Track Your 2018 Vacation Budget Here...

[margievis]

Updates in blue:

June New York trip:
Needed : $2,687
Saved/paid:$2,687
Still need: $0
I’m fundraising for spending money, but may need to take at least $200 cash

August Disney Trip:
Needed: $3084.59 after adding 2 days to our park hoppers/$2996.84 after room cost adjustment
Saved/paid: $2086.48 (No OOP- all swagbucks, Ibotta, and other savings apps)
Got a phone call from Disney. The pool will be under refurbishment while we are there, so they are taking the cost of our “pool view” rooms down to standard view cost.
Still need: $910.36

Added 2 days at Art of Animation little mermaid rooms, paid deposit of
$174.38 (no OOP here either- trying to pay for this trip with Swagbucks, shopkick, etc, entirely) still need $174.38. I may upgrade this to a ticketless package with the quick service dining plan.
Update:
I did upgrade to a ticketless package with quick service dining. The total came to $561.53. I have completely paid this part of our trip off.

Magical Extras that I want to earn/ pay for with swagbucks:

Fireworks Dessert party at MK $60/adult(*4)=$240 needed
I booked this today-had to prepay with a credit card. It was $276. I will pay the credit card off with PayPal cash I can earn from swagbucks and Ibotta. I used my Southwest card to get the airline points. I have paid $187.50 from Ibotta/PayPal from SB so far- but I went ahead and paid the rest to my credit card OOP so I wouldn’t have to pay interest.

In room celebration surprise for my niece-the one I want is $79
Memory Maker=$169 in advance
Starbucks spending money=$100 (at least)
Celebration cake for my niece at Chef Mickey’s=$35
(Maybe, if I get everything else paid for) In room surprise for hubby- romance pkg $120, add on 2 bathrobes @$60 each=$240 total

 

[Teal03]

Budget for tickets, food, hotel, and flights-$1300
Not budgeting right now for souvenirs, tips, Uber, etc

I have $280 so far enough in Disney gift cards for a 3 day ticket at Disneyland

I’m also getting back $170 in rewards this month

I should save another $150 buying discounted gift cards and using promos for my hotel and flight. My flight won’t increase much until mid July.

I do Swagbucks and Shopkicks. I think I’ll earn a combined $200 from both. I’ve did 2 or 3 offers through Swagbucks offering 3000 SBs each. I’ll use Target gift cards from Shopkicks to buy Delta gift cards.

Just picked up a side job and having a yard sale later this month. I have so much stuff. I think I’ll make a decent amount.

I moved my trip up to August 2018. Short amount of time left but I think I’ll make it. If not I’ll move it back to Thanksgiving week.

 

[justlook3]

Some updating on this, updates in blue
Going Nov 26-Dec 3 (we haven't decided on where we're staying on the night of Dec 2 yet)

4 nights at Bay Lake Tower Standard Studio: $1020 (paid)
2 nights at Copper Creek Villas (Studio): $608 (paid)
Tickets: 2 5 day park hoppers $865.90 (purchased prior to price increase on Undercover Tourist via Mousesavers, put on credit card, will be paying off, paid off $180)
Regular Dining Plan: For the 4 night stay: $603.92 (paid*)
Deluxe Dining Plan (for 2 night stay, there was a transaction fee via that rental company): $484 (paid)
Memory Maker: $169 ($88.80 to go)
MVMCP: Purchased for $210.88
Additional Costs: ?
Haven't started looking yet for airfare

*Paid for with discounted gift cards bought from Target and BJ's so out of pocket $573ish

Total not counting airfare, spending money and one room: $3961.70, $774.70 of that to go (which includes the tickets which I hope to pay off by November but may not necessarily do so)

ETA: Money sources: Ibotta, Swagbucks, Bing, various gift card deals (such as Grow Up Young), free lance work, budgeting and random sources of income such as selling unwanted dvds and video games on decluttr. We're moving at the beginning of the month to an apartment with lower rent which opens up funds as well to pay off the credit card.

