To the Savvy Savers- Help Me Find Money!!

[21stamps]

So this morning I booked a Mexican Riviera 7 night cruise for October '17.

We are doing a Fantasy/WDW combo this year,

11 night Europe MSC cruise with 4 nights on land in Copenhagan before the cruise- Summer '17

The 2 above were in the budget.

BUT now I decided to add the Wonder for the Fall of '17...This was unplanned- SO I'm trying to "find" money to justify it

Here's what I'm planning so far-

1. Buy Disney gift cards at Target weekly to be saved for the 10/17 cruise.
2. Cut down on my daily Venti Iced White Mocha Extra Shot to 2 per week- hopefully eventually down to 1 per week. Transfer this money daily into a separate savings account. (This should be a nice chunk of change in 18 months).

Please help me with any other ideas! I don't want this trip to have any impact on our normal lifestyle, but I know there has to be some great tips on where I can save money without even realizing it.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[verleniahall]

Can you look up copycat recipes online? That would save you a TON

Do you pay in cash or credit? We pull all cash that we are spending and pay that way and all of the change goes into a jar - every month we take it to the bank and cash it in and if we have $25.00, we get a gift card (our local Dillons only does $25 and sometimes they will have a $50 ) and we get points towards free gas

Its also Garage Sale Season - pick a date and have a garage sale - also do a bake sale and sell goodies and maybe bottled water

do you shop online? use ebates and get cash back. Do you do swagbucks? do things and recieve points towards giftcards


Good LUck!

 

[21stamps]

Can you look up copycat recipes online? That would save you a TON

Do you pay in cash or credit? We pull all cash that we are spending and pay that way and all of the change goes into a jar - every month we take it to the bank and cash it in and if we have $25.00, we get a gift card (our local Dillons only does $25 and sometimes they will have a $50 ) and we get points towards free gas

Its also Garage Sale Season - pick a date and have a garage sale - also do a bake sale and sell goodies and maybe bottled water

do you shop online? use ebates and get cash back. Do you do swagbucks? do things and recieve points towards giftcards


Good LUck!

Nordstrom's anniversary sale is coming up soon.. I think I will use my Tripple Points Day during the sale, and make sure to buy everything on my list that day. This should save some money too!!

The garage sale is a great idea!

I don't know what swagbucks is.

I will also shop at Kroger more to be able to get more fuel points, if I keep track then I could transfer the saved amount into the account as well.

Thanks!!!

 

[barkley]

2. Cut down on my daily Venti Iced White Mocha Extra Shot to 2 per week- hopefully eventually down to 1 per week. Transfer this money daily into a separate savings account. (This should be a nice chunk of change in 18 months).

Can you look up copycat recipes online? That would save you a TON

if you find a copycat recipe that works for you there can be even greater savings if you keep an eye on the starbucks website for the coffee products. we are ADDICTED to their komodo dragon but at close to $14.00 per pound plus tax it's too pricey for my taste so I watch and wait....until starbucks website is having either a buy 3 get 1 or a flat 25% off sale. I also look around on-line for one of their free shipping codes (I've yet to have an issue stacking both promotions). because I'm not charged sales tax by the website (and we're at close to 9% here) I end up saving close to 35% on their products which go a whole lot further making them at home vs. buying them in person (and i save by not spending more on a tip).

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Swagbucks is a website where you can earn points by completing surveys, watching videos, shopping through their portal. The points can be redeemed for cash (PayPal) or gift cards. I was able to get $400 worth of Disney Gift Cards by redeeming my points for Target gift cards and using my Target Red Card (which I got through Swagbucks for more points) to get an additional 5% off the gift cards.

 

[verleniahall]

Nordstrom's anniversary sale is coming up soon.. I think I will use my Tripple Points Day during the sale, and make sure to buy everything on my list that day. This should save some money too!!

The garage sale is a great idea!

I don't know what swagbucks is.

