How do you afford DVC?

[Maleficent's Dad]

@Bo1203 that is some story, thank you for sharing! We have always put family first, and appreciate the time we’re together!
DW and I are currently in OKW sans our adult children, and we were just talking about how we have zero regrets about the amount of time we spent as a family in WDW.
Yours is a story that more folks should read - appreciate your health and family! Life is, as the cliche goes, way too short! You’ll never regret the vacations taken!

 

[Bo1203]

appreciate your health and family! Life is, as the cliche goes, way too short! You’ll never regret the vacations taken!

Totally agree, enjoy your trip!

 

[Pinkjgray]

At first, I thought this was such a bold question about affording DVC. But reading through your stories inspired me — so many of you worked hard, saved, and made it happen. It gives me hope that one day I can too! It reminds me of when I used to say, “One day I’ll travel,” and I did. Thank you for sharing so openly; you never know who’s reading and feeling encouraged!

 

[keishashadow]

We live within our means.

Same, but I admittedly budget a healthy amount for discretionary spending/entertainment that mostly equates to Disney trips.

The Mr had one objection/rule from the get-go…

“I” must pay cash for any/all DVC contracts. No financing of any sort. Think he thot it would deter me after buying more after the first small purchase…silly boy. Just the carrot I needed to trim some fat from the budget and ahem apply myself @ work a bit more (commission job @ the time).

FYI, He’s now the one I need to remember to pump the DVC brakes. Not the worst thing, he surprised me with a cruise on the Treasure next April

 

[Brian Noble]

But reading through your stories inspired me

I had this conversation with one of my kids recently. They don't remember what it was like when we were starting out. Money was tight then--to the point where we bounced a handful of checks in the first year or two! But that was when we had one income, a mortgage that was just a bit outside my (admittedly conservative) comfort zone, and a healthy balance left on the loans my parnter took out to get their MD. Our first vacation once we had started our family was a three night stay in Toledo. That's Toledo, Ohio, not Toledo, Spain. We stayed in a budget version of a Residence Inn, went to the zoo and the science museum, and hung out. To say it was modest would be an understatement.

To this day, that was one of the most memorable vacations I've ever taken.

As time progressed, the second income ramped up, the debt was gradually paid off, and the mortgage payment mostly stayed the same! So, our discretionary budget grew as well.

Our Disney trips followed a similar pattern. The early days were on the cheap, and we did things like choose airports a few hours' drive away to save on airfare, renting offsite VRBO or timeshare units and once even my uncle's vacation home in Clermont at the "family discount". We would splurge on one or maybe two sit-down meals over the course of a week. And as we had more discretionary income to work with, we started using some of it to upgrade our vacations, at Disney and elsewhere. I also had an angle that got me into DVC villas for a very attractive cost; in exchange I had much less flexibility in resort, unit size, etc.

The upshot of all of this is: we didn't need to have All The Disney Things from the beginning. We started out small, because that's what we could afford.

 

[paults]

We can afford DVC because we bought early. 2002/2003/2011. We counldn't afford it these days.

 

[Skicks35]

My wife and I have a funny story about how we first became interested in DVC.

Back in 2018/2019 we were actually at a sales pitch for another time share competitor on a vacation in Ft Lauderdale. The sales guy pulled out a booklet to highlight their up front prices vs the competition. The competition included DVC, with the pitch obviously being to show their prices are lower, but it did the opposite: it made me aware that DVC actually existed. Once we got home, I dug in, did research (I'm a finance manager for a software company, so I'm extremely analytical), and obviously saw that it's a bargain vs rack rates and realized we could make the money work at the time without stretching ourselves too thin. My wife and I both grew up going as kids and even got engaged at GF in 2016, so it was a pretty easy decision.

As I mentioned, I'm a finance manager for a software company and she owns her own contract lobbying business, so we do well, especially for our ages (39/40) and don't live above our means. Back when BPK went on sale, one of my Amex cards was offering a "Plan It" promotion to spread out large purchases interest free over two years, so that made adding on the easiest decision in the world. We have two young boys now (2.5 and 1) and have basically recouped our DVC from the travel just in the last six years. Love every aspect of it (including being a part of the community).

 

[radiodome21]

We used to vacation in the Florida panhandle during Easter break, a tradition my parents started when I was 12. My siblings and I carried that on after they passed. The last time we went was 2021 and only because we really had no choice. Our 2020 reservation was canceled and we were only offered a credit that had to be used within 13 months. So we went and still had to pay more money for a smaller rental house than what we booked the previous year and made a so so vacation. But everything was so expensive. Flights and rental cars were astronomical. On top of the daily Publix runs we were spending ridiculous money on everyday things. When we got home I told my wife we’re done with that. If we’re going to spend money for vacations let’s go somewhere we love. Thy name is Disney World. We afford it by living within our means. We were fortunate that we didn’t have to finance it and we both work. We bought VGF in July 2023 because I reasoned that direct points will never go down and the opportunity was ripe. We have 2 kids and they love Disney, which is makes me even happier. We’ve already been there 3 times this year and will be back for the Food and Wine Half marathon. Yes there’s hidden fees but that’s true with every vacation. Might as well do it right.