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How Cheap Can a Disney Vacation Be?

Finance, Parenting

Earlier this month, I took my family to Disney World.   That’s me, my wife, and my three kids (ages 8, 9, 16).    Disney is one of the most expensive vacations you can take in the U.S.

Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams i...
Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams is the largest fireworks show ever presented at the Magic Kingdom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We went from one Saturday to the next, in the beginning of August.   August is just after peak season, so prices and crowds were down a bit from early summer.   During the school year is out of the question because my wife is a school bus driver at an understaffed company.  It was a bit hotter, but the price and family availability balanced out the heat nicely.

We stayed in a 1 bedroom resort on Disney property.  It was a bit more expensive, but the room slept all five of us, my wife and I had a separate bedroom, and it was equipped with a full kitchen and laundry.

This wasn’t cheap.

We spent:

  • $1595.96 on airfare and car rental, as a package
  • $75 on upgrading the seats on our flight one way, because those were the only seats available next to each other.
  • $131.11 upgrading our rental car during pickup.   The third row seating was nice, both for our day trip to Cocoa Beach and for our grocery run with five suitcases.
  • $4396.21 for the hotel, 4 days of Disney parks, and the included Magic Bands.  Magic Bands are the awesomest way to handle hotel rooms, resort tickets, and food.   You don’t need to carry a wallet in Disney World.
  • $715.26 on things charged to our Magic Bands, including miscellaneous coffee, snack, and water purchases in the park, a few small souvenirs, approximately $380 at in-park restaurants, and a couple of gifts for the people who took care of our pets while we were gone.
  • $15 for parking at the Cocoa Beach Pier
  • $152.28 for lunch at the restaurant on the pier
  • Roughly $350 on groceries and one fast food drive through meal one night
  • $118.31 at the horrible Wolfgang Puck Express restaurant at the Disney Springs shopping center
  • $31.59 on gas for the rental car.
  • $47.35 for a movie to kill time between hotel checkout and airport check-in
  • Total: $7628.07

We saved:

  • $1404.14 by using signup bonus miles from two Chase Sapphire cards, bringing the flight plus rental to $188.82 plus upgrades.
  • $1870.16 by using Capital One Venture card rewards.  A bonus reward on one card, and regular miles on another.
  • Total: $3274.30

Grand Total: $4353.77

We had about $2000 of that saved before we bought the tickets and $2000 more budgeted to pay the remaining bill quickly.  $4350 spent on a trip with a $4000 budget isn’t too bad.

We opened the rewards cards more than a year ago to make sure we’d hit the sign-up bonus qualifications in time.

A few Disney tips:

  • Your first day in the park, find a Disney Vacation Club booth.  Go to a timeshare sales pitch.   For real.   It’s a low-pressure pitch that’s over in 45 minutes if you’re not interested (and you won’t be.  Timeshares–especially at retail price–are stupid.  Don’t sign up.) that will net you three tap-and-go fast passes and a $100 gift card.    The fast passes alone saved us about 3 hours of lines.
  • Install the Disney app.  You can get directions to rides and manage fast passes and dinner reservations.
  • Subscribe to Touring Plans.  It costs $10 if you have a coupon, and there’s always a coupon.   You can plan out your day at each park, including fast passes and breaks.  It will give you wait times and walking times and suggest what is possibly the most efficient way  to see everything you want to see.    We saw 90% of everything everyone was interested in without running around.   You really can do all of each of the parks in 4 days.
  • Take breaks.   We got there early, then left a bit after lunch time to head back to the hotel for food, rest, and swimming.    We came back shortly before dinner and spent the evening.   That skipped the hottest, busiest part of the day and helped avoid small children getting crabby.  Take breaks.
  • Go to each of the parks on their least busy day.  It’s easiest to see it all if you plan to be there when fewer other people are competing for line space.
  • Don’t waste your fast passes on rides with short lines.   We made it through the Pirates of the Caribbean line in 10 minutes.  That would have been wasteful.
  • Try to book all of your fast passes in the morning, so you can schedule new ones for later in the day.  You can’t add new ones while you have pending ones on your account.
  • Use the timeshare fast passes at Magic Kingdom.  They don’t have to be scheduled and must be used on a moving ride.   Magic Kingdom is the heaviest concentration of moving rides, and they have the longest lines.
  • Have fun.  For real, don’t forget to have fun.   If people are getting crabby, pack up and head to the hotel for a few hours.   The only park that makes this a pain is Magic Kingdom, since they hide the park a mile away from the parking.   Don’t force the park experience, just let go and let things happen.   Says the guy who brought an optimized agenda to each park

This was a good time for us.   I’m glad we waited.  We’re in the short window where the girls will remember the trip and the boy hasn’t moved out and gotten a busy life of his own.

