Where do you "cut back" About This Page:

[tinker_me_happy]

If people have the option at work to have money taken out of their paycheck and deposited into a savings account right away BEFORE getting paid, that is a great way to save money! The first few weeks you do it (if you get paid once a week) you might notice the difference, but after a couple checks you don't even notice it being gone! For places with direct deposit, most will allow you to split your check into two different accounts by percentage. So you could deposit 90% of your pay into your regular account and save 10% towards Disney! Wise Money Advisers have always said "Pay yourself 10% FIRST!"

[JoanneS]

We rarely eat out, unless it's someone's birthday. I pack lunches for us instead of buying out. No movies, we wait for the dvd, unless it's Harry Potter. I use coupons regularly and don't buy anything that's not on sale. No soda, no bottled water. All sports equipment is bought used. And in the winter, we keep our house at a chilly 63 degrees to save on oil.

I also have a Southwest Visa. Everything I buy goes on the visa and I deduct that amount from my checking account and put it aside so I can pay the balance when the statement comes in. Everything I buy earns points towards free flights. (In heating oil alone, one year we just about had one free flight)

[JuliB57]

Originally Posted by zhemi

My sister-in-law gave me a great idea for saving too... she takes any $5 bills she has and puts them in her Disney savings. She'll spend the $1, $10, $20, but anytime she gets a $5, she puts it away. I've started doing that and it's actually become quite the thing! My husband is starting to think i'm nuts every time i snatch a five out of his hand and say 'we can't spend that!'. !

I love that idea!! A $5 bill.......hmmmmm......I think I will try that also. I also have a portion of my check direct deposited to a separate savings account for DW vacations. That way I never see the money and don't think about not having it. Thanks for the great idea!!

[ferrazalves]

Book a vacation one year in advance, in order to help inner strength...LOL
reduce coffee at starbucks is a start, plus no take out or dining out in regular basis. We schedule once, twice a month a special dinner but it is al. Plus we reduced extras, or "must have" impulse things.
My DD has a coin jar, and she collect all coins there and once a month we transform it in "disney money" for her, so she feels she is also contributing.
I usually transform my credit card miles in airfare, and by adding it with other fidelity programs we usually get at least one airfare for free.

[Wantland]

We bought the Disney Gift cards from Sam's this trip. A 100.00 gift card was 98.87 so I saved 1.13 on each 100.00 GC. But for each 100.00 GC came with 10.00 that I could use a the Disney store or online. So I bought things I knew my kids would want at the parks, like tshirts Mickey ears, it was like getting 400.00 worth of stuff for free.

[ilovedisney247]

I don't necessarily cut back on anything specific anymore--because I am constantly saving for one trip or another. I do a couple of things to make it easier to pay for vacations. I buy plane tickets, when I'm flying Southwest, one way at a time so I can spread it out over more than one paycheck. We don't worry too much about not being on the same flight if one should sell out.
I work in a tipped position and while most of my tips do come on my paycheck, I do accumulate a little bit of cash everyday, which goes into my Disney Savings. Right now I'm working on October--which is a slightly larger amount than usual, because it involved renewing my AP.

[HeatherD]

The only time I ever remember specifically "cutting down" on something, I stopped getting my nails done specifically so we could go to WDW - I used it as leverage with DH to convince him.

Otherwise, we don't consciously do things, we just adjust our budget if we have a vacation coming up. DH is very disciplined when it comes to saving, so he set up a vacation account at the bank, but manually moves money into it. He'll go easier on the months when big bills are due, like car registration, insurance that we pay every 6 months (saves money in "bulk"), etc.

We also automatically do things like live in a lesser expensive house than we could "afford" and buy used cars. When we were looking for our first house, DH refused to listen to the mortgage info that said we could afford $XXX. He refused to be "house poor" - living in a really nice house but unable to afford to do anything else.

[EmilyJ]

Originally Posted by HeatherD

We also automatically do things like live in a lesser expensive house than we could "afford" and buy used cars. When we were looking for our first house, DH refused to listen to the mortgage info that said we could afford $XXX. He refused to be "house poor" - living in a really nice house but unable to afford to do anything else.

I totally get that. I have someone in my life who ALWAYS is making comments about how they make more than us, how can we afford vacations, and saying things like "wouldnt it be nice to afford those things"

If you compare our homes, it like comparing an apple to an orchard. They have a BEAUTIFUL home. We dont. We travel, they dont.