I have heard of people using their credit cards to take glorious trips at little or no cost, but I have yet to find a program that is completely worth it.  Some are just too complicated to understand, while others I'd have to basically use the credit card all month long and then pay it off in full when the statement comes to get anywhere with the rewards - and unfortunately I'm just not that confident in my ability to do that (and not resort to carrying a balance from one month to the next!)

So I joined the SmartyPig.com site.  It's basically just an online bank from what I can tell.  It's taking $29 a month from my checking account, and earns interest (currently something under 4% but over 3%).  It's not a lot of money, but it's better than nothing.  When the holidays roll around and family asks me what to get the kids, I can send them to the website and ask them to make small contributions to the disney fund, as well.  It's not like we don't already have enough toys to open our very own Toys 'R Us store!  (The grandparents go nuts on birthdays and Christmas)

I'm thinking a standard cashback card might be the way to go.  I've seen several that give you up to 5% cash back on things like gasoline or groceries.  If I made it a point to use the card for our family's gas purchases and groceries only, we'd add close to $700 a month to the card, which earns us $35 a month cash back.   This is another $420 at the end of the year... and combined with the $348 I'm currently saving in SmartyPig, and the contributions we'll get around the holidays as gifts from family, I'd say we can reasonably look at going in about 2 years! YAY!

Despite having debt and responsibilities- my family has not been on a vacation in ... ever.  I mean, we've taken a couple overnight camping trips in a tent in the last 5 1/2 years (basically, since my first son was born).  Other than that, we don't do ANYTHING but work, pay bills, hang out at home or at friends houses.

I'm determined we're going to Disney in 2009.  My kids will be 6 and 3.  I think that's perfect- they'll still believe the characters are real.  I've been wanting to go since I was a kid (never been) and I think it's the ultimate vacation that we could give for our children.

So now I'm on the look out for credit card offers that will work for the trip- I'm saving on SmartyPig.com for as much as possible, but I know we won't have it all saved by 2009. We are also working hard to pay off student loans of mine, and I don't want to reduce the amount we pay on those for a year to increase savings for Disney.  My goal is to find a 0% credit card offer for new purchases; for at least 12 months. 

Let me know if you know of any great deals on Disney vacations!

I love the name "WaMu".

WaMu credit cards offer cardholders access to their FICO score, for free.  It's true that you can get a copy of your credit report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus; but the free reports don't contain your actual numerical score.  The FICO score is the one that most creditors use to determine your credit worthiness, so it's important to know where you stand and whether you need to take some steps to improve your credit.

With a WaMu credit card, you get online access to your account, and within your password protected account area you can also view your credit score.  You'll be notified if any changes have been made to your score or credit report as well.  If you were to purchase ongoing credit monitoring services, you'd pay a monthly or annual fee that could be in the range of $100 per year. 

Credit cards aren't all bad - you can get this one and keep it in your wallet just for the ability to keep on top of your FICO score!

Last week, my entire family spent a week on the couch.  No, it wasn't some exotic vacation of rest and relaxation!  Without any fair warning, we all came down with a virus. 

My five year old woke up at midnight on Monday night/Tuesday morning of last week vomiting.  Within an hour, the 2 year old was awake with a fever.  I was completely out of all children's pain relievers and fever reducers AND my husband had taken my car to work because his had something wrong with it.

I debated calling a relative in the middle of the night and begging them to get some medicine and bring it over but I decided to try some of the old-time standby methods first.  I put cool cloths on the foreheads and rubbed their backs until they fell back to sleep.

It was a long night as the kids were up and down most of the night.  Got them medicine first thing in the morning which did bring the fevers down a bit- but within 2 hours they were right back.  We went on like this for about 7 days and had two visits to the pediatrician and one to the urgent care  (when ears started hurting after hours!)

Thankfully, we're all on the mend.  I sent the 5 year old back to school and while he's not coughing or running a fever now, he's been really hard to get out of bed in the morning- a trait that is completely out of character for him!  His school nurse called today to let me know she was giving him time to rest in her office as the teacher sent him to the nurse for being so tired.  Again- not like him!  I'm hoping it's just the lingering effects of the virus and that in another couple days he'll be 100% well again.

If not, looks like we'll be taking another trip to the doctor!

I'm working hard to figure out if there are credit cards that would give enough rewards to take a free trip someplace.  Several credit cards offer a free complimentary flight as a reward when you book one flight on the credit card; and others offer free hotel stays or bonus miles when you sign up for the card.

I haven't found completely free trips that would work yet; but I have definitely found a variety of trips that could be taken using the rewards from various credit cards (just for signing up for the cards!) that would save hundreds of dollars on the cost of the travel. 

