Solo-on-a-Scooter on Safari, Pre-Trip Report South Africa, March 2013 - Page 7 - PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel
Solo-on-a-Scooter on Safari, Pre-Trip Report South Africa, March 2013
About This Page: This is a discussion on Solo-on-a-Scooter on Safari, Pre-Trip Report South Africa, March 2013 within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; To save for our vacations, Chuck and I have a "game". We each get $200 per pay for allowance. Out ...
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To save for our vacations, Chuck and I have a "game". We each get $200 per pay for allowance. Out of that we pay for what we want/need - gas for cars, haircuts, pedicures, eating out, prescriptions -everything except groceries and household bills (car pmt, mtg, electric, cable, gas, etc). Then at the end of 2 weeks, we put what's left from our allowance into a piggybank. Sometimes it's $3 - sometimes it's $100. But we compete as to who is putting in more (so who saved more - this week I'm leading at $160!) But I also budget $200 per pay for our vacation fund anyway. So by the end of the year (we only go once a year) we can have a VERY nice vacation!
And we've earned it - by taking our lunch, not eating out, watching movies at home, etc.
Good to know about the 10 yrs old age limit thing, Laurie... makes perfect sense to me. Which tells me I need to wait until Meri is at least 16, likely, before I can expect her to be quiet for 3-4 hours.
I know some people have success with those packing cubes or space bags - never tried them myself - but they might help !
I've uised the cubes and space bags, but in this case they won't really help, as I'm trying to save weight, not space.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I couldn't agree more! The amount of times people say to me "how do you afford it?" and the simple answer is a lot of our monthly wages are put away to save for vacations, so we can afford them. It's not a hard concept really, but you have to be prepared to prioritise and give things up at home. I rarely buy lunch out and we don't tend to get more than a glass of wine for me or a beer for Mark if we eat out. And as for coffee - don't drink it, so no expense there!
It's so easy to do without when you know what the reward will be!
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
Yep shoedazzle.com
Each month she gets a new showcase online and she picks out a pair of shoes, I think she spends $40 on them. Lucky for me, each month she tells me I should join too
I'm not a shoe person, but even for those who are, that's a lot of shoes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eeyore Tattoo
We also save all year for our vacations. Mike brings his lunch to work everyday. I fix my own at home too. I do odd jobs like dog-sitting & ebay, we save change in a jar. We are also DVC members so that saves us money on lodging. We always fix breakfast in our room before hitting the parks.. We don't smoke, or drink, another big savings!
I have always dreamed of going to England & France, Someday I may just make it. I am excited for you Laurie for going on your dream vacation & can't wait to hear all about it...
Where there's a will, there's a way. I'm sure most of us here who look like we have money to burn to others are doing the same things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop
To save for our vacations, Chuck and I have a "game". We each get $200 per pay for allowance. Out of that we pay for what we want/need - gas for cars, haircuts, pedicures, eating out, prescriptions -everything except groceries and household bills (car pmt, mtg, electric, cable, gas, etc). Then at the end of 2 weeks, we put what's left from our allowance into a piggybank. Sometimes it's $3 - sometimes it's $100. But we compete as to who is putting in more (so who saved more - this week I'm leading at $160!) But I also budget $200 per pay for our vacation fund anyway. So by the end of the year (we only go once a year) we can have a VERY nice vacation!
And we've earned it - by taking our lunch, not eating out, watching movies at home, etc.
That's a great game, and it's all so worth it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eeyore Tattoo
I think we Disney addicts are some smart cookies!
Exactly, Deb! And the best thing is that if you save first, you're not returning home to a lot of credit card debt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Principessa_di_Fata
Good to know about the 10 yrs old age limit thing, Laurie... makes perfect sense to me. Which tells me I need to wait until Meri is at least 16, likely, before I can expect her to be quiet for 3-4 hours.
With all this talk of money, I thought I'd post a pic of the beautiful South African money. I ordered some, mostly small bills for tipping, from my bank.
With all this talk of money, I thought I'd post a pic of the beautiful South African money. I ordered some, mostly small bills for tipping, from my bank.
COOL!
It's like a safari in your wallet!
__________________
DisneyLand too many times to count; DisneyWorld: ('82; '94; '00; '04; '05; '08 - twice!; '10;'11 - twice); DCL (3 ships): ('00, '05, '06, '10, '11); DVC Hilton Head Resort ('06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13)
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
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Posts: 31,157
Chris and I often hear how nice it must be to not have kids and be able to travel as much as we want - I learned from a friend we are considered "DINKS - Dual Income No Kids" - well I wish we could have kids - we can't - we have 2 mortgages (that's what happens when you are 40-somethings getting married) and have 2 sets of student loans from our degree choices. Again - choices. Somehow someone equated "DINK" to "RICH"... Don't think so. We save money every month for travel (it is a line item in the budget), we are DVC members, we use coupons, drive 9 year old cars.... travel is a priority. Chris never traveled as a child or a young man (except when he was in the Navy - and he didn't have a choice in the destinations). Prior to our marriage, he'd never visited a National Park, never been to Europe, etc - so now we want to travel - while we are young and healthy and can enjoy it.
