How do you pay for your trip?

[EGNATZ1]

Our family trip in October is being financed by all the sales of items from my grandfathers estate who passed away in Jan.

When we were cleaning his house after he passed away we found his old WWII military patches and sold them on ebay for almost $2000.00 . We also found an obscure political button from 1912 for the socialist candidates for that year. That item sold for 4800.00 at a political collectible auction in June.

Between those two items and numerous other collectibles and items we sold on ebay and at a yard sale we had enough cash to finance a family trip for 13 for ten days.

My advice never throw anything away always check ebay or other sites because what is your trash is someone elses treasure.


A quick way to finance a trip .

Dave

 

[mrtoad]

I do eBay but nothing that high end. Wow! I did pay for a good chunk of our last trip with eBay but Wow, that is a lot of money.

Our family trip in October is being financed by all the sales of items from my grandfathers estate who passed away in Jan.

When we were cleaning his house after he passed away we found his old WWII military patches and sold them on ebay for almost $2000.00 . We also found an obscure political button from 1912 for the socialist candidates for that year. That item sold for 4800.00 at a political collectible auction in June.

Between those two items and numerous other collectibles and items we sold on ebay and at a yard sale we had enough cash to finance a family trip for 13 for ten days.

My advice never throw anything away always check ebay or other sites because what is your trash is someone elses treasure.


A quick way to finance a trip .

Dave

 

[hbrady77]

I do eBay but nothing that high end. Wow! I did pay for a good chunk of our last trip with eBay but Wow, that is a lot of money.

I guess it's time to sell my mint 1984 and 1986 Red Sox Yearbooks. Both with Clemens on the cover

 

[EGNATZ1]

I was actually lucky on my grandfathers military patches as my mom had already thrown them out and I happened to see them in the trash. If I had not seen them We would have lost out on almost 2 grand. After that I told her not to throw anything out without asking me and checking if we could sell it on Ebay.


Dave

 

[careship]

You mean I can SELL things on Ebay? I just seem to keep buying.....LOL

Anyways, we just use life insurance and kill off the family each year which makes it cheaper in two ways. NO...I am kidding......

Seriously, we also use the change jar. We buy a PAP to get cheaper rooms and we drive rather than fly even though it's about an 18 hour drive or so. We book our room way ahead and pay it off little by little and then when the discount comes up for AP we change the room to reflect the discount and keep the extra cash on the room to use while we are there. We also are very frugal all the time our only serious expense is my sons hockey but even at that, we raise that money through the associations programs. We don't go out to eat alot. I shop garage sales and second hand stores for the kids. They don't get expensive shoes and clothes unless they are second hand or found at an extreme discount. I also save all the money I would have spent by using coupons for our trips. We bring our own refrigerator to the hotel and a foreman grill to save on money while we are there and shop for groceries at the WalMart Supercenter when we get there. The boys also have to make their own money to pay for any souveniers and instead of an allowance at home they work for their park passes. We are by no means wealthy, so it ain't easy but where there is a will there is a way.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

over the years, ( yes I said years ) we've learned many ways to save, first do not get tickets for the day you arrive or the day you leave, unless on the latter you leave late. when you arrive your tired and you just want to rest, lounge at the pool get a snack, then go to DTD. this saves at least, depending on how many people you have with you ( in our case 2 adults two kids ) 300 to 400 dollars. every time you get paid write a check in an amount you feel comfotably with and put it in a secrect place you'd be surprised as to how much you'll find in a couple of months. Then, and this I heard from a travel segment on tv, which really works, but depends on when you are going do not get plane tickets until after at least the second week of august, the airlines tend to drop prises and add flights around this time and some airlines will let you get tickets almost if not longer than 8 months in advance. the best thing is when you make ressies ask what DISCOUNTS are going on at the time you want to be there, don't use the word specials, use the "D" word, then they will.when that is done you can pay alittle over time and have it done alittle bit before you get there, I'm not saying that this will work for everybody but it works for us, also( sorry this is long winded ) bring a box or two of cereal or a breakfast bar, pop tarts etc. just get some milk and it's a cheap breakfast and gets you out without getting up toooooooooo early. for what it's worth it's saved the wife and I alot over the years. one last thing when you are deciding where to stay remember this, " why spend alot of money on a room your only going to sleep in".

