Tips for saving money for Disney. List your tips here.

[LovesTimone]

We all have special ways to save $$$ for our trips to see Mickey and the gang.
I thought it might be a good idea to post how we save and ways to make extra money for our trips.

My motto - A dollar saved on anything is a dollar closer to Disney!

So I'll start it off.

I used to use coupons once in a while but I recently really started using them, I'm couponing on a whole different level now. It takes some work but the savings is unreal. I joined a coupon train here on the dis board. I'm saving about 50 to 80 dollars a week on groceries, and household items.
Also DH was impressed with all this "couponing stuff" as he called it. He said that I can take whatever I save out and put in a Disney account for next year.

I went to a couple of my favorite restaurants website and joined. You can get free appetizers coupons and earn points and use those points toward gift cards. I use those gift cards en route to and from Disney.

In this coming year we are going to ask for disney gift cards for birthdays, anniversary, Christmas, and other gift giving events. As we are planning a GG for Dec 2011.

I have a friend who ask for certain restaurant gift cards and saves them for the road trip to and from Disney. They live in Montana, last year she told me that they stayed on hotel points and ate on the gift cards, for the road trip the only out of pocket they had was for gas. Her boss gave her some gas cards as reimbursement for some trips that she made. Total OOP she said was about 200.00 which I think is great considering they have the biggest SUV I have ever seen

I have 2 garage sales every year and every penny goes to the Disney fund. I'm going to try to have 3 between now and our GG.

Please share your tips and suggestion.

 

[barbeml]

I'm with you on restaurant rewards...my Chang's Warrior card has saved us a fortune. We sign up for all the cards at restaurants we like and get many freebies and discounts throughout the year.

Also...sometimes they offer a $10 bonus card on every $50 in gift cards you purchase. I take advantage of those deals.

Also:

1. I have a AAA Rewards CC (pay off balance monthly): I save my reward vouchers for plane tix (I have $300 for November trip).
2. We got a Sears rebate in the form of a VISA gift card. That's going toward plane tix as well.
3. Cashing out MYPOINTS for Landry's card for a free lunch at Yak & Yeti. Have used a ton of points for Homme Deport cards for our remodeling projects.
4. Recently got a Disney VISA. Each month I purchase a $100 gift card from Disney Store via MYPOINTS and using Disney VISA.
5. All change and dollar bills go into our Disney bank...a giant crayon, LOL. I sneak a few $20s in there too.
6. A friend who sued to own a jewelry store helped me sell my old scrap gold to a reputable dealer. Got a NICE chunk of change.
7. I maximize my cc rewards, online shopping rewards programs and free shipping offers to get the best deals I can on everything.


Most importantly, when I started a new job 4 years ago, I banked the salary difference in a special vacation savings account until it reached a certain point. Any extra cash (from surveys, rewards, rebates, etc) goes in there. It's my security blanket.

Also, I don't pay interest on anything (except my mortgage). I consider interest not paid money for WDW!

 

[SDSorority]

I shop at the local goodwill (they have some great designer stuff there!), got rid of our home phone, have the basic cable package without DVR, cook 95% of our meals at home, and scour the internet for coupons that I'll use for the week.

 

[barbeml]

cook 95% of our meals at home

Yep this is a big one for us too. And we brown bag it almost every day at work (no time for a real lunch hour anyway, LOL).

 

[figment3258]

We use our disney visa for everything and pay it off every week. And we get a ton of points for Disney that way. Also saving change helps and even when you get ur paycheck put money right away in saving instead of waiting until the end of the month.
eating at home is huge! even with those great restaurant deals u still are spending a ton of money just think drinks and tip.

 

[cglaura]

1. In addition to using coupons and the store perks card, I make sure to put the "Amount you saved this shopping trip..." at the bottom of the receipt into the savings account.

2. Four years ago I joined a rewards / survey site (check the DIS rewards board, lots of info there). I make approximately $50/month taking surveys online.

3. Declutter at least once per year and have a yardsale, ebay or craigslist.

4. Most important: once it goes into savings account, it stays there. No "I'll take it out for pizza, movies, etc and I'll put it back next week." (I have a separate savings for retirement/emergency/car etc).

5. This is not for everyone, but I live very modestly. I'm not hip to the latest fashion craze, we don't have the latest and greatest smartphones. But, we have what we need, not in the stoneage. DD has video game systems that she wanted, a cellphone, etc. We keep up with the Jones', we're just about 6 years late

 

[seals]

unless it's included. We drink water -- healthier and cheaper. Also never an appetizer or dessert. Cooking at home is great but occasionally the cook and clean-up people need a break. We find places with kids eat free or for 99c and usually order the least or less expensive item on the menu.

