How much do you take for spending money?

[CatNipRules]

DH and I are having a "discussion" about spending money.

We have our trip paid for. We are doing the Deluxe Dining Plan. So all of our food is paid for. Since we have 2 snacks a day, DH thinks we only need to take about $500 for souverniers and such. I'm thinking that we need to bring a bit more.

I'm sure that there is a middle ground somewhere, but wanted to ask everyone's opinion. TIA.....

 

[saffsmom]

how long will you be there? how many people?
what about tips? and possibly alcohol?
so many variables!!!!

for my family of 4 (me, DH, DD6, DD3) for 6 night/7day on the regular DDP
i have budgeted $100 for OOP food/snacks, $400 for tips, alcohol and miscelaneous
and $500 for souvenirs/random spending

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You could just take $500 and then use the ATM at Disney. They have Chase ATM all over. I would take plenty of one dollar bills for tips.

 

[204charity]

My daughter and I are staying at the poly for 7 nights, with the QS dining plan. We have our watermark passes included etc, so she and I are bringing approx $600 total. It was supposed to be a bit more, but life happened and we need the money for other more important things than Disney souvenirs.

 

[Lisa71]

I would bring $100 a day for tips (which are not included and add up) and spending money. That should be adequate for two people and leave you wiggle room if you need it. Who knows what might pop up??

 

[Lumiere Lover]

I think you should take more than $500. You can always bring the extra cash home. Twice I have purchased personalized artwork watches, and those can cost around $400 each. Better too much money than not enough. Also, as PP said, just have funds in your account that you can do a withdrawal at an ATM as needed. But if I were you, I would budget more. We spend at least $1,000 a year on souvenirs, even if the kids aren't with us. If we like it, we buy it.

 

[connie1042]

I am going in May for 5 days. I have the regular dinning plan. All my tips are in envelopes. Mousekeeping in envelopes, special birthday surprise at CRT for granddaughter is in envelope. Already paid for Segway tour, and groupon for para-sailing. So anything I have to pay for is done and I am bringing 700.00 in Disney Gift cards and 150.00 in cash. I am on vacation, and I do not question what I want or need. If I like it and want it, I buy it.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

I prefer to have more than I need than run into a situation where I don't have enough. I don't like to stress, so we bring a large cushion of $1000 in gift cards plus we have money in our account if needed. I just don't ever want to worry. We have 7 in our immediate family, so costs can add up. Tips are a good chunk of our spending money. What we do is charge everything to our room and then pay it off with gift cards as we go to avoid having them take it out of our account. That being said, we are there for 11-12 days, so we need a larger cushion than if we stayed a week.

When we are paying for our trip, whenever I have extra money, I roll it right into Disney gift cards. We do a change jar, and have banned fast food in two week increments to put that money into gift cards. It's amazing how fast it adds up. We were able to save $1000 this month by doing those two things, taking $100 every week out of hubby's paychecks, and selling at flea markets(this is a small business I started a while ago, and it is pretty successful). We don't mind working harder to save for Disney! I'm a little embarassed admitting this b/c now I am seeing how much everyone brings to Disney with them, but I like to have $2000 so I have to worry about nothing while I am there. I usually take the $1000 in cards and leave the other money in my account. I rarely have to touch the account though. I just like it being there for just in case.

Oh, and I also do the envelopes with cash for mousekeeping, ME, etc...

 

[WendyWonderland]

Oh, and I also do the envelopes with cash for mousekeeping, ME, etc...

You're the first person I've seen mention tipping ME. Who all do you tip when you go? We figured tips for meals/drinks and Mousekeeping, but didn't think to include ME. It'll be our first visit, so we want to make sure we tip all the appropriate people!

 

[Lisa71]

We tip ME a dollar per bag per person, or about 10 for our family of 4.

 

[ARAITHEL]

If I'm only worried about myself, I budget $100 per day. If my DD (12) is along I figure another $50. So, for my five day trip in sept, I will most likely bring $750. We are on the regular dining plan. I also keep one credit card with about a $300 limit specifically for "emergency" souvineers! When I get home I pay that card off so I can reuse it for the next trip.

I do agree a little with the PP to some extent, but I try not to overspend on things I really don't need. My $300 credit card helps me stay within my budget.


Summary: cash + credit = $1050 for two of us for 5 days, six nights.

 

[GrammyJudy]

I bring $200 in cash and then charge all to my room and pay it off from my debit card at the end. In Jan my bill for 4 of us was $700 and that included 2 character meals as we had the QS plan this year.