I will also shop at Kroger more to be able to get more fuel points, if I keep track then I could transfer the saved amount into the account as well.

Thanks!!!

Great idea on Nordstroms!

Garage Sales are great - then if something doesn't sell take it DIRECTLY to your local thrift store - don't take it back in!

www.swagbucks.com

Kroger stores are great - and just take the amount saved (like. 20 cents) x however many gallons you got = savings! like our tank is 16 gallons I think? that would equal 3.20 - its small, but it savings.

Decorate a vase or a jar or something to put loose change in - it will be a great reminder and its awesome to see the amount grow and grow and grow

 

[loves to dive]

Get a cash back credit card and put all your purchases on that card, pay it off every month. If you are a Sam's member they have $150 work of Disney give cards for something like $143.99 and also you can use a Target red card to save 5% on Disney gift cards. Use Ebates to shop on line (I can't ever remember to go through the site but some people get a good bit back from it). Sell any old books or DVDs through Amazon, they cover the shipping.

 

[21stamps]

There's some great ideas here!! Thanks all!!!! I'll check out the swagbucks website too!

If I do all of these things I just may cover a large percentage of the cruise fare without giving up anything besides the lattes, which isn't too bad, I'll just think of all of the calories that I'm NOT consuming.lol

So, I'm completely justified on my decision to add this trip, right?

 

[verleniahall]

There's some great ideas here!! Thanks all!!!! I'll check out the swagbucks website too!

If I do all of these things I just may cover a large percentage of the cruise fare without giving up anything besides the lattes, which isn't too bad, I'll just think of all of the calories that I'm NOT consuming.lol

So, I'm completely justified on my decision to add this trip, right?

TOTALLY!!!!!

 

[Vijoge]

So this morning I booked a Mexican Riviera 7 night cruise for October '17.

We are doing a Fantasy/WDW combo this year,

11 night Europe MSC cruise with 4 nights on land in Copenhagan before the cruise- Summer '17

The 2 above were in the budget.

BUT now I decided to add the Wonder for the Fall of '17...This was unplanned- SO I'm trying to "find" money to justify it

Please help me with any other ideas! I don't want this trip to have any impact on our normal lifestyle, but I know there has to be some great tips on where I can save money without even realizing it.

Thanks in advance!!!

Three jobs and a paper route? lbvs

 

[QVCshopper]

I recently realized that as wife/mom of our family, I spend about 90-95% of the money--on food, clothes, school activities, etc. It's been an empowering realization that's helped me look at my purchases very carefully. If I plan correctly, I can cut our grocery bill down by hitting loss leaders at various stores and couponing. I've cut back on eating out and coffees. I've always been careful, doing no-buy months, etc., but I like this even more because I buy stuff and I find good deals/as it's needed, but I'm not buying extras. Our last credit card was the lowest it's been in a year, and it included paying for kid camps and a pool membership.

 

[21stamps]

I recently realized that as wife/mom of our family, I spend about 90-95% of the money--on food, clothes, school activities, etc. It's been an empowering realization that's helped me look at my purchases very carefully. If I plan correctly, I can cut our grocery bill down by hitting loss leaders at various stores and couponing. I've cut back on eating out and coffees. I've always been careful, doing no-buy months, etc., but I like this even more because I buy stuff and I find good deals/as it's needed, but I'm not buying extras. Our last credit card was the lowest it's been in a year, and it included paying for kid camps and a pool membership.

That's awesome!!

I wish I could coupon!! I hear people talk about it and I decided to do it myself as well. Created an entire Pinterest board, purchased a binder and was ready to go.

That was 3 years ago. There still has not been one coupon placed in said binder.lol.

I keep thinking that someday I will find the time..

