Would you go?

[mshanson3121]

It's an 8-year-old car. There's always something to take care of, even if it's new tires and brakes. However if those routine maintenance needs of an older vehicle are already covered with emergency savings, then yes, I do mean that you should pay off the loan on the newer car (or at least pay it down) with the tax refund. You'll save yourself all of that interest and actually be able to be "car payment free" for the time period between when that loan is paid off and the time that the older vehicle actually needs to be replaced. The money not spent on car loan payments during that time period could be saved for your future Disney vacation or anything else that you might need.

No, we have a special savings account that we pay into monthly that is specifically for routine maintenance - the registration, tires, oil change, small jobs like brakes etc... It would only be large, unexpected repairs that would come out of the emergency savings.

 

[SparklePixie]

I asked for opinions on the finances, not on something that was written months ago that's not even a consideration now.

The thread I posted is about your finances and how much your last Disney trip impacted your finances.

 

[mshanson3121]

Interesting. That certainly puts the question in a different light to me...

OP, my family travels a lot. We've done so in good years and in bad years when our income was absurdly low. But one thing I learned very early on is that a week's vacation isn't worth a summer of staying home and saying no to the little things that become fun family traditions. If a return visit to Disney is going to get you those same results - not being able to go to the local theme park (or zoo, or summer camp, or whatever) - don't go. Because you'll deal with the same disappointments when you get back. I know you're probably over the moon that the kids are asking to go back, especially since their initial reactions weren't so positive, but some of that is the very natural tendency for things to look better in memory than they did in the moment. The only way I'd be planning a return trip, if I were in your shoes, is if you can do it without cutting back on "normal" summer fun to do it so that the trip "hangover" doesn't include that negativity.

This is why I'm so glad she decided to bring up something that's not even a consideration I'm well aware of how we felt then. And those things have already been taken into consideration. In fact, in one of my comments on this thread I said that we'd be doing things differently and would be cutting many extras out that we did this summer. And it would be for ^^ this reason, so we're not vacation broke.

 

[Marionnette]

No, we have a special savings account that we pay into monthly that is specifically for routine maintenance - the registration, tires, oil change, small jobs like brakes etc... It would only be large, unexpected repairs that would come out of the emergency savings.

That's great. Then pay down the car loan and be done with it that much sooner! If - as you said - you're planning to wait a couple of years to replace the older car, then you would have a period of time when you are free of any car payments. Just pay your Disney account the amount that you would have paid toward a car payment each month.

 

[mchelle77]

This is strictly my opinion, but if I were in the position where I was even wondering if I should go, I wouldn't go. We didn't go for 6 years between our honeymoon there and our daughter's first trip at 4 years old, because we knew it would be financially irresponsible for our situation - we were paying off credit card debt, buying a house, dealing with car issues, etc., so our "vacations" were local beach/mountains day trips or overnights. It's easier to enjoy your hard-earned vacation when you don't have to worry about finances after the fact, and what the negative impact of spending that money would potentially be.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP If it were me, and I had an emergency savings account set up and funded for those 'just in case' scenarios ( need a car,broken furnace,etc etc) I would use the money to go on a trip- it sounds like you have one brand new car,and one that is only 8....that isn't an old beater car IMHO....(we keep ours a minimum of 10 years,currently our 2nd car is a '95 wagon) so I would go on the trip,put that extra 2k into my emergency fund,and keep on keepin' on..... But that's ONLY if your emergency fund is already setup in case of a job loss,etc that you might need it for.If not, I'd fund it, then plan my trip...

 

[mshanson3121]

OP If it were me, and I had an emergency savings account set up and funded for those 'just in case' scenarios ( need a car,broken furnace,etc etc) I would use the money to go on a trip- it sounds like you have one brand new car,and one that is only 8....that isn't an old beater car IMHO....(we keep ours a minimum of 10 years,currently our 2nd car is a '95 wagon) so I would go on the trip,put that extra 2k into my emergency fund,and keep on keepin' on..... But that's ONLY if your emergency fund is already setup in case of a job loss,etc that you might need it for.If not, I'd fund it, then plan my trip...

