Planning a Trip in 2019? Let's Share Our Budgets!

[TwoMisfits]

So, next year, we are looking at dropping our vacation fund to $6K ($1K for family trips home and $5K for our vacation). Next year, I also have to use my timeshare points. And this year, our trip to the Game Convention in Columbus was a wild success, so I'm thinking it might be time for a Smoky Mountain/Game Convention combo.

Right now, it's looking like 6 days in TN followed by 6 days in OH (for 12 nights - 6 paid by timeshare and 6 at an Embassy Suites for $938 all in - I already made this res, but it is cancellable if I find a better rate)...here's what I see for the budget...

Hotels/Condo - $938 + one year timeshare points ($600 maintenance fee) = $1538
Gas - $100 (more than this year's 1K mile trek to Niagara Falls and Columbus b/c I expect gas to be higher - in good news, there's no tolls for this trip)
Parking - $140 (Dollywood and game convention parking)
Groceries - $200 (Yes, I'm gonna plan a few more meals than I did in my room - both resorts have breakfast, so this will be mostly snacks, drinks, and easy and quick light lunch/dinner stuff)
Restaurants - $100/day for $1200 - we spent way less this year on our 9 night trip (getting by on $50/day), but part of that was necessity and I am planning on eating pretty well in TN (Columbus will probably not change much b/c we focus on gaming)
Convention Game Badges - $250 (have to pay for 1 more this year)
Convention Game Tickets - $250 (I want to have the funds for True Dungeon and the Escape Room, even if we don't do it)
Dollywood 1 day tickets - $500 (this will be cheaper, but I'm putting in a fudge - I'm expecting to find it $300 or below)
White Water Rafting tickets, easy rapids - $120 (must do for me in TN - on my bucket list, and where better to try it)
Titanic Museum - $54 (homeschool discount) (another must do)
Smoky Mountain Hikes - Free
Indoor Waterpark - Included in timeshare
Show Tickets TN - $500 (we will buy the most advantageous deals to things we might like to see - I'm thinking the expensive Dolly one and 1-2 more, especially the ones where 12 and under are free with adults or teens get a really cheap price
Other Tourist Attractions (maybe the caverns, maybe a Groupon or two) - $200

Total $5Kish - the $600 timeshare fees are included in this number, so that, the Dolly tickets, and the restaurant number are my buffer for unexpected stuff/souvenirs/etc - this trip, our 2nd to the area, we want to do everything we missed last time and not repeat, so we are gonna pick and choose from popular attractions...12 nights for $5K or less seems like a steal...

 

[StacyStrong]

I'm going at least twice in 2019. First trip will be in April during the Star Wars runs.

There should be a bunch of us. Myself, my friend, her brother, her sister and husband, her friend, her brother's friends, and her friends friends.

Obviously I'm only budgeting for myself. I believe we will have 4 of us in our room currently.

My friend and I are looking to stay either Thursday through Tuesday or Wednesday. OR Friday through Wednesday or Thursday. We haven't nailed down dates though. Either way, most other people will be only staying until the Monday after the race.

We are deciding between Beach Club, Saratoga, or Old Key West. This will be free to me as we are using my friend's parents DVC points.

I'll have an AP from my trip in December so that's "free" but if I want to add in the cost of the upgrade in December then I'll say ~~~$400.

Looking at $250 max for flights and $400ish for food.

Plus the costs of the race.

 

[virge]

Between this month’s contributions for the 52 week money challenge and other extra money I earned through Ibotta, Achievement, & a yard sale, I currently have $1975 in my vacation savings account. I have about 11 months to save up an additional $3725.

I couldn’t stand that I was so close to having $2000 in my vacation savings account so I just deposited another $25. I now have $2000 in the account and still need $3700 to reach my goal.

