I’ve written before about ways to save money while at Disney, but thought I’d take a slightly different spin on it this time. What are some interesting ways that you save money for the trip itself? This thread on the DISboards, titled “Things you do to afford a Disney trip…”, has some creative ways to cut costs in your everyday lives to make those trips to the magic a little more affordable. Here’s what the posters had to say:
Madame: I let our house cleaner go. $5200/year is pretty much a vacation for us. I cut my boys hair at home. We don’t eat out without gift cards or a coupon (& even that is only like 4-5 times a year!). We’ve never even bought any of the furniture in our home. I just wait until my mother redecorates & she gives us all her old stuff.
aliceindisneyland: There are so many things we don’t spend money on at all — salon/barber/spa/gym, Starbucks, fast food/junk food/soda/juice, gardener/housekeeper, etc. because those things don’t hold value for us and Disneyland trips do! Spending always reflects priorities.
BadPinkTink: To me it comes down to priorities and what’s important to you. If you want something badly enough, you will find a way to get that money and sacrifice things in your day to day life to get the money for it.
Narnia_girl: My motto is “Say ‘no’ to something good, so you can say ‘yes’ to something better!”
Gumbo4x4: For us, it’s more of a balancing act. I don’t want to be miserable for 360 days a year in order to spend 5 days in bliss. So, we still splurge throughout the year, just not every day.
jesusluvsu2005: I am determined to save where I can. Got the Disney Rewards Visa which will provide a $200 gift card, thinking about opening the Disney Vacation Account to earn the gift cards that way, buying gift cards to load the DVA with from Sam’s Club at a discounted price. Using my Disney Visa to buy the gift cards which will earn me the 1% back on that.
ditsypixie: I sell my kids clothes that they have outgrown to our local consignment store. Since we plan at least a year out, I can usually get several seasons “sold” before I go. I get a percentage back and they do all the work for me. When I get a check back, I immediately buy a Disney gift card. And I always try to “up” the amount. By that I mean, if I get a check for $42.00… I add some to it to get to $50.00 or $75.00 if I can.
UncleMike101: I quit smoking in 2011 and that’s about $2500.00 a year extra.
StitchBuddy: How about a big garage sale. We use to have one every year when my DD was little. I would get her to go through her toys and she could keep the money from them and buy a Disney Gift Card with it. Have it on a hot day and sell cold cans of soda and water. We’ve made as much as $50 at our garage sales off of drinks alone.
Under the Library: I eBay our clothes, both sell & buy. I hand wash dishes, hang clothes out to dry when it’s nice. We cut cable 5 years ago & use streaming services.
MillauFr: I got rid of our second car about 15 years ago. Now I just ride my bike to work and my wife rides the bus. Our transportation spending is very low and the bonus is we don’t have to drive in the unbearable Seattle traffic.
Jen_in_NH: I buy Disney gift cards every month at Target for the red card discount. I also do a few of the survey sites, ebates, Perk TV, etc for gift cards.
disney-inspired: For our upcoming trip I started a Disney Vacation Savings account. I wanted to reach my goal by early this year so I could spend the rest of the time saving up fun money. I set an automatic payment of $25 for every two weeks (to coincide with payday) and then when I was getting really close (within $100-$200) I bought Disney GCs at Target (saved 5% with my Redcard) and added them to my account. I paid off my room, dining and ticket in February. I also found a killer deal for airfare and was able to buy it in cash that same day.
Are any of these things that you can see your family doing? Do you have any other ways you save for vacation in your everyday lives? Share your ideas below!