 

[mrsw94]

Hi All!
I'm new to the Budget Board and spotted this thread. We are heading down to Disneyland for the first time in about 3 years in September. I am very excited! We will be a special trip to celebrate DD's 16th Birthday. Because of that, we are adding a few things to make it special. That being said, Hubby (even more than me) and I are both a little astounded by the price tag, but she is very excited, so it will be worth it! The trip will be for 4 of us myself, hubby, and 2 'Disney Adults' (ugg) DD16 and DS10. Depending on DD's class schedule, we'll hopefully be leaving at about lunchtime on Sept. 14th driving down and in the parks for 3 days then driving home on Tuesday. Current Budget:

3 Day ParkHoppers $1205.60 (Through Last Minute Travel)
MaxPass for 3 Days $120
Rental Car (Don't trust our 2001 minivan to make the trip) $318 (Hoping this will go down)
Hotel *This is my big dilemma. It's DD's special trip, so she'd love to have a bed. When we stay somewhere with 2 queens, the kids sleep on air mattresses and hubby and I each take a bed. DH doesn't sleep well in anything smaller than a king)
Camelot Inn (Biggest option. 2 rooms total, kids each get a queen bed, no breakfast, but DD is ok with bringing Costco Muffins, parking is extra, super close to the parks) $1071.72
DelSol Inn (Also close, kids in bunk beds, includes breakfast) $915.37
PortoFino (Breakfast included, Long walk to the parks, we've stayed this far away before, and it's hard to go back mid-day for a rest, and hard at the end of the night) $680.20
Parking DelSol $38.61, Camelot Inn $52.65 (including 17% tax, I'm assuming the parking fee is per night, not day)
Fantasmic Dinner Package (this is DD's FAVORITE Show, so this will be a splurge) River Belle $180, Hungry Bear $120. Already bought seat cushions off ebay since my picky eaters weren't interested in the Blue Bayou Menu
Food $630
Plaza Inn Minnie Breakfast (DD is on the fence on this one. She'd love it, but hates missing park time to do it) $130
Souvenirs $200 DD will bring babysitting money, DS has $100 in GC from a research survey. DH & I each have $50 from a research survey, but I'm also a sucker when it comes to Disney stuff!

Current total :$3907.97 OUCH!!

 

[StarlitNight05]

Hi All!
I'm new to the Budget Board and spotted this thread. We are heading down to Disneyland for the first time in about 3 years in September. I am very excited! We will be a special trip to celebrate DD's 16th Birthday. Because of that, we are adding a few things to make it special. That being said, Hubby (even more than me) and I are both a little astounded by the price tag, but she is very excited, so it will be worth it! The trip will be for 4 of us myself, hubby, and 2 'Disney Adults' (ugg) DD16 and DS10. Depending on DD's class schedule, we'll hopefully be leaving at about lunchtime on Sept. 14th driving down and in the parks for 3 days then driving home on Tuesday. Current Budget:

3 Day ParkHoppers $1205.60 (Through Last Minute Travel)
MaxPass for 3 Days $120
Rental Car (Don't trust our 2001 minivan to make the trip) $318 (Hoping this will go down)
Hotel *This is my big dilemma. It's DD's special trip, so she'd love to have a bed. When we stay somewhere with 2 queens, the kids sleep on air mattresses and hubby and I each take a bed. DH doesn't sleep well in anything smaller than a king)
Camelot Inn (Biggest option. 2 rooms total, kids each get a queen bed, no breakfast, but DD is ok with bringing Costco Muffins, parking is extra, super close to the parks) $1071.72
DelSol Inn (Also close, kids in bunk beds, includes breakfast) $915.37
PortoFino (Breakfast included, Long walk to the parks, we've stayed this far away before, and it's hard to go back mid-day for a rest, and hard at the end of the night) $680.20
Parking DelSol $38.61, Camelot Inn $52.65 (including 17% tax, I'm assuming the parking fee is per night, not day)
Fantasmic Dinner Package (this is DD's FAVORITE Show, so this will be a splurge) River Belle $180, Hungry Bear $120. Already bought seat cushions off ebay since my picky eaters weren't interested in the Blue Bayou Menu
Food $630
Plaza Inn Minnie Breakfast (DD is on the fence on this one. She'd love it, but hates missing park time to do it) $130
Souvenirs $200 DD will bring babysitting money, DS has $100 in GC from a research survey. DH & I each have $50 from a research survey, but I'm also a sucker when it comes to Disney stuff!

