Thing you wish you put into your budget

[WDW2002]

Well if you really only have X dollars to spend for the trip how can you not be "strict" with it?? I am carefully planning the budget to allow enough $$ for everything we plan to do as well as allow for things we may not have planned. I am simply using the "money envelopes" to divide that money, each day will have a food envelope, activity envelope, as well as having a general suvenior money envelope and misc. envelope. It is just one way to keep a handle on spending.

 

[Msslaydbug]

Thanks for all of the tips. I am writing them down as we go - not too much longer for us

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I do something similar to ellyn2000 and WDW2002. I budget for a total expenditure each day and keep the traveler's checks in the hotel room safe. I start with $100.00-$200.00 contengency for the trip, depending on the length of the trip . Each morning, I take out the budgeted amount of traveler's checks for the day and place them in my wallet. Whenever I get change back from a purchase with a traveler's check (ususally meals or sometimes souveniers), I put that money in my pocket. The next small purchases such as snacks and some souviniers come from the money in my pocket. If money is left in the pocket at the end of the day, that money goes into the pocket for the next day's allowance (kind of like a slush fund). Ususally, at the end of the trip I have at least $100.00 in traveler's checks left.

 

[carone0318]

I just got back on 6/29 and here are a few things to budget for:

1) if you have small children, you need to get the autograph book and pen.

2) money to buy a picture or 2 of children (or self) with the characters in Toon Town or in front of the castle. If I remember correctly, the 5x7 was 9.95 and the 8x10 was either 12.95 or 16.95. You could buy extras at a reduced rate, by like a couple of dollars each.

3) tip money. I felt like I was doling out tips left and right on our arrival and departure dates, bell hops, the sky cab men, the limo guy, yikes! That really added up.

There were a couple of things that we did that were extras, but also add up. We got ds's first hair cut, that was $17 including tip. We got dd's hair wrapped, very expense, it's $1.50 an inch and then the beads that go on the bottom, one strand ended up being $31 @ BW. Those fake tatoos, they range, but are basically from $5-$10 each. Surrey bikes at BW, $20 for 1/2 hour. If you plan to do some extras, you will want to budget for them because as you see, they sure do add up.


I just got back and have planned my next vacation already and am starting to think about a budget already. It is never too early to start, right???

Good luck.

 

[Gillian]

This is a great thread! We've never really had to worry much about money on our Disney trips...until this one. Before we also did the daily allotment of travellers' checks and didn't worry too much if we charged some things.

This time, with only 1 income & a bigger family, I am planning every cent! While my 2 year old will be flexible, there's no way I can tell my husband we're having a pool day instead of a park day!! Maybe that doesn't allow for much spontaneity, but neither does my checking account balance!

I am going to try the envelope thing, too. It's a really good idea!

 

[RobinMarie]

The poster that listed hair wraps and fake tatoos reminded me about my unplanned expense in December: Face Painting!

My dd loved it and it cost about 12 dollars.

 

[suevee]

I also do the envelope thing. But I only use one envelope a day. I use a bank envelope. On the outside of each envelope I list all my expected expenditures for the day including money for extras and I also list all my PS numbers and times. Everything goes back into the envelope including receipts. If there is any cash left over it goes into the next days envelope.

I keep the envelopes in my room safe and pull out one for each day. I also use Traveler's Checks from American Express. Last trip I lost a $50 traveler check and it was easily replaced. Couldn't have done that with cash or Disney Dollars! I did make separate envelopes for mousekeeping.

Last June I budgeted $200 a day for 9 days and came home with $500. Since this was vacation money I used it to ease back into the daily grind with some nights out!

 

[MsGail]

Are you saying that a family of 4 will only spend around $200 /day? According to what I've been reading, it says to budget $50 per person per day just for food. I really need to watch the food expense because I can only budget $250 per day for 4 people. Can I do it???

 

[jgates]

Please remember, you normally won't eat $50 worth of food per day. The budgeted amount will help you with character meals, bottled water, etc.

