Updated DVC info at Mousesavers.com

[Y-ASK]

I guess that's one way to express yourself. Do you have any data to back it up or are you just scared of the idea as in smiley number 3?

Y-ASK

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Hi Mary,
I've enjoyed MouseSavers, both before and after I bought into DVC.
Just noticed you are from Colorado!!!
Have a great vacation...and I am sending you a PM to offer yet another viewpoint re the possible 'savings' of DVC!!!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Well, I've updated the article AGAIN after running a bunch of numbers and consulting lots of people -- including owners and at least one bonafide math genius. It's significantly expanded and I think the pro-DVC folks will be a lot happier.

Not that I feel I must make everyone happy! I think SleepyatDVC explained my position better than I could myself: my job is not to be a cheerleader for Disney (though heaven knows I like Disney a lot more than the average person!)

My goal has always been to help people get "a first-class vacation at the best possible price." If that means DVC, great. If not, fine.

Anyway, have at it -- I'm going on vacation!

Mary

Wow!! Thanks for all the hard work and have fun on your vacation - you deserve it!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[PHILCT]

Hi Everyone

I was curious if anyone read the MOUSESAVERS website's recent opinion of the DVC Vacation CLUB Timeshare Program?

Mary from Mousesaver did try to be objective if DVC was worth the cost over time, it was a little more negative than I had hoped for.



Phil

 

[disneyberry]

I guess that's one way to express yourself. Do you have any data to back it up or are you just scared of the idea as in smiley number 3?

Y-ASK

[SIZE=+0]Well it was a scary piece of advice that you offered... not something for the meek or financially inexperienced. Sorry I didn't post any other comments other than the smileys 'cause I wasn't looking for a debate. It's probably just that one of my old finance professors drilled into my head that borrowing from your 401k is a no-no, so I couldn't help reacting with an "Eek!" But, hey, I didn't go into finance after all, so I'm no more suited to give advice than you are. If it works for you, great. But it's still scary advice for others. Then again, like I said earlier in this thread, I'm part of the minority that think borrowing in order to afford DVC is a bad idea, so I'm pretty crazy I guess.

Anyway, @Mary: Great work on the most recent article updates![/SIZE]

 

[JimC]

[SIZE=+0]Well it was a scary piece of advice that you offered... not something for the meek or financially inexperienced. Sorry I didn't post any other comments other than the smileys 'cause I wasn't looking for a debate. It's probably just that one of my old finance professors drilled into my head that borrowing from your 401k is a no-no, so I couldn't help reacting with an "Eek!" But, hey, I didn't go into finance after all, so I'm no more suited to give advice than you are. If it works for you, great. But it's still scary advice for others. Then again, like I said earlier in this thread, I'm part of the minority that think borrowing in order to afford DVC is a bad idea, so I'm pretty crazy I guess.

Anyway, @Mary: Great work on the most recent article updates![/SIZE]

Add another to the crazy conservative list We don't permit loans in our 401(k) program for that very reason.

 

[Doctor P]

Though there are hundreds of variables and it is difficult to take every one into account, I would add another factor that was a major consideration in making the decision to join DVC: the time of the year at which one chooses to travel. At Christmas time, the resort rates are significantly higher than at other times of the year and discounts are much harder to find and obtain. If you work out the numbers, at the peak holiday time, DVC compares favorably with the VALUE resorts!

 

[DebbieB]

See this thread:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=880220

 

[Y-ASK]

I'm part of the minority that think borrowing in order to afford DVC is a bad idea, so I'm pretty crazy I guess.

No, I don't think you're crazy and borrowing from your 401K is a risk. But then so is borrowing against your house for that bill consolidation loan. Loose your job and you loose your house. Like I said you must be very careful and confident about your job to even consider a 401K loan.

I basically wanted to see what would happen in the next five years if I did such a thing (and I got SSR points to boot). Since my 401K is always changeing as my company makes both loan and paycheck deposits for me, I decided to open a Roth IRA with one of the biggest names out there, Fidelity. So in just over 7 months my return on a $4,000.00 investiment in Fidelity has been 2%. And that's only recently. For the longest time my investment was on the negative side. Nothing like putting $4,000.00 in and taking $3,875.00 out, what a deal . My 401K has earned about that plus the 4.5% in interest that I am paying on my loan. So far the loan is winning and I still have my job, not that I was worried because if I was worried I would have never gotten the loan in the 1st place.

Hey I could be proven wrong. I've got a long way to go but keep in mind that as the stock market stays pretty even I keep putting that money back just as it was when I took it out plus the interest I pay myself on the loan. I also plan to pay back as much as I can early so that the loan will last only 2-3 years and not 5. Any way sorry to have hi-jacked this thread and I will stop the debate now.

Y-ASK

 

[dianeschlicht]

Though there are hundreds of variables and it is difficult to take every one into account, I would add another factor that was a major consideration in making the decision to join DVC: the time of the year at which one chooses to travel. At Christmas time, the resort rates are significantly higher than at other times of the year and discounts are much harder to find and obtain. If you work out the numbers, at the peak holiday time, DVC compares favorably with the VALUE resorts!

That is a VERY significant statement, Doctor P! I do think DVC is worth it even if you don't travel at the peak times though too.

 

[Dean]

That is a VERY significant statement, Doctor P! I do think DVC is worth it even if you don't travel at the peak times though too.