Current total :$3907.97 OUCH!!

FWIW I have heard the breakfast at DelSol is very limited (cold cereal, instant oatmeal, pastries, and some fruit), if that is a deciding factor for you. I think Camelot Inn may be slightly nicer and the extra bed seems like it'll give you guys some breathing room. Have you checked into Desert Inn and Suites? They also have larger, family type suites that would accomodate your bed needs. The breakfast there is also kind of basic, but for the most part I've heard it's a clean and decent place for the price.

Another side note, if your kids are super picky eaters Hungry Bear may be a good option for F! since you can order off the normal menu (you still pay the same price) which has standard fare like burgers and fries.

 

[belleelc77]

FWIW I have heard the breakfast at DelSol is very limited (cold cereal, instant oatmeal, pastries, and some fruit), if that is a deciding factor for you. I think Camelot Inn may be slightly nicer and the extra bed seems like it'll give you guys some breathing room. Have you checked into Desert Inn and Suites? They also have larger, family type suites that would accomodate your bed needs. The breakfast there is also kind of basic, but for the most part I've heard it's a clean and decent place for the price.

We stayed at Desert Inn and Suites last July. It was very clean and spacious, we were very comfortable but it was just the 2 of us. The breakfast was a little different every day, my daughter liked the make your own waffles. There was limited hot items and cereal, oatmeal, that kind of thing. It was fine for us since we are not big breakfast eaters.

 

[mrsw94]

FWIW I have heard the breakfast at DelSol is very limited (cold cereal, instant oatmeal, pastries, and some fruit), if that is a deciding factor for you. I think Camelot Inn may be slightly nicer and the extra bed seems like it'll give you guys some breathing room. Have you checked into Desert Inn and Suites? They also have larger, family type suites that would accomodate your bed needs. The breakfast there is also kind of basic, but for the most part I've heard it's a clean and decent place for the price.

Another side note, if your kids are super picky eaters Hungry Bear may be a good option for F! since you can order off the normal menu (you still pay the same price) which has standard fare like burgers and fries.

We stayed at Desert Inn and Suites last July. It was very clean and spacious, we were very comfortable but it was just the 2 of us. The breakfast was a little different every day, my daughter liked the make your own waffles. There was limited hot items and cereal, oatmeal, that kind of thing. It was fine for us since we are not big breakfast eaters.

Thanks for the replies! We stayed at the DI&S years ago, and while the walk was great, I wouldn't go near the pool. Since it will be September, and the 10 year old will need a break, a decent pool is a must. I may just say the heck with it and stick with Camelot as a splurge. At least I still have a few months to decide!

 

[kristenrice]

Right now, my vacation plan is for a 6-night stay in October of 2018 with my 2 daughters who will be 13 and 15 when we travel.

UPDATE: The trip is now 7 nights...3 nights at OKW and 4 nights at AKV-Kidani

That leaves the budget for this trip...and here it is...

1) Airfare: $1200 We live 10 minutes from the Grand Rapids airport and obviously prefer to fly out of there, but it is SO expensive and the flights are almost never non-stop. We have flown from Flint and Detroit and I am fine with either of those if the price and times are right. Southwest has been our airline of choice in the past because we had so many points from the SWA Visa card, but for this trip, I will have about enough points to cover (1) one-way, so I am not going to rule out Delta as an option.

UPDATE: We are flying out on Delta and back on SWA. The flight on Delta was booked for $501.00 but I am planning to upgrade to Delta Comfort+ for an additional $251.55. The SWA flight "cost" $541.80, which was the cost of purchasing and transferring points and EBCI. That brings the final airfare cost to $1294.35 (+$94.35)

2) Food: $1200 I have (3) components to my food budget. The first is the purchase of the Tables in Wonderland Card ($150). This will cover both trips, and in 2019, we are travelling with a party of 8 so it will more than pay for itself. The second food portion is our grocery order ($50) from Amazon Prime Now. This will be mostly things like soda, eggs, cheese, fruit and bread. The rest of the food budget is our dining budget in the parks ($1000). My plan is to earn this entire amount in gift cards from programs like Swagbucks. We like to eat at least one table-service meal each day, with the possible exception of the days we are at Epcot since we will be there during the F&W festival. We are not big eaters and we can definitely fill up on an appetizer and a couple entrees between the three of us. The girls are not into character meals and they don't particularly care for the buffet or AYCE meals either (thank goodness!), but they do enjoy a good steak...so that TIW card will get put to good use.

