Saving 4 Disney vacation: Single parent tips

I've been wanting to get the Firestick too! They have the few cable channels I like and some programming that will be good when DS starts watching TV too. If my research is correct, you need internet for that too. :(

If you get rid of your DirecTV, what internet service will you use in order to use the Firestick?

So, the banks don't take money out when you use the "coin machines" there? I would love to do that instead of rolling coins old school style. However, I will roll coins instead of losing money with Coin Star that's for sure. Like you, I did that ONCE years ago and said, "no mas!" Lol

I have internet through AT&T, so it wouldn't change anything.

No, mine doesn't. I use a credit union, maybe that has something to do with it. not sure.
 
A trick for everyone I didn't see mentioned yet...

Many companies have loyalty discounts with other companies. Just call up your providers (cable, satelite, phone, internet, etc) and start asking if they offer discounts for ___ , ____ some usually works examples are supermarkets, banks, cable/tv/internet providers. I think I get about 30% off my mobile phone and 20% off my internet just from this one simple trick..

It's usually easiest to do it from the store if your area has one. (go find the teenager at the mall booth for your companies and start asking them what you can discounts for). note, they never check you actually use these things so it's up to you on how moral you want to be, I only took the ones I actually use.

Also AAA, if your not a member works in a lot of places and usually discounts the same as tax from the bill... not to mention their other benefits and options. It's not a costly "Club" to join.
 
Many companies have loyalty discounts with other companies. Just call up your providers (cable, satelite, phone, internet, etc) and start asking if they offer discounts for ___ , ____ some usually works examples are supermarkets, banks, cable/tv/internet providers. I think I get about 30% off my mobile phone and 20% off my internet just from this one simple trick.

Can you explain this part again? It sounds interesting. :)

I'm trying a lot of the suggestions on here. :)

I appreciate all the tips.
 
Can you explain this part again? It sounds interesting. :)

Let's say your mobile phone is sprint..

Call them up and ask if they offer any partner or loyalty discounts. When they ask for who, tell them you have AT&T internet, shop at pathmark, use welsfargo for your mortgage, bank of america for your savings, directv for your tv, drive a ford, etc etc etc.. This is where using a mall booth or local store is easier than calling. Usually the teenagers will just show you the screen of what they can click off for discounts.

Don't forget to include where you work, you'll be surprised how many companies have employee discounts and you didn't know it.

Repeat for anything that has a monthly bill.
 
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Let's say your mobile phone is sprint..

Call them up and ask if they offer any partner or loyalty discounts. When they ask for who, tell them you have AT&T internet, shop at pathmark, use welsfargo for your mortgage, bank of america for your savings, directv for your tv, drive a ford, etc etc etc.. This is where using a mall booth of local store is easier than calling. Usually the teenagers will just show you the screen of what they can click off for discounts.

Don't forget to include where you work, you'll be surprised how many companies have employee discounts and you didn't know it.

Repeat for anything that has a monthly bill.

Oh ok! Thank you for the tip! I'm definitely going to do that. :)
 


We have Netflix and basic cable rather than any premium channels or going out to the movies. We do "movie nights" at home with popcorn, cookies, instead (and no microwave popcorn - make the real stuff!).

We love to eat out, but limit how often it is. When we do go out, it's usually with coupons/deals.

Make good use of the local library for books, dvds, and other programs. We love to read, but rarely buy books (and don't have a lot of space for them anyway).

I cook just about everything from scratch and limit processed foods - much healthier and we still get to have pizza once a week. While that sounds like a PITA at times, if you plan and prep carefully, you learn what to overcook and either have later as leftovers (or for lunches) and what to freeze. That way, when you have *those* nights, you can pull something together quickly without a lot of angst. Even something as simple as pre-seasoning chicken breasts before you freeze helps - throw in the fridge the morning you need it, then on the grill when you get home. While it's grilling, make a salad and salad dressing, and you have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

I make most of my "everyday" cleaners. 50/50 mix of dawn and white vinegar to clean the bathrooms. 50/50 mix of water and vinegar for glass cleaner. 50/50 mix of water and vinegar with a tablespoon of dawn for basic "everywhere else" cleaner (kitchen counters, etc). Make my own laundry detergent (same blend as what was mentioned before), which lasts us about 18 months for $30 - been using this for 4 years now and it's great. Just about everything in your house can be cleaned with some combination of baking soda, vinegar, and Dawn.