 

[204charity]

I bring $200 in cash and then charge all to my room and pay it off from my debit card at the end. In Jan my bill for 4 of us was $700 and that included 2 character meals as we had the QS plan this year.

This sounds very reasonable. Sounds to me like some people are of the adage "go big or go home!" But in this day and age, for most of us, that's just not realistic. For example - I wouldn't spend $400 on a watch at home, so I know I for SURE I wouldn't spend that on a watch from Disney World. Because I am always on a budget, vacation or not - this is what we are taking -

My parents are taking DD and I on this trip, so all tips and food are being paid for by them. As are waterpark passes and our photopass pkg too! (I'm lucky I know!!)

So for 9yo DD and I, I am bringing in total $762 US. To me, this is more than enough. That's nearly $800 for only 2 ppl ......and with everything pre-paid for us, I can't imagine us needing more than that! Plus, I know my parents will want to buy DD and I souvenirs when we are there too. They are spoilers that way!

 

[Mystery Fan]

For my situation, I usually carry around $300 or less, for my family of six, for a week. Since I stay on property I set up my room key for purchases and tie my Disney visa card to the room key. I particularly do not like carrying cash as I fear losing it. At the end of my stay, all charges are applied to my credit card and I pay it off at the end of the month. One benefit of using my room key for charging is I get an itemized list of charges at the end of my stay. Most times the cash i do take is use for tips or handing one of my kids a few bucks for spending money or small purchases outside the park. I have yet to spend all of the money I do take.

 

[mom2ohc]

eh gadz! I hope we don't spend much more than 500 while we are there for 8 days. we have the meal plan and all that, so what the heck? My kids will also have 100 gift catrds for souvenirs each.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

You're the first person I've seen mention tipping ME. Who all do you tip when you go? We figured tips for meals/drinks and Mousekeeping, but didn't think to include ME. It'll be our first visit, so we want to make sure we tip all the appropriate people!

We tip ME a dollar per bag per person, or about 10 for our family of 4.

For Magical Express drivers I don't tip a ton b/c they are doing their job and don't really do more than they have to as part of their job requirements. That being said, I do appreciate them and since they have to handle our bags a little bit when loading them into the bottom of the bus and unloading when we get where we're going, I like to give them a little something. I didn't do this until I found it on the Dis that others do it. We started last year. I think it was something like $5.00, but we have a lot of bags. For a small group $3 is reasonable in my opinion. I do tip the people who come and get our bags to move them to another resort or to hold them when checking out. We called the front desk on our first trip and they said the average tip for them is roughly $2 a bag. So for us that is about $20. Then we do about $4.00 per room for mousekeeping b/c all they really have to do for us is give us new towels as we are pretty neat. That still amounts to $8-$10 a day for our two rooms.

This sounds very reasonable. Sounds to me like some people are of the adage "go big or go home!" But in this day and age, for most of us, that's just not realistic. For example - I wouldn't spend $400 on a watch at home, so I know I for SURE I wouldn't spend that on a watch from Disney World. Because I am always on a budget, vacation or not - this is what we are taking -

My parents are taking DD and I on this trip, so all tips and food are being paid for by them. As are waterpark passes and our photopass pkg too! (I'm lucky I know!!)

So for 9yo DD and I, I am bringing in total $762 US. To me, this is more than enough. That's nearly $800 for only 2 ppl ......and with everything pre-paid for us, I can't imagine us needing more than that! Plus, I know my parents will want to buy DD and I souvenirs when we are there too. They are spoilers that way!

You should be fine. I am a go big or go home sort of gal, BUT...I live frugally every day of the year, so we do it up right at Disney. I am an extreme couponer, I shop for designer clothing at resale shops, barter for things like: I teach karate to avoid paying tuition for my family of seven and my niece and nephew, I sew patches on gi's in trade for gear for my kids, I teach sewing lessons in trade for organic gardening lessons/help and violin lessons, etc. We even bought a home that was a foreclosure so we don't have to have a massive mortgage and we do all the work ourselves! The gardening is necessary b/c I hate paying for produce, so voila! Free produce! We take our vacations as a time to let go. So...we spend a lot of money on them. We feel we work hard and deserve it. My husband holds a regular job and works side jobs when he can get them to help fund our trips, and I work my karate job and have my own business, plus we do all of our bartering! I feel incredibly blessed to have all the oportunities God has given us to be able to afford these trips when a couple years ago we were barely making it. We use it as our time to spend freely, but it is literally the only time and place we do so!

 

[ban26ana]

So here's a question, and I don't mean it to sound snarky. What are you all buying with all this money?