Laurie - I think it is awesome that you are taking your dream trip, and that your "non-investment" in living history paid dividends years later. BTW - Antarctica is SO on my to do list!
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Meeting Jacques in January 1976!! My first WDW trip.
With all this talk of money, I thought I'd post a pic of the beautiful South African money. I ordered some, mostly small bills for tipping, from my bank.
Very cool!!! I love to see currency from other countries!
I was so excited when I picked these up from the bank.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDolphin
Chris and I often hear how nice it must be to not have kids and be able to travel as much as we want - I learned from a friend we are considered "DINKS - Dual Income No Kids" - well I wish we could have kids - we can't - we have 2 mortgages (that's what happens when you are 40-somethings getting married) and have 2 sets of student loans from our degree choices. Again - choices. Somehow someone equated "DINK" to "RICH"... Don't think so. We save money every month for travel (it is a line item in the budget), we are DVC members, we use coupons, drive 9 year old cars.... travel is a priority. Chris never traveled as a child or a young man (except when he was in the Navy - and he didn't have a choice in the destinations). Prior to our marriage, he'd never visited a National Park, never been to Europe, etc - so now we want to travel - while we are young and healthy and can enjoy it.
Laurie - I think it is awesome that you are taking your dream trip, and that your "non-investment" in living history paid dividends years later. BTW - Antarctica is SO on my to do list!
It is SO great that you are both now making travel your priority. If I had waited until retirement to travel, I'd never have been able to climb around the Greek ruins or sleep on a rooftop on Mykonos.... so many things that are now a permanent part of me. I knew when I made the post about not being rich and other people's perceptions that I'd get a lot of "me too" posts. Around here, there are a lot of people who "get it"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eeyore Tattoo
Love their money, Beautiful art
I know! It's amazing to me that the smallest note, the rhino, is worth only about $1.15. I haven't yet seen the coins.
Am enjoying reading the comments on saving for travel (a pair of shoes each month - ???!!!???). We both worked many many hours for 40 years, seldom taking more than a few days off at a time - and most vacations were spent visiting family. A very aggressive savings plan when younger is paying off now, and we feel very fortunate to be able to travel as we do. I have a lot of respect for the younger folks here who are so good at saving for their annual trips - I do think it's smart to not put everything off until retirement!
The currency looks great. I got some Kenyan currency for my sister-in-law who went on safari there a few weeks ago and it looked nowhere near as good as that.
Add me to the list of people who get the comments about traveling to Disney a lot. One friend even made a comment to his 4 year old daughter (right in front of us, after she asked why they couldn't go to Disney like us) that it was just so expensive and it "must be nice" that we can be so "frivolous" to take these trips year after year. We are by no means rich, but I love the family memories we make at Disney and that is my priority. Yes, it's expensive, but there are a lot of things I give up during the year to make those trips happen. Where there's a will, there's a way!
About This Page: This is a discussion on Solo-on-a-Scooter on Safari, Pre-Trip Report South Africa, March 2013 within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; To save for our vacations, Chuck and I have a "game". We each get $200 per pay for allowance. Out ...
Melanie
! 
The amount of times people say to me "how do you afford it?" and the simple answer is a lot of our monthly wages are put away to save for vacations, so we can afford them. It's not a hard concept really, but you have to be prepared to prioritise and give things up at home. I rarely buy lunch out and we don't tend to get more than a glass of wine for me or a beer for Mark if we eat out. And as for coffee - don't drink it, so no expense there! 
It's a good thing there are other places to go!
DisneyLand too many times to count; DisneyWorld: ('82; '94; '00; '04; '05; '08 - twice!; '10;'11 - twice); DCL (3 ships): ('00, '05, '06, '10, '11); DVC Hilton Head Resort 
">
). We both worked many many hours for 40 years, seldom taking more than a few days off at a time - and most vacations were spent visiting family. A very aggressive savings plan when younger is paying off now, and we feel very fortunate to be able to travel as we do. I have a lot of respect for the younger folks here who are so good at saving for their annual trips - I do think it's smart to not put everything off until retirement!
I got some Kenyan currency for my sister-in-law who went on safari there a few weeks ago and it looked nowhere near as good as that. 
<--- Dutch at Chef Mickey's 2010!
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