Yard sales, consignment shops, sale racks for clothing, especially for my daughter who is growing like a weed. I have fewer/better quality clothes for myself because I make them last (and don't change sizes every 6 months), but even my better cloths have to come from sales/coupons/clearance.

We live in a smaller house ~ fewer bills; less room for excess stuff to pile up; less work to maintain. Anytime we want to bring something into the house, we consider where it is going to go and how often it will be used, and what are we going to get rid of to accommodate it.

At the end of the month and all the bills are paid, I transfer excess balance of my checking account into my savings account, so I don't feel the need to go spend it.

Our local Coinstar lets me cash in change for gift cards for amazon for exact amount. I use the amazon cards for present shopping - birthdays, etc. Am also weighing in on whether or not I want to get amazon prime instead of netflix - could pay for it this way as well.

Buy used and clean it up whenever possible. We both have older bikes; most of my furniture is thrift shop and repainted/refinished by myself.

Get out and enjoy life - pack a picnic, go to a local park, run around, laugh lots.
 
I have a small amount from each paycheck direct deposited into a savings account rather than into my checking.

I know this isn't a good idea for everyone, but I use credit cards to pay for everything I can so I can get the rewards points. You have to have a lot of discipline to stick to a budget otherwise you could end up spending too much, and any interest charges and fees will wipe out any benefit you might get from rewards points.

I have 3 cards from Chase: my Disney Visa, my Southwest Airlines Visa, and a Chase Freedom Visa. I rotate which card I use depending on which gives me the best benefit. I used to get 5x's bonus offers from my Disney Visa a lot, but haven't in a few years. The bonus offers I get now are mostly from the Southwest card, because that's the card I use the least. I got an offer late last fall for bonus Rapid Rewards miles if I spent a certain amount on the card. So I shifted all my spending to that card and racked up a bunch more RR points. I was able to earn the last amount I needed to be able to pay for both mine and my DD's roundtrip flights for our cruise last month. In the first quarter, my Freedom card was offering 4% bonus points on grocery store purchases. I waited until Giant Eagle was offering double fuel perks on Disney gift cards and picked up the maximum amount that would qualify for the Freedom bonus offer. With gas prices at the time, I managed to get one completely free tank of gas and a second tank at less than half the normal cost.

ETA: I wanted to make it clear that I pay off the balance every single month. I never carry a balance because interest charges would eat up any savings from the rewards. The only time I don't pay off the entire amount is when I am using the Disney Visa 0% for 6 months option and that gets paid off before I accrue any charges.


I keep seeing people say my DD and DS etc. feeling silly for asking but what do all these mean?!?! lol
 
I have a Chase Disney Visa Premier credit card. Everything in my world that can be put on a credit card goes on that card. Then I just pay all of the cash that I would normally use to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. to pay the card each month. It's incredible how quickly the rewards points rack up. They can be redeemed for anything Disney & with the Premier card you can even use them as a statement credit to reimburse airfare purchases. You also get merch discounts in the parks & some dining discounts.

Honestly, it may sound extreme when talking about being short on money & trying to save for Disney, but consider joining DVC. I had already paid for our trip to WDW a few years ago. We were going to stay at Coronado Springs. I ended up joining DVC & bought points at AKL. My rep was able to take the money I had already paid to use as the down payment on our membership & rebook us to AKL (7 nights in a savannah view room). So, I basically got a deluxe hotel trip for the price of a moderate that year. In fact, that ended up being a 20% down payment when they only require 10%. So, I was able to get a better APR on my loan for the balance. The payment on the balance of my loan is about $200 a month. So, for those of you that put aside $100 per paycheck, it would just about even out. Of course this only makes sense for those of us that want to go at least once every year or two. But if that is you, you can save so much money.

