How am I supposed to save up for WDW when...

I know for us its real hard to do. Usually our tax refund is a start, but not all the time. Sometimes we work a bit extra, and that extra we put away and dont touch. Make ourselves put money up from paychecks. Rather than buying that coffee at Starbucks... put that money aside. Basically take something you buy extra on a monthly basis, just take that out. Every little bit helps. Thats about all I can think of.

Yeah, we're probably never going to Disney World again.

I just don't know how we'll get the money, although as a teacher, apparently according to some I'm rolling in it.

I'm trying to plan a trip to WDW too and am pretty much in the same boat - I have no idea how I'll manage to save enough to go! It's going to take a long time, but I am determined to get there one day.

We take money out of our bank account every chance we get so we don't spend it on pointless items.. Plus, I am doing extra photography work that is going straight to the fund, haha.

__________________

*Jennifer Lynn* NDW #38

Check out my blog at Jennifer's Disney Adventures

Don't you love that. I get "but you have summers off and Spring Break".......ha. I work 365 days a year 24 hours a day. I just don't have kids all the time.

But back to the task at hand...we always save our coins..we put them in a jar & never ever spend them. Last trip we had about $100 dollars because of that. However, that's just fun money it wouldn't get us there or anything.

I have a jar like that too... but it never seems to stay full... lol

We did that one year...and it bought our one-day tix to Epcot! (This was before we moved to FL; we were vacationing in Ormond at the time.) The cool thing about that trip...that was the first year of Epcot F&W, and we didn't even know it was going on. AND - I made a connection that ultimately led to my job at Disney...which ultimately led to my meeting DH! Pretty cool, eh?

All because we saved our pennies...

I wish there was a jar we could put some free time into. "I've got 15 minutes free on Thursday, I'll just put that in a jar and we'll have enough time to go for a week in no time!"

Omistars that's brilliant! Any science-y people that can work on that?

Lesson learned!!! That's a cool story! How did you make your connection? Yes..I am nosey!

We book early through CAA, like a year in advance and treat it just like a monthly bill. Plus we get to know our travel agent better as we see her every month.

I like the idea of booking early, then dedicating dollars toward the trip every week or month. It makes it "real," so you're less likely to justify spending on other things.

you can go to CAA and make monthly payments

I tried to do that..and failed. I said I'd put away $100 dollars a month (or more) and pay it off over time..never happened. I did it for the first few months and than failed..dramatically.

The wife of a Disney chef was manning (womaning?) a booth for cookbooks if I remember...why she was there, I have no idea. I don't think she was a CM herself. Anyway, we started chatting, and she began to tell me about the Disney Culinary Apprenticeship (now defunct.) At the time, I was trying to figure out how to get a culinary education without spending any $; I'd gotten my BA, was debt-free, and didn't want to go in the hole BIG TIME for culinary school (excellent decision on my part.) But DCA was a way to learn on the job, be paid, and you were able to take classes at Valencia Community College toward a AS in addition to your DCA training. I ended up coming down to interview for a spot in the program. Ultimately, I wasn't accepted, but they offered me an entry level culinary position instead! That's how I came to work at Disney for two years. DH came to work at the Contemporary fresh out of culinary school. We became friends, and then after a while started dating. The rest, including a very pretty FL wedding and two adorable children, is history.

So, yes...you could say that Disney in general, and Epcot and F&W in particular, mean a little something to me.

I was able to pay for the flights for 2 adults with my coin jar! Mind you, in Canada we have $1 and $2 coins so it adds up faster.

JustCar: I do the same! Booking through CAA is a great way to pay it off when booking early!!

Hey JP, what part of the country are you from?

Southern Ontario, you?? Have you been taking advantage of our excellent dollar lately for american $$ exchange?

Oh, and good exchange rates are another way to save if you don't live in the USA.

We are in NB, you bet your bippy we did, I switched everything over to my US savings account today, the dollar was rockin it today.