I have to ask...how do all these people afford...

[4Seasons]

As many other says, it comes down to financial priorities in your life, not necessarily how much money you make.

If you've ever read the book "The Millionare Next Door", you're familiar with the term "big hat, no cattle", which basically means looks are decieving.

Some people wear a "big hat" (i.e. drive expensive cars, wear designer clothes, have big houses, spend alot of money to impress, etc.), but have "no cattle" (meaning they live paycheck to paycheck, rely heavily on the use of credit cards, have no savings or financial cushion, etc.).

You'd be surprised how many people that are really well off financially live in very modest homes, drive older, paid-for cars, wear clothes from the basic chain stores and otherwise live very frugally.

It's all a matter of priorities.

To me, vacations are not only a priority, but a crucial means of building and maintaining our family bond. We don't need to stay in the most lavish and expensive places and eat out at top of the line restaurants for every meal. I'm just as happy to stay at an average place (or a nice place that I find a killer deal on ) and prepare most meals in our kitchen or eat at moderate places, and just enjoy being together as a family without the added day-to-day stress of our "regular" life (well........not so much for me because it seems I always end up spending some time working even on vacation, LOL, good thing I like my job!).

We live in a modest house that will be paid for in less than 7 years, our cars are 1992, 1995 and 1996, all bought used and paid for in cash, we wear clothes that are most always bought on sale at the average places like Kohl's, Target and Old Navy, we rarely eat out, and I watch our budget like a hawk. Neither my husband or I make a ton of money, although we are fortunate enough to have bought some investments several years ago which give us a bit of extra income.

This year we've been to Hershey, PA for a few days, Las Vegas for a week, Miami for a long weekend, and a 2-day Carnival cruise. I do get alot of discounts and perks because of my profession, but we have also budgeted appropriately and make sacrifices in other areas in order to be able to fund our trips.

Alot of our friends don't understand it. I guess to them we "look" like we are just getting by, because we don't live like them.
One couple we know are both teachers, both drive newer/expensive cars (one is a new Jaguar), dress thenselves and their kids in designer clothes, participate in all the "in" activities, recently remodeled their house with all the latest and greatest, and had a pool put in their backyard. They pretty much live week to week.

It's all about priorities................

 

[mickeyfan2]

We can go for 30 nights in a year period due to:

1) APs
2) DDE
3) Debt free
4) DH and I both work and have college degrees
5) Go off season
6) Always get AP hotel rates
7) Drive to WDW
8) Budget for vacations every year
9) Do limited sit down restuarants
10) Shop on sale
11) Limit eating out at home
12) Buy cars and drive them until they need to go to the junk yard.
13) We have been married for 24 years so have more disposable income

We never went but once every 3-5 years when we were young, now we can go more often.

 

[bsusanmb]

When my children were at home, we could never afford a WDW vacation, 5 kids. One year the youngest won a trip to WDW and so we all went and stayed way off property. We only could afford 2 days in the park. And from then on, we would go once a year because I figured out how to do it on a shoe string...driving...staying at SOG, taking a cooler and eating in the room. After my children were grown and out of the house, I inherited a tiny bit of money and invested it in the DVC. I wanted to do that years ago, and just couldn't get DH to go along with it. So, I did it on my own. Now I have 5 add ons and my vacations are prepaid. I am able to provide free accommodations for my children and grandchildren through the DVC...I give them my points to use. I am so happy that I will be able to will my 700 points to them for their families.

 

[abcboys]

I always wondered this same thing. I just assumed people that went several times a year just made good money and budgeted well.

I feel like I budget well. We only buy used clothing, I watch what I spend at the grocery store, and don't eat out a lot. We don't smoke or drink and there is no way I could afford a yearly trip to WDW. We will be going next year for a first family trip and have been saving for over a year. We earn about 35k for a family of 5. I suppose I could do a credit card trip once a year but I would feel too guilty. Bottom line is the money has to be there from somewhere no matter how much you budget.

 

[DVC Sadie]

With the disboards having over 148,000 subscribers the annual income is very diverse to say the least.
I remember awhile back when a poll was done in regards to a familys income and if I remember correctly there were alot of disboarders who earned above 150,000 per year or more. Some earned over 250,000 per year.

