It is often asked in SavEars if the Saving to Disney course is “worth it”. I’ve been thinking a lot about this, actually, since this Sunday marks my two year anniversary of writing for Couponing to Disney. And it all started with the Saving to Disney course.
When I read the Saving to Disney course, I had dipped my toe in the earnings and apps waters, but was still woefully uneducated about things like budgets. I mean, I knew what a budget was and we had, theoretically, a budget. Our budget was along these lines: X amount of money set aside for this vague, general purchase, Y amount of money set aside for this vague, general purpose, and Z set aside for everything else.
We had no idea where our money was going for what at any given time, but all the bills were paid and we had everything we needed, so we figured, SUCCESS!
The Saving To Disney course has you do a BUDGET. Like, every single purchase you have ever made is accounted for, has a category, a nickname, and a commemorative plaque.
Sound intense? I am not going to lie to you. It is. But the good kind of intense. Like that giant stretch after sitting in the same spot for too long and your body is making those crazy little popping noises and it hurts a little, but it’s such a relief to move. It’s that kind of intense.
The course comes with budgeting worksheets that talk you through each aspect of your budget, so you’re not doing this alone. Kristin Cooper is guiding you through it. And when you’re done, you have a very clear picture of exactly where your money is going, and how often.
This kind of clarity was instrumental for our family in figuring out how to pay for our 2018 Disney Trip, which we did by Couponing to Disney for 1.5 years. When we found out we were pregnant with the Teacup (surprise!) we didn’t need to panic and lose our heads about where they money would come from. Because we had a detailed budget, including savings and an emergency fun, we knew that we would be in a financially sound place with a little jimmying around of certain line items.
Which leads me to the other day. One of the changes the Saving to Disney course brought into our house is that my husband and I feel much more comfortable talking about money. It’s no longer a guessing game of who spent what and was it worth it, but now we both come to the table knowing exactly where the money went because we were the ones who told it where to go. In fact, we sit down once a month to go over our finances from the month before and discuss upcoming expenses.
At our last monthly meeting, I got a bit of a surprise. “There’s an extra $100 in the home budget and it’s been happening the last few months…” How did we miss this?? Since we had the Teacup it’s been a bit of survival mode, since you know, newborns. But as she is growing into her sleep patterns, the fog has lifted, apparently to reveal extra money.
After some sleuthing into our 2019 budget worksheets (we still do them! Two years later!), we discovered the source. When we made the budget, we put aside money for formula and diapers every month, not accounting for the fact that people were going to gift us diapers and I was going to be able to breast feed as long as I have. Since the Teacup has been born, we’ve bought approximately one box of diapers. That’s one box of diapers in five months.
You know where this is going.
Me: Let’s spent it all on the Disney trips!
Mr. B: Let’s hoard it, like dragons!
The reality is, at some point we may still need to buy formula and our treasure trove of diapers will dry up. So it would be irresponsible to just spend all those dollars on Disney trips. Buuuuuuut, it seems perfectly fair, since this surplus technically counts as “found money” that a small portion can be attributed to the Disney trips…after we buy some diapers in the next size up, to prepare for the future.
So, looking at my Disney funds this deposit and my well stocked diaper closet, and my balanced budget I would say, yeah, the Saving to Disney course is worth it.
April 11th Deposits
2021 Family Trip
Goal: $8000
After Last Deposit: $7925
Total Deposit: $25, from January Diaper Surplus
Still Need: $7900
2019 Solo Trip
Goal: $1050
After Last Deposit: $887.65
Total Deposit: $50, from Swagbucks PayPal Deposit
Still Need: $837.65
No sweeter sight in an email.
Do you budget? What are you saving towards? Can you believe I’ve been doing these funds deposits for two years?? Hit me up after the jump!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!