Dave Ramsey just trashed DVC on the air

[drakethib]

I agree. The advice goes for people who cannot afford it. If you have $10K in credit card debt, $60K in a home mortgage, a car payment bigger than you need, tuition for college and only making $40-50K a year you have no business buying a time share at that time. It means you got suckered into an emotional buy (yes, even for DVC). Buying any Timeshare requires thought and I bet there are more people out there who get suckered into an emotional buy (like those free weekends they get you to sit in on a sales pitch for and stuff) than who honestly buy after serious thought. DVC is a luxury, not a necessity. It sure is nice to escape to Never Neverland every once in a while, but now that things have changed in my life, I have to take reflect on my own reality. My DVC land of make believe, even though it is filled with wonderful memories, may need to have some changes made.

Now that my kids arent so much kids anymore, we find ourselves going to Disney less and less. In fact, 4 of the last 5 years we ended up banking our points and then losing them (we should have rented them, but I was uninformed on how it works and leary about it).

I think the time has come to say goodbye to our Dvc. Mickey served us well and we will miss him. I find it an emotional decision to make because I love going to Disney so much. But in all honesty to myself, I am paying dues each year for something we are not using and that money could be put into an account to save for something else. My DH was laid off last year and unable to find anything. We've gone through our savings and finding it harder and harder to make ends meet on just my income. It is a sad decision for me. If I could keep it, I would, but it is just draining us now that we are in a different situation than we were 10 years ago when we bought. The resale value is also tempting in that is almost doubled from what we paid for it.

Has anyone used the Timeshare Resales before? How do they work?

I hope your situation turnaround for you and your family.

The Timeshare Store (The Disboard Sponsor) are excellent people to deal with.

 

[Dean]

I may be off course here and not trying to start a flame war and while I didn't finance my DVC, I am not sure if financings DVC is a bad idea. I know several people who have no debt and have incomes that many people can only dream of that have financed their DVC.

Some people are more comfortable with the $$$ in the bank and paying a monthly note.

At the same time, if someone had their credit cards maxed out, could barely make ends meet, etc.and financed a non-essential, this is a poor choice.

No flames, we simply disagree on what are good vs poor choices. The only time I can even see financing an item such as DVC is for one who has no other debt, is otherwise set financially, who has a deal on the table (buy before price increase, etc) and who has guaranteed money coming in to pay it off in less than a year. People make poor choices all the time, it's their right to do so. Even using a no interest credit card for temporary payment then paying off the card at the end of the mont carries risk.

 

[drakethib]

No flames, we simply disagree on what are good vs poor choices. The only time I can even see financing an item such as DVC is for one who has no other debt, is otherwise set financially, who has a deal on the table (buy before price increase, etc) and who has guaranteed money coming in to pay it off in less than a year. People make poor choices all the time, it's their right to do so. Even using a no interest credit card for temporary payment then paying off the card at the end of the mont carries risk.

Fair enough

 

[salmoneous]

Personally, I don't see any reason not to finance DVC. If are going to use something over the next 10-years, why not pay for it over the next 10 years? As long as the financing doesn't leave you "under water," what's the harm?

 

[disnutt]

I'll say it! I love DVC and Dave Ramsey! I grew up living w/ a single mother who lived on her credit cards. I had NO idea how to budget. Dave's book, Financial Peace, was in my library. I found his show on my radio. I listened to him and sorted the wheat from the chaff.

Because of his advice and our own decision making we're now a DVC-owning single income (teacher at that!) family. Our retirement/kids's college funds are at a satisfying level for us. They could always be better but they're not bad.

We paid off our contract in less than a year, yep we financed! We budget our dues. No matter what anyone here on dis says, folks making enough to NOT have to budget their dues to some level probably don't have DVC contracts. I can't imagine Oprah or Bill Gates making the choice between the 2-BR or Grand Villa at OKW!