There’s no doubt that Disney vacations are an investment but with a little creative saving, anyone has the ability to make these dream vacations a reality! Here are ten easy ways you can save money for your Disney vacation.
1. Get your little ones involved and start saving your loose change in an old jar. It’s money you won’t miss and allows your little ones to be part of the savings process, teaching them the value of money. Those small coins add up quicker than you think!
2. If you have a BJ’s club card, they offer discounted Disney gift cards. For every $500 card, you purchase you save around $22 instantly. Once you are ready to pay for your Disney vacation, purchase all these cards for added savings!
3. Hire a travel agent to help in all your Disney vacation planning. These specialized agents will help ensure any Disney discounts available will be applied to your package, saving you the most money possible. They also come equipped with a vast knowledge of the in’s and out’s of Disney, helping you save money every step of the way.
4. Book your vacation early. By booking early you are making sure you will get exactly what you want. Even if Disney promotional pricing hasn’t been released yet, once they have, your Disney specialized travel agent can help apply the discount if there is availability. Booking early also puts you on a track to slowly paying your vacation off as you can make payments as often as you like once your trip is secured by a deposit.
5. I always ask family and friends to purchase Disney gift cards for our children for their birthdays. We always make sure to take a picture of our little ones when we are on our trip and tag whoever gifted them a gift card on our social media thanking them for helping our children to have the best gift of all, a Disney vacation!
6. Use Ebates. If you shop online, you need to download this. It’s simple. Once you sign up, when you will shop online, simply go to Ebates first, type in the name of the store you want to shop and then shop as you normally do (using coupons if you can) and you earn cashback every three months in the form of a check or a direct deposit to your PayPal account. It’s free money!
7. Ibotta. Download the app and start saving. Again, this is FREE and allows you to earn money for things you already buy. You just upload your receipts or link your loyalty cards. You can even earn for shopping online, although, I like Ebates better for shopping online. Once you reach $20 in your account, you can cash out to your PayPal account. Once you cash out, you can use whatever money you earned towards your vacation.
8. “Magic Bags!” For those with little ones, a great way to save money is to buy souvenirs ahead of time. You can get great items from the Disney Store, Walmart, Target, and even the dollar store. We use a “Magic Bag” system where our children set up their “Magic Bags” before we leave the hotel room in the morning. I sneak back in and put little gifts in each child’s bag for a surprise when we get back. This cuts down on all of the “wants” while in the park as they know they have their bags waiting in the room!
9. Cut out unnecessary expenses each month. Sounds simple enough and it is! Find one or two things (more if you think you can do it) and eliminate them. Here’s a bunch of easy ones that you won’t miss. Do you buy coffee every morning? Try making that at home and bringing it with you each day. Buy lunch every day? Try packing your lunch a few times per week. Cancel memberships you don’t use. Watch a movie on Netflix instead of going to the theater. Have a home phone that you never use but it comes with your cable package? Cut it. Paying too much for car insurance, shop around. There are a ton of different ways to save money!
10. “Marie Kondo” your life. Have everyone in your family go through and declutter all the things in your basement and garage that have been sitting there forever and sell them in a yard sale or consider listing on a Facebook Moms in Budget groups. Or you can use online selling apps such as Let Go, eBay, or Poshmark.
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