What do you "sacrifice" for Disney vacations? About This Page:

[bradbeckyk]

Originally Posted by benjiboo25

We have recently incurred a number of unexpected expenses (dental work, car repair, broken appliance, etc.) and will be getting a smaller tax refund than we usually count on, making us unable to pay down the credit cards from those expenses. DH and I faced the reality of our family finances over the weekend. His first reaction was to cancel the August Disney vacation.

A while back I introdcued myself saying we planned a "Disney re-do." Our first trip to WDW was last fall with a GG totaling 17 people. Our family of 5 were the only people in the group who had never been to WDW. Our 5yo DD also has a mild form of autism. Much of the trip did not go well. About half way through the trip, we scrapped most of the "family/GG" time to take it on our own as a group of 5. We mastered the fast passes. We discovered taxis. By the last day, we thought we knew how we could make WDW work for us, but we thought it would be years before we could afford it again.

Then an 8-hour airport delay for engine trouble "blessed" us with flight vouchers. Then we got one of those special pin codes worth 40% off a Deluxe resort (with 3 kids and a 6’5” DH, our room options are pretty limited in the budget categories!). It was like God said, "Try again."


And now my DH looks to cut the WDW trip for more savings. He does not think it feasible for us to give up the daily "extras" like going out to movies, out to eat, extra shopping trips, etc. to make up the difference. I am very sad about that prospect. For some reason, having a great WDW experince will seem like a dort of redemtion for our family. Especially if we can cut out those "extras" to make it happen!


So my question for you---What kinds of things do you sacrifice in your day to day life to get to have your WDW vacations? And is it worth it?


We spent less than $400 on our airline tickets for 5 people (using those vouchers--do not think we will get THAT deal again any time soon!--plus the tix are non-refundable). We have a Disney Visa, so we will get the 0% financing for 6 months for the vacation.


We have a "Disney Vacation Jar" that me and the kids have been putting our "pennies" in. It has be a useful experience to say to the kids, "should we get a happy meal or should we add $2 to the jar?" They always say the jar, and we have been able to cut out many of the silly little wastes of money.


Yesterday I posted a bunch of stuff on craigs list.


Thanks for your feedback...

Shelly

Hi I understand what your going through and have been budgeting our trip this July for sometime now. I am a disabled retired veteran and hoped to get money back this year since I had more money taken out of my retirement check (Single 00 deductions) and changed my wifes pay at the school district to (Married 00 dedutions). Well come to find out that even with all of those changes we had to pay Uncle Sam $2,000.00 in addition taxes. The only thing that increased in our income was my wife made $8,000.00 more by getting hired on full time. It made me ill to my stomach since our new gov promised the little peoples taxes would not increase and this happened to us!! I now understand what the President ment by "CHANGE" The hard part was with all of the additional deductions we had taken out we had to pay so much in and to add insult to injury we got a penelty of $42.00 for owing that much. So I had my wife go back and change her status to single 00 deductions. This completely wiped out my vacation budget and we now got less income per month coming in so were starting over from the begining. We also bought the airline tickets so $1,600.00 is non refundable and our DVC points are also committed (1100) so for us canceling is not an option as if I would cancel any way, lol. That would only admit defeat and being military I won't give up.

So what will I do??? First I will thank God for my wife getting a full time job with the school district and the money I recieve; then I will pull myself up by my boot straps and start setting more money back. I redid my entire budget and did away with everything except what we absolutley needed. I made a 6 month plan that we need to stick too period. No movies, eating out, or extra things at the grocery store if you know what I mean, lol. We have in our budget misc amount to cover emerg. The whole family understands what needs to happen and understands its only for 6 months. After the trip we will go back to our old budget.

It is amazing if you take your check book and crunch the numbers how much money you spend on food either groceries or eating out.

I think that if you set up a budget and stick to it Disney will work. I looked at your picture and your children are the perfect age for a trip they will remember for the rest of their lives. I think Disney will bring your family closer together and also show the kids that regardless how bad things seem everything is possible if you work at it as a family.

