Our Cash style for the New Millennium.
I'm far from a young Disney traveler, lol. Funny because I started my Disney Travels before Disney World existed, my first trip to Disneyland when I was not yet 2 years old and the addiction remained, no better place for families in my mind.
I go back to the days of Travelers Checks. It was a great system for cash. In our early days I allotted first $100 a day in travelers checks and up'd it to $150 when my kids hit school age and ate more or were no longer free to eat under 3, my kids are 5 years apart so I had wiggle room. Some days we used the $100, some not. We'd cash in the travelers check at lunch time. We often were allotted by Disney Travel Corp free breakfast CS or TS free for September October Travel as we always did.
We never held back on a dessert extra or stands for Dole Whips, Pretzels etc. We were on vacation. But the $100 guideline gave us parameters in our choices. If we did well a few days we'd go to a TS restaurant. One year the Dad had been eye'n an ESPN WDW jacket. He wasn't never a man of extravagant purchases. It was a black leather, the soft kind like well made gloves, jacket embroidered very tactfully with WDW also. He eyed it multiple times over the two weeks. $300.
The day before our trip ended we were well ahead of my projected expenses and I ripped out $300 from our travelers check booklet and handed it to him and said go for it. He wrestled with it, I insisted, he bought it and wore it for decades as it was a classic style and quality. Still has it, still timeless style.
Our new version of Travelers Checks now that we are all adults with income is we as an example throw in $300 for our long trip for Gift Cards from Sams Club. We opt for room discounts over Free Dining as dollar for dollar as annual passholders we are afforded a better value with the room discount and the discount on dining with the AP and Landry's members, I so love Yak & Yeti.
I have a kid in its mid 20's and one hitting 30. They are so about debit and credit, Venmo.
Still when we all vacation multiple times a year to WDW we fallback to yesteryear with a flexible 'cash' type budget with our Disney Gift Cards. We travel paid off before we arrive and the Gift Cards are pre-paid dining and snacks. It works for us. Our Cash style in the new millennium.