To those who have to seriously save for a Disney trip...

[Shughart]

Buying gift cards may work for some, but keep in mind you may end up with hundreds of dollars invested in a Disney vacation you won't be able to recoup if the trip is cancelled. I'd rather have the cash in hand if needed.

Use RAISE or Giftcardzen/Retail me not.

 

[Marionnette]

Use RAISE or Giftcardzen/Retail me not.

For selling GCs? You definitely lose money on those and could wait quite a while to get your cash. If you’re in a situation where you might need to sell the GCs fast in order to have cash in hand immediately, it’s best not to “invest” in GCs as a savings plan and just buy them closer to your trip.

 

[Searc]

Use RAISE or Giftcardzen/Retail me not.

Or keep the cash on hand instead of buying gift cards.

 

[barkley]

not nesc. for disney but for any 'big'/more costly vacation-

for me part of the fun of a vacation is both the planning AND the saving-wierd i know, but i like to see where i can accumulate/save extra monies to offset the cost (i could pay for it out of savings but then i have to watch for months after vacation that balance creep back up cuz it's fast to spend/slow to save).

right now we are planning a trip so i have a set amount that auto transfers into a 'short term savings' account each month. i had challenged myself before making travel plans to see if i couldn't reduce our household budget each month so anything that is left over at the end of the month is going into a 'household rollover savings' (if i need more money in one month i'll pull from it but so far-deposits in both january and february). i'm not a credit card point person BUT i'm making an effort to use one i've got for all my household expenses (vs. using my debit card)-we'll see what's sitting there by the time we get HOME b/c the travel expenses on it are triple points so that alone with be several hundred dollars. i've got another card that my insurance company issues that pays highest points for their products so i pay all our auto/home....on it to the tune of a a hundred or so that i can use as a statement credit.

we also have the old standby change jug-anything that gets handed back from a cash transaction in change goes in there and then it gets schlepped to the credit union to cash in before the trip.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

LOL I hope no one is foolish enough to buy a Disney giftcard off of ebay.

We buy gift cards all the time on ebay, we get walmart target etc..
they are backed by the pay pal guarantee.. it's not the same as buying tickets

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Income tax refund is the way I go to Disney. We are very blessed to receive at least 4k every year. So years we go to Disney, I take $2000 of that for the trip. This year hubby asked could I pull money from my paycheck for the spending money. Because he asked in time, I most certainly can. I started back in Jan and will pull till the end of May. I'll have $750 spending money by then! That is more than enough for my son and I and five days in Disney. I opened an express checking account that is only linked to a debit/credit card. Someone told me to use Disney gift cards instead, but we won't be spending that much money in the Disney parks and I'd rather not have the money "locked up" on a Disney gift card and not be able to use it all or be forced to use it because we are leaving. Disney Springs and the offsite kosher restaurants is where A LOT of my money is going. When we return from the trip, I will close the express account after about a week. Want to make sure everything clears first. I loved using my magicband for purchases back in 2015, but they didn't do the $100 hold then. I'd rather not have money on my debit card "held" for incidentials. I won't do the online check in so that way they won't have my card number to link to the magicband.

We only go to Disney every 4 years or so. That makes it easy to swipe that money from the refund when it's time.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I have a dedicated sub account i have named "vacation" because i felt too silly telling the nice lady behind the counter to name it "Disney". When I plan poorly and get a tax return, it is directly deposited there. Otherwise I do what other posters stayed and divide out need by # of paychecks and transfer money. Flights partially paid for with jetblue rewards on a non fee card. I havent been since 2017. Sigh.

 

[Viking7641]

I’m pretty frugal anyway. But I do love to travel, WDW and otherwise. Right now I’m waiting for a train from Roma to Firenze

That being said I don’t make a lot of money (gross is $52,000) but I also have no kids. This also makes me as a single person with no dependents not really get any tax refunds.

I had the money to do it so I paid off my car, that’s $300 in cash flow right there.

I know you said you don’t use credit cards, maybe rethink it. My Amex gives me 6% on groceries, and 1% on other things. I put every bill I can on the card and pay it every month. I then add up the rewards dollars and consider that travel savings.

