Nosey

[Legacy]

OK..I'm just plain nosey here...for those blessed people who can take 14+ day trips:

What do you and your spouse do for a living?
How are you able to take off that many days straight from work?

I can't even imagine leaving work for 10 working days...I'd have SO much to do when I got back! I can understand affording it all, I think, with lots of saving, or being blessed financially...

Just curious...

[Thumperr]

OK..I'm just plain nosey here...for those blessed people who can take 14+ day trips:

What do you and your spouse do for a living?
How are you able to take off that many days straight from work?

I can't even imagine leaving work for 10 working days...I'd have SO much to do when I got back! I can understand affording it all, I think, with lots of saving, or being blessed financially...

Just curious...


I guess it depends on where you live, here in Holland we get 5 weeks off each year. I work for a big telephone company from home and my DH works as a salesman.

[Disney Fool]

I'm a state worker (have been for the past 35 years) I now have earned 5 weeks vacation. I earned it--I'm gonna use it.

[sharadoc]

I'm at a big financial services company. My level gets 21 days, plus we can "buy" another week and we get one or two bonus days for reaching annual goals.

So, I have over 5 weeks. Time off is valued here, so we find ways to cover for each other easily.

[swald91]

My husband is a state worker & I am self-employed.He gets around 4 weeks per year & me -whenever I want but- no work no pay!!...We never take 10 plus day trips to Disney...can't afford it!!!

[Heidijs]

Both DH and I work for the city...I get 3.5 weeks off and he gets 3...plus we get all holidays off and we get comp time for any overtime we work that we get at 1.5 x regular hours...so we end up with a lot of comp time to use for time off instead of dipping into our vacation...we never lose our vacation either...we can carry it over for years...we also get the same amount of sick time off as well and it carrys over...in a few more years I'll start getting 5 weeks off a year...on my 16th year anniversary...

As far as $$...we are not married, so come tax time we get like $11,000 in returns and we still claim one on our payroll...but the way we split up the kids for dependants, mortgage, daycare, head of household...we make out like bandits at tax time.

I don't take off 10 days in a row either...my office would fall apart...but I am taking 7 off for our trip next week :)

[Kurby]

we are by no means rich. dh is a chef at a hotel and i drive a school bus.

we don't go to disney during high seasons (we like January) which means that while he gets 4 weeks vacation i have to take unpaid leave.

we don't own a cottage, new cars, or a home.

we don't go on 2 and 3 week vacations every year to far off places but choose to stay closer to home and camp.

my friends love going to the islands, my cousin's love Europe, we love Disney.

we go every other year for no less then 3 weeks but that includes the drive down (saves half on flights and only takes 1 maybe 2 nights in a hotel depending on what time we leave and how tired we are)

it helps that we own dvc and buy our 10 day passes long before we head down and just have to pay for food while there.

our vacations (other than food) are paid before we go and what we spend down there gets paid off over the next 4-6 months.



it's a matter of what's important to you - if a 2 week vacation is what you really want - you may have to give up those weekly dinners out or that bigger tv or go for a used car instead of a new one etc...

if you don't have thousands and thousands it's a trade off

[outlander]

Both DH and I work for the city...I get 3.5 weeks off and he gets 3...plus we get all holidays off and we get comp time for any overtime we work that we get at 1.5 x regular hours...so we end up with a lot of comp time to use for time off instead of dipping into our vacation...we never lose our vacation either...we can carry it over for years...we also get the same amount of sick time off as well and it carrys over...in a few more years I'll start getting 5 weeks off a year...on my 16th year anniversary...

As far as $$...we are not married, so come tax time we get like $11,000 in returns and we still claim one on our payroll...but the way we split up the kids for dependants, mortgage, daycare, head of household...we make out like bandits at tax time.

Classic

[momejay]

I'm a single parent. I work from home for a couple of contractors answering phones. I just coordinate my vacation with slow times & use an answering machine. I check the messages at lunch & when we get back to our hotel & report any emergencies. I help out a local farmer with his veggie & fruit stand for free fresh veggies & fruit. (which I can & use all winter) I also answer questions for a help desk online. I can't tell you how many nights I have spent working online in a hotel in FL after parks have closed while juggling 3 kids into bed.
We don't usually go for 14 days, but it is the "norm" for us to do 7-10 days twice a year. I worry more about school hours missed than work. It is the cash that is hard to come by.

[jewjubean]

popcorn::

[indimom]

We're blessed with jobs that do not involve paperwork or projects or monthly reports. One of the joys of a simple life. No one is going to miss you, need you, or call you on vacation! :thumbsup2
DH works on the floor of a manufacturing plant and has accrued three weeks of vacation over the years. He rarely uses more than one, so this year he'll have to be a bit more frugal with the days he is going to have left after this trip. :rotfl:
I'm self employed and work from home. I don't get vacation pay or sick days. I haven't taken a day off for illness in over 10 years. I've never gone on a school field trip with the kids or run them to appointments. I take vacations once a year or so (usually less than a week over major holidays when work is slow anyway). I spent a long time saving for this trip, including saving for the income I will be losing those two weeks, but I think I've earned it! :cool1:

[Heidijs]

Classic

Why? :confused3

[andrews_dad]

You can stay off-site on low season for peanuts, literally $20-30 per night at some Main Gate area chains and local motels. Tickets get progressively cheaper as you add days, or if you have an AP. When my wife and I were still dating an in college, we took a 24 day Diz, SeaWorld, & Universal (before Is of Ad was open) trip on the super cheap. Stayed at el cheapo hotels, drove our own car up and back, ate on the cheap via grocery store and places like McD's, etc. Spent entire "free" free days just touring the hotels, window shopping at downtown Diz, etc. Hit DizQuest, Cirque, water parks including Wet and Wild, the works. Great trip.

[DizzyStitch]

We are trying our first 14 day trip this year. I am an accountant and I get three weeks plus buy a week. I know coming back will be rough but for those 14 days I will be in heaven! DH works at Home Deport so he just gets to have fun. No make up work for him. I think it's all about planning for the time off. Plus I don't take any other long periods off.

[islandmum]

the minimum vacation time we take is 2 weeks, DH gets up to 40 days vacation per year in his industry and I dont work.

We feel like a week isnt enough for us to unwind of justify the travel overseas so normally 2-3 weeks is our usual trip length and we do that twice a year.

[frannn]

We do this by going off season, during free dining, and staying at a value resort. I take extra out of our paychecks and use the refund for the trip (yes, I know I'm giving the government a free loan). I buy everything on sale. DH is a NYC police officer, and gets 5 weeks off each year, which he splits up. Since I do have monthly deadlines, I can't be gone that long. DH usually has an extra 1 1/2 weeks off after we return from WDW. I schedule our time at WDW so it covers the surrounding weekends, so there is the least amount of days out of school. It would be nice if we could take two, shorter trips each year, but then we'd have to add in the cost of an additional plane trip. Wish we lived closer!

[Disneyadore]

I really don't care how others can afford a vacation for a week or a half year.
That is non of my business and I hope they can take a vacation as long as they like.
Why would you care what others do? As long as they pay there bill's and taxes I hope this is a free country.
BTW we just take a month to vacation and do the things we like. :lmao:

[MelanieC]

We usually go at least 14 nights and last year we were lucky enough to do 18 nights. We stay at values, buy annual passes that are good for two years worth of trips (use in Aug first year and then July the second year). We get military discounts most times, got free dining last year for half our trip.

We aren't rich, but we bought a modest house and didn't buy over our heads. Because we didn't put all our money into a house, it leaves us money for vacations. DH gets lots of time off in the military as a civilian employee and I get more than 3 weeks vacations. For us, we choose quantity of days over the deluxe hotels (we stay at values).

We are lucky that we have jobs that we can take long periods of time off. I find those vacations the most relaxing.

[Heidijs]

We're going off peak season at a moderate resort, middle dining plan, non-stop airline tickets, park hoppers, it's costing us $2600 for 7 nights...to me that's cheap...this is the most expensive trip we've taken in all my 35 years...usually we just drive to our destination and do the typical tourist traps and that only costs us a few hotel nights and gas/food. This Disney trip is a splurge to us. I guess I should say $3000 because I have to pay for our checked bags, $70 to board the dog...$65 for a stroller rental...$65 for parking at the airport..

