How do you justify?

[ilovepete]

I'm having a hard time with this. We are planning our next Disney vacation and want to stay at the Poly. We can save the amount we need to have in order to afford it. The only debt we have is our house and car payment, which we are trying to pay off early, so finances are OK. We both really want to stay there but in my head I am having a REALLY hard time justifying the cost. We will be staying at the resort less than a week and paying more than our mortgage payment for a whole month! While we could afford it, I can't wrap my head around it once I make that comparison!

How do you guys "let go" and splurge on things? I really want to... I just can't seem to do it!

 

[maggiew]

Its really hard for me too. We could afford to stay at the Poly, etc. each trip, but I can't justify it. We usually stay at Pop Century or similar. However, I did book us last year at the Beach Club as a celebration of my DDs high school graduation. It nearly killed me to pay that much, but I did it to make her high school graduation trip special.

Maggie

 

[jls886]

Just a thought - but you could look at renting DVC points. Only hitch is that you really need to plan your dates ahead of time, and it isn't as flexible as far as cancelling goes. We're going in September and December (my younger sister is doing the College Program for her fall semester) and we're renting points both times. We're paying a little more than what a value resort would cost, but less than a moderate costs...and we're staying at Animal Kingdom in Sept and Beach Club in Dec! We went deluxe once (and paid full price) and my dad will now stay in nothing less. With renting points we're staying deluxe but at a MUCH cheaper price!!

 

[Donnask8pro]

I also have to agree with you. I dont anymore. I stay in a value or mod.

My slogan is "If I can't wear it, eat it, or drive it I am not spending money on it"

 

[marmalade]

I hear ya. I always thought we were a value kind of family because I just couldn't justify paying for a delux. This year we missed the FD because I just assumed they would extend it (not). So I started looking at the room discounts, I have been dying to stay at the BWV. So I not only booked the BWV but I booked a 1br.

Now that it's paid for I don't think about how much it cost, but how excited I am for our next trip. I am more excited for this trip then I think I was for our 1st.

I say try it at least once so you know if it is what you want or not.

 

[SaraJayne]

We could afford to stay deluxe, but I refuse to pay the prices for something that is billed "deluxe" when it really isn't.

So we stay moderate (or rent DVC points).

 

[bwolfe]

We are debt free except the house. Cash only too. We save and save and then go. We have decided that vacations are very important to our family and we go all out. We only have to justify to ourselves. We save up the cash and go! Relax and enjoy!!

 

[crisi]

If you can't really bring yourself to spend it, its probably because there is something you want MORE than staying at the Poly - and you can't afford both. Figure out what that thing is.

If I don't stay at the Poly, I'll be able to.....
- pay off my mortgage early and not worry about losing my job.
- buy a new car earlier
- get some new clothes
- set aside money for college
- redo my kitchen
- hookers and blow!

It doesn't matter what it is (well, I'd advise against hookers and blow, all sorts of issues there), but if you can afford it and are reluctant to part with the money, there is something out there.

If you can't figure out anything you'd rather do than stay at the Poly, go for it. At least for a night or two (end of trip so you "move up.")

(For me and specifics, this year I did a "splurge" trip to Hawaii.....It was really about twice as much money as I wanted to spend, and I didn't really want to go to Hawaii. But the kids really did. And we had a longer than usual Spring break early. Hawaii had been on their list for a while and we are only going to get so many trips with the kids. Another opportunity to go for that long at that time of year might not come. In the end, I think they decided that "Mom was right" - Mexico is easier to get to and cheaper if you want to go somewhere warm in the Winter, and while I wouldn't say its as nice (Hawaii was incredible), its good enough for what we look for. But I'm really glad we went, I enjoyed it far more than I imagined I would.)

 

[bettymae1121]

I try to take the long view. If 40 years from now I'm laying on my death bed...what will I regret more? Spending the money and doing what I really want, or saving the money and not doing what I want. Odds are I'll regret the things I didn't do more than the things I did (unless of course I'm in a run-down nursing home because I blew all my retirement money at WDW...then maybe not... ).

As long as your finances are sound, and it's something you really want to do...go for it!

 

[pigletto]

I agree with Crisi..there's something you want more and that is understandable.

