When do you have enough?

[cropman]

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[nolanboys]

Some one posted that addonis is catchy and I agree. We bought a 200 pt resale contract in the spring and I still keep looking. We went to the DVC party at Woodfield Mall in IL today and they are offering a good deal. I am an emotional buyer and I kept thinking today wouldn't it be nice to add on 100 pts. Thank goodness I have DH - he is the voice of reason. We only want to go every other year. We like to go other places on our off years and 200 lets us stay in a 2 bdrm every other year and then DH and I can take one trip alone every 4 years. Vacations are getting harder to take as the kids get older. More points make work for us now, but when the kids get older, they won't. Once the kids are in college and we can travel more freely, we may add on. I'm just glad DH can be my conscience!

 

[starbox]

Well,what we did was made sure we could always afford to use the amount of points we owned w/out going into debt.


When we did the DVC tour, we'd just spent about 4 grand for 7 nights peak season in a mod with 10 day no-expiry park hopper plus tickets and dining plan. Our DVC costs loan/MF for 175 points were going to be just about that much for the next 10 years.

Affordable, but that did not include tickets/dining.

So we waited a year and made sure the next summer that we had enough for both.

After a year of vacationing, we realized we'd like more points so that we could do two longer trips - would not cost significantly more since tickets would already be bought and we were only extending existing trips or adding better views.

Now, 6 years later, we've realized we really like going in October and December for long weekends - and those weekend points are expensive. An add-on would be great, BUT, those extra trips are expensive because we do F&W events and Christmas events - extra tickets/expenses. We considered an add-on last summer, but when it came down to it, I realized I'd rather have that disposable $ to upgrade the vacations I was already taking with stuff like Party for the Senses tickets than just have more points that would be expensive to keep and use.

 

[starbox]

And I almost forgot!

6 years later, points are almost 40$ more - we paid 82pp for our contract. AND, we've used our measly 82$p&p to stay everywhere - did BWV for F&W, was at BLT 4th of July week, have gotten VWL for NYD, have BCV booked for spring break.

There's been to "need" for home resort points anywhere, so I have not been tempted to add-on for a resort.

 

[MayzDisney4]

I don't mean to be negative, since I love DVC and Disney, but you need to keep your ownership in perspective. My points provide me great enjoyment but I am careful to keep it within my budget.

I think you said it very well, its very important to stay within a budget and be reasonable about it. For us we need no more than what we own (70 points bought resale).
Just because we bought DVC, doesn't mean we need to stay in fancy hotels, because we need to be realistic about what we can afford. We have 2 kids, 8 and 4. We stay in a studio which is plenty of room for us. We don't take family on our points (except when we go to Disneyland in 2012, my mom will stay with us). Sure I would LOVE to be able to bring family down on our dime, but again we have to be realistic about what we can afford monthly. Sorry to my family that we can't afford to bring them with us, but we are not going to go broke over being able to take them on vacation. We go every year, but some years we do stay on cash. This past year we stayed cash, but for what we pay monthly and paid for our contract, even going every couple years on cash and not points, we are ahead of the game by 2014!

We have resisted add ons, as our kids get older chances are we will purchase more points. But for now we stay realistic with what we need.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I agree about not bringing family all the time. We bought DVC to help stay at nicer resorts and save some money on these accommodations. Before DVC, we would stay one or two weeks per year in four or five star resorts via priceline. I always wanted to stay on property ever since I was a child. Coming from a modest home with five kids kept this from being a reality. So, if we took are extended family, the number of points needed for us to do that, would make DVC a poor option for us. The dues would just be too expensive. Outside of DVC, I think most people would not pay for family and friends vacation. DVC reminds me of an analogy that people spend less with cash than with credit. DVC is the same way. It feels like a credit card instead of paying with cash. But, the bill comes eventually!

 

[MtlFire]

I've lurked on here for years, I actually think this might be my first post but Tiger moved me to add my .02cents. With the dollar at par, I was seriously considering adding on and this thread is quite the cold shower .

I'm also Canadian, no kids, DVC member since 2008. I never visited WDW as a kid, and my first visit was in 2006 at Yacht & Beach. We returned in 2007 and 2008 to Animal Kingdom. In 2008 stopped to look at a DVC kiosk and we all know how that ends.

I'm a meticulous calculator when it comes to finances. Spent the next few days in the hotel running excel spreadsheets only to come to the conclusion that it appeared to make financial sense for my staying habits.

