Disney Fund Update

You may remember that just a few months before our WDW vacation last year, I created a Disney Fund Jar for our family. We had always been big on saving money, but this was the first time that we set aside money for our vacation with intentionality. The only funds we put in the jar are loose change (usually at the end of the week) and "found" money. Found money can include anything from gift cards we've received in promotions or as gifts, cash or gift cards earned for taking surveys, and literally found money. (A few months back, my husband found an envelope in our closet with $96 in cash--neither of us could remember what it might have been for, so we put it in the Disney Fund!) We do not trade savings for savings by siphoning in funds we've saved in other arenas, such as couponing or shopping clearance sales (although we do both those things!). We still "live cheap" in our every day lives and manage to save for Disney too!

I just counted up our fund and made a trip to the bank to trade in some rolled coins for paper money. Here is the grand total in cash and gift cards (which include Disney gift cards, gas cards, and generic cards that can be used as cash in most locations) as of our last trip in September 2011: $1062.09!

We seem to be saving around $100/month, so we'll likely end up with around $1200 before our trip in September. No, that isn't enough to pay for our entire vacation (although we have spent less than that on previous Disney vacations!). But it is enough to lessen the major hit that our credit cards would have otherwise taken in September. And all this saving is without really trying...it's money that we don't need or miss.

I share all this to let you know that an affordable Walt Disney World vacation is within your reach, with a little creative saving. Give up an expensive habit (like daily coffee at Starbucks, evening movies, or eating out) or take up one that helps you save (like couponing, switching to matinees, or eating at home more often), and you could multiply those savings over the course of a year.

What are your best ideas to increase your Disney Vacation Fund?