 

[mrtoad]

I was actually lucky on my grandfathers military patches as my mom had already thrown them out and I happened to see them in the trash. If I had not seen them We would have lost out on almost 2 grand. After that I told her not to throw anything out without asking me and checking if we could sell it on Ebay.


Dave

Yeah I see people throwing things out all the time that are worth money. I see it the other way though. My mother inlaw brings stuff home from the trash. One example is their computer desk and chair, someone was throwing it out. She chair tilts to one side but she thinks it is a steal. :lol: It kills me.

 

[LoriMistress]

Yard/Garage Sales to get rid of old crap that we don't need anymore, cutting back like going out to eat dinner, and instead of buying stuff that we don't need, we will put away.

 

[Chape19714]

Being 14 (almost 15) i am in the same boat as yensidtlaw. I go on day trips, which due to the fact that the ticket is paid for, I use my own money from my job, and hopefully i will get the job i want at Publix, although i like my job now (babysitting). So, i don't eat at fancy restraunts when there, and limit the souvineers, but all turns out great! I always have a great time!

 

[barnum42]

A few things that allow me to save a good chunk of money:

I make my own lunch to take to work rather than spend £2-3 a day.

I'm fortunate in that I don't smoke. I worked out my mate is spending over £1000 a year on smokes - and he is not a particularly heavy smoker.

I don't HAVE to buy named brand products and don't have a problem with many supermarket "Economy" products.

All these little things over the year mount up to a tidy bundle of Florida bound funds

 

[mrtoad]

A few things that allow me to save a good chunk of money:

I make my own lunch to take to work rather than spend £2-3 a day.

I'm fortunate in that I don't smoke. I worked out my mate is spending over £1000 a year on smokes - and he is not a particularly heavy smoker.

I don't HAVE to buy named brand products and don't have a problem with many supermarket "Economy" products.

All these little things over the year mount up to a tidy bundle of Florida bound funds

Making lunch does save a lot. I have friends from work who spend about $7.00 every day for lunch. It is nuts.

And smoking is also a major expense. I am glad I do not do it. I used to spoke before I got married and have not smoked in 11 years. At the time it was around $2.00 a pack I think. Now it is about $5.00, so if someone smokes a pack a day you are talking $1825 a year on smoking. BIG MONEY.

My wife and I do take out a certain amount of money each for the week and what we don't spend goes in a jar. We started collecting again in Feb. after our last trip and as of now we have $475.00 in there. I hope to have about $700 to 800 by the time we leave.

Also every Christmas my parents ask what we want for Christmas. I aways say that they go overboard but my mother says she wants to do it now for me and my sisters and my sisters why she still can afford to. I thought when my daughter was born it would stop but it hasn't. Well last year they gave us some nice Disney Dollars which really helped and I am sure that is what we will get this year.

 

[SpongeScott]

1. Income tax refund puts down a nice down payment.
2. Pull out $50 per paycheck until we go.
3. Save loose change for kids to use as spending money.
4. Any money left over during the week goes into the WDW fund.

This takes place over a year's time, which is how far we plan our trips in advance.

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

I decided today that I'm not going to buy a new car next year, I'm making my dad get it for me. :lol: I figured that with the money I'd have for a car I can spend on a DVC good for 50 years. A car wouldn't last that long with me, since I'm only 18. So I want to be one of the few DVC members to buy in at the age of 18. I've also got to make sure I keep the Disney Visa in my wallet and not spending it on everything I want.

