Keeping costs down on DVC vacations

[Anal Annie]

You are not alone Denise and I am just about as anal as one can get!! We also do not continue to add in our purchase cost for every single trip. We figured out in the first year after we bought that we will make back our investment in about 6 years with the trips we tend to take. On a yearly basis, our MF are approx. $1,100ish. We typically get about 14 nights a year out of our DVC so that's about $79 or so per night if you want to include those dues each time. So for a 7 night "typical" trip our accomodations "cost" us about $555. (I'm rounding a bit - does that bother anybody?!) We also buy AP's which get spread out over those 14 nights. But I do not continue to add in that cost per trip either. I mean if you want to keep spreading out the cost of one thing then you need to spread it all out (or not). We consider our AP cost DONE with after the first trip where we purchase and use them - and it makes our future trips cost less. So essentially our first trip "costs" us more than our other 2-3 trips per year. Once we hit our break even point on our park days then we feel like trips 2 & 3 are just gravy.

I DO look sometimes at what the rack rate would be for our stays just to know how much we saved out of pocket on that trip - but that's coming out of the buy-in amount. I don't feel the need to account for our buy-in cost cent per cent / dollar per dollar off of each trip. I just figure that the rack rate we save per trip is going toward that 6 yr. recovery period on our investment. If our accomodations WOULD HAVE COST us $2,000 without DVC I shave that off our investment cost (just in my mind, not on any spreadsheet)!! On a per trip basis I count the appropriate amt. of annul MF's, our flights & meals & misc. spending + our AP's (first trip only). Trips 2 & 3 I only figure the remaining MF's, flights & spending, making each one cost less than trip #1.

(I also "don't get" how not counting the initial buy-in each time would lead to financial distress!) Maybe this is Maryland accounting at work!?!?

 

[BWV Dreamin]

(I also "don't get" how not counting the initial buy-in each time would lead to financial distress!) Maybe this is Maryland accounting at work!?!?

Another Marylander here..............well I just expect to SPEND some money when I am on vacation. I try to do my dollar cost savings when booking airfare, using Disney Rewards points, renting out my DVC. Sorry, eating sandwiches at a TS restaraunt is not going on vacation. (Unless its Prime Rib at LeCellier..). Seriously, I want to enjoy food that I don't eat at home. Eating out on vacation is PART of the vacation for me. I will use a coupon when I can, I am using GAD for tickets. But bringing in bottled water to a restaraunt......

 

[bonrea]

Another Marylander here..............well I just expect to SPEND some money when I am on vacation. I try to do my dollar cost savings when booking airfare, using Disney Rewards points, renting out my DVC. Sorry, eating sandwiches at a TS restaraunt is not going on vacation. (Unless its Prime Rib at LeCellier..). Seriously, I want to enjoy food that I don't eat at home. Eating out on vacation is PART of the vacation for me. I will use a coupon when I can, I am using GAD for tickets. But bringing in bottled water to a restaraunt......

We agree with every bit of this. We want to be on VACATION! We cook, clean, put away, pick up after the kids (DH included), do laundry, etc. at home. Not on vacation.
Save money where you can and enjoy it. If you feel that DVC isn't worth what you thought it would be or costing you too much then sell it and go when and where you feel you have the money for. For some it IS expensive and is understood by us all. Don't buy in because some sales person said it is a good deal; you need to decide for yourself.

 

[daisyduck123]

We agree with every bit of this. We want to be on VACATION! We cook, clean, put away, pick up after the kids (DH included), do laundry, etc. at home. Not on vacation.

You got it! Another Marylander here....
I LOVE not picking up a sponge even once, to wipe down a counter. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry (well I have done it once or twice), when I'm on vacation!!

Dining out at TS everynight, being waited on, enjoying steak or seafood dinners is a big part of my family's vacation.

 

[Goofy DVC]

What happens if you factor in the initial cost into each year but then sell the contract at a profit? Do you go back and recaculate all the years backing out the yearly cost put in and the share of profit for each year? Also, how do you factor in some of the cost that if not used on DVC but would be used for vacations somewhere else? This is making my brain hurt. Too much to think about. I'm gonna go on vacation and enjoy.

 

[Tiger926]

I didn't mean major financial trouble - I meant if you have a budget in mind for each vacation, but then don't count in buy-in, perhaps vacation budgets might be inflated? Over 50 years, this could lead to higher than expected vacation costs?

It will keep DVC vacation costs down on a yearly basis, but it might add to the lifetime costs of this product.

Lastly, for the people who think that eating sandwiches for lunch on vacation is horrible, I can't imagine what you must think of those who actually cook in their kitchens on vacation or do their laundry? Yikes!

Tiger

 

[bonrea]

You got it! Another Marylander here....

Well... We are Carolinians but feel the same way...

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Well... We are Carolinians Boy, try to say that 3 times!but feel the same way...

 

[florep1]

We don't add the buy in cost of DVC because whether we go to WDW or not, it's coming out of our account every month. The cost of food, we really only spend a little more when we go to Disney as we eat out a lot at home too. We don't have a mortgage as the house is paid for so a yearly trip to WDW shouldn't break our bank.

 

[bonrea]

CaroliniansCaroliniansCarolinians Hmmmm... That was easy.

 

[corpcomp]

I consider the initial deposit the same way I consider my 401K - gone.