Thinking of Canceling

[Whipperwhirl]

We have the week of memorial day booked - tent camping - and Im thinking we should cancel and put that money towards bills. A couple of reasons -

1. We had lay offs at work this week - I was spared but there is nothing saying the company is going to make it through the summer.

2. We have two weeks booked at the end of October and that trip is only six months away.

3. Recent crowd reports have been awful - I can only imagine it will be as crowded as Christmas week during memorial day week.

Anyone else cancelling - please make me feel better about this.

 

[OK GRUMPY]

I know it's difficult to cancel your plans. I have had to do that twice last year. I've been Memorial Weekend and late October and hands down late October it wonderful! You don't have the crowds or the heat.

 

[kaguilbeau]

Sometimes making grown up decisions like canceling an anticipated trip is hard. You do have October and that will be a wonderful time of year.

Do what you feel you have to do, and don't look back with regrets.

I'm not cancelling our trip for Dec - but it has been five years since we've been! That's how I justify keeping the reservation. AND we did downgrade from the cabins to our camper, thus saving 800.00

 

[Live4FW]

This trip for us is our fallback plan. We were originally going on DCL for a week long cruise in June. However, with slowdown and paycuts at my job and my DW's job up in the air, I just couldn't put out that kind of money.

We are going to FW Memorial day week in our TT which is just a fraction of the cost of the cruise. We also got Sea World/BG annual passes from grandma so will be going to there for free. We are not planning on going to Disney Parks. We may do the Universal buy 1 day get in all week or something like that.

It is just the kind of things we need to do in this economy. Plus if you put off this trip and plan for Oct., it gives you more time to assess your situation and determine if you can still go at that time.

We will miss you though!

 

[nikkipowell1]

We have the week of memorial day booked - tent camping - and Im thinking we should cancel and put that money towards bills. A couple of reasons -

1. We had lay offs at work this week - I was spared but there is nothing saying the company is going to make it through the summer.

2. We have two weeks booked at the end of October and that trip is only six months away.

3. Recent crowd reports have been awful - I can only imagine it will be as crowded as Christmas week during memorial day week.

Anyone else cancelling - please make me feel better about this.

DH works for GM and survived a round of lay offs last week (white collar). I have 2 small kids 3 and 5 and they have been to disney once back in Feb 2007. My philosophy is you only live once and you can't worry day to day if you or a loved one is going to get laid off. We now owe more on our house than its worth thanks to the economy. So I just go with the flow, found a good deal and basically got my way with DH. This will be our last time for a while cuz the house needs repairs (driveway, flooring, ect). You have to do whats best for you and seeing you are going twice already, you are very lucky. Good luck on your decision, and maybe we will see you in May.

 

[dtum]

We had to cancel once. It's was a very hard decision, but finances dictated that we skip DW to handle the "real" world bills. You have Oct. and that's a great time of year. I'd go with your gut and cancel May. As we found out, the world didn't end when we canceled, we just went another time when things were better. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Whipperwhirl]

I did it - I cancelled late last night

 

[ftwildernessguy]

DH works for GM and survived a round of lay offs last week (white collar). My philosophy is you only live once and you can't worry day to day if you or a loved one is going to get laid off. So I just go with the flow, found a good deal and basically got my way with DH.

Huh.

Anyway, I've been laid off a couple times over the last 20 plus years. In anticipation of layoffs, we have passed on vacations, put as much money in reserve as possible, and paid off as much unsecured debt as possible (i.e. credit cards, although we seldom have much out on credit). It has definitely made a difference in survival during tough times. There is no way I would go on a vacation if there was some question of whether or not I could pay my bills.

 

[Shan-man]

Say Jim (or is it Sonny-boy? ), I was just wondering why you pay down the unsecured debt first? Doesn't traditional wisdom dictate that you pay that last? Although, paying off the higher interest rate debts first is also wise, especially if you think going into default is unlikely. Just wondering what your rationale was.