We don't live in a big fancy house or drive fancy cars either...

[rgf207]

My wife is a teacher and I work for a Federal Contractor. I get 3 weeks off per year and my wife has the summers. We usually take 10 day vacations to WDW or cruises.

[PSUGuy]

I'm an applications programmer at a small Pa university and I teach here part-time, wifey was offered early retirement with a buyout last year, she may go back to work part-time someday. We get a Spring Break here in March when we often take an 8 day WDW vacation. I also get off from X-Mas eve day until the day after New Year's Day and I have 4 weeks vacation as well. We do 10 days at Myrtle Beach in July and a few long weekend trips to places like Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, etc. Our next WDW trip will be Food&Wine in Oct or Nov this year.

Bill From PA

[DisneyShannon]

I am single no kids and live with my dad. I am a Department Manager for the local hospital. I save all year and use my income tax money. I get 15 days vacation a year and try to go to disney twice a year.

[Legacy]

Interesting info. I'm not nosy about how people afford it...just how they can take so many days off of work!

Looks like most responders have state/fed jobs and the spouse is self-employed. That's kind of what I was guessing was the case!

[Heidijs]

Interesting info. I'm not nosy about how people afford it...just how they can take so many days off of work!

Looks like most responders have state/fed jobs and the spouse is self-employed. That's kind of what I was guessing was the case!

Maybe Disney will have a special gov't employee week soon! :lmao:

[iwrbnd]

I've wondered the same thing.:confused:

My husband is a family doc so if he doesn't work he doesn't get paid. I force him to take one vacation a year for 7 days. He would prefer 4 days since he's swamped when he gets back & financially we definately feel it!

I'm a teacher so I have school breaks.

I would looove to take longer & more vacations but "it ain't never gonna happen"! Hey, maybe things will get better under Obama's health plan & we'll get paid vacations!!!:rotfl2:

[ancestry]

This year we are going for 10 days (not 14) but I am self-employed and also teach online for a University so I have control over my own schedule (somewhat). I will have to log in to the course I am teaching while I am at Disney but hopefully I can do that early in the morning and again late at night.

My husband has been at his job long enough that he gets 3 weeks of vacation each year. Often we schedule our vacation to overlap on a holiday but this year that isn't happening. He often works evenings, weekends and holidays and gets additional comp days for doing so in theory he can take more than 3 weeks.

[Dash7]

This is interesting. At my company we are only allowed to take 1 week off at a time, so no multi-week vacations for me. Maybe someday!

[stitch1094]

I work for a life insurance company and based on my years of service, I have 4 weeks of vacation time. My wife is a teacher, which means our vacations to DW are during the peak times.

The last few years we have done 10 to 14 day trips. Being a DVC member takes the sting out of lodging. We "only" have to pay for tickets and food (which we usually use our federal income tax return for).

[Princess Disney Mom]

OK..I'm just plain nosey here...for those blessed people who can take 14+ day trips:

What do you and your spouse do for a living?
How are you able to take off that many days straight from work?

I can't even imagine leaving work for 10 working days...I'd have SO much to do when I got back! I can understand affording it all, I think, with lots of saving, or being blessed financially...

Just curious...

For us it wasn't always this way, we have been working over 21 years so being an old timer helps with the time off work and salary.

When we were younger and had small children it was different, maybe no vacation or a short one and no Disney until the kids were 9 and 10.

[kohlby]

We're also not taking a full two weeks - though DH is taking 9-10 days off work so close to it! (Hoping for 9. It depends on how the drive back goes!) He gets 20 vacation days a year and was allowed to roll over 3 unused days from last year. He struggles to have to use up his vacation days at the end of the year. He used to only have to take 10 days off and cashed in the rest but they changed the policy. He's an electrical engineer and I'm a SAHM who homeschools.

For hotel - we're using our Starwood points to get a free night on the hotel on the drive down as well as 5 nights free at the Dolphin. (The buy 4 get one free worked with points!) Then we're switching to a Universal Hotel which I managed to get a great deal on. We do the off-season and I watch the prices. Last time, the person at the hotel's check-in desk was shocked our rate was so low. We have free Sea World tickets thanks to credit card points. All but one of our Universal tickets were free thanks to credit card points. We did have to pay for our Disney tickets but we do 10 day never expires - which means three of our tickets were at 2006 rates and already paid for. I did have to buy one for my 3 year old this time. We do counter service and eat breakfast with food we bring in our room. We're not big souvenir buyers. We don't go every year, so that helps too!

[Mama Steph]

This August will be our longest trip yet. We will be at Disney 11 days (10nts) and will be driving so that is an additional 2-4 nights. DH owns a small building company. While he is gone, very little will be done but I am a teacher so we go during peak season. Since we have a family of 7 we almost always drive so that adds 4 days to our trips. We just don't have time to go during the school year (except Xmas which is way out of our price range).

[Tiger926]

I'm a highschool teacher, so I get whole summer off, and hubby is a bank supervisor with 5 weeks of vacation each year. We are DVC members, so we go for 2 weeks each July.

Tiger

[ReelRedHead]

We are going for 10 nights in June. I am a teacher and my hubby does environmental work. We are NOT wealthy!! The trip was really not that expensive at all. 10 night, POR, park hoppers, QSDP, 2 adults, one 5-year-old.
The total was $3800.
Save, Save, Save.

[vroomagain]

DH and I are both students and work at our respective colleges. We had middle of Dec- middle of Jan. off so we took off 2 weeks.

We have no idea what our vacations will look like when we have to get real jobs :thumbsup2

[bumbershoot]

I really don't care how others can afford a vacation for a week or a half year.
That is non of my business and I hope they can take a vacation as long as they like.
Why would you care what others do? As long as they pay there bill's and taxes I hope this is a free country.
BTW we just take a month to vacation and do the things we like. :lmao:

Perhaps so they can gear their career towards that direction?



I'm at home with DS, and we homeschool, so apart from his sports and homeschool PE classes at the Y, we're free as birds. DH works for amazon.com as a product tester. For the first two years of employment he gets 2 weeks, and then 3...and you can carry it over. (if you're in customer service it's very different FYI) If DH is gone, they either hold off on the testing he needs to do or have someone else do it. He has some other things he's doing (since flexibility is very much a part of being at amazon) that might get backed up, but he's very good at clearing his to-do list before going away.

We've been more in the mode of doing several shorter trips in the year, but this year we're doing WDW for the first time, and we want to do it up BIG. So we're planning on using the time leftover from last year plus his weeks this year. :)

[Hallowishes]

ok, i work retail .. but i work for a terrific company. ive worked for them for just a little over three years. i get 3 weeks vacation + 1 week of wellness time. then, i rolled over 4 days from last year (we can roll over up to 5 days) so i will be spending 11 days at WDW in september. for the past two years, ive gotten free dining and i stay at a value resort (all star music) my trip costs me roughly $1500 with airfare from cleveland, ohio. i save up for it all year and really try to be thrifty to afford it .. and its completely worth it to me :cloud9:

[deerhart]

I'm an attorney and my husband is currently a retail manager (he'll be out once he finishes his masters degree).

I am taking off 2 weeks this year for our vacation (starting with memorial day weekend and then a few days after we return). We will be there for 9 days/8 nights with 2 kids (ages 7 and 10) at BC. Our trip is less expensive then many other places we looked at.

It takes lots of planning on my part (to not have things scheduled, have memos to my files for people to fill in etc, and to let all my clients know I won't be available) and yes I have lots of work when I get back (but hey that's a NORMAL workday).

[FigNewton]

I'm a state worker (have been for the past 35 years) I now have earned 5 weeks vacation. I earned it--I'm gonna use it.

Same here, earn about 18 days a year now after 10 years. My wife works for a health insurance company and also gets about 3 weeks per year.

Seriously the time off is the only good thing left about being a state employee here. People think we are all spoiled and taken care of by the state but the truth is we are severely underpaid and underfunded.

[Heidijs]

Same here, earn about 18 days a year now after 10 years. My wife works for a health insurance company and also gets about 3 weeks per year.

