Tip: How we save $$ for Disney

[Good Ol Gal]

Hi everyone. This is nothing special but I wanted to share how our family got some of our spending money for our Disney trips.

We have a coin jar, well actually it's a kids fishing box. We fill it with all of our loose change. Change the kids find on the floor, in pockets, in the car, etc. I keep it by the washing machine since we tend to find a lot in pockets. Sonetimes even bills .

Once a month we all sit at the table and start rolling the coins. Since I have 4 kiddies each one of them is in charge of a coin. DS4 gets the quarters since he doesn't always distinguish between the coins, and since it's the biggest coin it will only fit in the quarter roll .

We have a small notebook that we keep in there where we keep track of the money that is saved each month, and an ongoing total.

Since we homeschool this is a great lesson in coin recognition, counting on, sorting, not to mention saving and money management! (Well it would be great even if we didn't homeschool !)

We started this last year about 6 months before the trip. By the time we went we had saved over $200! The kids were so excited! We gave each child $25 from it, and we got the $100.

We usually give each kid $25 "free" spending money, so they each had $50!! They could not believe it!!

We have started saving this year already, so hopefully we'll have more this time!!

Hope this helps anyone... Liz

 

[Focusdude]

We have the "Disney Coin Jar" also - I have challenged my sons to have it filled by the end of the school year (it is about a quarter full now). I tell them anytime they see change lying around (at home only!) - on top of bureaus, in laundry baskets - to immediately put it in the jar. Our trip is nine months away - but it is fun to anticipate!!

 

[Taja]

No children, but I've always used a coin jar! Much nicer than carrying the stuff around, and a great way to save a little extra money!

 

[cepmom]

We do this too! Any loose change goes in the jar. I also put in any money we get from bottle/can returns and rebate money. When my children have outgrown their clothing or other usable items, I sell these either at a yard sale, consignment shop or ebay and that money goes in there too. I babysit for my friend's two children and the money she gives me each week also goes in our Disney account. It's a fun challenge to see how much money we can accumulate for our trip without going into our savings account.

 

[NMW]

That is a cute idea for the kids! When we lived in Jersey we never had change lying around because we always put it in our cars for the Garden State Parkway and the NJ TP tolls. Now that we no longer have those tolls to pay for, I think I will have our family start doing that. Our kids would be really excited! Thanks for the great idea!

 

[kathyc]

That seem to be the popular thing to do. We too have a coin jar or dish is what we have. We use the change from the morning coffee, fast food, lunch, etc. It's amazing how it adds up. We have saved for over a year now and have close to $400.00 not too bad. It will help pay for our gas since we are driving.

 

[elaine and the boys]

About two weeks ago we made the decision to visit Disney over Christmas vacation. We had a "meeting with our two sons, 15 and 12, and brainstormed ideas on how to save money for the trip. We emptied our coin jar, to start. Then we got really serious and decided to reduce our "basic" cable package (Just over $50) to the "really basic" package ($12). We've done this before. We affectionately call it "LOSER CABLE", but it will suffice, as it has in the past. The cable guy came out just before the storm hit on Cape Cod. And now we don't have any cable!!! Just a huge amount of snow! The way I figure it, if anyone complains about our reduced cable, I'll remind them that we're going to Disney for Christmas!! YIPEE! (a fabulous attitude adjuster!)

So, with the $440 savings over the next 11 months and the $2000 tax refund I discovered we'll be getting (did a dry run of our 1040 yesterday while it snowed and blowed!), we're well on our way!

 

[missypie]

We charge EVERYTHING we can on the Disney Visa and pay it off every month. So far we have $801 in Disney $.

 

[Philadisney]

I bought a tin of mickey chocolates at an airport recently and use that as my coin jar. i don't keep loose change around, instead any time that i save money on something - walk instead of taking the bus, skip an afternoon coffee, etc. - i put that money in the tin instead.

 

[elaine and the boys]

About two weeks ago we made the decision to visit Disney over Christmas vacation. We had a "meeting with our two sons, 15 and 12, and brainstormed ideas on how to save money for the trip. We emptied our coin jar, to start. Then we got really serious and decided to reduce our "basic" cable package (Just over $50) to the "really basic" package ($12). We've done this before. We affectionately call it "LOSER CABLE", but it will suffice, as it has in the past. The cable guy came out just before the storm hit on Cape Cod. And now we don't have any cable!!! Just a huge amount of snow! The way I figure it, if anyone complains about our reduced cable, I'll remind them that we're going to Disney for Christmas!! YIPEE! (a fabulous attitude adjuster!)