I split my cell phone with someone else, big savings. Same with Netflix etc

I put my cash in a high yield savings, every dollar counts

 

[Viking7641]

not nesc. for disney but for any 'big'/more costly vacation-

for me part of the fun of a vacation is both the planning AND the saving-wierd i know, but i like to see where i can accumulate/save extra monies to offset the cost (i could pay for it out of savings but then i have to watch for months after vacation that balance creep back up cuz it's fast to spend/slow to save).

right now we are planning a trip so i have a set amount that auto transfers into a 'short term savings' account each month. i had challenged myself before making travel plans to see if i couldn't reduce our household budget each month so anything that is left over at the end of the month is going into a 'household rollover savings' (if i need more money in one month i'll pull from it but so far-deposits in both january and february). i'm not a credit card point person BUT i'm making an effort to use one i've got for all my household expenses (vs. using my debit card)-we'll see what's sitting there by the time we get HOME b/c the travel expenses on it are triple points so that alone with be several hundred dollars. i've got another card that my insurance company issues that pays highest points for their products so i pay all our auto/home....on it to the tune of a a hundred or so that i can use as a statement credit.

we also have the old standby change jug-anything that gets handed back from a cash transaction in change goes in there and then it gets schlepped to the credit union to cash in before the trip.

Not weird. There is a lot of research that shows one of the biggest mood boosters of travel is planning and looking forward to it

I am traveling now, and planning another trip for 2020 (Japan or Hawaii) and Disney in 2021 for my sisters birthday. I am already planning the former and looking forward to the latter

 

[Carrie Ellis]

I am dreaming of a day when I can book a vacation and save only because I want to! Next year we will have 3 in college! But it is the last year for my older twins so the light is at the end of the tunnel!

Way too many adults to afford to stay onsite this next time so we are splitting a vrbo with my sister's family! I made the first deposit and that was through paypal 6 months no interest! So, my part is about done! The 3rd and last payment my sister and I will split so I will have one more smaller payment for house.
For that last chunk, I just have a weekly amount going into a savings. I know this is petty but $30 a week transferring into a vacation fund is nothing! It is like one time through a drive through! Weird thing is if I made it into something like 1 time a month, I think I would feel it more!

Shopkicks....I am working hard to make all my kicks pay for our MVMCP. I think I can make that happen!

Plasma donations....I am trying to make that pay for at least 1/2 of our park tickets. My body might get tired of doing this so I shoot for just 2 tickets first...then I will move to 4 tickets! We will need 6 total.

Disney Visa rewards, I am hoping that will pay for a couple of our table service meals. We should have $300-$400 by the time we go.

Then last, I am buying discounted Disney gift cards and using the Swagbucks 750 SB credit. That right now seems to be the best discount. Now the Kroger gas points might better but I have to actually do it once to feel confident. I am hoping DOSH kicks back up for Sams in the near future. Like others have said, I don't want a huge amount in gift cards in case the trip falls through. Just enough, that it would be ok and we could save that amount until we are able to go. I would like around $2000-$2500 in card amounts.

I am planning a yard sale soon too. Need it anyways!

 

[MrsPete]

I can't say I "seriously have to save", and I never mess around with credit card hacks or gift card bits-and-buts, which can go badly if you're not paying attention every minute; however, I am extremely cheap ... moreso now that we're on one salary.

My methods for paying for vacations:
- I have long had a separate savings account for vacations and other fun stuff. I have a portion of my paycheck deposited into that account, which I keep at a rather inconvenient bank ... and for which I have no ATM card. I have to make a concerted effort to access that money, so I don't do it without thinking.
- I don't buy expensive coffees and rarely drink alcohol ... we drink lots of tap water and iced tea. A long time ago I read that the average person spends 30% of his or her grocery bill on non-alcoholic drinks, most of which bring little to no nutrition to the table. Every day I take a big iced drink and a second refillable bottle so I'm not tempted to buy sodas at .75 each. Same thing for work snacks ... I keep boxed items in my desk drawer.
- We spend about $75/week total to feed two adults. I shop at Aldis, stock up when things are on sale, buy reduced-for-quick-sale meats. We mostly cook from scratch /very few boxed convenience foods. We make a strong effort to eat up our leftovers /not to waste food.
- We got rid of cable TV ... Sling is 90% the quality for 20% the price.
- We eat out infrequently ... once or twice a month.
- We have old cell phones /no monthly buying-phones charge.
- I buy clothing only infrequently ... and often I buy used. Since I'm retiring soon (and in my early 50s), I'm purposefully not buying any more work clothes.
- We paid off our house more than a decade ago.
- We drive cars that are "below our means"; by that, I mean we could easily afford to drive an Escalade, but instead we drive a Civic. Cars aren't a priority for us.