Thanks,

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Say Jim (or is it Sonny-boy? ), I was just wondering why you pay down the unsecured debt first? Doesn't traditional wisdom dictate that you pay that last? Although, paying off the higher interest rate debts first is also wise, especially if you think going into default is unlikely. Just wondering what your rationale was.

Thanks,

Okay, here's my philosophy, which seldom goes along with what the "financial experts" like my accountant advise, but it works for me. My secured debt consists of my home, my car, my truck and my office. The first one I need to live in and the interest is deductible, the next two- I could sell one if I had to and keep one to get to work, and the last makes me money, is deductible, and provides a source of unearned income since I lease the half my wife owns back from her. Unsecured debt is a burden - an annoying bill that, if my income drops, would only hurt me and could, in the event of default, harm my credit rating. I would much rather focus on paying my home and office than put the money toward credit card bills. Personally, I feel that large amount of unsecured debt floating around is a big part of the economic woes our country has right now.

 

[des1954]

I don't know the reasoning behind this advice, but, our investment advisor has told us to do the following:

Pay off lowest unsecured debt first. Once that is paid off, take the average monthly payment from the first unsecured debt and add that to...

....the next lowest unsecured debt's minimum payment (if you have one - like a second Cred Card or store cc). Continue this method until all your unsecured debt is paid off. While this is not a general practice yet, credit card companies have you by the proverbial "gonads" and can call in their debt at any time, or hike your interest rate to a point where your minimum payment just covers the interest and not the principle. It's also psychologically satisfying to get rid of those little pesky bills one by one and then tackle the BIG ones when you have more cash to devote to the BIG one.

When those are payed off, take the combined payments on the previous debts and apply it to the LOWEST secured debt amount....i.e. car payment.

While doing all of the above he suggests that as soon as you have a little breathing room - pay yourself first. In other words - stick whatever you can into a savings account for "just in case emergencies" where you can pay cash instead of getting back into trouble by using a credit card.

He suggests that you have at least three months worth of bill payments stashed in your savings account - just in case. Last year, we had about 5 months stashed & ran thru it all when Rick was layed off. I'm working at THD to build that back up & pay off our Visa - which we also relied upon too much when Rick was layed off.

If you have a good interest rate on your home mortgage - leave it alone and if you feel so inclined, make one extra payment a year in order to gradually shorten the length of the loan. Or, another way to accomplish this if your lender will let you, is to take your monthly payment, divide by two, and use that amount to pay bi-weekly.

Example:

Monthly payment: $1265.00
Divided by 2= 632.50.
Times 26 payments= $16445.00/year.

$1265.00 x 12 payments= $15180.00/year.

By making 26 bi-weekly payments, you've payed your principle down an additional $1265.00 (or one payment) each year.

This is calculated upon you paying your own escrow and not having the mortgage company paying it. If you have the bank service your escrow, you need to figure that into the equation.

Warning though: you need to find out if your lender will allow bi-weekly payments on your mortgage. If they do not, in this scenario, add $106.00 to your monthly payment & you will accomplish the same thing.

 

[2goofycampers]

We did this guys plan, we would have been in a BIG world of hurt when the building stopped in Dec 08 if we hadn't.


http://www.daveramsey.com/

 

[big kahuna1]

Ah, screw the bills and go on vacation. The bills ain't going anywhere and will be there when you get back, whether you go or not so you may as well go and enjoy life!

 

[Shan-man]

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I guess the advice I'd heard was for people already in financial crisis, where the possibility of repossession of a car or foreclosure of a house (the secured debts) take priority over paying the cards... even if they send out the hounds. BTW, I certainly agree that liberal credit practices have led our economy to the brink of disaster. I remember when it was a BIG deal to qualify for a credit card (late '70s). Nowadays they give them to any college freshman with a heartbeat, which indoctrinates them in hyper-consumer mentality -- I can, and should, have everything I want now, and in a couple of years when it isn't the latest-greatest I can throw it away and buy the next thing because "I'm good for it, the credit card company tells me so"! And then when they get out of college and into the real world they find out that there isn't a trophy for every one who shows up for work, they are not the smartest-most-precious person in the world, and therefore the 7 figure income they had always assumed they would make is perhaps a little unrealistic. Not that their low 5-figure income is going to change their champagne and caviar lifestyles (or is that iPhone and Hummer lifestyle). Heck, there's always my Get-Outta-Debt-Free card, bankruptcy... which apparently is painless, late night TV infomercials tell me so!

