$$Vacation$$

[JMCDAD]

Anyone else finding it harder and harder to save for a vacation?
I love family vacations, they are one of my favorite things,with Disney right at the top. We usually only go on one a year so I really look forward to it. Last year was the first year in a long time that we didn;t go anywhere, money was tight , so we just did day trips, it was nice, but no real packing , planning, hotelling vacation.
I am determined to go away this year, but its going to be tough again. I intend to put my tax refund towards the vacation, but you know how that goes, it gets spent before the check ever gets near the mailbox.
Don't get be me wrong I make a decent pay, and am very grateful, but I also live in the Northeast so everything is expensive. Just wondering how you folks find it/do it.

 

[lilunsure]

We have a vacation fund. When our check is direct deposited $25 a week goes into the vacation fund. Last year we did not do any big trips a few camping trips so we did not touch that fund and it has built up for two years. This year we are taking out the money and going to Disney.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I am a chronic budget-er. I cannot live without a household budget. I find it easy to save for vacations because my budget allows me to see what I can cut to make room for them.

The way we save for vacations is to set up an ING account and have automatic deposits every month.

Secondly, we don't go to Disney every year. We tend to do a "cheap"/more local vacation one year and then an expensive one the next year.

 

[JMCDAD]

We have only been to WDW twice, but definetly want to go back soon
We have always driven on all of our vacations as one way to save money (there is 5 of us)

 

[Kim1964]

It's harder for me because my tastes have gotten more expensive. I am trying to convince myself to skip 2008 or do a budget WDW trip in 2008, but I'm not there yet. We're trying Pop for one night this time to see what it's like. We've never stayed at a value resort, and I want to see if it's something I could be genuinely happy with for a whole trip.

 

[JMCDAD]

We stayed at ASM on our first trip and I have to say we really enjoyed it
Not only is it affordable but the themeing of the value resorts are the most directed at the children IMO

 

[blessedby3]

I automatically take out $150 and put it in our vacation account each time DH gets paid (twice a month). This way we put $300 a month away and it builds up quickly. We usually dont go to Disney every year either, but we did in 2005 and 2006, but DMIL picked up the lodging in 2006 so our cost was greatly reduced. What a great MIL!!!

 

[A&CsMom]

We are lucky - DH gets a lump sum payment for stat holidays and vacation pay in mid-December, so that always goes into our vacation fund. Also, where we live the lower income earner (me) gets a percentage of our daycare expenses back at tax time, which we also put in our vacation fund. We do have trouble saving on a weekly basis, but on the other hand we always seem to be able to "absorb" unexpected bills using our regular pay, and not touching our vacation fund. That is what works for us. My parents, who spend January and February in Florida every year and understand our love of our family vacation, also give us some cash towards our yearly vacation every Christmas. We drive because DH would rather not fly, and we enjoy the drive. Whether it saves us money is debatable, but because we always have a vehicle, we stay offsite in a pool home and we always get a good deal, same price as a value resort, but way more room which works for our family. This year will be our third family trip, we couldn't afford it before then due to other priorities. The difference between us and others on this board is we love Disney, but don't do it every day. This year we have 3 days left on our park hoppers, so that's it for Disney, but then we'll just have to go back! We are probably going to buy the Orlando 4 park FlexTicket this time and do US, IoA, SW and W'n'W. Also a few days off to shop, which we haven't had time to do on our previous trips. Sorry for the rambling, just thought I'd let you know how we do it. We spend less than $5,000 Canadian on our trips, including absolutely everything. I think we are probably middle of the road with our vacation budget.

 

[HeatherC]

Here's another vote for a vacation fund.

We actually travel quite a bit (couple times a year) and also live in the Northeast (Mass.) on one salary with 3 kids (10, 8, 5).

What I have found is that there are certain tricks I use to make a trip happen. Here are some of them that may help you too.

1, There are always deals out there. One of my favorites is SkyAuction.com. We have had awesome trips - particularly Disney - and only spent about $250 for lodging for the week. That is in a full condo..not hotel. But watch all the taxes and fees. And don't be afraid to try somewhere new that is on sale. You may find out you love this new place.

I also like www.travelzoo.com...they list the best travel deals on the internet each week. Sign up for their weekly newsletter.

2.If you can go places off season things are usually cheaper.

3.For me this is probably THE MOST important way I can guarantee we will actually go somewhere. Booking way in advance! I'm talking like a year or even more. I have found that prices are usually less if you book far in advance. If we know something is planned, we somehow come up with the money. (There are a lot of last minute specials too, but that is hard for a family.) If I waited to have the money sitting there it would never happen. We already booked a cruise for next Feb. and put a deposit down. Now I know how much I need to come up with between now and then. I figure if things get really tight, I can always do Ebay or babysitting or something.

