What do you do to save???

[2Tiggies]

We live beneath our means Saving has been so much part of our life on an ongoing basis since beginning of 2008 that it is a lifestyle

There are so many great suggestions on this thread so rather than repeat any in my own words or add to them, I have a slightly different way of saving for the little extras that we need for our trip.

Throughout the year between trips I purchase one or two small items that we will need every week when I shop. For example, one week might be a retractable sharpie marker for autographs, next week could be individually packaged laundry tablets, extra toothbrushes, band-aids, etc. We have a box in the hall closet that DD decorated and as we buy, it gets written onto the list and put into the box.

It saves that final shop for all the little travel essentials and/or saves us spending unnecessary money when we are there.

 

[queendisney]

I've set us an incredibly tight budget and I plan out 28 dinners with ingredients before I go to the supermarket.
I have a pot for £1 & £2 coins.
I started up a business from home in November selling products & am making sure that any money I make is going straight to the Disney fund, otherwise it would get swallowed up.
we don't go out for dinner, no takeaways, I don't know when I last went to the cinema. I don't get my hair done at all or nails.

it's not for everybody, and to most I really shouldn't be going back to wdw as probably we can't afford it. but it means that much to me that I don't mind not having a Chinese or going out

We give up a lot to enable us to go as well, but like you I am more then happy to do this. Time in WDW is worth far more to me then going out etc. I feel like some people think we are well off as we go every year but they don't realise that we don't do anything that costs money for the rest of the year. Its our choice and I am happy with that, in fact VERY happy about that

We live beneath our means Saving has been so much part of our life on an ongoing basis since beginning of 2008 that it is a lifestyle

There are so many great suggestions on this thread so rather than repeat any in my own words or add to them, I have a slightly different way of saving for the little extras that we need for our trip.

Throughout the year between trips I purchase one or two small items that we will need every week when I shop. For example, one week might be a retractable sharpie marker for autographs, next week could be individually packaged laundry tablets, extra toothbrushes, band-aids, etc. We have a box in the hall closet that DD decorated and as we buy, it gets written onto the list and put into the box.

It saves that final shop for all the little travel essentials and/or saves us spending unnecessary money when we are there.

That's a brilliant idea and I will be pinching it

 

[Brave5]

We have 3 savings tins - one for $, one for £ and one for loose change.

We asked that the kids be given £'s for x-mas and upcoming birthdays and a number of people went out and got $ (which the boys loved!)

We also have bought one item within our weekly shop that will be needed for our trip similar to 2tiggies - and also 2-4 £10 gift cards to resturant to use for dinner the night before we fly (we usually drive to airport the night before) Makes the amount of money needed the day before the trip minimal!

We also put away (in separate savings account) a set amount each week and will have our holiday paid off months in advance so very happy!

 

[Hipster Meg]

We've been busy saving for the last few months for our October 2015 trip; yes it's still a long way in the future but we've given ourselves a £6000 target, that way we'll have more than enough money to hopefully get a 1 bed at either SSR or OKW rather than a studio and be able to fly direct with Virgin.

At the moment we're saving about £200 a month in a ISA (must remember to switch it in April) and any loose change we have goes into one of those saving tins that can only be opened with a can opener.

We save money in a variety of different ways; I cook from scratch so don't do ready meals or take aways. I love baking so if we want anything nice I'll whip up a quick cake or two. We rarely eat out (due as much to a lack of baby sitters as to trying to save money!) and when we go to the cinema we try to make sure we do orange wednesday. We also use Topcashback - it's become a habit now to always check for cashback before buying anything online - and rather than getting paid out in cash get paid in either Tesco clubcard points or Amazon vouchers. We have a Tesco credit card which we pay off every month so we're getting the clubcard points but not the debt! We're planning on using our points to buy a couple of Merlin annual passes this year and having stay-cations rather than going away and we'll hopefully have enough points left over to convert them into restaurant vouchers later in the year!

 

[NatalieMT]

I don't make a staggering amount of money, I do have 2 jobs (one is my own one the side crafting business and it is good to have the extra money each month just doing bits and pieces from home!) and run a sports club for teenage girls for about 6 hours a week as a volunteer so I do have a busy life! I think in terms of spending money here and there on unnecessary things forward planning is the way to go - take your own food/drinks to work and when you are out and about going about your day to day life. There are loads of coffee shops close to my work so just trying to walk on by and not go in and spare £3-5 here and there because like OP said it does add up!

