You have to save for a 3 thousand dollar vacation, right?

[roliepolieoliefan]

Hey all, So years ago we went to Disney on a 7 day junket with the no expiry tickets and stayed in Moderate, then we had enough days left for Spring Break trip the next year in an off site hotel. The first trip with all the expense I conned my Mom into paying for. The second I paid for myself but no park tickets. The first was an easy 5k if I remember right. Fast forward about 5 years to the present, the Mom in question is going to Grand FLdian with some girlfriends for the first time since I was a kid. She'll have a great time, she'll probably bank roll much of it for them and all is well. I am happy to not be going or my kids or anything. I am glad she's spending her money on her. I wish my Dad and her could both agree to go, but they are always at odds even though they're still married. She's alot to take though and that's a different story. Anywho, I priced out Disney at Poly and Pop Century just for giggles in mid Jan. Kids would miss school, but this is just to see prices. From here in Indy depart on Sunday return on Friday it was 4k for Poly and 3k for Pop. That had Flight and 4 park days in it. I don't have 3k laying around and would never charge that kinda coin. But, Disney is fun and it does make a nice set of memories. I got to thinking about life, money and people with this. Our yearly household is just north of six figures. We have a mortgage, two car payments, Camper payment and storage(less than 200 a month) and all the other phones/cable/inet junk bills everyone else does. People with these stats have to live on budgets, right? You have to save for what you want or buy it on credit and pay someone interest to let you have your experience early. But, two things dawn on me. I have an aunt who supposedly I am the heir to in her will. Her estate will be in the 300k range after tax and such, probably. Lets say that money comes to me next year. Next year my net worth is +300k. I'd probably pay off the house with that, I mean I'm paying 4% already for an asset that IS appreciating again finally. So I'd pay that off and then bam there's 13 hundred a month that I'm banking all of a sudden. Second, I have a friend whose a Anesthesiologist. Great dude, started with nothing. All loans through school, got the grades, got the job, paid them back. Dude has 3 kids and house 200K above mine, but same cars and other bills etc. But this fella is probably 1.5 to 2.5 times more in a paycheck than me. But, really his expenses aren't more than 50 percent more than me. He's making money each month because he's got a better ratio. That's translates into the ability to do the things I want to do at often double or better rate. Okay, I'll cut to the question because I am rambling. My point, I don't have 3k and would have to make a savings plan to reach that. My budget isn't going to magically fix itself and in 3 months I'll have 3k. But, the way it works is that the playing fields aren't even. Some people have inherited wealth and some people have busted their *** to make wealth. These people aren't Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that's something else completely. These people are either lucky or smart or both! That's how people have 3k for a vacation every year. Their financial life looks different than mine. Doesn't mean I can start improving mine today. Find ways to cut out waste, make my dollars go farther so that I can put 3k down without a hiccup. But, sure would be nice to come into a cushion like 300k. That changes lives on the small scale and makes 3k possible. Am I right?

If I wanted to book a $3,000 vacation tomorrow I could.
DH works full-time , I work on an as needed basis.

We have 2 kids in many activities, that take alot of cash throughout the year.

Even so , I think out our purchases including the house we built and the vehicles purchased to afford vacations when we want to go.
I am actually thinking of surprising DH with a trip to Jamaica , total cost a little over $4,000.

I know sometimes people cant help it but most times they can, I would never take on all the payments you have OP. Just too much outstanding debt for my comfort.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

According to the author of "The Millionaire Next Door" this is a common fallacy- most millionaires are self-made. Thought I guess it depends on how you define TONs and how much 'money.'

One of my all time favorite books and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to be a millionaire or more some day! Excellent common sense advise and a fun read!

 

[Vickmeys]

With two people in a household working, and most do, I would think a lot of them would reach 100k, making a total of over 200k.

 

[ICF]

With two people in a household working, and most do, I would think a lot of them would reach 100k, making a total of over 200k.

not even close. It might be like that where you live, but most people don't make $100K a year --- even in combined households.

My wife and I both work and combined we're over $100K, but not even close to $200K.

 

[jimmytammy]

We budget for our trips, be it WDW or any other. For many yrs we didnt, but life has changed. We are not making more than before, and def. not in the 6 fig range. But this is where we made change, got into Dave Ramsays Total Money Makeover and it made all the difference in our current finances and hopefully the future.

 

[Darcy03231]

Yes, you have to save for a $3,000 vacation, just like you'd save for anything else.

Our house runs on a budget and vacation savings is part of that budget. a certain dollar amount goes into that savings account every week.

If you don't make enough money to save, then you need to cut your expenses. Contrary to your belief not everyone has 2 car payments, a camper payment, storage fees and junk bills.

