Profile of a DVCer Part 3

[princess&tig]

Profile of a DVCer Part 3

 

[pumpkinboy]

This is combined family income, for those of us with 2 adults working for pay, I assume. You know, the gross income figure you put on the 1040 (hmmm, I guess we'll be doing that this weekend ).

 

[Pa@okw95]

Most members earn over 75K which with some exceptions would seem about as low as you earnings would want to be to join. Keep in mind of course someone earning 50K and living with the parents, paying no room and board may be far better off then most of us.

 

[twotoohappy]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
Most members earn over 75K which with some exceptions would seem about as low as you earnings would want to be to join. Keep in mind of course someone earning 50K and living with the parents, paying no room and board may be far better off then most of us.

hmmmm.... I make well under 50k, ( so I guess I'm not part of the "most members" crowd) I work for a school. I, as well as so many of my co-workers don't make 50k or anywhere near it...... and I don't live with my parents, I own my own home here on Cape Cod as well as my homes at VWL and BCV. I believe anyone can achieve anything, including DVC, if they work hard and truly believe in themselves.

 

[disneyberry]

<font face="times" size="+0">hmmm... how are you supposed to vote in this poll if your income has changed over the years? with this economy, many layoffs, long unemployments, etc. maybe some families who used to make over 75k aren't making that kind of money anymore.
perhaps another way to "measure" the avg DIS DVC member is a poll about how much money families have saved up, or how much debt they're in? or they're net worth? i don't know...
or maybe the better question is "how much household income did you make <i>when you bought DVC</i>"? i'm not sure that gives an accurate picture either though...
also, for families with children, how many children they have makes a difference. or other dependents, such as elderly parents... and just as an earlier reply mentioned, whether you're paying a mortgage on a house, and what part of the country you live in (affects buying power).
well there's just too many aspects that measure the "profile" of a DVCer... so it's just too difficult to really get any useful data without doing an all-out survey... heh. </font>

 

[Pa@okw95]

twotoohappy--You are the exception I talked about in my remarks but for most I would say still say 75K is about as low as you would want to go. You are the one that started the other post with $35,000 as you point of over and above. I can not say what the exact amount is but in the state of Connecticut a family of 4 with that income would be near the poverty level or have things really tough, hardly a candidate for DVC. I did not join DVC in 1992 because I assumed you had to be a multi-millionaire to belong, in 94 I found out different that it cost only the price of a mid-size car, so I joined. When I joined I thought I was joining a very up-scale, high end resort. It became obvious to me after a couple of visits it was not. Now as far as this income thing goes you started it with the $35,000 level, someone else revised it to the way it is in this poll. Something tells me you earn $35,000 and just wanted to find out how many were in your financial situation. I must tip my hat to you by the way especially since you live in MA a state like CT and NY that over taxes its residents. I have a relative that makes about $200,000 a year and he is broke most of the time. I would however as a general rule not suggest to anyone from our two states, CT & MA, even begin to think about DVC unless you make at least $75,000 per year, assuming you have a family and are not single without children. These are not hard and fast because there are so many variables to this equation.

 

[MiaSRN62]

hmmmm.... I make well under 50k, ( so I guess I'm not part of the "most members" crowd) I work for a school. I, as well as so many of my co-workers don't make 50k or anywhere near it......

Also, there's so many other things that factor into the amount one makes. I feel one can make $40K and have very little debt (credit cards, loans etc) and be better prepared to purchase DVC than someone who might make $80-$90K but have debt out the roof. Also the amount of children has to play a part. A couple with no children making $50K is going to be much better off than a family with 3 kids making the same amount.

I can not say what the exact amount is but in the state of Connecticut a family of 4 with that income would be near the poverty level or have things really tough,

I don't think this above statement applies to PA ($75K)? That seems way off ? I know many who are in this general income ballpark (some less and some more) and live comfortably----not extravagantly, but well-off enough to own DVC or take yearly vacations, have a pool in the backyard, drive a nice SUV, afford landscapers to do their lawn upkeep year 'round etc. It's considered middle-class here in PA---can't speak for CT.

