How Do You Earn Or Save Money For Disney!

[sonnyday]

Hello everyone! I was just wondering if anyone had any special, unique, crazy or weird ways of saving/earning money for a Disney trip. My family and I do the usual stuff: change jar, yard sales. We have even started selling stuff on ebay! My mom, sister and I all make "one of a kind" Barbie doll dresses to sell... my brother-in-law sells tools and guy stuff and my son sells toys! It is a real family effort. Thankfully we almost have all we need (lol...we could always use a little more!) So lets hear some ideas! What have you done to get to go to Disney?

 

[worm761]

i work one day a week at a laundry mat. not much but it adds up. i also have found that i dont always spend what i have budgeted for certain things, like groceries. so when i have extra there that goes to the disney fund. also any money i find when i do my laundry is disney money. i have been known to find $50!

 

[SandraC]

(1) I work PT. dh's pay goes for all household expenses, mine goes on DISNEY! We actually call my account the DISNEY ACCOUNT. I have the best PT job for my lifesytle. I teach fitness/yoga/art, I work about 10-12 hours per week. They classes pay well, much better than if I had a traditional PT job. So that's the biggest contributor to Disney trips.

(2) Anytime I save a significant amount of money with coupons, I take half the coupon amt from my grocery acct and put it in the Disney account. Example: If I got $10.00 coupon in the mail for diapers, $5.00 goes to Disney acct. I probably contribute $150 a year that way.

(3) I write several upfront articles a year and submit them to magazines (upfront is that section usually at the beginning of magazines with a paragraph or two of useful info). They pay about $25 - $100 depending on the publication. I haven't done many this year, still waiting for PARENTS MAGAZINE cheque for FEB 2001 peice. I would guess I average $100-$300 annually writing. I don't have the attention span to give it a full go.

(4) Garage Sale

(5) Gift money

Last year's trip cost $7000.00 CDN and so will this April's trip cost the same. I was floored when I realized how much I was spending. But I saved and saved and saved. We don't have a luxurious lifestyle at all, our luxury comes from TRIPS! I love vacations! S

 

[aide4]

in May 2000. We faithfully put $25 from every paycheck into savings. I get paid weekly, DH bi-weekly. We also put some in at tax time or when we had extra money.We are going to WDW Feb 9-16 (there are four of us, myself, DH,DS(13) and DD(9). The only thing we are putting on charge card is rental car. We were able to save up $3500 since we started.inkbounc

 

[Dagny]

I "round up" my checkbook - for example, if I write a check for $15.26, I put it in my checkbook at $16.00. It is kinda like saving change, only it isn't as readily available to "dip" into. I manage to save quite a bit of money doing this.


You also might considering starting some rewards programs. You can earn gift certificates for some great meals while you are at WDW. Last year, our family ate at Rain Forest Cafe and Planet Hollywood for FREE. Some programs even offer Disney Dollars! You can learn about the various programs on the rewards board, just click here .

 

[Humpbacks1962]

#1 : BOOK EARLY !! You can grab great discounts by merely calling ahead months in advance. Often, all you need is $100 to hold your ressies or one night's charge. I do that in January, no later than February. Then throughout the year, I pay monthly so that at the time of my arrival I only have the expenses of souvenirs and food.

#2: Save my coins and my singles ($1 bills)

#3: Sell my old books in Amazon.com

#4: Stay away from online shopping sites.

#5: I round off my checking account balance too




Wanda

 

[Pooh's Pal]

I'm a single mom and manage a Restr. So most of my pay check goes to household expenses, doctor and dentist bills, food and normal stuff. I try to schedule myself to waitress 2 nites a week and put at least one night's tips or more in the bank. I have a separte passbook account and DD and I both contribute to it..(She's in HS and has a part time job)

We are planning on having a yard sale about 2-3 weeks before we go..Have been boxing up stuff for about a month now..

We save change...All change..Just bought ourselves one of those small change machines at a "Job Lot" for $5.99. It works pretty well, just rolled a bunch of silver and deposited it in the "Disney Account" this morning...Now I've got to do the pennies!! UGH!!...I'd go to the grocery store and use one of those coin machines, but they take my hard earned money! And It's My Money!!!Not for them!

I also do rewards boards for GC's and my airfare and hotel are all payed for in advance. (Booked 6 months ago, cheap airfares and waiting for a code or Ap to come out now!)

Going to accountant on Friday and hopefully will get a refund this year, for some more spending money in WDW.

 

[SandraC]

More info from SandraC...

The following items are not so much how I save money for WDW trips, they are how I don't spend a lot of money, which in turn, helps me save money.

(1) I do a lot of shopping at second hand shops. It's amazing how many quality things I have for very little money. I buy lots of NEW things, tags on them from the name brand stores, at second hand shops. Hollywood overalls for $4.00, lots of great shirts/short $2.00. I even get Disney toys for $1.00 or less.

(2) I TRY to grocery shop at our NO FRILLS store, they are grocery stores in Canada that have name brands for far less than most stores. Where I might spend $200.00 on groceries at a regular store, I buy the same things for about $130.00. BIG SAVINGS!

(3) Spend time not money on things. I research stuff. It's like a hobby and I enjoy it so that's fun ! I save money and that's fun too.