 

Totally Money Carnival #5, the Superbowl Edition

Misc

Welcome to the Totally Money Carnival #5, the Superbowl Edition.  It’s my privilege to be the first outside host for this carnival.

I don’t watch the Superbowl. I’ve never been into spectator sports unless I have some skin in the game. If I’m playing, or have some money riding on the outcome, I’m watching. Other than that, I’ll usually pass. Yesterday, a bunch of grown men in tights earning envy-inducing amounts of money ran around for a few hours in front of people, some of whom paid 5 figures for the privilege of watching. Yay!

Editor’s Picks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjaOUjUPUc

Mike Piper presents Protecting Your Private Files posted at Oblivious Investor, “How can you keep your sensitive documents (scanned tax returns, for instance) both backed up and protected in the event of computer theft?”  Ed.  I love this solution, and I use it.  All of my tax returns, online receipts, and documents I don’t want to lose get treated this way.

Suzanne K. presents The Psychology of Why You Can’t Budget—And Five Tips to Help You Do It posted at PsychologyDegree.net.  Ed.  I’ve always been a fan of trying to understand what makes people tick.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Prepare Your Tax Return: Tax Products vs Tax Pros posted at The Digerati Life, saying “If you don’t enjoy preparing your taxes, you’re not alone. There are various ways to get your tax returns done. How do you go about preparing your taxes: DIY or with the help of a pro?” Ed.  Tax time sucks.  If we abolished payroll deductions and made everybody in the country write a check to the IRS every year, there would be a revolt on the next April 15th.

Kevin McKee presents How To Know if Your Job is Expendable posted at Thousandaire, saying “When businesses start doing poorly, some people are at risk of losing their job, while others are safe. Find out which category you fall in with these simple questions.”  Ed: I was given a demonstration that defines expendability in the workplace. Fill a glass with water and place it on the counter in front of you. Stick your finger in the glass. Now, pull it out. See the impression you’ve made? I’ve done the rockstar bit, and I’ve been in positions that were necessary for the profitability of larger divisions of large companies. It doesn’t matter. Corporate loyalty is a joke.

Budgeting

35% of people who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense. (source)

Miss T presents 5 Ways to Lower Your Monthly Bills | Prairie EcoThrifter.com posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter, saying “Believe it or not, there are lots of ways to save money, no matter how much of it you have- or don’t have.”

Credit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRYLhkOV2so

Tim Chen presents Pentagon Federal Offers Best Gas & Airfare Credit Card Rewards, Period. posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch, saying “There is only one credit card in America that offers no strings attached 5% cash back at any gas stations (excluding the likes of Costco) – the Pentagon Federal Platinum CashBack. It also gets you 2% back at grocery stores.”

Miranda presents Accelerate Your Credit Card Debt Pay Down posted at CreditScore.net, saying “Use these techniques to pay down your credit card debt faster.”

Buck Inspire presents Moving Up and On From Prepaid Debit Cards posted at Buck Inspire.

Ryan Hudson presents How I Got a Credit Card Late Fee Waived posted at Best Credit Cards IQ, saying “Don’t take accidental late fees laying down. Do something about it. Here’s how I got rid of my late fee.”

Debt

No network footage exists of Super Bowl I. It was taped over, supposedly for a soap opera.(source)

John presents Get Out of Debt Fast – How to Speed Up the Process posted at Passive Family Income, saying “There are quite a few people today that are beginning to dig their way out of debt. They have monitored their spending, created a budget, and have done the best that they can to stick with it. But, as many of you have experienced, the excitement of becoming debt-free gets pretty old after a while.”

Finance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRDx18GYITw

Mike Collins presents Defined Benefit vs Defined Contribution posted at Saving Money Today, saying “Understanding the different types of retirement plans.”

Boomer presents 10 Ways For Women To Obtain Financial Empowerment posted at Boomer & Echo, “It’s not that difficult to get your financial life under control (your control). Remember, a man is not a financial plan.”

Frugality

The Super Bowl is measured in Roman numerals because a football season runs the span over two calendar years. This year the season began in 2010 and ends in 2011. (source)

Madison DuPaix presents Substitute, Improvise, and Make Do With What You Have posted at My Dollar Plan, saying “So often, when we run out of things we need, we run to buy something or spend money when we don’t have to. Find out how you can avoid this trap.”

