Some good tips for saving money?

[mavlax20]

Ok, I'm going to get it all out right now...I'm horrible at saving money. I would love to surprise my fiance (then wife) with a trip for the summer of 2015, but I am not sure of the best tips on saving money. I already know the change jar, which I have. I have also thought of setting aside X amount in a savings account. What are some of your ways that you like to save money for Disney?

 

[lunchbox1175]

When you have extra money, buy Disney Gift Cards.....easiest way to ensure that you won't touch the money. If you just put it in savings, you may be tempted, but if you put it on a GC, you can't spend it anywhere but Disney or Disney Store or Online, so you will have it when needed.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I'm terrible at saving too. I set a budget that I'm sure I can meet for my trip then work backwards. Finding what room, restaurants, and park tickets I can afford within my budget. Then add in the cost for airfare or gas and spending money.

I just started taking advantage of the Target 5% off disney gift cards. I also started using DVC rental points.
I find for me... outta sight outta mind works well. If I go and buy a disney gift card once or twice a week, I don't even worry about it anymore and before I know it, my trip is paid off!

 

[Poofiesdream]

Every Birthday, Anniversary, or any occasions I ask to be given Disney Gift Cards!

 

[osucbsb]

Here's a couple things I do:

(1) I create a budget every month. I have a spreadsheet in excel that does the math for me. So, every week I put at the top of the column what the total income will be for that week, and then I go down the column and insert what the expenses will be for the week. If my income exceeds my expenses, then I put the excess in a separate column and call it the "vacation" column. At the end of each week I go back through my expenses to see if I controlled my spending. If I did, then I put that vacation money into my savings account. It's good to have it in the checking account in case I need it for something. But, it's also great incentive not to spend it knowing that if I don't spend it, I get to put it towards Disney.

(2) I have a program on my checking account that every time either my husband or I use our debit card, $1 gets put into the same savings account I put my vacation money in at the end of the week. Usually it ends up being around $100 a month.

If you even leave as little as $50 at the end of each week for vacation and you do that debit program with your checking account, you could end up with roughly $300 each month. By the end of the year, you're looking at $3,600.

This is really similar to what we do. We set a monthly budget with all expenses and savings. We have a separate savings account that is set up just for vacations. We have a set amount per month that goes in this account. To plan for our trip in May 2015 to WDW, we got a Chase Sapphire Preferred card to build points to cover our flights (for the most part) for the 4 of us. You get 40000 points after first 3 months and the points are transferable to SW Airlines which is what we will fly with. We do all of our spending on this card and keep track of money spent in spreadsheet then pay it off every month. Works well for us. The key is to stick to the budget as well as possible.

 

[Mikester71]

We have a "Disney Vacation Account" that money goes into each pay. Other than that, we usually use our income tax return to pay off most of our trip, or my wife's vacation pay when she would get it.

We usually book our trips early (room only reservation until package deal comes out later in the year), try to pay them off as quick as we can, and then let the money build up in that account for our spending money while down there. Going to book our April 2015 trip here real soon. Have the money for the room and package portion of the trip, now time to start saving that spending money!

 

[Ember]

When you have extra money, buy Disney Gift Cards.....easiest way to ensure that you won't touch the money. If you just put it in savings, you may be tempted, but if you put it on a GC, you can't spend it anywhere but Disney or Disney Store or Online, so you will have it when needed.

We do this too. We order them from disneystore.com so we can personalize them and then after the trip we also have "extra" souvenirs from the used giftcards

 

[rt06]

Call your internet/cable provider if your initial contract is up. Tell them you need to downgrade your package because your monthly bill is too high. I did this with Verizon and they shaved $10/month off while keeping the package.

