Our Disney Fund 2011

Nov

The final deposit to the 2011 Disney World Fund

in Our Disney Fund 2011

Here’s a recap of everything that has been deposited into the fund:

Surveys

$5 from Neilsen Homescan Panel
$30 from Mindfield
$12 from Survey Savvy
$32.50 from Opinion Outpost
$10 from Ispos I-Say
$10 from Ispos I-Say
$17.25 from Survey Savvy
$10 from Ispos I-Say
$24.02 from Sunshine Rewards
$10 gift card from Checkpoints
$25 from Surveyhead
$20 from My Survey

Total: $205.77

Found Money
(this is unexpected money we weren’t expecting/wasn’t written into our budget)

$15 from my Birthday
$17 in mileage from hubby’s work
$6.11 found in a purse
$10 for stuff I paid for with Swag Bucks (reimbursed by my nephew)
$37 for a refund from a doctor’s visit in 2009 (very unexpected!)
$40 reimbursement for doctor co-pays
$5 from an amazing anonymous reader who snuck it in a sympathy card to cheer me up! Thank you!
$25 gift card from another AMAZING reader who snuck it into a Christmas Card. Thank you!
$6 in $2 bills
$50 for my friend’s buying a car from the same dealership we used last year (they sent us a check)
$85.04 – Right after I lost the baby last year, I decided to redo my kids bedrooms. I had hubby pick up 8 packages of border paper (4 for each room) at Walmart and then I stuck them in a closet and forgot about them until last week. Luckily I keep all of my receipts, so I returned them to Walmart and received cash back that I am depositing into the fund because it is “found money“.
$25 – One of my neighbors had to go out of town and asked us to take care of their pets for them.
$259.51 from having a yard sale
$10 gift card for transferring a prescription
$30 reimbursement for a doctor co-pay
$63.24 payment for hubby’s court appearance this week (he was called to testify)
$19.89 payment for mileage for a company meeting today
$30 unexpected gift for my husband for Father’s Day from his co-workers
$156 refund on deposit we paid to establish power at my Mother in Law’s apartment in June 2010. I didn’t expect the deposit back with interest. I assumed they would keep it until she moved. That was a VERY nice surprise!
$348 refund from the IRS. We have to pay the IRS each year, so it was completely unexpected to receive a $348 refund 4.5 months after tax day. You should of heard me scream for joy after I read the letter (I’ll admit I was nervous to see a letter from the IRS).
$17 from selling metal

Total: $1254.79

Rebates

$22.50 in miscellaneous rebates
$15 from SC Johnson
$9.99 from Schick
$31.32 from Staples
$37.33 from Ebates
$21.98 from Staples
$1 – From Miller High Life
$11 for signing up for Online Bill Payment
$20.39 in cash back from Shop at Home
$30 NBPR Rebate
$20 NBPR Rebate
$9.68 from Staples
$10 from Rite Aid
$29 in various NBPR Rebates
$9 in rebate checks
$10 NBPR Rebates
$10.47 NBPR Rebates
$9.99 rebate from the Olay gift packs (I paid for this with $10 from the Christmas budget, so when the check came I decided to put it in the Disney fund instead of the Christmas budget)
$10 NBPR Rebates
$21 NBPR Rebates

Total: $339.65

Gift Cards
(I take the value of the gift card out of my cash budget and put the cash in the Disney fund and spend the gift card. So if I got a $10 gift card to McDonalds, I would take $10 in cash out of the food budget and put that in the Disney fund and spend the $10 gift card at McDonalds.)