We aren't souvenier people. I hate having clutter. I hate having something that will just accumulate dust, that I need to find a place for in my house, that is just "stuff." We do breakfast on our own, take in our own water bottle, and then it's usually CS meals. We have done TS meals in the past (usually a little less than 1 per night we're there), so obviously we need to tip that. We don't drink, so no alcohol. Here and there we'll get a snack I guess, but that's not even one per person per day. Pretty much our vacation is our trip itself, not stuff that we buy. I guess we're not the norm?

 

[CatNipRules]

So here's a question, and I don't mean it to sound snarky. What are you all buying with all this money?

We aren't souvenier people. I hate having clutter. I hate having something that will just accumulate dust, that I need to find a place for in my house, that is just "stuff." We do breakfast on our own, take in our own water bottle, and then it's usually CS meals. We have done TS meals in the past (usually a little less than 1 per night we're there), so obviously we need to tip that. We don't drink, so no alcohol. Here and there we'll get a snack I guess, but that's not even one per person per day. Pretty much our vacation is our trip itself, not stuff that we buy. I guess we're not the norm?

LOL!! I didn't take it as snarky at all. Everyone is different and some people, like my sister and her family, don't buy souvenirs.

We like to buy souvenirs. I love water globes. I have a huge collection of them at home. I even have a bookcase with them in it. They've always fascinated me. My dad started it when I was little and I've always picked up a few on every trip since. I plan on having those shipped to my house and I've been told that it isn't cheap. I'd much rather have them send it for me rather than take it on the plane myself.

Then we like doing some of the behind the scenes tours.

There are little things here and there that we like to pick up while we are on vacation.

I know that we probably won't spend everything that we take, but I like having the money available if we want it.

My sister and her family are like yours. She thinks I'm absolutely nuts for having something like water globes cluttering my house. I just think that they are pretty and they remind me of my happy place. LOL!!

 

[ban26ana]

LOL Thanks! On my last trip (for the Princess Half) I ended up buying a Mickey purse. It's super cute. The only reason I bought it was I was going to dinner with my cousin who lives down there, and I completely forgot to pack a purse. I just use a backpack in the park. So that was my souvenir.

Dh joked at me the other day that I'm the opposite of a hoarder. I just want to throw everything out. I hate clutter!!!!

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

So here's a question, and I don't mean it to sound snarky. What are you all buying with all this money?

We aren't souvenier people. I hate having clutter. I hate having something that will just accumulate dust, that I need to find a place for in my house, that is just "stuff." We do breakfast on our own, take in our own water bottle, and then it's usually CS meals. We have done TS meals in the past (usually a little less than 1 per night we're there), so obviously we need to tip that. We don't drink, so no alcohol. Here and there we'll get a snack I guess, but that's not even one per person per day. Pretty much our vacation is our trip itself, not stuff that we buy. I guess we're not the norm?

LOL Thanks! On my last trip (for the Princess Half) I ended up buying a Mickey purse. It's super cute. The only reason I bought it was I was going to dinner with my cousin who lives down there, and I completely forgot to pack a purse. I just use a backpack in the park. So that was my souvenir.

Dh joked at me the other day that I'm the opposite of a hoarder. I just want to throw everything out. I hate clutter!!!!

I don't like clutter either. I have 6 clutter bugs in my house though! I am constantly throwing stuff away. I always feel like a bad mom bc I won't let them collect junk! Like I said, I like to have a large cushion. We do Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which can cost almost $300 when I include my niece. My kids earn their own money in advance, so only about $60 of it actually comes out of my $2000 I like to bring. My kids help me run my side business, so I keep track of what they earn and they spend it at Disney. This year we are going to MNSSHP, so that is almost $400 for the 7 of us, and if we decide to go again, that is $800. Last year I bought myself a pair of pj's, and my hubby and I both got Mickey and Minnie aprons. My whole family loves the Disney mugs, so we bring back a couple every time. They don't count as clutter as they are tucked neatly away in our kitchen cabinets. We just like how large they are. I bought my nephew a double ended light saber too. I also bring home a frame or two every year. I don't know. It actually is hard to say what we spend the money on. Last year even though I brought lots of sunglasses, they kept breaking! We spent $75 just on sunglasses!!! Like I said, the kids have their own spending money, so I just guide them in their purchases so we don't end up with junk. I steer them towards stuffed animals, mugs, shirts, or dolls. I don't like a lot of little junky stuff.

We are also on the dining plan, so our tips can easily be $400+ for 11 days of food. I am thinking of possibly buying the water parks fun and more passes for our whole family of 12 too as a surprise, so we will see how that works out!