 

[pinkprincess30]

I don't coupon either but you could grab an ad at the grocery store (or look online ahead of time) and buy according to whats on sale. Meat especially. Also, replace items on your grocery list with a less expensive brand and watch the savings pile up! The store receipt will usually say on the bottom how much you saved on sale items. Any money you save on generic brands you'll have to add up yourself, of course. Put that in your savings and I bet you won't even notice any kind of "lifestyle change", but you'll save a ton on your grocery bill.

 

[barkley]

I recently realized that as wife/mom of our family, I spend about 90-95% of the money--on food, clothes, school activities, etc. It's been an empowering realization that's helped me look at my purchases very carefully. If I plan correctly, I can cut our grocery bill down by hitting loss leaders at various stores and couponing. I've cut back on eating out and coffees. I've always been careful, doing no-buy months, etc., but I like this even more because I buy stuff and I find good deals/as it's needed, but I'm not buying extras. Our last credit card was the lowest it's been in a year, and it included paying for kid camps and a pool membership.

it's amazing isn't it?

when my kids were younger one of the best things I did to stay on budget/save a bit was to have a monthly budgeted amount set up for the kid related stuff to set money aside for each month. if it didn't get used one month then it helped out on those months costs were sure to be higher (back to school shopping, summer camp). it was kind of a shock to see how much it all added up to when I was working out the numbers to figure out what 1/12th was for the budget-but it was also a good reality check on how much was being spent b/c with some of the school activities and extracurriculars I started looking around for less expensive alternatives-and in some cases when my kids realized that the monies that went to these could be instead be earmarked to fund vacations they became more judicious in their choices (and much more aware of the totality of what some of their activities cost).

 

[cel_disney]

The Starbucks savings is probably $1300 for a year if you cut down from 7->2 a week! If you have 1.5 years, that's $2000 straight up...if you do any type of churning or gift card purchasing you will be well on your way! How much is the cruise? $4000?

 

[Princess Minnie321]

I cooked all winter instead of eating out and saved a lot of money. I was putting the money saved into my Disney fund.

We also bought a freezer for our basement which helped with a savings. I buy big packs of steak and chicken at Costco to free and it costs less then the super market. I bought a big bag of mozzarella at Costco and broke it down to freeze. Then I would make pizzas for a fraction of what it cost to buy them.

 

[21stamps]

The Starbucks savings is probably $1300 for a year if you cut down from 7->2 a week! If you have 1.5 years, that's $2000 straight up...if you do any type of churning or gift card purchasing you will be well on your way! How much is the cruise? $4000?

Yep, cruise fare is right at $3900. I calculated the Starbucks @ 7 per day..and didn't even account for the days that I have 2, or the several days that I order a breakfast sandwich (there's a Starbucks across the street from my office).. So cutting down to 2 drinks only per week will probably cover even more than half of it! I just have to be strong and resist temptation lol

 

[JenzyHP]

If you are shopping at kroger, download the kroger app and you can very quickly put coupons on your card from the app.

 

[MimiOfTwo]

You shop at Kroger so put the app on your phone. Download the digital coupons you can use each week. I am terrible about getting/keeping up with paper coupons but save quite a bit with those I don't have to keep up with! Our Kroger has the 4x fuel point coupon this weekend. I'll be buying a Disney gift card to pay toward my trip. Getting $1.00 per gallon off a tank of gas AND getting double points with my Disney Visa.

 

[21stamps]

If you are shopping at kroger, download the kroger app and you can very quickly put coupons on your card from the app.

You shop at Kroger so put the app on your phone. Download the digital coupons you can use each week. I am terrible about getting/keeping up with paper coupons but save quite a bit with those I don't have to keep up with! Our Kroger has the 4x fuel point coupon this weekend. I'll be buying a Disney gift card to pay toward my trip. Getting $1.00 per gallon off a tank of gas AND getting double points with my Disney Visa.

I forgot about the app!
Thanks, I will download it.

The fuel points with the Disney gift cards will be even better than a target discount! I should have been doing either one for the upcoming trip!
I used a TA, so will she have to enter in the codes, or can I do it myself?