How I save for WDW trips -- Part I

Remember the post where I talked about spreadsheets?  Well, I track my savings in the same spreadsheet where I'm also tracking anticipated spending.  This makes sure I'm hitting my goal of how much I need to save before we can afford to actually go on the trip.  It's also great because it gives me extra motivation to earn more money for the WDW trips.  

I'm a thrifty gal.  It's how my mama raised me!  I grew up watching her clip coupons and stock up on staples when there were good sales, and I still do the same thing with my family.  I'm not as enthusiastic about clipping coupons as she was, mainly because there are different ways to save money on groceries now.  I mainly shop from my grocery store (and Target)'s weekly ads. I also search for coupons online that will stack with weekly deals (or are for things I need and will purchase if there's not a current sale).  Then I use ibotta (go here to join my team https://ibotta.com/r/x6avdw) and Checkout51 to save more money.  My rule is that the money from ibotta and Checkout51 go into the Disney fund.  I save anywhere between $20-100 per month this way.  This really doesn't take me that much extra time.  I just open up the apps to see what the current offers are, and I use that when I'm making my shopping lists on Saturday mornings.  

I also track how many Disney Dream Rewards dollars I earn with the Disney Visa Rewards card (see previous post here).  Basically, I get 1% of my purchases on the card back to load on to a Disney gift card.  Each month when I'm paying the credit card bill, I add the amount of Disney dollars I've earned right into my spreadsheet.  Since I don't charge a ton on that card, this often only adds up to $5 a month, but by the time my next Disney trip comes along, I've accumulated enough dollars to use for tips at table service restaurants.  I highly recommend this card, so go check out my previous post to see why, and get a link to get a $200 Disney gift card after you charge $500 on the card!

My biggest money maker for saving for Disney is secret shopping and product testing.  Details about that will be coming up in my next blog post.

As always, if you have any questions or want advice, give me a comment!

xoxo

Jess

It's back! $200 Disney Gift card when you open a no annual fee Chase Disney Rewards Visa card

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland?  The Chase Disney Visa Rewards card is awesome!

There are so many perks, including being able to book the vacation package and room discounts before the general public, which gives you the best options to choose from, as these deals -- especially free dining -- are limited to a small set of rooms at each resort.  You also get a special character meet in Epcot, so you can meet a couple characters with a really short line and not use up a FastPass.

There's a great promotion going on now for this credit card.  If you follow the link below to sign up for the card, once you charge $500, they send you a $200 Disney Gift card.  I charged the $500 in the first month I had the card, and I received my gift card within a couple weeks of paying off the first month's bill.  The best part is that the Disney Rewards Dollars (1% of what you charge gets converted into rewards you can use at Disney and Disney Store) don't expire for 5 years, so you don't have to spend them right away and can bank them to help offset the (hefty!) cost of a Disney World trip.

Typically this value of money back is only given if you open the Premier card that has an annual fee.

Here's the link to get you $200 back with the NO ANNUAL FEE Chase Disney Visa Rewards card.

https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?PID=CFFD2&SPID=FJSL&CELL=600V80&MSC=1533712669