Money Beagle presents The Power Of The Free Calendar posted at Money Beagle.

Amanda L Grossman presents Homemade Diversion Safes: Save Money by Making Your Own posted at Frugal Confessions – Frugal Living, saying “You can purchase your own home security money safes (diversion safes), but I thought it would be more frugal and fun to think of ones to make on your own. See what I can do with a used deodorant!”

Money Management

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQkK1UCH1EU

MoneyNing presents What Would You Do with a Million Dollars? posted at Money Ning, saying “I know what I would do with a million dollars. How about you?”

Other

More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year (except St. Patrick’s Day), according to the Insurance Information Institute. (source)

Joe Morgan presents Is Gen Y Irresponsible, Or Is It A Matter Of Perspective? posted at Simple Debt-Free Finance, saying “Generation Y has a reputation for having a sense of entitlement, but here’s one reason it may just be a matter or perspective.”

Saving

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_78ylMLa0JQ

Ryan @ MFN presents Roth IRA Qualifications posted at The Military Wallet, saying “Are you qualified to open a Roth IRA? Find out income and contribution requirements to see if you are eligible!”

Brian @ BeBetterNow presents Money’s Golden Rule: Spend Less Than You Earn posted at Be Better Now, “In the end, most personal finance advice boils down to spending less than you earn. Here’s another article to reinforce that.”

Spending

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g364TG_8Qmw

Barb Friedberg presents Wealth in Life: 25 Cheap Ideas for Fun posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance, “Join in to build a massive list of low cost fun!”

Taxes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

PT presents Tax on Unemployment Compensation posted at PT Money, saying “A detailed look at what taxes are due on your unemployment compensation.”

Ken presents Important Tax Update for 2010 You Don’t Want To Miss posted at Spruce Up Your Finances, saying “A few of the tax provisions applicable to tax year 2010 such as the extension of tax filing date, expanded tax benefits, phase out on some limitations, etc.”

Fanny presents Top 10 Tax Deductions for Parents posted at Living Richly on a Budget, “Being a parent is one of the most important roles in life. Why not take advantage of all the deductions you qualify for?”

Thank you all for participating!  Next week’s host is Saving Money Today, so be sure to submit your posts.

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Saturday Roundup

Finance, Life, Misc

First, the shameless self-promotion:

If you want to see the glorious wisdom that is my Twitter feed, follow me on Twitter. I’m @LiveRealNow.

Please take a moment to subscribe to Live Real, Now by email. You get a choice between having all of the posts delivered to your inbox, or just occasional updates and deals. Both options get my Budget Lessons, free of charge, including exclusive access to articles that are not published anywhere else. Woo!

If you prefer to get all of you information and interaction on Facebook, become a fan!

And of course, there is always the wonderful RSS subscription.

The Best Posts of the Week:

Give the gift of kidneys so that Larry Correia can murder you for charity.  Larry is the author of Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter: Vendetta.   Both books are excellent mind-candy, if you like explosions and monsters that, well, explode.  Save a life and get murdered at the same time.  Who could ask for more?

A V-8 only insinuates virility; multiple child seats prove it. With a title like this, and multiple car seats in my car, I have to include the post.

And finally, here are some tips to save time with email: Email Sucks.

Finally, a list of the carnivals and blogs I’ve participated in:

Dustin at Engaged Marriage was kind enough to run my guest post: Arguing Fairly with your Spouse.

I was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance with Check Your Bills.

Repair Plans, Appliances, and Rancid Meat…Oh, My! was included in the Carnival of Money Stories.

Selling Your Home: The Real Estate Agent was included in the Festival of Frugality.

If I missed a carnival, please let me know.  Thanks to those who have included me!

Party Planning on a Super Tight Budget

Finance, Life

Sliced Fatty
Image by Another Pint Please… via Flickr

I like to party.

Actually, that’s a lie.  I’m too introverted to be a partier.   More accurately, I like to throw two parties per year.  I am also cheap frugal, so I try not to break the bank feeding fifty of my closest friends.

I have two entirely different parties.   The first, known as the “Fourth Annual Second Deadly Sin Barbecue of Doom”, is a daytime party with a lot of food.   The second is a Halloween party which takes place at night and refreshments are more of the liquid variety.  Two different parties, two different strategies to keep them affordable.

