If you have no money do you put the holiday on your credit card?

[julieannbabe]

This is gonna sound mad but i need some advice.

I have been to florida twice and i am addicted now.

I am not sure if i can afford it but i might try and get away by myself in september.

If i can't afford all of the trip (but say half of the trip £500) do i put the rest of it on my credit card and just a pay a bit off of the card, bit by bit when i come back?

What i am saying is if you can't afford florida do you just put it on your card or save for a year or two when you can go?

Advice is needed - what would you do?

Thanks.

 

[ali cardinal]

Mmmm...difficult, very difficult

I would always say that the very best idea is to save up and then go - it will probably be cheaper and you'll get more out of your holiday knowing you've earnt it

However, it depends on your personality and your attitude to debt. If you are comfortable with having to pay interest on your holiday then go ahead and use the CC.

IF I was to do it that way, I'd get myself a 0% card deal and have it all paid off by the time the promo rate came to an end.

For loads of useful tips on getting the best CC deal see www.moneysavingexpert.com

If you're not sure you could control your spending, don't use the CC.

Just my opinion

And I really don't want to encourage you to get into debt....been there, done that and it's not nice

Alison

 

[keswick1uk]

I have always saved and booked holidays when I have had the money. But, holidays to me, are luxuries not essential spending. I appreciate that is not the way everyone feels. We didn't have a holiday in 2003 to enable us to do Disney in March '04. Having said that I am now in desparate need of a break and I'm not sure a busy Disney one is perfect for that!!!!

I would think if you could book now and divide the cost over the remaining months to give you a full pot at the departure date then that would be OK, too. I don't see borrowing for the spending money to be a great problem so long as you don't intend to go silly.

I do worry about borrowing a significant part of the holiday price and having to pay it back after though......

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

We save.
I hate coming back off a holiday to debt but this is me personally.
We save for 6 months we are very lucky to be able to book a florida holiday once a year! but this is the last holiday we are having for a while as the expences are too much to keep up with.
I agree with Keswick, Holidays are luxurys and not essential spending.
Depends on how you feel to coming off your holiday to pay it back off again? Personally I hate debt.

Beth

 

[Dimplenose]

The problem with being addicted is that another trip won't be enough. I'd rather come back from Florida and start saving for next time than come back and continue paying (with interest) for what I've just had.

(If you decide to go ahead without saving is the CC the best option interestwise?)

Libby

 

[julieannbabe]

you guys are right.

it is just i really wanna go.

i was just thinking save half of it (say £500) and put the other half on the credit card...

 

[keswick1uk]

Yes, of course you really want to go. The thing is we can sell ourselves anything if we want to.

I have really looked forward to the planning of this one and enjoyed the last 9 months doing that by reading books and looking on the internet, while indulging in eight cheaper short breaks in 2003. Camping! OK, I guess I was lucky with the UK weather last year but camping was great fun, we took and went to lots of different places when weekend forecasts were good, and it only cost us £300 in equipment (which we still have for use this season) plus a few pounds each night away.

Its up to you, of course, what you chose to do.

 

[Rain]

Hi Julie,

One of the things you could consider, and I often do myself.

Book the holiday far enough away that you could pay for it in monthly instalments.

Decide how much you have spare each month, how much the holiday will cost, and book it for a couple of months after you have saved enough. ( The holiday usually has to be paid 10 weeks prior)
Pay the amount off the holiday each month to the travel agent. I realise that you could earn interest in your bank but it does stop you from spending the money. You can then start your planning!

We do become addicted to Disney!

 

[TraceyL]

Depends how much I've already got on my credit card

 

[jjcollins]

Just do it -- who knows what is round the corner - live for today



jj.......

 

[KayleeUK]

We save and then book our holiday No matter how much I keep telling DH I really need to go to Disney this year, we are saving for next year

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Originally posted by jjcollins
Just do it -- who knows what is round the corner - live for today



jj.......

Yup but in many cases there is always a tommorow.

It's up to you, you know best what your financial situation is like.
I just prefer to save, and know that when we are there our CC's are for emergencies.

Disney is VERY VERY VERY ADDICTING!
Once your home you want to book and go again thats what happened to us!!

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

We will be going to Disney for the first time this year. Judging by the comments made by people who have been before, I am now worried I am going to become addicted too and be in the same position - i.e. how to manage the expense of repeated visits!!

One thing I am very "anti" is debt on a credit card. If you know how to play the credit card game and swap cards and make use of special deals, it might not be too bad. If that is not possible and you have a lot of money on your credit card account when you come home, I would suggest getting a better loan from your bank to pay off the credit card which should work out a cheaper way of borrowing money.