This is how we afford to travel frequently;
1. DVC
2. Purchase new cars every 10 years.
3. Both of us worked until we were able to retire early.
4. No credit card debt ( charge everything but pay off each month).
5. We only had one child so we were able to fully fund his education while fully funding our retirement.
6. For the first 10 years of marriage we only lived off of one income.

 

[Disneefun]

How do we do it? First of all we don't have kids. That's a huge saver right there. But the biggest way we afford it is to camp in our motorhome. We bought a used fixer upper that we love and have restored to it's previous loveliness. We paid cash, so no payments. With full hook up campsites at Fort Wilderness in value season being +/- $40ish w/AAA or AP rates, we can stay for a loooong time before we begin to approach the cost of a hotel. We eat breakfast and dinner in the camper and eat at Disney for lunch. Very economical. Gas is usually less than airfare would be for us, even at current prices. We get AP's or 10-day non expiring and then use the heck out of them to get multiple trips.

We have no debt besides the house and don't live large otherwise. Travel is our passion so we skip movies, restaurants, etc. in favor of travel. That's how we do it.

 

[jsmla]

How do we do it? First of all we don't have kids. That's a huge saver right there. But the biggest way we afford it is to camp in our motorhome. We bought a used fixer upper that we love and have restored to it's previous loveliness. We paid cash, so no payments. With full hook up campsites at Fort Wilderness in value season being +/- $40ish w/AAA or AP rates, we can stay for a loooong time before we begin to approach the cost of a hotel. We eat breakfast and dinner in the camper and eat at Disney for lunch. Very economical. Gas is usually less than airfare would be for us, even at current prices. We get AP's or 10-day non expiring and then use the heck out of them to get multiple trips.

We have no debt besides the house and don't live large otherwise. Travel is our passion so we skip movies, restaurants, etc. in favor of travel. That's how we do it.

That's pretty much how we do it except for the kids part. Ours are both in college and far too cool to go to Disney with Mommy and Daddy. DD is too busy with 3 jobs and a hectic social life and DS is too afraid he might miss out on a rousing game of beer pong. Hubby is concerned about the whole gas thing and since we get 3x better mileage with my Toyota than with his truck pulling our (ancient, 3rd hand and paid for) Airstream we've used all of my Amazon credits to purchase a tent I haven't camped in a tent in over a decade, but we're giving it a go. I figure a tent at Disneyworld is better than the house in Baton Rouge.

Jennifer

 

[Chicago526]

Different people are in different places in their lives.

If you look at the trips in my sig, I've been going every one to two years since '98. Most of that was due to the fact that I was single and carefree, with a decent amount of disposable income. Also, I work as a travel agent and usually fly for free and of course get good discounts with Disney. So between the two, I could afford it (well, mostly! ).

Now, DH and I are married, we own a house that needs lots of work, and our cars are both now older and also need more work to keep running. We are planning on starting a family as well. In short, no more money for trips to WDW, not even with my discount! We likely won't go until after we have our first child, so even if I got prego tomorrow, we're talking about a good two years until our next trip.

Also, some people live within 1 days driving distance so they don't pay for airline tickets, many are happy to stay at Value and Mods rather than deluxes (My DH refuses to stay anywhere other than Poly or WL another reason we won't be going back anytime soon) and have super low food and souvie budgets. Some may have no kids, or only one or two kids, which also helps with the budget. Some people just charge trips they can't afford. Some may be retired and/or empty nesters and have more time and disposable income. And some may just make really good money and get tons of vacation time and are just fortunate in life to be able to travel just about anytime, anywhere (and more power to them!).

Actually, I'm rather glad that DH and I can "only" afford to go once every 2 years or so. If I went more often, I'm affraid I'd lose that "magic", that what once was special will become ordinary. I don't know that we'd go more often even if we did have the money, to be honest.

 

[spima3]

<snip>
As many other says, it comes down to financial priorities in your life, not necessarily how much money you make.

It's all about priorities................

Well it is and it isn't. Many here post: "decent salary, modest living, modest house, budget trip". These terms really are subjective. My modest living is probably no where near someone whose yearly income is 6 figures.

