I am excited to bring you our first guest post! I discovered Couponing to Disneypurely by accident--and yet it has fast become one of my favorite sites. How could I not love it? It combines two of my favorite things--couponing and Disney! I listed couponing as a way to save for a Disney vacation in this post, but Kristin at Couponing to Disney takes it to a whole new level. I trust she will encourage you to see that you can have the Disney vacation of your dreams without spending your life's savings. After you've read this, hop on over to Couponing to Disney to check out the latest deals that Kristin has for you, so you can start saving today!
Here's a bit of Kristin's story:
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I started making elaborate plans about a fantastic trip to Disney World when she was old enough to enjoy it. I only went for one day as a child and I wanted to give her experiences that I did not have. Then I saw the price tag of a Disney vacation and compared our finances, and those dreams diminished. There was no way we could afford a Disney vacation with our current budget.
It wasn’t long after my daughter was born that I discovered coupon shopping. But I only used a coupon here or there. I had no idea the amount I could save. In January 2008, my New Year's resolution was to become more adamant about using coupons. I started learning everything I could about saving money. I learned how to combine coupons and sales, how to stockpile, and how to save my family thousands of dollars a year.
I was a smart shopper for over a year before I realized we could now afford a Disney vacation. So I started planning and by May 2009, we were at Disney World. We had eight wonderful, magical days at the parks. It was everything I had dreamed of and more. We fell in love with Disney World.
When we returned home, we decided we wanted to go in 2010, but we had other things we need to spend our budget on. So we had to find another source for the funds. It was going to be tricky, because I was already saving thousands of dollars a year with coupons. If we didn’t want to feel the pinch, I was going to have to get resourceful.
So I started looking around online trying to figure out how I could save for Disney without designating any of our monthly budget toward our trip. I had a little less then a year to save.
The first and most obvious way to me was to start saving all our loose change. I designate $150 a week for groceries, out to eat, entertainment, etc. (that $150 covers everything that is not gas or monthly bills). So instead of using that amount out of our checking account, I withdraw it in cash instead. When I shop, I use cash and I always break my dollars. The change goes into the Disney fund. It usually averages out to about $10 a week. That’s $520 a year! That’s one fifth of the cost of our trip and we don’t miss that money at all.
Out of that money, I also save anything that is left over at the end of the week. This inspires us to eat out less and not buy items we don’t need. Also if we were planning to spend money and we were able to resist, that money goes into the fund as well because it would have been spent otherwise.
Another great way I found to add to our Disney fund was to save all "found" money. Found money can be anything from $1 in the dryer to an unexpected gift from a relative. It could also be money earned at a yard sale or by selling your Aunt Irma’s spoons on Ebay. If we weren’t planning on receiving the funds, they get applied to our trip.
The next way I started to save was by using rebates. Prior to saving for the fund, I was not very diligent about using every rebate available to me and there were times that I would forget to mail in my receipt and I would lose out on the rebate. So I became more dedicated and organized, and in the first three months I earned approximately $400 in rebates.
I also found ways to earn money online. I started participating in surveys and various online rewards programs. It doesn't make me rich, but over the course of the year I have added over $500 to the funds by doing these.
I started saving for our trip on June 1. As of the first of February, our Disney fund is $2400! And not one cent has come out of our paychecks. We don’t miss the money at all. A Disney trip is not out of your reach if you just become resourceful. As the great Walt said “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
Kristin started her blog Couponing to Disney to keep track of her savings for Disney. She also teaches others how to save on their household expenses and earn extra money on the side so they too can afford something they previously thought was out of their reach.
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