Hehe, my little old Corolla, my first car ever drove for 14 years and when I finally got rid of it, it had 365,000 km (228,000 miles) on it. Engine and tranny were still going strong, mechanic told me good for another 100K.. were it not for the holes rusting through it, lol.

 

[hsmamato2]

Interesting. That certainly puts the question in a different light to me...

OP, my family travels a lot. We've done so in good years and in bad years when our income was absurdly low. But one thing I learned very early on is that a week's vacation isn't worth a summer of staying home and saying no to the little things that become fun family traditions. If a return visit to Disney is going to get you those same results - not being able to go to the local theme park (or zoo, or summer camp, or whatever) - don't go. Because you'll deal with the same disappointments when you get back. I know you're probably over the moon that the kids are asking to go back, especially since their initial reactions weren't so positive, but some of that is the very natural tendency for things to look better in memory than they did in the moment. The only way I'd be planning a return trip, if I were in your shoes, is if you can do it without cutting back on "normal" summer fun to do it so that the trip "hangover" doesn't include that negativity.

....I amend my pp........... I had read OP's other thread....and now based on that,plus Op's explanation of certain financial issues.... My advice would be to find some other smaller things your kids could enjoy over time, vs. one huge splurge you can't afford,except b/c you're getting a tax refund(which is really just your own money being returned partially to you) if things are that tight in general,and your debt is only "coming down now",and you will "never have a fully funded emergency plan" (or even try for that) then maybe taking that huge chunk of cash and blowing it all on that one big trip isn't the wisest choice for your family.B/c the 'letdown' and 'we have no money left for fun' feeling will be back in full force after returning from your next trip too. Disney is great,but not at the expense of everything else fun,etc in your lives.

 

[okilydokily]

Not many people have stability in jobs these days. There will always be something that you "have" to replace or fix. Waiting until things are perfect means waiting forever. Maybe go cheap for a shorter vacation, but some down for another trip you add too, and save some of the money for what you need, best of both worlds.

 

[mshanson3121]

....I amend my pp........... I had read OP's other thread....and now based on that,plus Op's explanation of certain financial issues.... My advice would be to find some other smaller things your kids could enjoy over time, vs. one huge splurge you can't afford,except b/c you're getting a tax refund(which is really just your own money being returned partially to you) if things are that tight in general,and your debt is only "coming down now",and you will "never have a fully funded emergency plan" (or even try for that) then maybe taking that huge chunk of cash and blowing it all on that one big trip isn't the wisest choice for your family.B/c the 'letdown' and 'we have no money left for fun' feeling will be back in full force after returning from your next trip too. Disney is great,but not at the expense of everything else fun,etc in your lives.

Again, really wish she hadn't posted that. We drained our "fun" account for Disney, yes. Our fun account is funded partially through our annual income tax return and partially through monthly contributions. It did not in any way put us in financial dire straits. We were easily able to afford Disney that year, just like we can this year. But we use our "fun" account to pay for things like vacation, day trips etc... and I refuse to use debt, or to dip into other accounts, to pay for those, and we are very strict on those rules, for the sake of avoiding using debt to pay for stuff (outside of car and mortgage). So yes, we made that mistake of doing "too much" and Disney drained the fun account and we were tight last summer for doing those "fun" things, and it was frustrating. We were in no way tight for anything else. But the beauty is is that people can learn from their mistakes. I had said earlier in this thread that we would also be doing things much more cheaply next year (IF we go). Reason being was for ^^^. I just really didn't feel the need to explain that all our in my OP since it had no bearing on my original question, since I knew that it was not a factor. Then again, I didn't know someone was going to go digging through and drag up stuff I posted months ago, that had nothing to do with my question at hand.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Personal finance is a really loaded subject, I put it up there with religion and politics. People sometimes make financial decisions that don't make sense to outsiders.

Growing up, my mother and I spent a month every summer in Europe with my mother's family. My parents had to scrape all year to make that happen. We never went on vacation anywhere else, literally. And events like Christmas and birthdays were slim pickings to put it mildly, etc.

It's all what a trip is worth to you and what sacrifices you are willing to make.