THINK YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO GO TO DISNEYLAND? THINK AGAIN! WITH SOME SIMPLE PLANNING AND BUDGETING, YOU CAN NOT ONLY AFFORD IT, BUT YOU CAN ALSO PLAN THE DISNEY VACATION OF YOUR DREAMS!
The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, is where the magic began, all the way back in 1955. And to date, it’s one of my favourite places in the world to visit! But travelling to Disneyland as often as I would like can get a little pricey. Over the years, we’ve learned several easy ways to save money for Disneyland vacations.
Step 1 – Determine Your Budget
When saving for a Disneyland vacation, or any vacation for that matter, it helps to have an idea of what your budget is. Saving $1,500 is a lot different than saving $5,000. So setting your budget should always be step 1. And make sure you’re being honest with yourself.
Don’t tell yourself that $1,000 will be enough, just so you don’t have to be overwhelmed by a bigger number. If you think you’ll need $2,500, saving $1,000 is a start, but it’s only going to cause you stress when you’re there.
Once you decide on your budget, it’s time to move on to Step 2.
Step 2 – Decide Where and How to Track Your Savings
If you are really serious about saving money for your Disneyland vacation, you’ll need a place to keep said money. I actually have a separate bank account just for accumulating travel money. I don’t leave it in my personal spending account, because it’s too easy to say that I’ll just use a little and replace it later. Funny enough – it never seems to get replaced. Once you make the decision to take your Disneyland vacation, you’ll find a way to keep filling up that account!
Be sure to use the form above and download a copy of our Disneyland Trip Savings Tracker for FREE! Fill it out with the necessary details and then fill it in with your savings! Oh boy, look at your money grow!
Step 3 – Find the “Easy” Money
By finding the “easy” money, you’ll get a quick win. So what do I mean by easy money? I mean small (or large) amounts that you won’t really miss. Do you have a coin jar? A dish that collects loose coins on your way into the house? Gather those up. And mark it down on your Disneyland Trip Savings Tracker!
The next level of finding money for Disneyland travel is to look for money that’s coming in that could be considered extra. For me, I use eBates any time I shop online. When I get my Big Fat Cheque from eBates every quarter, they go into my Disneyland Vacation Savings Fund. It’s money I’ve earned on money that I would be spending anyway, so to me it counts as extra.
If you are using eBates, this is a great way to grow a travel fund! If not, click the links below to get started:
eBates.ca – for our Canadian readers
eBates.com – for our American readers
It’s a really great way to earn money back on purchases you were already planning to make. Four times a year, if you’ve met the payout thresholds, eBates will send you a Big Fat Cheque! Hooray! Straight into the Disneyland Vacation Savings Fund. Look at it grow!
Alright, “easy” money – check! Let’s move on.
Step 4 – Finding Other Money By Saving
This one might be a little more work, but it’s also a little more fun – at least for a numbers-geek like me. This is where you’ll start trying to find savings in other areas of your budget and then put those found monies in your growing vacation account.
For example – you need to buy a new pair of shoes. You’ve budgeted $100 for those shoes. You get to the store and find out they are on sale for $65! Good news! So you buy the shoes, and then you take the $35 that you were planning to spend and put it in your Vacation Savings Fund. See how easy that is?
Other ways you might find these savings:
- Using coupons for groceries or other necessities
- Checking stores you don’t normally visit for sale prices on your favourite items
- Getting lower rates on utilities or monthly bills, such as your cell phone, by switching providers
You might be able to come up with other ways as well – be sure to share in the comments below what tactics you use to save money!
Step 5 – Actively Making Money
This will be the most obvious, and most time-intensive, method on the list of ways to save money for your Disneyland vacation.
Some quick ways of earning trip money include:
- Getting a part-time job
- Holding a garage sale
- Selling items you have online, on sites like eBay, Kijiji or Craigslist
- Taking on sporadic or odd jobs – yard work, shovelling snow, babysitting, etc.
At the end of the day, there are countless ways to grow your vacation fund! And at all times, remember your goal – to get back to the Disneyland Resort! Be sure to post in the comments and let all of us how YOU save money for Disneyland Vacations!
To be sure you are making the most of your Disneyland Vacation Money, be sure to check our favourite ways to Splurge AND Save in Disneyland!
Want to remember this? Save “How to Save Money for Disneyland Vacations” to your favourite Pinterest boards!
