Should we go or cancel

[AnnaS]

Even with decent savings in the bank, the money saved for this trip could be used for other bills.

If it was me, I would probably not go.

You know your financial situation -

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I'm so sorry about your DH's job. I wouldn't make a decision yet. I'd wait until closer to the date to pay the package off (45 days before your trip). I'd be considering the following:

What does your DH plan to do after the end of the year? What are the prospects? Will you have to relocate? If he finds another job before the end of the year, what does that do to any severance or benefits he might get from GM?

Do you have an emergency fund? How many months can you survive on that money?

What happens to your health insurance at the end of the year? Is it covered by GM for awhile, or do you need to get private insurance or COBRA (likely WAY more money than you are paying now)?

Can you get a credit from the airlines? Will your DH be looking for a job outside your area where that credit might come in handy (if not for job hunting, then for house hunting if you decide to move)?

If you do have to move, how quickly can you sell your house? Can you afford to pay your mortgage (if you have one) plus pay for a place for your DH to live in the new area?

While your trip is relatively inexpensive for a Disney trip, the $1200 you haven't paid yet might make a mortgage payment or two or pay a month or two of health insurance. It depends on the state of your finances. You might be out $900 if you don't go, but you will be out $2100 if you do go. You will have a wonderful trip to show for it, but it won't pay the bills.

Best of luck in your decision and with your DH's job search.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Do nothing at this point. Don't cancel, don't rent a condo...nothing.

When the time comes to cancel without penalty from Disney, if your husband does not have another job at that point, then call and get airline credit towards future flights.


That other $1100 could come in handy.


Are they giving incentives for those who stay until then? Don't even be tempted to stay for those. Not worth it. Find another job ASAP.

But something else....if he gets a new job, he's probably NOT going to have vacation time available...at least not paid vacation time.

 

[tnd]

I guess I'll be the wet blanket here and say I'd probably cancel. You have advance notice that your husband is going to lose his job and you have a better opportunity for a lot of people in the same situation to save extra money now and prepare yourselves. See what you can do about the tickets, and plan to go in the future. I don't think I could enjoy vacation knowing that the money could be used for something else.

Obviously you know your own situation best, but if it were me, I would cancel.

 

[Disneefun]

In this economy, and with it taking as long to find new jobs as it is, if I didn't have 6-12 months of expenses saved up, I'd cancel. And even if I had that much in savings, I'd probably still cancel. You can probably get a credit from the airline, but even if you can't that money is already gone from your budget. I'd rather take the loss that I know (the airfare) rather than incur additional looses from the rest of the trip. We all know that Disney trips frequently end up costing more than we budget. We say we can resist the extras and stip it down to the bone, but in practice that's not usually the case. You may come home with a bigger bill than you anticipate.

I'd say be grateful that you know the loss is coming, take these months to stash away as much cash as you can, pay down any debts that you can with any extra, sell stuff you don't need and pocket the money and get DH looking for new work right now. You have a cushion of time to get your house in order that a lot of people don't get. Use it. If things straighten out, you can always rebook your trip and go another time. Disney's not going anywhere. If things go way south, you'll be grateful that you have that $1200 in the bank, along with your inheritance. Yes, memories of Disney trips are priceless, but being able to stay in your home, eat, and meet all your other obligations is your first priority.

 

[emh1129]

Do nothing at this point. Don't cancel, don't rent a condo...nothing.

When the time comes to cancel without penalty from Disney, if your husband does not have another job at that point, then call and get airline credit towards future flights.

I agree.

I'm sorry to hear of your DH's job loss. There is a lot of time between now and then, though, so hopefully something will come through for him.
Good luck!

 

[trip]

I'm so sorry about your DH's job. I wouldn't make a decision yet. I'd wait until closer to the date to pay the package off (45 days before your trip). I'd be considering the following:

What does your DH plan to do after the end of the year? What are the prospects? Will you have to relocate? If he finds another job before the end of the year, what does that do to any severance or benefits he might get from GM?

