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

[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

[Colexis Mom]

We try to go out to eat less, and do less impulse spending. Try putting money away every week, or every month. I don't work anymore, and if I leave the house, I spend money, so frankly, I try not to leave the house if I don't have to. Less temptation! We're going to DL/Southern Cal for 2 weeks this summer, so I know how you're feeling!

[TraD4Disney]

I would make a realistic budget and stick to it. I stress realistic. Put in the budget for repair expenses.

Personally I'm willing to give up hair appts, I've given up all manicures, pedicures and massages. I've even given up birthday and anniversary presents for family trips. The memories of our Disney trips are worth more to me than stuff.

[B.M.]

My main thing is trying to cut back on eating out. We normally eat out once per week. On our first trip- we completely didn't eat out the month prior to our trip. As a family of 6- this was a considerable savings. We also like to take a lot of day trips- museums, local theme parks, zoo, ect...- I also cut back on that a few months before the trip.
My biggest thing right now is that I've gotten into a habbit of eating out (just me, not family) on my busier days of the week (usually mon and wed); and I do remind myself- do you want to pull through for breakfast two days a week or save for WDW. Because those few dollars here and there add up!
I hope yall are able to cut back on some things and still go! I definately think you could and should do it- I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip!

[Jookiba]

Like Marnie, as it gets closer and closer (or if my Disney "layaway" plan isn't going as fast as I'd like) we cut out all eating out (except maybe a pizza here or there)-my kids are older and they realize that they'd rather be eating a meal at Disney than say Outback or Chick-Fil-A. We also save all change (at least I do) which is hard because I rarely have cash-but for our last trip I had $170 from our Disney Jar.

We also cut down on "niceties"....i.e., if you see something you like such as a new shirt, new pants, etc. we ask ourselves if it's really needed or can we squeak by until later. Granted we aren't denied the basics of food, water, housing, etc.....but you can probably get where I'm coming from.

Good luck.....I have been in the same boat!

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Our vacations are part of my budget so we don't really sacrafice anything specific. We rarely eat out - maybe 4 times a year outside of Disney. We also never by fast food (McD's and such). The kids and DH bring their lunches to school/work everyday.

[Christine43]

All luxury budgets get cut back (movies, clothes etc).

[alexchristianlily]

We cut back our cable bill by getting rid of DVR, HD and a bulk of middle channels...I don't even know which ones...so I don't miss them. This saved us $40/month!
We also have the Disney jar and add not just change but random $1 & $5 left over in the pockets at the end of the day. By not going out to dinner as much those bills are really not missed.
Also my husband was just telling me how all the cell phone companies are cutting their rates in a competition war so I'm calling later today to see about changing our plan!
Good Luck!

[Tigger71]

We consider the joy of the impulse purchase vs the thrill of anything at WDW. Guess which one wins?
We have movie nights at home with a bottle of soda and microwave popcorn (DH ensures ALL the lights are off), I cut the kids hair and DH's most of the time (I haven't been to the hairdressers for years...), I sell everything unused or outgrown on ebay and our youngest DS has all his clothes/toys purchased from there too, the older kids get $300 between them on clothes for the year and they usually choose to save it until we go to the USA where their fav brands are cheapest, we stop eating out once a week for usually the last month before a trip, I only grocery shop once per 3 or 4 weeks (except fruit/milk) - always take a list and stock up on good specials, never pay full price for big ticket items, have your car serviced at the local tech. school for cost of parts only, buy petrol on cheapest day of week, use coupons and bulk buy to split with friends, give pocket money to your kids and teach them about saving - it's amazing the difference when they need to pay...shop prior to vacation for Disney items online or at $ stores and set a budget for daily disney expenses whilst at WDW- whatever isn't spent that day can be used the following day but no borrowing from tomorrow! Also prior to the trip we counted the weeks and divided the budget evenly to see how much we had to 'earn' by D-Day!
I feel so excited for you. You can make it a game for your kids but I'm sure your DH will be impressed at your enthusiasm and determination. Good luck!

[TracyKim]

We have stopped eating out, buying the "must have" DVD's, and try to lower the gas bill by arranging all of the running around to be on one day. We have told all of the family members to get the girls Disney Gift cards for any gifts that they give them.

Our house is falling apart but...... WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

[MMMD]

I really try to limit dinners out and impulse spending. Which is probably a good idea for us anyway, even if I'm not saving for a Disney trip.

[DisneyMom2010]

This is a really interessting question. My friend and I were just discussing this yesterday while we were out shopping(for vacation) what we were both doing to cut back and save money for our disney trips. I of course have the change jar that the kids and I throw money in at the end of the day. I just found out that instead of using the icecream money I give him a couple days a week my, 9 year old was putting it in the jar . Also our dish washer broke a month and a half ago so instead of getting it fixed we took the money and put it towards disney. Needless to say I am now the dishwasher lol. I figure a few months of doing dishes is'nt a bad price to pay for an amazing disney vacation with my family.

[jodileigh]

I only plan my trips for every other year and do mod resort. I KNOW that is the only way I can save up and pay cash, so that's that. In the mean time, I do 95% of my personal clothing shopping from clearance racks and e bay bargains! I try to get as much as possible of my boys' clothing items on clearance as well! We use dh's coleman discount to get things like hiking boots when needed. During our off year, we take mini "cheap" vacations. Last summer we went to OKC, used dh's frequent "stayer" hotel points (he travels for work!) for the room, got discount tickets to Frontier City, and chose to to a very inexpensive mueseum instead of the OKC zoo. Still a nice get away, but pretty inexpensive! During the summer and fall months, we spend a lot of time at mil and fil's swimmng. Mil has a zoo pass to get us in free, so zoo trips are a biggie, too! We also have limited our eating out and try to consolidate our trips into town (we live in the country) to only the necessary ones. When we are in town, we do a lot of errands! Another biggie was to go to grocery shopping twice a month instead of weekly! We don't duplicate nearly as much and spend tons less! We are more creative with our meals towards the end of the two weeks, too! It just becomes a lifestyle. Stretching the budget so we can give ourselves a nice reward every few years!!

[sweetyface77]

This is a great question! The day after Christmas, I decided to get a notebook and go through all of my receipts in detail and break down our family spending habits. I can honestly say that our spending was completely out of control! We were eating out WAY to often, impulse shopping, going to Target/Wal-Mart and overspending, etc. I started to reign in our spending and set a budget for groceries, bills, etc. We have been controlling ourselves pretty well over the last 8 weeks and while we haven't given up on cable or anything, we only eat out/order out once a week, we've traded in purchased lunches for lunches from home and DH and I have even saved some of our morning coffee money to through in our Disney jar. I've actually made some craft items and have sold several hats and dresses and put the money into our "Disney Savings" as well.

I don't leave the house really unless I HAVE to get something (diapers, food, gas, etc). However now when I do leave, I have a detailed list and the correct amount of cash. DH and I don't use credit, so if we don't save the money, we can't go to Disney. Are you handy at making any crafts, or can you mend clothing? Maybe you could do small alterations for people? I sometimes do that as well.

[home4us123]

Eating out is a big one for us. It is amazing how much money you can save by eating at home. Like Marnie, if I go out during the day, I tend to spend money so I try to stay home as much as I can