 

[Darcy03231]

Well my spring 2019 trip will have to be postponed for a very good reason. The person going with me is pregnant! We couldn't be happier for them. Big sister's trip is going to have to be put off for another year, but that's ok,

 

[seb65]

In the beginning of planning a trip April 11-20 for 5 adults, 1 child (9). I realize this is during Spring Break, but 2 of the adults are teachers and this is the best time for them. Since we are coming from CA, we don’t want to travel over the summer due to the humidity. (I would be the most unpleasant traveler if we went in the summer)
The only decisions so far are the dates, hotel (POR-FQ or Pop Century), 6 day park hopper with 1 all day at Blizzard Beach Water Park. I don’t think we are getting a rental car, just using Disney Transportation.
I have contacted Small World Vacations and they will let me know when Disney releases their 2019 package prices.
If any he has any tips for traveling at Spring Break, other than DON’T DO IT, let me know.

I am thinking of the same dates and looking at the same hotels. I am booking around my son's dates so no flexibility.

 

[Gr8Luv4Disney]

I'm glad to see this post, thank you for starting one!

I know I posted in the 2018 thread, but I will start over on this one. Right now we are looking at 8 nights in May of 2019 for 5 Disney adults.

Bonnet Creek 2 bedroom $1050

2 seven day Disney tickets from Undercover Tourist - $814 (dd's boyfriend will pay for his own, one will be a gift, one will be earned with airmiles)

Transportation budget- $800 (at this point that is gas, two nights hotel and food )

Food $1400- this will be $200 groceries/wine/beer, and $1200 for restaurants/tips. Once back from our summer trip I will be using rewards from the PC program to set aside Disney gift cards. I hope to have $1000 Canadian by next May, so about $750 American off this $1400 will be covered

Spending- $750 for dog boarding/misc spending/parking

For a total of $4814 USD - $750 USD in gift cards = $4064

Grand Total $4064 USD or $5371 CAD (very bad exchange rate today)

Just curious, how are you getting a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek for $1050? When I looked at pricing it was double that for a weeks stay!

 

[kristenrice]

As of July 1, I am *OFFICIALLY* saving for my October 2019 trip....since I now have enough saved up for my October 2018 trip.

So...here are my starting numbers...

Starting FREE Cash: $95.80
Starting Vacation Savings Balance: $0 (*This will change when I get back from our 2018 trip. I just need to leave it blank for now because I am leaving a "cushion" in case of emergency or if we decide to splurge)
Starting GIFT CARD Balance: $55.00

I am going to try and keep better track of my "free" gift cards AND free cash. It's easy to track my free gift cards (they are all free) but when I earn cash (cashback from credit cards, Sunshine Rewards, PayPal, eBates, etc), it all gets deposited into my PayPal or bank account and I lose track of how much was "free" money. Basically, the only cash funds that are not what I consider free money is the money I earn from plasma donations and the bi-weekly direct deposits. My goal is to maximize the "free" money, but my direct deposit amount will total $2080 by the time we leave. That covers my entire cash budget of $1800 and it does not take into account any plasma donations. I can usually earn at least $150/month, sometimes up to $300, but I cannot start back up again until August so that is on hold for now.

With the cash portion of the budget covered, my main focus is going to be on the gift cards. I am really going to try and earn the $1500 and I would LOVE to earn $2000. I was able to average $30/week in gift card earnings for my 2018 trip and at that pace, I should be able to do it! We leave in 67 weeks and $30/week would earn me $2010.

 

[Marionnette]

UPDATING -
I received a $25 Amazon GC from Perk. Used it to make a purchase and reimbursed myself $23.75 (I would normally get 5% back with my Amazon Visa).

Received $25 PayPal cash from Swagbucks.

That brought the cash level to $259.49.

Went to Safeway and used a coupon to buy 2 $100 Visa GCs for $196.90. Used one of the Visa GCs at Best Buy to purchase a $50 Disney GC. Scanned the SB QR code and got my 500 SB bonus plus have 100 SB pending for the purchase. Will get $10 cash back from my Discover IT card plus another $10 match on my anniversary with the card and 62 Best Buy Rewards points (worth about $1.24).

