is it reasonable to look into DVC at this financial age?

[LuluLovesDisney]

I'm 25 and I am a teacher and am looking into this. How would I need to pay for this? Is there a payment schedule, etc. Thanks!

 

[dianeschlicht]

You will need a down payment and can finance the rest if you so choose. How much you finance is determined by how many points you buy and how much you pay down.

 

[rocketriter]

Remember that early in your career, when money is tight, the money you put into paying for DVC will pretty much preclude your traveling much elsewhere. Yes, you can occasionally trade your points out, but your best use of points is at DVC resorts. So don't commit yet unless you're ready to commit to a lot of Disney trips. As far as points go, you could buy the minimum of 150 at SSR--buying the resort with the longest lifespan makes sense at your age--and use it to have 1 week per year during off season or 1 luxurious week every other year. But make sure you don't cut yourself off from going anywhere else while money is tight.

 

[utahkennedys]

If you are 100% on track for retirement and don't have credit card debts, student loans, etc, anc can afford the payments looking forward for as long as the payment schedule is, then I would say yes. If not, I would put it off or buy a small resale first.

 

[deerh]

By Utahkenedy:If you are 100% on track for retirement and don't have credit card debts, student loans, etc, anc can afford the payments looking forward for as long as the payment schedule is, then I would say yes. If not, I would put it off or buy a small resale first.

I agree as well. Also as a teacher myself, you can go more weeks than most people, but ONLY at certain times. If you like summer/Thanksgiving/Christmas/spring break, then DVC is for you!

DeerH

 

[Laurajean1014]

I would recommend it.

You can put 10 or 20% down (depending on how many points you purchase). At your ages, your salaries should go higher til age 45 or 50, when it starts to even off. So, with that in mind, whatever you can afford now will be a cinch in 5 or 10 years.

Also, at 25 you will be 75 when it expires. That's full advantage and a ton of trips to WDW or where ever.

I also feel that I get "highend" accommodations w/o the $500-$800 night cost. We stay in a one bedroom and rack rates are quite high.

Let us know what you do.

 

[Dean]

Save some money for DVC and pay cash if it makes sense for you at the time. I agree there are other priorities you should put first financially like emergency savings, pay off all debts and retirement.

 

[bongo59]

I think you're a poor candidate for DVC right now. Buy it if you can pay for it. Financing a vacation is a bad habit and not financially brilliant. Save for retirement more or first before you buy DVC

 

[iankh]

I think you're a poor candidate for DVC right now. Buy it if you can pay for it. Financing a vacation is a bad habit and not financially brilliant. Save for retirement more or first before you buy DVC

I'd have to go along with Bongo, boring though it may be, there are other things that could be done with the money. Not sure if you own a home, but that is a good (and usually sound) place to put money, plus saving for retirement. While you are a great age to enjoy DVC for many years, it is also a great time for you to build a good financial plan.

 

[Rozzie]

we financed our DVC. We will have it paid for in 2 years, but did the 10 year plan with 30% down just in case something happens one month we have a low payment. I am 29, DH is 34. We have enough cash to pay for it in savings, but we never use savings for luxuries, it is there for emergencies. While I do not enjoy paying finance charges, it makes sense for us to do DVC. We are young and go to WDW 2-3 times a year. We put it down on paper, what we were paying each year on our trips, and how much DVC would be. Spreadsheet it out, and the numbers worked in our favor. Only you and your family know what you can afford.

there is some great advice here on the board, and everyone is so helpful.

we do own our home, and have a healthy retirement plan in full gear. I do agree that these are definately most important!

 

[Cruelladeville]

I agree with Rozzie that you could take out a 10 year loan and pay it off early. If you don't have student loans, I think it's a good idea to buy now if you want to plan your vacations for the future. Do you have tenure yet? If you are still on probationary status, I would wait until you are reasonably sure you won't be laid off. I think if your debts are minimal, and you have a savings account, DVC is a sound choice. I do not think that you need to buy a house before DVC if you can still save money after a DVC purchase. From what I have heard, starter houses in the northeast can be $200,000.

 

[mef78]

From what I have heard, starter houses in the northeast can be $200,000.

I have to weigh in that, depending where you are in the northeast, starter homes can cost up to $800,000!


To stay in line with the thread, though, I'm 26 and considering purchasing DVC. At the moment, I'm making two, week-long trips to WDW per year and staying in either Moderate resorts with cash or in DVC resorts with rented points. I'm a die-hard traveler, so these trips (and others around the world) will keep happening whether I purchase DVC or not.

What I'm wrestling with is the knowledge that I could potentially spend a couple thousand dollars each year on trips and have nothing but the memories to show for it, or I could funnel that money into a DVC payment, still take the trips, and essentially pay for all of my vacations for the next 49 years while I'm still in my 20's!

It's a tough decision. All I keep hearing from members is, "I wish I'd have bought sooner!" Well, now is the "sooner" for me!

 

[crisi]

I'm glad I didn't buy sooner!

I was first exposed to DVC on my first honeymoon. My ex husband (that honeymoon) was a big Disney fan and was all for it. He was also finanically irresponsible.

Eighteen months later he moved in with his girlfriend, it was all I could do to keep making house payments. I could not have used a DVC membership and would have had to sell it - or it would have gone in the divorce.

Several years later I went down for another honeymoon with another husband. We both had pretty good jobs. But it wasn't in the cards for then either. Before we bought, we built a house and adopted a child from Korea. We had one car between us back then - needed a second car. We couldn't have afforded tying up the money - nor could we have afforded taking the vacations and still had the things we wanted (a new home with room for kids, the kids themselves - kids are really expensive!).

We then inherited some money. That freed things up a lot. And we both got much better jobs.