Do you have an emergency fund? How many months can you survive on that money?

What happens to your health insurance at the end of the year? Is it covered by GM for awhile, or do you need to get private insurance or COBRA (likely WAY more money than you are paying now)?

Can you get a credit from the airlines? Will your DH be looking for a job outside your area where that credit might come in handy (if not for job hunting, then for house hunting if you decide to move)?

If you do have to move, how quickly can you sell your house? Can you afford to pay your mortgage (if you have one) plus pay for a place for your DH to live in the new area?

While your trip is relatively inexpensive for a Disney trip, the $1200 you haven't paid yet might make a mortgage payment or two or pay a month or two of health insurance. It depends on the state of your finances. You might be out $900 if you don't go, but you will be out $2100 if you do go. You will have a wonderful trip to show for it, but it won't pay the bills.

Best of luck in your decision and with your DH's job search.

Lots of things to think about in the above post.

Knowing his job is going away makes planning easier - better than finding out on a friday afternoon not to come back on Monday.

Make sure you have an emergency fund of at least 8 months. If you have any credit card debt I'd get that paid off before a vacation. Start looking for a new job now.

Disney will always be there.

 

[branv]

I'm a little surprised that anyone on this board would tell you to go without knowing your financial situation beyond the impending job loss.

1) Do you have a savings reserve? How long will it last?
2) Do you have any outstanding debt?
3) Will there be any other money coming in (i.e. do you work?)

It would be one thing to tell someone who has a years worth of savings to not waste a $900 airfare, but if you have no to little savings, have massive credit card debt, overwhelming mortgage (or owe more than the house is worth if you have to sell it), medical expenses, and/or zero money coming in and no prospects, it's far better to lose the $900 that is already off the books than the extra $1000+ for your trip if that would cover part of your mortgage for a month.

What I can say is that I am very sorry for what your family is going through, and I am sending you the best hope ever that your husband will find a good job soon.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We have a trip booked for the beginning of Oct. and we just found out my DH will be losing his job around the end of the year. GM dealership. The money is already saved up and in a savings account waiting. The thing is we could cancel and get our deposit back but would lose all the $ on the airfare which is $900. What would you do?

Wait, I am confused. Are you SURE you'll lose your airline $$.
Have you called and explained, Perhaps they can work something for you, future credit...partial refund, anything, trade it sell it transfer it, Anything???.

I am so sorry that you dh will be losing his job, personally I would NOT be taking a trip as the horizon for New jobs at the SAME pay rate is difficult and some have said very very difficult, so the $ would really come in handy ...especially if you do not have atleast 9 mos worth of $ saved up to already cover your bills.
Again, I am so sorry to hear your news and want to wish you and your family SUCCESS in the future!
let us know what you decide....

Again, best of luck!

 

[christianweecare]

To the OP my DH is in the same boat as your DH. We took our last trip to WDW last Dec. fearing that the plant where he works would be shutting down. When we returned from our trip we got the bad news. Now we know that he will be out of work by the end of Aug. Fortunately for us our children are grown and it is just the two of us so it will be easier to cope. We had a planned trip to Vero & WDW this past May that we cancelled. We also had a Disney cruise booked for Sept. We cancelled that, as well. Since the first of the year we have paid off our lone credit card bill and have been socking away money in savings with each pay check trying to prepare. We have opted to put off all elective medical procedures for now so as not to run up any medical bills. Even with insurance you can end up with big bills to pay. We know that even with our attempts to prepare ourselves for the impending layoff it will still be a struggle.

DH & I have been visiting the World ever since our Disneymoon way back in 1975. We have raised 2 kids going to WDW and making wonderful memories. Since they have grown up we have had trips with our ever growing family and we have made wonderful empty nester trips, as well. We have lots and lots of memories. For now, we will have to put our trips on hold until a brighter day (which will come again at some point).

I can't advise you about what to do in your situation. Everyone's situation is different. I can only share with you that you are not alone. I pray for all that are struggling through these tough times. Life has it good times and bad. Hopefully, the tough times will not last too long.