Sorry, mini-rant over... what was the thread topic again?!

 

[auntie]

I did it - I cancelled late last night

I'm sorry to see you cancelled your trip. Gotta listen to your gut..you probably did the right thing. If you're anything like me, you wouldn't have enjoyed yourself with those black clouds of uncertainty looming overhead. That can suck the life out of a vacation.
Hey..you've got that October trip to look forward to!

 

[team bradfield]

I'm sorry to see you cancelled your trip. Gotta listen to your gut..you probably did the right thing. If you're anything like me, you wouldn't have enjoyed yourself with those black clouds of uncertainty looming overhead. That can suck the life out of a vacation.
Hey..you've got that October trip to look forward to!

agree, well said

 

[Colleen27]

I did it - I cancelled late last night

We had to cancel our May trip too. We just can't get away right now or any time in the near future. The lower crowds of fall aren't a bad consolation, though. Instead of the craziness of Memorial Day, we'll be there the last week of Sept into the beginning of Oct, so I'll join you in wishing away the summer to get to WDW!

 

[jimlin]

We origially had to cancel the january trip due to a family illness. We rescheduled it to last week of october but after considering our options for camping at one of our favorite parks in South Carolina and the cost difference we have decided to cancel the october disney visit. No kids, just us two and we would really like to see some fall colors and just relax. Besides it saves us about quite a bit of money in these tough financial times.


Jim

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Sorry to hear your canceled your trip. You have to do whats right for you. As for me. Next round of layoffs will cut close to me if im not included. We just had a layoff of almost 50 people. In the last 2 years we have shut half the plant down. I used to worry myself sick but no more a year ago I stopped worring and started living. I go in everyday and try to make a difference. I just recently purchased a 2004 Suburban as the price was lower than amazing. We have booked all kinds of camping this summer and May 2010 we are planning on a trip to the Fort. What i'm tring to get is until things happen life will go on. I can cancel our trip if I need to I can sell our new truck, but in my case i'm not nor ever will again put myself in the place of what if's. What if the bus driving the other way pulls out in front of me. What if I win the lottery. Do your best and go on with life. Actually if I lose my job I just might take a Disney vacation before anything else That way I wont make any rash decisions about finances. No I dont have a nest egg of any great size. I will not cancel life or put it on hold for what if's. If needed I will cancel last minute.

 

[Dancemom03]

Sorry to hear you cancelled your trip but glad you have a backup date scheduled that you can start looking forward to. Not sure about in your house, but here recently time really does seem to fly so hopefully Oct will be here before you know it!

On the plus side, with the swine flu spreading fast and a public emergency being declared this weekend, I'm thinking this is a good time to take a short break from highly populated tourism areas and flying...

I cancelled two wdw trips last year and am experiencing withdrawal but surviving.
The first was our annual summer vacation due to the possibility that DH would need back surgery with twelve weeks of unpaid leave for recovery - thanfully it wasn't his spine after all though he's still having related issues. Cancelling didn't seem as bad at the time b/c we all agreed to reschedule for Christmas week. Just after Thanksgiving though, DH learned that his boss had decided last minute to take the same week and refused to close the shop (it's a small automotive related shop with only 4 employees so the boss is also the owner and needs DH to unlock/open/close/manage when he's not there) so our vacation was cancelled again.

With the GM plants closing and Allison shutting down as a result too, things in the automotive industry locally are not good. We'll be economizing more than in previous years but I'm hoping we'll still be able to keep all our July travel plans to wdw. I'm a TA so I spend all week booking other people's vacations. By now I'm feeling like I really need one of my own...