When we're on vacation:
- We choose modest rooms instead of suites.
- We bring snacks and/or breakfast and/or sandwich fixings for the room, though we do enjoy eating out too.
- We bring things that can be purchased cheaply at home (sodas, aspirin, sunscreen) to avoid buying at premium prices.

 

[MrsPete]

Income tax refund is the way I go to Disney. We are very blessed to receive at least 4k every year. So years we go to Disney, I take $2000 of that for the trip. This year hubby asked could I pull money from my paycheck for the spending money. Because he asked in time, I most certainly can. I started back in Jan and will pull till the end of May. I'll have $750 spending money by then!

You know you're giving the government a free loan of your money?
If you have that money during the year /invest it, you'd have more in the long run?

 

[MillauFr]

I go for the big savings. I got rid of my car 18 years ago and ride my bicycle to work. Save thousands of dollars every year by doing this. I also got a new job 4 years ago that pays 40% more than my old job.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

You know you're giving the government a free loan of your money?
If you have that money during the year /invest it, you'd have more in the long run?

I know exactly what I'm doing, but thanks .

 

[Marionnette]

You know you're giving the government a free loan of your money?
If you have that money during the year /invest it, you'd have more in the long run?

Not necessarily. There are a number of people who get back more than they ever paid in withholding taxes due to a number of tax credits they can claim.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I can't say I "seriously have to save", and I never mess around with credit card hacks or gift card bits-and-buts, which can go badly if you're not paying attention every minute; however, I am extremely cheap ... moreso now that we're on one salary.

My methods for paying for vacations:
- I have long had a separate savings account for vacations and other fun stuff. I have a portion of my paycheck deposited into that account, which I keep at a rather inconvenient bank ... and for which I have no ATM card. I have to make a concerted effort to access that money, so I don't do it without thinking.
- I don't buy expensive coffees and rarely drink alcohol ... we drink lots of tap water and iced tea. A long time ago I read that the average person spends 30% of his or her grocery bill on non-alcoholic drinks, most of which bring little to no nutrition to the table. Every day I take a big iced drink and a second refillable bottle so I'm not tempted to buy sodas at .75 each. Same thing for work snacks ... I keep boxed items in my desk drawer.
- We spend about $75/week total to feed two adults. I shop at Aldis, stock up when things are on sale, buy reduced-for-quick-sale meats. We mostly cook from scratch /very few boxed convenience foods. We make a strong effort to eat up our leftovers /not to waste food.
- We got rid of cable TV ... Sling is 90% the quality for 20% the price.
- We eat out infrequently ... once or twice a month.
- We have old cell phones /no monthly buying-phones charge.
- I buy clothing only infrequently ... and often I buy used. Since I'm retiring soon (and in my early 50s), I'm purposefully not buying any more work clothes.
- We paid off our house more than a decade ago.
- We drive cars that are "below our means"; by that, I mean we could easily afford to drive an Escalade, but instead we drive a Civic. Cars aren't a priority for us.

When we're on vacation:
- We choose modest rooms instead of suites.
- We bring snacks and/or breakfast and/or sandwich fixings for the room, though we do enjoy eating out too.
- We bring things that can be purchased cheaply at home (sodas, aspirin, sunscreen) to avoid buying at premium prices.

The bolded sounds extremely high. I agree with the idea of what you say--a dollar spent on soda, Gatorade, etc. is a dollar too much--but 30%? I doubt it's even 10%. Of course, we're a big "water" family. In reusable bottles/cups. When we splurge, I make homemade lemonade.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Not necessarily. There are a number of people who get back more than they ever paid in withholding taxes due to a number of tax credits they can claim.

Thank you very much!

 

[Patches Lee]

What is your plan of attack?

For me, I don't use credit cards, so I usually create a "vacation" savings account and put a little bit of money into it every few weeks.