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by bradbeckyk

Hi I understand what your going through and have been budgeting our trip this July for sometime now. I am a disabled retired veteran and hoped to get money back this year since I had more money taken out of my retirement check (Single 00 deductions) and changed my wifes pay at the school district to (Married 00 dedutions). Well come to find out that even with all of those changes we had to pay Uncle Sam $2,000.00 in addition taxes. The only thing that increased in our income was my wife made $8,000.00 more by getting hired on full time. It made me ill to my stomach since our new gov promised the little peoples taxes would not increase and this happened to us!! I now understand what the President ment by "CHANGE" The hard part was with all of the additional deductions we had taken out we had to pay so much in and to add insult to injury we got a penelty of $42.00 for owing that much. So I had my wife go back and change her status to single 00 deductions. This completely wiped out my vacation budget and we now got less income per month coming in so were starting over from the begining. We also bought the airline tickets so $1,600.00 is non refundable and our DVC points are also committed (1100) so for us canceling is not an option as if I would cancel any way, lol. That would only admit defeat and being military I won't give up.

So what will I do??? First I will thank God for my wife getting a full time job with the school district and the money I recieve; then I will pull myself up by my boot straps and start setting more money back. I redid my entire budget and did away with everything except what we absolutley needed. I made a 6 month plan that we need to stick too period. No movies, eating out, or extra things at the grocery store if you know what I mean, lol. We have in our budget misc amount to cover emerg. The whole family understands what needs to happen and understands its only for 6 months. After the trip we will go back to our old budget.

It is amazing if you take your check book and crunch the numbers how much money you spend on food either groceries or eating out.

I think that if you set up a budget and stick to it Disney will work. I looked at your picture and your children are the perfect age for a trip they will remember for the rest of their lives. I think Disney will bring your family closer together and also show the kids that regardless how bad things seem everything is possible if you work at it as a family.

Thanks for the positive vibes--your tax situation is similar to ours--I am also a teacher and I was .8 last school year, and returned for 1.0 this year and took a tax hit! Crud! I hear you on the "change"...

I am more commited than EVER to wipe out the wasteful spending. DS and DD have agreed to forgo birthday parties this year ("but we can still have cake, right? and a sleepover? That is free"). If we work this out, I think it will be a fresh start to how we manage money. We will see. Maybe we will get so good that we can become DVC members...

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by kmurburg

Besides throwing all the spare change into the Disney jar, you can also have an automatic deposit made to your savings account. I have $75 every pay put into a vacation account at my credit union. It adds up fast and we don't miss the cash since we never actually have it in hand. I have never been a big saver but this method really works for us. Good luck with your saving - it would be a shame to lose that almost free air fare!

I am loving the Disney jar. Besides the spare change, the kids have added the "dollars from grandma" that they get regularly in the mail, intended for use at dollar stores. In 2 months, we have almost $200 in that jar! And that was spare change and money kids were given! I certainly do not want to give up the "practically free" airfare--although DH has pointed out that we would love more than $400 if we had to put the whole Disney trip on a credit card!

[tracibobs]

we are down to a one income family know so we save out of every check and put it towards the trips we take. We cut out going out to dinner i dont go to the store unless we have to I have enough clothes i dont need any more and when hubby needs new work clothes we just head to goodwill. We also have our change jar we put money in everyday its adding up quickly. My hubby is 6 foot 4 we have a full bed a home and have no problem hes a big guy to about 250 pounds so maybe a full for him would be work ok. I hate to see someone cancel a trip to disney we had to do that last year and it was really depressing. Good luck

[tracibobs]

also the allstar movies has a family suite that sleeps up to 6 and has two bathrooms a big plus to me plus there beds are queen size better then a double

[jenjen1127]

