Saving for Disney

I wish you could all move here! Settle in one little quiet neighborhood, Disney decorate our neighborhoods to the hilt, and just have a great time!

Bella - I think so. There is a lot to do, with the beach, attractions, pro sports teams in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, and the climate is good. I think my biggest complaints are crime and the lack of variation in climate...although to those points...I moved from Atlanta, and I don't see that Central FL is any worse than that was. I mean... crime is everywhere. And regarding leaves changing (they do, it's just more like January) and no snow (or hardly ever) - hey, I can always visit!

Probably my favorite part of living here is just the fact that vacations are so accessible. Like I said, we'd never see WDW if I had to travel here and convince DH to come. And in addition to that, we're within driving distance of ports for cruises, and Miami and the Keys, which really feels like a whole different country.

I feel your pain. I would love to move for a 2-5 year stretch to England or France, but I've never quite been able to figure out how to do it...what I could offer that they would "want" It might make it a little easier now that most of the work that I do now is computer-based, and from home.

I have a bank the rest debit card...it is just like the keep the change thing. When I use my card and I spend 3dollars it rounds off the the nearest five so I bank into a savings account 2 dollars. Last year I saved 1500.00dollars WOW! I also have a savings account that automatically withdraws money weekly so when my pay goes into my bank account my savings account automatically withdraws the money. I never touch or see that money so I can't spend it. Also being Canadian we have one and two dollar coins so saving change can really add up. Each time I get these coins I automatically stash them in my big change jar. We take these to the bank before the trip and are always surprised at how much cash we end up with.

We have a seperate savings account for trips. So every friday $100 goes automatically from our checking account into that savings account.

Also, since I work at a bank, I get 2 reward points for every dollar I spend... we've already saved up enough to get our airline tickets for free!

one more thing... I also have a photography business on the side and i'm pleased to annouce it had COMPLETLY paid for our trip!!! I'm just a little excited about that part! Its been a hard year for photographers but looks like things are starting to turn around...

Can you book your vacation on WDW website using a gift card? I really like this idea... I want to include the dining plan, resort, and tickets in my package... Can you do that with a gift card?

Never mind, just got the answer I was looking for from a CM! What a fabulous idea! Thank you Kristen K.

you: Hi I was just wondering if you could use Disney gift cards to book your vacation? I want to book my vacation online, including the resort, disney dining plan, and park tickets...

Madeline: Good afternoon! I will be happy to help you with that information. Yes, you can use Disney Gift cards as payment for booking a trip online. For your deposit, you will need to use one Disney gift card that has enough funds to cover your deposit as you are not able to use two Disney gift cards for the deposit.

you: Can you use more than one Disney gift card to pay for the entirety of the trip?

Madeline: Yes, you can use multiple Disney gift cards when you are making payments as you will process one card for payment, exit and then re-access your reservation to pay with a second card, etc. For example, card 1 is a $100 payment and card 2 is a $50 payment each processed separately.

you: Can you add money to a disney gift card?

Madeline: Yes, they are 're-loadable'. The Disney Gift Card is reloadable for any amount ranging from $5-$1,000 at select property locations. Online reloads are not available at this time.

Mirrasi, I love the idea of using Quick Rewards as a way to save up for disney, could you let me know what the website is to join I googled them and a few different websites came up. Thanks!

This is a good topic... it's yielding some great ideas!

My one tip - make it automatic! My bank will let you open a savings account with $1. I opened a bunch of them for various things (car payment, water and sewer, emergency, etc.) and set up automatic deposits to them based on how much I need in them and when. I opened one for our January Disney vacation (and named it as such), and have a certain amount going into it automatically, from my checking account, every week. This bank also takes the guess work out of it for you with their savings goal tool. You can set a date you need the money and how much you'll need, and it will tell you how much you'll have to contribute each week (or whenever) to get to the goal. You can also set it up to calculate when you'll have an amount of money based on how much you contribute and the frequency of contributions.

I'm sure other banks have similar things, so I'm not going to say change banks to the one I use. The one I use just makes it really easy. But the important thing is to make it automatic. Don't give yourself the option to not put money in it. Just let it transfer to savings and forget about it.

Otherwise, we sell unwanted things on eBay and Craigslist, and at yard sales, and that extra money goes right in it. We did the same thing with our newly renovated bathroom, and now we are now right on track to pay for our vacation in full with cash by our 45-day mark (last day of November).

Good luck!!

I just recently got a little bump in pay, nothing major, but about it's about $30 more a check. So every payday I take that extra $30 that I'm now getting and put it aside in a savings account for the trip. Then at the next payday I roll any left over money into my regular savings account.

We also have the change can on top of the fridge that we just fill up with change and then get converted into cash right before leaving for any vacation. So we'll do it in October for NYCC, then in January for Disney! It usually yields about $50-$60, which isn't much but is more than we would've had otherwise!

I have a change jug also, I call it the Mickey Mouse Fund. J gives me money and says here is money for Mickey.

Is it a Mickey themed jug?

I love giant eagle fuel perks. I have$7.50 off each gallon. I buy all my Disney, subway, regal and home depot cards at GE. I love double point time whe they give you .20 off for every $50 spent. Our giant eagle has $25, $45, $50, $100, and $500 cards. I've paid for 3 resort stays and a 7 night cruise with 98% Disney cards. Now I'm saving cards for spending $. I literally work side jobs solely to pay for Disney trips. My regular paycheck will add a couple bucks here and there but side jobs pay for Disney.

Yes! I used to to work those extra details. The money was darn good and it made my late mother's wish come true, (she always told me to go out and play in the traffic) .

Your just lucky Colleen wasn't driving threw town!

It's orange barrel season here and I'm happily working the road jobs. Playing in the streets indeed now I'm propped up inside giant eagle. Working the overnight shift... Hooray for vacation money!