 

[kadesha]

If you have savings I'd go and scale back. Don't splurge on any extras, just go and have a good time!

 

[runwad]

I wouldn't go if it were me. Can you still sell airline tickets to others? I know some years ago a friend of mine put an add in the paper and sold her tickets she couldn't use, I have no idea if that is an option now. And if she doesn't have trip insurance, whats to stop her from getting it now since her trip isn't until Oct? I know I'll probably get flamed for that, but I'd not want to just lose my $900 and would be looking at every option...but I know nothing about trip insurance so no clue if this would be a viable option. Good luck OP its tough out there if you don't have the 8 mos living expenses, don't go.

 

[sk!mom]

What is the latest that you can cancel for a refund? If my DH was out of work, I wouldn't go. Even with losing the $900, you'll still save a good amount.

I would wait until the cancellation date, cut all non-essential spending between now and then, and hope and pray that DH got a new job before the trip. If he didn't we'd cancel.

 

[Ears]

This has to be quick as I don't want the kids coming in here if we are able to go its still a surprise and if not they are none the wiser.
I work 1/2 time and can pick up as many hours as needed and make decent money. We have some savings and no CC card debt. We even have the $ saved for the trip that's separate from our savings. If I work full time and he collects unemployment we will be bringing home more $ than we do now.
I thought about the insurance but he doesn't qualify because he hasn't been at his job for more than 5 years. We went through this last year because of downsizing, but only jobless for 3 days.
I still haven't had a chance to call the airline but will tomorrow. If they will refund our tickets I'm going to cancel. If we can rebook at a later date good if not we'll live. My DH still wwants to go but I'm thinking otherwise.
To those of you in the same boat as us I'm praying for all of us. Everything happens for a reason right????? Thank you everyone for responding.

 

[4 DZNY NUTZ]

I say...Go for it!!! My philosophy is, you only live once and have to have fun and enjoy life while you can...My parents died within 2 years of each other when I was a teenager and my brother passed away 9 years ago and last year my father in law had a stroke and made us realize that we have to enjoy everything while we can because we dont know when it will all be taken away....

good luck in your decision

 

[tar heel]

For almost everyone on the Dis Boards who asks this question, my response (which I don't post) is "Have you lost your mind? Cancelling unnecessary spending is the first thing you do when you're unemployed, and vacation is certainly in that category." I think your situation may be different, however, if you can actually bring home MORE money by adjusting where it comes from. I think you need to make sure you really can go up to full-time and that you are willing to do it, then figure out what your insurance situation will be, childcare arrangements if you need that, etc.

 

[NWOhioAngela]

I say...Go for it!!! My philosophy is, you only live once and have to have fun and enjoy life while you can...My parents died within 2 years of each other when I was a teenager and my brother passed away 9 years ago and last year my father in law had a stroke and made us realize that we have to enjoy everything while we can because we dont know when it will all be taken away....

I was going to post the same type of thing. Maybe scale back a bit, but go.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Kriii]

I'd cancel until a new job was secured. WDW will always be there. What if dh finds another job before the end of the year and has to leave the current job early? He might not be able to get time off to take the trip anyways. What if for some reason you can't pick up the extra hours? What if unemployment runs out before a new job is secured? What if you need to relocate? Too many ifs in this situation to spend money on WDW. Ihope your dh finds a new and better job asap!

 

[francie57]

I can speak from experience on this subject. My husband was laid off from his job (25 plus years) and we had a trip planned for Disney. Not know the posters financial situation would be the deciding factor. We took the trip because it was a great way to get away from all the stress at home. We were in a position that financially we were not going to miss the money the trip cost. Thankfully my husband was back at work in exactly 4 mths and is now very happy at his new company - more so than the old company. I learned that when things look their darkest there is light at the end of the tunnel and, in our case, worked out even better than expected.

 

[Kim in TN]

No real advice, just wanted to offer hugs. DH works for a GM dealership as well and we are still waiting word. So we understand the decisions!