UPDATE: This budget was the first thing I increased as soon as my budget increased. First, the Amazon order went up to $100. I also added another $525 to the overall dining budget because we added a day and we want to make sure we can eat what, where and when we want. The new food/grocery budget is $1650 (+$450)

3) Other Expenses: $600 This is the amount that I will budget to include things like an extra night in a hotel in case we opt to fly out of Detroit and drive over the night before, tickets to the Halloween party if we decide to do that, activities/demos at the Food and Wine Festival, and stuff like that.

UPDATE: This remained (mostly) the same. I cancelled our night at the Hyatt ($300) and used that money to buy (3) tickets to MNSSHP. I am still planning on taking $300 in "cash" for miscellaneous expenses

My total budget is $3000 now $3550

So that's the most current budget update...
...and here's where I am sitting with my earnings...

My cash goal was $1800 to cover the airfare and the "other" expenses. I hit that goal quite a while ago. I want to make sure that I have $300 in my vacation account when we leave and right now, I have close to $1000...and I still have 4 months to save. That was one reason that I decided to upgrade our flight on the way to Orlando. I would normally NEVER consider paying $250 ONE-WAY, but since it will add to our comfort level and I have the funds available, I decided to go for it. I am also going to use some of the vacation money to cover a day-trip to Detroit so that I can do a NEXUS interview and a Detroit Tigers game in the same day. That way, the girls and I can have TSA-Pre for our trips and it will be only $50 for me and free for them...and we get to see a baseball game.

My gift card goal was $1400 and I thought that was going to be difficult. When I realized that I was going to make it a lot sooner than I thought, I added $250 to that goal. I need to earn a total of $1650 in gift cards to make my goal. I do not pay for any gift cards or buy them at a discount. They are 100% free to me. Right now, I have $1623.30 I am 4 months out from my trip and I only need to earn a mere $26.70!

By the end of June, I will probably be starting the savings for my 2019 trip. I would be ecstatic if I could go on my 2018 trip with the knowledge that my 2019 trip was 50% paid for.

 

[goodeats]

We have an 8 night stay at the WL in August 2018. My original goal is to stay under $5K out of pocket, but looking at food prices is giving me palpitations. I like signature restaurants and
Hotel & Tix - "labor day deal package" through unnamed travel agency - $3,300 - includes 8 night hotel and 6 day MYW tix w/ one waterpark day for 2 adults and 2 kids. The hotel is a great deal, but the park tickets seem expensive. I think it's still a decent deal though.

Flights from CA - We have 44K SW points right now and will probably accrue another couple thousand before we book. This will hopefully pay for 2 RT flights. I do not want to open another credit card so I we'll be paying for 2 flights OOP. Hopefully under $800, will have to see. It might make more sense to choose a different airline because I know AA and DL has good deals and non-stop flights and save the SW miles for a different trip.

Food - Ugh, I have no idea. I do want to have some splurge meals, but some of the prices are so outrageous. The girls would love dining in the castle, but my DH might have a heart attack looking at the bill! I will plan some cheaper meals (Trails End, QS, etc), but my first thought was to budget $1,000 - Maybe it should be more like $2,000 - gulp! Let's say $1,500 for now.

Other - I'm not big on souvenirs, but we'll probably buy a few - $100, Memory Maker $169 (a must, we are so bad at taking pictures!), Kids club if we go to Jiko $110

Update on us - We were able to get the flights for free. They aren't the best times/routes, but if it's free.... I've paid for the package in full, Memory Maker, and I purchased trip insurance for $92 through AAA. I'm a little worried about getting stuck in Florida during a hurricane and having to pay for extra nights. I've also prepaid a CRT lunch.

Dining wise - This is still my big question mark. Right now I have $176 on my Disney Reward Card and $500 in Disney Gift cards. I'll probably purchase another $600 before our trip and maybe accrue another $25 in rewards. Besides going through the menus and adding up everything we might order is there a good rule of thumb on dining costs? I also need to figure out if it makes more sense to use the Disney Visa at the discounted restaurants or not.