When we went to Disney with small kids we realized now was the time. We were able to pay cash for a resale. We were reasonably sure the cost of the vacations themselves wouldn't be overly burdensome (we still spend $3000+ on airfare, park tickets and food each trip).

Perhaps I bought one trip to late and should have bought FOR that last non-DVC trip instead of right after it. But I have no regrets about not buying sooner.

 

[Pinnie]

I'll throw my .02 in here. I have been a teacher for 29 years and depending on where you are, jobs can be gone quickly. I know a lot of teachers here in my state that have 15 yrs seniority that are getting laid off due to declining enrollments, lack of funding, etc.

My thoughts would be to shore up your retirement first and build a fund for the "lean years". NO job is ever 100% secure. DH has been an engineer for one of the Big 3 auto companies for nearly 30 years and a few years ago, he was next in line when they downsized. Luckily he survived the cut!

We didn't purchase our DVC contracts until we were in good shape financially and knew that vacations would be able to be taken (Airfare, park tickets, etc covered) and that our DSs' college tution was paid.

Good luck in your decision and happy teaching!

pinnie

 

[disneyholic family]

how much is the initial investment?
and how much are annual dues?
do you have to pay anything when you visit?

 

[JimC]

If you are 100% on track for retirement and don't have credit card debts, student loans, etc, anc can afford the payments looking forward for as long as the payment schedule is, then I would say yes. If not, I would put it off or buy a small resale first.

I agree. Fully funding your 401(k), eliminating all debt except mortgage and having 3 to 6 months living expenses as cash reserves for emergencies should be priorities before a vacation investment such as a timeshare.

 

[lenshanem]

I dunno... If she loves WDW as much as me and wants to go every year...
DH and I always kick ourselves for not buying in when we first saw it in our early twenties. We bought instead in our early thirties and the price was definitely higher and we'll get less years out of it. During those ten years we were still going to WDW, too - money that could have gone into DVC.

I would definitely buy into SSR at your age, though. Good luck with your decision!

 

[JenniferCassidy]

I am 22 and my husband is 30 and we just bought into DVC. We travel to DisneyWorld once a year and are Disneyland Annual Passholders. We were just in WDW in February and really enjoyed not just WDW, but Florida. So we are very happy to have our vacations somewhat planned for the next 50 years.

We did not finance with Disney, we got a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). The rate is 6%. We used the HELOC to pay for DVC and pay off our credit card debt. We will have this paid in less than 6 years.

I've read before that someone financed their DVC by taking a loan out on their 401K. Paying interest, but to themself. I thought this was a great idea. I wish I would have thought of it!

I am only 22 and regret not buying sooner! If we would have purchased when we first went to WDW on our honeymoon, our DVC would have been at least 1/3 paid off!

 

[AngieRL]

Hi, I bought DVC back when I was 23. I am now 32. I bought it after my first year of teaching in NJ. I financed it for 10 years with 10% down. I have a little over 1 1/2 to pay it off. I have used it for many different occasions through the years. I like to go during the NJ Teachers Convention. My husband and I used it for an exchange for our honeymoon. I put the entire wedding party up for my sister's wedding for the 3 days before the wedding. And next year I will be taking my entire husbands immediate family (7 of them) plus our new little baby for a week in August.

There are times when money is tight. My district doesn't give us the option of spreading our paychecks out over 12 months. So August is tight but I know how much my payment will be and I know how much the maintenance fee is so I budget for it. Besides that, I am putting my husband through law school and we have a baby due in October.

It can be done. Just budget wisely.
Angie

 

[sleepydog25]

We didn't purchase our DVC contracts until we were in good shape financially and knew that vacations would be able to be taken (Airfare, park tickets, etc covered) and that our DSs' college tution was paid.

Several others said this, but Pinnie's is most succinct. As wonderful as WDW can be, taking vacations there (or anywhere) boils down to being a luxury. Simply put, it isn't sound financial planning to pre-pay vacation accomodations before being secure in your current situation regarding saving toward retirement, a home, emergency savings, and possibly a college fund for any children you may have. Once secure in those areas, only then would I consider tacking on the additional expense of a DVC membership (and keep in mind that there are those nagging recurring maintenance fees to pay each year). As many on this board have said before--and I agree with them--buying into DVC should not be regarded as an investment but as a prepaid vacation plan. All that being said, the only person who can decide what is truly right for you is. . .you. But, I'd like to caution anyone to not jeopardize their financial standing just to own a piece of the "magic." It will still be there in a few years.

disneyholic family

how much is the initial investment?
and how much are annual dues?
do you have to pay anything when you visit?

The minimum buy-in from DVC is 150 points at SSR, which equates to a bit over $14K. Annual dues, on average, are $4 per point, thus for a 150-pt contract, would run you $600 currently, though the dues (maintenance fees, actually) will certainly continue to increase over the years at roughly the inflation rate based on past history. As for paying if you visit, if you mean visiting as a member of DVC on vacation, then the answer is you do not pay anything for your accomodations since that's what the point purchase is all about (so, you are paying just not each time you visit ). You DO pay for food, souvenirs, theme park tickets, and the like.

If you're asking whether you have to pay to visit the DVC office at SSR for a tour, then the answer is absolutely not. The visit/tour is a low-key way to fully understand what buying into DVC is all about. There is no strong-arming you, no high-pressure sales tactics employed, and no answer required at that time. In fact, our guide urged us to take the information we received from him home and think about it before making our decision. Not only is the tour free, but they will pick you up from where you are staying and take you back. If you have kids, the DVC tour office is co-located with a very nice indoor kids' activity center, staffed by professionals who will watch your children while you take the tour. After, you even stop by the ice cream parlor for free ice cream!

To those looking into DVC, just know what you're getting and be sure it's right for you and your family. Cheers!