As a rule, I don’t open unsolicited credit card offers. They go straight to the trash. But when I recently received one with mouse ears on the envelope, I made an exception. I’ve previously discussed my experience as a Disney Visa card holder . The offer I recently received was to upgrade to the…
I recently received an offer from Disney. They would send me a free $25 gift card if I would call the number they gave me and listen to a 10-minute presentation on the Disney Vacation Club. Never one to pass up anything free, I took them up on this offer. I’ve looked at DVC before. …
One of every parent’s worst fears is that someday their child will say or do something so despicable that it will bring shame to the family name. Others in the community will look at them and say, “What kind of parents raise such children?” This happened to my wife and me on our recent trip…
On one wall of T. Rowe Price’s The Great Piggy Bank Adventure in Epcot’s Innoventions, the Piggy Bank offers tips on how to save money for your goals. One of my recurring goals that requires a substantial amount of saving is a trip to Walt Disney World. Let’s see how the Piggy Bank’s tips can…
Want an easy, fun way to teach your children (or yourself) the fundamentals of investing? Then head over to Innoventions West at Epcot. There, you’ll find The Great Piggy Bank Adventure to be both a fun game and a great teaching tool. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, presented by investment firm T. Rowe Price, has…
Disney seems to have a preference for families of four or less. Most of its resort rooms hold a maximum of four people. But what are you to do if your family is bigger than average? What if you have more than four? Well, you can always stay off-site, for instance, at a vacation home. …
. . . I’ve been meaning to write you for some time. As a Disney shareholder, I want to pass along an idea that I feel will add to Disney’s profits to the shareholders while also providing more value to Disney’s loyal customers. There was a time when Disney re-released its animated features to the…
In 2008, I retired from a 22-year career in the military and started law school. My wife and I were worried about losing all that income and living on only her paycheck, my student loans, and the savings we had built up in anticipation of the break. But a line from “The Bare Necessities” kept…
Don’t think that because you’re budget-conscious, you can’t enjoy the excellent table service dining at Disney World. While these meals can be quite expensive, there are ways to lower the costs. Just as with the counter service restaurants, portions at the table service restaurants are large enough to make sharing feasible. Three people can split…
Vacationing at Disney World on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the convenience and experience of dining in the parks. While it is no doubt cheaper to eat food from outside the resort, there are a number of ways to save money on the food you purchase inside the parks. The counter service food,…
I’ve previously blogged on ways to save money on your transportation to and from Disney World, on your lodging, and on your tickets. Those are the big three expenses in a trip to the theme parks. But another significant expense, one that comes up every day, is eating. Disney, like most theme parks, malls, airports,…
The way the story usually goes, Walt Disney was the creative force in the Disney company and his brother, Roy, handled the financial side of the house. But Walt himself was a pretty shrewd businessman who built up a multi-billion dollar company from scratch. While re-reading Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American…
It’s said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. Since these two unpleasant realities are unavoidable, why not deal with them in a way that helps you financially?At this time of year, many people are looking at their taxes and expenditures from the previous year. You might also take this opportunity…
What if I told you that you could have a free trip to Disney World every year? That is, a week-long trip that you would not have to use any of your hard-earned income on. Would you think I was either crazy or lying? Well, it can be done. I used to think I was…
I’m a Disney shareholder. Last Christmas, my wife got me one share of Disney stock to frame on my wall from www.oneshare.com. (You can get a $10 off discount from www.mousesavers.com.) The other day I received my yearly dividend check from the Disney company – $.40. Just to make it clear that I didn’t misplace…
My Disney Visa bill for January was much more extensive than usual. My wife and I charge all of our Christmas purchases on it in order to get the 1 percent in Disney Dream Rewards Dollars: the “cash back” you get for using the card. You redeem them by ordering a gift card that can…
The key to accurately planning future expenses is to keep track of current expenses. (That’s true for any budgeting, not just Walt Disney World vacations.) I’d like to share with you a resource that I use to help me with my vacation budget planning. You can download trip planning worksheets from www.touringplans.com absolutely free. I’ve…
A couple of months back, it looked like my wife might have to have some minor surgery; nothing too serious, but it would require some recovery time before she could return to work. As a result, she would have to use the vacation time she would need for our Disney World trip. We probably weren’t…
I don’t like to go into debt to feed my Disney World addiction. I like to plan my trips with a good budget and stay within that budget. But this past trip, on our last day in the Magic Kingdom, I threw the budget out the window and don’t regret it a bit. My daughter…
We just returned from our annual family vacation to the Happiest Place on Earth, so I thought I’d share some budget-minded thoughts and lessons learned from the trip. After a trip, I always like to compare our actual expenses with what we budgeted. Since my budget is based on prices we’ve paid in previous years,…
