Affordability....grrr

[jeast]

We are not rich. We live simply and drive normal cars (we choose hondas and toyotas and drive 'em into the ground), we live in a nice neighborhood in a smaller, but updated home. Since my DS was 5, we haven't missed a year taking some kind of vacation. 4 WDW trips and next fall is our 2nd DCL.

Every time I am planning a vacation (even if it is a year or two in advance), I get 'the eye' from various members of my family. Especially my in-laws. They barely move from home and save every blessed cent. They did not vacation with their kids (except maybe twice they rented a beach house locally with another family).

I plan my vacations AT LEAST a year in advance, pay small payments every pay period, and always pay with cash. But I still feel the need to justify it based on the multiple comments from people around me, and not just my in-laws. "You're going to Disney AGAIN?" they say. "Didn't you just get back?" Yeah. A year ago. I head the same spiel when I backpacked around Europe for a couple of months with a girlfriend. So many people made nasty comments like it was their business.

Some people just don't travel. They just don't. They don't care about it, they don't understand it, and they think it's frivolous. Good. Lower fares for me.

That might be why so many of us commiserate together and 'justify' our trips. We're so used to getting the stink-eye whenever someone who isn't really interested in travel hears our plans. I get tired of being judged for spending money on vacations. I'm guessing some of my fellow dissers feel the same way.

 

[alwayslisad]

we are not "RICH" either, but we both make good money in the jobs we do. We like to plan our vacations two years out and save as well. I do not feel the need to justify anything to anyone anymore. I live for happiness of my family and the enjoyment and excitement of life. If Disney is part of it - GREAT - - I love being able to travel with DH and DD and my sister and her family. We create many memories and have fun.

I have a very beautiful house (that usually has all the kids in it - hehee - my house is the HANG OUT HOUSE ) filled with laughter from the teens - I am very VERY blessed...

 

[bsusanmb]

Here is a Grandma's perspective...one day I blinked my eye and all of our children were gone....well, it seemed like that. You can never recapture those years. I can remember one day driving in the car with my oldest who was 2, and just blubbering out loud thinking that I missed the first two years of her life. DH and I could not afford WDW when our children were real young, and as a child, I longed to see DL. When those 4 little grandchildren came along, I wanted to do something for them and their parents to remember, and to remember grandma and grandpa and the wonderful vacations we took...so I invested in DVC...with enough points to leave to each of our children that they will be able to spend a week at WDW when we are gone. For now, we take vacations together with them...and have used points/cash for the DCL....it is truly magical when you are almost 60, watching it through the eyes of your grandchildren. What a delight it is for me to share Disney memories with them. We live 10 minutes from Hersheypark, and we go there with the kids, but Disney is magical...and there is nothing like it in my opinion. DH has been all over the world with the USAF, but he loves Disney and the DCL...I am just thankful that after 37 years of being an RN I can finally afford these vacations...

 

[alwayslisad]

Here is a Grandma's perspective...one day I blinked my eye and all of our children were gone....well, it seemed like that. You can never recapture those years. I can remember one day driving in the car with my oldest who was 2, and just blubbering out loud thinking that I missed the first two years of her life. DH and I could not afford WDW when our children were real young, and as a child, I longed to see DL. When those 4 little grandchildren came along, I wanted to do something for them and their parents to remember, and to remember grandma and grandpa and the wonderful vacations we took...so I invested in DVC...with enough points to leave to each of our children that they will be able to spend a week at WDW when we are gone. For now, we take vacations together with them...and have used points/cash for the DCL....it is truly magical when you are almost 60, watching it through the eyes of your grandchildren. What a delight it is for me to share Disney memories with them. We live 10 minutes from Hersheypark, and we go there with the kids, but Disney is magical...and there is nothing like it in my opinion. DH has been all over the world with the USAF, but he loves Disney and the DCL...I am just thankful that after 37 years of being an RN I can finally afford these vacations...

LOVE IT - thank you so much for sharing!

 

[PrincessMom2002]

I feel guilty because we can't afford MORE vacations! In 2005 we took our first family vacation and rented a beautiful cabin in Gatlinburg. We had a blast! In 2007 we took our first DCL cruise. My kids STILL talk about it every day. We are going on DCL again in 2009 and we cannot wait for it! We figure we can take the types of vacations we want every other year without going into debt for them. On the off years we supplement with visits to amusement parks or even just get a hotel room for a night in another city and go to a zoo, aquarium or something. We are also notorius for taking our kids all the time on outings to local museums, farms, parks, bowling, etc. In the summer I try to take them local places every saturday. Yes, these outings are fun but they are not the same as the extended time away from home that a big vacation offers. Sometimes I hear comments from people about everything we do with our kids (like there is something wrong with it or they are spoiled, which they aren't) but it's as much fun for us as it is for them! The day trips are nice but the big vacations are what we dream about, reminisce about, and long to do as soon as we can when time and money allow!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Very good points...someone who might complain about the cost of a Disney cruise may not think twice about wearing a 'rock' on their finger worth that or carry a handbag that's only expensive because of the designer tag on it.

and spend $10 or more per day buying lunch and ask why do I pack one from home every day. I can't help but add it up: $50/week, $200-250/month...