 

[Computer Magic]

My wife and I put every single thing we buy on our Disney Visa Card (food, gas, beer, beer, beer, and anything else you can buy with credit) and then pay it off in full at the end of every month so we don't have to pay interest on it.
So far we've amassed just over $400 in Disney Rewards Dollars. Pays for room and food for weekend trips.
Best credit card ever invented.

I have to agree with the Disney Visa Card. There is a $50.00 Dream Award Dollar for just signing up. You can go to www.50disneyrewards.com and use key code 6HXP11. This is a limited offer, it's usually $25.00

In addition if you spend over $250 a month on select categories (groceries, gas, dining, utilities, cell phone, movies, and video rental) through June 2005, you receive 2% for every dollar over the initial $250. That can add up quickly.


Again the key is to pay the credit card balance every month. Otherwise you lose in interest, which I'm sure Disney is banking on.

 

[GoofyFan1]

I coach HS soccer and track. I also coach soccer camps at SUNY Plattsburgh during the summer. Just recently I was elected as the president of our teacher's association. For that position, I get a stipend and a whole lot of responsibility........but it helps pay for our WDW trips.

 

[crazydaveh]

I referee soccer games in our area and when you can bring in around $150 a weekend, you can plan a pretty good trip after a few weeks. I also donate plasma. You can make around $250 a month doing that, so I can easily make about $800 a month and save most of it.

Not eating out also helps! Nothing wrong with frozen pizzas and sandwiches!

Staying away from the beer also helps...

 

[nibblesandbits]

My boyfriend's parents own an Estate sale-type of store, so my boyfriend and I go to an auction once a month, buy some items and then sell them in the store. We make some good money that way. It's kinda like e-bay except for some reason to me it seems easier. Then we are also saving change, just like everybody else here seems to do. That's pretty much it. But I have found out some good ideas from everybody here on the boards.

 

[patelaine1953]

My husband and I bought into the DVC last summer. We used our Disney Visa to make our downpayment and earned rewards dollars. We banked our DVC points last year and, with this year's points, are spending a week at Boardwalk in a two-BR with family (7 people total). My sister-in-law is paying for our rental van -- she found a deal on a minivan for $300 for 8 days (She doesn't have to pay for a room because it's our DVC booking so she's paying the rental.) We bought our park passes last Nov. before the Disney Club ended, got the discount and used the Disney Visa to pay for them. We paid that bill in Dec. In January we purchased our airline tickets (JetBlue - Boston to Orlando - $147 RT including taxes per person). Again we used the Disney Visa to pay for them and paid off that bill. I recommended someone to DVC and received $200 in Disney dollars which I gave to my daughter for her birthday in May (so that she has some spending money for herself -- she's 25 but always broke.) I turn in soda bottles and ask for the money in quarters to put into my Disney fund jar. Whenever I buy something, I use my small change so that I get back quarters (i.e. My purchase totals $3.43 -- I give the clerk $4.18 and get back 3 quarters for the Disney jar.) I have been doing this thing with the quarters for a year now and have cashed in $1,300 in quarters at my bank (much better than CoinStar machines which take a cut.) That is our spending money. I also requested my Disney Rewards dollars on a card -- $150. That we will also use for food and souvenirs. All in all, we should be able to get by without using a credit card but if we have to, it will go on the Disney Visa so that we earn more for our trip next year. That one will be just my husband and I for a change. I would love to go during the first two weeks of December (value season for DVC). :animwink:

(4 weeks and counting!!!!!!)

 

[Mickifan17]

I guess it's time to sell my mint 1984 and 1986 Red Sox Yearbooks. Both with Clemens on the cover

(WARNING: THIS IS GOING TO GET UGLY)

Who would want anything from the Red Sox?



Yes, I'm a Yankees fan.

 

[loading890]

Bill Buckner is my favorite player. I met him at an auction with Mookie Wilson. They both signed my ball for a hefty price. About Disney saving...

My wife and I put about 50 bucks away a week, and when we have enough for the room ,tickets and airfare, we book it for about 6 months ahead of time. Then during those 6 months, we just save, save, save, and save!