So if you're long over-due for vacations, you might want to consider this option for getting discounted trips- even if it's just a weekend getaway, if you can save enough using rewards programs it can be really worth the effort of the research.

I don't know about you, but every other day it seems my mailbox (the real one, not my email box!) is just loaded with credit card offers.  When I actually need to apply for a credit card, I'm so overwhelmed by the number of choices that I don't know where to start and might just skip it all together!

I think it's better that you don't take up any of the credit card offers you get through the mail- at least not without comparing them.  While they often seem like a good deal at the time, you can probably find a better one with just a quick look around the internet.  The key to selecting the best credit card for your family is to select one that offers good rates, and a rewards program that meets your family's lifestyle.  If you never travel, what are you going to do with travel rewards programs?  You would benefit more from a card that gives you cash back or points that can be exchanged for merchandise.

Research is the key to getting the best credit card for your family- and then discipline is necessary to make sure it rewards you rather than hinders the family budget!

Yesterday, my husband and I went to a presentation about timeshares. We totally went because we thought we could expose the company as frauds- they gave us paperwork before hand that said we'd get a $40 prepaid visa card, $40 in free gas, a free 2 day/2night trip to Vegas with Airfare included; and then ONE of the following big gifts:

$500 cash

$1500 shopping card (for walmart or other stores I don't remember because I wanted it for walmart to do a few months of grocery shopping for free!)

a vehicle worth $49,000 or $40,000 cash

OR a free trip to Aruba, Hawaii, Jamaica or Puerto Rico for 4 nights/5 days (no airfare.

So I made copies of all the paperwork, and showed up prepared to fight for my free stuff that I fully didn't expect to get.  I also thought the timeshare information would clearly say "RIP OFF!" and "WASTE OF MONEY" but turns out- I got free stuff, and I even liked the information about the time share they offer.

Well didn't that make me feel like a cranky bi$#@!!! 

The sales people weren't even as pushy as I was expecting.  They of course started out with the highest level pricing of their programs, which we just simply said there was no way we could afford a $480 per month timeshare plan.  But they worked their way down to one that really was affordable and a good deal.  Two options under $7,000 (including maintenance fees) would give a family either 1 week each year to vacation anywhere they wanted (including international) or 1 week every OTHER year (for under $3,500 including the maintenance fees which are paid to cover taxes, water, sewer and all that).  I loved that you aren't really buying a specific place, because who wants to vacation in the exact same spot forever?  Not me.  This time share company lets you vacation wherever you want (you pay a $199 fee to a travel agency to book you a place of your choice but I consider that a steal for 6 nights/7 days in a 2bedroom/2bathroom condo like accommodation!)

Anyway. We walked out with the trip to vegas, a $40 Visa card, coupons for $40 in gas, and a trip to one of the tropical islands. (I didn't get the shopping spree to Walmart unfortunately! but am still amazed at all that I DO have).

I can't say all time share companies will be legit, but this one sure seemed to be.

My five year old has had so many snow days or two hour delays this winter!!  I remember being in school and praying for a snow day, and it seemed like we rarely had them.  Now, whenever a flake falls from the sky it seems like the school closes.  I want him to be safe on the roads of course, in the school bus, but at the same time I can't help but wonder if we really need to shut down every time a tiny bit of snow falls!

Today is a two hour delay.  The kids got up at the usual ridiculous time of 5am (they just refuse to sleep later no matter what I try), so before my little man even gets on the bus for a two hour delay, he's been running around for 4 hours!   I can't imagine how the teacher gets a group of 22 kindergartners to settle in for an abbreviated day of learning after having so much extra time to play in the morning.

Here's looking forward to spring :)

I have decided that I need to bring my kids to Disney (Orlando) before they get too old.  I want them to be young enough to still believe the characters are real, which means I'm running out of time! My oldest is five years old and my youngest is two.

Because money is always an issue, I decided I would make use of a credit card rewards program to help offset some of the costs of taking a family trip to Disney World.  I debated whether I should get the Disney Rewards Visa card, or just choose a credit card with a good rewards program that would let me redeem my points for airfare or hotels.

I decided to go with the Disney card, because it does offer a rewards program with points that can be redeemed for Disney merchandise, overnight stays in Disney hotels and purchases at restaurants.  What  I liked most about the card though, is that I can put the cost of a Disney package on the card and pay it off interest free over six months. 

If you're thinking about taking your family on the dream vacation, you might want to look into various credit card offers and their rewards programs, because often you can save more money than you expect if you use the cards correctly.   Can't wait to take my kids to Disney next year!