Thursday's Tip

Most Walt Disney World vacation spending can be calculated--if not precisely, then estimated--well before your trip. Resort, plane tickets, park tickets, and even food (if you choose the Dining Plan) can be priced out rather closely months in advance. My tip this Thursday is to start pricing and planning for your next Walt Disney World vacation almost as soon as you return from a trip. Then calculate the months until your next trip. Divide the total by the number of months, and you'll figure out how much you need to save each month for your vacation. When you break it into smaller increments, it doesn't seem so daunting, and you'll be able to think of creative ways to cut that amount from other areas of your budget each month!

Thursday's Tip

Here's a pretty basic tip: start saving early for a Walt Disney World vacation! Kind of a no-brainer, right? But how? I've offered several suggestions in previous posts--everything from saving spare change to skipping the morning latte--but there's a new saving method making its way around Facebook that I'm going to try this year. It's called the "52 Week Money Saving Challenge" and the concept is pretty basic: every week you make a deposit into your savings account (or, in our case, the Disney Fund), beginning with $1 and increasing by $1 each week, until the final week when your deposit will be $52. It starts rather simply--you won't miss a few spare dollars. But even your greatest deposit, $52,  isn't too much of a strain on the wallet. (For a family of 4 or more, this could be as simple as skipping one restaurant meal that week.) When you add all 52 weekly deposits, you'll have saved $1378! That will put you well on your way to paying for a Walt Disney World vacation. (My family has spent less than this on a trip in the past. And with some careful planning, you could too!)

We're getting a late start, since over 3 months have lapsed since our last WDW vacation, and we'll likely return before a full year has past. Still, I'm guessing this will add around $600 to our fund before we take our next trip. That alone will cover our resort stay. (We go in Value Season and ALWAYS have a room discount.)

So now you have your marching orders! Get out there and start saving!

Final Disney Fund Count

I must admit that I've been neglecting the Disney Fund lately. I haven't been doing anything to actively grow it. Nonetheless, I counted everything up, and here's what we have:

• $774.89 in cash (mostly spare change, yard sale funds, and rebates)


• $275.00 in Disney gift cards


• $84.99 in gas gift cards


• $65 in "cash" gift cards (American Express, etc.)


• $213.67 in Disney Visa rewards

For a grand total of $1,413.55

Now, obviously, this won't pay for our entire vacation (although we have gone to Disney World for less than this in the past), but it will still take a significant bite out of what we will spend. And since this is all money that we acquired without diverting funds from elsewhere (it's found money, for the most part), we haven't even noticed a hit to our bank account.

In addition to the gift cards mentioned above, I'll also be taking along several restaurant gift cards that I've aquired from various sources (surveys, promotions, etc.). We may not be able to use all of them (depending on what restaurants are available when we're ready to eat), but hopefully we'll be able to save a little on our meals while we travel with these too. And, of course, I have dining coupons too!

I'll be tracking our expenses and plan to report back at the end of our trip with how much we saved.

Thursday's Tip

Our family always seems to be coming up with unique ways to save for a Disney vacation. Some of our past forays into the world of saving have involved yard sales, couponing, and saving our spare coins. For our Thursday's Tip, here are a few other ways you might be able to pinch a few pennies--and remember, those pennies add up!

• Compare prices on everything! Don't assume that a discount or warehouse store has the cheapest prices on everything. Sometimes those jumbo sizes are misleading. I've found that with coupons, I can usually purchase most items in a smaller, more manageable size for a lower price-per-unit.


• Re-think your prescription refills. Many pharmacies offer incentives to switch to their pharmacy, and mail order companies can sometimes offer a significant savings if you buy a 3-month supply at one time. Search for the best deal that fits your needs.


• Give your grocery cart a once-over. Is there anything in there that you can do without? Are there prepared items that you could purchase whole and prepare yourself? Are there junk foods full of empty calories that would be better replaced with a healthier (and often cheaper) option? Are you paying for packaging, rather than the food?


• Use the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. Not only is it good for the environment; it's also good for your wallet. Some examples: Use less paper towels and napkins by using cloth instead. Or recycle aluminum cans for cash. And don't purchase new boxes or packaging material. Instead, reused salvaged boxes, bubble wrap, etc. Same goes for bags for birthday and Christmas gifts. (It's getting a bit humorous to our family members, as we keep giving and receiving the same bags over the years.)


• Install a dimmer switch on lights and/or a digital thermostat that can be programmed to save on heating and cooling while you're away. Change your furnace filter regularly for optimum performance, and seal up any drafts or cracks that might allow air to escape. Check faucets for drips. Be sure to remove lint from your dryer after every load. These few minor maintenance and repair items can keep you from wasting $ on fuel and energy bills.


• Do a yearly overview of all your negotiable bills--cell phone, cable, insurance, baking fees, etc.--to make sure you're getting the best deal to fit your needs. Don't assume that the "bundle" your company offers is indeed the best deal for you. And while you're at it, be sure to pay your bills on time. There's no easier way to waste money than to pay a late fee.


• Institute a "no spend" day. This is a day set aside each week where all your meals and snacks come from your pantry, and you don't do any sort of shopping. The only caveat: make sure you don't overspend on the next day to compensate!

These are just a few ways to save money. Of course the next step, as you notice that your savings is growing, is to set aside a specific amount in a vacation fund each week or month.

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?

Thursday's Tip

We've never been big on budgets around our house--at least not in the formal sense. We do track our spending and keep a tight rein on what's coming in and going out financially. We don't have any debt except for the mortgage on our home, and we intend to keep it that way. And so, when vacation time rolls around, we typically pay for it as it comes.

But this year, we decided to do something a little different. For one thing, we were presented with the possibility that there might be more than one Disney vacation in our near future--nothing definite, but a possibility. So we started thinking about where we might get the extra money. Unwilling to delve into our savings, we decided to begin a designated Disney fund. To make it more fun, I decorated a glass vase for our savings. Here's what it looks like:





What is going into our fund? For starters, loose change. You can see that we've already rolled a LOT of coins, all found loose in the bottom of my husband's nightstand. (He hasn't been saving them, per se; he just hates carrying around coins.) We also add any gift cards we receive--American Express, gas cards, or Disney gift cards. Just before our trip, I'll also gather up any unused restaurant gift cards that I've earned through survey companies, and we'll use those to help pay for food as we travel. And although these don't fit into our vase, we are also accruing dollars from our Disney Rewards Visa, and those will be added to the final fund. (We typically use the Disney Rewards gift card to pay for our food inside the Parks--less keeping up with cash and/or credit card receipts.)

We have about 6 weeks left to save. I know we won't save the full cost of the trip by then, but even if we only have to pay half of it from our bank account (we've already paid for tickets and a portion of our resort stay), that will be great! (And that will put us that much closer to saving for our next trip--whenever it will be.) I'm hoping to share with my readers our full cost for this trip, along with the money we saved. Remember, this is my 40th birthday trip, so we're splurging a little. This won't be my signature "Disney on the Cheap" trip, but I think you'll still see how frugal I can be--even when I'm treating myself!

BTW, here's what we have in our vase so far:

• $66.65 from loose change


• $50 American Express gift card


• $55 in Disney gift cards


• $20 in gas gift cards


• approximately $176 in Disney Reward dollars

for a grand total of $367.56--not too shabby considering we just started a few weeks ago. Hoping to hit the $500 mark by our trip.