Help Me Decide

[angel659]

Hi

I am having bad Florida withdrawals. I really do not know what to do.

We could not go this year as we could not afford FL. We are going to DLP in a weeks time.

I was meant to go in May 07, but could not go as Casey has her yr 2 sats. We thought okay we will go in Oct 07, but now I dont think we can afford that either and I maybe starting my nurse training if I can finish my N NVQ level 3 in time.

I can not decide on, do I pay more off our finance which would be more than our agreed payments to clear it quicker and perhaps go in xmas 08 or xmas 09 or do I go in Oct 07 and pay my agreed monthly payments and have a fab time. Also it would mean if I finished my NVQ I would be putting my nurse training off until Feb 08. I can not go during term time.

My sensible head sais pay everyone off earlier but my excited head sais go to Florida as the kids wont thank you for paying your finance off early but will enjoy the holiday more.

Please help me decide. What would you do?

 

[AndRu]

Personally speaking, I wouldn't want either your education or your finances to be stretched just to get back to Orlando for a couple of weeks. I think it would be prudent to carry on with your courses and pay things off whilst at the same time planning for the next hoilday to get the best deal possible.

But thats just me.

 

[jen_uk]

Honestly, I would probably go back to WDW as soon as possible! If you can go as well as making your regular payments then that sounds ok, but if it would mean getting into more debt then I wouldnt. As for your NVQ can you find out how likely it is that you will be finished? I went to WDW last November in the middle of my PGCE (holiday was booked before I signed up to course) and I can honestly say it was fine for me to miss that time. If you went over half term then your daughter will only miss one week which won't effect her education so don't worry about that.

I would find out how much it will cost, work out whether you can afford it, sort out your college work and then decide whether its feasible. I believe anything is possible tho if you want it bad enough!!

 

[angel659]

Hi

It would not put us more into debt. It would just mean for us to pay off our finances earlier than the agreed time when we took it out i.e. HPI and a personal loan. Technically we do not have to pay anymore off, but I had a thought the other day about paying them off quicker to save on interest. I really want to go back. At the moment the flights are quite expensive. Bruce said perhaps wait till xmas day as they offered a discount last year. I dont think we could afford Florida if the flights are as expensive as they are currently. We managed to find a good price leaving on the 10th Dec for 2 weeks. We can afford this as, but Bruce is worried about the weather being too cold, he loved the florida climate.

Descisions, desisions. I think I might start saving for Oct 07 and perhaps chance booking it till December. I should know if I will have my NVQ done in time if not I will not be able to start my training until Feb 08.

Thanks for your help.

 

[jen_uk]

December 10th would be a great time to go! The weather is still very warm, when I have been then I have still worn shorts etc, its cooler in the evenings so you might need a jumper. The parks would be very quiet then, most rides will have little or no queues!

 

[Groovee]

We've only just got ourselves on the straight and narrow re finances, and have fully paid off our holiday to florida for next year. I was looking at the fly drives and they are coming in cheap if you do it last minute rather than booking ahead. If you've paid anywhere near what we have paid for DLP in October, I would have said you could have had 10 days in Florida for that. For 3 days to DLP it is just under half of what we have paid for 2 weeks in florida. I sort of regret doing DLP but we did it for dd's 4th birthday so therefore have to do it for ds's 4th birthday too. Would have preferred Florida though.

 

[angel659]

We managed to find a campsite for DLP. We have paid 129 euros for 4 nights. I would agree that staying in DLP via hotel is nearly enough for you to have a nice 2 week break in sunny FL. I still cant believe how much thier food is especially character meals. We have not been before, but we were forwarded a menu link its nearly double the price of what you would pay in WDW

I just rememberd my boss would not allow me to work up until the 24th Dec. I emailed Bruce said perhaps if we leave on the 5th, but no Bruce boss said no to that due to close. He is an Assistant Accountant. We might have to pay an exra £200 to leave on the 7th or 8th, due to weekend flight

 

[catherine]

I'm just wondering about your nurse traning, have you actually been offered a place at a university? The reason I ask is that some of the student nurses that I work with had to wait 2-3 years to get on the diploma course. I don't know what it's like in your area of the country, but this might be something to take into consideration.

 

[TandCmum]

i know how you feel about being desperate to go back, we also went in sept 2005 and loved it, but could not afford to go back again this year and are also doing DLP although we are staying onsite at DLP we are combining it with a campsite stay to make a longer holiday. I know a lot of people say DLP is expensive but for 11 nights at the campsite and 4 nights at DLP and ferry etc it is only costing us £900 and that includes our park tickets so all we need on top is spending money. I'm not sure we could get to Florida that cheaply.

anyway back to the post, we are planning on going back next september, and are hoping to do 3 weeks. we did origianlly want to stay in a villa and onsite at one of the deluxes but finances aren't going to allow that so we are going to do 3 week onsite at the values and if free dining is offered again then we may upgrade to a moderate. I think i would be tempted to go next year before starting your nurse training, once you start your training you will be tied to set holiday dates which usually correspond with the school holidays so it will be more expensive for you to go, plus if you are moving onto a bursary then financially you may not be able to afford Florida.

 

[angel659]

Hi

Thanks for the advice.

I am currently a Clinical Support Worker. When I finish my NVQ I will be able to become sponsered by my hospital. I will get my wages. I have recently gone part-time so I dont know how much it will effect my income. I have looked into a bursary. By the looks of it I will have to go back to work full time so I would get my months basic salary which is more than bursary. However it will still work out £300 less. There are no waiting times really for my local University. It really depends when you apply. College is full for this Septemeber, however there are a couple of placements left for Feb. It all could change by next yr. Once your qualified it doesnt gaurentee you a job. 93 people applied at our hospital after qualifying and only 13 got jobs.

Sorry I came off topic here.

I agree with you Tandcham that it would be hard once I start mainly due to time and money. I have been getting some quotes from Virgin. Flydrive departing on the 6th December for two weeks for 2 adults and 3 children was £1836. If we go then it will be a £500 saving. I have also emailed dreams to see if they can quote me for a room at POR. I think Dec will be a great time to go. Especially staying onsite.

Thanks again for your advice I really appreciate it.