If you have a cc with rebates, etc. get gift cards for places where you were going to spend money any way even if another place seems like a better deal. Never use a coupon on something you weren't going to buy in the first place.

Thrift store shopping and know what you want/need and only buy those items. Look for the best deal on them before you buy. Our biggest money waster is impulse shopping, even at the thrift store ("but it's only $1").

 

[Kat73]

I know lots of folks like the change jar method to help supplement, especially for spending money. I'm trying a new twist on that this year. I don't know if it would help anyone else but I'm throwing it out there anyhow

I've got a "cash jar" in my kitchen. At work, every time I open my stores I have to go to the grocery and buy things like milk and bananas, cleaning supplies, etc. Usually I buy them with my debit card and then get reimbursed from the store's cash once we make some money. Usually that cash sits in my wallet and gets spent on stuff I can't remember LOL. Now, every time I get home, whatever cash I have in my wallet goes to the jar. I don't typically carry cash around so when I do it gets spent on dumb stuff LOL. I have purposely not been counting it, but thinking of taking it soon to the Disney store to cash in for a giftcard.

Anyway, happy saving

 

[barbeml]

1. In addition to using coupons and the store perks card, I make sure to put the "Amount you saved this shopping trip..." at the bottom of the receipt into the savings account.

That's brilliant! I saved $41 at the store this AM. That would add up like crazy!

 

[DisneysRedhead]

I don't know what banks most people use but I know some banks offer similar saving account programs.

I use Wachovia's Way 2 Save savings account. It is linked to my main checking account so that every time I use my check card, it immediately puts $1.00 into this savings account. It also does this when I use their online bill pay. Also at the end of the month, you can have up to $100 transferred into your Way 2 Save.

Basically this account is my "vacation savings." I use my card about 40 to 50 times a month and then I also have $100 transferred. (So approx. $150 a month goes in) By the time we go on vacation in Oct 2011, we will not only have enough to pay off the vacation in full, but we will have plenty of spending money!!

 

[SDSorority]

I started selling Thirty-One Gifts in February to fund our Disney resort vactation next November. After only 4 months of working mostly from home and 8-10 hours outside of home, I had made enough to cover the cost of the resort (Contemporary), our dining plan, tickets and everything! I even applied for a Disney Visa to use to cover the customers that were paying me by check and that is giving me even more to our Disney fund!

This month the company is offering a $99 rebate on the kit when a new consultant sells $1,000 worth of products in her first 30 days. That would pay for the cost of the kit which includes over $358 worth of our most popular products as well as everything you need to start your business. (If you don't reach $1,000 until your second month, you will still get a $49 rebate check for your kit!) The amount of sales may sound like a lot, but I have done many parties that grossed over $1,000 and you have a month to reach that goal no matter how many parties or individual sales it takes to get there. You also can totally customize your consultant kit by choosing your fabric and monogramming for $150 and that is also eligible for the rebate. Please see the pic attached to see the great items included in the kit. Just a few are the skirt purse, the large lunch tote, a beach bag, about town blanket, boardwalk bag, and large utility tote. The company also recently added the party thermal to the consultant kit only until the end of the month and that is worth $58 alone if purchased separately. I have had many ladies sign up just to get the items in the kit and then found out how easy it is to make money and have continued to sell. If you find it's not for you, no strings attached, you get to keep your items and the savings!

Thirty-One has been an awesome opportunity for me and I love sharing my experience. I have been shocked at how easily the items sell themselves and each month my sales have gone up. Consultants make 25% commission starting out and have the opportunity to move up and earn more and more. Last month I sold almost $5,000 and made 25% commission off that working for only about 8 to 10 hours. I also made money off the ladies on my team. My state is fairly congested with consultants and I have lots of competition, you can imagine how well you could do in an area where the product is relatively new and the market is wide open. We are one of the fastest growing companies, in fact, over the past 5 years we've grown over 200% each year!

If you think 31 is a great way for you to save for your Disney trip, contact me at and I will be happy to send you more info!

I hav enjoyed being a part of this board (I've been lurking awhile before I joined) and have picked up many great tips. I can't wait for our trip next Thanksgiving.

31 Gifts! I know that company very well. DFIL is a friend of an exec there GOOD GOOD people!

 

[PrncesKMW]

The Chase Rewards Visa gives you 5% on gas, groceries, and drugstore purchases, and 1% on everything else. When you have 5000 points saved up, you get a $50 check. Right into the savings account!

They also recently made the program better with the Chase Plus Rewards website. It's places you normally shop - Target, Sears, Home Depot - but if you order online through the site with your chase card, not only do you get special deals (free shipping, 10 - 15% off, etc...), they give you extra - sometimes up to 8 points for every dollar you spend. Just make sure you only buy stuff you were going to buy anyway!

