While parents are setting their trip planning budget, the kids probably are not spending too much time thinking ahead, but once they get to the Disney Theme Parks, you know they will want to buy lots of souvenirs! Parents need to think ahead for that spending budget, too. Setting a Spending Budget: How much souvenir budget do you set aside for the kids? Do they have to earn their own spending money or do you cover it yourself?
MousePlanet columnist Chris Barry his wife Diane, 11-year-old Samantha, and twin 8-year-olds, Casey and Alex, live on Long Island and are all major Disney and Walt Disney World Resort fans. Chris writes:
If you’ve followed my Disney Stuff series of articles here on MousePlanet (and, as always, thank you very much for reading), you can surmise that the person in this family to worry about when it comes to souvenirs is…me. Turning me loose in MouseGear, the largest gift shop in Epcot at Walt Disney World, is a dangerous action. I need to be reined in as much, if not more, than the kids. The perfect solution for both the young shoppers in the family and this old shopper has been Disney gift cards.
This has been a perfect solution for shopping while at the Walt Disney World Resort. It sets a budget right from the start. They know how much the card is worth and it’s really up to them to keep track of what they’re spending and what’s left on the card. They become smarter shoppers this way. The same goes for the envelope of cash. My wife and I hold onto it all, and the kids have done a pretty good job of paying attention to the cost of their souvenirs in regards to their budget.
The card amounts and cash amounts have varied each year depending upon what else they receive for their birthday. They’ve gotten $25, $50, and, one time, even $100 gift cards. That might sound like a lot, but as you are aware, it can go pretty quickly when you’re in the park.
The 13-year-old is in charge of her own money. She has gone there with combinations of birthday money, Christmas money, and an occasional gift card, as well. I would say since she was around 11 or so, she has been responsible for her own money at Walt Disney World. Granted, we hold it most of the time for her, but she knows how to budget her souvenirs. Plus, at this age, the toys and little things aren’t on her radar. She’s more interested in pins and clothing. She knows what she needs and what she doesn’t. I’d like to think that we trained her well and that the boys will follow the same path.
My suggestion is to set a limit. The gift cards have always worked well for us. You can spend a fortune at Disney Parks on souvenirs (trust me, I know.)
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to the Walt Disney World Resort and loves to help others plan their trips, as well sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
When it comes to a Disney vacation, they say that planning the trip is half the fun. The bad part to that is paying for it can cause most of the agony. The truth of the matter is that I think many people who get overwhelmed by the cost of any vacation do so because they don’t have a budget and spending plan. Granted, there are times when cheaper is not better, but if you have a good idea of where you money might go, it takes a lot of stress out of the equation.
Kids, Disney, and spending go hand-in-hand. It is also where I think the most parental planning should happen. After all, there is no shortage of really cool Disney-themed items on which to spend your hard earned cash. At the same time, it is also a great time to teach your kids a little about the value of a dollar. One problem to this is that the dollars being spent are still yours in many cases. This is a great time to help your kids set some spending, and earning, goals for their upcoming trip.
Here are some things we have done around our house to help encourage our kids to save out for Disney:
- Have them earn dollars for Disney: Depending on their age, there are several things that your kids can do to help earn a little bit of extra money. Just make sure you set some expectations up front so that they don’t think they are going to get $10 per week for taking the trash out to the street. However, cleaning out their old, yet usable toys, electronics, and clothes and selling them at a garage sale is a good example of something simple for a few extra dollars.
- Rewards for grades: Since most Disney trips are planned well in advance, consider rewarding your kids with money they can use at Disney for good grades. Of course, you will have to set some goals here as well to help encourage your child to work toward reasonable goals as well. Maybe raising a letter grade in a topic is worth something while getting an A is worth even more. Its all up to you.
- Reading for dollars: This is an example of my how my son, who did not like to read, ended up becoming an extreme reader. We told him that for every book he read, he got a certain amount of money. The key thing is that he had to tell us what the book was about in good detail so we knew that he did not just skim through it. He did this in conjunction with a program at school and not only earned $15 from us, but also got an award at school for being the most achieved reader of the year!
- Parental match: If your child is the resourceful type and is old enough to do odd jobs around the neighborhood such as lawn mowing or babysitting, consider giving them an earning goal and then match that goal a certain percentage. Sometimes knowing that they can earn more through parental “interest” may help keep them motivated to keep working hard.
- Put all the money they earned onto a Disney gift card: This is a great way to control their spending while, at the same time, letting them get the rush of buying something themselves through the use of their own card. The nice part is that they can keep track of what they spend and the receipts usually have the balance on the bottom of the receipts.
Even with these tips in mind to help them earn spending money, sometimes you have to still set certain limits. After all, they can only earn so much, and shopping at Disney Parks is not cheap. Be willing to explain that they will have spending limits and they need to adhere to those limits. At the same time, as a parent, you need to pre-determine how strict you are going to hold them to those limits. We know all know of times when we just had to have that special something but it was a few dollars beyond our reach. That might sound somewhat contradictory to setting limits and the like. However, more than once I have said that I have spent enough money and I will get that one thing next time. And when that next time came, it was no where to be found. Sometimes, you just have to give in…you just can’t give in for everything.
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