Come share your best money-saving tips!

[Debi]

I'm attempting to put together a very low-budget trip to WDW for January, and need your help! We all know about putting loose change in a jar (I use an empty coffee can decorated with Disney stickers), but what else do you do to save? I've been putting any supermarket/shopping savings in to my change jar - if I go grocery shopping and save $4, that $4 goes towards the Disney fund. The same is true for mall shopping, department store shopping, etc. What else do you do to save money? I need some creative ideas!

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

Great idea Debi! It may be a little late for my this idea, but I have money taken out of my check each week, and deposited directly into the credit union. It's not much, but it adds up fast, and I don't even miss it! My wife, CMFrannie, buys Disney dollars every week at TDS. She buys them in small denominations, but they sure do add up....

 

[ditzoyd]

My first way to save money for my trip is to buy Disney Dollars, what ever I can afford each check.... They add up fast, $10 here, $10 there...

Also, all rebates that come in go into the bank and get changed into Disney Dollars.

I stay off property through Priceline... this saves a ton of cash

Finally, we have a vacation change jar, that all loose change gets thrown into.
Jar gets full, and changed over to you geussed it Disney Dollars... (or sometimes into Travelers Checks...)

The point of changing the cash over, is so that it is harder to spend... You have to save it!


laurainkbounc

 

[disneyjunkie]

I also have a vacation account with my credit union. I do the change jar thing, and buy disney dollars.

One new thing I'm going to try this year is to pay for most meals in advance. I'm planning to buy a bunch of meal vouchers from connections. I know this won't really save money, but I'll have a big expense out of the way before leaving home.

 

[BansheeBlue]

Just came back on Monday, still attempting to get accustomed to "reality" again.

We realized we saved a HUGE amount of money this trip because we didn't eat out every meal like we usually do! We were staying offsite in a villa through a friend's timeshare deal for a week, and spent probably $60 on groceries. That lasted us beyond the week we were there (I wound up taking cereal boxes back home with me) and also saved time. Rather than hemming and hawing about where we wanted to eat, we had sandwiches or pizza in the room, and figured we saved $20-40 at least each time we ate at the room.

From now on, we're scaling back on eating out at every meal, with the money saved we paid for our rooms at the All Stars!

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says........................................................................... Bring a hot pot. It's basically a hot electrical coil on the bottom and a plastic pot above. This jem heats everything liquid. Even chili and Dinty Moore Beef stew, if you stir it so all the food hits the coils. Rice, hot dogs,eggs. Go for it.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

Weather permitting of course...have a yard or garage sale....its always a money maker for us..,

 

[Hunzi]

This is sort of a hot topic for me. ;-) I used to work for Fool.com, a financial website, so forgive me if it sounds like I'm on my soapbox!

First let's assuming we all have the important stuff out of the way: participate in your 401k to at least the extent of your employer's match, fully fund a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA, and have your emergency fund fully loaded with 3-6 months living expenses.

Then estimate what you usually spend on vacation, and divide it by the number of paychecks you get in a year, and put that $x away each time. I like having things auto-deposited into a savings account, so I never see that cash. (Do this with other savings goals too!) Then live on what's left.

Then for extra little savings, I've got a change "vacation jar" (actually it's a big 3 gal water bottle). Any loose change from around the house goes in there. If I clean out my wallet, the change goes in. My kids sometimes "deposit" their allowance cash in the "bank of Mom & Dad" and I'll credit their accounts, then put the change into the vacation jar.

I also check here often to see what ideas I can learn from this board.

Always ;-)
Hunzi

 

[bobcat]

We budget our souveneers as well, although we will buy something if we have to have it. I usually stock up on little disney themed stuff throughout the year and the kids will get this from Mickey while on vacation. This really cuts down on the gimmies.

We will also sometimes split a meal when we aren't really hungry. Food could be a huge expense if we don't watch ourselves. Besides I would rather spend my money on an extra park day rather than eating sit down meals every meal.

 

[Debi]

Bump! Does anyone else have any money-saving advice?

 

[u4ik]

A great idea, if it applies to your family, is to NOT go to fast food places and instead eat at home. What I am trying to say is if you are planning on taking your kids to McDs, instead of going there, eat at home and take the money you would have spent and put it in the jar (just like you spent it).

Of course, this does not always work, but the idea is to find those things you do during the week that you can cut back on and pocket the money.

Of course if you buy coffee everyday or buy lunch everyday, how about cutting those back a tiny bit??

It is amazing how fast it adds up!

Have fun. Tom.