I used to use the Disney Visa, but now only use for the 0% APR on vacation packages - found that the Chase Rewards card is racking up the points way more quickly.

 

[mommy2_3]

we downgraded our cable, internet, phone service saving us $200 a month!

we use coupons like crazy and sale shop

we dont eat out as much as we use to. we use to eat out 3-4 times a week! now its like 3-4 times a month, if even that. saving us alot of money there

when we got our taxes back, we paid a years worth of trash and life insurance.

we are alomst done paying off our van, so that will be $260 a month extra in our pockets!

we also got family passes to the zoo and this one place called Exploration Place when we got our taxes. this gives us some family time for free! it cost $11.50 per adult to get into our zoo. the membership was $110. we have been to the zoo 8 times since we got our membership! we would have spent $184 if we didnt have our membership!

some free things we do
play at the park
play in the interactive water fountains
play in the backyard
play in the mcdonalds play area
walk the mall and let the kids play in their play area there
go to the local beach (pack a lunch in the cooler and bring beach toys)
rent free kids movies at our video store

 

[LovesTimone]

Wow these are great tips keep them coming.

I thought of a couple more money savers;

DH and I have a date night once a week, we changed to more casual restaurants, that offer meal deals such as Applebees 2 for 20 or whatever the promotion might be. We have cut out appetizer and dessert not unless its included in the deal.

If we go to the movies we make the manatee. I take in candy that really saves. I'm going to check into joining the movie club.

Saving change really adds up fast, we call it feeding Ms. Piggy.

I take my lunch to work, that alone saves around 50 dollars or more weekly, If I do grab something out I try to use a coupon or if its BOGO I will get some to go in with me and then we both save. I also take my own sodas, bottled water, or juice.

We quit renting movies our Blockbuster shut down. I was thinking about joining netflixs, Anyone use this? What other movie options could we save money at?

We have a pool and there for alot of cookouts and get-together and company, now I make sure to tell everyone to bring something to share, snacks, a side dish, drinks, and BYOB. No-ones seems to mind chipping in and I have more time to enjoy the parties.

Keep the money saver tips a rolling

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Change. We save all of it.

 

[disneychrista]

I just pay myself first. I have it set for an automatic transfer to savings for my vacation fund.

 

[diamondpixienc]

Well, we pretty much do most of the above. Use local library as often as possible i.e. free kiddie DVD's, baby & mommy classes, books & music series is wonderful for the older kids. We do the play areas on rainy days (the mall, McD's, Chick-fil-a) and you can't beat the local parks. Now, we don't eat out often enough to really utilize the restaurant reward plans as we have stopped that and now only eat out once a month & have our own Mexican and Pizza nights. The kids love making their own pizzas and burritos, tacos, etc. it can get pretty interesting w/ the toppings sometimes . Oh yeah, we down sized our Directtv Pkg we no longer have HBO & Showtime but we still have our Sunday Ticket as WE ARE AND WILL ALWAYS BE DIE HARD NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FANS! In other words that is the only way we can see them here in the QC & we could not give up the games on Sundays. And yes, we have the "Disney World Money" as my kids say i.e. the gallon Hawaiian Punch jug where we put all coins and singles(1's & 5's) in. We are doing well so far we are on jug#3

 

[sueh]

I am in the process of planning a surprise trip for my girls to return back to Disney World next year. I am excited as we have about a year to save.
I do most of the things that have already been stated before us.

I use coupons.
We save all of our change and $1 bills in a large yellow crayon bank. My girls have no idea what they are saving for but they love to put the $$ into the crayon
I also return cans & bottles and that $$ gets added to the crayon too!

I do surveys and also swagbucks. I am saving up enough points to earn gift cards for Christmas presents.

Keep the idea flowing!! Any help that I can get to save $$ for the surprise trip would be very helpful.

 

[barbeml]

We save all of our change and $1 bills in a large yellow crayon bank. My girls have no idea what they are saving for but they love to put the $$ into the crayon

We have a big (comes up to my shoulder) aqua blue crayon we keep in the upstairs hallway. We love to pick it up and feel how heavy it is. We've never come close to filling it to the top (we go to WDW once a year), but we've cashed it in for as much as $400 in totally painless saving.

 

[Swimalie]

I save all my change. I turn it in once a year to my bank that will accept it without a fee.

Also, my husband travels a lot for work. He will get a per diem for each day that he is gone but he never spends that much. So he'll figure out what he spends and what he "earned" and we'll put that difference in savings.

I keep a certain minimum in the checking account. Once the bills are paid, I transfer any extra to savings where I get better interest.

We do these things all the time, not just for trips. In fact, we've been doing this for years now and next Spring we plan on paying cash for a new car.