Vacations are really important to us.. I'll go without in other areas to travel more often. We did just stay at the Poly but we were able to get a 40% off code and honestly, it left me flat. I really enjoyed it for the price I paid. Rack rate would not have been worth it for me. It's not the Taj. I'll pay that for the Taj.. not The Poly.

Renting DVC points is a great suggestion. I just got an email from Davids DVC for one of their last minuted points specials. This special would have made a week in a studio at Saratoga Springs cheaper than staying at a Value!

Also .. we love the mods (not a huge fan of Pop though). So we would happily stay at POR.

 

[eliza61]

I also have to agree with you. I dont anymore. I stay in a value or mod.

My slogan is "If I can't wear it, eat it, or drive it I am not spending money on it"

I know you said this sort of "tongue in cheek" (especially since I see you love cruising) so I'm not jumping on you.

for me, that is not living, thats simply surviving.

Op, for us it's easy. A life of only buying things that are absolutely necessary is not living it's surviving and personally I want my vacations to be more about the memories than about the money.

Bettymae said it perfectly. think about the things you really cherish and appreciate. Do you say "that XYX cost too much"? when you think about your past vacations do you remember how much you paid? or how much fun you had or some thing special, exciting or ridiculous that happened?

I'm not saying go out of your personal financial comfort zone. If staying at a deluxe is really going to whig you out, then it's not worth it.

In a nut shell, I don't measure my life by dollars and cents. that's how I justify any luxury purchase. If it brings you happiness and joy, then it's worth what you paid for it.

For us, the ability to walk back to Epcot on a summer night and listen to the soft music, the ability to sit on the boardwalk with my sweetie on a summer morning while the kids are still in the room and we're eating a cinnamon roll from the broadwalk bakery, makes what I pay for the Beach club worth every penny.

Op, how about a split stay. try the poly for a night or two and then go for a mod.

 

[Disneefun]

I ask myself if I'm going to be able to fully appreciate whatever I'm spending on. In the case of the deluxe resorts, I've only done it once and that was for my honeymoon. (We were really "appreciating" the room on that trip, LOL.)

But for our other trips, we're in the parks too much to really care where we stay. It's a place to sleep, change clothes, and shower. I wouldn't get the value out of a deluxe for those kind of trips. If you're really going to be able to enjoy the resort and can afford it, go for it. But if you're going to come home and say, "Where did we stay? I never saw the resort because we were in the parks from dawn till dusk!" then I'd pick someplace less expensive and simply visit the poly for dinner and fireworks.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We wanted to stay Deluxe for our 10 Anniversary and I just can't imagine spending that much for 7 nights, it would probably pay at least 2 months of our mortgage for that length of time. My mom always asked what do you have to show for what you spent, and I look at staying at a Deluxe that way, I like to have something to show for my visit.

I did justify the cost a couple of times, because of one discount or another and the opportunity to give a special gift to my mom, but I just won't do it anymore. We don't spend that much time in our room anyway.

Dh has since gone back into the Army Reserves and we stayed at Shades of Green earlier this month. There is no way I will stay Deluxe again, when we paid $95 a night for a room the same size as the tower rooms at the Contemporary, and there are no taxes, so that is a huge savings. We easily walked to the Poly and caught the monorail and or bus.

I know everyone doesn't have that option, but it will be a good one for us.

I can't say we won't stay at Pop or even one of the Moderates again, but I just don't think I will stay at the Deluxes again.

Suzanne

 

[TnTWalter]

I had a 40% code for the room. We did the dining plan [my 3 kids were all under 10 so it was reasonable] and only stayed 4 nights can't remember.

With flights, etc. it ended up being almost $1k more than this last trip where we drove down and stayed offsite for 2 more nights [Bonnet Creek].

It was still our favorite trip of the 4 we've taken. We've loved them all but that one was magical....now granted we were upgraded to concierge by the upgrade fairy which was AWESOME, it was October so less crowded, my parents came with us which we all loved, it was the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, and it was year of a million dreams where we were awarded special wristbands one day where we got to be in MK with only a few thousand other people so we had the park to ourselves...rode space 5-6 times in a row, only family on the whole haunted mansion, etc. Amazing. So those things probably add to it more than the Poly...but we were just so immersed in the Disney magic being right there...watching water parade, sitting on beach and enjoying fireworks, etc.