We live on one income, with 3 kids, ages 12, 10, and 7. When we went to WDW two years ago, we:

1. took the train. we love trains and the kids were free that year. we had our own car in FL, so we were able to purchase groceries, etc.
2. Stayed at Shades of Green for 5 days. Gorgeous, comfortable hotel, and it was probably $110/ night. With a family of 5, this worked out great for us.
3. We got 5 base tickets. 3 adults and 2 kids for 4 days--military discount.
4. Ate breakfast in room and at the bar at Shades of Green every night. We bought next to nothing in the parks.
5. Bought a few souvenirs, but not much.
6. We had no luggage, so we borrowed what we could, but ended up purchasing a few pieces.

We enjoyed ourselves, and we could probably have done this cheaper, but since it was our first trip ever to WDW, I didn't want to nickel and dime everything to death.
Still it was the equivalent of almost 6 weeks take home pay for us. That is a lot to spend on a vacation. Right now I am putting $$ away towards braces for the youngest, no dental coverage. Also, the price of gas, for both the vehicles and heating for the winter leaves little extra in our budget. IF we can manage it, I would like to go back in 2009/2010. I am shooting for Harry Potter at Universal.
So as much as I am making it a priority to travel to WDW again, there are a lot of other necessities that take priority. There is no way we could ever take multiple trips a year, we just don't have the income to support it. That's reality, priority simply doesn't factor into it, unless we chose to be financially irresponsible.

lori

 

[MiniGirl]

jsmla, I just wanted to say that I loved your reasoning for editing your post. Thanks for making me smile.

BTW, I was born and raised in BTR. I'm in Central Florida now though.

 

[DVC Sadie]

OP, there are a lot of posters who choose not to put their upcoming (or past) trips in their signature. for many different reasons.

 

[mousiemom]

okay, i am one of those people that have been to wdw 4 times so far this year and this is how we do it:
**bought annual passes in Jan. 07 so we only have to pay for our hotel stay which is normally at Pop during value season and we get the ap rate.

we are 71/2 hrs away so we drive down and we split the gas with my inlaws and we eat our meals in the room. we start buying groceries to take about a week ahead of time and we have our rooms paid off before we get there. we usually do 2 meals out and we save with our dde card 20% off our ticket.

since we have gone so much we don't have to buy so many souvenirs cause we will be back. so, i usually take around $300 spending money.

my dd keeps a running disney fund and we put into that along with the grandparents every chance we get so she has a good bit every trip. for our birthdays, we ask for disney dollars.

we have been taking 5 night trips so we don't have to take off so many vacation days. my 7yr dd's school has a limit of 7 parent excused days for the year and we are gonna hit the 8th day after our Dec. trip and they are fine with that cause it is their last day before xmas break.

everybody is always asking me this question,"how can you afford to go that many times"? you just budget yourself and make it happen. this is our year of disney. so, when all of our friends are asking us to go on other trips, etc. we always say you know we have two more trips planned to wdw, we will have to go next yr.

we are going in dec. and 2 weeks later going in Jan. our xmas bonuses at work are helping out on these trips. i will have to tell you, we have had an awesome trip on every one of them too. they've been different every time.

i think the most we've had to pay for a trip was the $636 and that was when we went for free dining and we got the free upgrade from pop/to saratoga springs resort. that trip would had cost over $3000 so it was the best deal!!!
any more questions, feel free to ask!!!
mousiemom

 

[rt2dz]

We don't do Disney multiple times a year, but we do vacation more than once a year, once a year at Disney. For us vacations are a priority. I don't get people that brag they haven't been on a vacation in years. To me, that isn't much of a life. So, in answer, we budget for it.

Our mortgage is practically nothing. I put 30% down when I bought my house 11 years ago. I refinanced when rates were at their lowest point. My car payment is more than my house payment. That said, we're not into cars. We buy a new car when we need them, but then tend to keep them 7-11 years.

I bargain shop throughout the year. My kids have their Easter baskets purchased with all clearance items from this summer. Swimsuits for $2.99 that were originally $30. I also don't buy my kids birthday presents, just a party. They don't care since friends get them gifts and they have birthdays just after Christmas. I also tend to buy quality so things don't need to be replaced frequently.

And it doesn't hurt that we make a small, but comfortable salary. I'm a SAHM, but do things like mypoints--free hotel room this trip*. Also, DH travels a bit, so we get his frequent flyer & hotel points. The area we live in isn't a high cost of living area so everything goes much farther. We don't finance our trip via credit card. We have cash before making purchase to pay off the credit card when the bill is due. We do use the credit card to get the dividends it pays.

