Things I’ve Given Up to Fund my Disney Holiday Addiction

So, we all have addictions. Hobbies we have to fund, or collections we like to add to. For myself (and probably Little Miss) visiting Disney is an addiction for us. I don’t think it would have been this bad if it wasn’t for the fact we have friends out there, it makes it feel like we’re going home to family. I have visited New York, Paris, even Niagara Falls and although I have always enjoyed being there, even felt like I could live there.. I haven’t broke my heart to leave as I do when I leave Disney. It’s a very expensive habit though. Any long haul flight isn’t going to come cheap, and although I do have ways now to cut the cost of other things, the flight is always going to be the thing that breaks the bank.

Thankfully, I’m good with keeping track of money, spending and budgeting. I’m not a saint, and I definitely have a bit of a shopping problem, but I’m learning to just avoid shops. I’m trying to be better with making lists for food shops, making lists and budgets for Christmases and birthdays. I know my daughter appreciates our time in Disney more than she would hundreds of pounds worth of toys. The memories and experiences definitely mean more to us. And although I have had help with trips in the past, for future trips I’m having to make some lifestyle changes in what I buy, but seeing my daughter’s face as she is held by someone who loves her as she watches Wishes, makes me know in my heart that it’s worth it.

So today I’m sharing with you some things I’ve given up buying over the last year, and I have no regrets about any of them;

MAC Make Up
I used to love nothing more than placing a MAC order, or even more so, browsing the counters or stores. I could pay out £50 a time on a few eyeshadows and lipsticks without even batting an eyelid. But after sitting down one day and checking the use by dates, I realised I’d ultimately wasted a lot of money. Since having my daughter I don’t go out enough to warrant buying 20+ lipsticks.. I only wear neutral colours on my eyes. I favour Vichy make up because it’s better for my skin, I love Rimmel Apocalips and Barry M. I don’t need to pay £15 for one lipstick I wear once for a photo. My make up looks just a great coming from Escentual when they have their 25% French Pharmacy and from the High Street. I don’t have any regrets about not owning a single MAC item anymore.

Lush Bath Products
Now don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE Lush. I’d be happy if it’s all anyone ever bought me for Christmas and my birthday. I guess it was different when I lived near one, and I could just pop into town and grab a bubble bar if I’d had a stressful day, making it no different to a bar of chocolate and a bottle of fruit cider. But now I have to order it, and you just can’t order one thing, you need to order enough to make the postage worth it. I do miss having a drawer of Lush, but £1.99 or sometimes even 99p for a bottle of bubble bath that lasts a month over £25-£30 on Lush that lasts a month.. I know what I’d go for.

Eating Out
This one is a big one for me, because I love nothing more than eating out. Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Going to a restaurant or cafe has always been a thing. On my day off before I had LM I used to hole myself up in a cafe with a book and eat baked goods while drinking coffee for the best part of a day. I’ve had LM trained in the way of eating out since she was tiny, so now she’s as good as gold. But it’s expensive, and the older she gets the more expensive it’s getting. Even if we just eat at a supermarket cafe, it’s still heading towards the £10 mark a time. So now we only head into town or to the supermarket after we’ve eaten to avoid the need to have more than a coffee and cup of milk while out and about. No more dinners out, and definitely no take away either. Hopefully that’ll help with the diet I’m starting later this month.

Topshop and Urban Outfitters Clothing
I remember a time when everything I owned was from Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, ASOS or Urban Outfitters. I used to place at least one order a month to keep up with the latest trends, or buy key pieces to change up an outfit. But now I see the error of my ways. My wardrobe is pretty much all eBay or Primark these days. And I don’t even care. I wear the same things that I know look good, I just layer up in winter, and strip off in summer. I don’t have seasonal wardrobes (what’s the point in the UK!?) If I do want something new, I usually sell something old I haven’t worn in a while to justify the spend. It’s like one thing comes out and it makes room for something else to go in. When I loose the weight I want to, I’ll sell the stuff that’s too big and buy from websites like Vinted, Depop and eBay stuff to replace it. I don’t have the urge to buy fancy brand new clothes anymore. Unless ASOS has a killer sale on.

I’ve given up other high end skincare, hair care and make up but I admit I do use some mid range. I only have a couple of perfumes I’m happy to move up before splashing cash on more. Little Miss gets second hand books, toys and even clothes to some extent. Her main birthday present is a second hand vintage Sleeping Beauty castle that I’m just buying new figures for. And she’ll be happy because to her it’ll be new. There is so much focus on material possessions when it comes to kids, yes I want her to have the best, but I know that the best doesn’t need to be new toys, the best is giving her experiences and memories. So if I can do that, I know we’ll both be happy.

If you need some more tips on how to do Orlando & Disney World on a budget, I shared a post about it earlier this year.