Is this for real?

[Pongo23]

OP, I give you a lot of credit for thinking about this enough to question it. I was in your shoes about 10 years ago. I went from being a very poor college student to suddenly having a decent paying job, and I enjoyed the things that went along with that. I bought myself a car that was much nicer than what I needed and I took 2 great, memorable trips - one to Europe and one to Disney. I lived at home, and didn't really worry too much about the debt I was accumulating. A few years later, I was engaged to be married. All of a sudden, I had a high car payment, a high student loan payment, and of course my 2 fantastic trips were still sitting on my credit card. I can't even believe what those 2 trips ended up costing me by the time I had paid them off.

Looking back, I would have purchased a more practical car and I certainly would have been more disciplined about paying off those 2 vacations. Instead, those vacations were paid off with our wedding money. In the 10 years since, the only interest I have paid was to our mortgage and car. I have paid off my credit card every month since. I wish that I had asked the questions you are asking back then. I was living in the moment, I guess.

We are now in the market to buy DVC, and will not be financing it. We go to Disney nearly every year, and the trips are paid for when we book them. I can't begin to tell you how much more fun a vacation is when the bill has already been paid. Personally, I would not enjoy the trip as much knowing that it still needed to be paid off. Actually, the thought scares me

Enjoy your twenties. Go to Disney. Save up for DVC. You will enjoy DVC more when the buy in is paid and you only have to worry about the MFs.

By the way, I've inquired about 2 resale contracts in the last 2 weeks; both times the agent told me the asking price was firm because the sellers had loans to pay off.

 

[crisi]

Thats differnt then just having a loan for a small amount .

I have a hard time believing that was the only cause to the banckrupcy

No, the cause was that his hours got cut and he couldn't find additional work in a recession, and chose that loan not to pay. Something had to not get paid, and rent and food took priority over a small loan.

But if he didn't have that loan, he'd have been able to meet his obligations and avoided bankruptcy.

 

[ELMC]

All the points above make a lot of sence with a bigger purchase

What you are missing is that the word "bigger" is relative to the person making the purchase. So although it might not apply to you for a 60 point purchase, the advice given by other posters in this thread might be spot on for someone just starting out (as is the case of the OP). A trend I'm noticing as I read your posts is that they tend to use your situation and experiences as their background. That's fine, but one thing you need to consider is that other posters are in different financial positions than you. I think it would benefit you to consider other people's perspectives when giving advice, and not just your own.

 

[marynvince]

OP, as you can see a miriad of responses from a variety of folks in different financial positions and life stages. When I first got married I hated going on vacation, couldn't quantify the expense of a week of fun vs. what that could get in a more tanigible long lasting benefit. Only you will know when the time is right for you. Financing is not bad if it is done wisely. We financed a big dvc purchased, switched to a 0.9% for life of loan cc offer (back when those were legal)and paid off in just a couple of years. Those extra years gave me and my kids memories that can not be gotten had we waited until we saved the money. Do what works for you and don't look back.

 

[BestDadEver]

What you are missing is that the word "bigger" is relative to the person making the purchase. So although it might not apply to you for a 60 point purchase, the advice given by other posters in this thread might be spot on for someone just starting out (as is the case of the OP). A trend I'm noticing as I read your posts is that they tend to use your situation and experiences as their background. That's fine, but one thing you need to consider is that other posters are in different financial positions than you. I think it would benefit you to consider other people's perspectives when giving advice, and not just your own.

I am not giving advice . I am giving my opinion . Much like everyone else here. The op needs to take what everyone has said and make her own decision on what she wants to do ,based on her situation .

I never said anyone was wrong in there statements I think all points make a lot of sence .



I am talking about myself cause just giving another senerio to consider . I understand my views differ from others (not just this topic) but that's fine .

 

[Missyrose]

I am not giving advice . I am giving my opinion . Much like everyone else here. The op needs to take what everyone has said and make her own decision on what she wants to do ,based on her situation .

I never said anyone was wrong in there statements I think all points make a lot of sence .



I am talking about myself cause just giving another senerio to consider . I understand my views differ from others (not just this topic) but that's fine .

What you don't seem to understand is that when you give your opinion in a thread in which the OP is looking for advice, your opinion becomes the advice you are giving.

