I didn't. LOL.
Let me back up... so when I got accepted for my first DCP in October 2018, I started saving my money for the program because I knew there would be things that I wanted to do & things to buy. Not to mention, I was moving away from home for the first time, paying rent, & living on my own. I thought it was a pretty good idea to save some money, haha!
I was so proud of myself because I really thought I had saved a lot. I went down knowing I wanted to go to Universal at least once, have staycations at the resorts, eat fancy dinners at the parks & in the resorts, & buy all the merchandise I couldn't live without. I knew myself & knew that I wouldn't want to pass up experiences since I was living in Disney for such a short time. Makes sense & I still don't regret anything I did!
My problem was that I bought SO much & spent SO much on things within the first month of my program that it felt like I hadn't really saved a whole ton. So with this being said, & having experienced all of this, I had a much better plan of how I was going to budget my money while on my second DCP. It absolutely did help me & I hope it gives you the right idea!
1. Save before you go! Disney says to save around $300-$400 because you don't get paid the first few weeks... I say save more than that because why not have some extra?!
2. Understand you don't need EVERY t-shirt. I know, everything you see is going to have some kind of connection to you. Walk away from it & if you keep thinking about it for the next week, go back & get it.
3. Spend more money on experiences like character dining's, staycations, etc. Those are the things you're going to remember. I vividly remember my vacation at the Boardwalk Resort with my best friend from home but not so much buying my purple spirit jersey & never wearing it...lol.
4. You really don't need ALLLL the food. That's my weakness. I LOVE the Disney food, the treats, everything. I'm going to try to be better about this next time too so my best piece of advice to you & my future self is that the Epcot Festival food is great, but understand how expensive it is & how tiny the portions are in relation to your bank account.
5. Figure out what your goal is: to make money, to break even, to lose money, to have as many experiences as you can, to buy all the merchandise? The list goes on haha! I didn't really have a goal last time. I just wanted to have fun & not go broke. This time, I definitely wanted to save my money so I would be able to spend it on experiences like staying at the Grand Floridian and ordering room services in our robes.
So I hope this gives you a general idea of what it's like on the DCP handling money. It's tough. It really is. There are so many things surrounding you that you want to spend your money on, it's crazy! So as long as you go in knowing it may be tough, & you have somewhat of an idea of what you wanna spend your money on/save it for, you're good to go!!
As always, feel free to DM me if you have any more questions. I love you guys, have a wonderful week!
See ya real soon,
Danielle
