$10K on a WDW vacation?!?!?--VENT

[Colleen27]

I thought about that, but didn't want to ruin it for anyone else. I did pray, prayed that he would have safe travel and a wonderful trip.

I suppose he called because he thought I would be really excited that he is taking the kids to Disney--and I am! I am a little shocked at how much he is spending. I know we could go for probably 25-33% of that.

I was also feeling very jealous because I could probably take my own family if he had paid me for all of the hours I worked. (He shorted my last check by $1.50 an hour for 80 hours.)

I also know that I was his number one salesperson and that business as dropped significantly since I left. I alone accounted for 45% of sales. It took 6 others to make the other 55%. I also ran the business side of things--he takes a lot of time off.

Having paid the bills for the business, I know that his personal and business finances are very mixed--neither are good.

Having been there, done that with one of DH's former employers, I'd focus on being thankful you got out while the getting was good. DH got away from his crappy, unprofessional boss/company owner just in time - the guys who stayed found themselves with rubber paychecks and out of work with no notice when the business folded. They showed up on Monday to find a padlock and an eviction notice on the office door and the boss nowhere to be found. Far better to quit a crappy job than to be counting on a paycheck that might not come, IMO!

 

[marymac123]

I am also glad that you are enjoying your time with your kids now. And just remember..."what goes around comes around"

 

[Magic Mom]

If he called you to brag, he sounds like a jerk. I'm glad you are happy with your decision to quit. It must have been a hard decision to make. Good riddance to him.

 

[DVC Sadie]

I don't know why people care how much someones vacation costs, whether it cost 2500.00, 5,000, 10,000 or more.

Everyone has different incomes, expectations and ways they choose to travel. Just because I may choose to spend a certain amount to travel a certain way doesn't make it right or wrong, just different from someone else.

 

[akcire]

Could this $10,000 be the last fling? The end of his business? When my cousins husband realized his business of 15 years, and with it his credit were going down the toilet bowl, he took their kids on a last fling before the ceiling turned brown.

I can't speak for this guy, nor do I care to; but maybe its the end for him and his business. Clearly if the former boss is calling, he thinks of OP as more of a friend than an employee.

OP-I get that it stings, but I'd watch to see what happens to him in the following 6 months. Before his vacation, I would also remind him that he shorted your pay check--that will remind him you won't be watching the farm while he is away.

 

[kpm76]

Anytime I see/hear about people overpaying for their trip, I feel kinda sorry for them. I could get at least two great trips out of $10,000.

Personally, I always go when I read a post about someone spending $10,000 or more on their "Once in a Lifetime (because they can't usually afford a trip) Trip". Just because you spend more on a vacation, house, car, what have you... doesn't mean that you enjoy it any more than someone who spent half or even one quarter of the amount you spent.

But spending $10k on a trip isn't necessarily overpaying. Everyone vacations differently and has varying expectations. Personally, I can't imagine packing up the kitchen sink, driving cross-country and cooking 3 meals/day in a value room. For me, that's more work than being home, but it works for some people and who am I to judge??

Having experienced all levels of trips from bare bones, few nights in a value to Lagoon View concierge at the Poly, I can say that while being in Disney is awesome no matter where you stay, the trips were very different based on where we stayed, where we ate etc. The deluxe trips were worth it for me, but might not be for someone else. To each their own.....

I still think about the Chefs Table at V &A's 5 years later

 

[C.Ann]

It was certainly in poor taste for him to call and "gloat" - if in fact that is what he was doing..

However, it is also in poor taste for you to be so angry and hostile over his vacation and how much he chooses to spend on it..

I think this is a "two wrongs don't make a right" situation..

 

[TheRatPack]

$15,000-20,000 for a deluxe. Holy crap! Our family always stays deluxe and our vacations are no where near that amount.

Maybe I'm quoting it wrong...but then again there are 7 of us LOL I just went back and priced it again and even if we did connecting rooms it would still be around 7500 to stay 9 days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a standard view and base tickets, no hoppers or extras. If we want a 2 bedroom suite it adds 9700....