So now my new totals are:

$150 in Disney GCs
$62.59 in cash
$150 in Visa GCs​

So in reality, I only shifted the deck chairs on the Titanic, so to speak. However, there is value in the rewards and cash back that I will eventually get. I just haven't included them in my totals yet.

Updating:
Used the very last of my Target GCs ($26.07) so I added $24.77 to my cash savings.
Redeemed for a $25 virtual Visa on SB, which I will use to purchase a $25 physical Disney GC on the disneystore website.
Bought another $50 Disney GC at Best Buy using the physical Visa GC that I purchased last week at Safeway. Should get another 600 SB from that transaction.

So the new totals are:

$200 in Disney GCs
$87.36 in cash
$100 in Visa GCs (with another $25 pending)​

 

[Sadeesmom]

the money I earn from plasma donations and the bi-weekly direct deposits. My goal is to maximize the "free" money, but my direct deposit amount will total $2080 by the time we leave. That covers my entire cash budget of $1800 and it does not take into account any plasma donations. I can usually earn at least $150/month, sometimes up to $300, but I cannot start back up again until August so that is on hold for now.

I've been wondering about plasma donations. There isn't one here in my town, but there is one near my mom whom I go visit about weekly or every other weekend. Does it hurt? Do you feel crappy afterwards? I know I can google it, but I like hearing from real people!

 

[Keli]

We are planning a trip in late fall of this year with our daughter, son in law and grandchildren. I tend to be very frugal and unlikely to spend a lot of money off budget. Basically, whatever I budget I stick to and usually come in under budget even when it's a tight one (mainly because that's my goal, lol).

Hubby and I for 7 nights/8 days:
Airfare: $500 (already purchased)
Resort #1, All Star Movies, for 2 nights: $273 (already paid priceline)
Resort #2, Pop Century, for 5 nights, & 5 day hoppers + 1 FUN option: $1461 (booked through ***)
Pirate Lagoon for two grand kids: $120.00
Food:$700 (includes amazon delivery of shelf stable breakfast foods/snacks for room and parks and counter service meals in parks and resorts. I will expand this upwards if we add a character meal in but I honestly expect this to come in quite a bit less than budgeted. Disney is the only vacation place we eat way less than normal)

Trip total right now: $3,054.

Possible changes: May decide to do MVMCP and/or may add a character meal. Right now that's completely up in the air. I suspect the character meal won't happen since I know my husband and son in law both feel like the food you get isn't worth the money and the kids can/will see the characters in the parks. But I might talk them into a late breakfast with characters or just a nice meal minus characters (they'd both be on board with that, they love O'hana).

 

[kristenrice]

I've been wondering about plasma donations. There isn't one here in my town, but there is one near my mom whom I go visit about weekly or every other weekend. Does it hurt? Do you feel crappy afterwards? I know I can google it, but I like hearing from real people!

Well, one of the requirements of the center where I go (BioLife) is that you have to live within a certain radius. You need a proof of residency so they will check so if you don't live with your mother, you may not even be eligible. As far as "does it hurt?"...well, you get poked with a large needle in your arm and that doesn't really tickle, but everyone has different levels of pain tolerance. The actual insertion of the needle hurts for less than 5 seconds and then it's fine. The most discomfort comes from the BP cuff that pumps up and holds pressure on your arm to keep your vein inflated while the machine pulls the blood and plasma off. It only pumps up to about half of what it does when you get your blood pressure taken so it's not THAT bad. It stays inflated for about 5-7 minutes, then deflates while the machine returns your red blood cells to you (you don't feel that if everything is in the proper place) and then the cycle repeats until you've completed the full donation amount. Then, you get 500mL of saline to rehydrate and you are on your way. The full process usually takes just over an hour from arrival to departure. Some plasma centers are really "shady" so make sure you do your research. I know that the machines that BioLife uses are patented and they are the only center that uses them and they are one of the more reputable plasma donation facilities in the country. They also have very strict requirements for donors, which is a good thing, but it can be frustrating when you are trying to earn a few dollars.

