The Budget Navigator is pretty simple. You’ll need to give it some thought but basically you’ll enter some basic info and the Tool will make the basic calculations for you.
If you are working on a Laptop or Tablet, the budget will appear side-by-side with your inputs on the left and the budget outputs on the right. If you’re working on your phone, the inputs will be on the top and the outputs will be below. That will require some navigating up and down. Using a laptop or tablet is preferred.
TIP – You aren’t actually adding info on this page. These are the instructions. The link to the actual Budget Tool is at the bottom of the page.
Let’s navigate the budget tool:
Enter your name (you’ll have the option to export your budget to a pdf so having your name on it can be helpful.
Enter your specific arrival date and specific departure date. You can click the calendar icon if needed.
This will give you a snapshot of your program duration in days, weeks and month.
HOUSING
Rent will be taken out of your check by Disney Payroll and sent to American Campus Communities. Disney doesn’t keep the rent money.
Housing is a big expense. In the Budget Tool, Select whether you’ll be living at Flamingo or somewhere else.
If you select Flamingo Crossings Village, you will be asked to select a 2×2 or 4×2 or 4×4 apartment. The Rent amount for 2026 will be added to your budget automatically.
NAVIGATOR TIP: For your budget, select the room type that you listed as your number one preference. If that’s a 4×4 then select 4×4 for the budget. Once you know your assigned room type, you can go back and make a change, if needed.
If you won’t be living at Flamingo, then enter the MONTHLY amount you’ll pay in rent. If you’re living at home or with family and not paying anything, put $0. Remember, enter a Monthly amount for just rent.
Federal Withholding. You need to decide how much you want to have taken out for US Federal Income Tax. The default we’ve entered for you is 10%. You can do your research and make that % higher or lower for your situation. Just change the 10 to 8 or 12 or whatever you need it to be.
TAXES
Disney will deduct (withhold) taxes from your paycheck. Florida doesn’t have State Income Tax so that will be $0. If your home state has income tax, Disney won’t deduct anything for your home state. That’s your responsibility. There will be 7.65% taken out of your check for Social Security and Medicare.
ESTIMATED INCOME
For now, leave the Hours at 30 and the rate at $18 unless you already know your role and the hourly pay for that role.
When creating this preliminary budget, Navigator recommends starting with a “Worst Case” scenario. In other words, start with a budget that has your income as low as it can be.
You’ll be guaranteed a minimum of 30 work hours a week and a minimum of $18/hour.
*You’ll be scheduled to work 30 hours or more. If you take days off or leave early, you don’t get paid for that time. So, your paycheck could be < 30 hours if you actually work < 30 hours.
EXPENSES
There are two main kinds of expenses you’ll deal with during your program. The first kind is non-discretionary — the things you have to pay for, like groceries, your phone bill, or loan payments. The second kind is discretionary, which includes the fun, optional stuff such as souvenirs, entertainment, or another Loungefly bag you absolutely don’t need but will probably buy anyway. For now you’re just building a preliminary budget, so the numbers don’t need to be exact, but they should be reasonably close.
Non-Discretionary Expenses
Groceries are the first thing your Budget Navigator will ask about, and this can be harder to estimate than it seems. If you’re not used to shopping for yourself — or if prices in Florida are higher than what you pay back home — it may take some thinking. Food is one of the most important parts of your budget, and also one of the easiest categories to overspend in. Disney shifts often run over typical meal times, and even short shifts can keep you away from your apartment for eight hours or more. You can’t always count on being able to buy a meal at work; you might be stationed far from cast dining, or you might not have time for a full break. Bringing your own food is cheaper, faster, and usually healthier, but it still requires planning.
Personal care items are another small but steady expense. This includes everything that isn’t food — things like haircuts, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, makeup, toothpaste, deodorant, and other basic daily/weekly-use items. While none of these cost a lot individually, they add up over time. A good starting point for your budget is around $15–$20 a week.
Navigator Tips
- When you move in, you’ll probably need to make a big shopping run to pick up basics for your new apartment. That first trip is a one-time cost, so don’t include that amount in your weekly grocery estimate.
- If you’re not sure what groceries usually cost, try planning a simple menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week, then go to your local grocery store before coming to Florida. Check current prices and add everything up — it’ll give you a much clearer idea of what to expect.
- If you’re thinking groceries will be around $30 a week, they won’t. The realistic range is more like $55 on the very low end to about $75 a week for most people. Yes, you can live cheaper by rotating PB&J, ramen, mac and cheese, or spaghetti every other night, but not everyone wants to eat like that for months.
A Car ?
Budget Navigator will also ask whether you’re bringing a car with you. A car is one of the biggest expenses CPs have, so answer this honestly. If you choose “YES,” you’ll enter a weekly amount for gas and then one monthly total that includes both your car payment (if you have one) and your car insurance. If you’re not responsible for either of those costs — for example, if a parent pays the insurance — just enter zero. Navigator will convert your monthly total into a weekly cost automatically. Navigator Tip: Some CPs plan to bring their car but say “I’m going to use the CP Buses for work” and that often doesn’t happen. If you’ll have a car, be realistic and give yourself a budget for it.
Cell Phone, Loan Payments, and Other Bills
If you’re responsible for a monthly cell phone bill, loan payments, or credit card payments, you’ll enter those as monthly amounts too. Your budget is calculated weekly, but the tool will handle the conversion for you. If you’re not paying a particular bill, just put zero so the tool knows to ignore it.
Additional Expenses
Finally, think through anything else you’re responsible for paying each month. This might include health insurance, pet care, or subscription services like Netflix or Spotify. Budget Navigator allows space for up to five additional non-discretionary expenses, so you can make your budget as accurate as possible.
Discretionary Expenses
(The money you don’t really need to spend, but want to.)
Meals While Working
You have to eat. Thinking that you’ll just bring a granola bar isn’t a good plan. Under Non-Discretionary Expenses, you were asked to create a Grocery Budget. That amount you’ll spend on groceries should include food that you’ll use to pack a meal (typically a lunch/dinner) that you’ll bring with you for your shift. If you don’t want to buy the groceries and ‘pack a lunch’ you’ll need to enter an amount here that will be what you think you’ll spend on meals that you buy at your Disney location. (Remember, not all locations have a full “cast dining” (cageteria) location, and even those that do; you might not be able to get to it..
Other Food – Dining Out
This is ‘going out for dinner with friends’ and any other food-related spending. Whether it’s heading to Magic Kingdom for corn dogs at Casey’s or anywhere else. This will be your weekly budget for food that isn’t in your grocery budget and isn’t in your “Meals While Working” amount. CPs tell Navigator that this is where a lot of the money ends up going. (Don’t be confused by the fact that we Navigator calls this “Meals”. Mickey Pretzels, Churros, Ice Cream, and Starbucks are all in this category. If it’s something you eat and not ‘groceries’ put the amount here.
Entertainment, Souvenirs and other Fun Stuff
Trust your Navigator. There will be no shortage of things you’ll be able to spend your money on. Give yourself a budget.
Ubers & Other Transportation.
If you won’t have a car – and although it can be convenient, you really don’t need a car – you might want to budget for some Uber-type expenses to get around.
Additional Discretionary Expenses
Budget Navigator lets you add up to 5 additional categories of Discretionary Expenses.