4. Keep checking prices...constantly. This can be a pain. But I just saved $200 on our Feb. flights on JetBlue by doing this. So now I have a credit I can use for our next trip.

This also works a lot with rental cars. I always book immediately upon deciding to go somewhere and then keep checking codes and rates. You'd be surprised how quick they change on even an hourly basis.

5. We also usually stay longer than a week...about 10 days - especially if we fly. I figure we still have to eat anyway...so I might as well be somewhere on vacation eating for a few extra days.
I guess the trick is really planning and finding out what you can cut out to make it happen. For me that is curtailing my Dunkin Donuts coffee, not eating out a lot and watching my grocery bill. Those little $1 or $2 each day add up to a lot of money each month.

My friends wonder how we can afford to go away so often, but these are just some simple things I do because I love to travel.


One other thing I do is not automatically book a place because someone told me about it or I saw it advertised. I really investigate places before we decide to go. (TripAdvisor.com is great for that.) We have saved a ton of money by staying 5 minutes further away from something or going a different week if the rates are less. This just takes a lot of legwork...which I love because half the fun to me is the thrill of the hunt.

One final thing is to not compromise on what is important to you. If you will only be happy at a certain resort, then you should try to stay there. For me...I will only fly direct flights if possible. With three kids I hate the idea of making layovers or transfers. But for others that is no big deal. I guess its just finding out what works for your family.

Hope this helps you a little.

HeatherC

 

[loveysbydesign]

Yea, it's very hard. My dh actually made $5000 less this past year then he had the year before and i thought i was only imagining we had less $$$!! It may not seem like much a year for some people but my dh doesn't make much per year to begin with. we'd love to do a Disney cruise for the 1st time in late '08 but I have a feeling it will cost too much$$$!

 

[daisyduck123]

We joined DVC...so now we can spend 3 weeks in WDW each year.

I go over to my mom's each Spring & we have an annual yard sale together.
Last spring, together we made $900.00...& my part went straight into our WDW fund for souvenir money!!

 

[mommiepoppins]

I have been having a hard time $. I usually take my student refund and make that our getting there money. I am not doing Disney this time it will be a Universal trip ( 89/person). That is a great deal. I do not like local vacation trips they cost more than Disney. I rather be where it is warm anyway.
I save my change . I buy 2 Universal tickets a month with my own spending money. So the only money I need to come up with is getting there and that is refund money.

 

[woodchuck]

We do disney ever other year, so we have 1 year to save. We go camping every year for a week our ds loves it and with disney every other year that too gives him something to look for.

 

[swillis]

I find it harder as well to save the money, but I think that the fact that my kids are getting older has something to do with it. When they were little it didn't take much to excite them, or entertain them. Now that they are older, that gets harder and harder.

I live In Mass too, and I would love to drive to WDW, but my kids would hate every minute of it. The first thing out of their mouths before we go somewhere new is "How long of a ride is it?"

I do a lot of the things that the others have mentioned. I put our taxes into a vacation savings account, and we also use a change jar, that nets us about 500-600 a year. We do one big family vacation a year, and then the kids go to 2 weeks of summer camp, and we do one family camping trip each summer. I would love to do more, but it's just not possible.

 

[misshilda1]

Oh I hear you..This is what I do I start getting an idea at the end of the year..We always go in Oct. So in Jan. I price what I'm looking for then go to Disney online pay about a $200 deposit and if flying( and booking it thru Disney )then the full plane fare is due then.Then The remainder of the balance is due 45 days prior to arrival.I always stay onsite and purchase the dining option that way if at the last minute budget is tight my food ,resort and tickets are taken care of...I usually do a budget all year. I decide okay this is what I have't to have, this is needed for sanity, and this for my daughter. Then I go okay do I really need that pair of shoes on sale I know I will never wear, and I say no. I then decide that instead of impulse buying or shopping I put my money in savings for the trip.At vacation time it's usally a decent chunk of change. For me I would rather do this than spend all year.Another thing we do is put our change in a jug everyday from Jan till a couple days before we in Oct. that is usually $250-300 that is given to our daughter for spending money. That is a double plus she's not bummin us and she learn how much things cost and realize I have't to be wise and buy what I really want.It is alot of sacraficing thru out the year but it is one that the whole family gladly makes because we love our disney. We still do a movie here and there and a dinner out sometimes but you can do things like days at the park, putt putt roller skating which are inexpensive and does not deprive the kids just for a once a year trip......Good luck and I hope you will be able to go and have a great time.....

Off Site Many Times

Disney's All-Star Movies 2005

Disney's All-Star Music 2006

Up Coming:
Disney's Pop Century Sept/Oct 2007

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Here's another vote for a vacation fund.

