Words of Advice

My name is Justin, and I was a Cedar Point Shopaholic.

If I could give all new employees one word of advice before you begin work, it would be to "save your money, and spend wisely."

When I was there in '02, I worked nearly 750 hours in just over 3 1/2 months. I came home with a mear $57 to my name. First it began it only 1 large Dippin' Dot a day. By the end of my first week, I was up to 5 a day.

Then it didn't help that my dorm was next door to the vending the machines. I spent $6 every night on pop.

There are plenty of stores, and shops to waste your money in , too. You don't need to have every ride's shot glass. You don't need to taste the Dippin' Dots everyday to make sure the taste is still there. You don't need to eat at a restaurant along the midway just because you're too lazy to walk to the more than reasonably priced employee cafeteria. You don't need to do what I did and waste nearly $5,000 on stuff that ended up in the toilet the next day. I had a serious problem, and hope none of you experience it for yourself.

My name is Justin, and I am a recovering Cedar Point Shopaholic.

An easy way to save your money is make a budget. I would be surprised if even 5% of employees have one. Everyone seems to always be saying "Yeah, we can go to Steak and Shake tonight." or "Sorry, I can't afford to go eat until payday." If people make a budget, you'll be able to save money and not live payday to payday. This year it will be more important, since the park switched to a bi-weekly pay schedule. I know in 06, I left with little money (my bonus did put me ahead, but other than that, I was probably more in the hole than before the season started.) If I'd have had a budget, I'd have done better. This summer I'm sticking to my budget I have right now. Since I'll have less bills than I have now, I'm not going to spend the extra money I have, but instead put it in a savings account.

So yeah, you'll be fine if you have a budget that you stick to. When you make it, though, just be sure you're assuming a 55 hour work week, not 70. Keep your expenses in that range, and you'll save a good amount of money.

Or, don't budget, but instead live off the Sky Ride Diet. Croutons and salad dressing are free in the caf. Don't go anywhere with your crew unless its free. And don't go to Louie's. Whatever you do, do not go to Louie's!

t_biggs said:

Whatever you do, do not go to Louie's!

I heard a rumor a while back that Louie had a heart attack and died. Anyone know if this is factual based?

t_biggs said:Croutons and salad dressing are free in the caf.

Thats gross...i seen people doing that. I made the same amount of money as everyone in the park and i still ate very well. If you have to eat crutons and salad dressing you have a problem.

But you had the big TL salary, that has to be why! ;)

hahaha... the whole 5 cents more.

I think most employees have a problem with drinking their earnings, not eating their earnings.

campfreak06 said:
I heard a rumor a while back that Louie had a heart attack and died. Anyone know if this is factual based?

He passed away from lung cancer in 2003.

http://www.pointbuzz.com/news.htm?id=104

Or as they called it in the 50's, LUNG FEVAH!

Louies is still open and ready to take CP Employees paychecks, however.

t_biggs said:
And don't go to Louie's. Whatever you do, do not go to Louie's!

You can still go to Louie’s, its called being responsible about the money you spend. But that seems to be a pretty hard thing to do for some people. Its just pathetic to me how some people can spend so much money there during the summer. Especially when it’s a relatively cheap bar!

It only took one season for me to realize its easy to save the money you make. You can still have fun and spend cash on items you want, but like I said, be responsible about your spending. There are plenty of ways to save money during your summer at Cedar Point.

The best thing to do would be to live in Bayside, and buy enough food for the week that you don't need to keep buying everyday.

Zack and Slater will be there to greet you at Bayside.

^^^ I swear I'm not blonde, but that took me a few minutes...LOL

Yeah that is true, might wanna avoid Bayide.

If you are looking for an apartment to stay in, Bayside is the better of the options.

Hi, working in merchandise, it is'nt easy not to buy something during employee discount day. I got something everytime we got our discount, and spent quite a bit of money. I live near the Point, about 6 miles, so I did'nt have any rent taken out of my check. As for TL's making big bucks, they don't make that much more than base rate employees. I'll be a TL in the Pagoda this season, and I'm still going to be careful with how I spend this season. Will

If I were to give new employees a word of advice...it would be....Use Protection. There are some dirty people in the housing area, and some get around....a lot. You may not only leave CP with very little in your bank account and an extremely overworked liver, but an STD as well! :)

I don't think I can add much, but I have something to say...take advantage of any food discounts, if you can get non-perishable foods, stock-up. Items such as soup, canned food, stock them in your car trunk or such.
It's cheaper than going to that expensive (and slow) McDonalds by the Causeway.

One bit of advice I have for all people planning on working at Cedar Point make a budget, and sign up for direct deposit. Having a budget will allow you to cut down on wasting money on things you don't need, like that dip-n-dots ice cream while you're on your split. Also take advantage and sign up for direct deposit. I believe the park works with US Bank for that. Even if you don't bank there, sign up for a checking and savings account. Have a certain amount of money every paycheck moved to your savings so you can't touch it. By the end of the summer, if you save $100 per week, (well this season it's bi-weekly pay) You'll have over $1000 by the end of July alone. I myself didn't have a budget my first year, and I didn't leave for school in August with a lot of extra money, until my bonus came around. Years 2 and 3 I had a budget and stuck to it. I saved enough money my second year that I didn't have to find a job while at school.

Also, go to Meijer and get some food to take with you to work, or to have in the room. Going to the Commons store at 2am for chips, soda and a burrito 3 nights a week will add up. So that's my advice to anyone who is new to working at CP or not. If you want to ask me anything else about working at CP feel free to PM me. I was there for 3 years in rides, and 2 years in leadership. I worked on the two best rides in the park, Millennium Force and Magnum XL-200, just to name a few!

This year everyone has to sign up for direct deposit and it can be done through any bank.

Plus the checks only come every 2 weeks this year, so good planning is even more important.

My first two years I finished the seasons with over $1000 and that wasn't including the bonus. Don't think you have to be a tightwad to make money. Allow yourself to splurge on something every month or so. Go to a couple crew meals. Just avoid any big ticket items or giant meals every day and you can make a lot of money.

And don't spend so much at the bar.

SCarolina01 said:
sign up for a checking and savings account. Have a certain amount of money every paycheck moved to your savings so you can't touch it. !

Agree! That’s the way to go. I walked out with around $2,000 using this same practice. I went a step further though and did not do direct deposit, but singed up for a saving account at a different bank back home than my checking account. I put 2 checks a month into that savings account, and since it was in a separate bank from checking, it was a pain in the butt to get it out or transfer. SO whenever I had an urge to get out that money, I’d be impossible to get so it would stay in. At the end of summer I went to the bank, got a cashiers check and payed for tuition.

Also Meiers is a must if you want any chance in saving. Cafeteria and rec center food is still pricey mostly unhealthy burgers and junk. I would get a couple of loafs of whole wheat bread, peanut butter, Turkey Breast, Ham, Tuna, Cheeses, etc and had cheap healthy sandwiches mostly. During work hours for something with more substance, I would get a "salad" (it was just iceberg lettuce with a cherry tomato ;)) and chicken tenders which was about $4 and that would make a decent meal. If I was feeling hungry then we’d head out to china buffet that had the employee discount and fill up for the day for about the same price as a single meal in the cafeteria.