Meat

For the Halloween party, meat consists entirely of a meat/cheese/cracker tray and a crock-pot full of either sloppy joes or chili.  Quick and easy for about $20.   For the barbecue, meat is the main attraction.   The menu varies a bit from year to year.   Last year, we had burgers, brats, hot dogs, a leg of lamb, pulled pork, and a couple of fatties.   The year before, we had a turducken, but no fatties.    From a frugal standpoint, the only meat mistakes were the turducken and the lamb.  Neither are cheap, but both as delicious.   The rest of the meat needs to be bought over the months preceding the party, as they go on sale.   Ten pounds of beef, 2 dozen brats, 2 dozen hot dogs and a pork roast can be had for a total of about $75, without having to worry about picking out the hooves and hair.    Fatties cost less than $5 to make.

Sides

Both parties have chips, crackers and a vegetable tray.   Chips are usually whatever is on sale or the store brand if it’s cheaper.    Depending on our time management, we try to cut the vegetables ourselves, but have resorted to paying more for a pre-made  veggie tray in the past.   This runs from $15-30.

Drinks

For kids and adults who don’t drink, I make a 5 gallon jug of Kool-Aid.  Cost:  About $3.    For adults, I provide a few cases of beer.  I don’t drink fancy beer, so this runs about $50.    For the Halloween party, I throw open my liquor cabinet.   Whatever is in there is available for my guests.   The rule is “I provide the beer.  If you want something specific, bring it yourself.”   I have a fairly well-stocked liquor cabinet, but I don’t stock what I don’t like or don’t use.   Part of the stock is what guests have left in the past.    I don’t drink much and I buy liquor sporadically when I have a whim for something specific, so raiding the leftovers in the liquor cabinet doesn’t register on my party budget.

Potluck

While it seems like an obvious and easy way to keep costs down, I do not and will not expect my guests to bring anything.  I throw a party to showcase either A) my cooking, or B) my Halloween display.   I don’t charge admission.  I don’t charge for a glass.  I throw a party so I can have fun with the people I care about and the people the people I care about care about.   I consider it a serious breach of etiquette to ask anybody to bring something.   On the other hand, if someone offers, I will not turn it down.

Fun

The most important part of either of my parties is fun.  All else is secondary.   I seem to be successful, since reservations are made for my spare beds a full year in advance.   Last Halloween, people came from 3 states.

Cost

How much do my mildy-over-the-top parties cost?   The barbecue runs about $150-180 plus charcoal and propane.    Yes, I use both.  I’ll have 2 propane grills, 1 charcoal grill, and a charcoal smoker running all day. The Halloween party costs $80-100 for the basics.    The brain dip costs another $20 and there’s always at least another $50 in stuff that seems like a good idea to serve.

Update:  This post has been included in the Festival of Frugality.

Money Hacks Carnival #105: The All Government, All the Time Edition

Misc

Jefferson Memorial
Carnival Time

Welcome to the 105th edition of the Money Hacks Carnival:  The All Government, All the Time Edition. Deep in the bowels of tax season, it’s not surprising that tax- and government-related articles are popular.

Editor’s Picks

LeanLifeCoach presents What Is Your Learning Style? This is an important lesson for anyone trying to teach.  My main side hustle involves teaching.  We try to address each learning style to engage all of our students.  I’m a visual learner.  In school, I always read ahead and I’ve never been able to focus while someone reads to me.

Consumer Boomer presents The Best IRA for You.  Holy Educational Post, Batman!  Be careful, you’ll learn something if you read this post.

PT presents How to Find Free Stuff Online Without Getting Spammed.  I like free things.   I hate spam.  I’m a part of the target audience of this post.  I use an active Gmail account for getting freebies.  The spam filter can’t be beat.

Fanny Seto presents 5 Tips on How to Get a Job in this Economy.  I’m glad I haven’t had to deal with this recently.   If you’re unemployed, take the opportunity to develop a hobby or explore other opportunities.  You may be out of work, but that means you have the one thing you can’t replace: time.  Use it wisely.

Taxes or Feeding the Monster

Jeff Rose presents How to File Taxes with Your 1099s.  All you’ve ever wanted to know (and more!) about the 1099.

Paul Williams presents Deduct Haiti Earthquake Relief Donations on Your 2009 Tax Return.  If you itemize, make sure you include any donations to Haiti relief.

freefrombroke presents TurboTax Online 2009 Overview.  I love TurboTax.  I use it every year and have done so since I discovered I wasn’t capable of figuring out the Earned Income Credit.

Four Pillars presents What Happens If You Lose Your W2 Form?.  Keeping track of your tax documents is always important, but what do you do if that doesn’t work?

Matthew Paulson presents Troublesome Tax Myths.   Taxes aren’t optional.  Ask Wesley Snipes.