I also have 2 accounts - one which I have access to and one which I don't! So I can't spend out of that account on a card etc and so the money tends to stay in it.

I also don't spend loads of money on nights out at the weekend or general stuff like that, it's not that I don't like to have fun but I'd rather have a week or two of it in sunny Florida!

 

[Azza1987]

We live beneath our means Saving has been so much part of our life on an ongoing basis since beginning of 2008 that it is a lifestyle There are so many great suggestions on this thread so rather than repeat any in my own words or add to them, I have a slightly different way of saving for the little extras that we need for our trip. Throughout the year between trips I purchase one or two small items that we will need every week when I shop. For example, one week might be a retractable sharpie marker for autographs, next week could be individually packaged laundry tablets, extra toothbrushes, band-aids, etc. We have a box in the hall closet that DD decorated and as we buy, it gets written onto the list and put into the box. It saves that final shop for all the little travel essentials and/or saves us spending unnecessary money when we are there.

What a great idea! I'm definitely pinching this & making up my own box!

 

[2Tiggies]

That's a brilliant idea and I will be pinching it

What a great idea! I'm definitely pinching this & making up my own box!

Go for it! That's the whole point of sharing ideas

What's nice is that it's visual so you can see it building up but it's not big spends so you never notice the extra bottle of shampoo or roll on or whatever it is. And when you have a really bad day 6 months down the line you can haul out this big box with lots of stuff in and sit and look at it

 

[queendisney]

And when you have a really bad day 6 months down the line you can haul out this big box with lots of stuff in and sit and look at it

it'll be like Christmas in June

 

[PJB71]

Go for it! That's the whole point of sharing ideas

What's nice is that it's visual so you can see it building up but it's not big spends so you never notice the extra bottle of shampoo or roll on or whatever it is. And when you have a really bad day 6 months down the line you can haul out this big box with lots of stuff in and sit and look at it

I also do this Lee, we've only been back two weeks and I've already got toothpaste, deodorant and dental floss, I buy a little something every time I go to the supermarket but only if it's half price

 

[tinkerpea]

We also do the collecting of holiday items, I got loads of sunscreen and after sun from family bargains few months ago in the sale for our next trip,
Plus sharpies when a shop had a set sale,

I also collect presents for the kids bday party's when I see them on offer and we now have a birthday box!
There full of great gifts like lego heroes and disney store had a huge sale where I got fab disney filled pencil cases and make up sets,
So I don't have to get any presents for a long while,
I picked up for friends too body shop sets in the jan sales so our have my friends bday gifts too all ready for the year

 

[disney2014plan]

Another vote here for buying in the post Xmas sales - I have all my Xmas cards/wrapping paper etc already.

Toiletries, and some other types of gifts keep, so buy them on sale for Xmas /birthday - although you need to keep a list of who you are buying for!

I too am a £2 coin saver

The other thing that I do is that if I do something deliberately to save money, I make sure to stick that in a box: e.g. if I have £15 allocated for bus fare and I walk 50% of the time, then I save £7.50 which goes away. I recommend taking out your money for travel etc at the start of the week and keeping it in your purse- once you are actually handing over cash instead of swiping your card you tend to be more cautious!

 

[cheryl.UK]

I wonder how may UK DISers there are who save £2 coins? Is this why there are so few of them out there?

 

[disney2014plan]

They are MINE
(Golllum)

...my precious....

 

[Hipster Meg]

Love the idea of stock piling stuff for the holiday; might have to start doing this once suntan lotion goes on sale.

 

[bee86]

I have a shoe box that every Sunday I empty anything that it's my purse that's not a spare £1 coin (for trolleys ) or a £20 note. That seems to add up nicely!

I stopped buying my lunch from Tesco every day and instead get up 10 minutes earlier to make a salad or pasta that have saved me about £10-12 a week.

I stopped my expensive magazine habit from buying 3/4 magazines a month to just one & I make it last! That's about £10 saved.

I also have a monthly shopping budget, £260 for me, BF & the cats! I go to our local market on a Sunday for cheap meat/veg & I get everything else in Lidl! I've learned not to forward plan meals so much and just get whatever is on off.

We have restricted ourselves to one takeaway & one meal out a month too! Which is mainly because over Christmas we porked out a lot so it more for our waistlines!

Instead of spending our weekend in town, when we would always purchase something we go for a walk or see friends etc!

I am also someone who now dyes my hair at home Instead if the £90 salon price!

It's the little things that add up even if I have had to forgo a few things, it's all worth I for some time off at Disney!

