see that it makes sense. You can save more than that. It's a matter of planning your purchases & coupon order around the sales in your area. And doing a late week trip, usually. There are other little tricks too, like getting rainchecks if the items are out of stock, knowing the coupon policies, and being willing to shop at different stores. Sounds like work, but it's fun!

But it sounds like DH maybe does the shopping & stuff? Maybe you can get him hooked on couponing!

 

[madthemouse]

Saving change ( sounds like a movie ) $1051. We do around this number every year. The way that I save change is, whenever I purchase something I never use change as part of the payment, ie; If I buy a bottle of water and it comes to $1.04 I'll pay with dollar bills. The change your able to collect over the course of the year could be alot.

 

[mad4themouse]

MEM,
Even if your husband plans down to the penny, he's smart enough to know that a good budget needs to have some wiggle room. Make it a challenge to see how far below the monthly budget you can go for things like electricity, food and entertainment. He would have to agree that everytime you come in under budget, the money should go into the Disney fund. It can be fun to see how you can save money.

• Drop your premium cable channels and borrow videos from the local library or from friends.
• Turn off the lights! A lot of electricity is wasted by leaving them on in empty rooms.
• Change your thermostat settings. Put on a sweater if you're cold in the winter. Live with the air conditioner set at a higher temp. Get a programmable thermostat.
• Run only full loads in the washer and dishwasher.
• Turn the temperature down on your hot water heater.
• Switch from premium to regular gas.
• Save gas by running multiple errands at the same time.
• Eat out less often and bank the money.
• Coupons, COUPONS,COUPONS
• Buy fewer convenience foods. Cook from "scratch" and freeze meals ahead of time for busy nights.
• Eliminate one food "vice" like premium coffees, chips or cookies for one month and bank the savings. Do a different "vice" every month so that it doesn't feel like such a big sacrifice.
• Brown bag your lunch for work.

These are only some ideas. You may want to look into the DIS Rewards Forum for rewards programs to add to your savings.