For January, Sept and Possibly even May it possibly isn't financially worth even owning DVC unless one totally avoids weekends and doesn't use other point wasting options. Especially for a 1 BR or a studio. The reason being is those are the times when you can own other timeshares and trade in easily.

 

[dianeschlicht]

For January, Sept and Possibly even May it possibly isn't financially worth even owning DVC unless one totally avoids weekends and doesn't use other point wasting options. Especially for a 1 BR or a studio. The reason being is those are the times when you can own other timeshares and trade in easily.

Dean, in your opinion, are those months the best times to try for World Passport exchanges too?

 

[JimC]

For January, Sept and Possibly even May it possibly isn't financially worth even owning DVC unless one totally avoids weekends and doesn't use other point wasting options. Especially for a 1 BR or a studio. The reason being is those are the times when you can own other timeshares and trade in easily.

Dean that is interesting. When we added on to our contracts earlier this year, we reached the same conclusion. We bought resale at at Cypress Harbour for our May trip, which will be primarily non-Disney.

 

[crisi]

September is also the time of year where Disney offers deals (this year free dining, in the past the 7 for 3 offer) that make booking packages through Disney very attractive. That may not last forever, but if I were a regular September visitor, I might regret DVC.

 

[crisi]

Mary, excellent article. I'd recommend two changes

DVC members recieve a few benefits....

add "but benefits are subject to change at any time and should not be highly weighted in a decision to buy" (or some such). i.e. we used the LOS pass discount, we don't go often enough for the AP discount, it doesn't do us any good (but the MYW tickets are cheaper anyway, so we are still happy).

Also, when you talk break even, you talk about breaking even by renting points at $10 per for 25 years. I really hope that when my dues are going up 3% a year and will be nearly $9 by that time, that people who rent points 25 years from now won't be doing it for $10! Although $10 has been a pretty stable rate for a while, I don't think it will last forever.

 

[gppnj]

For me, I thought it was worth it to finance my DVC purchase. I could have waited, but I preferred to get in at current prices and have points available immediately. I also figured I'd go to Disney either way, so I preferred that the money I spent on Disney lodging go toward my DVC rather than paying for a non-DVC resort. That said, I intend to be very aggressive about paying it off. I expect to have it paid off within a year or so.

 

[jodifla]

Philct, I thought the same as you after reading the article. It definitely skewed against the program.

 

[JimMIA]

Deleted - I was just trying to direct other posters on a related thread to this thread.

 

[bongo59]

No, I don't think you're crazy and borrowing from your 401K is a risk. But then so is borrowing against your house for that bill consolidation loan. Loose your job and you loose your house. Like I said you must be very careful and confident about your job to even consider a 401K loan.

I basically wanted to see what would happen in the next five years if I did such a thing (and I got SSR points to boot). Since my 401K is always changeing as my company makes both loan and paycheck deposits for me, I decided to open a Roth IRA with one of the biggest names out there, Fidelity. So in just over 7 months my return on a $4,000.00 investiment in Fidelity has been 2%. And that's only recently. For the longest time my investment was on the negative side. Nothing like putting $4,000.00 in and taking $3,875.00 out, what a deal . My 401K has earned about that plus the 4.5% in interest that I am paying on my loan. So far the loan is winning and I still have my job, not that I was worried because if I was worried I would have never gotten the loan in the 1st place.

Hey I could be proven wrong. I've got a long way to go but keep in mind that as the stock market stays pretty even I keep putting that money back just as it was when I took it out plus the interest I pay myself on the loan. I also plan to pay back as much as I can early so that the loan will last only 2-3 years and not 5. Any way sorry to have hi-jacked this thread and I will stop the debate now.

Y-ASK

...........I very rarely use the words always and never..........but this is appropriate timing............THERE IS NEVER a good time for any reason to take a 401K loan............before i posted this i talked to my tax attorney and my CPA this morning ..........they both called me in the last hour and said never do it................

 

[bongo59]

I think the one point that seems to stand out in this thread is that you should not finance your purchase. Main reason why is because the interest you pay is gone forever which adds to the total purchase price. But what if you could finance your purchase and pay yourself that interest. Now this is not for everyone but it is something to consider. If you can afford it, take out a loan on your 401K to finance your purchase. Now before you bean counters jump all over me, let me say that over the last 4-5 years I have yet to see any investments yield over 5% return. In fact my 401K tanked pretty bad during the bust and at this point in time I'm still in the red almost 20%. You need to remember most 401K limit you as to where you can put your money so please no wild stories about making 25%-35% in futures. That kind of investing does not work with 401Ks. With my particular 401K account I can get half my money out and then pay myself back at 8%. Show me an investment where I can make 8% and I'll change my tune. But this only works if A. You have a good job with no sign of being layed off any time soon and B. You trust yourself to repay the loan. I personally think I'm good for the pay back . And my work allows me to automatically pay back the loan without ever seeing the amount in my paycheck. One last thing to consider, I could be proven wrong in the next couple of years if the Stock Market really takes off and my 401K earns over 8% but right now and over the last 6 months my purchase is looking pretty good .

Y-ASK

oh yeah.............my CPA says if your got 5% you need alot of help............My retirement plan was up 38.7% last yr..................he thinks your five yr return is horrible.