If you can afford it, go for it. If it means you can't do anything else or can't go on another vacation for longer, don't.

Nowadays, we stay offsite because it means we can have ANOTHER vacation...we went skiing this year in addition to WDW.

Last time we were able to spend a week at Anna Maria after WDW because we did it cheaper.

Obviously if you're a family of 4 you have more options on property. And the DVC studios are FANTASTIC deals for Sun-Fri visits.
Trish

 

[marcgiu]

I try to take the long view. If 40 years from now I'm laying on my death bed...what will I regret more? Spending the money and doing what I really want, or saving the money and not doing what I want. Odds are I'll regret the things I didn't do more than the things I did (unless of course I'm in a run-down nursing home because I blew all my retirement money at WDW...then maybe not... ).

As long as your finances are sound, and it's something you really want to do...go for it!

Couldn't agree more - life is about "moments" and worrying about money too much can drive you crazy.

A life spent worrying is a life half lived. I would say -stay where you want , maybe put a little on a card and then pay it off before your next vacation.

I am not saying to be too frivolous but it doesn't sound like you have Credit card bills mounting up. I would go for it.

One of the problems(and good things) about the premium hotels in Disney is that it’s difficult to go back once you have stayed in them

We have the DVC and lovvvvvve OKW - would not stay anywhere else. Would rather not go.

Enjoy

 

[ancestry]

Vacations are the one area where we do "splurge." I nickel and dime everything else in our lives but not when it comes to a vacation. If we can't do a vacation in luxury we prefer to not go at all. I know many dis'ers are the exact opposite of that but like I already mentioned vacations are a time of pampering for us.

We usually stay at a deluxe resort and usually stay club level but even then I only do it with a 30-40% off discount.

As much as it is important to save money and be financially responsible, I also feel that it is important to live life and enjoy things. I look at my mother who is in her late 70s and who has saved quite a nice nest egg but never really enjoyed her life. I don't remember her ever splurging, traveling, etc. I don't want to be like that. When I approach the end of my life span I want to feel like wow, look at all of the places I went and the things that I have done. I want to go out knowing that I did what I enjoyed.

 

[ilovepete]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really need to figure out how to find one of these 40% off codes!

 

[jodifla]

I'm having a hard time with this. We are planning our next Disney vacation and want to stay at the Poly. We can save the amount we need to have in order to afford it. The only debt we have is our house and car payment, which we are trying to pay off early, so finances are OK. We both really want to stay there but in my head I am having a REALLY hard time justifying the cost. We will be staying at the resort less than a week and paying more than our mortgage payment for a whole month! While we could afford it, I can't wrap my head around it once I make that comparison!

How do you guys "let go" and splurge on things? I really want to... I just can't seem to do it!

I only did deluxes back in the day they offered $99 specials....really, they did that 20 years ago!

Then we bought DVC.....so we vacation in really nice accommodations at the fraction of the cost. I tried to pull the trigger and book cash rooms at the GF one time, and just couldn't ever do it!

 

[TnTWalter]

I must say that Bonnet Creek was really really nice. Esp if you get a presidential. Being able to have snacks, drinks, and breakfast and a cup of coffee in the AM [just because you have a condo doesn't mean you have to cook] and having privacy for grownups or just staying up after kids go to bed is AWESOME.

You could stay for a week for MUCH MUCH less than a DELUXE at Disney in a 2-4 bedroom Presidential and if you're on the right side can watch epcot fireworks at night...the presidential units have upgraded countertops stainless appliances and fancier furniture.

plus tons of pools and hot tubs even slides shuffleboard miniature golf and tons of activities. I wish we had more time to enjoy the resort. We'll go back for sure and spend less time at parks.

If it was a no vacation or stay somewhere less expensive, that's where I would be.

I loved POLY but it isn't really a 'deluxe' resort by real world standards. It's the location that rocks though!

more info on Bonnet Creek in 'Orlando Hotels' forum under 'We LOOOOOVE Bonnet Creek'.

TRISH

 

[marie1203]

It is a vacation! A break that is how I let it go. I never compare it to my mortgage payment. Nothing of a vacation is financially smart other than you are taking a break.