Thursday's Tip

Here's a pretty basic tip: start saving early for a Walt Disney World vacation! Kind of a no-brainer, right? But how? I've offered several suggestions in previous posts--everything from saving spare change to skipping the morning latte--but there's a new saving method making its way around Facebook that I'm going to try this year. It's called the "52 Week Money Saving Challenge" and the concept is pretty basic: every week you make a deposit into your savings account (or, in our case, the Disney Fund), beginning with $1 and increasing by $1 each week, until the final week when your deposit will be $52. It starts rather simply--you won't miss a few spare dollars. But even your greatest deposit, $52,  isn't too much of a strain on the wallet. (For a family of 4 or more, this could be as simple as skipping one restaurant meal that week.) When you add all 52 weekly deposits, you'll have saved $1378! That will put you well on your way to paying for a Walt Disney World vacation. (My family has spent less than this on a trip in the past. And with some careful planning, you could too!)

We're getting a late start, since over 3 months have lapsed since our last WDW vacation, and we'll likely return before a full year has past. Still, I'm guessing this will add around $600 to our fund before we take our next trip. That alone will cover our resort stay. (We go in Value Season and ALWAYS have a room discount.)

So now you have your marching orders! Get out there and start saving!