Today I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap put on by the sitsgirls. I am blogging over atStacy Makes Cents on how to decorate within a budget. I am also proud to introduce the Catholic Couponer.
One of the many perks of moving to Florida this past year was living 2 hours from Walt Disney World. As an avid Disney goer I know what you’re going to say, “Why do you go its SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!” Yes it can be if you make it that way. Since we have annual passes we go about every 6 weeks and we are able to do it very frugally.When we went in February we only spent $300 between the hotel, food from our stockpile we brought with us, gas and eating out once or twice (for 2 people).
I will warn you that some of my vacationing on a budget tips are VERY unconventional but my parents didn’t make a lot of money but they LOVED going on vacation and many of the tips in this post are how we vacationed growing up so to me it is pretty normal.
1. Stay off-site. I know most people frown upon this idea but it is really the main way we save money. We would rather go to Disney and stay off-site 8 times a year than stay on site 4 times a year. If you are going with a large group of people I would suggest renting a house/town-home/condo from homeaway.com or many other rental websites.
2. Cook your own meals. If you rent a condo you will also have at least a half-kitchen (normally you will have a full-kitchen) and you will be able to cook some of your meals to save on eating out.
3. Pack a Lunch. One thing I LOVE about Disney is they let you bring your own food into the parks. As long as you aren’t bringing any alcohol or glass you are safe. You can even bring in small coolers. Go here to for all the rules of what you can and cannot bring into the parks. Many days we will pack sandwiches, snacks, and cans of soda for our time in the parks.
4. Purchase Restaurant.com Gift Certificates. Restaurant.comhas a TON of restaurants in the Orlando area. If you watch my blog I will post Restaurant.com deals. Certain times of the month you can purchase $25 Restaurant.com gift certificates for $1-$5.
5. Purchase deals from Daily Deal Sites. Daily deal sites like groupon, livingsocial, dealchicken, etc. have deals for all different cities. They will sometimes have hotel deals, restaurant deals, and attraction deals. This is a great way to get a discount on a restaurant, hotel, or attraction you were planning on doing anyway.
6. Cash in Swagbucks and Superpoints for your vacation. I like to save all my Swagbucks of Superpoints for a special occasion. I would turn all my swagbucks and superpoints for $5 amazon giftcards or paypal gift cards and then purchase items you need for your vacation. I know many people that will find deals on groceries or Disney clothing for their trip and ship the items right to their hotel!
7. Shop discount stores for souvenirs. The area outside the parks is full of discount stores that sell Disney merchandise at deep discounts. The local Wal-Mart even sells Disney souvenirs. The items in these shops are at least half the price of Disney parks if not more. Another great place is to shop is the Disney Outlet (in any city). They also have really good deals on Disney gear.
8. Put any “extra” money in your Disney fund. Every time I get a rebate check, spare change, or an unexpected check I put it in my Disney/vacation fund. Since you weren’t expecting it anyway don’t rely on it as a cushion in your budget and put it in your Disney fund.
I am sure there are tons of other ways to save money at Disney World but these are the top 8 tips that I have been using over the last year. What other ways do you use to save money on vacation? I’d love to hear your tips!Beth Anne blogs about her two passions: Couponing and the Catholic Faith at The Catholic Couponer. She strives to help her readers learn to save money by couponing so they have extra money to get out of debt, go on a vacation, or give more to the less fortunate. She recently relocated to Florida from Texas and loves exploring her new city and taking weekend trips to Walt Disney World.