 

[popcenturylover]

We use the Dave Ramsey (google the name) method of budgeting. Every dollar of every paycheck is "spent" on paper. While we use a variation of his envelope system for everyday purchases, I have my own "escrow" savings account for annual expenses, including vacations. Essentially, a fixed portion of each paycheck is automatically deposited in the "escrow" account, with the remaining going into checking. I have a spreadsheet that tracks the separate accounts in "escrow", including vacations. So, essentially, we are automatically setting aside money each paycheck for vacations. Yes, I am an Excel geek and Uncle Scrooge McDuck is my favorite Disney character ;-)

We use Dave Ramsey's method too!

 

[ConvenientTruth]

Make a budget, stick to it and as some have already said, but make saving a monthly "bill"...

What We have done in the past is book our vacation early (7-10 months in advance) and make a payment on it each month, it simply become a regular bill that way and it become separate from other savings and investments.

 

[WDW 3]

I have the Disney Visa and Delta Amex (and the change jar ). We've only paid for 2 flights and used miles for 23 with the Delta card! Yay! I'm curious about quickrewards?

 

[LAM378]

I buy a lot of stuff I don't really need. Now every time I pass up buying something, I take the money I'd have spent on that item and put it in an envelope. For me, it can be anything--clothes, random junk at Target, $3 coffees, money I saved by bringing lunch to work instead of buying it, a billionth scarf I don't need, an app for my phone, the cost of going to the movies vs renting a movie at home. I get a lot of satisfaction out of putting money in that envelope, so I think now before I spend anything.

I'd be embarrassed to admit how much money I've saved doing this in only 3 months. Hopefully I've kicked my impulsive purchase problem. I don't dip into that cash for any reason, but if that would be an issue for you, you can turn the cash into Disney gift cards on a strict basis. Good luck!

 

[CrazyDisneyLady]

Oh, that's something I never thought about. May have to look into it.

It is great. They are a great group of people and so easy to do. Surveys, videos offers and cash back for shopping. I love the site.

 

[CrazyDisneyLady]

I have the Disney Visa and Delta Amex (and the change jar ). We've only paid for 2 flights and used miles for 23 with the Delta card! Yay! I'm curious about quickrewards?

Quickrewards is awesome. It has a lot of different ways to earn. There are surveys, videos one click offers and so much more. You get money back for shopping through their site. They are very understanding and very nice. It makes it a very personal experience not like other cash back sites. They are actually real people that get back to you and are very friendly. They also do contest on facebook. If you want more info just shoot me a message.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

I know this may seem like small potatoes, but we have a huge jar, we throw all loose change in, and each month, roll the change and round it off to the next 10.. (if we have $14 we make it $20, etc) Last year, we cashed it all in to the tune of $520. That, plus our Disney Rewards Visa we were set for spending money and extras for our 10 day stay.

 

[mickaroonie]

When I get any $5.00 bills I pull them in special jar and it adds up really quick. Been doing this the past couple vacations and it really helps. If I have to use one of the five dollar bills I replace it with a ten that's my penalty for using a five.

 

[Mr Toad]

I just get my Sugar Momma to pay for it...

 

[LAKid53]

Budget, budget, budget. I have a spreadsheet that lists all my monthly expenses - amounts, when do - that I use as my budgeting tool. Whatever I have left after paying all the monthly expenses (including a nice treat now and then), goes into savings. I also use Quicken to help me keep my budget in line - it's great at showing you, based upon categories, where your money is going. Also has an investment function.

We live in Florida, so we get the advantage of purchasing Florida resident AP and all the discounts for AP (and if there aren't any when we want to travel, we usually can get a Florida resident discount on the resort). Since we can drive, so that saves the cost of airfare. Also have the Disney Rewards card and use if for as many as my monthly expenses that can be paid with a credit card, putting the money in savings (and earning that $0.50 in interest each month) and then pay the bill off each month. We bring stuff for breakfast and snacks to eat in the parks and use either cash or the Disney Visa for dinner.

It's hard to resist all that amazing merchandise marketing Disney is SO good at, but we have a CASH budget for non-resort room/food items, and when it's gone, and that includes the Visa reward dollars, that's it. Learned long ago that you can control your spending much better if you use cash at places like Disney.