What works for someone who is older, has a family and a steady career bears little resemblance to what would work for someone new to the workforce, living with their parents and working on getting out from under debt. We understand that the decision you made with DVC works for you and we respect that. But as the OP and many, many other posters have said on this thread, that decision you made wouldn't work in the same way for the OP.

 

[HubbDave]

A couple of things: 1) don't look at DVC as an "investment", unless you are really good about turning money from saving (very long term) into real investments. A vacation is a consumable, andan uneccesary one at that.
2) Has anyone ever used a home equity loan (shudder) to finance one of these? You can often get rates much lower than what Disney offers and the interest is tax deductabe. I would not choose this as I would not want to risk losing my house for a vacation "in he event" of...

We are considering buying into DVC, but now, only after we can 100% (or near enough) without financing.

he OP has a great plan to set aside money each month for a year while living at home. Hopefully, she can also set aside money to buy a home as well.

Good luck! And many of you have given great advice. Some, make really good "sence"...lol

jk

 

[kkmauch]

I was in this situation myself. I am now 30 and have sold one of two contracts purchased thru Disney. I think if you can pay half now you should. That is pretty much what I did. I paid half down and paid the rest off over 18 months by making extra payments or paying a bit more each month. Did the same with my second add-on.

Was totally worth it to me!!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I failed to read all the post but 24 live at home, just got a full time job........NO WAY should you purchase it! We just became DVC members in March and saved and paid for our contract via resale with CASH!

 

[rg35]

A lot of people have weighed in already but here's my two cents.
Just bought a resale at AKV yesterday.

1. 60 points is not even enough points to go for a full week during the slowest season at either of the resorts you mentioned.
2. Financing a DVC purchase is not a fiscally sound idea.
3. There seems to be no benefit in paying the premium to buy from disney when you can purchase for half price on the resale market.*

Borrowing money to pay for not even enough points to go on vacation for one week just doesn't seem like a great idea.

Since you are young and on a budget, I would suggest looking for deals at off site lodging when you travel to disney. Save your cash and buy on the resale market in a few years.


*Yes, I know that you cannot use your points to make reservations in the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection or the Adventurer Collection if you buy resale, but in all the research I did this doesn't seem to be a cost effective way to use points (nor seems to be something the OP would use her points for since she wants to go to Disney every year anyway)

 

[Tunseeker1]

I will throw in a few more ideas. 60 points can get you a vacation during Christmas if you use 3 years of points.

Bank and Borrow means that you only have expenses for a trip every three years.

Disney has a program for 1 yr financing at 4% interest if you can make the payments its almost like paying cash.

Now as for people telling you to wait I have a different idea on how life really works.

I had my first heart attack when I was 3 days old. My parents were told I would never make it to home.
I was too little to understand them so I just kept living.

I got my first pacemaker in my 20s.

I got married to a wonderful woman then a year later four out she has a brain tumor.

I make decisions based on what I think is a good idea for MY life. Not someone else's.

My advice is go for it if it feels right to you. The numbers will never work out on anything you work to figure out.

 

[TagsMissy]

Personally before I bought into a TimeShare I'd pay down my current loans and be on my own two feet. Ie living on my own and not having free room and board at my parents. I don't say this to be cruel but there's going to be a point when you'll need to take the steps to be fully independent and quite often vacation and spending habits change when you have the responsibility of rent/mortgage, car loan, student loan etc.

 

[staceymay00]

I'll jump in here.
I'll use real numbers. After my monthly payment and my monthly dues, it would cost me $117/ month. Not bad right??
Well if I did that over 10 years it is $14040! I didn't think about that originally. My 6900 purchase doubles, which defeats the purpose.
Like I said, I'll pay myself that amount every month and after 12 months I'll have about $1400. I would be on my way to a better down payment.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a loan for DVC, if I didn't need 10 years to pay it off.... Now, I would probably use the majority of 10 years.

I think you have made an excellent decision.

 

[AllieV]

My only advice is to use an online loan calculator that has an amortization schedule in it. Bankrate has a good one. It also has a space where you can add in an additional payment and see how long it will take to pay it off sooner. It shows exactly how much you are paying in interest and principle each month, ytd, and total. Using that gives you a reality check and helps you choose between financing options.