 

[kristenrice]

I am getting ready to pull the trigger and upgrade our one-way flight to Orlando on Delta and I cannot believe how much the price has jumped. I bought our fares (Main Cabin) for $167 each and they are now $435. I am going to upgrade to the "Comfort +" which will cost me $255 total for all three of us which will bring our final cost to $252 per ticket. That's about 40% cheaper than what the main cabin fare is right now! Crazy!

 

[Andrea1975]

Less than 60 days til my trip now! Fastpasses booked, and I'm starting to think about gear and packing and all that other stuff. I picked up some nifty misting water bottles on sale at Aldi, and just got some cooling towels from amazon. Those were paid out of the vacation account/amazon credit from swagbucks.

Budget is in great shape--I currently have $3265 in the vacation savings account and less than $3000 left to pay. Plus I have another $600+ in credit card rewards and interest. So it must be time to start thinking about the next vacation... I'm still gradually adding--mostly just credit card rewards, interest from my online savings account, and the occasional ibotta cashout. Conveniently, my online account keeps raising the interest rate, so that amount keeps going up each month. I've lightened up on swagbucks, but have still been getting a $25 amazon card each month.

 

[kristenrice]

DONE!!! I DID IT!!!
The final numbers are in...I'm ready to leave, but I still have 108 days until our trip
My final expense budget is going to be $1665 in gift cards and $2100 in cash for a total cost of $3765.

When I started this thread (35 weeks ago), I was starting with $579.35 in gift cards and $512.93 in cash. The gift cards were all earned for free and NONE of them were purchased.

In those 35 weeks, I have acquired a total of $1663.96 in gift cards (ok...I'm $1.04 short...I'll deal with it) and I have also earned a whopping $2686.54.

That means I earned an average of $30 a WEEK in rewards and $62 a WEEK in cash, which was mostly from plasma donations. It certainly did not feel like I was earning at a rate of over $90 a week. I always tell people that they should not look at small rewards as "not worth it" because IT ALL ADDS UP!! Every cent counts! Even on days when I only earned 20-30 SB from nCraves, or only $0.30 in eBates for an in-store pick-up from Target, or just a few BB Rewards for buying my lunch at McDonald's...it was all adding up!

Now, I can start the month of July knowing that this year's trip is entirely covered. I am now looking towards October 2019 and I am starting my savings for that trip. I would love to get it 50% covered by the time we leave for our trip this year....THAT would be A-MAZ-ING!

 

[Andrea1975]

37 days until we leave! I have all my costs covered with a very healthy ($1000+) buffer in my vacation savings account. Today I just finally got around to adding and paying off memory maker. Now I'm just pondering my stroller options. I keep going back and forth between bringing the stroller I have and renting one.

Bringing Stroller (McLaren umbrella stroller)
Pros: Free. Would have it for the airport. Familiar. Small/light.
Cons: One more thing to manage at the airport. Small (my 4yo fits but it's getting tight.) Not sure where my rain cover is...

Renting Stroller (would get a BOB Revolution
Pros: Larger (my 7yo could fit if she's really tired). Less to manage at airport.
Cons: Cost (~$85). Bulkier to get on and off bus.

I think the missing rain cover might be the tipping point.

 

[Marionnette]

Hmmm...next year will be a tree house villa courtesy of my brother since I paid for the BWV GV this year. He's a Hertz President's Club member and gets an awesome corporate rate for a rental car (he paid $125 for a Lincoln Navigator for 8 days last week!). We'll split the cost with him and my siblings for the next trip ($100, give or take).

I have pre-2017 tickets but I think that I will take advantage of the current DVC offer for Platinum Plus APs for myself and husband. Cost will be just under $1200 and I expect to pay with GCs. I have enough GCs to pay for them now but I want to make sure that I have enough in reserve to cover my DVC dues. If I get a renter for my points, I'll use that money to cover the 2018 dues.
ETA - I got a renter and the deposit has been paid! Estimated dues are out and they are lower than I had budgeted.