Love these ideas!!!! Would you believe I didnt even realise I had an expensive magazine habit until i read this lol thats a few more euros to add to my savings pot!!

I save £2 coins in a Pooh Bank, it's a rule in our house, none are ever spent.
Every day I empty any change into a piggy bank.

Every couple of months, I empty out my savings and exchange them for $$, so i'm not tempted to spend them. We usually save around $1500 every year like this which goes a long way towards our spends.

These are just brilliant!!!! I remember reading on here last year about the £2 saving pots but I never caught onto it myself, this is defo a painless way to save for spends as I'm sure you dont find them adding up!!

Also the switching them into $$ is such a good idea as last year I had loads saved and ended up spending some before I even got to WDW convinced myself I needed so many new things to wear before I went. Ended up not wearing half of it! So I will defo be doing that this year.

We live beneath our means Saving has been so much part of our life on an ongoing basis since beginning of 2008 that it is a lifestyle

There are so many great suggestions on this thread so rather than repeat any in my own words or add to them, I have a slightly different way of saving for the little extras that we need for our trip.

Throughout the year between trips I purchase one or two small items that we will need every week when I shop. For example, one week might be a retractable sharpie marker for autographs, next week could be individually packaged laundry tablets, extra toothbrushes, band-aids, etc. We have a box in the hall closet that DD decorated and as we buy, it gets written onto the list and put into the box.

It saves that final shop for all the little travel essentials and/or saves us spending unnecessary money when we are there.

THIS IS GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cant tell you how much I spent in the two weeks before our trip buying the essential odds and ends. Boots didnt no what hit it when I went in buying all my travel supplies. My pocket on the other hand was quite sad after this big shop was done!
Implimenting this idea at the weekend and am soooooo excited to start hehe

We also do the collecting of holiday items, I got loads of sunscreen and after sun from family bargains few months ago in the sale for our next trip,
Plus sharpies when a shop had a set sale,

I also collect presents for the kids bday party's when I see them on offer and we now have a birthday box!
There full of great gifts like lego heroes and disney store had a huge sale where I got fab disney filled pencil cases and make up sets,
So I don't have to get any presents for a long while,
I picked up for friends too body shop sets in the jan sales so our have my friends bday gifts too all ready for the year

Im going to keep an eye on sunscreen over the next while and have another item out of the way!! Its something I always seem to leave until the last minute which is silly of me!
Will also be picking up a few bits in the sales for birthdays etc over the coming months.

WOW!! I am so delighted I asked this question

I too would never put myself in debt for a holiday, its a luxury.
Its soooooo soooooo good to get all of these ideas to build up for spending money and there are some great ideas for cutting back, like bulking out dinners with veggies to make them go that bit further!! These all add up to reaching the goal for paying off the balance with some to spare

I really hope you dont mind me stealing all your ideas!! Myself and DBF are starting our €2 savings pot today

Also someone mentioned about Aldi/Lidi. We are going to try shopping there this weekend and see does it make much of a difference to us. We normally always shop at tesco and get the clubcard points but if there is a significant difference for us it would be something worth doing.

Thank you all for all the amazing ideas

 

[bee86]

They are MINE
(Golllum)

...my precious....

 

[orangetiggs]

We dont eat saves us loads

 

[FaithTrustPixieDust*]

I saw this really sweet idea on a student board on Facebook that I might try! The basic premise is that you put £1 in a pot on Jan 1st, then the next week you put £2 in, next week £3 etc. etc. and you end up with £1378 by week 52!
Only problem being that I am a student and it's highly unlikely I'll have this much money at Christmas

So someone suggested a mix of the above, and the above in reverse (i.e. Week 1 is £1, Week 2 is £52, Week 3 is £2, Week 4 is £51 etc.), which seems much more manageable, and I'll have more money by our holiday in July

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Go for it! That's the whole point of sharing ideas

What's nice is that it's visual so you can see it building up but it's not big spends so you never notice the extra bottle of shampoo or roll on or whatever it is. And when you have a really bad day 6 months down the line you can haul out this big box with lots of stuff in and sit and look at it

This sounds so like me lol
Love all the ideas on here

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

I wonder how may UK DISers there are who save £2 coins? Is this why there are so few of them out there?

Another £2 hoarder here. We started about a year ago in readiness for our trip this October. We've filled 3 so far to the absolute brim so I estimate come the end of September there will be sudden glut of £2 coins flooding the market LOL!