I think we'll stick to Values for now LOL

 

[Va-bear]

I agree that normally business money and personal money are kept seperate; but morally if he had the money in his personal account to pay her the overtime he owed her then he should have paid it instead of putting it toward a $10,000 vacation. It would have been the right thing to do.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

The OP never specified whether she was hourly or salaried...only that she was paid for a 40 hour workweek. If she was salaried at a 40hr workweek, it doesn't matter how many 'overtime' hours worked...there is no obligation to pay.

Now...if someone is, by agreement, being paid hourly and the overtime hours went unpaid I personally wouldn't stay past one week of unpaid overtime, and file a complaint with the local labor board. Business is business...and if overtime is due it should be paid...period...but the OP remained despite being told no money was coming.

Continuing to work without pay is allowing yourself to be taken advantage of.

Actually, that's all a matter of state law. In some states, your statements are true. In others, not so much. Who is and who can be defined as "salary" varies from state to state, as well as the obligation of the employer to pay or not pay overtime.

 

[Stacerita]

First off, his private money and company money should be seperate. He can spend as much as he wants on his vacation, regardless of how business money is spent on salaries.

Doesn't matter how old his children are. If he was to take them, fine. Should matter if they are "only 1 and 3".

Do you think he may have been calling you up to ask advice or to share his excitement. If you talked about Disney at work before, or if its known you are a Disney person, he may have called you for that.

If you didn't like him, why did you take his call?

If you thought you were paid unfairly, then you were right to quit. Were you hourly or salary?

Let it go. Getting irritated won't do anything. He will still take the vacation, and you will be grumpy.

 

[Belle5]

OP--as I sit here and think about what you were told by your former boss, I feel the sting of the realization hitting you that things weren't as tight around the company as he had led you to believe. OF COURSE, you are remembering being underpaid when he tells you something like that! I'll bet that never crossed his mind, though. Many men just don't think that way, in my experience. I am very sorry he made you feel bad. If you can't be direct with him about it, it's in your own best interest to give him the benefit of the doubt and let it go...


When I say it costs our family $8,000 to take a WDW vacation, I am including airfare for eight and two rental cars along with all tips if we are on the DDP and other expenses. I can get a decent WDW package for $5,000 or less. It's all the transportation costs, etc. that really take the price over-the-top. We have spent more than 14,000 on one WDW trip but there were extenuating circumstances--a company paid for the first $10,000 of it to thank my DH for something. (And we have quite a crew to pay for, as well) We stayed for sixteen days.

 

[DawnM]

We do Disney on the cheap so we can go more often! I could go on 10 full weeks of vacation for that 10K! We are going 5 full weeks this year and will have spent $5,000 total for all our trips once all is said and done. But most people have NO idea what we spend for Disney and think we must be rich because we have gone so often this year. We got APs and used quite a bit of Disney reward $$ for it, we stay in SkyAuction blowout deal condos, drive down, have a neighbor watch our dog, and eat most of our meals in the condo or from a cooler.

Just different ways to do the same thing.

I understand you are upset, but honestly, for him $10K may not be all that big of a deal.

My friend is a receptionist at a doctor's office. She found out they make over $250K per year and was all upset that her measly salary was $10/hour. She has no degree and didn't seem to even realize the overhead these doctor's pay (rent for the office space, all their salaries, hefty malpractice insurance, etc.....

Dawn

 

[dvcgirl]

My friend is a receptionist at a doctor's office. She found out they make over $250K per year and was all upset that her measly salary was $10/hour. She has no degree and didn't seem to even realize the overhead these doctor's pay (rent for the office space, all their salaries, hefty malpractice insurance, etc.....

Dawn

Or the fact that they went to school for 8 years plus a few years of residency and never made any real money or had a life until they were 30 years old.... And that they probably ended up with six figures in student loans.....

$10 an hour is the going rate for a receptionist......she's just envious.

