My big issue with the 15 years is actually more psychological than anything... Once again, a yearly disney vacation is a horrible use of money from a financial perspective, so I don't really dwell on that here...
But... psychologically speaking... just imagine this...
You buy a DVC contract, your family is young, and you're excited. You go for a few times and think "wow! what a way to have a vacation!" You reconnect with your family, have great memories, and think "we need to do this EVERY year..." so you being the savvy person you are, discover for what you paid for your one trip to Wilderness lodge for a week goes a long way towards having a cheaper room or a bigger room at a number of "Disney vacation club properties". At first this seems sweet, swell, and lovely. You get a savannah at Animal Kingdom one year, maybe another year you luck out and get to visit the storm along bay at Beach club! Wow, what amazing vacations!
But...
As time goes on, and the initial "sheen" of visiting Disney begins to wear off... Maybe the kids get a little bit older, maybe you discover your spouse likes these vacations, but is ready to go somewhere else instead of Disney every single year....
Knowing you are still paying them every month, does that change your view of how much you enjoy these trips? Do you enjoy spending the day waiting in line to ride big thunder mountain or the carousel of progress (lol) quite as much? Or, as time goes on, do you start viewing this x number of dollars monthly as a necessary evil to pay off - even as perhaps your travel habits change or evolve... 15 years is a long time... many people pay off their principal residence in 15 years for example...
So, then you go to sell and you do the math... Instead of paying 3% one time for a balance transfer you were paying 18% for say, 6 years.... You realize oh wow... I'm going to need to bring money to the table to pay this thing off... It leaves a bad taste in your mouth... You feel "trapped"... You start having regrets, and feel compelled to continue to stay at Disney "year after year" and somehow that feels just a little less "magical" than before....
...that's why I would strongly advise against financing for 15 years.... There's another side to this of overextending, financial decisions, etc. That is not the purpose of this post... I'm sure many others will offer that perspective, but my view is this isn't Boggleheads or MMM or the Women and Money App....
As mentioned above, I could sell my contract right now for far below what the market would support, and it would certainly be ROFRed, and break even with the cost of what my trips would have been at cash rates. Using that metric, there's no way I couldn't sell at a profit. That makes me feel good about my purchase. And frankly, for most of us, feeling good is all that matters....
But... psychologically speaking... just imagine this...
You buy a DVC contract, your family is young, and you're excited. You go for a few times and think "wow! what a way to have a vacation!" You reconnect with your family, have great memories, and think "we need to do this EVERY year..." so you being the savvy person you are, discover for what you paid for your one trip to Wilderness lodge for a week goes a long way towards having a cheaper room or a bigger room at a number of "Disney vacation club properties". At first this seems sweet, swell, and lovely. You get a savannah at Animal Kingdom one year, maybe another year you luck out and get to visit the storm along bay at Beach club! Wow, what amazing vacations!
But...
As time goes on, and the initial "sheen" of visiting Disney begins to wear off... Maybe the kids get a little bit older, maybe you discover your spouse likes these vacations, but is ready to go somewhere else instead of Disney every single year....
Knowing you are still paying them every month, does that change your view of how much you enjoy these trips? Do you enjoy spending the day waiting in line to ride big thunder mountain or the carousel of progress (lol) quite as much? Or, as time goes on, do you start viewing this x number of dollars monthly as a necessary evil to pay off - even as perhaps your travel habits change or evolve... 15 years is a long time... many people pay off their principal residence in 15 years for example...
So, then you go to sell and you do the math... Instead of paying 3% one time for a balance transfer you were paying 18% for say, 6 years.... You realize oh wow... I'm going to need to bring money to the table to pay this thing off... It leaves a bad taste in your mouth... You feel "trapped"... You start having regrets, and feel compelled to continue to stay at Disney "year after year" and somehow that feels just a little less "magical" than before....
...that's why I would strongly advise against financing for 15 years.... There's another side to this of overextending, financial decisions, etc. That is not the purpose of this post... I'm sure many others will offer that perspective, but my view is this isn't Boggleheads or MMM or the Women and Money App....
As mentioned above, I could sell my contract right now for far below what the market would support, and it would certainly be ROFRed, and break even with the cost of what my trips would have been at cash rates. Using that metric, there's no way I couldn't sell at a profit. That makes me feel good about my purchase. And frankly, for most of us, feeling good is all that matters....
