saving money for your next cruise (spending money)

[HCTiger9704]

So for your next cruise, how do you save money to use for spending money?  

 

One thing I do is I save quarters (United States quarters) that were made before 1999 (picture below of the quarters I am saving).  The bank I use allows me to deposit coins without paying a fee.  So a few weeks before my cruise, I will deposit the coins into my bank account.  This is not all the money I am taking with me, it just some of the money I am planning on taking with me. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by HCTiger9704

[danielsumner]

?? Why only pre 1999?

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, danielsumner said:

?? Why only pre 1999?

I was wondering the same thing. But when it comes to saving money for a cruise it's basically do what works best for you.

[Missymo]

We use to  do the same thing, except DH and  I dropped all our excess silver (from purse, or pockets) into a large plastic cup(s), and  once or twice a year, we wrapped  and  deposited  into a special  savings account.    Over the years, this savings had helped us pay for a semester of tuition, part of our down payment towards a car , and extra spending money when needed. Never missed the extra change on a daily basis. To date, we still save the silver coins and place into the bank. 

[HCTiger9704]

7 hours ago, danielsumner said:

?? Why only pre 1999?

 

I put the quarters that were made in 1999 and after 1999 into my saving account for a rainy day.  It is nice to have a rainy day fund for unexpected bills (last year, for example, I had dental work done that was not covered by my dental insurance so I used the money from my rainy day fund to pay for it).    

 

Every year, I shave my head for my St. Baldrick's fundraiser every year and I donate the dimes I save all year long to St. Baldrick's.  The St. Baldrick's Foundation raises money for childhood cancer research thru head shaving events.  

 

I save the nickels to spend on my nieces and nephew.  

 

I save the pennies but I don't know what I am going to do with those. 

 

 

[sparks1093]

17 hours ago, HCTiger9704 said:

 

I put the quarters that were made in 1999 and after 1999 into my saving account for a rainy day.  It is nice to have a rainy day fund for unexpected bills (last year, for example, I had dental work done that was not covered by my dental insurance so I used the money from my rainy day fund to pay for it).    

 

Every year, I shave my head for my St. Baldrick's fundraiser every year and I donate the dimes I save all year long to St. Baldrick's.  The St. Baldrick's Foundation raises money for childhood cancer research thru head shaving events.  

 

I save the nickels to spend on my nieces and nephew.  

 

I save the pennies but I don't know what I am going to do with those. 

 

 

That's one way to do it. (If you can't figure out what to do with the pennies I'm sure that I could find a use for them😀.)

[LHT28]

18 hours ago, HCTiger9704 said:

I save the pennies but I don't know what I am going to do with those. 

 

 

roll  them up & put them in your bank account  or  donate the proceeds 

 

we  no longer have pennies here  to worry about 😉

[The Other Tom]

On 12/10/2018 at 3:52 PM, HCTiger9704 said:

 

I put the quarters that were made in 1999 and after 1999 into my saving account for a rainy day. 

 

 

What do you do with the quarters made before 1999?

[pacruise804]

12 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

What do you do with the quarters made before 1999?

That's mentioned in the original post.  Pre-1999 quarters are for cruise spending money and 1999 and later are for OP's rainy day account.

[neverbeenhere]

100 pounds of pennies is approximately $ 180, save dollars bills instead. 

[xostacylee]

I use my Carnival credit card all year long and the goal is to end up with $200 OBC for our cruise next September (between the two of us). My boyfriend and I also sell on Poshmark and usually put that money into a fun money cup. I also use the app Acorns to set aside the roll-up change from each purchase (plus you can put deposits in). Out of sight, out of mind, BUT it does take 7-10 days to withdraw the money as it's actually invested.

[sparks1093]

On 12/12/2018 at 8:27 PM, neverbeenhere said:

100 pounds of pennies is approximately $ 180, save dollars bills instead. 

But don't throw the pennies away in the process.

[angie7911922]

All my change goes into a change jar. I usually end up with about $300 in there.

[cb at sea]

Surely you jest.....coins are heavy.....just turn in your coin for paper money....bring large bills...easier to carry.  The ship will change them into smaller denominations for you.

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Surely you jest.....coins are heavy.....just turn in your coin for paper money....bring large bills...easier to carry.  The ship will change them into smaller denominations for you.

Missed the part about depositing the coins into the bank account?

[KKB]

I give plasma twice a week. $ goes on a "pre-paid" debit card that I don't touch until cruise time. Make about $350/mo. for 4hrs/wk, typically.

I also do it as a family member & a friend both have illnesses that require treatment that use plasma. 

Plus as a school librarian, I need to read quite a bit--this ensures I get in 4 hours of reading every week!

[beaming90]

I have an online bank account, that I think is hard to use.  I can transfer money from it to my regular bank account, but that takes 3-4 days so it is inconvenient.  But I am having 45.00 put in automatically each pay day and in July I will transfer it to my debit card and it will be ready.  I also save any change I get and roll it up periodically.  I rolled up 77.50 the other day!  I don't take it to the bank till just before I need it so it is also inconvenient to use when I think I need it.  

 

[dreams7479]

I have $20 automatically deposited weekly(pay day) into my vacation savings account. If I don't go on vacation that year, the money stays there and continues to grow until we do go.

[GUT2407]

Me I just work as hard as I can so I’ve got money aside for all life throws my way, including paying for cruises and the spending money while on holidays.

[MCManders99]

I save change as well, but I use Ibotta and other savings apps that help me save on groceries, and other shopping events.  I also coupon (nothing extreme) but I look at the bottom of the reciept and whatever it states I save (total from sale and coupons) that total gets moved into a savings account.  We cannot cruise often, but its all adding up and when we do our next cruise - I'll have enough for whatever we need it for - drink packages, excursions, or the cruise fare.  

[Valentina84]

I use the app called DIGIT in the App Store. It’s connected to my bank account and it takes a few dollars here and a few there every day and saves it for you. You can cash out this money any time you want. I’m saving it for my cruise this year. And I never notice the money that was taken out in my bank account because it’s usually less than $10 at a time 

[boris53098]

The grocery store where I shop, I use their app for additional coupons and sales. When I check out at the store, when they total my sale it shows my savings. I use my debit card and whatever my savings is, I take out as cash back. Then I put it into  separate savings account. Yes, I know I could always just transfer the money, but this way I can save it without hubby knowing and I surprised him with a cruise for his birthday 😀

[Porteerfield]

I have seen there are cheap flight websites available on the internet. How much reliable they are? Can I use it for saving my cost?