The main way you will save for Disney is with the envelope system. You can either choose to manage your envelope system with cash or with a budget app (there are a ton of great ones out there).
In the Saving for Disney course, I walk you through setting your budget in these main categories:
- Groceries
- Dining Out
- Gas
- Entertainment
- Misc
Each week, you’ll reload the envelopes with the weekly budget. At the end of the week, whatever is left in each envelope goes towards your Disney fund! This inspires you to spend less and save more.
I go into a lot more details in the course, but I’m going to walk you through how I do this with cash as the example:
Every Thursday, I make a trip to the bank and withdraw cash. I then divide my cash up into categories (they also call this ‘The Envelope System”) and place it in this super cute envelope wallet that I ordered from Etsy.
The first category is groceries (for grocery shopping at Publix, Winn Dixie, Walmart, Target, etc). Any amount left out of the grocery budget at the end of the week goes into the Disney fund!
Next is my dining out category. I try really hard to not spend more than the budget. If I do, I have to take it out of the other categories. If any money is left after the week is up, goes into the Disney fund!
Next up is Entertainment. Now I usually leave this in the bank since I like to order movie tickets online. But this is where you can put the funds for date night, entertainment, sporting events, etc. Sometimes you have to save your weekly budget for this category for a few weeks to have enough to cover an outing with the family. If any money is left after the outing, I put it in the Disney fund!
Next is my Misc Expenses. This is the money for a variety of things including prescriptions, fees, gifts, events, etc. If any money is left out of this category, it goes into the Disney fund!
Also I break every dollar that I can and the spare change is saved for the Disney fund! This can add up to $8 – $10 a week!
So at the end of the week, you take what you have left in each ‘envelope’ and put that money towards your Disney vacation.