I think it really depends on what you compare it too. Clearly if you compare to off site, moderates etc it won't make sense. I compared it to my previous three years at Yacht & Beach as well as AKL which were running me about $3200 a year including the annual pass discount just for the lodging (which might not always be there). I figured I'd break even including my maintenance fee's in about 10 years, had I known about resale it would have been much quicker. You have to compare DVC to what it is, a deluxe resort.

I'd also hate to add up my maintenance fee's, ticket costs, food etc as DVC would probably make me cry. But I prefer to compare it the actual cost of vacationing BEFORE DVC. I'm sure it was easily $5000 a year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. That would make me cry too . Comparing apples to apples, I was in a deluxe resort before, I still am, and in 7 years I'll break even. At which point I can continue to vacation at Disney or sell and be no worse off than if I had paid rack rates. Having broken even vs. rack rates in 10 years, if I decide to sell, whatever the resale market price is will be technically 'profit' if I get out.

The various comments will give me a bit of pause if I consider to addon, but I remain convinced that compared to what **I** was already paying to vacation at Disney in deluxe resorts and my existing travel patterns that DVC was a good choice. If I had been in the same conditions as some other people have mentioned above, I likely wouldn't come to the same conclusion though.

** The new resale rules are another reason to ponder addons.

 

[nickspace]

I will be the lone voice with this opinion, but enough for us should have been before we bought. We fell for the DVC nostalgia, when our Canadian dollar was significantly higher, and so our 1st contract @ SSR cost us way too much.

We then fell for the nostalgia again and have added on 4 times since 2004 when we bought - we highly regret our DVC purchase at this time, as we feel dues are too high, and we still aren't sure about the value of it...we have determined that Studios definitely aren't worth it, as they are the same as moderates, so we then upgraded for 1 bedrooms. This has caused more money out of pockets in buy-in costs, dues and associated vacation costs. We now have 360 points, and our dues were $1722.00 last year - this is way too high, and our dollar was pretty much at par. If it wasn't, it would be even higher.

We just did a spreadsheet a few days ago, and we are sick to our stomachs with how much we have spent over the past 6.5 years of being ownerws. Want to sell, but will lose big time due to CDN exchange rates at time of purchase and associated fees.

So, for us, enough was enough before we bought, but if we had decided that we would purchase a contract, it would have been for a small amount of like 175 - 200 (like we did), and we would have gone every other year, instead of multiple trips over the years. We would NOT have added on at all, and should not have, now that we have looked back on it.

DVC is a money sucker...and with a young family, we would caution people that paying off your mortgage or saving for kids' educations is a better usage of funds, than buying more points. DVC makes it very easy to buy more points, and with resale prices so low, that's attractive to people as well, but in the big picture, for us, spending thousands of dollars each year on Disney vacations over a lifetime is an astronomical amount of money. Each year, the amount is do-able, but over time, it's astronomical.

So, even if you can afford a small add-on now, add up all of the associated costs, over the lifetime of the contract, and look at that number, and you may change your mind. Even for us, at 6.5 years in, the amount of money we've stupidly given to DVC, is money that would have knocked our mortgage down significantly. DVC is a sore subject in our house these days...

Good luck with your decision, as it's a hard one, Tiger

I think if we were to add up all our luxury purchases we would be shocked by how much we spend but what is life unless we enjoy ourselves when we can. The danger comes when we spend beyond our means but that is a different topic.

 

[Tiger926]

I've lurked on here for years, I actually think this might be my first post but Tiger moved me to add my .02cents. With the dollar at par, I was seriously considering adding on and this thread is quite the cold shower .

I'm also Canadian, no kids, DVC member since 2008. I never visited WDW as a kid, and my first visit was in 2006 at Yacht & Beach. We returned in 2007 and 2008 to Animal Kingdom. In 2008 my significant other stopped to look at a DVC kiosk and we all know how that ends.

I'm a meticulous calculator when it comes to finances. Spent the next few days in the hotel running excel spreadsheets only to come to the conclusion that it appeared to make financial sense for us.

I think it really depends on what you compare it too. Clearly if you compare to off site, moderates etc it won't make sense. I compared it to my previous three years at Yacht & Beach as well as AKL which were running me about $3200 a year including the annual pass discount just for the lodging (which might not always be there). I figured I'd break even including my maintenance fee's in about 10 years, had I known about resale it would have been much quicker. You have to compare DVC to what it is, a deluxe resort.

I'd also hate to add up my maintenance fee's, ticket costs, food etc as DVC would probably make me cry. But I prefer to compare it the actual cost of vacationing BEFORE DVC. I'm sure it was easily $5000 a year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. That would make me cry too . Comparing apples to apples, I was in a deluxe resort before, I still am, and in 7 years I'll break even. At which point I can continue to vacation at Disney or sell and be no worse off than if I had paid rack rates. Having broken even vs. rack rates in 10 years, if I decide to sell, whatever the resale market price is will be technically 'profit' if I get out.

