Today's tip: create a vacation budget. I will be the first to admit that I hate budgets. I am extremely frugal, and I don't buy things with money I don't already have, but the idea of sitting down and putting it all on paper gives me the hives. That said, it is necessary--and even empowering--to create a realistic vacation budget.
I have a firm belief that most families, if they are willing to make a few sacrifices, can afford to visit Walt Disney World without financing the trip. You can read about some great ways to save in this post. I would never, NEVER advocate a client planning a vacation that he or she didn't already have the money to pay for. Never.That said, your budget doesn't need to be a spreadsheet with multiple tabs. Mine is only about a page, and contains figures for the following possible expenses:
airfare and airport parking
- car rental
- gasoline
- tolls
- hotel
- dining (both in the parks and off-site)
- food/grocery purchases
- park tickets
- additional entertainment (movies, miniature golf, etc.)
- souvenirs
- other/misc. (I include character meals here, as they are "special" expenditures)
Many of these blanks are easy to fill in before the trip. Hotel, airfare, car rental, and park tickets should be arranged before your trip. But dining, entertainment, and souvenirs can vary a LOT with impulse buys. The budget helps you set parameters to avoid those impulses and make wise choices. Still, I try to set a liberal budget so that I'll be happily surprised if our trip comes in under budget.
Finally, keep track of your spending (save receipts or jot down each expenditure) and do a comparison of "estimated" to "actual." How'd you do? Use this as a guideline for future Disney vacation budgets!
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