Will you be paying for much when you are at Disney? There will be food and a few other expenses to pay while you are out there and I think credit cards are the best way of paying for them, so don't forget to allow for that too!

If you need some cash while you are out there, now is apparently a good time to buy dollars as the exchange rate is good. It may get better before you go, but it might get worse too!

2BoysMum&Dad

 

[Duggas]

Don't do it, trust me, I've been there and done it. Its great while you're at Disney but when you come back you have to look at clearing that debt before you can even start thinking about saving for another trip. If you know you are strong enough to pay it off all at once then OK but there is a great temptation to borrow more. We got into debt on our credit card a few years ago and the payments plus interest meant we couldn't save for any holiday never mind a Disney one. It all started with a small amount that we said we could pay back easily over the next few months, then something cropped up and we needed more money and so the vicious cycle started. We're sorted now, no debt whatsoever (mortgage excluded) and we've learned to save and be proud of our saving. Our next trip to Disney next year will be paid upfront and out of savings. It might be 7 years since our last visit by the time we go again but I'm a lot happier knowing that it won't cripple us, and that as soon as we get back then we can start saving for the next trip.

Take Rain's advice, book well in advance and save before you go.

 

[highflyer747b]

Just charge it!

Have fun and make sure you pay it back in a set time period.

 

[signtalker]

we always book our holidays a year in advance, i book all mine independantly, that way I know what i have to pay and when.Each month I set aside in 2 seperate accounts, money for the holiday and spending money(this is never touched!!)

I couldnt think of putting loads of dosh on a CC, I guess id rather pay for what i have when I have it!, if i havent got the money we dont have it end of story!! Everybody is different, but i know I couldnt sleep if I owed money on a CC

Dont get me wrong we have a CC for emergencies(never needed so far), and also for back up when we pick up the hire car.

only you know if youre able to pay your CC bill !!

 

[Mpet]

Hi

Not sure if this is much help - but only you know your personal finances - how much cash you have spare to put on a credit card etc.

On our last trip I paid for Disney/US tickets this way, but I applied for a 0% credit card specifically for this purpose. As soon as I got the card I cut it up (I'm not weak willed !!) as I only wanted the card for one purpose. I then spread the cost of the tickets equally over the interest free period (9 months I think).

This worked well for me - but we are all different. Personally if it meant I could get a good deal, I would do it again.


Maxine

 

[Korbs]

I agree with rain, that is exactly what i do.

I can never afford to pay for my holidays up front, but i dont want to be paying the whole lot off when i come back either. Our first time was a birthday present from my mum, (i didn't even want to go! ), and now we've got the bug but i have to pay for it myself. However, i booked it a year and a half in advance, ( i wanted to wait but I would never have saved anything if i had), and divided the balance by the number of monthes remaining. So I was paying off £200 a month. I never thought i would manage it in the first place but i've stuck to it and if i had an extra £50 or so at the end of the month,I paid it on the holiday. By doing this I will have it paid off about two monthes before its due, and the travel agents have no problem with me going in to pay it off each month.

This is also a bonus, because that magical £200 that I never had spare each month before, is not even missed (that much) when it is taken by standing order to my saving a/c. So when the holiday is paid for in a month or two I will just use the £200 to buy dollars with each month up until we go. So, not only will I have paid off my holiday in full, I will also be going with £1000 worth of cash/tc's. Don't get me wrong, I'll still spend a bit on my CC's but it won't be half as painful when I get back! (and I've got 0% on balance transfers and purchases till after I come back from holiday!)

 

[Mike Jones]

Done both - booked on impulse in 2002, 3 weeks before travelling and charged the lot. Mostly we book far enough ahead to save the bulk of it, using the card to take the slack of any overspend when there. I honestly think it depends on your level of affluence...can you reasonably expect to pay off the debt in 2 -4 months without killing yourself? If not, I would say save for it instead.

 

[Edie]

Hi Julie,

I put the majority of the holiday last year on the credit card because we'd also been the year before and I hadn't had a chance to save up again. While I don't regret it for a moment I arranged a low interest loan to pay it off when I got back. I am in the happy position that I can afford to pay off the loan and save for a trip next year.

I would love to go every year but I have learned to accept the fact that I can't afford it even though I check the prices from time to time just to see The way I think about it is that we'll appreciate it more when we get there having had a break from WDW for a year. We regularly watch the video we made and all the trip planning videos we have as well as any holiday programmes on the TV and then there's the DIS for when you need your Disney fix

Edie