The various comments will give me a bit of pause if I consider to addon, but I remain convinced that compared to what **I** was already paying to vacation at Disney in deluxe resorts and my existing travel patterns that DVC was a good choice. If I had been in the same conditions as some other people have mentioned above, I likely wouldn't come to the same conclusion though.

Chris

You are so right! You can't compare to Deluxe hotels, if you weren't used to staying in Deluxe hotels. This is a huge factor, as far as I'm concerned. Enjoyed reading your post!

I think if we were to add up all our luxury purchases we would be shocked by how much we spend but what is life unless we enjoy ourselves when we can. The danger comes when we spend beyond our means but that is a different topic.

DVC is our biggest luxury product - we don't smoke, drink coffee, eat fast food, drive fancy cars (both vans are paid in full), nor, vacation anywhere else. So, we can afford DVC, but did we need to? That is what I hope people will think about before adding on. Our combined income can more than sustain the entire amount we've spent on DVC, but did we need to? Was that a smart move for a young family trying to pay down their mortgage? It's the cumulative amount that gets you - that is why adding on is so easy. It's done in small pieces here and there. But, as many of us have pointed out, those small amounts add up, plus, you have to pay dues on all of those points. My hope is that people will add on not in an emotional way, as we did, but knowing and including all associated fees that come with being DVC members.

Tiger

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Agreed!

 

[MtlFire]

I should also mention that having purchased in 2008 (once again as a Canadian) I hedged that the dollar wouldn't remain at par forever and included this as part of my savings.

I would assume that Tiger purchased at about a 30% exchange rate, I paid about 2%. I was willing to bet that our dollar was much more likely do drop down to .70 VS the US$ rather than climb past the US$. If the CDN$ drops, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank (well, at least in regards to my room bill!). If I'd purchased the opposite way like Tiger, I can certainly understand the frustrations. With the exchange rate alone rooms are now 30% cheaper; this takes a HUGE bite out of any DVC benefit.

If the dollar swings back the other way, rooms will be 30% more expensive for canadians making a DVC purchase now a "good" investment.

 

[tomandrobin]

You are so right! You can't compare to Deluxe hotels, if you weren't used to staying in Deluxe hotels. This is a huge factor, as far as I'm concerned. Enjoyed reading your post!

DVC is our biggest luxury product - we don't smoke, drink coffee, eat fast food, drive fancy cars (both vans are paid in full), nor, vacation anywhere else. So, we can afford DVC, but did we need to? That is what I hope people will think about before adding on. Our combined income can more than sustain the entire amount we've spent on DVC, but did we need to? Was that a smart move for a young family trying to pay down their mortgage? It's the cumulative amount that gets you - that is why adding on is so easy. It's done in small pieces here and there. But, as many of us have pointed out, those small amounts add up, plus, you have to pay dues on all of those points. My hope is that people will add on not in an emotional way, as we did, but knowing and including all associated fees that come with being DVC members.

When we vacation, we like the nicer hotels, the nicer destinations and larger accommodations......Its how we do it. Before timeshares, we were paying out the nose for rooms and they had to be at least two rooms, hopefully connecting. We were spending a fortune for rooms for our vacations.

Our DVC and other timeshares, was money that we were already spending. But now instead of 1 or 2 trips a year, we take 4-5 trips. With Disney, the more you go, the less to adjusted cost is over the year.

 

[Tiger926]

When we vacation, we like the nicer hotels, the nicer destinations and larger accommodations......Its how we do it. Before timeshares, we were paying out the nose for rooms and they had to be at least two rooms, hopefully connecting. We were spending a fortune for rooms for our vacations.

Our DVC and other timeshares, was money that we were already spending. But now instead of 1 or 2 trips a year, we take 4-5 trips. With Disney, the more you go, the less to adjusted cost is over the year.

The more you go though, the more in associated costs you are spending, so your cumulative costs can be quite high. By the end of the contract, your costs to own DVC will be much higher. Each 'extra' trip from adding on, becomes more in transporation costs, food costs, and any other costs associated with being a DVC member.

This was one of our problems, so my hope is that before people add on, they remember that.

On a related note - As mentioned above, we purchased our initial contract at SSR @ 30% exchange. We had no idea the dollar would become at-par. We purchased our AKV add-ons at between 3-10% exchange. If we had waited to purchase, and just paid cash for a few trips, we would have saved big money, but none of us could have known what was to come with the economy.