As for Disney trips costing 10K....I don't know, I guess it's not that tough to do. We're going for a week, renting points at the BCV and between airfare, pet sitter for the dogs, the BCV points, tickets and spending money we'll spend 6K. Sure, we could probably drive, stay off-site, eat in every meal and all of that for about 2K, but that wouldn't be a vacation to me. We want to eat at the signature restaurants, order good wine, and just not have to think about it.

 

[DawnM]

Absolutely! Although I must say that today's residents make enough to live on and start paying back student loans. My father is 75, but he is a doctor. He made $50/month during his residency and my mom had to work just to feed them!

Dawn

Or the fact that they went to school for 8 years plus a few years of residency and never made any real money or had a life until they were 30 years old.... And that they probably ended up with six figures in student loans.....

$10 an hour is the going rate for a receptionist......she's just envious.

As for Disney trips costing 10K....I don't know, I guess it's not that tough to do. We're going for a week, renting points at the BCV and between airfare, pet sitter for the dogs, the BCV points, tickets and spending money we'll spend 6K. Sure, we could probably drive, stay off-site, eat in every meal and all of that for about 2K, but that wouldn't be a vacation to me. We want to eat at the signature restaurants, order good wine, and just not have to think about it.

 

[tnd]

Absolutely! Although I must say that today's residents make enough to live on and start paying back student loans.

While they make more nowadays, I can assure you it is not enough to make six figure student loan payments. When my husband was in residency, his loans were deferred because the payment would have been 35% of our net income.

 

[horseshowmom]

I understand and my husband owns a small business. You feel betrayed after doing the man a favor, actually many, many hours of favors. He took advantage of your kindness. It is funny how people see things. My thought is who would take that kind of vacation when their business is obviously in trouble in this economy and also how many people on here agree with his actions.

I agree.

OP, my take on your post wasn't so much that you were complaining about the cost of his trip as it was that you felt a little bit like you helped underwrite it through your free labor.

While I understand that business and personal accounts are separate, the business is what funds the owner's income (which goes into his/her personal account). The owner led the OP to believe that money was very tight (he couldn't "afford" to pay her for the extra hours). After his call, she realized that what he could "afford" was a matter of perspective and that his business was apparently doing well enough for him to afford a $10,000 vacation which was going to cost even more if his parents went too.

Plain and simple, the OP felt used. I think she was too. OP, just be glad that you aren't still working there. I'm glad things are much better at home too!

ETA: He may not have been obligated to pay her overtime, but if that was the case, he shouldn't have been saying the reason he wasn't paying her was because money was so tight in the business.

 

[mrsklamc]

By law, employees are either exempt or non-exempt. If she was exempt, she wasn't 'getting paid 40 hours for 50 or 60 hours of work.'

If she was non-exempt, it was against the law.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I can feel for OP. To say being taken advantage of was her own fault, that is kind of rough considering how jobs are hard to come by now. She was fortunate in that she was able to walk away from the job, but many people can't because as much as there may be bad parts of the job, it is a job and someone else who isn't working would be happy to take it.

She needed to vent, and I hope it made her feel better. Sometimes getting it out is all you need.

 

[WendyisDarling]

I can't help but wonder if his wife works outside of the home? Maybe the trip is partially financed through her income (or as a pp wrote a lucky break in the stock market, inheritance, etc.) OR maybe he's not using good judgment and it's going on a credit card I would never consider putting a $10K vacation on a cc, but there certainly are people who do...Disney Visa will even give 6 months to pay it off

It seems an odd dynamic that you left your job and he calls you up to talk about Disney. You are probably super sweet and left on good terms despite feeling taken advantage of. I get spending $10K on a vacation and I also understand why some don't. But, I really don't understand why anyone would tell how much they are spending unless maybe asking advice. Super tacky for him to tell you, esp. knowing you are no longer working.

Neither here nor there...I think the OP just needed to vent. She's had a rough time of it lately. I know sometimes I just need that release regardless of whether I can think through all the logical explanations. I just want to be mad for a minute. Maybe that's just me?