Seriously the time off is the only good thing left about being a state employee here. People think we are all spoiled and taken care of by the state but the truth is we are severely underpaid and underfunded.

Same for city workers...0% cost of living/raises here this year! WOO HOO!!! Oh but our health insurance went way up...yep, vacation and sick time is about all it's worth...DH is head of streets and is very underpaid...

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I'm a stay at home mom and DH is a CPA for a government entity. So he does get lots of vacation but does have a hard time catching up when we get back. We have also tried to plan around school holidays and DH is often off work for the holidays that the kids are so that he doesn't miss the full 2 weeks of work.

[gallmcduck]

We r from the UK so different holidays than in USA. We wouldn't go that distance for any less than 14 days especially with the kids. This year we are going for slightly longer yippeeeeee.:cool1: Can be quite expensive for us but you can make some savings by staying offsite, leaving out car hire,using dining plan (but you pay slightly more for your accomodation as you need to stay onsite to access). Like said previously it's soooo worth it so you don't mind saving hard throughout the year.

[Befferk]

I am an Administrative Assistant, so not government or a "fancy" job. I've just been at my job for 11 years and get 4 weeks vacation. Before my DH was laid off he was also up to 4 weeks. He's a full time student now, so our vacation this year is when his school gets out of Spring semester. My work is very laid back and the two other gals and I in the office pick up the slack so that each other can take longer vacations, because we all know how nice it is. To me, less than 10 days is not worth it for us to go to Florida because we can only go every couple years. So we make it work. :goodvibes This May, my last day of work is 5/12 and I won't return until 6/1. Can't wait!! :cool1:

[Pakey]

We only go for a week at a time to WDW because my husband and I take an annual trip somewhere else (and always someplace new) that is 14-21 days. This year is my pick and I'm leaning towards Egypt.

I worked for many years where it was never a possibility to take that much time off at one time. I've been the CFO at a large manufacturing company with the same staff for +/- 10 years and as long as I schedule for a non-peak time and take my phone, my staff manages just fine without me. My husband owns his own business.

[arcticdisneylovers]

We live in the arctic and it's so expensive to fly out of here that we never leave for less than 3 weeks. Usually we take one 3 week vacation in the winter and one 5 week vacation in the summer. My husband is a CA and I'm self employed.

On the down side, we are supposed to fly out on Friday and we are blizzarded in right now. DH was travelling for work and supposed to return today but his flight was diverted to another community. The blizzard is supposed to last through tomomorrw night so I am VERY worried we will not get out on Friday :scared1:

We're supposed to check into the Contemporary on Monday so think warm thoughts for me :love: I guess I'm glad I paid for travel insurance, I wonder what will happen if we can't get there by Monday :confused3 I'll try not to totally freak until Friday when we don't get out and then I'll call Disney:sad1:

[NashBridges]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[checkmate]

our own business, him in computer programming, I do home staging for real estate. We take 6-8 weeks per year to holiday. 2 weeks in the winter for a family trip, 2 weeks for a couples trip, then a 2-4 week trip in the summer where we drive across the country and camp etc.

[livie1205]

My dh is a LEO and I am a SAHM so we are not rich by no means but we budget and do not waste alot of money,we do not run up debt so not alot of bills to pay and when we built our house we did not go beyond our reach as far as mortgage payment.He gets about 5 weeks a year for vacation time,a few weeks for personal leave and a few weeks sick leave a year...they are very good to him so we take the kids to wdw every other christmas for a big family trip (AKL CL) and we take a smaller wdw trip each year for a week or so.
This year we have AKL CL in Dec, POLY in April for late honeymoon (very late) and next may 3 weeks at ALL STAR SUITES for a big summer trip. We always plan ahead so we can pay for our trips BEFORE we go so we do not have vacation debt when we get home...
.

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Wow most people missed the point of the question (nothing new around here).
DH and I both work in telecommunications at a customer service center, I'm in quality control and DH is in operations support. I get 6 weeks a year time off and I can take mine whenever I want just have to fight the other 5 people in my office for it, only 2 can be off the same week, but it's usually just an issue at Christmas. DH on the other hand has 5 weeks time off a year and he 'could' theoretically take his whenever he wants but its not realistic, b/c more than a week out of the office nad he would be swamped. We have specific goals to meet by the end of the month everymonth and with more than a week off he would never get caught up. Mine would be covered by co workers, his would not. He only took 10 days for our wedding and Honeymoon and it took him the rest of the month to catch up plus several extra late nights working.

I scheduled a 13 day trip to Disney a few years back before I took this position (and before DH) but got sick about day 5 and had to come home early so I'll prob never try that again. The position I had at that time was no pressure, no production, no goals, no planning needed, just a show up and do it kinda of job so taking 2 weeks was no big deal.

[tzolkin]

We will go to Disney for 10-12 nights (plus driving), not 2 weeks plus.

Two years ago we visited family in FL and went to a friend's wedding along with our Disney trip, so we were gone a little over 3 weeks.


DH is a nurse and I don't work. He has vacation time and can use it as he decides as long as he requests it in advance. There is no work waiting for him when he returns because it must be completed daily-- others work hard to get everything done and may take a bit of overtime, just like he does when they are on vacation or out sick. We were at Disney for 12 days in May and he took off during the kids' winter break-- he still has about 25 hours to use up. I'm not sure the exact number of vacation hours he is up to now. It started out as 2 weeks/year. He has worked at the same hospital for almost 7 years.

As far as affording it. We just budget in our daily lives and try to be practical when planning a trip to keep the cost reasonable (we drive, buy groceries, don't purchase extra stuff). We are fairly young 28/29 and have 3 children.

[mjkacmom]

I'm at a big financial services company. My level gets 21 days, plus we can "buy" another week and we get one or two bonus days for reaching annual goals.

So, I have over 5 weeks. Time off is valued here, so we find ways to cover for each other easily.

My DH has been a CFP for the same large financial services company for 20 years, and although he gets 5+ weeks a year, I don't think he would be able to take 2 weeks off. He's a senior member of a branch office. He has taken 1+ weeks off, with maybe a couple conference calls thrown in.

[BradyBz12]

DH is a service writer for an auto dealership and I'm a graphic designer with my own small business. We've worked our way up to 3 weeks at WDW for our annual vacation the past 2 years. It takes a LOT of scrimping, saving and planning to pull it off.

Time off is tricky - DH only gets 2 weeks paid vacation, so he saves up his sick time time to take the extra week. I'm much more flexible with my own business, but even though I do a lot of planning to clear my desk before we go, I still usually end up bringing my laptop to take care of the little things that crop up while we're gone.

In terms of cost - it helps tremendously that we pull our travel trailer to Fort Wilderness and stay there with our dogs. Ends up costing us about as much as a value resort - a bit less if we luck into an AP or AAA discount. The ability to cook some meals saves on food (we usually eat 1 meal out each day), and bringing the dogs with us saves us the expense of having to kennel them (plus we just love traveling with them!) Plus we just LOVE the Fort and all it has to offer. :goodvibes

When it comes to meals, we've done a lot of research about what's available and have found ways to save while still enjoying eating out - a big part of any vacation IMO.

For park tix we've found that by purchasing APs and planning so that we get 2 year's worth of trips out of each (6 weeks total) we save a TON there alone. We also take advantage of the discount perks that go along with the APs - namely the TiW card, which we can also use over 2 trips and has easily saved us several hundred dollars.

At this point our friends and family are playing into our Disney habit - giving us Disney gift cards for birthdays/Christmas - and we also save up points on our Disney Visa throughout the year (they paid for our MNSSHP tix last year).

We've been to WDW often enough at this point that we don't buy many souvenirs anymore, so we save a good bit of $ there too.

In the end we've come up with a way to spend 3 weeks at WDW (on property) for what the average week-long package costs. It's not easy, but we think it's worth it for the fun and relaxation we have while we're there. :flower3:

[mousireid]

We are a military family. We take advantage of special offers, tickets, lodging, budget and save for our wee trips. Where we could take a vacation 4/5 weeks roughly to use each year to go to Disney my family are in Scotland and before we were either stationed overseas or elsewhere in the US and we sepnt time visiting with them and taking 4/5 day trips to Disney or long weekends, or even a two nights stay (when in CA at DL) or here in FL to DW.
I have jobs/college and he has a career. We are NOT loaded but we choose what to do with our money that is all. And as for time. Life is VERY short. If you got hit by a bus tomorrow, what did you want to do and say before you go. Better do it now! That for us inlcudes memories at Disney!

[KateMW]

We only go for a week at a time to WDW because my husband and I take an annual trip somewhere else (and always someplace new) that is 14-21 days. This year is my pick and I'm leaning towards Egypt.

I worked for many years where it was never a possibility to take that much time off at one time. I've been the CFO at a large manufacturing company with the same staff for +/- 10 years and as long as I schedule for a non-peak time and take my phone, my staff manages just fine without me. My husband owns his own business.

First off, how cool is Egypt going to be? Wow! Very jealous!

And the part I highlighted is the key to my husband taking vacations. He's a partner in a large law firm, so as long as he has his phone and isn't planning on going during a trial or time leading up to trial, we're usually fine. We can take as much time as we want...but it comes with long work days year around, working weekends, last minute cancelations, etc. It's probably worth it...maybe.

[amzking]

Interesting info. I'm not nosy about how people afford it...just how they can take so many days off of work!

Looks like most responders have state/fed jobs and the spouse is self-employed. That's kind of what I was guessing was the case!

I haven't taken a two week vacation to WDW, but both my husband and I have 4 weeks a year, and we are in the private sector (health care and alarm systems.) Now mind you, that includes sick time too, but I have always had rather generous time off and DH has been at his job long enough that his vacation time awarded every year has gotten higher. In three more years I will get an extra week a year.:cool1: He started with only one week off for the first year.

The only time we have taken two week vacations is either overseas (not worth it to go for only a week, IMO) or to Colorado to visit family.

We have a modest home and only one car payment, which is why we were able to do multiple small trips to WDW this year, in addition to our first-ever week at WDW in May. Of course we are local so air fare is not an issue. We did Buy 4 Get 3, upgraded those tix to APs, and always got awesome AP rates for the rest of the trips. I think the dining plan is a money saver for us too, the way we like to eat on vacation. ;)

[Cap'nJack'sMum]

We live in the arctic and it's so expensive to fly out of here that we never leave for less than 3 weeks. Usually we take one 3 week vacation in the winter and one 5 week vacation in the summer. My husband is a CA and I'm self employed.

On the down side, we are supposed to fly out on Friday and we are blizzarded in right now. DH was travelling for work and supposed to return today but his flight was diverted to another community. The blizzard is supposed to last through tomomorrw night so I am VERY worried we will not get out on Friday :scared1:

We're supposed to check into the Contemporary on Monday so think warm thoughts for me :love: I guess I'm glad I paid for travel insurance, I wonder what will happen if we can't get there by Monday :confused3 I'll try not to totally freak until Friday when we don't get out and then I'll call Disney:sad1:

I hope you get out!!! I would be freaking out if I were you. :scared1: I admire your calm demeanor.

[newharmony]

DH and I go for 20 nights at a time, and we go twice a year. When DH first started going, he went to the campground. When we married, we stayed at the ASMovies at first, then Riverside. We'd go for a week at a time. We eventually bought DVC points for SSR and have enough for 20 nights there, then we bought BWV ...enough for 20 more nights. He is a retired insurance agent. He sold his business to his son about 10 years ago. I still work, but only about 30 hours a week. I have 6 weeks paid vacation. We have worked many years to get to this point. We are now looking forward to buying a home in Mount Dora, FL and spending even MORE time at WDW!

[dis75ney]

I work for a major pharmaceutical company and can earn three weeks off per year. Unfortunately, I do have a PTO cap where I'll stop earning PTO unless I take PTO. While I understand why the cap is in place (my company actually WANTS us to take time off), I wish that the company would let the employees make the decision on whether to take time off. I also get the major holidays off (NY, Memorial, Labor, Thanksgiving, and Christmas), and we get four floating holidays per year as well that are use 'em or lose 'em by the end of the year.

This year I'll be taking three weeks of vacation: a staycation next week, WDW in May for Star Wars weekend, and then we'll be taking a cruise in September. My boss is already panicking... :rolleyes1

[bouncycat]

I'm a banker, and DH is a Chief in the Coast Guard, we're not loaded either, I book early and make payments, so we can do the trip all on cash. We usually do just 2-4 nights when they have the military special, so no 7 day trips for us. We're local, so that helps a bunch, but it is nice to stay there, and eat at the different places and such every once in a while, or take a family member or friend. This year, we're going all out, for my friend who's graduating from college as an accountant. We're using taxes and payments to go, and I'm saving $ here and there to be able to indulge a little bit. My advice, just save save save, and take advantage of any specials!!

[lynnebla]

Why? :confused3

If they're thinking the same as me (I'm a CPA), sounds like somebody may be doing a little "cheating" on their taxes. You can't just choose a lot of things like head of household status & how dependents are claimed. While I'm all for keeping as much $ out of Uncle Sam's (or Obama's, as the case may be) hands, there are ways these things work & they can't just be changed to get the best deal possible.

[Dr. M]

I'm a dentist and my DH is a SAHD. I work 30 hours a week and have to plan my vacations 6 months in advance. I usually take about 4 weeks of vacation spread throughout the year, and I try not to do more than 10 straight days at a time, because I feel obligated to be available to my patients. I've known most of them for years, and they've all become part of our "dental" family.

[trainingupmy4princes]

My DH is part owner in a small business, computer software. So he has up to 6 weeks off but never takes it all. I am a SAHM. Most of our vacations have been around 10 days. But twice I convinced him to take 2 weeks. But he works at night while down there as the company ends up having emergencies he has to handle. The vacation time is misleading as he can never truly use it all because he is pretty much needed all the time. Someday if the business becomes successful enough to grow more then he'll be able to take longer vacations. Of course, with this economy it may be awhile.

As far as the money part, we go during value season and look for discounts like free dining. We couldn't afford 10 days for our size of family paying full price.:scared1:

[entropy63]

I'm a single father with 2 boys full-time. I own my own IT consulting firm which is nice, but even at Disney I still carry my cell and my laptop is back in the room to work if I need it. I do ok, but I am far from rich. I have to plan 6+ months out. I bought DVC a few years ago so it makes the trip easier and not as expensive. I only get to take a week or so off to take the boys.

[cglaura]

I am self employed, so I have to budget in my time off. I can take as much time as I want, but the caveat is, no paid vacation! Usually I just try to do as much extra work as I can beforehand. I am luck to work with a great design firm and get a Christmas bonus every year, so that makes up the difference.

As for paying for the trip (we are going 15 days this year...in 6 more days :cool1: ).... I also do online surveys, product testing, gpt sites. I've been saving the rewards for a little over 2.5 years, so all but $95 was paid from them (I've posted in the Rewards Board about what sites, etc.).

And if I wasn't such a sucker, it would have been $100% paid, but dd always wanted to try LeCellier, so that is one of her extra graduation treats.

Alot of my budget allowance is living frugally as well, no credit card debt, no car payments, etc. I pretty much only buy what we need, and we wait for birthdays and Christmas for big stuff (cameras, phone, special/extra clothes). Our only dining out is a pizza every once in awhile. That we'd do regardless of finances though, we just don't enjoy eating out.

[Metsoskil]

OK..I'm just plain nosey here...for those blessed people who can take 14+ day trips:

What do you and your spouse do for a living?
How are you able to take off that many days straight from work?

I can't even imagine leaving work for 10 working days...I'd have SO much to do when I got back! I can understand affording it all, I think, with lots of saving, or being blessed financially...

Just curious...

We're both teachers. We have a tight monthly budget that we stick to - ie. DW takes a calculator to the grocery store. DW is the science department chair in her high school, and I am the head teacher at my elementary school. Our stipends pay for our vacations (DW and a week at Rehoboth Beach every summer). Since it is money we get outside of our regular paychecks, it's not included in our monthly budget, and our monthly budget includes all of our payments to our savings & retirement accounts so the stipends are freed up.

[Heidijs]

If they're thinking the same as me (I'm a CPA), sounds like somebody may be doing a little "cheating" on their taxes. You can't just choose a lot of things like head of household status & how dependents are claimed. While I'm all for keeping as much $ out of Uncle Sam's (or Obama's, as the case may be) hands, there are ways these things work & they can't just be changed to get the best deal possible.

Okay, I have our taxes done by an accountant and here's our sceneria...boyfriend claims TWO children from a previous marriage...claims the mortgage interest on our house...last year he got $6000 back...WE'RE NOT MARRIED....

I claim head of household and claim our daughter...I claim her daycare...I pay our insurance pre-taxed...I get about $5000 back...

Yes, it's legit...we've been getting these amounts back for YEARS...I wouldn't have the first CLUE how to cheat on my taxes nor would I ever do it...for the record, his taxable income is about $40K and mine comes out to about $38K after retirement and insurance is pretaxed out of my checks...last year we both started claming 1 on our payroll and still got almost $11,000 between the two of us...I claim single head of household with one child, he claims single with 2 children...I'm sure now you see why we get so much back...I've told this scenerio to many tax preparers and they said it sounded pretty typical!

We also have had our accountant run "scenerios" for best returns...since we're not married, he too could chose to claim head of household...claim our daughter along with his...claim daycare...but the way we split it, we get the best possible return...

[Dr. M]

Okay, I have our taxes done by an accountant and here's our sceneria...boyfriend claims TWO children from a previous marriage...claims the mortgage interest on our house...last year he got $6000 back...WE'RE NOT MARRIED....

I claim head of household and claim our daughter...I claim her daycare...I pay our insurance pre-taxed...I get about $5000 back...

Yes, it's legit...we've been getting these amounts back for YEARS...I wouldn't have the first CLUE how to cheat on my taxes nor would I ever do it...for the record, his taxable income is about $40K and mine comes out to about $38K after retirement and insurance is pretaxed out of my checks...last year we both started claming 1 on our payroll and still got almost $11,000 between the two of us...I claim single head of household with one child, he claims single with 2 children...I'm sure now you see why we get so much back...I've told this scenerio to many tax preparers and they said it sounded pretty typical!

We also have had our accountant run "scenerios" for best returns...since we're not married, he too could chose to claim head of household...claim our daughter along with his...claim daycare...but the way we split it, we get the best possible return...

This is a very kind response to accusations from a CPA who has no idea who you are or what your particular situation is. I personally would have been very insulted and my response would have been rather scathing. Anyway, you did not owe anyone a detailed explanation of your personal situation, but thank you for your effort at setting the record straight. I'm glad you are getting your hard-earned money back from those who might otherwise squander it.

[TBLaube]

I am in the military so I get 30 days of leave per year. When deployed, the days build up because you can't use them. I am back on shore duty and volunteered to deploy last year so I should be home for the summer (that of course could change quickly. We deployed hundreds of people from my command to help in Haiti...it is always a gamble) Last year I bought into DVC and got a year in developer points and stayed at SSR for nine nights in a studio. I then rented out my 2009 points to help cover expenses. Plus the military discount tix were a steal last year. This year I don't get a free ticket but it is still a great deal. And if we prepurchase on base there are no taxes. We will add the water park and more option and get four days in the parks and two DQ visits and one each to TL and BB. The couple of days in between will be to relax by the pool. Last year I also ordered groceries and we had breakfast in the room and even had some lunches and dinners. That saved a bunch!
One of my trips was cut short adn I had to come home a couple of days early and that was very depressing, but that is always a possibility.
We are staying 8 nights in a LV Studio at BLT and then 2 nights at Poly out of pocket but have a 40% discount in a GV. Youngest son has been begging to stay there forever. This will be the only time I spend $250/night in a room!!!!!!! By staying in a studio vice a one bedroom (which is fine for three of us), I will be renting the rest of my 2010 points and that will pay for the QSDP.
We also pack a few big boxes of cereal, some oatmeal packets, and snacks to help save money. That is a big help.

[Heidijs]

This is a very kind response to accusations from a CPA who has no idea who you are or what your particular situation is. I personally would have been very insulted and my response would have been rather scathing. Anyway, you did not owe anyone a detailed explanation of your personal situation, but thank you for your effort at setting the record straight. I'm glad you are getting your hard-earned money back from those who might otherwise squander it.

I know, I feel stupid offering our personal information out there but I'd be the last one who'd have a clue on how one "cheats" on taxes??? How does one do that??? I use a CPA and have for years...most of our return is federal...we don't get much back for state...I've even went through every line on our taxes when she gives them back to us and everything is correct and where it should be and no "wrong" numbers...I get a break for being a single mom who pays a LOT in daycare and health insurance and my partner claims our huge mortgage interest and two kids...no cheating here and our CPA is good about figuring out who should claim what...and we've claimed the same since day one since I don't think you can really switch back and forth but we could our DD we have together...I can't claim his obviously and I stay Head of household since I make less and get a bigger break...The IRS scares the crap out of me...for a while my partner was getting paid cash on the side for a job and I freaked and made him start claiming it!!! Even our CPA warned us...but once we figure in mileage...it doesn't effect his return much...

[paintnolish]

Teacher and future teacher (student right now). Long summer trips are ours forever!:)

[Heidijs]

Teacher and future teacher (student right now). Long summer trips are ours forever!:)

I so wished I worked at a school for summers off!!!! :worship:

[PKWallaby]

If I understand the question:
My DH works for a paper mill, has 7 or 8 (I forget?) wks vacation per year that he uses for hunting, out-of-town ball tournaments (for himself) and hockey tourneys (for our DS)... I beg every year for more time to go to WDW, so far he relented to a 16 day trip in 2007 and 15 days in 2009 (usually he gives WDW one week of his treasured vacation, plus adds on a few days since he "makes trades" to get more time off while still using one week vacation (perfectly legit, just means working a couple 16 hr days before or after we go). Since I suspect the place runs better without him, no worries about him being gone that long:rotfl:

I work for an insurance company and after staying home 9 years, returned with full credit for past service and have 5 wks PTO plus 4 floating days. I would use all of it in WDW, but finances insist otherwise. When I am gone that long, no one else really handles my desk so it takes another week to gain control once I return...:scared1:

We (I) purchased DVC with our increased salary when I went back in 2008. Unfortunately I think we spend more per year now on vacation since we don't have to pay for the hotel :laughing:

[shellybaxter]

Dh works for the US Forest Service - has worked there over 20 years - gets 8 weeks of vacation and all of the national holidays

I work for a community college and get 30 days of vacation each year (5 weeks) and 17 holidays (national plus breaks)

We go on a two week vacation to WDW every year and a couple of long weekend visits to Vegas and still have to take extra time off when we are "just home"

[andee515]

I am a physician assistant in a county clinic, my husbands a stay at home dad. Between holidays/vacation/comp time etc I get @6-7 weeks off a year. I hate going anywhere for less than 10-14 days, We always take extended vacations. We spend way too much monay on vacations, but thats what we splurge on.

[paintnolish]

I so wished I worked at a school for summers off!!!! :worship:

Yeah, but we'll only be able to stay value! JK...we might spring for a mod once in a while.

[canfield77]

My DH is a gas worker for Chesapeake Drilling Co. The way his work schedule is, is he works 12 hour days for two weeks on, and then gets two weeks off. This is EVERY two weeks. So he only works two weeks every month, or only six months out of the year. I am a SAHM and self-employed/work from home. He makes an average income working the two weeks a month, because he gets about 44 hours of overtime each week he works. Now, whenever we want to plan a vacation, DH can pick up additional hours at the rig on the two weeks he has off, and that means twice as much money as we are used to, so we save it. Then when it comes time for vacation, he doesn't have to take off or use vacation time (because he doesn't get any vacation time, he gets enough time off), we don't have a break in pay, and we don't have to worry about my schedule. Plus, we usually get great deals because he is in the military (like the 40% off room rates at Disney right now, plus tickets for only $99 a person for four days). We usually use some tax refund money as well, and we usually only take one vacation per year. We are lucky!

