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

[stephk1981]

I save weekly. We try to go 2- 3 times a year, but are within driving distance ( so save on flights.) We also don't live anywhere near our families, and my parents are divorced. Each year we fly to see DH's family, fly to see one of my parents, and every other year we see my other parent( lives in UK.) On the year we go to the UK we can only afford to do Disney twice. My husband's job travels every month, normally we go with him; so I stay at home and haven't worked since we married. Vacationing is important to me, so that's what I like to spend money on. We rarely eat out, I pretty much only buy clothes on sale for the kids, and only for myself if I absolutely have to. I don't go to have hair/ nails done or coffee out etc. I do all of our at home chores, and have always been the one up with the kids at night( we have had 2 children with sleep disorders, one with CVS.) My husband goes on a hunting trip for 10 days with his dad and brothers every year.....so I * need*my Disney trips....helps my sanity

 

[Jason_V]

I will always stand by this...I buy a gift card with every paycheck even if I don't have a trip currently planned. This way, when I do plan a trip, I can use those GC's for pretty much whatever I want. I also use my Disney Movie Rewards points for gift cards. That's my savings plan.

 

[luvsJack]

We just pay/save towards it.

I am not going to scramble around with credit cards and bank cards, I don't have time. For those that do, I am glad it works for you. Not downing you or your methods, just not for me.

And I am not giving up our day to day life for a Disney trip. We eat out, we enjoy it. Its a way to relax and spend time with each other or our adult kids. Some weeks I take my lunch all week, some weeks I eat out all week; just depends on the week and what we have going on. We go to movies and I go shopping--and take my granddaughters and/or daughter with me a lot so anything but budget shopping. I get my hair cut and sometimes get my nails done. A few days a year isn't worth giving up any of that to me. Some people aren't going to spend money on any of that anyway so that's fine for them. We aren't rich, we aren't "well to do". So, if I have to give up going out to eat with my kids and/or dh to go on a vacation, then we can't afford the vacation. Just the way we see it.

We just plan each year where we want to go and pay or save toward it. With Disney or Universal, I usually book a package so pay a down payment then pay every week until its paid in full. If I need to keep the payments down, the trip is just further out. If our "big" trip is going to be a long vacation at the beach; I put so much aside each week until I can pay for the room/house/condo and then book it. This year, dh and I want to take a fall road trip through Tennessee. So, we started a savings account and put some aside each week just like I would pay on a WDW trip.

Some years, we may have money being set aside for a beach house in the summer and also start paying on a Disney package for the following year. But its a line in our budget just like the light bill or the mortgage. Its just one that we can adjust if we need to.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We just pay/save towards it.

I am not going to scramble around with credit cards and bank cards, I don't have time. For those that do, I am glad it works for you. Not downing you or your methods, just not for me.

And I am not giving up our day to day life for a Disney trip. We eat out, we enjoy it. Its a way to relax and spend time with each other or our adult kids. Some weeks I take my lunch all week, some weeks I eat out all week; just depends on the week and what we have going on. We go to movies and I go shopping--and take my granddaughters and/or daughter with me a lot so anything but budget shopping. I get my hair cut and sometimes get my nails done. A few days a year isn't worth giving up any of that to me. Some people aren't going to spend money on any of that anyway so that's fine for them. We aren't rich, we aren't "well to do". So, if I have to give up going out to eat with my kids and/or dh to go on a vacation, then we can't afford the vacation. Just the way we see it.

We just plan each year where we want to go and pay or save toward it. With Disney or Universal, I usually book a package so pay a down payment then pay every week until its paid in full. If I need to keep the payments down, the trip is just further out. If our "big" trip is going to be a long vacation at the beach; I put so much aside each week until I can pay for the room/house/condo and then book it. This year, dh and I want to take a fall road trip through Tennessee. So, we started a savings account and put some aside each week just like I would pay on a WDW trip.

Some years, we may have money being set aside for a beach house in the summer and also start paying on a Disney package for the following year. But its a line in our budget just like the light bill or the mortgage. Its just one that we can adjust if we need to.

I agree and have posted the same thing several times.

I don't give up my luxuries 365 days a year for 7 days of Disney fun or any vacation since we don't do Disney every year. For me it's not worth it for one week of vacation. We eat out, go to the movies, we have iphones, we have cable, I get my hair done every 12 weeks or so, I get my nails and pedicure done about every 3 weeks, my kids do activities, and the big one is my SO and I have a pretty active social life with friends. Some months it's low key stuff at someone's house but some months we do outings in the city. We aren't rich but we budget and have vacation as a line item in our budget.

 

[Euby]

I buy $25 Disney gift cards with my Target Red Card (at 5% discount) each paycheck. I also use Shopkick. In the past month, I've earned $100 in Disney gift cards.

 

[MrsPete]

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.

We only had one car for the first three years of our marriage, and it was a GREAT way to kickstart our finances. When I started a new job that meant we needed a second car, we were both SHOCKED at just how much it impacted our budget. When we retire (soon!), we are going to downsize to one car again.

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

Seriously? You've done the math, and you know how much you'd earn by putting that money into an automatic account throughout the year?

... I don't give up my luxuries 365 days a year for 7 days of Disney fun or any vacation since we don't do Disney every year. For me it's not worth it for one week of vacation. We eat out, go to the movies, we have iphones, we have cable, I get my hair done every 12 weeks or so, I get my nails and pedicure done about every 3 weeks, my kids do activities, and the big one is my SO and I have a pretty active social life with friends ...

It's a matter of priorities. We don't do most of the things you listed above (and don't consider them sacrifices) because our goal was always to retire while we're still (moderately) young.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It's a matter of priorities. We don't do most of the things you listed above (and don't consider them sacrifices) because our goal was always to retire while we're still (moderately) young.

Retiring early and going to Disney one week a year are two different beasts. I can't live my life doing nothing year round just for one week of fun. We like sporting events, comedy shows, nights out in the city with friends, etc. Different strokes for different folks. As long as you're (generally speaking) happy that's all that matters.

We do other things to save money. Neither of us have car payments. Saves us a TON. I buy a car and drive it until it's no longer able to move. We don't have a big home. I like a smaller house. Saves us on taxes, utility bills, time cleaning which means more time living life and we aren't usually the hosts for events since our house isn't the "big" house which saves a lot of money since hosting can cost $$$.

Also now that the kids are older and going to a restaurant is never under $100 we mostly order in now. Pizza, Chinese and things like that which we do once a week. We save eating out at a nice restaurant for special occasions.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I put money into a vacation savings account every week.

We don't go out to eat. We don't do a lot of shopping unless there are good deals.

We ask for people to give Disney GCs to my daughter for her birthday or Christmas. I usually get them as gifts, too.

We use our Disney Visa rewards to pay for meals while we are there.