Disney Fund Update

As I have mentioned, we are a homeschooling family. Yesterday, as part of math class, we counted our current Disney fund. Yes, even the five-year-old did her share--she sorted the coins (sorting is an important kindergarten skill!) and counted the loose pennies (all 36 of them!). She also counted the rolls of coins, although her third-grade sister had to do the multiplication (six rolls worth two dollars each = $12, etc.). So, here's the breakdown of what we've saved so far, along with the grand total:

• $79.91 in loose change


• $55 in Disney gift cards


• $130 in gas cards


• $45 in food/restaurant gift cards (for the trip there and back)


• $50 American Express gift card (can be used almost anywhere)


• $17.48 from recent product rebates


• $176 Disney Visa Rewards Dollars

Grand Total: $544.39 saved!

And we only started saving in earnest this month, although we had been collecting loose change for quite some time, and the Disney Rewards Dollars were accruing since our last trip to WDW in September 2010. Still, I'm impressed with how quickly it's adding up (almost $200 since the beginning of August).

As I've said before, we're not trying to save the entire cost of our trip (that would be nearly impossible, considering how late we started). We're just trying to avoid the jolt of a huge credit card bill when we return home from vacation. Our goal was to get over $500, which we've already surpassed. I think we'll shoot for $650 now, given our success thus far. With tickets already purchased, and deposits on our resort stay, our actual out of pocket at the time of our trip will be considerably less shocking that it would otherwise.

How about you? How are you doing on your Disney Vacation savings?