We used a shuttle service to and from out local airport. Splitting the cost with my sister and brother-in-law cut our OOP cost to $96 with tips.

Tipping bell services, mousekeeping and the skycaps in the airport will run another $80.

We have enough Southwest RR points to cover 2 RT tickets. OOP cost will be the 9/11 fees ($23) and EBCI ($60).

Food will be the next biggest OOP cost and I'm estimating $1,000 for the week. I'm hoping to earn enough in GCs and PayPal to cover this.

Souvenir spending is always flexible. I spent $250 on Christmas ornaments, thank-you gifts, a t-shirt, golf hat and wine glasses on this past trip. All paid with GCs.

Amount needed -

Cash ~$300
Disney GCs ~$2500
SWA RR points ~?​

Current Savings -

$166 PayPal
$7455 Disney GCs (it looks like a lot but like I said, I have DVC dues on 600 points to pay in January)
$5 Visa GC50
$19.16 Amazon GC
$90 Landry's GCs
$50 Wolfgang Puck
$25 Earl of Sandwich
$185 Starbucks (way more than I want to have on hand but when I'm getting them for free from rewards programs, who am I to turn them down?)
​

Whoa, now that I've put it all down in one place, it looks like I could splurge on a few "pluses" next fall - like a repeat of the Wine vs. Beer experience we did this year or a dessert party for the whole family. I'll have to take an accounting of what I have once we get closer to the actual trip.

ETA - My brother booked the Tree House Villas last night (10/30)!!!!! We're set to go next fall for F&W with all of my siblings and their spouses!!!!!!

It's been a very long time since I've done an update. I'm just going to go back to my original post in this thread and include any changes/updates that have occurred since I made that post.

My brother booked the Tree House Villas for our F&W trip in the fall. He doesn't want compensation because I used my points last year to book a BWV Grand Villa. He purchased a TiW card, so there's no need for me to get one.

I paid my DVC dues using Disney GCs. I also bought 2 Platinum AP vouchers ($1200) and paid using my stash of GCs. Also paid for with my GCs - a KTTK Tour for 7 people, F&W Beverage Seminar for 7 and Beer vs. Wine Experience (total - $1460).

I booked 4 tickets (myself, husband, sister and BIL) to Orlando on SWA using points. The 9/11 fees and ECBI totaled $60 cash.

Since SWA had lousy flight times for our return trip to PHL, I booked us on AA using my AA Visa (free checked bags for everyone). I chose to upgrade our seats and probably paid way more than I should have for the flight. $680 cash for 4 one-way tickets!!!

I still plan to use a shuttle service to and from PHL. I plan to use my Chase UR to pay for it, including tips, by applying the points to the statement balance. No need to rent a car because my brother has a lot of rewards points from business travel to cover one. We will take DME from the airport and meet him at the resort because he arrives a day before us.

Tips for bell services, skycaps and mousekeeping should run about $80 cash.

I'm still estimating another $1,000 for meals. Most will be paid with Disney GCs but we have one meal at Shula's that will have to be cash. I expect that one to run well north of $100 for the two of us, even with TiW discount. So $850 in GCs and $150 cash. We will also get groceries for the villas, mostly water, snacks and breakfast items but also some beer, wine and spirits. So, another $200 cash for food.

I've upped the souvenir budget to $300 and it will be paid entirely with GCs,

At this point, I estimate that we will need the following (not including airfare, tickets, tours or experiences that have been paid for):

Disney GCs - $1200
Cash - $430
Chase UR - ~25000 ($250 statement credit)​

All of these are already covered, so I have started to put aside GCs to pay for my dues and to cover a short F&G trip with my daughter in the spring.

 

[amalone1013]

Most will be paid with Disney GCs but we have one meal at Shula's that will have to be cash. I expect that one to run well north of $100 for the two of us, even with TiW discount.

We plan to eat at Shula's on our next trip, and I read that they do a buy one get one free entree coupon for your birthday if you sign up for their emails. Not sure if that would help you.

 

[Marionnette]

We plan to eat at Shula's on our next trip, and I read that they do a buy one get one free entree coupon for your birthday if you sign up for their emails. Not sure if that would help you.