Working for a Living or Earning the Monster’s Feed

Darwin presents 10 Highest Paying Degrees 2010 – Best Majors in Demand Now.  The part that doesn’t surprise me is that the hard sciences pay well.   Art-as-science comes with a smaller paycheck.   Hmm….

J. Money presents Life in Grad School Doesn’t Have to Suck…All Your Money.  I’ve didn’t make it to grad school, but I did work my way through college with a small baby.  It’s good to have a support network.

The Financial Blogger presents Getting Ready for Another Purchase!.  I’ve never given any thought to buying a blog.  It’s a fascinating read.  Make sure you read the related posts to get the full value.

Banking, Credit, and Investing or He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune

GLBL presents What to Expect From Mortgage Rate Trends for 2010.  I learn something every day.  Define “intraday”.

pkamp3 presents Cutting Up the Card.  It may be caused by a down economy, but less consumer debt isn’t a bad thing.

D4L presents 20 Dividend Stocks Riding The Tsunami Of Dividend Increases.  My first dividend-paying stock paid me 16 cents once.  Stocks kind of scare me.  In my mind, they’re not much different than a slot machine, so I don’t buy much.  I think I had 20 shares of that first stock.

Personal Finance or The Government Doesn’t Have to Be Involved

Matt_SF presents Personal Finance Equations You Should Know: the Cash Flow Equation.  If equations make you smile, this is the post for you.

Craig Ford presents 101 Ways To Improve Your Marriage Money Relationship.  This goes beyond finance and dips firmly into happy relationship territory.

Hedy presents My Better Business Bureau experience.  I’ve found that the sincere threat of a Better Business Bureau complaint can be effective, too.

2 Cents presents Economics: Your Personal Finance Weather Forecast.  As a sci-fi junkie, I love the quote at the beginning of the article.

Dodging Taxes and Anarchism

Nope.  No submissions in this category.

That’s all.  While you’re here, don’t forget to subscribe to my rss feed and follow me on twitter.

5 Ways to Help Your Friends Stay Out of Debt

Finance, Life

Playing the Shogun (2006) board game
Image via Wikipedia

There’s a saying that you are the average of your 5 closest friends.    Take a look at the people you hold dearest.  Combined, they are you.  If they are all in debt, chances are, so are you.

As a corollary,  you are a part of your friends.   If you become more financially responsible, it will rub off on the people who care about you.

Given these two rules, one way to improve yourself is to help those around you improve themselves.   If your influence convinces your friends to move closer to your ideal, it will be easier, almost effortless to move closer to it, yourself.

It sound manipulative, but if you are manipulating your friends, you are doing it wrong.   Don’t try to force or trick your friends, just be honest and sincere in your efforts to help.  Nobody wants to be in debt.  This is you being nice.

1.  Suggest cheap activities.

While it is okay to splurge occasionally, don’t be afraid to suggest less expensive activities.  If someone suggests going to a movie, mention the dollar theater.  If they want to go out for dinner, offer to host a potluck.  Trip to the casino?  Game night at your house.   There are almost always cheaper ways to have fun.  As long as you are spending time with the people you love, you’ll have a good time.  Do you really need to drop $100 to do that?

2.  Don’t flaunt your toys.

If you buy an iPod and immediately run to show it off, you are going to trigger a case of “keeping up with the Joneses”.  If your friends spend all of their time around people who are constantly buying expensive toys, buying expensive toys becomes normalized in their minds.   Debt becomes the norm.  Then extreme debt.  Don’t reinforce the destructive debt cycle by showing off the expensive trophies of excessive, unnecessary consumerism.

3.  Point out opportunities to save.

This is a fine line to walk.   If mention how much money your friend is wasting on 13 shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mochas with extra white mocha and caramel every single morning, you’re going to get annoying fast. In fact, you are already annoying me, so knock it off.  On the other hand, if Caribou is having a sale on the 13 shot monstrosity, speak up.  Nobody is going to complain about getting a $15 coffee for less than $10.

4.  Give them a side hustle.

If you’ve got a friend who’s into landscaping and you’ve got a neighbor who needs a landscaper, make the connection!   If you know a web designer and a business in need of a website, get them together.   Do what you can to match the needs of the people around with each other.  They will all appreciate it, and everyone will be better off.  Be the guy who helps everyone connect with the people they need.

5.  Be encouraging.

Put another way, don’t be a dick.  Nobody likes being nagged.  Nobody likes being told they are doing everything wrong.  Be encouraging, not mean.

If you can do all of that, it’s natural that your friends will start acting the way you want yourself to act.   The less they want to waste on  a trip into debt, the less tempted you will be to do the same.

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