I usually feel just fine afterwards, but it really depends on what I did BEFORE my donation. If I worked a 12-hour shift and didn't drink enough water, then I sometimes feel a little run down. Usually, I try to donate in the morning and then I drink plenty of water afterwards. I've never had an issue with feeling crummy after a donation. The biggest issues I've had are when the needle placement is a little off (it happens) and I get a leak. It's usually noticeable right away because you can feel pressure and the machine will usually detect a problem. That usually results in a bruise (hematoma) which isn't anything serious, it's just not always pretty and it can be painful. You can be disqualified (deferred) for a day if your iron (hematocrit) or protein levels are out of range, or if any of your vital signs (pulse, BP or temperature) is out of their required ranges. If you're sick, or have been treated with any medications, you have to wait a pre-determined period before you are eligible to donate. Then there's the situation I am currently in...I had a "cell loss". Basically, during a donation, the machine detected a problem with the pressure in my vein and it stopped returning my cells in order to prevent a hematoma. If this happens once, you're OK, but if it happens again within an 8-week period, you have to wait 8 weeks from the SECOND occurrence before you can donate again. Your body can make more plasma fairly easily since is mostly water and most of your whole-blood is plasma. Unfortunately, the oxygen-carrying part of your blood is those pesky red blood cells and those take a lot longer to replace. That's the boat I am in right now...I can't donate again until the first week of August.

 

[mich311e]

Hi! I want to join this thread

I want to take my family to Disneyland one more time before SW:GE opens. So either March or April of 2019. Leaning toward late April because my son has a 4 day weekend from school.

Need (3) 3-day park hoppers $990 (GC)

Hotel for 4 nights - $500

Blue Bayou Fantasmic Package - $216 (GC) (may downgrade to another restaurant/package - but go big for now!)

Disney gift cards for food - $300 (GC)

I like to have as much $$$ in Disney gift cards to pay for everything, but realistically I'll plan for $100 a day, even though I know we spend more than that on food and drinks. I will be paying with Disney gift cards for my tickets. And I'm not super worried about paying for the hotel now. I'll budget $100 a paycheck for that for the 2 months prior to the trip. We drive from Phoenix so I don't have to worry about a transportation budget, we have $ for gas. And we'll pay $30 for MaxPass each day we are there on our CC. So I'm just going to focus on my Disney gift card goal of approx. $1500.

I currently have $525 in Disney gift cards saved, NEED $975 in 8 months. I actually want to pay for our tickets ASAP before they increase any prices.

 

[virge]

I couldn’t stand that I was so close to having $2000 in my vacation savings account so I just deposited another $25. I now have $2000 in the account and still need $3700 to reach my goal.

Added $350 from credit card cash back to my vacation savings account. I now have $2350 in the account and still need $3350 to reach my current goal of $5700 (hopefully, this amount will go down next year when we start making reservations).

 

[Deffenm]

Looks like DD and I will be heading back from Spring Break in 2019. I am thinking March 23rd - 28th. Right now planning on staying at POP, 4 day tickets no park hopper, and quick service dining plan - $2,218. We will fly so budgeting $600 and then $200 for souvenirs. I am hoping room only discount will become available and then we will just pay cash for food. I am also hoping for enough points to get at least one way tickets free but I will budget for the most and hope for less.

Total Budget - $3,018

 

[dakotix]

Our budget is very different for our Spring 2019 trip. Usually its a matter of saving over the course of a couple years. This year we're taking our 4 yo foster son. We've been saving the checks the state gives us. We pay everything as far as his care goes so the checks from the state just sit there waiting to be spent. We think a trip to Disney is just what the doctor ordered. Foster care is not easy on anyone especially the child that is caught in the system. By the time the trip happens we're hoping we're given the green light to adopt him.