Already on it! Brother #4 turns 51 a couple of days after we head home, so we should have that birthday coupon in time. The last time we went, it was my sister's birthday and the waiter did tell us that he wasn't supposed to do two discounts on the same check (Brother #3 had TiW, Sister had the B1G1 coupon). So he just split the check for us...Sister and BIL on her ticket and then Brother #3, myself and husband on the other. Needless to say, he got a B-I-G tip!

 

[amalone1013]

Already on it! Brother #4 turns 51 a couple of days after we head home, so we should have that birthday coupon in time. The last time we went, it was my sister's birthday and the waiter did tell us that he wasn't supposed to do two discounts on the same check (Brother #3 had TiW, Sister had the B1G1 coupon). So he just split the check for us...Sister and BIL on her ticket and then Brother #3, myself and husband on the other. Needless to say, he got a B-I-G tip!

That's so nice! You also answered my question on if you could use TIW and the birthday coupon I figured that would be too good of a deal!

 

[kristenrice]

I'm back!!!

I wanted to update this post to show how well I did with my estimated vs. actual expenses...

Here goes...

Every time I look at this, it flabbergasts me! I cannot believe that I have earned almost $1600 in FREE money. These gift cards are going to give us the ultimate Disney FREE DINING experience.

To break it down a little further, here is some of our dining plans so far...
Saturday: Planning to do the Parisian Luncheon at the F&W festival if it is offered this year ($175) but if it is not, I have a dinner reservation booked for us at the Yachtsman Steakhouse which should be the same cost, probably less.
We *did* the Parisian Luncheon and the cost was $174.09
Sunday: Lunch at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, sharing 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and 3 sodas ($75)
We opted for lunch at Sanaa instead which came to $79.47
Monday: Hoop-Dee-Do Revue, Category 1, late show ($180)
I can't believe we've never done this show before! What a riot! Total cost was $178.30
Tuesday: Lunch at Sanaa, bread service, (3) sandwiches, (3) drinks...($75)..Still trying for a dinner ADR at BOG ($170)
We managed to get dinner at BOG, but they raised the price the week before our trip. Our total was $185.76
Wednesday: Member Night dinner at Splitsville ($150)
This was probably the best fun we had all week. 4 games of bowling and more food than we could eat for $150.18...unfortunately, I found out that the gratuity was NOT included (like it is with every other pre-paid meal) so I added another $25. Yeah, I know, it's a cheap tip, but we had to refill our own drinks and we saw our server a total of 4 times...she took our order, brought out our cups, delivered our plates, (someone else brought out the food) and then she brought me the "bill", which was basically just her chance to tell me that she needed a tip.
Thursday: Dinner at Jiko, sharing 2 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and 3 sodas ($150)
We got 1 appetizer, 1 side dish, 2 entrees, 3 sodas and no desserts...and our total was $137.13
Friday: Breakfast at Boma ($75)
Well, Boma went up from $25 to $30 for breakfast so our total was $92.84.

So I came in within $30 (not including the unexpected $25 gratuity) for our TS meal budget for the week.
The initial plan was to pay for our meals with the gift card and use the "miscellaneous" fund for F&W booths. Instead, we just used our MagicBands at the booths and paid down our room charges (all food) with the dining gift card until it was gone. When all was said and done, I had to pay $42.47 from the "miscellaneous" fund. That's actually about half of what I was planning on spending at the F&W booths so I was still well-under my budget.

Total TS Meal Cost (as planned): $880
Total remaining Dining budget: $320

We should have no problem eating around these meals for $40/day. We are "snackers"...if we get hungry, we will grab a pretzel and share it, or a Dole Whip and share it. We would easily split a single CS meal with maybe an extra side between the three of us and it would be a meal. We will have our groceries in the room for all of our breakfasts and we will have snacks with us too. This is all based on the original $1200 that I have as my "base" budget. If I can get that extra $150, we will have a nice cushion to use at the F&W festival booths if the girls decide they want to hit them up this year. It's one of my favorite things to do, but I am not going to force it on them if they are not interested.

DONE!!! I DID IT!!!
The final numbers are in...I'm ready to leave, but I still have 108 days until our trip
My final expense budget is going to be $1665 in gift cards and $2100 in cash for a total cost of $3765. CHECK OUT THE BOTTOM AND SEE HOW CLOSE I CAME!!!