But I still feel the need to justify it based on the multiple comments from people around me, and not just my in-laws. "You're going to Disney AGAIN?" they say. "Didn't you just get back?" Yeah. A year ago. I head the same spiel when I backpacked around Europe for a couple of months with a girlfriend. So many people made nasty comments like it was their business.

Some people just don't travel. They just don't. They don't care about it, they don't understand it, and they think it's frivolous. Good. Lower fares for me.

Yes, I have the same coworkers who don't go anywhere. They go to Wildwood, NJ (beach & boardwalk 90 mins. from home) and that's it. Same thing every year and never venture out of their bubble. Yet, they say to me, "Disney again?" or "another cruise?"


We always have the max taxes taken out of our paychecks so we get a big refund. (yes I know it's not the smartest way but that's another story.)
It's enough to cover a 7 day Cat 9 for 4 of us plus airfare.
For several years after our 1st ds was born, we put refund $ toward our house since we bought it from an elderly lady and needed a lot of updating, everything was from the early 60's. Little by little so much was done and I finally said to dh, "ya know this house will be here long after we're all dead and buried but our boys are growing up." and decided to start doing more vacations. We still do some house stuff like last year's return is going to new windows which we still haven't gotten to. I keep telling dh he better get those windows soon or I'll plunk it down on a Disney cruise for 09. This year's refund will be for our cruise.

 

[dursin]

and spend $10 or more per day buying lunch and ask why do I pack one from home every day. I can't help but add it up: $50/week, $200-250/month...

I was in the same boat....paying nearly $10 for lunch each day...then I cut out drinking soda's and got it down to about $7. No I just go out to lunch once a week...the rest of the time I either pack one from home or go to Burger King and use one of the infinite "Free Whopper" coupons they've been giving me for over a year now! Instead of $50 per week I'm down to about $20 or less. Saving just that $30 to week adds up to $1500 per year which should pay the remaining balance on our 2009 cruise!

Yes, I have the same coworkers who don't go anywhere. They go to Wildwood, NJ (beach & boardwalk 90 mins. from home) and that's it. Same thing every year and never venture out of their bubble. Yet, they say to me, "Disney again?" or "another cruise?"


We always have the max taxes taken out of our paychecks so we get a big refund. (yes I know it's not the smartest way but that's another story.)
It's enough to cover a 7 day Cat 9 for 4 of us plus airfare.
For several years after our 1st ds was born, we put refund $ toward our house since we bought it from an elderly lady and needed a lot of updating, everything was from the early 60's. Little by little so much was done and I finally said to dh, "ya know this house will be here long after we're all dead and buried but our boys are growing up." and decided to start doing more vacations. We still do some house stuff like last year's return is going to new windows which we still haven't gotten to. I keep telling dh he better get those windows soon or I'll plunk it down on a Disney cruise for 09. This year's refund will be for our cruise.

This years refund went to new carpeting and to help pay down the 2007 cruise....I guess there's always the economic stimulus check!

 

[Barbossa]

$5K for 5 people on a DCL cruise? That's a relatively good price!

I hear you though, there's a lot of stuff we can buy for the $6500 (Cat 9) we spend on a DCL cruise. We're going on our 2nd DCL cruise in July, and it's likely to be our last. Our kids are getting older, we want to try other types of vacations, and by the time we cruise again we'll probably look into RCL, which is a great cruise line for older kids and cheaper than DCL. Of course, by then oil will be $1000/barrel, so the cruise ships will simply anchor off shore!

 

[swilphil]

I'm starting to rethink another DCL vacation. Many of you have said what important memories those are for you and your children. I agree with that and that's the reason we will be taking more affordable vacations instead. That way we can go more often (once or twice a year) instead of once every 3 years. We already cut corners where we can, but we also need to be saving for college and retirement. I'm sure we will do DCL at some point again, but it won't be for a long time. I'm glad other people can afford frequent DCL vacations, but I can't justify going into debt and not meeting other obligations (moving to a new house, paying for kids' lessons and sports) to do so.