Blackbeltdisneygirl
Disney obsessed and proud of it!!!
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2011
Hi guys! I am just curious how other families save for their Disney trips. I hope to maybe get some other ideas from some of you to make it even easier to pay off our trips. My plan is fantastic, but I am not against learning from others. What corners do you cut? What creative ideas have you come up with? Etc...
I will start by telling you how I do it.
Last year I just went out with our tax return and bought $8,000 in gift cards to pay off most of the trip. Then I paid cash for the flights. This year we decided to spread it out more and just be creative with our savings. We bought a home that was a foreclosure, so we wanted to put a lot of money into it, and that needed to come from our tax return this year. I figured I had better learn to pay it off differently b/c next year I am buying a new van, so we will have to keep this plan working for us.
*Without flights our trip is just over $6,500 for 7 people for 11 days. We paid $1,000 out of our tax return.
*I started a small business selling at flea markets.
*Hubby works side jobs, and a large portion of that money gets turned right into Disney gift cards. Some of it I roll into my business.
*I am a major couponer, and have been doing it much longer than the show has been on. My savings on my receipt for one year is over $15,000. That means a lot of savings on gas, food, products, etc...
*We started a change jar. My hubby and I vow to never use change when we use cash. We always break a dollar even if it is for a penny. Then we dump the change in a jar, and it builds up fast.
*I buy gift cards at Giant Eagle. They give me free gas, so that is a win-win since I have to pay the trip off anyway. I may as well get free gas out of it.
*We do fast food bans. Living a martial arts lifestyle is rough b/c of dinner times being messed up. When we go into the studio it is too early for dinner, and when we leave it is too late. By that time I swear I could eat anything. We often find ourselves in a drive thru. Putting a ban on fast food even for just two weeks forces us to be so creative and to actually make our meals. It is healthier and it saves so much money. P.S. I don't count Chipotle as fast food.
*I am considering becoming a Disney travel agent. We'll see.
*I sat down and wrote out all of our bills for the next 7 months. I wrote down every payday until our trip, and then scheduled what bills we needed to pay out of each paycheck. Then I decided how much I had left over, and designated a portion out of each week to purchase gift cards with. It is all written down, and every check is written out for every bill for seven months. I just have to pull the check and pay it. Then I check it off on my budget list. I was able to call my daughter last week from GE and say: "Ok, look at my Disney financial planning binder for this week and tell me how much I am supposed to spend on gift cards." She said: "It says $150 mommy." Super easy. I figured that if I allotted at least $100 a week, it makes it super easy to save up.
*We are starting an organic garden. This will save us tremendously on veggies and fruits. Plus we will sell the excess at the flea market!
Now for your ideas...
Edit: I decided to add more to this thread. Not only do I want to explore ways to save up for Disney trips, but also alternative ways that others save money on various things. I will post different ideas every now and then and provide a link from this post to the new posts. I will also edit in other people's tips on those posts so as to give a very comprehensive list of ways to save up money and of how to save money on everything from clothes to food to extracurricular activities. Let's face it, it's been hard to adjust these last couple of years to rising prices. I am interested in alternative methods of paying for things. Remember, a penny saved is a penny we can use for Disney!!!!
Alternative Money Saving: How to save on clothes:
I will start by telling you how I do it.
Last year I just went out with our tax return and bought $8,000 in gift cards to pay off most of the trip. Then I paid cash for the flights. This year we decided to spread it out more and just be creative with our savings. We bought a home that was a foreclosure, so we wanted to put a lot of money into it, and that needed to come from our tax return this year. I figured I had better learn to pay it off differently b/c next year I am buying a new van, so we will have to keep this plan working for us.
*Without flights our trip is just over $6,500 for 7 people for 11 days. We paid $1,000 out of our tax return.
*I started a small business selling at flea markets.
*Hubby works side jobs, and a large portion of that money gets turned right into Disney gift cards. Some of it I roll into my business.
*I am a major couponer, and have been doing it much longer than the show has been on. My savings on my receipt for one year is over $15,000. That means a lot of savings on gas, food, products, etc...
*We started a change jar. My hubby and I vow to never use change when we use cash. We always break a dollar even if it is for a penny. Then we dump the change in a jar, and it builds up fast.
*I buy gift cards at Giant Eagle. They give me free gas, so that is a win-win since I have to pay the trip off anyway. I may as well get free gas out of it.
*We do fast food bans. Living a martial arts lifestyle is rough b/c of dinner times being messed up. When we go into the studio it is too early for dinner, and when we leave it is too late. By that time I swear I could eat anything. We often find ourselves in a drive thru. Putting a ban on fast food even for just two weeks forces us to be so creative and to actually make our meals. It is healthier and it saves so much money. P.S. I don't count Chipotle as fast food.
*I am considering becoming a Disney travel agent. We'll see.
*I sat down and wrote out all of our bills for the next 7 months. I wrote down every payday until our trip, and then scheduled what bills we needed to pay out of each paycheck. Then I decided how much I had left over, and designated a portion out of each week to purchase gift cards with. It is all written down, and every check is written out for every bill for seven months. I just have to pull the check and pay it. Then I check it off on my budget list. I was able to call my daughter last week from GE and say: "Ok, look at my Disney financial planning binder for this week and tell me how much I am supposed to spend on gift cards." She said: "It says $150 mommy." Super easy. I figured that if I allotted at least $100 a week, it makes it super easy to save up.
*We are starting an organic garden. This will save us tremendously on veggies and fruits. Plus we will sell the excess at the flea market!
Now for your ideas...
Edit: I decided to add more to this thread. Not only do I want to explore ways to save up for Disney trips, but also alternative ways that others save money on various things. I will post different ideas every now and then and provide a link from this post to the new posts. I will also edit in other people's tips on those posts so as to give a very comprehensive list of ways to save up money and of how to save money on everything from clothes to food to extracurricular activities. Let's face it, it's been hard to adjust these last couple of years to rising prices. I am interested in alternative methods of paying for things. Remember, a penny saved is a penny we can use for Disney!!!!
Alternative Money Saving: How to save on clothes: