How long did it take you to save up money

[Bear3412]

.... Balance is the key.....

Well.... slighty leaning toward cruising.

 

[PizzieDuster]

My goal wa to have our mortgage loan paid off by the time the kids went o college....so we could afford to pay for college. Not saying that is a plan for everyone....but we need to have a plan to eventually pay off that loan so you don't have to work till you are 70.

It is a VERY good feeling to know my two sons, in college now, won't graduate with loans on their backs and we have not taken any equity out of our home. A great gift!

I agree, it is a balance. We all love our memories of our cruises.

 

[TheHannas]

roughly 2 for us........ we are taking care of a few loose ends and the cruise will be "we did it" type thing, fully paid.

 

[megs193]

We save the two "extra pay checks". You get every year when you are paid every other week. We fully fund an IRA and use the rest for vacation and short getaways. My DH travels Monday through Thursday for work so we really value our vacations since we get to spend the whole week together as a family.

I don't disagree that your mortgage is debt but we definitely prioritize vacation over paying off our mortgage early. We hate debt and wouldn't vacation if we had any debt other than our mortgage. Unfortunately we live in a HCoL area so it would take forever to pay off our mortgage.

 

[tinkerone]

lets leave the mortgage question. i'm retired from a financial institution and we teach mortgage is good debt. while that is what we teach it all comes down to a personal preference, as we can tell by this thread.
mortgage = debt however mortgage should not equal a way of life. i'm of the mindset myself that a mortgage isn't included in my thought as a debt unless i'm doing a financial spread sheet. then you get to compare debt verses net worth and it becomes a true picture.
so, lets get back to 'how DOES everyone save for this wonderful vacation'. i'm very interested to hear more ways.

 

[nene0182]

We didn't specifically save for a cruise but we save enough to take a vacation of some kind every year. This savings is made up of our tax return, any gift money we get, spare change, any returns or refunds we receive as well as most of the profit I make from my Etsy shop. So really anything that is "extra" it goes into vacation savings

 

[MedicGoofy]

Not sure why you are writing this about my post. I did not suggest paying your mortgage off early!! I said it is debt and you should have a plan for paying it off. Life is short and I am all for living large but the reason so many people got upside down on their mortgage loan is because they refinance and take out the equity and then blow the money or buy a bigger house. My goal wa to have our mortgage loan paid off by the time the kids went o college....so we could afford to pay for college. Not saying that is a plan for everyone....but we need to have a plan to eventually pay off that loan so you don't have to work till you are 70.

Actually, you did tell me to pay my mortgage off early? Im not sure where you think you didn't. It was the last part of your post. "Pay off your mortgage/house and quit paying $5000 a year in interest". So, ya, you did tell me to pay it off.

Maybe where you come from, a lot of people put extra's on their mortgage. I know many many people who don't. The way I see it, while yes, these extra's (renovations/car/credit cards) are then rolled into the mortgage, but that is still debt.

My mortgage is just what it is. It is my home I am paying on. I have a great plan in paying it off. I have only 15 years left, because I have accelerated my payments.

And sure, I could work my tail off, be unhappy in life, not take time for myself or family, and get that mortgage paid off, so much sooner. But to what advantage? There really wouldn't be one. I have NO debt. I own a home. I pay for it, like I would rent. I am not living above my means. I will enjoy vacations, and spending that time with family and friends. In the end, that will matter more than paying off my home earlier.

 

[Rogillio]

Actually, you did tell me to pay my mortgage off early? Im not sure where you think you didn't. It was the last part of your post. "Pay off your mortgage/house and quit paying $5000 a year in interest". So, ya, you did tell me to pay it off.

Maybe where you come from, a lot of people put extra's on their mortgage. I know many many people who don't. The way I see it, while yes, these extra's (renovations/car/credit cards) are then rolled into the mortgage, but that is still debt.

My mortgage is just what it is. It is my home I am paying on. I have a great plan in paying it off. I have only 15 years left, because I have accelerated my payments.

And sure, I could work my tail off, be unhappy in life, not take time for myself or family, and get that mortgage paid off, so much sooner. But to what advantage? There really wouldn't be one. I have NO debt. I own a home. I pay for it, like I would rent. I am not living above my means. I will enjoy vacations, and spending that time with family and friends. In the end, that will matter more than paying off my home earlier.

You proved my point. I never told anyone to pay off their mortage EARLY. I told you to pay off your mortgage and don't just kick the can down the road by refinancing and getting a HELOC and 'upgrading' your house every 7 years (national average). When people have the attitude that a mortgage loan is not debt, it is easy to take out a second or 3rd mortgage or refinance and take all the equity out of their house.

So the OP is about saving for a cruise. Saving is funtion of discretionary income. If all our take-home pay goes to pay off loans - car loans, house loans, credit cards, etc - we are not able to save money for a big vacation.

A few years ago I decided it was time to trade in my old 10+ yo truck and get a new vehicle. I drove to the Chevolete dealership. I fell in love with a candy apple red Corvette! Oh it was sweet! It looked awesome and has always been my dream car. It was about $55k. Ouch! But most of our debt was gone and we could afford it. So I was seriously planning on buying it. A few days later I got an email from DCL - they were going to the Baltic Sea! We had sailed with DCL in the Med and had an awesome trip! The 12 day cruise for the 4 Rogillio's in a verandah room was about $12,000. Adding in airfare, hotel, tips, excursions, etc the trip would come to well over $20k.

So when you see me driving down the road in a basic, $17k Ford F-150 pick-up and I'm smiling, it probably means I'm remembering the most awesome family vacation we've ever taken! Youngest son has moved on to college now and DCL is not going to the Baltic anymore so I am glad I opted to take the cruise instead of tryiny my paycheck up in a huge car note every month.

Someday I may get that Vette....