The Husband's Birthday!

Yesterday was the husband’s birthday!  And, like a fine wine, he is getting better with age although he continually reminds me that he is younger than I am—by 13 months and 2 days if it is not a leap year.

The husband has celebrated his birthday at sea as our first Disney Cruise was to celebrate him turning 40.  He has also celebrated his birthday at Walt Disney World as we took advantage of the special offers during one year of either getting a free ticket, a Disney gift card, or FastPasses for your group if you traveled to a Disney Park on your birthday.  We registered his birthday on-line to take advantage of the special.  We spent the evening at Hoop-Dee-Do Review and he had an extra special experience that he thought I had arranged but was all Disney magic at work.  (Click here toread more.)

Yesterday, we celebrated his birthday, just not as extravagantly.  I was actually challenging myself to see how much we could celebrate on less money.  Here’s what we did. . .

His favorite 3 pins

The day began with the husband getting his birthday gift.  50 Disney trading pins that I scored for FREE!  Amazon sells “lots” or groups of these pins and there was an offer of 50 pins for $39.95 that qualified for FREE shipping.  I just needed some Amazon gift cards to make the purchase.  I got the gift cards from 3 different programs.

MyCokeRewards offers a $10 Amazon gift card for 690 points at the “Silver Reward Level.”  If you haven’t started using MyCokeRewards, I highly recommend it.  Just grab some Coke product lids that have the codes inside or the codes from inside the 12-pack or larger products.  Even Powerade and Dasani Water have codes!

My Smartphone also helped me earn with the “Receipt Hog” app.  I downloaded the free app that is available for both I-Phone and Android and started “snapping” my receipts to earn coins.  The coins add up you can even earn more coins through “spins.”  Within a few weeks I was able to redeem my coins for a $10 Amazon gift card.  Earn 5 free spins when you join using code spud7623!

Swagbucks was another program I used to earn Amazon gift cards.  I earn Swagbucks when using it as a search engine—just like Google.  Users of Swagbucks can also earn through taking polls, entering Swagcodes released throughout the day, and playing videos.  The neat thing about Swagbucks is that you can earn on your computer but also by download the mobile apps for Swagbucks and Swagbucks TV.  I scored multiple Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. Click here to get started using Swagbucks.

So, with all of that, the husband’s gift came for FREE!

Next, breakfast.  Coincidentally, a local grocery store was hosting a special Easter breakfast for the kids—12 and under—that allowed the kids to eat breakfast for free when an adult breakfast was purchased.  We took advantage and stacked on a few more coupons—free coffee, free drink, and a buy one meal, get another meal for ½ price.  When combining the boy’s free breakfast with the coupons used for the breakfast for both of us, our out of pocket cost was $10. 

Later in the day, we went to see the new DreamWorks movie “Home” featuring the voices of Jim Parsons (Sheldon on Big Bang Theory), Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez.  The cost for admission for three of us—FREE!  Last fall we attended an open house of our local historical museum and won a door prize of free movie tickets.  There was a very long date for expiration and we kept a look-out as to what movies would not allow passes.  All pieces aligned yesterday and we very much enjoyed the movie. 

There you have it.  A great day, hopefully, for the husband with a gift he very much appreciated, a hearty meal, and a good movie.  All for $10.  And, according the husband, it’s not the price of the gift that counts, but the love behind it!

Plans For Our On Board Credit From Disney Cruise Line

While our next Disney Cruise is paid in full, including gratuities for our wait staff and stateroom host/hostess, budgeting for on board fun is still in the works.

Because we booked this cruise, and paid the deposit, while sailing on our last cruise, we will walk on the ship with a $200 on board credit from Disney Cruise Line.  Know that the amount of the on board credit varies depending on the length of your cruise—7 nights or longer $200, less than 7 nights $100.

Here’s our plan for the $200 on board credit:

• Champagne Brunch at Remy $50 per person—total $100.  Yes, this glamorous, 2 hour, adult only experience is going to take half of our credit.  It will be a memorable way to celebrate our anniversary.
• Pirate’s League First Mate Package $35.  The Disney Fantasy is the only ship to feature a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique that also turns into a Pirate’s League on Pirate Night to transform guests into pirates on the high seas.  The boy wants to give this a try, so he has a reservation for a 45 minute First Mate Package make-over.  I’m hoping to get lots of pictures!
• Adult beverages on Castaway Cay $48 includes tip.  A special treat for the husband and I are adult beverages while on the island.  The husband prefers a bucket of beers and I order a red frothy drink, all of which get to delivered to our lounge chairs on the sand—which is also an experience.

There you have it, our plan for the $200 on board credit with $17 to spare.  The extra money will go towards other ship board activities including port adventures, photos, and on board shopping.  Oh, and there’s the deposit for our next cruise!

Picked Up A Few Things For Our Summer Trip

“We aren’t going to use that until we get to Disney!”  were the husband’s adamant words when I brought home the tube of mentha foot cream from Bath and Body Works.  I had asked a while ago if we still had any of the foot cream and he said that he thought we had used it all on our last trip.  You see, the mentha foot cream is a lifesaver at night when we return to our resort room with tired and aching feet.  And, since I had a great coupon from Bath and Body Works—a free item up to $14 with a $10 purchase, I ended up getting the foot cream for free!

Other needed trip items have also been on the shopping lists of late:  a travel pack of wipes, extra toothbrushes, and a Tide stick.  Spent a whopping $3.99 for all of those items!

Why are we buying needed items now?  Well, I prefer to budget for needed vacation items throughout the weeks and months prior to a trip, rather than waiting until right before we leave and making one giant (and expensive) purchase.  And, buying the items now feels like planning and helps build the anticipation.  It also saves money as I can look for our needed items on sale.

