Do you avoid telling some people about a DVC purchase?

[aceshigh73]

ok, so different type of question...

Anyone have people they purposely NOT tell that you purchased DVC?

We have some family that are extremely cheap and judgemental on how others spend their money. (Good people otherwise, just not about $$).
We just avoid the conversation that we purchased DVC. Knowing it will end up being somewhat negative.

Others we tell the first few minutes after getting together.
We generally dont discusss amount of $$ involved, unless they were very interested in purchasing as well.

Anyone have similar (family) situations?


P.S. we are very good with $$, we do spend a lot, but we are planning on retiring early and have no real debt other than the house.
We pay our credit cards in full every month, our college funds for our 2 kids are mostly fully funded, we max our retirement savings (and do Roth 401k), 2 of our 3 cars are paid off, one is 11 years old) and have NEVER asked people for $$. Just to give you some perspective here.

 

[Jlo85]

I usually avoid the conversation just because of the stigma around buying timeshares. I feel like everyone assumes I'm dumb as soon as I tell them I bought a timeshare.

 

[lawboy2001]

I've found that the problem with announcing a big ticket purchase like a timeshare is that the news usually leads to questions about cost, how much you paid.

My advice: don't answer. I have in the past, and have found that it just leads to discomfort...justifications etc., that you don't need to provide.

 

[Micca]

Our close friends and family know we go to WDW often and are aware that we have DVC. I know "Timeshares" have a bad reputation, but DVC is working out really well for us. As often as we go it would have been foolish to keep paying the ever-increasing room rates at Disney resorts.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We don’t own DVC but we’ve been throwing around the idea. If we did purchase we wouldn’t tell anyone other than our kids.

I also wouldn’t want family to ask to use our “timeshare.” They would expect it for free or very cheap and I just don’t want to get into that whole thing. Our friends would never ask and if they did ask they would offer full point rental price since they understand value. Family would expect it for cheap or free and not get what we paid and dues and all that.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The only reason we would jokingly not tell some family members is because they'd been disappointed if they didn't get to come along every year!! But we would never hide the fact that we enjoy Disney, go to Disney, and have a Disney timeshare. Just as I would never have an issue with family/friends who own a condo on Maui or go to Aruba every year. Our money, our time, our business, our choice. I originally thought this an odd question, but now I think it's an interesting one based on some of the responses. Very interesting, in fact.

 

[tom1944]

Not me. I am very public about it

 

[disneyfan123]

Initially we kept things a bit quiet, and slowly have told people over time. I usually make a joke about how buying it was my mid-life crisis!

 

[MsChristy12]

If I don't tell certain family/friends about it, it's not because of the $$ topic, it's because I know they aren't Disney people, they won't care what it is and won't get the excitement. But I know what you mean, and I had former coworkers that liked to get their nose in everyone's business. One time, my husband and I planned a last minute holiday vacation, and it was a very generous gift from my in-laws. When she found out, she straight up asked me, "wow that's a big trip, how do you afford that?" My answer, "that's my business, don't worry about it".

 

[CarolynFH]

We told our family right away, but since my parents already owned a timeshare, it was no big deal.

 

[LittleBitGoofy]

I told some good friends and got the knee-jerk "you bought a timeshare??" response. None of them go to WDW even on cash stays so I should have anticipated them not getting it. I'll probably skip discussing it with most, but...

I went to meet a potential client (real estate) and found a room covered in Disney and DVC items and had a wonderful chat about their home resorts, how long they had been members, etc. So I think when I meet someone who knows the secret handshake then I can geek out about DVC with them. As for the rest of the unwashed masses (I kid!), probably not.

 

[aceshigh73]

Initially we kept things a bit quiet, and slowly have told people over time. I usually make a joke about how buying it was my mid-life crisis!

thats what i said when i leased a Jeep Wrangler 4xe in March... LOL

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I can't understand why you'd keep it a secret just to avoid having someone confront you about money. Tell them it's none of their business and to **** off. When I acquired my latest dog, a very nosy aunt asked how much she was (she's an AKC purebred Golden Retriever, by no means cheap around here), I ripped her a new one for her blatant rudeness and she never said another word. Sometimes people just need to be told off when they violate the norms of polite society.

 

[RichVIII]

Does buying a resale contract without telling your spouse also count?

 

[PolyRob]

Only my immediate family and DVC friends knows. Others just know I go to Disney a lot and that's that. I get enough eye rolls when they hear I am "going again." We all know it's their loss.

 

[intamin]

Told close friends but will likely divulge to family in a couple years. Haven't got the knee jerk you bought a timeshare response but some of the people I work with still think it's difficult to sell and think it's a typical timeshare.

 

[Disney Spaz]

We didn't tell my father at first because I spent years watching him fuss at my uncle for owning a timeshare in the Outer Banks. He knew we went to Disney every year, sometimes more than once a year. Every time he found out we were going back the first thing he would do was make a comment about it being very expensive. So DH turned it back on him and reminded him that it was my dad that started the Disney addiction by taking me several times as a child. Then a few years after buying at VGF we invited him and my stepmother to go with us and that was it, he was in love. Now he tells everyone about how he stays at the Grand when he goes with us to Disney and how smart we were to buy in and not have to pay current rack rates.

As for others most of my co-workers know how often we go, don't say too much about it and are happy for us. The few times I have had someone say the dreaded "you are going back to Disney again...Don't you get tired of the same thing every year?" they are almost always people who go to the beach every year. So I throw back "are you really going to the beach again this year...Don't you get tired just sitting on the beach doing nothing every year?" They usually get the point pretty quickly.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I stopped talking about Disney with most people a long time ago unless they fly a Disney freak flag like a castle tattoo or license plate frames. I still can't help myself sometimes when I see a really cool loungefly bag, but I try to keep my mouth shut. I simply don't want to hear what most people have to say on the topic.

Of course, I do live in New York...

 

[smileyanna]

I stopped talking about Disney with most people a long time ago unless they fly a Disney freak flag

This. Most of our friends view Disney World as an obligatory scourge of American consumerism. Honestly, I agree… except it’s also our happy place. So no, we didn’t tell friends that we bought a timeshare that locks in decades of vacations at Disney.

My parents had the most interesting reaction. They are frequent travelers and they are NOT timeshare people. I was almost embarrassed to tell them but they were enthusiastically supportive: they’ve had trouble corralling all the kids/grandkids for an annual vacation and wish they’d established a place in some vacation-y location for the family.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Most people only know “the hotel with the monorail that goes through it” and nothing else. So no, I don’t mention our timeshare unless they know WDW well.

And when I do - and if I get a judgmental reaction - I just point at my ‘07 Avalon with no AC and laugh, “eh, everyone has their priorities!”