by Matt Fildes
Happy Tuesday!
Today marks 2 days until we leave for Florida. We have cemented our plans to be as frugal as possible for the drive down. We grabbed a large cooler from GF’s mom , which we are going to fill with pasta salad, fruit salad, sandwiches and drinks. GF has been couponing like crazy the past couple weeks to stock up on all kinds of snacks- chips, pretzels, granola bars, etc. It’s only a 16 hour day, but we may have enough to last a week if we needed to, lol, which will be great to restock our pantry once we’re home. Thanks to Den for commenting on a post a couple weeks ago, we’re going to make a big batch of chili for dinner tomorrow and freeze the remainder for when we get home so we won’t have to worry about lunch and dinner for a day or so.
And here’s the thing about once we get to Disney, I don’t want to be frugal. We may be doing what we can to save money on the way down and when we come back home, but I don’t want to be counting pennies once I’m there. I’m not saying I’ll be throwing my money away and going way over budget either, just that I want to enjoy my vacation- I didn’t take this month off for nothing. What do you guys think?
Our house is finally all clean (after a pretty hectic week and a half) and due to GF couponing skills, we have a really stock of cleaning products, so the only items we needed to buy to accomplish this task was carpet cleaner solution and more Swiffer cleaning solution, coming in at a total of about $20.
Last Wednesday was the first paycheck I’ve ever received (after college) where I didn’t either have a bill due for some type of debt, or felt an obligation to pay down some debt. And it felt awesome. After I accounted for paying our utilities, gas, side grocery money, and my nephew’s ESA fund contribution, it felt like I had more money that I knew what to do with. That feeling didn’t last long, as I knew I wanted to buy myself some new clothes, sunglasses and sneakers. I had this planned since I revealed that I was going to take a month off from debt payments in May. I’m very, very happy that I spent as much as I did (over $550) as 1) The newest summer clothes I own are over 3 years old 2) it felt good to spend money on myself. I may have went a little aboard, but I tend to take pretty good care of my clothing, sneakers and accessories so that they last awhile. And I know I’m no bargain shopper as the clothes I tend to gravitate to are never on sale. How do you budget and shop for clothing?
With vacation starting on Thursday and going for a week and some days, I won’t have a post next week. So I hope everyone has a great couple of weeks, and I will update everyone once I get back.
Great to see you enjoying more balance in your life. Enjoy your vacation! Definitely set the frugal thoughts aside while you’re there. Obviously, as you said, don’t go crazy or overboard, but definitely enjoy some indulgences and don’t worry about prices within reason. I just returned from 2 weeks in Hawaii – dream trip of a lifetime – and stressed way too much over money and lost a lot of enjoyment in the process. There were other issues with my trip, but the money thoughts didn’t help.
Have a fantastic time with your GF and family!!!!
Thanks Rachel! Sorry to hear about to your Hawaii trip- all I hope you still enjoyed it! Those financial stresses are exactly what I’m trying to avoid.
I hope you enjoy your trip! FYI, here is an easy hack for removing the cap from the swiffer solution bottle so you can refill it. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-the-cap-on-a-Swiffer-Wet-Jet-cleaner/#step1
Thanks Gwen and great hack! We’re definitely doing this is the future!
I am glad you are adding some balance into your life too!!! I can’t help you with the clothes issue – I hate, hate, HATE shopping of any kind, especially clothes, so I tend to wear things until they literally fall off me….luckily I don’t work anymore so it doesn’t matter around the house 🙂
Look at it this way – if you take good care of things and they last you 5 years, that is a little over $100 a year for clothes – I don’t think that is bad at all!
Have a wonderful vacation and just ENJOY yourselves!!!!
Thanks for the chili shout-out LOL! I’m glad your GF stocked up on snacks and that you have a few meals ready for when you get home – all great frugal hacks.
I totally agree that once you get there, just enjoy, have fun, and don’t sweat the money.
A frugal gift idea – since this is a family trip, take lots of pictures and then make some photo books online when you get home. Snapfish or Shutterfly usually have great deals every few weeks and you can make some inexpensive trip memory books to give to family members in the future – birthdays? Christmas?
OK – that’s my last bit of advice……now GO AND HAVE FUN!!!
Yes, you will never regret having a great trip,even if it costs a few extra bucks!
I actually think you’ve done it pretty brilliantly with this “month off” idea.
We have done 4 big trips to Disney, 3 with our girls and 1 with just my husband and I. I am a very frugal person. Here are my ideas. Share a meal if you aren’t buying the dining plan. The portions are big and you will get to eat a normal size portion. Here is my suggested schedule:
share a breakfast, later have a granola bar that you bring in your backpack
share a lunch, have a midafternoon snack that you bring in your bag
share a dinner, later share a special ice cream or dessert somewhere (Mickey ears are good)
Bring a water bottle you can fill up at water fountains or bring a couple in your bag for between meals.