We'll be going for 10 days and the trip covers accommodations at AKL, park hopper pass for the entire trip and the dining plan.

That money won't be enough to cover flights though. For that we're getting another Southwest rewards credit card and using the bonus points (40,000) to cover the cost of our flights.

 

[Deffenm]

Looks like DD and I will be heading back from Spring Break in 2019. I am thinking March 23rd - 28th. Right now planning on staying at POP, 4 day tickets no park hopper, and quick service dining plan - $2,218. We will fly so budgeting $600 and then $200 for souvenirs. I am hoping room only discount will become available and then we will just pay cash for food. I am also hoping for enough points to get at least one way tickets free but I will budget for the most and hope for less.

Total Budget - $3,018

Last night I went home and counted change I had in a container - $8.94, Son gave me $20 he borrowed, and I cashed in $36 I earned doing surveys. So now I only need $2,953.06. I am so excited for this thread, it is going to be fun to see the savings add up.

 

[Klayfish]

We are going for 2 weeks in 2019. However, this time we're not going into the theme parks. We're doing a water park only (and other things in the area) trip. Projected costs:

House - 4 bedroom house - $1150 total
Water park tickets - $130 each x 5 of us = $650, say $700 w/tax
Food - roughly $700 total. We mostly make our own food, but will go for dessert and occasional dinner or breakfast

Total $2550, plus whatever we spend just for fun which won't be a ton.

 

[Sadeesmom]

So far, I have $1050 in Disney gift cards, and $500 cash, but the Disney trip will be on hold until the school trip is paid in full, so mentally transferring the $500 gets me 25% of the way to goal one! ($500 of the $2000) and 31% of the way to goal two ($1050 of the $3370).

My lack of willpower yielded under the pressure of summer boredom, and we spent all $500 in the cash fund plus June’s $300 contribution and went on a road trip to Niagara Falls and Chicago....

So starting over, as of today, I have $0 in the cash vacation fund and $1100 in Disney gift cards...

 

[Edixon79!]

Following.

We are planning our very first Disney trip June 2019. Party will be me, DH, DS15, DD12, DS6. We are so very excited.
So far we have dates plan.June 1-June 8. We are waiting for the packages to come out to see if we are staying at POR or Disney Spring B Resort.
We will be driving 12-13 hours there. Flying is way to expensive for us.
I know we will have base tickets since this is our first trip. We probably will not do the dining plan if we stay onsite.
I have budget $6000.00 total for this trip.
I have already saved $1000.00, plus i am doing the 52 week challenge and have $163.00(only on week 6. I am randomly drawing the amounts.) We also have a Disney Jar that we keep for change at the end of the week.
Thanks for starting this thread, cant wait to see all the budgets and ideas.

Buying tickets through parksavers.com will save you some money. great customer service!

 

[Marionnette]

Updating:
Used the very last of my Target GCs ($26.07) so I added $24.77 to my cash savings.
Redeemed for a $25 virtual Visa on SB, which I will use to purchase a $25 physical Disney GC on the disneystore website.
Bought another $50 Disney GC at Best Buy using the physical Visa GC that I purchased last week at Safeway. Should get another 600 SB from that transaction.

So the new totals are:

$200 in Disney GCs
$87.36 in cash
$100 in Visa GCs (with another $25 pending)​

I got my virtual Visa from SB and ordered a $25 physical GC from Disney. Redeemed for $25 PayPal from SB, which is still pending. Bought a $50 Disney GC from BB using the Visa GC and stupidly scanned a screenshot of an old SB QR code, so no rewards for it. So my new totals are:

$250 in Disney GCs (with $25 pending)
$87.36 in cash (with $25 PayPal pending)
$50 in Visa GCs​

I feel like progress has been extremely slow this summer. But I haven't cashed in any of my CC rewards yet, so I'm still hopeful that I will have this trip covered by April.