I am currently 56, but I bought into DVC when I was 27 - and I bought all my points at once - 440, with no add-ons since. When Boardwalk opened for DVC in 1996, I was hooked on the idea of a DVC resort connected to Epcot and that sealed it for me. My family has been going to Disney World since 1971 when it opened and I've been to Disney parks every year of my life since I was 3 years old (I lived in California for 4 1/2 years from 1990-1994, so for those years, I visited
Disneyland). We still were doing family trips with my parents, brother's family, and friends every summer, usually at the Fort Wilderness cabins or Contemporary garden rooms - so buying into Boardwalk just seemed to make sense. My parents also decided to buy in, so between us, we could cover some great family stays. My parents passed in 2023, so now it's mostly me solo, with friends, or occasionally my brother's family...we used to blow a big wad of points on 2-bed or grand villas for everyone, then I'd squeeze in a few studio solo vacations here and there, but since I rarely have large groups come with me anymore, I've got enough points to just always get a 1-bedroom 4 or 5 times a year, even if I'm just going solo.
I don't know if I'd have done it if I were 27 years old today...with the cost of points what they are. When I bought in, it was around $27K for 440 points...today I'd have to part with more than $100K to get the same points...significantly more than the inflation-adjusted amount I paid!