 

[poohraedopey]

GREAT IDEAS everyone! Thanks! We are using the "what do you want for x-mas's?" form relatives looking to get small stuff to say DISNEY $$$$$$$$$$ We dont really need wnat any clothes music videos etc this year so any extra cash towards our trip in FEb will be helpful. Luckily we are going without KIDS so the gimmies shouldnt be too bad. Already buying DIsney stuff from TDS and $Trees etc to stock up to pad the suvenier packages when we get home.

I do the standard change jar idea BUT I also have the state quarter collection which is separate I never spend a state quarter they are being separated out and will be truned into Dis $ soon. I am at about 100$ right now from the last 5 months or so. My mother in law ordered the mnint and proof sets form the us mint so we dont NEED to collect the quarters......

 

[leebee]

Believe me, letting the relatives know that you are going to WDW and want Disney Dollars for the holidays can save plenty of $$ for you, plus you don't have the hassle of presents that don't fit, are wrong, etc (I know, it's the thought that counts, but I'd lots rather have $10DD than another hat and scarf set from Auntie Whoosis!). We accumulated $500+ in DD last Christmas for the 3 of us 'cuz the relatives knew we were giving DD trip to WDW for present. Also, stay offsite. I don't buy the "magic" thing when you're looking for a place to sleep, and often in Jan. it's WAY too cold to need to swim in an elaborately-themed pool. If you MUST have magic, go to the dollar stores ahead of thime and look for Disney-themed cheapies, and leave surprise "gifts" for the kiddies in the off-site room. It's easy to set this up- just go back to the room for the "forgotten" camera or a final pee-stop while other adult takes kids to car. We've also bought glitter to sprinkle around room as pixie dust for kids to wake up to. Lots of magic is available without the cost of an on-site hotel! Choose and offsite place that has a free breakfast buffet to savew money- even cheaper than renting fridge and doing donuts and cereal in room! Check out prices at choicehotels.com or hotelkingdom.com for Comfort Suites Maingate East- 1K ot 2Q beds in a semi-split room, tons of space in room and bathroom, sofabed, table, fridge and microwave, great pool and amazing b'fast was $58/nite last Jan (1/6/01-1/13/01). DON'T thank that huge, late morning character buffet b'fast will hold kids til dinnertime. Most kids I've travelled with a)don't overeat like adults do at these things to get them thru the day and b)will still want meals at regular times.

 

[TartanFan]

This is not for anyone taking a vacation soon but if you're looking at a time frame of 12-18 months. We bought a papier mache piggy bank at a Mexican market in San Antonio. The beauty of this bank is that it doesn't have an outlet. You can only put money in and not take it out without smashing the thing to bits! We put it beside our fireplace and every night we emptied out pockets and wallets into it (you don't miss the spare change). Then when we got some unexpected money (like selling our old 8mm cine camera and projector) we put that in also. When the pig was full, we had a ceremonial smashing and a lottery on what was in there after 18 months (DH's guess was £500 - about $750 - and mine was £200). When we did the deed it amounted to over £800 (almost $1000) which paid for our accommodation and care hire! And we made an event out of the "pig smashing" which was a great excuse for a bottle of champagne!

In the short term, get a Disney Club card (15% discount on purchases at DD and some restaurants), limit your sit-down meals (especially at Disney) and get unlimited refill mugs if you're staying on site. They saved us a bundle with the amount of soda we get through.

We also have a Credit Union account which is great because the money goes before you even miss it" I love the Disney $ idea - I never thought of that and will now add that to my list of things to do for a WDW vacation!

 

[travelbug24]

I take my grandkids on vacation every year with me. They were always asking me for a toy when we went to the mall. I told them I could buy them a toy every time we went to the mall OR go to WDW every year. They chose WDW and no longer ask for a little toy...that saves a lot for me.

I also bring a hot pot. Love it. I make hot cereal in the morning and hot chocolate. Ramen noodles for supper. Our treat is eating lunch in the parks...one meal a day.

 

[PieInYourEye]

I'm a frequent visitor, I live within 2 hours and go when I don't have anything else to do... and I can sqeeze a penny.

I pack some snacks in my fanny pack. Sometimes I'll put lunch and snacks in a backpack and rent a locker. Then, at parade time, I make my way to the locker grab a sandwish (thats what I call them when I'm in WDW) and sit and wait for a parade.

I also take an empty water bottle into the park and fill is as I need it. I get one that fits in my fanny pack so that I don't have to carry it.

Then, every once in a while I treat my selft to a sit down. Last time, it was in EPCOT's Germany. Had a great time, even by myself! Food was fabulous, the entertainment was great and the CM were terrific.

Without EE, staying on property is no longer of much value to me since it's only a place to lay my head at night.