Vacationing and having debt

[Dashzap]

It depends...debt is only one part of the picture. I have zero debt...house, car, and education are all paid for....but my income and savings are not where they should be for me to be comfortable taking a vacation. It all depends on your overall financial picture.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

well this is NOT the post i thought it was, sorry!

 

[kerplop]

I could not, in good conscience, go while I had credit card or LOC debt. That's just me and I realize everyone is different, but to me those always come first. I learned my lesson the hard way and had to declare bankruptcy at 30 because I got $40k in debt, all credit cards. And I swore afterward that I would never let that happen again. But I think that a car loan and mortgage are different and as long as you fulfill those obligations (along with whatever "bill" type credit you take out), then go for the vacation. I wouldn't go crazy with it - no 2 weeks at the Poly for us - but allow yourself to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Just keep an eye on the bottom line

 

[RyansMum]

I could not, in good conscience, go while I had credit card or LOC debt. That's just me and I realize everyone is different, but to me those always come first. I learned my lesson the hard way and had to declare bankruptcy at 30 because I got $40k in debt, all credit cards. And I swore afterward that I would never let that happen again. But I think that a car loan and mortgage are different and as long as you fulfill those obligations (along with whatever "bill" type credit you take out), then go for the vacation. I wouldn't go crazy with it - no 2 weeks at the Poly for us - but allow yourself to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Just keep an eye on the bottom line

That's so young to have that kind of debt. I'm happy though that you learned your lesson and perhaps others can learn from you along the way. I was raised in a house of secrets when it came to money and shamefully admit that I am the same. My husband and I have paid off my credit cards a number of times but I still manage to acquire more debt than I can handle. I have 2 jobs.....the money is there.....I'm just slack about paying it. Perhaps I need to set better goals for myself while I'm still young and employed! Cheers

 

[DawnM]

We have debt now. We got a HELOC to fix up some things in the house to sell the house.

Then we decided to stay.....long story, but largely a financial decision, cheaper to stay where we are.

However, it is still MUCH cheaper than moving, so, we will just keep chipping away at the debt.

 

[stratus]

IMHO, I think that house-related debte (excluding furniture) is largely moot because if you got in trouble (as long as you don't live in a place like detroit) you have an asset you can downsize from. Its just something that is a thing most people are going to have.

We rent, which means we don't have debt in that sense because we chose to invest the difference between renting and owning. I am more confortable "starting life late" (I am in my low 30s) stock piling a bit of cash over having a house. Where I am, a house is somewhere in the $300,000 + range for a bit of a fixer-upper. I don't want to be house poor, and it will probably be a few years before we buy a house.

So all that said, there are a few debts that I would go on vacation with: house debt, low interest school loans and *maybe* low interest car

I would not go on vacation with debt outstanding which is above a certain interest rate. This would depend on the income at the time. However, because certain debt is just a fact of life for almost all people in North America, you cannot put your life on hold. IMHO, you should be enjoying your life while you can as long as it isn't going to put undo stress on you