So, with the $440 savings over the next 11 months and the $2000 tax refund I discovered we'll be getting (did a dry run of our 1040 yesterday while it snowed and blowed!), we're well on our way!

 

[happybratpack]

We do the piggy bank too - plus I figured out before the last trip that by putting a Disney bank on my desk at work I ended up saving a ton more $. If I ate at the office instead of going out I would put the $5 (or whatever) I would have spent on fast food into the bank on my desk. It worked great plus it's better for me anyway than the constant junk food.

 

[Carrie772]

Back in the '80's it wasn't good to save money under the mattress because you could actually invest $400 and get something...anything back! Now, I think a coin jar (or mattress) makes good sense! And who knows? Maybe Disney's ghost will give me more than 0.5%!!!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

We save all our coins too! In addition my DD gets an allowance of $5.00 a week. I let her keep $3.00 and $2.00 goes into the cruise fund. She can also earn extra money by doing more chores around the house. When she takes the extra iniative (sp?) I match her $ for $. This way she feels like she saving for our Disney Cruise too.

 

[matdamom]

We also have a coin "pig" where all of our loose change goes. Anything I find in pockets when doing laundry goes in the Disney pig. After reading the Budget Board posts, I've now started using more dollars and saving the change for the pig. My DH does freelance computer repair, and he gives me half of what he makes for the Disney fund. I do "My Points" and will cash those in for restaurant gift cards. Also, any money I make from surveys goes into the Disney pig ($12 so far since Jan. 1). I have several things to sell on Ebay, and we are planning on doing a yard sale this spring. I'm negotiating with DH for at least half of our tax refund to go to the Disney fund.

This weekend, my DD3 picked up a penny off the floor and said "Mommy - here is some money to go to Disney World" and off she went to feed the pig. LOL

I'm hoping to plan our next trip for early June.

 

[ncbyrne]

DH and I have been saving our change for vacations for over 30 years. We never spend change. If something costs just 5 cents, we hand them a $1 and get the change. We have an old Nescafé instant coffee jar for pennies. (When it's filled, it holds exactly $10 worth of pennies). We have one of those quarter tubes - that one holds $25. Nickels and dimes go into one of those huge glass water jugs. We've never filled it, cuz' it would be too heavy to pick up. When it gets around 1/4 of the way up the side, we take it to the bank. Saving change is a painless and fun way to save!

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

No children, but I've always used a coin jar! Much nicer than carrying the stuff around, and a great way to save a little extra money!

Me too!

 

[LeoGrrrrl1982]

I have tried the coin jar for my own trips to Disney but dont seem to have much success. The fiancee doesnt seem to understand to stay out and I cant really yell at him since it is mostly HIS change (blast!).
I remember this tactic working very well when I was younger though. My parents and I used to go to Disney with my grandmother. She was on a fixed income and my mom would save change all year between trips (always went in September back then) and the end result would usually be 300-400 dollars. A good amount now and even better in the late 80s! My mommom didnt have to worry about room costs or food since my parents provided it, but the change jar money would provide her with tickets and spending money so she felt independent.
Im getting sentimental now thinking about how happy she always was to have that one week a year when all was good and her only worry was enjoying herself. You see, she has been gone now for 8 years (passed when i was 14) after a long battle with recurring colon cancer. I always wish that I had more time with her, but I am grateful for my memories of her, and going to Disney was one of the best!

 

[rockin_rep]

We also save change as one of many budget tips.

We use one of Disney's adorable plastic PRINCESS banks!

This colorful reminder sits on the counter all year long, reminding us of past and future fun!

 

[summersfam4]

We are a coin jar family. I also give myself a budget for spending money on the girls and myself (fast food, ice cream, dollar tree) usually about $20.00 and any bills along with change at the end of the week go straight into the jar, so it's not just coins. I had thought last year that we would give the coin jar balance to the girls to spend, but then when we had finished rolling it and had over $350.00 (in about 4 months) I knew it was to much so some of it went into their ING accounts. Coin Jars are great!

Kelly

 

[pbharris4]

We do the coin thing too and if we have a dollar or two extra we throw in there as well. My DD gets an allowance and she saves a few dollars for savings, keeps a few for her purse and then then the rest is Disney $. We buy her 1 souvenier and if she wants anything else she has to buy it. Since we go every year we don't need all those souveniers. Last year she saved $100 from Jan to July (there was b-day $ in there too) and she came home with $70! She didn't want to spend all her money! We also earn rewards on our credit cards and we use those for dinners on the way down (we usually drive) or on gas.