If you have a child buying 3 childrens meals, even if one is a character meal - they definitely aren't going to hit $50.

My meals last time were probably anywhere from $7 to $13 per meal for an adult. Add a couple of bottles of water & a sweet treat & most days I was still under $40 for me by a long shot. If my dd has 3 kids meals a day from the regular counter service she is under $20 - a $50 budget gives you plenty of room to splurge without worrying.

 

[suevee]

MsGail - It totally depends on where you want to eat. But I feel $250 per day for 4 would be plenty. Especially if 2 are children. With the Florida heat we found we were not very hungry. We bought plenty of water off-site and kept it in a cooler at the room. Everytime we went out everyone would grab a bottle or two. When you think that a case of 16 bottles is about $6 at the store, but those same bottles are $40 (16x$2.50) in the park that alone is a substantial savings. Also as stated above, not everymeal is a splurge. If you have brought muffins and snacks from the grocery for breakfast and snacks. Eat a few meals off-site. I think you will be surprised how far your money will go.

We ate at a lot of character meals were the prices were fixed and easy to budget. We stopped at places like Beaches and Cream, 50's Prime Time Cafe, and Kona's Cafe for desserts. We have also fit in Coral Reef (expensive), Le Cellier, and the Moroccan restaurant (didn't care for). It can be done. Check menus at Deb's site to help budget prices.

 

[JM1]

"Check menus at Deb's site to help budget prices."

Could you please tell me about "Deb's site. I want to try to budget the best I can.
Going to Disney in December. Can't wait !!!!!!!

 

[travelitis]

www.wdwig.com - Deb Wills' excellent site for planning your trip! To me it's the best on the web.

FOOD
We're a family of 5 and won't come close to $250 per day on food. We eat breakfast in our room (timeshare) and pack fannypacks of snacks for the kids to munch whenever they please. They carry their water bottles we got from the Disney store filled with drink mixes like Gatorade or Tang. We'll eat character or full-service lunches and fast-food suppers. A character lunch (our most expensive meal) for our crowd runs about $65 plus tax and tip since one kid is adult price. Our fast food supper at the park will be about $30. If we decide to take a break during the day, the cost will go down. Portions are big, and we'll probably want to split meals at full service restaurants. Sometimes we'd rather drive our car between parks, and there's a McDonald's close to AK that we hit. We couldn't spend $250 a day if we wanted to. Even 3 character meals wouldn't total that.

BUDGET
We don't like carrying cash, prefer plastic over paper if you will. I still make a detailed budget of everything then compare that to our receipts as we go.

The only extra I didn't plan for was a camcorder battery. I thought my new one would be sufficient, but it shorted out. I always take 2 on vacation now.

Our kids have their own spending money they've earned through the year, so their T-shirts and souvenirs don't affect our budget. We'll buy a couple of rounds of ice cream during our trip, but if they want more, they can pay for it. Our smallest one, 4, will have a set amount for souvenirs so she'll have to make some choices.

 

[MsGail]

Thanks for all the tips for budgeting food. I am so nervous about this now that the time is getting close. I'm staying at HGVC so breakfast will be at the timeshare expect for CRT & maybe a Perkins or two.

My kids will eat dinner and then want pizza or a snack around 10:00. That's the killer! Plus the 3 kids 13, 11, & 8 prefer ordering from the adult menu. Chicken Nuggets just don't cut it for them!

 

[bobcat]

I budget $50/day for one adult and two kids 7 and 9. It is always more than enough and we also do at least one character meal with this, and usually a couple of sit down meals. We eat breakfast in the room. have a big lunch and snack for dinner. I always bring more food than I need with us and we will eat in the room if we wnat. I love to eat out but if we are going back to the hotel to swim midday we will sometimes eat a sandwich in the room. Eating out takes a lot of time and we never eat as much as we think we will. Especially in the summer since it is so hot!