We have a couple things going right now. I put $50/week into a vacation account. Only pack lunch for work because the cafeteria is $6+/day. Use Shopkicks, Ibotta, and Fetch for Disney GC or virtual Visa Cards. Change and pocket money goes in a jug until the beginning of each summer. Our household budget is based on only 40 hours a week, but over the past couple years I have been at a minimum of 56 hours+. Half the extra goes to paying more on mortgage or my car, the other goes into the vacation account. My employer has a "health program" for a discount on our insurance premiums that saves us $600/year, plus once we get to a certain level we get $200 in whichever GC we want, DH is also able to earn $200/year. We earn enough for holiday and Bday gifts for DD10 with those. DD10 does the scanning items for Shopkick points when we go to the store on my phone, so those will be getting redeemed for a Disney GC for her spending. She intends to use it for a Rey costume and Jedi robe, which I haven't told her she's already earned enough for. I only have 1 CC specifically for gas, food, ect. It earns 1% cashback, then we pay for those things on CC then pay off each month. (I honestly dislike CCs but apparently they're a necessary thing for a good credit score ) cashback goes into the vacation account. The other part is buying discount GCs for Disney once we know for a fact we are going. I get a profit sharing check each year with work, I can't count on any specific amount though. It's been anywhere from $600 to $7k, if I get a large amount we may splurge for a dessert party or something like that once we get on vacation, the rest is put on mortgage and such. We try to balance having fun now, with being able to get our debts paid off sooner, and still put money back for possible college in the future.
I'm on track to have the car paid off in another year so what would have been a 6 year loan would be 21 months.

 

[starry_solo]

OK, so my family goes to WDW once every 5 years. I typically am the one that budgets everything, so I look at the current prices and then multiply by 3 (at least) to give me an idea of the estimated cost in 5 years. We set aside money each money in a separate vacation account as we don't want funds stuck in gift cards.

We also use our Disney Visa credit cards and pass out referrals to as many people as we can. Right now, they have a referral offer where each person you refer that is approved gets a $200 statement credit (after spending $500 within the first three months of account opening). The referrer gets 100 in Disney Reward Dollars. We've accumulated a few hundred dollars this way and are hoping that, by the time it comes to our trip, we will have enough to pay for souvenirs, food, etc. We are planning to purchase APs (because we stay for two weeks) and then will, hopefully, use the Disney Reward Dollars to upgrade to a Premier Pass (good at DLR) since we are in Southern California. We haven't been an AP-holder in 5 years (DLR) since the prices just keep rising.

 

[FreesiaE]

The majority of our savings do not come from very glamorous methods, but day to day small things.

My methods for paying for vacations:

- My kids and I have packed lunches everyday. My husband many times comes home for lunch, or is lunch is covered by work (he can't have food in the office).
- We eat at home the vast majority of the time. We usually eat "out" one time on a weekend, and I usually try to coupon that. Yesterday, I had a coupon for a 12.99 Family Bundle from Burger King--3 fries, 3 cheeseburgers, 3 Whopper. I declined cheese, as we put that on ourselves at home and I saved some money.
- Cable prices here are absurd. We having Netflix, which is in the form of gift cards that my parents give us as our Christmas gift
- I'm lucky to have two girls that can hand-down clothes. When everyday clothes are purchased, my first stop is the consignment store(s). Lots of nice clothes, some still with tags.
- Pay off CC and any other bills in full each month. I'm not paying anyone fees/interest if I don't have to.
- We only vacation once a year. I have a lot of friends with weekends here and there, but that adds up. We just focus on on nice one a year
- My kids don't have "expensive" hobbies that require a lot of investment. We don't do travel soccer, competition dance, etc. Extracurriculars are local, and most through the school.
- I have purchased some gift cards that are at a discount when purchased with a certain credit card.

When we're on vacation:
- We are going to rent a house (again). There will be 7 of us. We want the space, kitchen, and laundry. Plus we get a private pool. Woot!
- We will drive there. We want our own car(s). Yes, we do have to pay for parking, but the cost to fly to MCO from here is not good, and seems to be rising all of the time.
- Having a car will also allow us to pack food/drinks from home or from a local store down there.
- We will eat at most 1 meal a day at parks. Yes, some of those are sit downs, and we are fine with that since we've already planned.
- Souvenirs purchased ahead of time on clearance rack at the Disney Store. I'll just pass them out day to day. A 3.99 tshirt wears just as well as a 19.99 one