As far as the cost of Disney goes... It doesn't have to be that expensive. I've always managed to score a deal on hotel rooms. I've paid for deluxe what others have paid at the same travel time for value rack. With 3 kids, DVC is in the future when we can buy it outright. We also travel during value season.

Then, we buy APs and go twice on it--we do a 10 day trip each year. We use the DDE card to save incredibly on dining. We also pre-buy certain souvenirs and then use our AP discount on others.

And the kids don't get a ton of stuff. We don't buy a ton of snacks at Disney, we eat breakfast in our room, we frequently split those large meals or combine meals (brunch v. breakfast and lunch).

We don't fly, we drive--which also opens up off site/cheaper dining options. We don't rent strollers, we bring our own. I'm sure there is more, but I can't think off the top of my head. I've just found that a Disney trip really isn't that much more expensive than trips elsewhere, the money is just distributed differently.

ETA: *check-in day. Since we drive we arrive early in the morning. By staying offsite, with a frequent traveler card, I get early check-in. We can nap, shower, etc, and still enjoy a half day at Disney. Still no parking fees with the AP. The rest of the trip is onsite. We have one overnight bag for the first night and drop the rest of our bags at the hotel until we get to check-in the next day.

 

[CarolA]

OP, there are a lot of posters who choose not to put their upcoming (or past) trips in their signature. for many different reasons.

Some of us are just too lazy or figure it's hard for the DIS police to threaten us wiht "signature" removal..

(See my signature, what are they going to remove?)

 

[mousiemom]

Awesome Story And Lesson!!!! My Family And I Live For Today!! We Have So Many Memories Right Now And Our 7yr Dd Will Too! Live Today Like It's Your Last!!!
So Happy About Your Dh!! Have Fun!
Mousiemom

 

[nowellsl]

1 - FL Resident Seasonal Passes
2 - 2 hours drive
3 - Value Resorts/Value season
4 - Free dining when available
5 - Only 1 grown child
6 - No mortgage, car payment, cc debt, loans, etc., etc.

We go for long weekends 5-6 times a year. Only 3-4 days at a time. It's cheaper than the beach!

 

[kathrna]

For us, we just bought into DVC, so it's like the rooms are already paid for b/c it's already factored into our budget; we currently live in Florida, so we don't pay for airfare or rental car; we skimp on the big character meals and eat either in room or get the most counter service for our buck; we bought annual passes this year, so it feels like we play free b/c we bought them during one of our last visits. We also go for small trips, like long weekends not all week or two. NOW, that being said, when we move away from Florida, we won't go 3-4 times a year. It will be just too darn expensive with the above factors coming back into play.

 

[DVC Sadie]

Some of us are just too lazy or figure it's hard for the DIS police to threaten us wiht "signature" removal..

(See my signature, what are they going to remove?)

Me too, Carole A.

Actually, when I first started posting I did have upcoming trips listed but then I deleted them.

 

[pbharris4]

Maybe people just make really great money and can afford to go that many times a year.

It all depends on how and what people want to spend their $$ on. Some spend it on eating out alot, high end clothes, constant manicures/pedicures, golf, etc.

Some people sock a great deal away into retirement investments, college funds, etc.

Some people go on vacations 2-4 times a year

Some do a little bit of everything...like us.

 

[girli565]

I gues sliving in FL does help me out a bit because I drive to Disney all the time. I just came back from the F&W Fest and it was my 4th trip so far this year. My other trips were week long trips staying at Pop Century.

I live with my parents, have a teaching job (at a Zone school, teaching Emotional Behavior Disorder students which all equals about $10,000 more a year), and only pay a few utilities. I don't have a mortgage, or pay rent and my car is paid off. I also just finished paying down close to 9k in debt as of 10/11/07. All while still going to Disney, paying cash!

I guess not having to buy airfare saves me a bundle. But I do try and get discounts all the time. I buy the 3-day FL tickets with all the add ons because those are really worth it! I get my room discounted most of the time, except for the time I got the DDP.

I also plan on going to Disney several times throughout the upcoming 2008 year, and I also plan on buying the BMW I've saved up for and putting a downpayment on my house with Dfi. After the house is bought I'm sure our Disney trips will die down to 1-2 times a year. But for now I'm enjoying it to the fullest!!