I'm a bit OCD on tracking my investment & keep a spreadsheet of every penny I've paid into DVC & what I've saved on hotels & other discounts because of the membership. So far, I have yet to slip into the red. To me DVC was always the dream that I thought I would never attain. But, realizing that having enough for 1 trip equaled having enough for the down payment changed everything. I haven't regretted my purchase for a second!

We're going to DLR for 4 days/3 nights in October. A standard studio room at VGC for those dates would be about $1643 (absolutely crazy for 3 nights). I don't have to pay anything for that above my normal monthly payment. I was able to completely cover our airfare with Disney Visa rewards. And I bought APs this year for a trip we made earlier in the year. The APs have already more than paid for themselves, so I don't have a park ticket cost for this trip. So, really the only thing I've paid extra out of pocket for the trip is $106.00 for Halloween party tickets (would have been $131.00, but I won a $25.00 Disney gift card from a radio station). I'll still have to pay for dining of course, but with the AP there is a 15% discount. Even though I logically know that I've still paid for this trip in various ways, it really feels like I'm getting a trip for free thanks to Visa & DVC.
 
I have a Chase Disney Visa Premier credit card. Everything in my world that can be put on a credit card goes on that card. Then I just pay all of the cash that I would normally use to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. to pay the card each month. It's incredible how quickly the rewards points rack up. They can be redeemed for anything Disney & with the Premier card you can even use them as a statement credit to reimburse airfare purchases. You also get merch discounts in the parks & some dining discounts.

Honestly, it may sound extreme when talking about being short on money & trying to save for Disney, but consider joining DVC. I had already paid for our trip to WDW a few years ago. We were going to stay at Coronado Springs. I ended up joining DVC & bought points at AKL. My rep was able to take the money I had already paid to use as the down payment on our membership & rebook us to AKL (7 nights in a savannah view room). So, I basically got a deluxe hotel trip for the price of a moderate that year. In fact, that ended up being a 20% down payment when they only require 10%. So, I was able to get a better APR on my loan for the balance. The payment on the balance of my loan is about $200 a month. So, for those of you that put aside $100 per paycheck, it would just about even out. Of course this only makes sense for those of us that want to go at least once every year or two. But if that is you, you can save so much money.

I'm a bit OCD on tracking my investment & keep a spreadsheet of every penny I've paid into DVC & what I've saved on hotels & other discounts because of the membership. So far, I have yet to slip into the red. To me DVC was always the dream that I thought I would never attain. But, realizing that having enough for 1 trip equaled having enough for the down payment changed everything. I haven't regretted my purchase for a second!

We're going to DLR for 4 days/3 nights in October. A standard studio room at VGC for those dates would be about $1643 (absolutely crazy for 3 nights). I don't have to pay anything for that above my normal monthly payment. I was able to completely cover our airfare with Disney Visa rewards. And I bought APs this year for a trip we made earlier in the year. The APs have already more than paid for themselves, so I don't have a park ticket cost for this trip. So, really the only thing I've paid extra out of pocket for the trip is $106.00 for Halloween party tickets (would have been $131.00, but I won a $25.00 Disney gift card from a radio station). I'll still have to pay for dining of course, but with the AP there is a 15% discount. Even though I logically know that I've still paid for this trip in various ways, it really feels like I'm getting a trip for free thanks to Visa & DVC.

I agree, It is absolutely hard to fathom buying into a vacation club when short on money; however, I will strongly consider it. :)
 
It took me for ever to join DVC. I was not sure where I was going to find the money every month. To be honest the first month or two is harder and them you don't miss it any more. I love it, I no longer have to worry about my hotel also DVC will run offers on annual passes and other things at Disney.
 

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