$10 to McDonalds
$50 Walmart giftcard (belated Christmas present; will use to pay for sunscreen, snacks, etc)
$53.44 left on a gift card from our January 2011 trip
$200 Disney Giftcard for opening a Disney Visa in my husband’s name (I have absolutely no idea how we got this, but they sent us a total of 4 offers before we applied for Jason’s card. I also have one in my name.)
$8 gift card to the movies
$50 – Walmart gift cards the kids received for their birthday. They both wanted to save it for souvenirs at Disney World. I spent $50 at Walmart on groceries and took the $50 in cash out of the budget and added it to the fund.
$5 – Earned a Target gift card during a sale week. I spent $5 at Target a few weeks after the sale and took $5 in cash out of the budget and added it to the fund.
$20 – Referred 4 friends to Plum District and earned a $20 Target gift card. I spent $20 at Target on groceries and took the $20 in cash out of the budget and added it to the fund.
$20 – Earned 2 $10 BP gift cards. Since they expire before the trip, I took $20 out of the gas budget and added it to the fund and spent the gift cards.
$10 – Earned a $10 Red Robin gift card from Pampers. I am giving the card as a year end gift. I took $10 out of the budget and added it to the fund.
$50 Disney gift card (I got a $50 Visa debit card in the mail for winning some contest that I forgot I had entered. So I used it to buy a $50 Disney gift card at Walgreens.)
$20 Target gift card
$10 gas gift card I earned at CVS
$100 in Disney gift cards (Winn Dixie had a sale where you paid $250 for a $300 gift card. Both me and my husband got one, so we made a $100 profit)
$26.46 from selling a gift card on Plastic Jungle
$30 from the gas budget. Publix had $50 Shell gift cards on sale for $40. I went to Publix 3 times that week and bought 3 cards. Since I paid $120 for $150 worth of gas, I took the $30 difference out of the gas budget and deposited it into the fund.
$10 in Kellogg’s Gas Gift Cards (took $10 in cash out of the gas budget)
$25 Disney gift card for listening to a DVC sales pitch on the internet (no clue how I got this, might be the DVC DVD I requested a while back. They emailed me the offer and I listened to the pitch on the phone)
$10 gift card from Publix (rebate offer; took $10 cash out of the grocery fund and put it in the Disney fund and spent the gift card)
$10 gift card to Winn Dixie (from this expired deal; took $10 out of the grocery fund)
$10 Visa gift cards (took $10 out of the gas budget and spent the cards)
$50 from the gas budget (I earned $50 in gas gift cards from CVS’s CoverGirl deal (I paid for it with a gift card that I had earned from SwagBucks and I took the $50 out of the gas budget and put it in the Disney fund. I used the gas gift cards to fill up my van.)

Total: $777.90

Spare Change and Money Left in the Budget

$15.76
$18.78
$8.62
$44.60
$15.33
$5.89
$8.57
$20 – cash left from the grocery budget
$5.99
$4.07
$5.86
$27.28
$23.50
$9.78
$19.68
$5.13
$10 in cash (leftover from my weekly grocery budget)
$2.12 in spare change

Total: $250.96

Disney Visa Rewards

$75 – Disney Visa Rewards for purchases made between April 20th and June 23rd. (We charge EVERYTHING we possibly can on the credit card and pay it off every month. We now pay Mother In Law’s bills for her as well (she pays us back), so hers also get charged on the card.)
$33
$55 – My nephew had to have braces. My mother in law gave me the cash and I charge the braces on the Disney Rewards Visa Card. We earned $55 for Disney and then I paid the balance off before interest could be charged.

Total: $163

And the Final Deposit…

$33.23 – Forgot to add $33.23 from where we lowered our cable bill on this post
$0.43 – messed up my math
$287 in Disney Visa Rewards card (we charge every bill possible on our card plus a couple times we have charged some bigger purchases)
$150 from my grocery budget for the week of November 4th to November 11th (we still have to eat at Disney World right?)
$50 from my gas budget for November 4th to November 11th (7 days of no driving = found money!)

I need $3106.36 for our Disney World budget. Our grand total is………….

$3512.30!!!!!!!!