(4) Look at the big picture. For instance, last year I bought Paramount Canada's Wonderland season's passes for $100.00 per person in my family (baby was free), so we spent $300. They are like AP's at WDW. We went 29 times! That's $3.00 a trip! We brought our lunch all the time. They have great rides and a marvelous water park. We took time off in the summer for vacation, but spent most of our time in the water park, so basically our entire summer vacation cost about $600.00 (did other things and a couple nights away).

(5) I eat free! WHAT YOU SAY? I don't know what it is, but whenever I frequent a donut shop, McDonalds etc.,. a few times, I end up 'buddies' with a few employees. Often we become very friendly and I enjoy going there for the great company. I never ask for freebies, it usually starts with them giving my kids a free ice cream, then I get free coffee, now they just give us stuff all the time. I enjoy them so much, I ended up getting little Xmas gifts and Valentines for them from the kids. I feel guilty about getting free stuff and offer to pay all the time. That's why I like giving them gifts. But in the long run, my family ends up benefiting.

S

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.................................................. For you guys working for big companies, often they have a stock purchase plan, that guarentees the price of the stock, with a little discount. The money comes out weekly, or bi-weekly. In 1999, got shares for 9.98 that are worth 19, so I kept them. In 2000, got shares for 12, that are worth 19, so I kept them. This year the stock is down, so all the money I put into it, I can withdraw and take the cash, instead of stock.

 

[patsal]

I do many of the things that were listed here (the yardsales, couponing, rounding up, etc.). In addition, I don't redirect paid off bills to more bills rather I deposit the amount in the DISNEY ACCOUNT (complete with Disney Classics Checks! LOL). For example if I no longer pay for full time child care because my DD is in school now the extra $150 every two weeks goes into the DISNEY ACCOUNT (Since I teach and only work the school year that is at least $3000.00 I can put away. ) If I don't have any medical expences during a month that money goes into the account. All bills that are paid up (credit cards, loans, student loans, car loans, etc.) I split the difference on. I keep half in a traditional savings acount so that I won't need credit again, and half goes in the disney fund. I can't wait until the kids don't need daycare at all, then I'll have an extra $300 per month to add to the fund. Then that is all I'll have to worry about saving each year! Wow, $300 per month for 2kids for 1and one half hours per day (1/2 hr. in am and 1 hr in pm) If you have time maybe watching a couple of kids for a few hours per day would fill up the account (LOL)!

 

[SandraC]

Oh, I thought of another one! I have two bank accounts, one is checking and savings, I call it the GROCERY ACCOUNT. The second acct is the DISNEY ACCOUNT. THe Disney Acct was getting a crappy interest rate so I went to the bank and ask for the best rate I could get. I really only deposit into the acct. So I changed the acct for a way better int rate. There are lots of restrictions on the acct, like only one withdrawal a month, but I only withdraw once a year so it works for me. I am getting an extra $25.00 per month of interest! That's $300.00 a year! Almost half my Disney meal budget!

 

[SandraC]

Me again...I just saved another $34.00! I got a new code from www.mousesavers.com for CSR $94.00.

 

[cassie]

I have a vacation club in the credit union. I book at least 10 months out so I know the highest the room will cost, and pray for a code to come out. For spending money I use the left over sick pay I get from work...luckily I'm never sick. Also, for this next trip George W gave me $500 so that is earmarked for spending moneytoo.

 

[annsteere]

It has been a very mild winter here. If you pay your heat bills by paying an average amount every month you may have a credit coming. A friend of ours just got a check for $135 that the gas company guesses she had overpaid. You have to ask or they just let your credit keep building up. But, if you are ahead at the end of January, chances are you are very safe to collect and spend it.

 

[pinky]

Spare change, any rebates we receive in the mail and my favorite...bottle deposits. It's 10 cents a piece in Michigan. We are die hard Coke fans so we have quite a fund...
...34 more days and counting...

Pinky

 

[poohraedopey]

WE USED to have a fantastic STOCK plan DISNEE DAD but unfortunatly they made a tender offer and sold all of our shares *sigh* BUt we used all of the profit on a downpayment for our car in May.

We didnt really SAVE for thsi trip it came up rather suddenly. So we had what was in the change jar we asked for Disney $ at Christmas and are using soem tax return money to fund the trip.

 

[hgsmom]

I have a great e-course to help you budget for a Disney trip. It is also an easy way to earn extra money online. It has really worked great for our family. If anybody would like more info just email me at cagarnergroup@aol.com
Allen

 

[WDW2002]

All ovetime pay goes into savings for WDW/DL/Vacations. I know not everyone works overtime or is an hourly employee but it works for me.

 

[Jackie824]

Ok How I save money is a little different. Technically we are one income family,My husband works fulltime and Im a SAHM. But I do "petsit" in my home for a business called "Pets bed and Breakfast", I take care of other peoples dogs while the owners go out of town. That money goes into a separate acct then myhusbands paychecks do. So that is the official Disney acct. I got our plane tickets this past Aug, paid with"dog Money", we are goingin March.Right now I dont have as much saved as I would like, but we will be using some of our income tax money for disney too. Its amazing how much dog money pays for our Disney vacations.

 

[Disney Dude]

I usually plan well in advance. I sit down and add up the entire cost of the trip, then divide that amount by how many months I have until I leave, and put that money every week into a savings account. By the time Im ready to leave , I pretty much have the trip payed for.