Budgeting and purchasing this way does take some planning.  I have a list of needed items taken from the inventory of what we already have.  Hence, the checking about the foot cream before buying.

Need a packing list?  PassPorter’s Guides have great packing lists for Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line.

The "Other" Vacation Costs

Someone asked me yesterday if we had everything taken care of, meaning purchased, for our upcoming summer vacation.  They were just trying to have polite conversation, but it got me thinking about how budgeting for a vacation contains more possible expenses than just the vacation itself.  Here are other expenses that are a part of the vacation budget:

• Pet care.  Whether you board your animal(s) or have someone else take care of them, there is an additional expense.  Even if someone is willing to help out for free, there is still the expense of feeding the pet.  We have a person who comes to our home to take care of our pets.  We love the convenience of this and happily consider her fee into our vacation budget.
• Gas.  If you are driving to your destination and back, more than likely you have calculated the cost of fuel into your vacation budget.  If you are like us and are driving to an airport (ours is 2 ½ hours away), then it is also important to consider this expense.  And, if you are traveling a long distance, a car maintenance check-up may be in order.
• Parking.  Okay, if you are traveling to Disney and not staying on-property, then there are going to be parking fees and they can be a hefty daily fee.  Even if driving to Port Canaveral and parking your car, there is an expense.  For us, the parking expense is at the airport. 
• Lawn Care (or snow removal).  We live where there are four distinct seasons and leaving our home for a vacation means that someone has to be on standby to either take care of the lawn or remove snow, depending on when we take our vacation.  Thankfully, we have a reasonably priced reliable service available to us.  I just have to remember to tell this person and the person who takes care of our pets about each other so that if they bump into each other in our driveway, it isn’t a surprise!
• Food.  Even though we have the Dining Plan while at Walt Disney World and are sailing with Disney, there are additional food expenses, especially on the days traveling to and from our destination.  Our family has already planned to pack fruit and sandwiches for our travel to Orlando.  But there will still need to be other food purchases.  And, I’ve got a Dominos Pizza gift card waiting for us for the day we get back home!
• Clothing.  If you are traveling out of season or are in need of specialized apparel, this can be a budget buster.  We have heard of folks spending lots of money to buy new clothes prior to vacations.  I can say that we pick up a few items along the way—such as matching shirt sets, but they come out of our regular budget, not the vacation budget.
• Fees.  There can be addition fees such as luggage fees that can add up and take a bite out of the vacation budget.  There is typically no way around various fees, so just be mindful of the expense.
• Tips.  We definitely budget for this category.  On the ship, Disney now has guests pay for gratuities upfront which means that when we paid for our cruise in full, we also paid for tips—unless we want to exceed the recommended amounts.  But then there are tips for luggage porters, bus drivers, housekeeping at our resort, excursion guides, room service, and bell services.  I make sure we have a handy supply of ones and fives so we can happily tip them. 

There you have it; a list of other potential expenses when taking a vacation.  I’m sure there are more, though knowing means being able to plan and experience less surprises.  Let us know if you have a potential vacation expense that isn’t on our list!

What Disney Has Taught Me About Budgeting

We have flown in and out of Orlando International Airport over two dozen times and have flow from various airports. . . going where the price and times of flights were the best.  Our upcoming trip is no exception and it was without hesitation that we purchased our airline tickets over 10 months ahead of time.  And, now the price for those same flights has increased $189 per person.  Wow!  Paying that price would have taken a much bigger bite out of our vacation budget.

Budgeting is on my mind for a variety of reasons. . . one being that we currently have a vacation budget being built and adjusted, another is that I responded to a post on a message board about budgeting for the holidays, and I am getting ready to make a short presentation this week about budgeting for the holidays and spending less.

Let’s face it, unless we are trust fund folks or live off investments, we are all living on a “fixed income”—no matter the source of that income.  My pay is the same each month, no matter the hours I work and if I want more income, well then I work another job or find other ways to increase the amount of money coming in.  The majority of people operate similarly.

So the ideas that will be presented this week for budgeting for the holidays and spending less are based on the same ideas of planning and budgeting for a Disney vacation or any vacation.  Here they are:

• Set and know your budget.  Don’t let emotions of the holiday or event override the budget.  Yes, we would all like to splurge, but the momentary exhilaration is not worth the long term grief or worry of going over the budget.
• Get organized.  Buying something at a great price ahead of time is wonderful, but then you have to know where you put it/hid it for the upcoming holiday or vacation.  I had a friend who kept buying the same color of shoes over and over because she couldn’t find hers.  Organization can save you money!
• Plan ahead.  Yes, I know that means making decisions ahead of time rather than going with the flow of the vacation or holiday gift buying.  I would rather spend a little bit of time making decisions at my leisure than use time during the holidays or during a vacation to make decisions that are pressing.  Planning ahead lets me enjoy the wonders of the holidays and my vacation time.  Consider planning ahead for grocery purchases as well as gift purchases. 
• Prioritize—stuff vs. experiences.  What is important to you and your family?  For us, we made experiences a priority over stuff.  So when the holidays role around, we go to festivals, shows, and concerts—many of which are free or their admission goes towards a charity.  This is same for our Disney vacations—souvenirs are much lower on the priority list than say a meal at a unique location, or another experience. 
• Look forward to the next one. . . whether this be the next vacation or the next holiday.  As soon as one is over, the planning begins for the next!  Spreading and spending time, energy, and resources throughout the year rather than feeling exhausted during the moments that we want to savor. 

Am I glad we purchased our airline tickets so far in advance?  Definitely!  Part of shopping for anything—airline tickets, the holiday turkey, or the latest electronic gadget, is knowing a good price when you meet it and making the leap.  Speaking of which, I’m off to the grocery store to snag a free turkey.  That price is definitely in the budget!