Don’t buy t-shirts and souvenirs. Just take a picture of the souvenir to add to your book. DOn’t buy the pictures they take on the rides. Don’t have them take pictures for you, they are pricey. Take your own or have another person take one for you. Go to the dollar store or walmart and buy ponchos before you go. If you get stuck in the rain, you will pay a lot for a disney poncho.
One night while you are there, take the boat or monorail over to the Polynesian to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Out past the volleyball courts, to the right is a nice little grassy area with a great view. So romantic and much better than being in the big crowds over at Magic Kingdom. You can get a dole whip to share (pineapple soft serve ice cream thing, yum!). Have a great time, Diana
Diana- that’s awesome! We went with the dining plan (thankfully) so we didn’t have to worry about food that much- just booze, since booze is extra. However, we followed your advice on the water bottle, but instead of using the water bottle, we used the refillable mug they gave us our first day there for having the dining plan.
We didn’t buy ponchos like a few of you suggested, however, it didn’t rain once (it was so hot, the rain would have been a welcome relief, lol). It’s definitely something, I’ll think about for the next trip.
I’ve heard the tip about the Polynesian, but I’ll do you one better- there’s a balcony at the top of the Contemporary Hotel (and the Bay Lake Tower, if you’re a DVC member) that ahve the best views of MK and the fire works. PLUS, they narrate Wishes up there, as well.
Dole Whips are my favorite part of MK. We loved them too much to go halvies, lol, so we each had our own.
I apologize if you’ve already mentioned where you are staying and I just forgot. But I’ve read that people order snacks and water on walmart’s website ahead of time and have it delivered to their hotel for when they arrive. Shipping is free over a certain amount (around $40 I believe?)
http://www.disboards.com/threads/can-walmart-deliver-food-to-our-hotel.3024420/
I looked up your link just before I left for Florida and this sounds like an amazing idea. The only reason we didn’t do this was because had already bought all the snacks for our trip the weekend prior to us leaving. She really stocked us up, plus some.
BTW- I LOVE the DIS boards. They’re awesome. If you don’t already to them already, the DIS Unplugged podcasts are fantastic, as well. They get me through some pretty days at work, lol.
Who are you and what have you done with Matt? LOL I’m glad to see that you’re loosening your purse strings and enjoying more of a balance in your life. When I used to travel by car for vacations, we would always pack sandwiches, drinks, snacks – not only cheaper, but healthier, and a time-saver since you don’t have to make an extra stop while you’re driving. (Now that I am an airline employee, we’ve been flying to our vacation destinations.) As far as clothes shopping, while you might get sticker shock initially, I would recommend buying higher end clothes if you are going to keep them longer. You’ll pay more initially but they will last longer, especially if it’s something that you will ear often. I heard Martha Stewart say “Buy well, buy once” and that has stuck with me. Plus, it means fewer shopping trips! You can always shop thrift stores in the better parts of town for name brand clothes for a double bonus of good clothes at a good price! Hope you enjoy your vacation!
LOL. The last time I bought clothes in the quantity I just did was 3 years ago. I still wear these clothes to this day, so they’ve certainly lasted. Not only that but I feel like a got a ton for what I spent, too. Looking back, I didn’t do too shabby on this shopping trip, lol.
Great to hear you’re starting to enjoy life more! I just got back from Disney. We drove ourselves (about 15 hrs. with stops). We definitely didn’t go overboard, but made sure we enjoyed ourselves. We had several gift cards that we put to use on meals. The best part was when my super sneaky boyfriend proposed in front of Cinderella’s Castle on the 4th!!!
I’d definitely recommend bringing a Camelbak or water bottle into the parks. We have one that filters the water, and it was amazing! We used it keep his family’s water bottles all filled as well saving a bunch of money. Also, depending on what the weather forecast looks like, you may want to invest in a couple of dollar store ponchos. It rained pretty much every day we were there and not having to drop $10 on a Disney poncho was a relief.
That’s awesome. We very well may have crossed paths on the drive, lol. That would make for a small world, wouldn’t it? Haha.
We brought the refillable mug from our dining plan into the parks with us, vs. doing the water bottle. And I CAN’T believe you had rain everyday. It didn’t rain once while we were there (actually it did, but it was so short that we had only been on a ride for 1/2 hr and we completely missed the shower). It was HOT and I think I may have enjoyed the rain more without the poncho, lol.