 

[Purrrrfecta]

I have figured it this way:

If I decide I want to do a lot of activities I decide to have more meals in the room. I purchased quick and casual vouchers for the parks to have lunch.
We like to do things like ride boats, play mini golf, and go the cinema. these activities can add up!!!!
I have enough saved to have a character dinner and breakfast while on the trip for a family of three as well.

 

[CarolA]

For all of those using the envelope suggestions, PLEASE follow the lead of some other posters and put travelers checks in your envelope! I know that you are thinking "I am careful" and "I won't lose my money". Well.... the thieves are thinking "succer tourist." I read about a woman who was taking her family to Disneyland Paris and had several thousand dollars in cash. She was robbed before she got out of the Paris airport and had NO other funds! Plus think of the damper it would put on your vacation if you lost the cash!!!!

 

[WDW2002]

CarolA - regarless of HOW you spend your money, put it all in your wallet and spend until its gone or break it up into envelopes, TC are a good idea. But you must keep the "reciept" for the money orders seperate from the actual TC. If you loose the receipt the TC are no better then cash.

 

[MissingMickey]

Good advice on the TCs. We are using the envelope method to save this trip and are loving it -- already have everything taken care of except kennel (which we almost forgot, too) and the actual hotel. Luckily, we still have 5 months to save.

I am planning on taking my cash and depositing it in my savings account. I will keep a record -- more like a line item budget with double entry for when we actually "spend" the money so I have a running total. I will use my new credit card that earns travel points for EVERYTHING but bottled water/ice cream stands, tips, and tolls. I am protected if I lose the card. When I get my bill, I move funds from savings to checking -- and voila. Earn points and have peace of mind and sound budgeting.

 

[BigWaveDave]

I think the most important you need to be sure to include is a category for "Other;" the only thing you can be sure of is that once you get to WDW, there'll be something you want/need to buy that you didn't forsee. If you're running your budget via little enveloppes with specific things written on them, now you've got to figure out which to take from to pay for the unforseen item, how to cover the other thing, etc.

You're on vacation; why create this problem for yourself?

What I do is pay for everything that I can ahead of time; airfare, car rental, hotel, park tix, etc. That leaves just the food and "other" once we're there. I put as much as I can on a credit card, keeping a rough running total in my head each day, vs. what I estimated ahead of time. Sometimes it ends up being less, sometimes more. If everybody's in a good mood, the weather is nice, we're all "in the zone", I'd be very reluctant to say "sorry, we have to leave the park and eat at McDonalds because we don't have enough money left in today's 'food' enveloppe to stay in the park and eat here."

Again, you're on vacation! Better to skip a few dinners out once you get home, if you find that you went over your budget with food at WDW.

As to "other," you don't know what it will be, but you know that it'll be there. If it rains, you may need ponchos. But, if it doesn't rain, you won't. You may decide to rent the little motorboats. Or, you may decide not to. You may decide to go to DisneyQuest. Or, you may decide not to. You may decide to take a day off from Disney (perish the thought! Sorry, Mickey!) and do one of the other things available in the Orlando area.

Point is, you don't know how you'll feel, and what of these "other" things you'll want to do until you're actually there. So, why stress over trying to lock in a plan/budget ahead of time?

Anyway, that's the way we do it.

What also helps is that I'm inherently cheap; I have an allergic reaction to wasting money, so that helps keep the "other" from getting out of control!


Have fun,
Dave

 

[Minnie's Mate]

Don't forget boarding for your pet (if you have one). Don't forget tips! I always put asside $1 bills for tips for the porter/skycap at the airport, limo or shuttle driver, door man at deluxe's and bellman, valet parking pick up, and house keeping...don't forget turn-down service if you use it too.

I put the tips for housekeeping in a separate envelope; one for each day. I just consider that to be part of the cost of the hotel room like the taxes. For all of the others, I just figure that in as part of the cost of vacation when I budget.

I know it seems to me that there is no end to the number of people that deserve a tip each day. I take that into consideration when I plan my budget.