 

[Pa@okw95]

Mia--the statement I made applied to 35K not 75K but as we are finding out here that there really is not any hard and fast rule here, but I would maintain that someone making 35K with a family and living in CT would not be a candidate for DVC, CT is a monster of a state to live in because of taxes and the general cost of living. This whole thing can be bounced around forever, with different variables, I do suggest that anyone thinking of buying into DVC have all his or her financial ducks in order before jumping into a purchase. Vacationing at WDW is very expensive for most. Being a good parent has nothing at all to do with taking your family to WDW, far from it.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Like a lot of y'all, I'd imagine, I was raised to "live within my means." We tend to view DVC as "anyway" money ... if I'm gonna vacation anyway, why not put that $$ into something that gives us extraordinary satisfaction?

We live in an area where property taxes are a bargain (and, lest you smirk, we actually live on a paved road and have city water and sewer! )

And, we aren't carrying any debt, other than a car note and a mortgage. We're about to pay off our DVC loan. We have a more-than-adequate, comfortable home on an acre wooded lot.

So, while our combined income might not be all that high as graphed on the poll above, we are able to afford DVC. It's all relative ... and with careful budgeting (looking after essentials but not denying ourselves some comforts), keeping priorities straight, and making some real value judgements as to what is REALLY important, we're doing just fine.

But, as Pa offered in some sage wisdom, DVC shouldn't be an option if your financial ducks aren't in a row. The DVC loan was ridiculously easy to get, and for some, that might prove too great a temptation.

 

[crisi]

Median income by state here: http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/income02/statemhi.html

Cost of living by state:

http://www.ded.mo.gov/business/researchandplanning/indicators/cost_of_living/index.shtml

Looks like you guys are doing pretty well in CT. Your COL index is 102.9 (a little higher than average), but your median income is the fifth highest at $53,325. Now New Yorkers have a problem - their cost of living is a whopping 126.6, their median income a paltry $42,432)

(We are doing really well here in Minnesota. Our median income is 3rd highest and our cost of living is below 100.)

 

[crisi]

As long as I'm on a roll, state tax rates (income). Connecticut looks pretty reasonable comparatively -two brackets at 3 and 5% - hey, you could be well off in Montana (10 brackets, the lowest at 2% the top bracket is 11%)!

http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.html

State tax rates (sales) (once again, Connecticut doesn't seem out of the ballpark):

http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sl_sales.html

(Can't find anything on property taxes by state).

 

[jmminarik]

Looking at income/cost of living from the perspective of a state is not going to give you a very good picture. My income and expenses vary greatly from my friends who live out in the boonies of PA. You really need to look at this from a metropolitan area (or lack thereof) perspective.

If you want to be really fair, you need to factor in how much money is being redistributed by the Fed from the higher CoL "states" to the lower ones, and by the individual states from the metropolitan areas to the boonies.

For the record, I answered none of yer business.

-Joe

 

[Pa@okw95]

Crisi--it is very common knowledge that residence of NY and CT pay the highest in taxes anywhere for example our gasoline tax which is not a sales tax is about the highest, our cigarette tax is one of the highest and might go up another 40cents per pack, a carton of cigs run about $50 here in CT. We have two of the largest casinos in the world and they have 25 percent of their revenue from slots taken by taxes, indirectly that costs casino goers big time. I don't know about your stats but NY, CT and MA are the three worse states for taxes and have been for years. Property taxes are over the top here especially in some of the larger cities. The cost of houses here is also off the charts. A range house here on less than a .25 acre lot with 1000 square feet and 50 years old sold for $180,000 with some remodeling. So what I am saying here if you live in the South compared to some of the states in the North East, you might be able to live nice on $50,000 per year for a family of say 4, up here you are in big trouble, especially if you drive a car, smoke, drink, gamble, and own your own home. The sin taxes up here are something. Now if you do none of those things then you might be able sneak in but then again rents up here are over the top also. Cost of living is very high in these liberal states.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Mia--the statement I made applied to 35K not 75K but as we are finding out here that there really is not any hard and fast rule here, but I would maintain that someone making 35K with a family and living in CT would not be a candidate for DVC,

Ooop.....sorry I read it wrong Pa@OKW95. I shouldn't post that early in the morning ! I was really beginning to wonder about CT
I agree then about the family of four making $35K. It would be extremely difficult to manage a DVC loan/dues unless they didn't have a mortgage or high rent----maybe inherited a home or something ? But I'm sure not many people fit into that category.
Crisi, thanks for those links.