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Nov

Our Final November Disney Trip Budget

in Our Disney Fund 2011,Our Disney Trips 2011

We leave for Disney on Saturday, so I thought I would give you an updated breakdown of the budget:

Our 7 night, 8 day Magic Your Way package is $2031.76. Here’s what it includes:

8 day base tickets for 2 adults and 2 children (ages 7 and 4; we are not getting Park Hopper)
Magic Your Way Dining Plan for 2 adults and 2 children
7 night accommodations at Pop Century resort

We decided to fly to Disney this year. It’s a 10 hour drive verses a 1.5 hour direct flight and I got the tickets for so cheap that we decided the time saved was worth it. We got 4 round trip tickets to Orlando for $557.60!

If we drove, we would need at least 4 tanks of gas. At $50 a tank, that’s $200 for gas.
We would likely need at least 2 meals on the way there and back. At $20 a meal, that’s $80.
We had been planning on driving halfway and getting a room on the way there and back. We are traveling with my mother in law and nephew and they won’t be able to do a 10 hour straight drive. A hotel room on the way there and back would of been $120 total.
If you count the time spent sleeping on the way there and back, we would spend 36 hours traveling.
36 hours & $400 vs 6 hours & $557 = well worth it to me!

That brings the budget to $2589.36.

I sat down last night and mapped out all the expenses we will have. If you can think of any extra ones that I might have forgotten, let me know…

$90 for additional meals – We spend approximately $30 on a counter service meal. We get 3 adult entrees, 1 of which the kids split. We all drink ice water. We will probably eat 2 lunches and a dinner at a counter service restaurant where we pay out of pocket. We eat breakfast in our rooms and will bring food in our suitcases.

$50 set aside for extra food expenses.

$150 spending money. $25 for each of the kids (plus they have their own birthday/Christmas/allowance money) and $100 for me and hubby

$100 for tips for our Table Service meals. Unfortunately tips are not included with all of our meals (the tip at Cindrella’s Royal Table is!). Most meals are around $100 before the dining plan, so 20% of that bill is $20 tip per meal.

$35 for tips for Mousekeeping. I’ve always heard the rule of thumb is $1 per person plus an extra $1 per night.

$72 for parking at the airport (ew! I did get a deal on it though)

$20 for extra tips we might have (baggage handlers, bus drivers, etc)

Grand total is $3106.36 for everything!

My grand total saved so far is $2991.64. And I still have a few more things to add to it. Be sure to tune in Friday for the final deposit!

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Nov

Deposit to the Disney fund 11.1.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

I got in $21 worth of unexpected rebates today. Woohoo!!!

$21.00 added to the Disney Fund. $2991.64 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

Don’t forget that you can now showcase your own Disney funds via the Couponing to Disney message board! (See how to do it here.) You are more than welcome to link to your thread in the comments below!

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Oct

Deposit to the Disney fund 10.31.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

$10 in rebate checks

$10 in cash (leftover from my weekly grocery budget)

$2.12 in spare change

$50 from the gas budget (I earned $50 in gas gift cards from CVS’s CoverGirl deal (I paid for it with a gift card that I had earned from SwagBucks and I took the $50 out of the gas budget and put it in the Disney fund. I used the gas gift cards to fill up my van.)

$72.12 added to the Disney Fund. $2970.64 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

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Oct

Deposit to the Disney Fund 10.25.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

$10 gift card from Publix (rebate offer; took $10 cash out of the grocery fund and put it in the Disney fund and spent the gift card)

$10 gift card to Winn Dixie (from this expired deal; took $10 out of the grocery fund)

$10 Visa gift cards (took $10 out of the gas budget and spent the cards)

$10 rebate check

$5.13 spare change

$10.47 rebate

$9.99 rebate from the Olay gift packs (I paid for this with $10 from the Christmas budget, so when the check came I decided to put it in the Disney fund instead of the Christmas budget)

$65.59 added to the Disney Fund. $2898.52 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

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Oct

Deposit to the Disney Fund 10.12.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

$20 from My Survey

$19.68 in spare change

$17 from selling metal to the scrapyard (I had a lot of cans and a few odd scraps of metal)

$9 in rebate checks

$25 Disney gift card for listening to a DVC sales pitch on the internet (no clue how I got this, might be the DVC DVD I requested a while back. They emailed me the offer and I listened to the pitch on the phone)