When I started this thread (35 weeks ago), I was starting with $579.35 in gift cards and $512.93 in cash. The gift cards were all earned for free and NONE of them were purchased.

In those 35 weeks, I have acquired a total of $1663.96 in gift cards (ok...I'm $1.04 short...I'll deal with it) and I have also earned a whopping $2686.54.

That means I earned an average of $30 a WEEK in rewards and $62 a WEEK in cash, which was mostly from plasma donations. It certainly did not feel like I was earning at a rate of over $90 a week. I always tell people that they should not look at small rewards as "not worth it" because IT ALL ADDS UP!! Every cent counts! Even on days when I only earned 20-30 SB from nCraves, or only $0.30 in eBates for an in-store pick-up from Target, or just a few BB Rewards for buying my lunch at McDonald's...it was all adding up!

Now, I can start the month of July knowing that this year's trip is entirely covered. I am now looking towards October 2019 and I am starting my savings for that trip. I would love to get it 50% covered by the time we leave for our trip this year....THAT would be A-MAZ-ING!

So here's what I paid and went to Florida with...

Airfare: $1294.35 (*includes the upgrade to Comfort+ and EBCI purchase)
Cash in my wallet: $155
PayPal funds: $300
MNSSHP Tickets: $300.11
================>>> This was my Out-of-Pocket Budget
Disney Gift Card/Visa Rewards: $1150.87 (*$150 was used to pay for the Tables in Wonderland card)
Amazon Gift Cards: $102.19
**In addition, I used $502.57 from the gift card to pay for the pre-paid meals
================>>> THIS WAS ALL FREE MONEY!!

...and this is what I came home with...

Cash: $25
PayPal funds: $179.23
...and a little over $13 leftover on my Amazon gift card too

So in the end, I spent $1695.91 on food and the Tables in Wonderland Card, $1294.35 on airfare, $300.11 on MNSSHP tickets, $100.25 on grocery deliveries, and $250.77 in miscellaneous expenses. That brings my grand total to....

....$3896.39!

I can honestly say that there was very little that we did NOT do due to a lack of funding. I was able to let the girls get almost anything they wanted. Before we left, I took $100 from the vacation savings account and bought them each a $50 Disney gift card to use on whatever they wanted. They each bought a beverage flight (non-alcoholic) at the Light Lab ($7) and then Kaedyn bought herself a t-shirt at MNSSHP. Kam decided to save her remaining $43 until next year. She wanted a sweatshirt, but when she realized it was $40 and it was HER money, she suddenly didn't want it so bad.

One unfortunate expense (from the PayPal funds) was on our final day. We packed our checked bags and sent them off with RAC before heading to AK for the morning. When we arrived, it started pouring rain...and, of course, our ponchos and umbrellas were already on their way to the airport. So, I shelled out $38 to buy the girls ponchos and an umbrella for myself. It rained for almost an hour and since we were in the AK for 4 hours, I am glad I spent the money. We logged almost 5 miles that morning before heading back to the resort at 2:30 to catch the bus to the airport. Once we got to the airport, Kaedy realized she'd lost ONE of her EarPlanes...how she only lost one is still a mystery, but I had to buy her a new pair ($12) so her ears wouldn't explode on the flights home.

Overall, I am pretty proud of myself for only missing my budget target by 3%. I had all of the money available before I left, and I even came home with over $200. I would have probably been spot-on if it weren't for the two, unexpected price increases ($5/person at BOG and $5/person at Boma) and the gratuity that was not included at Splitsville. That right there accounts for $85 of the $131.39 variance. If not for those two things, heck...I would have been off by only $46.39...that's only 1%. (**Let me stray a bit...in 2012, we took a trip with the extended family. My dad payed for all 15 of us...tickets, lodging, airfare, food, everything....for a week. I helped him plan and budget and he keeps meticulous records, even more than I do. When all was said and done, he applauded me and said that the budget that I came up with for 15 people, all-inclusive for a week, was within $200 of what he actually paid**)

So this concludes the 2018 budget planning thread for me. It's been a great motivator and, as you can see, I achieved my goal.

Now...on to the 2019 budget planning thread