Tiger

 

[mickey&minniealways]

My mother always talked about refusing to be what she called "House Poor". It meant not being able to spend on any luxuries because you have such a big mortgage you can't do anything else. I think the same applies to DVC in a way.Don't buy so much that you can't afford the trip itself. If you are going to go and have to count Every, Single, Last, Penny you spend then it is most likely the wrong decision. If you can go and not stress about it the whole time and still be somewhat frugal then maybe it is right for you. As your family dynamics change so will your vacationing style. My children are now 15, 22 and 24. Now they bring friends. In a few years maybe spouses or grandchildren. The youngest not for a REAL long while. Maybe it will be a special vacation just for the two of us.But it will change.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am single and have 500 points.

I can afford them so that's not the issue.

What I didn't plan on was my job changes resulting in a LOT less vacation time and since I don't want to go to Disney ALL the time... some points need to be sold. I just don't want to pull the trigger!

 

[Sammie]

Oh Sammie. I missed this before my novel. So not true for us.

I love the DVC resorts and I can enjoy them for a few days but not going to the parks and only staying at the resort for years and years would be torture to me.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I am single and have 500 points.

I can afford them so that's not the issue.

What I didn't plan on was my job changes resulting in a LOT less vacation time and since I don't want to go to Disney ALL the time... some points need to be sold. I just don't want to pull the trigger!

You could rent them out, or transfer them.

 

[Disneywedding2010]

Its just my fiance and I and we have 370 points. I just paid off my DVC contracts. My home and my vehicles are paid off. Florida is the only place we vacation to. Since coming into DVC we've taken 2 trips, both with friends. Next year we are going two more times. Then we are taking a break and not going for a year. From then on out we'll probably only go every other year. We have owned our own business for the past 6 months so our vacationing habits will change. We more then likely will be taking one long trip every other year.

Finances are different for everyone and I have no problem with owning DVC and paying the costs of it. I can afford it and the costs of plane tickets, dining plans, etc. If I couldn't I wouldn't of bought it in the first place. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I hardly ever shop, so Disny is my indulgence.

 

[Tiger926]

I love the DVC resorts and I can enjoy them for a few days but not going to the parks and only staying at the resort for years and years would be torture to me.

I'm right there with you, Sammie!! This is exactly how I understood your post, and it would be torture for us too. As I said, if we weren't going to visit the parks, we never would have purchased DVC. Not going every few years, or knocking park days off of a vacation is different, than not going into the parks at all.

To us, this would devalue our DVC membership. We bought DVC because of the parks.

I am still so interested in this thread - it's neat to see how everyone uses DVC, especially when it comes to adding on more points.

Tiger

 

[lisaviolet]

I love the DVC resorts and I can enjoy them for a few days but not going to the parks and only staying at the resort for years and years would be torture to me.

I'm right there with you, Sammie!! This is exactly how I understood your post, and it would be torture for us too. As I said, if we weren't going to visit the parks, we never would have purchased DVC. Not going every few years, or knocking park days off of a vacation is different, than not going into the parks at all.

To us, this would devalue our DVC membership. We bought DVC because of the parks.

I am still so interested in this thread - it's neat to see how everyone uses DVC, especially when it comes to adding on more points.

Tiger

to you both. Everyone is different of course. I hear that it would be agony for you both.

Here comes my I don't want to misunderstood post.

Just be very clear - I have ZERO interest of not going into the parks at all. Nada. It just was a decision that I made little by little over time - I certainly didn't set out to do it. But for me - with our DVC membership it gave me the feeling of they - the parks - are always there for me. (I also vacationed like this pre-DVC at WDW - one trip I had a seven day hopper in my hands and used one day. That hopper with the extras - I adore water parks and Pleasure Island at the time - lasted about four or five years.

And my anticipation and joy over going into the parks in about three weeks - on an Annual Pass nonetheless - has been so incredibly lovely for me. This trip seems so special.

I know it sounds strange to go to WDW with a break from the parks. And not for everyone - obviously. But for us it brought many outside the park joys.

I simply wanted to point out that not every DVC owner puts out a lot of extra funds every time. That's all. Because that was a focus of the adding on - besides the maintenance fees - the extra funds. And that some weird DVCers really can use their DVC timeshare without a park focus. Smiling.

Carry on.

Oh wait - Tiger - as for buying another timeshare - we weren't interested. No other puts you in middle of the "world". The Boardwalk/water parks/FW/DD/boat rides - the ENERGY of the place etc. etc. etc. It's not the same to hang out at let's say Westgate. It's a whole different level of hanging out right in WDW.