Feeling a bit guilty. Tell me this is ok :-)

[jlormeau]

After contemplating a trip to DW for a couple years, I whimsically bit the bullet and booked a trip for Spring Break to take advantage of the 4/3 offer. I never dreamed of taking this trip this soon I was originally looking at a couple years down the road. But my kids are already ages 4 and 7 (girl and boy), and I decided that they are at the perfect ages for DW and that THIS is the time in their lives when DW will seem magical... and they have NEVER been on vacation before.

Anyways, with such a precarious economy (God knows what 2009 holds), I feel a bit indulgent booking this trip. I am doing ok financially and, as a tenured teacher, I have job security, but I just have this notion that I should not be indulging in vacations until this economic slump turns upward. I am a divorced mom and there is no second income in the household, although my bf is paying for a good portion of the trip. The bad economic news that we are bombarded with on a daily basis makes me feel a bit anxious. Sometimes after reading the newspaper, I just want to start stuffing money in my mattress for goodness sake.

Do any of you feel this way? Am I crazy? I am so very excited about this trip, but nagging doubts and guilt about what I consider to be extravagance are dampening some of the excitement.

Convince me that this is ok

 

[disneybridetobe]

Just tell yourself you're doing your part to stimulate the economy!

Go, enjoy yourself. Your kids are a GREAT age for Disney. I say go for it, I think you may regret it if you don't.

 

[npmommie]

Your kids are the perfect age for Disney, I say GO!!! enjoy, and know you are doing your part to stimulate the economy!
Have fun and don't feel guilty at all!

 

[kristinw3girls]

Relax and enjoy your kids while they are young enough to still want to spend time with you! I would be different if your job was not secure, but life is for living and enjoying. There is NO better family vacation. You will have memories of this trip for the rest of your life. No one is guaranteed tomorrow, so enjoy today! Have a blast and take lots of pictures!!

 

[lisadr]

You are not alone in your guilt-lol. I as well as a lot of people are feeling the same way. I am dealing with it by sticking to my saving for Disney budget and not touching one extra dime from anywhere else

 

[mdsouth]

Do any of you feel this way? Am I crazy? I am so very excited about this trip, but nagging doubts and guilt about what I consider to be extravagance are dampening some of the excitement.

Convince me that this is ok

I totally understand you. We are booked for a trip for this summer (4/3 deal). We last went in 2005. It will only be our second trip as a family. My DS is now 12 and DD will be 6. I have been wanting to go back and want to take them when they still enjoy doing things with us. My DD is still in that magical make-believe age where things seem more real to her.

But at the same time, it is hard to really let loose and just relax and have fun planning this trip when the economy is so down. It really puts a damper on the trip planning.

I want to take advantage of the summer deal -- unbelievable to have a discount for June! I too am a teacher so the best time for us to go is in the summer. So for our family, it does seem to be the best time to go. And like others have said, at least I know we are also doing our part to help the economy!

 

[jlormeau]

I guess it is doing something for the economy. If everyone canceled trips and stopped buying things, the economy would be worse than it already is. I, too, have decided just to be careful about every other aspect of my budget. A June vacation would be nice, but I need to stick around to take advantage of the our summer school sessions. No one wants them and they pay well..... will also make me feel less guilty about THIS trip. lol

 

[buzzmom3]

I feel the same way. I have a pretty secure job and so does my DH, so we are ok that way. My kids are going to 7 and 2 so we figure it is our last year with our DD being free in the parks, so we better go for it!

 

[nicki.momof3]

Go and have a great time. I am also a tenured teacher and am booked for spring break. As a tenured teacher your chances of not having a job are pretty low. If they are going to lay people off it will be people that are lower on the scale. Of all job teaching is a pretty secure job once you have been there for a while.

I must say you are lucky though. My spring break fall between the easter week and therefore is not eligable for the 4/3. You must have a off week for your break - LUCKY!!

Enjoy - your kids will love it and your are right this is a very magical age.