[dpknoll]

We go off season (August) with free dining promo and stay at value resorts in order to stay as long as we do. I am a teacher and can only get there during peak seasons (no way) or the summer. Nobody in my family minds the heat so we choose summer - it's a nice way for my daughter and I to end our summer vacation. My husband is self employed so as long as he can connect to the internet he can be anywhere to work =)

[ScrapperBelle]

My DH and I both work in his family's business. Our trips have always been 12-14 days, but 2 of those are for travel, so we have 10-12 onsite. We don't take other trips throughout the year, no "weekends away" or anything like that. There are several weeks a year where we work 7 days, so we love having our time away to relax. DH refuses to take short trips because he says it's too much hassle and it seems like you spend all your time packing, traveling, unpacking, repacking, and traveling back.:eek: I have to agree with him on that!:thumbsup2

We both get paid for our time off and I work all year at paying our bills ahead so that when vacation time comes, we don't owe anything and we are able to take our vacation weeks pay "free and clear". Our family members all know that we love our WDW trips, so they give us money for bdays, Christmas, etc. which we put toward our trip. We're very lucky and blessed in that regard.:)

[ckdsnynt]

Same for city workers...0% cost of living/raises here this year! WOO HOO!!! Oh but our health insurance went way up...yep, vacation and sick time is about all it's worth...DH is head of streets and is very underpaid...

Try four years without a raise and now talking about furloughs due to poor revenues in our state! You won't see my kids working for the state.

[lynnebla]

I know, I feel stupid offering our personal information out there but I'd be the last one who'd have a clue on how one "cheats" on taxes??? How does one do that??? I use a CPA and have for years...most of our return is federal...we don't get much back for state...I've even went through every line on our taxes when she gives them back to us and everything is correct and where it should be and no "wrong" numbers...I get a break for being a single mom who pays a LOT in daycare and health insurance and my partner claims our huge mortgage interest and two kids...no cheating here and our CPA is good about figuring out who should claim what...and we've claimed the same since day one since I don't think you can really switch back and forth but we could our DD we have together...I can't claim his obviously and I stay Head of household since I make less and get a bigger break...The IRS scares the crap out of me...for a while my partner was getting paid cash on the side for a job and I freaked and made him start claiming it!!! Even our CPA warned us...but once we figure in mileage...it doesn't effect his return much...

I'm sorry, I should have read my post before replying. It was much harsher than I intended. There are a lot of intricacies in how head of household can be claimed, who can claim children & how credits work in your type of situation. When I read your post & someone commenting on it, I thought of the many people I've dealt with who try to "use" the system and claim things a little differently than they should to get a better tax deal than they really ought. I'm sorry I implied that this applied to you. I'm a little jaded after years of dealing with people and taxes and often see the worst when people give scenarios.

Again, I'm sorry to have implied that you had bad intentions or had cheated the government, though more power to anyone who can keep as much as possible of their own money out of the government's hands legally. That's always my goal!

[Disneyadore]

Perhaps so they can gear their career towards that direction?



I don't see any one change his career from unemployed to a CEO just because he read this threat. :lmao:

[Planogirl]

I get 15 days but it's hard to schedule so much as a week much less more. So far I haven't been able to snag a week and that's through June! Yes, I will be quitting this job when I can - this is crazy and doesn't work for me.

[momma2kiddos]

I'm self employed and I am no where near travelling 14 times a year! LOL As a matter of fact, finances took a turn for the worse over the last 6 months so I had to cancel both trips for 2010. Things seem to be looking up again so we're planning for 2011. Me and BF are on again and off again but when we're on again, his income adds to our budget and he works for the government and he makes a nice penny. I figure once I finally get him down to Disney one time, we'll be able to do it at least twice a year! LOL

[Heidijs]

Try four years without a raise and now talking about furloughs due to poor revenues in our state! You won't see my kids working for the state.

Yep, they're talking furloughs here too...I honestly wouldn't mind a couple weeks off unpaid but my problem is, my other half works for the same city so we'd both get nailed :eek: yeah, I don't see a raise in 2011 either the way they're talking...:sad2:

[Heidijs]

I'm sorry, I should have read my post before replying. It was much harsher than I intended. There are a lot of intricacies in how head of household can be claimed, who can claim children & how credits work in your type of situation. When I read your post & someone commenting on it, I thought of the many people I've dealt with who try to "use" the system and claim things a little differently than they should to get a better tax deal than they really ought. I'm sorry I implied that this applied to you. I'm a little jaded after years of dealing with people and taxes and often see the worst when people give scenarios.

Again, I'm sorry to have implied that you had bad intentions or had cheated the government, though more power to anyone who can keep as much as possible of their own money out of the government's hands legally. That's always my goal!

No biggie...when I tell people what we get they're like :scared1: but when I explain we're not married and have 3 kids between us, daycare, mortgage...that explains it...our CPA told us if we got married we'd probably lose 1/3 of that...so here we are, 9 years later and still not married! :laughing: and yeah, I've sat down and figured it out and we both get about 80% of our federal back...

[BuzzBiteyear]

No biggie...when I tell people what we get they're like :scared1: but when I explain we're not married and have 3 kids between us, daycare, mortgage...that explains it...our CPA told us if we got married we'd probably lose 1/3 of that...so here we are, 9 years later and still not married! :laughing: and yeah, I've sat down and figured it out and we both get about 80% of our federal back...


Yep given your situation, I was just guesstimating how much you'd lose in your refund if you were married. That is what seems wrong to me, a tax code that is set up which in a way discourages marriage. Reason for that is the tax code is still living in the 50s, when Ward goes to work and June stays at home. Not all deductions are double for married taxpayers, items phase out sooner, and the ability for one to itemize and the other take the standard deduction (which is not allowed even for Married filing Separately), and probably going back to tax tables where the income isn't doubled for married vs. single or married filing separately.

As a CPA given your situation, what would concern me is taking the Head of Household when your partner is taking 100% of the mortgage interest, plus probably 100% of the real estate taxes. To have HoH status you must pay more than half of the expenses for keeping up the home. That is why only one of you may claim that status. I'm guessing you take the standard deduction, while he itemizes. I think these items are why some CPAs are commenting, because the scenario sounds a bit "aggressive" from a tax standpoint.

People will say they got rid of the "marriage penalty", but this is a prime example of it, one person being able to take all the itemized deductible items (except for the partner's state & local withholding), while the other takes a standard deduction. It used to be even further biased when the tax tables were lopsided. You would have people divorce the last week of December. Get married and file their taxes in January. Then pocket or take a nice trip on the tax savings.

Noticed you mentioned daycare expense. Do either of your workplaces have a dependent care plan? That was a nice little benefit for us. DW now can withhold up to $5,000 per year to pay for daycare. That $5,000 is not subject to income taxes, and also is not subject to Social Security taxes.

[weHEARTmickey]

DH is self-employed with seasonal work & I'm a stay-at-home mom. We don't go unless we have the cash to pay for it!

[Heidijs]

Yep given your situation, I was just guesstimating how much you'd lose in your refund if you were married. That is what seems wrong to me, a tax code that is set up which in a way discourages marriage. Reason for that is the tax code is still living in the 50s, when Ward goes to work and June stays at home. Not all deductions are double for married taxpayers, items phase out sooner, and the ability for one to itemize and the other take the standard deduction (which is not allowed even for Married filing Separately).

As a CPA given your situation, what would concern me is taking the Head of Household when your partner is taking 100% of the mortgage interest, plus probably 100% of the real estate taxes. To have HoH status you must pay more than half of the expenses for keeping up the home. That is why only one of you may claim that status. I'm guessing you take the standard deduction, while he itemizes. I think these items are why some CPAs are commenting, because the scenario sounds a bit "aggressive" from a tax standpoint.

People will say they got rid of the "marriage penalty", but this is a prime example of it, one person being able to take all the itemized deductible items (except for the partner's state & local withholding), while the other takes a standard deduction. It used to be even further biased when the tax tables were lopsided. You would have people divorce the last week of December. Get married and file their taxes in January. Then pocket or take a nice trip on the tax savings.

Noticed you mentioned daycare expense. Do either of your workplaces have a dependent care plan? That was a nice little benefit for us. DW now can withhold up to $5,000 per year to pay for daycare. That $5,000 is not subject to income taxes, and also is not subject to Social Security taxes.

