Would you stay in debt over a Disney Trip?

[disykat]

We have mortgage debt. I also have no problem with student loan debt or car debt. I don't like to carry other debt and never really have. If I had other debt, I would be vacationing on a budget. Unless I lived close to Disney, it probably wouldn't be an option for us. We wouldn't consider it within my means.

I am a huge fan of vacations. We always take a vacation. I grew up in a family that prioritized vacations, but DH had NEVER taken one until he met me. However, we always take a vacation that works in our budget. Since we live far from Disney, my kids have been to WDW once (when they were 6 and 8) and we're driving to DL this summer (they'll be 12 and 14).

 

[bellarella]

There are only three things I will willingly go into debt for:

1. Education
2. House
3. Car (and here as little as possible)

There is nothing else, including vacation, that I will purchase unless I have the money in hand. If you don't go down the path then you don't get caught in the vicious circle and you can do both -- stay out of debt and enjoy life.

That said, I'm not in a particular hurry to pay off my house. I have a low interest rate mortgage, my mortgage isn't a huge line item in my budget, so paying it off sooner isn't going change my life or anything, but paying it off faster would significantly curtail what I can do in the present. This is where the balance lies for me.

 

[an_evans]

Well we just sold our house and moved into a smaller town home. Overall it was about simplifying our life.

Our pastor has been talking about how we work so hard to acquire possessions and then those possessions require us to work even harder so we can maintain them. Then before we know it our stuff controls our life- they suck our time and money.

You won't believe how great it felt to get down to a third of the stuff. We stopped paying someone to mow the yard we hardly use....we go to the park when we want to play outside or go for a bike ride! It takes me an hour to clean the whole house and now I have time to spend the afternoon pushing my kids on the swing.

The bottom line in relation to this thread is that we now have more money and time to travel! We'll go on 4-5 trips this year and our kids go to private school. We are no longer worrying about things we can't take with us!

 

[jessica52877]

I wouldn't go into debt for a trip. I would definately down size my trip though or just go camping an hour away, vacation is vacation, to us it is about family time and being together, not where we are always. Yes, some places are nicer then others, but they all still have great memories.

I will happily have a mortgage payment and car payment to enjoy life a bit more!

 

[juligrl]

Personally, I would not be able to enjoy Disney with debt (other than mortgage) hanging over my head. I'd be too worried about how I was gonna pay my bills! But that's just me. To each his own.
I'm also in the position to be able to give my kids free vacations to my family cottage as often as we wish to go. There's tons of stuff - all free - to do there so I don't feel like I'm depriving them by not taking them to Disney every year. KIM this is being said by somebody with no debt - my opinion could change if I had debt and wanted to do Disney...

 

[kribit]

There are only three things I will willingly go into debt for:

1. Education
2. House
3. Car (and here as little as possible)

There is nothing else, including vacation, that I will purchase unless I have the money in hand. If you don't go down the path then you don't get caught in the vicious circle and you can do both -- stay out of debt and enjoy life.

That said, I'm not in a particular hurry to pay off my house. I have a low interest rate mortgage, my mortgage isn't a huge line item in my budget, so paying it off sooner isn't going change my life or anything, but paying it off faster would significantly curtail what I can do in the present. This is where the balance lies for me.

This is exactly how I feel. I will also add to that that I despise car payments and there will come a day when we don't have any. We've managed to get down to 1 with 1 year left. With all that said, we always try to take some sort of vacation with our children and we do a lot of activities (some free) on the weekend. We do not use credit cards, so if we don't have the cash, we won't be doing Disney.

 

[sorcerermick]

I totally agree with the OP. This is totally my philosphy. My wife and I have this discussion all the time. It's nice to see I'm not totally crazy thinking this way!

 

[Grendalynn]

I so agree with this! I feel vacationing is just like having kids in a sence - if you wait to afford it you never will have any. As a PP noted, there's Debt and then there's DEBT. 90% of America has a Mortgage of some shape or form. And WDW has created the best thing - payments on line! As long as you can come up with the initial deposit of $200, most folks can afford $20 a week or $50 a month to go toward teh vacation. And WDW offers many options and packages to fit in most any budget!? The only sure thing in life is death and taxes, no matter what you are going to have to pay for soemthing and God only knows when your timeis up, Your kids are only young once and we don't know when it could come crashing down around us, so live life and enjoy your family moments.

But, as with anything, do it within reason. Don't break the bank and your entire life savings - budget, go responcibally and don't live beyond your means. I would gladly trade and skimp on my weekly Walmart Run for a few weeks if it meant having a Family vacation, Disney or otherwise. Just my 2 cents!!

 

[busymommy]

I am a mother of five with my oldest being 18 next year. My husband and I have promised a WDW vacation for years. Saving the money has never happened. Something always comes up. The only way for us to go is by gettting a loan. We planned our trip with a TA and adjusted it to fit a monthly payment we could make. Yes we will have to work at getting paid off, but we will never get these young years back with our children. We plan on having the time of our lives watching our children experience Disney for the first time, even with debt.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I don't believe in going into debt for a vacation, so I have to budget very carefully to afford WDW. Vacations are important to us, so we do without a lot of little luxuries to afford them. Would I pay off my mortgage early but the trade off would be never going to WDW or anywhere else? Heck no. Life is short. If I died tomorrow I wouldn't regret one dime of the money we've spent making memories together.

It seems almost lame to say this, but Disney is a very important part of our lives. It's up there with food and air.

 

[jessica52877]

I am a mother of five with my oldest being 18 next year. My husband and I have promised a WDW vacation for years. Saving the money has never happened. Something always comes up. The only way for us to go is by gettting a loan. We planned our trip with a TA and adjusted it to fit a monthly payment we could make. Yes we will have to work at getting paid off, but we will never get these young years back with our children. We plan on having the time of our lives watching our children experience Disney for the first time, even with debt.

I think too if I had kids grown like this and still younger ones but had never gone that I would do a budget trip. Very budget friendly though.