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?

Disney Fund Update

It's just two days before we leave for our next WDW vacation, and we decided to tally up the Disney Fund. Are you ready for the breakdown? Here goes:

• Cash (from our yard sale and loose change*): $292.72


• Restaurant gift cards (earned from survey sites and secret shopping; we may not be able to use all of these on our trip, but we'll take them just in case): $105


• Gas cards (rewards from credit cards and from the CVS "spend $30/get a $10 gas card" deal): $140


• Disney gift cards (we purchased one to get Kroger points; the other were gifts or promotions): $155


• American Express cards (from credit card rewards and survey companies): $125


• Chase Disney Rewards Visa dollars: $191

All that for a grand total of $1008.72! Wow, I never would have imagined that we could save so much so fast (we only started saving in earnest about 6 weeks ago!)--and without it having any significant impact on our regular finances! Gee, with that kind of savings, maybe I can convince my husband that we should make TWO trips to the World next year! (I'm not holding my breath.)

*This number might have been considerably higher, but as a family we decided that we would donate half of our yard sale earnings to missions/charity. We chose the Haiti Starfish program that our church supports. This amazing program feeds school children in Haiti. For many, this is the only complete meal they are given each day. Because of this program, our girls have developed tender hearts for the children in Haiti--makes me a proud, happy Mama!