First of all, I almost never have cash on me, and I have three bank accounts-- two checking accounts and a savings account. My first checking account is the one I actually use. My pay from work gets direct deposited into this account, and only from there would I decide if any of it will be transferred to the other checking account or my savings account. My second checking account basically functions as a savings account, although I do dip into it occasionally for money, whereas I never do that with my actual savings account. I'm just explaining how my accounts are set up so that you understand that I always had some form of financial backup during my CP. I also have three credit cards for emergencies too. Because of this, the question of "how much money did you bring?" is kind of a weird one for me, but I'll do my best to answer it and let you know how well it worked.
When I left for Florida I had $500 in my checking account (the one I actually use, for the sake of confusion we'll refer to this as my checking account, the other one as checking/savings account, and my savings account as well, savings account.) In addition, I had $150 in cash. I feel like this is important to note because I almost never have cash. My paychecks are direct deposited, and unless I make a specific point to take cash out of an ATM, I generally don't have cash. At the airport, I had to pay an extra $50 for a second checked bag. I used the cash. So now I'm down to $100 in cash, $500 in my checking account, and backup money in my checking/savings account and savings account.
Green tea frappacino from Starbucks at the airport = $4.76, new checking account balance = $495.24 and $100 cash.
Lunch at ESPN Zone at the Boardwalk with Holly the day she picked me up from the airport = $34.84. New checking account balance = $460.40, still $100 in cash.
Numerous water bottles and room service with Holly that night brought me down to $430.40 in my checking account and $100 cash.
Breakfast at McDonalds the next morning-- $424.40 in my checking account, and $100 in cash.
Total first shopping trip for the apartment: $300. $124 in my checking account, $100 in cash.
So before my program actually started, just going from the airport in Boston to the day we moved into our apartment, my checking account was already down to $330. I used the $100 in cash to do the next weeks grocery shopping and toiletry needs, along with anything else I forgot for the apartment. The next week, I spent the remaining $124 in my checking account on shopping, eating out, and doing things around Orlando and Downtown Disney before I was able to get into the park. I wouldn't receive my first paycheck until the week after that.
The good news is that your first two paychecks of the college program do not have your rent taken out (because you've already paid it when you paid the fees that came with your acceptance letter.) My first paycheck, which included Traditions and my first few days training was $301-- more than enough money for one person living on their own in Florida with an apartment shared with three other girls. My next check was also up there, around $280. Within my first two weeks of getting paid (which remember is actually more like four weeks after I arrived) I more than made back the money I came down with. Did I dip into my checking/savings account during those first two weeks? Of course. But there's a couple of variables to decide whether or not you'll have to do the same.
I flew to Orlando, which means I did not bring things like toiletries and bedding. If I drove, I could have easily thrown my hardly used bottle of shampoo and my comforter from college into the car. But because I flew, these were all items I needed to purchase when I arrived, and this added to my expensive first trip to Walmart the day we moved in. I also chose to go out and do things before having gotten paid. I did not need to go out to eat three times that week. I did not need to order drinks two thirds of the times I went out that week. I chose to because I wanted to have a good time, and knew I had extra money in my checking/savings account if I needed it. If you're on a budget, you can choose not to do those things.
If I were to do the DCP again, and not have the backups of my checking/savings and savings accounts, I would say you want to go down with at least $1000. This would allow you to have fun with your friends and still have things to eat during the first couple of weeks. As for the money you make during the program. My paychecks averaged $150/week after rent was taken out. While this might sound terrible, there's a couple of things to remember. My rent was $98/week, but it included all extra bills/utilities, wireless internet, and bus transportation. The only other thing you need to spend money on weekly is food. Grocery shopping for one person for a week does not cost $150. If it does, you're doing it wrong. I would generally spend $50/week on groceries and/or toiletries. This means that after rent and groceries/toiletries I would have $100 left. I'd generally put $50 into my checking/savings account, and keep the other $50 for random spending. (As a side note, I did have other bills during my program, and the money I paid those with came from my checking/savings account. On the plus side however, that money was always less than the amount I transferred into that account each month, so I did still save some money.)
Basically if you have no bills (or if you have some other way of paying your bills) you should be able to save an average of $50/week. That's not a lot, but it's also not bad considering an internship doesn't need to pay you at all. Of course there were some weeks where I'd spend more than my usual $50, but there were some weeks where I'd spend less. So I usually had a couple of hundred dollars in my checking account or in cash throughout the entire program.
For future CPs, I would suggest coming up with some method of how you're going to save money during the program. I'm not saying save money so you'll come home with a huge savings account, but just save some money so you'll have it when you want it to do something fun. You're most likely only going to live at Disney World once, so you should definitely make the most of it, and with some basic finance skills it isn't hard to have the money to do the things you want while you're there.
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