We try not to eat out too much during the year and we also try to do inexpensive day trips for fun. We also have the old tin can that we throw all our change into and sometimes loose dollar bills. Ebay is a big friend of mine. I sell lots of stuff and make some nice money doing it. But my biggest secret to saving is buying Disney Gift Cards. I know some people disagree with the notion of buying Gift Cards and not putting the money in the bank to earn interest (lol) but if you are an impulse buyer like I am, buying the Gift Cards works. Every time I get paid I buy a Gift Card so that way I can't spend the money. Since we plan our vacations usually a year ahead of time, I put alot of money into the Gift Cards and then pay everything at WDW with my KTTW and before checking out pay off the bill with the Gift Cards so nothing is charged to the credit card I left on file. Once the money is invested in the Gift Card, you're not going to spend it before vacation. And when vacation is over, if you have money left on the Cards, you can always make a reservation with it for your next vacation or save it to take with you again. This is what works for me .

[Roxie2006]

We only eat out if totally necessary. I have a weekly budget allowance for the house and my husband has a weekly allowance for work. The check book is the savings. I use cash for things we might need for the week instead of the check book. I have learned to only buy what I need. You would be amazed how you can teach yourself to live on as little as possible. All your impulse spending will stop. You can save money or pay off bills or go on a wonderful Disney Vacation.

[Joanne929]

I have money deposited directly from my check into my "Disney Savings Account" each week. It has helped (although I did have to use several hundred of it last year for DSJosh's braces - I wasn't happy about it, but at the same time I was glad I had it).

Another idea - Stop & Shop gives you 'savings' on some items - at the end of the receipt it tells you the total savings (may be as little as $5 or as much as $30 or more!) - you could take that money you saved out of your account immediately and deposit into a separate savings account.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[chezp]

We try to eat out less and get fewer take-aways. I also try these days, at the start of each credit card month, to make any purchases I can related to the vacation, so that not everything is having to come out of our savings. That works for me.

[bradbeckyk]

Originally Posted by benjiboo25

Thanks for the positive vibes--your tax situation is similar to ours--I am also a teacher and I was .8 last school year, and returned for 1.0 this year and took a tax hit! Crud! I hear you on the "change"...

I am more commited than EVER to wipe out the wasteful spending. DS and DD have agreed to forgo birthday parties this year ("but we can still have cake, right? and a sleepover? That is free"). If we work this out, I think it will be a fresh start to how we manage money. We will see. Maybe we will get so good that we can become DVC members...

Wow your on the right track and the sleep over is a birthday party; also cake is always manditory. I would love to see the looks on your faces when you all step foot in WDW this year.

Brad

[ilovedisney247]

You're going in the right direction for sure!
Some suggestions: I know you are a party of 5, but you do have some less expensive lodging options--other than the BC, which is one of the more expenisve resorts! The first is the All Star Family Suite--which would give you a little more space and an extra bathroom! You could look into renting DVC --that can be a money saver! Port Orleans Riverside sleeps 5 in the Alligator Bayou rooms. Lastly--the WDW Swan and Dolphin offer significant discounts for teachers--you should check them out!

The end of August is value season--8/15--that can help you save some money on your trip as well. I noticed that you used a discount code for your room! You won't be eligible for free dining with a room only discount booking--free dining means full price on the room!

[Buffalogirl18]

we don't eat out, we only go to the movies 2-3 times a year, we budget our groceries every week and stick to a list, we only go shopping for what we need- we do not buy clothing/shoes unless we really need them -and we bargain shop- we never buy things at full price, our home is modest- we don't decorate or buy new furniture, we drive our cars until they are useless- until a few years past they are paid up, we do our own yard work, snow removal and house repairs. We only have one credit card for serious emergencies, and we pay cash for everything else.