There are 7 cars at our house (yes, I said 7) - a 1987 Corvette Convertible, a 1999 Ford Taurus, a 2000 Chevy Malibu, a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, a 2009 Dodge Caliber and a 2011 Toyota Corolla. No car payments.

We don't own a camper, but do own a second home. No mortgage.

We don't own more stuff than we can store, so there are no storage fees.

The only bills we have are utility bills, basic cable and basic phone. No smart phones or premium channels.

Oh, and we don't make as much as you do and we live in a high cost of living area (just north of Boston).

It's all about priorities. We don't eat out much, don't go to movies, concerts, etc., don't buy lots of new stuff or the latest and greatest. It's all about choices.

 

[disney4us2002]

With two people in a household working, and most do, I would think a lot of them would reach 100k, making a total of over 200k.

NJ must be paying a ton more for all their teachers, social workers, police officers, and all the other state government employees. I'm a social worker and I will NEVER make anywhere near $100,000. I don't even make half that.

 

[crisi]

She is talking about two people in a household working, but you are right. If you have two teachers, or a teacher and a social worker, or a hairdresser and a landscaper, a paramedic married to someone who manages retail on a small scale (managing a big box store pays well, managing your local Claires doesn't) you aren't likely to see $100,000 in salary in most parts of the country, even if you have two people working full time, much less $200k - which sounds like a complete pipe dream to two teachers. Now, if you have a systems developer and a project manager, a nurse and an attorney - if after working in those professions for five years you either live in a low cost of living area or you are both underpaid if you haven't broken $100k as a household.

But only 30% of Americans graduate from college - and most of the higher paying jobs mean a college degree behind you. And a lot of families have one income, or one "plus"- the nurse drops back to picking up 20 hours a week rather than working full time, the attorney becomes self employed and takes just a few clients rather than putting in 60 hour weeks at a firm trying to make partner. As Gumbo said, having a family and two demanding jobs is hard - and hard for a lot of people to justify if one partner is already fairly well compensated (we did it for fourteen years - but when my husband took the next step in his career, it was impossible for me to keep working with teenagers at home. I missed too much work for orthodonists, leaving early to pick up kids for soccer - and I wasn't home to help with homework - when my job and his were both less demanding - we could tag team those things - when my job became more demanding, we tried for eighteen months - when his job became three weeks overseas at a time - it became impossible).

 

[sunshinehighway]

Yes, you have to save for a $3,000 vacation, just like you'd save for anything else.

Our house runs on a budget and vacation savings is part of that budget. a certain dollar amount goes into that savings account every week.

If you don't make enough money to save, then you need to cut your expenses. Contrary to your belief not everyone has 2 car payments, a camper payment, storage fees and junk bills.

There are 7 cars at our house (yes, I said 7) - a 1987 Corvette Convertible, a 1999 Ford Taurus, a 2000 Chevy Malibu, a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, a 2009 Dodge Caliber and a 2011 Toyota Corolla. No car payments.

We don't own a camper, but do own a second home. No mortgage.

We don't own more stuff than we can store, so there are no storage fees.

The only bills we have are utility bills, basic cable and basic phone. No smart phones or premium channels.

Oh, and we don't make as much as you do and we live in a high cost of living area (just north of Boston).

It's all about priorities. We don't eat out much, don't go to movies, concerts, etc., don't buy lots of new stuff or the latest and greatest. It's all about choices.

While I agree with your point about priorities, I don't think your situation is really the norm for your income. If I'm reading correctly and you are saying your household makes less than 100k (or right around it) there has to be more going on for you to have all that stuff without any payments, especially in Massachusetts.

 

[mrsklamc]

While I agree with your point about priorities, I don't think your situation is really the norm for your income. If I'm reading correctly and you are saying your household makes less than 100k (or right around it) there has to be more going on for you to have all that stuff without any payments, especially in Massachusetts.

Not necessarily. We don't know how old the poster is, when they bought the vehicles/how much they paid, if they bought foreclosed homes...maybe the second home is a rental property...

 

[lurkernj]

This thread is just bizarre. Sounds to me like op is counting on someone dying so she can pay for her vacation, rather than saving for one. Am I the only one who sees this as a strange plan? hope the aunt isn't a diser!

 

[sunshinehighway]

Not necessarily. We don't know how old the poster is, when they bought the vehicles/how much they paid, if they bought foreclosed homes...maybe the second home is a rental property...

That's pretty much what I mean by there has to be more going on. The idea that your average family making under 100k in Massachusetts can own (with no payments) 2 homes and 7 cars (some older, some newer) just by cutting back on their spending is unrealistic for most.

 

[mistysue]

That's pretty much what I mean by there has to be more going on. The idea that your average family making under 100k in Massachusetts can own (with no payments) 2 homes and 7 cars (some older, some newer) just by cutting back on their spending is unrealistic for most.

