Tips and Tricks

I love when my friends and family ask me about how the heck I can afford to go to Disney more times than anyone (who doesn't have an annual pass nor lives in Florida) ever should... I have my ways!  Want to know some of my secrets?? I'll share them with you!  Method #1: Market Research Surveys. You mean to tell me that I can be fully opinionated like I *always* am and get *paid* for it?! Yes, yes you can! There's tons of market research places out there, and you just need to search for them (It also helps if you live in a larger size city, as these tend to have more options). So how these work is, you go on the company's website, create a login, and then look out for survey emails they send you. Take the initial survey, and if you qualify then they'll give you a call to come in and do the research study in person. And some of them are really fun! I've done numerous taste tests for restaurants trying new menu items, tested a new Febreeze scent, new long-lasting n...

https://www.vertex42.com/Files/exclusive/travel-budget.xlsx Click the link above to download the Excel spreadsheet that I use to budget every single trip I go on. This is my travel bible... it's what I go by! So when I'm planning out a trip, I immediately open this budget spreadsheet, and start punching in the costs of everything I'm planning. I'll start with flights (or gas if you're driving) hotel costs for the number of nights I'm planning to stay, I'll use Uber Fare Estimator to see if all the places I'm planning to go would make sense budget-wise to use ride-sharing apps or if it would make more sense to just go ahead and rent a car (don't forget parking fees at hotels and destinations!) I even look up all the restaurants I anticipate eating at, and get an idea of what I think I'll order, what my husband will order, and what our estimated final bill might be after tip. I'll punch in the costs of tickets for any entertainment we'll...

  Ah Disney... they most magical place on earth. And also one of the more expensive.  I'm going to share my tips for how I budget for my Disney trips, and we'll start with the most expensive: The park tickets. Unfortunately Disney has gotten INCREDIBLY greedy (Thanks Bob Chapek  Edit as of Nov '22: Welcome back Bob Iger!!) and their prices for park tickets have gotten very expensive over the last few years. And not to mention that it's basically an extra dash of salt in the wound when you go to buy your tickets online and see this: "Oh look, tickets for $109." Think again. Most tickets for weekends and during "nice weather" average more like $139-154 BEFORE taxes. (Add on about $10 per ticket per day for taxes) So unfortunately the park tickets don't see really any discounts (and even for military, it's only a couple bucks for "weekend warriors") though they do offer better discounts for 4-day tickets with park hoppers:   vs the reg...

So we're coming up on the end of 2022 and I'm looking at how to keep my Companion Pass for 2023. I have used my Southwest Credit Card for nearly all purchases this year, registered for a couple of the Promotions that Southwest runs on their site (like this one pictured below):  And I am still about 48,313 points shy of earning the Companion Pass for next year: What's a girl to do? I'm not gonna lie, I've had a very difficult time this year finding hotel stays that will either give me enough points for the money spent, or make sense to stay in for the trip (location-wise, budget-wise, or quality-wise). I've booked approximately 3 hotels out of the 9 hotel stays I've done this year on the Southwest website to earn points off of... and even still those only got me maybe 1,000 points here, or 2,000 points there (not much to speak of). I've got 3 trips left on the calendar for the rest of the year, and 2 of them already have hotels booked (both done through ...

(some details of this article have been updated as of 2025) Ok so people ask me all the time how I've earned the Companion Pass on Southwest Airlines SO many times... Here's an overview.  What it is: Southwest Airlines Companion Pass allows you to designate one person to fly for free with you EVERY SINGLE TIME you fly (yes, you heard it right, there's no limit, no cap, no "one time per year"... if you take 30 flights that year, your companion can come along for free* with you on ALL flights) *you are still responsible for taxes and fees. Domestic flights = $11.60 roundtrip in taxes and fees. This (INCLUDES HAWAII & PUERTO RICO!) International flights = varies... Puerto Vallarta might be $112.37 for taxes/fees. Belize might be $83.77 for taxes/fees. Etc. You are also allowed to change your companion up to 3x in a calendar year. You are also allowed to book YOUR flight on points (and just pay taxes & fees) and then add on your companion for "free" ...