$90.68 added to the Disney Fund. $2832.93 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

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Sep

Deposit to the Disney Fund 9.26.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

Here’s a list of my latest Disney Fund deposit:

$10 in Kellogg’s Gas Gift Cards (took $10 in cash out of the gas budget)

$10 SCR from Rite Aid

$9.78 in spare change

$29 in various rebates

$58.78 added to the Disney Fund. $2742.25 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

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Sep

Our November Disney Trip Budget

in Our Disney Fund 2011,Our Disney Trips 2011

Our November trip is quickly approaching and I thought I’d give you a breakdown of our budget…

Our 7 night, 8 day Magic Your Way package is $2031.76. Here’s what it includes:

8 day base tickets for 2 adults and 2 children (ages 7 and 4; we are not getting Park Hopper)
Magic Your Way Dining Plan for 2 adults and 2 children
7 night accommodations at Pop Century resort

If we drove, we would need at least 4 tanks of gas. At $50 a tank, that’s $200 for gas.
We would likely need at least 2 meals on the way there and back. At $20 a meal, that’s $40.
We had been planning on driving halfway and getting a room on the way there and back. We are traveling with my mother in law and nephew and they won’t be able to do a 10 hour straight drive. A hotel room on the way there and back would of been $120 total.
If you count the time spent sleeping on the way there and back, we would spend 36 hours traveling.
36 hours & $380 vs 6 hours and & $557, well it was worth it to me!

That brings the budget to $2589.36. The remaining $410.64 will be set aside for additional meals (the dining plan will pay for 6 table service meals (one of which is Cinderella’s Royal Table) and 7 counter service meals per person. We will need to eat a few additional meals unfortunately but we do plan to do breakfast in the room), tips for 5 table service meals (not included in the dining plan), souvenirs and additional unforeseen expenses.

I currently have saved $2683.47. Just $316.53 to go!

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Sep

Deposit to the Disney Fund 9.7.11

in Our Disney Fund 2011

I have managed to save quite a bit for The Disney Fund. I am so excited to deposit this money and see how much closer it brings me to our goal:

$348 refund from the IRS. We have to pay the IRS each year, so it was completely unexpected to receive a $348 refund 4.5 months after tax day. You should of heard me scream for joy after I read the letter (I’ll admit I was nervous to see a letter from the IRS).

$30 rebate

$20 rebate

$9.68 Staples rebate

$23.50 in spare change

$30 from the gas budget. Publix had $50 Shell gift cards on sale for $40. I went to Publix 3 times that week and bought 3 cards. Since I paid $120 for $150 worth of gas, I took the $30 difference out of the gas budget and deposited it into the fund.

$461.18 added to the Disney Fund. $2683.47 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

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Aug

Plastic Jungle: Discounted Gift Cards + deposit to the Disney fund

in Extra Cash,Our Disney Fund 2011

I recently started using the site Plastic Jungle. We all end up with gift cards that we just can’t or won’t use. This site will give you money to sell your gift card in the form of Amazon.com credit, Paypal, Cashiers Check, or you can even donate it to charity!

Selling your gift cards with Plastic Jungle is really fast, and extremely simple. It took me less than 5 minutes to sell a gift card that I am positive that I will not use and now I can add $26.46 to my Disney Fund. I had to mail the gift card to the recipient and then Plastic Jungle sent me an Amazon gift card for $26.24. I used it to buy some items I needed and took $26.24 in cash out of my budget to put in the fund.

Plastic Jungle also has a large variety of discounted gift cards for sale. Shipping is always free. They also have a feature that will allow you to sign up for email alerts when they get in stock the gift card you’re waiting for. If you know that you are going to buy something from a specific store and are looking for an additional discount, this is a great place to look at!

$26.24 added to the Disney Fund. $2222.29 saved since June 1st, 2010. (Goal is $3,000.)

You can see all the previous deposits here.

And thanks to Plastic Jungle for sponsoring the Social Soiree party in San Diego!

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