UPDATE...
TOTAL Cash Earned: $1376.29 (out of $1650 needed, 83.4%)
FREE Cash Earned: $289.25 (21%)
Gift Cards Earned: $628.94 (out of $1750 needed, 35.9% )
TOTAL Earned towards goal: $2005.23 / $3400.00 (58.9%)
Total of those funds that were FREE: $918.19
...45.8% of what I have earned towards my trip budget is FREE money
...27% of the TOTAL budget has been accumulated so far for FREE
I anticipate that I will have my entire cash budget acquired by the end of the year. I haven't been doing very good with my Swagbucks but I have earned a LOT of bonuses with my Best Buy Visa. I earned over $100 last month with bonus offers alone. Thanks to those here who turned me on to Dosh...I am now also earning 3-5% at Sam's Club and Exxon/Mobil. It's not a lot, but it's at least another $5 a month that I wasn't getting before.
UPDATE...
TOTAL Cash Earned: $1650 (...with $183.47 EXTRA!!) **I MADE IT!!**
FREE Cash Earned: $392.66 (23.8%)
Gift Cards Earned: $768.94 (out of $1750 needed...43.9%)
As the year is coming to a close, I am happy to see that I have ALL of my cash budget in the bank. I am going to continue adding to my "FREE" cash earnings (Ebates, Dosh, etc) which will increase the percentage of my trip that is covered with reward money. I am also happy to see that I am almost halfway to my goal of $1750 in FREE gift cards. That is CRAZY!! I have only been saving/earning since October...2 months!....and I still have 10 more months to go before our trip!
At the end of November, DH retired after 28 years as a police officer. He was not planning on coming on this trip with us since he is not a big fan of WDW. He didn't enjoy himself the last time we all went because all of the "go-go-go" and itineraries and such was too much for him. He preferred to sit in the room and nap with a beer
, much to the chagrin of the rest of the family
. When we got back, he made it clear that he was NOT going to do that again. Well, here we are, planning our next trip, excluding him as he requested...but now that he is retired...he's starting to have second thoughts
. Now that he is "on vacation" every day, I think he is starting to view this vacation in a different light. I would love to have him join us
, but the hit to my budget would be HUGE
. I would have to get him a ticket (7-day PH would be at least $550), airfare ($400), a
MNSSHP ticket ($100) and then feed him (at least another $800). Then, we'd also have to board our dogs for 10 days which would run us another $600. So to add DH to our trip, I'm looking at about another $2500 addition to my budget
. I can do it...but it will be a whole new challenge!
I *was* hoping to earn $3500 EXTRA by the time we leave in October and have that in the bank for our April 2020 trip to HHI. I would love to come home from one trip and not have to worry about immediately earning for a trip just 6 months away, especially with Christmas expenses looming. If DH comes along in October, that will significantly impact my ability to have that $3500 in the bank. I'm sure I could earn enough for DH to join us, but it will mean that I will have some serious saving/earning to do once we get back. Time will tell...