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?

Thursday's Tip

Today's tip is inspired by the show Hoarders: Burried Alive. (Experiencing a bit of insomnia as I write this, and I just happened to turn over and catch one of my "guilty pleasure" shows.) You can file it under "ways to save for a Disney vacation": have a garage sale! You'll make some cash and get rid of items you don't need--win/win!

We're actually planning our own yard sale in a few weeks. Most of the time, we donate outgrown clothing and other items to Goodwill or ARC or some other charitable organization. But our girls have recently outgrown several high-ticket items (tricycles, battery-operated car, Radio Flyer wagon) and after a few disappointing experiences with local consignment stores, we've decided it's time to try a yard sale.

We've recruited another family in the neighborhood to have a sale the same day (and maybe more will join us), to bring more traffic to our street. Our girls and their friend plan to set up a lemonade stand. And, as my grandmother--a yard sale veteran--always did at her sales, we also plan to sell ice cold soft drinks. (I think Grandmother made her biggest profits from that alone!)

Be sure to price items competitively. For clothing, we almost never price anything over $1. For most other things, a good rule of thumb is to always price it at half of the cost or less--and that's if it's in great condition. If something is well-worn, price accordingly. And by around noon, it's time to start marking items down and making deals!

Finally, at the end of the day, inventory and box up items that didn't sell to donate. After all, a tax write-off is better than having to return those unwanted items to your closet, right?