 

[jlormeau]

Yes, my spring break worked out well. Our is always the last week of March regardless of when Easter falls. I figure that we might miss the hordes of Easter breakers....and it falls right at the end of the "200.00 gift card" promotion!

 

[nicki.momof3]

$200 gift card and 4/3 deal and a early spring break - everything is lining up - you have to go. Chances of this happenign again is slim to none. Another tip - get a free Disney Chase visa card. When you charge things you get points. I always put the entire trip on the card and pay it off first bill so no interest and I gather lots of "Disney Dollars". You can transfer your disney dollars to card and use it like cash in the parks.

Have a great trip - we will be there April 6-13 no $200 card and paying full price and crazy busy but loving every minute of it. We all have about $200 Disney dollars on our Visa so that will help with the costs.

 

[christa112]

You shouldn't feel bad about taking your family on vacation. Yes, the economy is in the crapper, but that is not your fault and your children shouldn't suffer because of.

I say go, and have a great time!!!!

 

[Dustmouse]

Right, wrong, or otherwise I'm right there with you! We last went in 2006 and before we left I decided we should try to go back in the summer of 2009 to celebrate my son's high school graduation. My husband works in the oil & gas field and while gas prices are tumbling so is the work for my husband. I work for a telecommunications company that has instituted mandatory unpaid days off. So....I totally understand the guilt and anxiety thing.

On the flip side, it may be our last vacation together as a family and with the 4/3 deal it seems doable. I'm booked for June, so I say go and have a GREAT time. The kids will be so excited and they are the perfect ages!

 

[nessz79]

Don't worry- at least you have a stable job and you BF is helping to pay. I'm sure you'll be fine and try to enjoy the planning!

 

[summermac]

If you've got the funds to do it, then do it. We are!

 

[Tink-aholic]

I bet you would have received a whole different set of answers if you had posted this on the budget board...

 

[KJ and Crew]

You are not alone! You just posted exactly what I have been feeling!! I know so many who have lost jobs and are struggling, and it feels indulgent to go on the most wonderful trip of our lives. But like many of the other PPs, I know that our family needs this to carry us through the rough times, and it certainly is stimulating the economy!!

We are doing our best to be generous where we can, spend wisely, and trust God.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[angiejg]

You won't regret it. Trust me. We took our first Disney trip in June 2007. My kids were 4 and 9. I had never even flown before. We spent a lot, but I don't regret one minute or dime of it. We still talk about the wonderful memories we made on that trip. We have been two times since then and we're going back this June. I know it will be a yearly trip now. We all look forward to it all year long. And my new philosophy is that I'm investing in my family by creating memories for a lifetime. I know a lot of people would say you don't have to go to Disney to do that, but it is so magical. I guarantee you won't regret it. And the 4/3 deal if incredible. You'd be crazy not to go! Have a great time!

 

[PixieAngel]

It is more than ok! The cost is minimal compared to what you receive in return. Memories and pictures to last a lifetime. Keep a camera handy the first sight of the castle-the first glimpse of Mickey-and the wonder of "Wishes". Put the rest of the world on hold, I only regret that we didn't take our kids until they were 8 and 11 the first time. Everything else we have will wait and can be postponed, the whimsy of childhood cannot.

 

[jlormeau]

something I read a couple months ago. The article was about finances and regret. The author of the article interviewed people about money they had spent on various items in the past like vacations, cars, etc... and looking back on their lives, people were more likely to regret not having splurged once in a while than having done so. In the end, the author concluded that if you are being fiscally responsible in the matter that it is usually better to spend on special experiences. You are very unlikely to regret it.

I took a 3-week driving trip by myself in France 10 years ago that I could not afford. But I came back and diligently paid off the credit card, and I have never regretted that trip. Some of the best memories of my life are from that trip. I didn't go crazy and I stayed in cheap hotels, but I had the time of my life. I have never once wondered how nice it would have been NOT to have spent that money.

Like previous poster mentioned, you cannot redo your children's childhoods