We actually travel quite a bit (couple times a year) and also live in the Northeast (Mass.) on one salary with 3 kids (10, 8, 5).

What I have found is that there are certain tricks I use to make a trip happen. Here are some of them that may help you too.

1, There are always deals out there. One of my favorites is SkyAuction.com. We have had awesome trips - particularly Disney - and only spent about $250 for lodging for the week. That is in a full condo..not hotel. But watch all the taxes and fees. And don't be afraid to try somewhere new that is on sale. You may find out you love this new place.

I also like www.travelzoo.com...they list the best travel deals on the internet each week. Sign up for their weekly newsletter.

2.If you can go places off season things are usually cheaper.

3.For me this is probably THE MOST important way I can guarantee we will actually go somewhere. Booking way in advance! I'm talking like a year or even more. I have found that prices are usually less if you book far in advance. If we know something is planned, we somehow come up with the money. (There are a lot of last minute specials too, but that is hard for a family.) If I waited to have the money sitting there it would never happen. We already booked a cruise for next Feb. and put a deposit down. Now I know how much I need to come up with between now and then. I figure if things get really tight, I can always do Ebay or babysitting or something.

4. Keep checking prices...constantly. This can be a pain. But I just saved $200 on our Feb. flights on JetBlue by doing this. So now I have a credit I can use for our next trip.

This also works a lot with rental cars. I always book immediately upon deciding to go somewhere and then keep checking codes and rates. You'd be surprised how quick they change on even an hourly basis.

5. We also usually stay longer than a week...about 10 days - especially if we fly. I figure we still have to eat anyway...so I might as well be somewhere on vacation eating for a few extra days.
I guess the trick is really planning and finding out what you can cut out to make it happen. For me that is curtailing my Dunkin Donuts coffee, not eating out a lot and watching my grocery bill. Those little $1 or $2 each day add up to a lot of money each month.

My friends wonder how we can afford to go away so often, but these are just some simple things I do because I love to travel.


One other thing I do is not automatically book a place because someone told me about it or I saw it advertised. I really investigate places before we decide to go. (TripAdvisor.com is great for that.) We have saved a ton of money by staying 5 minutes further away from something or going a different week if the rates are less. This just takes a lot of legwork...which I love because half the fun to me is the thrill of the hunt.

One final thing is to not compromise on what is important to you. If you will only be happy at a certain resort, then you should try to stay there. For me...I will only fly direct flights if possible. With three kids I hate the idea of making layovers or transfers. But for others that is no big deal. I guess its just finding out what works for your family.

Hope this helps you a little.

HeatherC

Same here.....one modest income with 3 kids (soon to be 4) and people always wonder how we do it. I research up to 2 years in advance and book 1 year out. I spend alot of my spare time researching online to try to find deals/codes/strategies. I started selling some stuff in storage on eBay recently, and I have learned to redeem my airmiles and other points. I also only flight nonstop with the kids and we take a great vacation once a year and plan on doing it forever as it is a priority for me.
That said, our best friends take their extra saved $4000-8000 and save it for retirement and never travel or do much with their kids and when retirement comes they will be better of than us - but judging from the experiences in my life I prefer to live and enjoy it now as what if my Dh or I never make it to my retirement years - we LOVE this time with our kids and have never once regretted the $$ we spend. I think growing up not having it helps too - I love that my kids have seen things and experienced different cultures. We've taken them to Europe, Mexico, Cuba & Florida and plan to keep WDW as an every 2nd year trip forever!

 

[Kim1964]

I realize I forgot to answer how we save for the trips, sorry. After our last trip (August '06), I had some money left in the Disney fund, so I kept it there instead of transferring to regular savings or spending it in some other way. I follow the Mary Hunt plan of having a "Freedom Account", which is basically putting money aside monthly for irregular expenses that you know are coming, and Disney travel is one of those for us.

When I did the math and realized that our regular monthly saving wouldn't be enough to finance the kind of trip I want to take (6 nights at YC), I got a part time job. 100% of my net pay goes to the Disney fund every two weeks. I am pretty much a stay at home mom, but I found a "mother's hours" job that works for me.

We also have a credit card that earns airline miles (we pay it off every month, have never paid interest on it). This got us 2 free tickets for our upcoming trip. Then we started using the Disney VISA, and by the time we go, we should have enough dream rewards dollars to finance a couple days worth of food, or all of my souvenirs. The kids got Disney Dollars for Christmas and will get more for their birthdays, so we won't have any kid souvenir expense. Finally, my sister lives half an hour from Disney, and she is going to bring us groceries so we can eat breakfast in our room each day and have an assortment of snacks available, too.