I don't know much about it, but I do claim HOH and I claim my daughter as well as daycare expenses...we're both on the mortgage and taxes...but he claims them...I'll have to ask her about that HOH issue. I assumed I could because I also claim a dependant I support...she said I would get the bigger tax break vs him. I'd be surprised if she did it and wasn't supposed to but I will mention it...I'm almost 100% positive I claim HOH...I thought she said he couldn't because with his two children, mortgage interest, taxes...he's maxed out or something or another...I didn't get that part...or maybe it was because in order for him to claim it, he'd have to claim our daughter and then I'd get the worse end...and his children do not live with us and maybe that had something to do with it...we've never "changed" how we claim either...we've been doing this since day one. Hopefully we never get an audit and find out it was all wrong! :confused3

[Heidijs]

I don't know much about it, but I do claim HOH and I claim my daughter as well as daycare expenses...we're both on the mortgage and taxes...but he claims them...I'll have to ask her about that HOH issue. I assumed I could because I also claim a dependant I support...she said I would get the bigger tax break vs him. I'd be surprised if she did it and wasn't supposed to but I will mention it...I'm almost 100% positive I claim HOH...I thought she said he couldn't because with his two children, mortgage interest, taxes...he's maxed out or something or another...I didn't get that part...or maybe it was because in order for him to claim it, he'd have to claim our daughter and then I'd get the worse end...and his children do not live with us and maybe that had something to do with it...we've never "changed" how we claim either...we've been doing this since day one. Hopefully we never get an audit and find out it was all wrong! :confused3

Yes, I could do that at my employer as well but my tax preparer did the figures and it would only save me about $100 a year doing this...it wasn't worth the hassle of me having to submit the forms every week to get reimbursed...she said if we had two kids in daycare some day, then it would definitely be worth it...but for now it's not worth the hassle...plus our payroll lady at the time was a total moron and would screw it up and I'd end up waiting days on end to get reimbursed...

[BuzzBiteyear]

I don't know much about it, but I do claim HOH and I claim my daughter as well as daycare expenses...we're both on the mortgage and taxes...but he claims them...I'll have to ask her about that HOH issue. I assumed I could because I also claim a dependant I support...she said I would get the bigger tax break vs him. I'd be surprised if she did it and wasn't supposed to but I will mention it...I'm almost 100% positive I claim HOH...I thought she said he couldn't because with his two children, mortgage interest, taxes...he's maxed out or something or another...I didn't get that part...or maybe it was because in order for him to claim it, he'd have to claim our daughter and then I'd get the worse end...and his children do not live with us and maybe that had something to do with it...we've never "changed" how we claim either...we've been doing this since day one. Hopefully we never get an audit and find out it was all wrong! :confused3



Hopefully you never get an audit right or wrong!

:thumbsup2

[Heidijs]

Hopefully you never get an audit right or wrong!

:thumbsup2

I'll definitely bring it up when we see her. As far as I know too, we don't ever "claim" our real estate taxes...I've brought the stuff in for her and she says they don't do anything with that for taxes...:confused3 it never gets entered in anywhere or if it does, it doesn't effect our refund...just our mortgage interest, which is in both our names...I dunno.

[St. Germain]

This partially explains why so many international visitors are able to take longer vacations:

Average paid vacation days/year:

Italy 42 days
France 37 days
Germany 35 days
Brazil 34 days
United Kingdom 28 days
Canada 26 days
Korea 25 days
Japan 25 days
U.S. 13 days
Source: World Tourism Organization (WTO).

I'm an American and we only take 7-10 day WDW vacations but that's more due to the fact that my wife isn't the Disney fan that I am. :) I work for a university so I'd have the time but make a little less than the private sector. However, on average I think we have more paid time off, better benefits, and maybe a tad more job security. It's a trade off, similar to the trade off that the countries listed above make as a culture. Sure, they pay more in taxes and probably bring home a little less (though that's not always the case) but they get more time to spend with their family. We have friends in France who spend almost a month every summer with family at a beach house on an island. They're not rich by any means either.

Not making any judgments here, just pointing out that different people/cultures prioritize different things I guess.

[MelissathePooh]

DH is a professor and I'm an RN - work PRN. He teached Tues - Thurs, I work weekend nights. When he has breaks I try to add extra shifts and then we can travel during his big breaks (fall, holiday, spring, summer). Last year we were able to put 68 days on our AP. We have owned DVC since 2002 and my mother lives in Clermont. It really doesn't cost us much more to go than to stay home.

[BuzzBiteyear]

Yes, I could do that at my employer as well but my tax preparer did the figures and it would only save me about $100 a year doing this...it wasn't worth the hassle of me having to submit the forms every week to get reimbursed...she said if we had two kids in daycare some day, then it would definitely be worth it...but for now it's not worth the hassle...plus our payroll lady at the time was a total moron and would screw it up and I'd end up waiting days on end to get reimbursed...

Yeah, it all depends on how much you're paying in daycare. I have two boys in daycare, so we're spending over the $5,000. We do get the daycare credit on amounts above the $5,000 (but only the next $1,000 as the credit is capped at $3,000 per child), but the credit is less than the tax rate. So for it saves us about $850 in federal, state, and payroll taxes, per year.

Luckily, we don't have to deal with the payroll department at her work for reimbursements, as we have to submit them to the benefits company, and get the check back in 1-2 weeks, which can be submitted as often or infrequently as we want.

[Heidijs]

Yeah, it all depends on how much you're paying in daycare. I have two boys in daycare, so we're spending over the $5,000. We do get the daycare credit on amounts above the $5,000 (but only the next $1,000 as the credit is capped at $3,000 per child), but the credit is less than the tax rate. So for it saves us about $850 in federal, state, and payroll taxes, per year.

Luckily, we don't have to deal with the payroll department at her work for reimbursements, as we have to submit them to the benefits company, and get the check back in 1-2 weeks, which can be submitted as often or infrequently as we want.

I think my total daycare bill was $5300 this year.

[BuzzBiteyear]

I'll definitely bring it up when we see her. As far as I know too, we don't ever "claim" our real estate taxes...I've brought the stuff in for her and she says they don't do anything with that for taxes...:confused3 it never gets entered in anywhere or if it does, it doesn't effect our refund...just our mortgage interest, which is in both our names...I dunno.

Property taxes are an itemized deduction. And in many states, you license plate fees can also be an itemized deduction. License plates based on the car's value are deductible, if they're based on weight or a flat fee, they would not be deductible.

[BuzzBiteyear]

I think my total daycare bill was $5300 this year.

You being single though, it may make more sense to go with the credit as your preparer has figured, as I wouldn't know what your actual marginal tax rate, nor what your state rates are. The daycare credit ranges from 20%-35%, so it could be that the credit rate is higher than your tax rate. This is where single can be advantageous over being married as well. The table for determining the credit rate is the same whether you are married or single. Single person has $25,000 income, they get a 30% credit rate. Married couple each make $15,000, they get a 27% credit rate.

For payroll taxes, if you were able to withhold $5,000 for daycare, you'd save $382.50 in FICA.

[Heidijs]

You being single though, it may make more sense to go with the credit as your preparer has figured, as I wouldn't know what your actual marginal tax rate, nor what your state rates are. The daycare credit ranges from 20%-35%, so it could be that the credit rate is higher than your tax rate. This is where single can be advantageous over being married as well. The table for determining the credit rate is the same whether you are married or single. Single person has $25,000 income, they get a 30% credit rate. Married couple each make $15,000, they get a 27% credit rate.

For payroll taxes, if you were able to withhold $5,000 for daycare, you'd save $382.50 in FICA.

My taxable income is around $38K. I know she commented if we were married, we could kiss the daycare part goodbye and probably wouldn't get any of it back...but then it would benefit more to have it pre-taxed by my employer...

[BuzzBiteyear]

My taxable income is around $38K. I know she commented if we were married, we could kiss the daycare part goodbye and probably wouldn't get any of it back...but then it would benefit more to have it pre-taxed by my employer...

Yeah, if married, it would more likely than not be much more beneficial to you to have it go through a pre-tax benefit plan. In that case you'd probably save somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,385 in federal, state, and payroll taxes. That would be based on having 1 child in daycare, paying more than $5,000, having $5,000 withheld for daycare, a marginal federal rate of 25%, and a Minnesota state marginal rate of 7.05% (ouch).