I don't know about your stats but NY, CT and MA are the three worse states for taxes and have been for years. Property taxes are over the top here especially in some of the larger cities. The cost of houses here is also off the charts.

I had a friend who lived in northern NJ and I couldn't believe the taxes and prices of homes she used to tell me about. She lived about an hour from NYC.

 

[crisi]

It may be well known, but there is data. And I'd rather see data than assertions, because, being from Minnesota, I KNOW we pay more taxes than anyone else - our political ads tell us that all the time!

It is really hard to compare taxes by state. You'll pay a lot in income tax in Minnesota, but we don't pay sales tax here on a lot of food or clothing - lowering our overall tax burden. So when you look at Minnesotas 6%(?) rate, you aren't paying that on everything.

(Cigarette, Gas, and Liquor are on that site as well. CT pays high taxes across the board, but I can't find you as having the distiction of paying the highest for any single thing. You do have the 3rd highest per capita tax receipts in the country, but are 28th in tax receipts per $1000 earned.)

Yes, I'm well aware there is a difference in CoL by urban and rural areas. There are WAY more variables to the "who can afford this" equation than income or cost of living or taxes or how many kids you have or how much debt you carry - or are willing to carry. For instance, there are several DVCers here who bought DVC from a onetime windfall - like inheritence or stock options. There have been DisBoarders who post that the reason they can afford their trips is because a relative pays for it. There are several others with small incomes because they are now retired - so all they need to do is pay dues. Or who had bigger incomes when they purchased, and now one parent stays at home with kids or had a recent job loss. There are people who rent points to cover their own dues - take a guy who got $30k when Grandma passed on, bought DVC with it several years ago, rents 200 points a year to pay for his Disney habit, and uses the other 100 to travel frugally. He can have a relatively small income, and still have quite a few points.

One of the things the last survey like this taught me is that, although most of us consider ourselves "middle class" the majority of DVC members on this board have a higher than national average household income. Chances are your DVC neighbor isn't making a million dollars a year, but chances are your neighbor is comparatively "well off." And there are a few people at the other ends of the scale - a few of us bringing in really big bucks, and a few of us who are making a sacrifice in other parts of their life to be able to afford Disney.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well, income is one thing.... discretionary income in another.
My wife and I are have a decent income, although we are certainly not millionaires. That being said, because we don't have kids (yet), we are happy living in a condo. Altrhough my wife drives a nice car, I drive the most basic transportation ever built by mankind.
Decent income, no kids, cheap transportation, non-luxurious housing... All of these factors give us a good amount of 'discretionary income', to support our DVC/Disney habit.

MG

 

[Bugeye]

Gee, I thought the question was just one of those fun demographic things. I say - who cares as long as you've figured a way to enjoy the magic.

 

[DSNY FN]

Good one bug eye we live in Canada and make a combined income of about 42K Canadian a year and have an extremely high income tax and property tax. We also have our mortgage on the house and the one for DVC along with car and motorcycle loans and 3 kids and all my sports like hockey and golf etc. We just find a way to do it and to be honest we are happy like that.

 

[princess&tig]

Thats whats amazing! Most of us (except for the 200K folks), are not rich but find a way to make it down to Disney. For most of ous Disney is our vice.

Everyone has one vice (cars, homes, boats, cigarettes, jewlery) but we have made Disney our vice. Our weekness or thing that we feel is important.

I really do not mind that because to me Disney means, time spent with family and friends away from all the troubles of the world.