Yeah, I live in a low COL area, DH and I both are paid very well for the area we are in (we EACH make more than the average household), our bills are next to nothing (I have a company car, gas card, cell phone, etc so we essentially have the expenses of supporting one adult w/car). 10 years ago I bought a low-end starter home with 18% down... even if all of the money we've paid to daycare in the last 10 years went directly to our house payment, we would just be approaching paying off the first house. Even having just a house phone and only actual necessity bills there is no way we could own 6 more cars plus another house clear and free without it being another 20-30 years down the road. The car part doesn't strike me as odd so much as the idea that your average family can just run around buying houses with no loans through discipline and budgeting. Many people can't even get into a first home for less than a good 300% their yearly income for a place needing extreme work.

 

[NHnurse]

This thread is just bizarre. Sounds to me like op is counting on someone dying so she can pay for her vacation, rather than saving for one. Am I the only one who sees this as a strange plan? hope the aunt isn't a diser!

I agree. Very strange.
We save for our vacations. Never charge anything. I'm a nurse so always have the opportunity to pick up extra shifts when extra money is needed for vacation expenses.

 

[Colleen27]

Yeah, I live in a low COL area, DH and I both are paid very well for the area we are in (we EACH make more than the average household), our bills are next to nothing (I have a company car, gas card, cell phone, etc so we essentially have the expenses of supporting one adult w/car). 10 years ago I bought a low-end starter home with 18% down... even if all of the money we've paid to daycare in the last 10 years went directly to our house payment, we would just be approaching paying off the first house. Even having just a house phone and only actual necessity bills there is no way we could own 6 more cars plus another house clear and free without it being another 20-30 years down the road. The car part doesn't strike me as odd so much as the idea that your average family can just run around buying houses with no loans through discipline and budgeting. Many people can't even get into a first home for less than a good 300% their yearly income for a place needing extreme work.

I agree. We do own our home and two cars, loan-free, but I'll be the first to acknowledge that luck/timing had as much to do with that as planning, budgeting, and saving. We were just starting to look for a larger home when the housing market imploded, and we were able to buy a fixer upper with our emergency fund and new(er) car savings. Next year we're hoping to buy another boat - we had a little bow-rider but sold it before the move because of a lack of a place to keep it - and we'll probably be up to three or four cars in the not too distant future as our older kids start driving, but all of that goes back to the one brilliant stroke of luck that allowed us to become mortgage-free in our 30s. Had that not happened - had we "traded up" to a larger home even a year earlier - we'd be in an entirely different situation, deep underwater despite a sizable down payment.

 

[mefordis]

Wow, it sounds like a good chunk of your monthly budget goes to insuring those 7 cars.

Yes, you have to save for a $3,000 vacation, just like you'd save for anything else.

Our house runs on a budget and vacation savings is part of that budget. a certain dollar amount goes into that savings account every week.

If you don't make enough money to save, then you need to cut your expenses. Contrary to your belief not everyone has 2 car payments, a camper payment, storage fees and junk bills.

There are 7 cars at our house (yes, I said 7) - a 1987 Corvette Convertible, a 1999 Ford Taurus, a 2000 Chevy Malibu, a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, a 2009 Dodge Caliber and a 2011 Toyota Corolla. No car payments.

We don't own a camper, but do own a second home. No mortgage.

We don't own more stuff than we can store, so there are no storage fees.

The only bills we have are utility bills, basic cable and basic phone. No smart phones or premium channels.

Oh, and we don't make as much as you do and we live in a high cost of living area (just north of Boston).

It's all about priorities. We don't eat out much, don't go to movies, concerts, etc., don't buy lots of new stuff or the latest and greatest. It's all about choices.

 

[sunshinehighway]

This thread is just bizarre. Sounds to me like op is counting on someone dying so she can pay for her vacation, rather than saving for one. Am I the only one who sees this as a strange plan? hope the aunt isn't a diser!

Oh, I agree it's bizarre. Well maybe sickening is really the word I'd use. Sad thing is there are really people who think like that.

 

[Eastern]

Wow, it sounds like a good chunk of your monthly budget goes to insuring those 7 cars.

I thought the same thing because I live in NJ and it is really high for car insurance here. They probably don't pay nearly as much.

 

[mrsklamc]

I just took the OP as "wouldn't it be nice to come into a 300k windfall?" Which...sure.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I thought the same thing because I live in NJ and it is really high for car insurance here. They probably don't pay nearly as much.

It depends on what they have for the cats. I'd assume just the basic minimum for the older cars. I have an older car with minimum and it's about $50/month. Of course I have no teens driving. That would likely make it more. It seems like some of those cars would be cars the kids drive.
If there's more coverage on the newer cars maybe $200/per month. I'm really just guessing based on my cars and living in the same state.
I'm thinking at least $700/per month.