[Heidijs]

Yeah, if married, it would more likely than not be much more beneficial to you to have it go through a pre-tax benefit plan. In that case you'd probably save somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,385 in federal, state, and payroll taxes. That would be based on having 1 child in daycare, paying more than $5,000, having $5,000 withheld for daycare, a marginal federal rate of 25%, and a Minnesota state marginal rate of 7.05% (ouch).

Yep...and sadly, that's why we're not married...

[BradyBz12]

Wow, I've seen some threads go off the rails before, but I've never seen one about vacation planning take a sharp turn into Accounting! :rotfl: :rotfl2:

[rgf207]

Wow, I've seen some threads go off the rails before, but I've never seen one about vacation planning take a sharp turn into Accounting! :rotfl: :rotfl2:
You must be new here ;)

[BuzzBiteyear]

Wow, I've seen some threads go off the rails before, but I've never seen one about vacation planning take a sharp turn into Accounting! :rotfl: :rotfl2:

Off the rails? The original question was a cleverly concealed accounting question.

:rotfl:

[Virtucomp]

Off the rails? The original question was a cleverly concealed accounting question.

:rotfl:

But you see all of the accounting is done to find the money to finance another trip to WDW. IF it was to pay for a new water heater no one would be interested.:rotfl:

I am an Electronics Engineer and Wife is an accountant. We stretch it to go for 8 days since both our companies 'say' that can's go without us any longer than that.

So which is better? 14 -18 days in the park or two 7 day trips in one year?
I always feel like I could use a second trip instead of staying longer.

[FlightlessDuck]

I am a computer programmer, and I currently have 25 days of PTO.

My wife is a teacher and has the summers off.

Normally we don't take a full 14 day vacation at Disney, although we did last July. Usually we got 8 or 9 days (with traveling).

[BuzzBiteyear]

But you see all of the accounting is done to find the money to finance another trip to WDW. IF it was to pay for a new water heater no one would be interested.:rotfl:


Funny thing is, I'm the cheap accountant, and the wife is an administrative engineer. Yet it is I that pushes for the 2nd WDW trip each year.

:lmao:


She has 4 weeks, I have 3, plus I "bank" 3 during tax season for the first 120 hours of OT I work. We'll generally go for 7-10 days, and once in a while throw in a quickie 3-5 day trip if airfare or resort discounts make it affordable.

[bumbershoot]

I don't see any one change his career from unemployed to a CEO just because he read this threat. :lmao:

I don't see any CEOs posting!

Anyone in the Seattle area with customer-based thoughts and interesting computer/software skills could look to see if amazon needs them. That's why I was pretty specific with my info about where DH works! He didn't even do 2 years of college, but his abilities and skills have gotten him to be a product tester, which he's loving, and they have pretty darn good benefits (when you're not in CS, but since there's no CS in Seattle anymore that's moot).

[BradyBz12]

Off the rails? The original question was a cleverly concealed accounting question.

:rotfl:

Ahhhhh, NOW I get it! :rotfl2:

So which is better? 14 -18 days in the park or two 7 day trips in one year? I always feel like I could use a second trip instead of staying longer.

And for us, since we're coming from so far away (and driving) we figure we better pack in as many days as we can in one trip. But I gotta say, I would L-O-V-E to be able to squeeze in another trip during the year, just to break up the non-WDW monotony. :rolleyes1

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Yep, they're talking furloughs here too...I honestly wouldn't mind a couple weeks off unpaid but my problem is, my other half works for the same city so we'd both get nailed :eek: yeah, I don't see a raise in 2011 either the way they're talking...:sad2:

I feel you. There are definate perks of working together, but w/ the economy this past few years its been alot of negative. DH and I both work for same company and no raises for 4 years is getting old fast. In the past 12 months he escaped lay offs once and I managed to escape them 5 times in my department. I'm afraid my luck is going to start running out.

[tndisneyfan]

I work shift work so I get seven days in a row off every month. Add a weeks vacation to that and that's 14 days off.

[Goofy'slady]

State worker here, I only work a 4day work week (my choice), so that helps. Not to mention I have several weeks a year of vacation in addition to wacky holidays, personal days and regular holidays. All except for my annual vacation days I lose if I don't use by the end of the year. I always try my best to use up every drop.

My husband is a fabricator and every year he's with his company the more vacation time he gets each year. This year he gets 2 full weeks and the normal holidays most employers give their employees. Once and a while he'll take 1-2 days off without pay.

This year our vacation is from 4/10-4/21, those are the actual days we'll be away but my last day at work is April 8th and they won't see me until the 26th.

T.

[abolanwoski]

DH and I are both in the military and have always gotten 30 days off per year (weekends and holidays taken in conjuction with vacation are charged as days of leave). We've only done 2 weeks once but it was awesome and I'll do it again in the future

Good news to folks wanting more vaca - the US military is hiring! :rotfl:

[okiebill]

My wife and I both work for a major oil company and we get 5 weeks of vacation per year. No problem with 14 day vacations. We both learned a long time ago that the company really does operate just fine when we're gone on vacation. Sometime we return to a load of work, but not very often. The things that are important and need to be done right away, get taken care of by someone else.

[Redwolf8812]

State worker here also. Figures we just commited to buying BLT and now the new governor is talking lay-offs. We're sweating bullets!

[DisneyFan32WI]

popcorn::

ROFL...once you see the popcorn come out, you know this is gonna be a good thread!!!!

[Bouncin-Tigger]

Firefighter/paramedic in a big busy city here so compestaed very well and work 24 hours and off 48 and I work only 104 days a year so if I just put 4 of my 20 something vacation days a year back to back thats 14 days off, I do side jobs on off days and wife runs an ebay business that is very busy so as long as we pack our router and laptops she can check in. Luckily she only checks in the morning and before bed. In the vacation club and sister works for southwest so tickets are cheap but can be pricey especially since we try to go 3 times a year while kids are small.

[angierae]

My husband is self-employed, so we planned our (9 day) vacation during his less-busy time.

I'm a paralegal at a lawfirm. I will work extra hard in the weeks leading up to our vacation so that I'm ahead on my deadlines, and work extra hard when I get back to get caught up on the pile of stuff that will be waiting in my inbox.

I scheduled around our huge deadlines so there shouldn't be anything going on that can't wait a week and a half for me to get back, and if there is, they'll either figure it out or call me. :P

[justskip70003]

i am a tattoo artist and ash is a nurse. :goodvibes

[laracroft]

I have dreamed of staying 7-10+ days at Disney. All my trips so far have been 4-5 days. I get 3 weeks annual leave a year as does my DH. I work for the state and he's a cop. We are not rich, maybe if I play the lotto or the powerball I could stay a month!! Wow can you imagine how relaxed you'd be? Also I feel for all of you state workers around the country, no raise in 6 years and now possible furlow days starting later this year. We have recently started going to Disney so this year we are going twice. We started saving last Nov for our trip we just went on (1st week of March) and have already started saving for our October trip. DH and I are both working overtime for our trip.

[Thumper_Man]

More state workers here. DW and I both work for the same state government agency. We accrue annual leave and sick leave. Not to mention we get all the major holidays off. We use our tax refunds to go. We usually don't have a problem taking 2 weeks off at a time. But like many others, we're feeling the pinch of the economy here as well. Our state government have been sticking it to all the state agencies and employees. Trimming our budgets, issuing furloughs, raising our insurance rates, and even raising the percentage we put towards retirement. We've been lucky to avoid furloughs at our agency (knocking on wood), but if they keep going down this path; we may have to face them eventually. For a moment there, we were even debating canceling our WDW trip. :headache: So far it's still a go.

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Budget budget budget. That applys to any vacation. I work in a financial office my self & my DF works for a cable company. We could take off two weeks for vacation we just never do.

[Redwolf8812]

I always knew I was lucky to have such a great job - good pay, plenty of vacation, sick days, & administrative leave, nice pension & health benefits. These are all the reasons I took the job, instead of joining the private sector, 23 years ago. BUT, I also took it for the job security. It's so sad that times are so bad. I pray for all those who have suffered job loss and all those who face it in the near future. May this great nation of ours recover soon.