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by jenjen1127

We try not to eat out too much during the year and we also try to do inexpensive day trips for fun. We also have the old tin can that we throw all our change into and sometimes loose dollar bills. Ebay is a big friend of mine. I sell lots of stuff and make some nice money doing it. But my biggest secret to saving is buying Disney Gift Cards. I know some people disagree with the notion of buying Gift Cards and not putting the money in the bank to earn interest (lol) but if you are an impulse buyer like I am, buying the Gift Cards works. Every time I get paid I buy a Gift Card so that way I can't spend the money. Since we plan our vacations usually a year ahead of time, I put alot of money into the Gift Cards and then pay everything at WDW with my KTTW and before checking out pay off the bill with the Gift Cards so nothing is charged to the credit card I left on file. Once the money is invested in the Gift Card, you're not going to spend it before vacation. And when vacation is over, if you have money left on the Cards, you can always make a reservation with it for your next vacation or save it to take with you again. This is what works for me .

About Disney gift cards-When you buy these do you also have to pay shipping? Are there any fees associated with the gift card?I think that would work for me!

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

You're going in the right direction for sure!
Some suggestions: I know you are a party of 5, but you do have some less expensive lodging options--other than the BC, which is one of the more expenisve resorts! The first is the All Star Family Suite--which would give you a little more space and an extra bathroom! You could look into renting DVC --that can be a money saver! Port Orleans Riverside sleeps 5 in the Alligator Bayou rooms. Lastly--the WDW Swan and Dolphin offer significant discounts for teachers--you should check them out!

The end of August is value season--8/15--that can help you save some money on your trip as well. I noticed that you used a discount code for your room! You won't be eligible for free dining with a room only discount booking--free dining means full price on the room!

Thanks for the tips--I so appreciate the interest in this thread and the support I have received from all of you wonderful passporter folks! Wow!

I know that BC is one of the more expensive resorts. In researching this trip (before money was as huge of a factor as it has become lately), we tried to balance price and convenience, keeping in mind our family needs to relax. A deluxe resort would not be an option without a hefty discount and unless it were value season (which I was pleased to learn starts earlier in the deluxe resorts). The pin code made us take the leap, and we chose the value season for more savings. We started looking at Contemporary, but moved to BC when we realized it put us in walking distance from 2 parks and the boardwalk. SAB also looked like a good alteernative to the water parks.

I know we have "reasons" ("excuses") for not going cheap. We looked into the value suite, but that would actually cost us more, at least for the first few days of our trip, since we could not get the same discount. DD has sensory issues (aspergers) that can be pretty severe when she is overwhelmed. This trip is a re-do of the last one--trying to see if we can be a family that can have a "normal" vacation. We do not want to set ourselves up to be overwhelmed and stressed (again!).

Last time, all 3 kids slept in the queen bed, and a few times DS ended up on the floor (when a limb touches DD, she can freak out!). The bed and room sizes in POR would be rough. Also about the sensory issues --In all I have read on this topic from other parents of ASD kids, having a break from the over-stimulating environment of the parks helps the child calm down (and all of us!). I honestly think the value resorts would be too overstimulating. Our first (last fall) experience at WDW taught us meltdowns were most likely when there were long waits, big crowds, and when we tried to fit too much in one day. In order for our family to have a positive vacation experience, we need to build in down time and time to relax. I have compared the cost of the rack price at BC to see what we would face if free dining came out--and I think we would still be about $350 ahead paying full price for the room and getting 5 free DDPs (2 adults, 3 kids...).

I know there are many cheaper ways to do WDW, but I would rather cut those expenses at home, if possible.

The plan is to get the credit card balances down by summer. If we can do that, then financing this disney trip at 0% for 6 months (with the Disney Visa) is do-able. We will see.

[ilovedisney247]

I would check out the Budget Board for lots of money saving ideas! The Office: Budgeting and Reward Programs - PassPorter Community - Message Boards and Forums

There are some great threads in the Kitchen on budget meals!

There are also several articles in PP Newsletter archive that might help

Saving Money for Disney: Tips and Tricks - PassPorter.com

PassPorter News 8.14 - April 3, 2008 - Busch Gardens Africa / Walt Disney World On A Budget