We save aluminum cans and scap metal to recycle for a little exta cash!
We use a non-Disney credit card becuase the reward points are better than The Disney visa. We are able to buy plane tickets, get prepaid gift cards etc.
I sell things on our local FB garage sale site and Craigslist.
Love the ideas on this thread!

Hope it is just a 5 gallon water jug, but you know with some stickers, pictures and some creativity it could be a Mickey themed jug

You guys are so fantastic!! Thanks for the AWESOME tips.

We, too, use "Way to Save"; it's through Wells Fargo, if anyone banks with them.

We're big cans for cash folks; works out well, since we were going to recycle them anyway...why not walk away with $6.50 in your pocket while dropping off your recyclables?

Mase - Which grocery store do you use to double your fuel points for purchasing gift cards? Is it Kroger??

I make my ressie for Disney and start making payments every pay day. If the free dining isn't running yet that is ok because you can switch into any special they come up with during your travel time. So if you book now but in 6 months they run a special that saves you money, just call they will switch you over. I make my payments every payday like a bill. Disney has the money so I can't "borrow" it to pay something else. If for some reason a real problem was to come up Disney will refund all of your money minus travel insurance with in 10 days as long as you cancel outside of your 45 day window of arrival. Anyways I can cancel if a major bill or emergency comes up and I can get money back unlike the Disney gift cards.

Most of the time I have my resort and DDP paid for a few months before I arrive and all I have to do is save for souvenirs.

Resurrecting this thread with a new spin on Disney Gift Card saving...

Ok, so does everyone know about the Target Red Card thing? If you open a Red Card, you get 5% off of all purchases--including Disney Gift cards (not all gift cards, but Disney cards are somehow in a special class that makes them subject to the discount). So that's what I did for spending money on our last trip. I was planning o go this week and buy $500 in gift cards for $475. Then, a lightbulb came on...

Obviously since I have to use the Target Red Card to purchase at 5% off, I can't also use my Disney Visa on the to get my 1% rewards and since I am paying the bill at the end of the week with gift cards, I am also missing the 2% discount I would get on Disney purchases by using my Disney Visa.

Then I remembered that our gymnastics program sells Giant (an area grocery store) gift cards at 5% off as a fundraiser. Giant also sells Disney gift cards, albeit at face value, but because if the fundraising program, it's the same discount that I would get at Target AND I can use my Disney Visa to pay for my Giant gift cards (earning 1% in Disney Visa rewards). So now, my total savings is 5.95%. There are several local schools in our area that participate in similar programs, so there may be one in your area. Not only can this system save you nearly 6% on all Disney purchases, but these programs also give money back to the organizations that sell the gift cards.

When you add in AP merchandise discounts, the effective savings is nearly 16%. Coupling with TiW now creates almost a 26% savings on table service meals. I've heard that you can use Disney Gift cards to pay DVC annual dues. Can anyone confirm? If so, I'd have saved $60 in dues last year using the gift cards method and still earned $10 in Visa rewards.

I sub teach to make more money. DH is a part time composer (he calls it part time because the money isn't that great).

I pay my Dvc dues and spending money with gift cards purchased with the red card! I also buy Starbucks gift cards with the red card and load them all to my Starbucks gold card to use in the park.

AWESOME

Two of my very favorite things are couponing/finding unique ways of saving money & Disney world!
I belong to several different coupon rewards sites online and I get 10-20% off different gift cards, depending on which one I buy. For example, I get several $25 GC for only $20. I buy the discounted GC with my Disney cc. I earn 1% for the initial discounted GC. I have AP, TIW & Disney cc discounts at WDW. When I use the GC at WDW, my total savings & rewards will be between 21%-31% on merchandise & 31%-41% at restaurants that participate in TIW.

Another way I save money/earn rewards on Disney GC is promos at our local stores. CVS, Walgreens & grocery stores sometimes have specials on GC & Disney GC are often included. For example, Publix(our local grocery store) often has the promo~Buy $50 worth of GC and get a $10 gas GC free. I buy $50 Disney GC with my Premier Disney cc and I earn 2% rewards at the grocery store. I then get a free $10 gas GC free. When we fill up our gas tank using the free gas GC, we put the remaining balance on our Premier rewards card and earn 2% again!
$50 worth of GC, with $10 free GC, is equivalent to 20% off the Disney GC. PLUS the 2% Disney rewards I earn for buying them at a grocery store. Once we use the $50 Disney GC, combined with our various discounts & rewards we'll earn on our Disney cc, that is a saving of 32%-42%

WE have been doing ebates and I actually got a some money back for the past two months which goes into the "vacatio fund" which is turned into Disney cards. Now to find a Target in the rural area we live in.........\

You can buy gift cards with your red card online!

Great idea!!! I don't think we have a Disney store anywhere nearby but could definitely buy gift cards with the saved money.

Other than that, this next trip was paid for mostly by my tax refund this year as well as any money I received as gifts. I'm pretty much planning on doing that for each subsequent trip as well. That way the 10%+ I put aside from my paycheck each week stays with me for emergencies/something bigger.

LOL my husband would kill me if I got a red card. I had all I could do to get him to agree to the DV card! He gleefully cut up our last credit card a little over 6 months ago when we realized we were totally debt free, so getting DVcard just to put gas each month on it and pay off the trip with it was a huge step.

My red card is a debit card, not a credit card. It's linked to my regular checking account it just uses the target processing system as a middle man - no extra charge and I still get the 5% discount!

My son was one of the victims of the Target identity theft with his debit card; it was a nightmare to straighten out and replace card with a different source. I am glad others are benefiting from theirs, but it really burned us badly enough that our family doesn't even go in the store if we are in the major city.