Disney Debt?

[Princess Minnie321]

After buying our house, we went into unplanned credit card debt that took years to pay off due to unplanned work that needed to be done on the house. Paying that final payment was so freeing that I will never allow that to happen again.

I currently charge everything I buy for the points, but always have the money for what I am charging so I make weekly payments to our cards.

To save for our Disney trip, I am putting $600 a month into a separate savings account that I use for vacations. We are not going until next year so we will have enough by the time we take our trip.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

The only debt we have is the house. Paid for our cars in cash. Vacations are charged to the credit card & then paid in full. Love the points.

We live way below our means though. So we have a decent amount of savings.

 

[LovesTimone]

DH and I pay off our cards each month, so no balance carry over. We have a vacation fund that gets "paid" if you will each payday, along with a saving and a truly emergency saving account. So for vacation the bulk of it is paid for when we leave. Then we budget for about what we think will spend on excursions, food, other entertainment, souvenirs normally a couple of T-shirts or something along those line. But I am a planner, so I really dig into what are our options, costs and such to get the most out of our money for the things we want to do.

We are planning a big trip next year for our Anniversary it's in May ( may is a super duper busy time for DH and really hard to getaway for more than a long weekend) but we aren't going to take our trip until like late Sept. or early Oct. so we are squirreling away extra money knowing this trip is coming up.

 

[dosekies]

Personally, I would never put a vacation on a CC if I didn't already have the money for it. My past two vacations have been paid on my Debit Card because I already had the money. We are putting a few pay ahead dinners and special events on SO's CC but paying them off right away just to get the points on his account.

 

[teller80]

The only debt we have is the house. Paid for our cars in cash. Vacations are charged to the credit card & then paid in full. Love the points.

We live way below our means though. So we have a decent amount of savings.

Sidetracking, can I ask if you think you got the same price on your car (as if you financed) because you paid in cash? Did you tell them upfront you wouldn't be financing? I always thought a dealer made money on financing and if they knew you wouldn't be going that route then you'd have less negotiation power. thanks!

 

[North of Mouse]

Sidetracking, can I ask if you think you got the same price on your car (as if you financed) because you paid in cash? Did you tell them upfront you wouldn't be financing? I always thought a dealer made money on financing and if they knew you wouldn't be going that route then you'd have less negotiation power. thanks!

We never tell them how we'll pay until the deal is done. We do usually tell them about a trade in, but consider what they'll 'allow' on it along with how much they come down on the new vehicle. We 'won't' take a beating! Dh can look online and see approx. how much we expect them to come down on price, also 'allow' on trade in. They 'know' we know, so don't try to pull anything.

Lots of times we get 0% financing - if so, we opt that route, but 'could' pay it off today if need be, so don't consider that a debt. We are doing that now on dh's Lincoln mkx.

Just be knowledgeable going in, or take someone with you who is, and they will be more up front with you. I 'hate' car salesmen LOL!!

 

[tvguy]

My WDW trip 3 weeks ago is the first Disney trip I have taken that was put on a credit card and that wasn't completely paid off before we left. My final payment was due 30 days before the trip, and missed the credit card cycle. So I didn't get the bill until after we got back, along with our charges during the trip. Managed to pay it off without going into savings, but we literally had $50 left in checking when pay day hit last Friday, so it was tight.

 

[Judique]

My WDW trip 3 weeks ago is the first Disney trip I have taken that was put on a credit card and that wasn't completely paid off before we left. My final payment was due 30 days before the trip, and missed the credit card cycle. So I didn't get the bill until after we got back, along with our charges during the trip. Managed to pay it off without going into savings, but we literally had $50 left in checking when pay day hit last Friday, so it was tight.

If Disney knew you had that 50 bucks, they would have figured a way to get it!

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

.

 

[North of Mouse]

If Disney knew you had that 50 bucks, they would have figured a way to get it!

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

.

Love it!!

 

[jsmla]

My entire September trip (minus the $200 deposit) is sitting on my Disney Visa at the moment and I'm 100% okay with it. I made a spur of the moment decision to head down for Free Dining and knew I needed to book ASAP, not wait until I had the funds in our vacations savings. Our (AKA DH's, I'm not a fan) big September Wyoming trip is consuming my vacation budget at an alarming rate. For some reason I assumed that Wyoming would be a cheapish vacation. Boy, was I ever wrong!

We have enough money in other bank accounts to pay it outright but with Disney Visa it's interest free for six months. I know myself and, while I'm positive I will pay it off in installments before the six month "free" period expires, I am much less likely to return the money to the "regular" account once the trip is over.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I put my lots of trips on credit card back in the day and couldn't pay it off so there was interest i never figured into the trip. I did it because I was stupid and I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. I paid for that many times over and we ended up doing a debt consolidation program and now we pay cash for everything. It was a very hard and expensive lesson to learn and I am glad we learned it. My trips in 2010, 2015 and 2017 were all paid for in advance and that is a pretty awesome feeling.

To someone up thread asking about buying a car with cash vs loan - my sister just bought a car cash and asked if they would give her a better deal becausee she was paying cash and they told her no. The sales person said they make their money on the loans - not cash. She still bought the car and she still paid cash.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I think that by asking on the Budget Board, you're going to get the same answer:

I always do the following unless there are extenuating circumstances (a gravely ill family member, for example)
1. I charge vacations to a Credit Card for the incentives
2. I pay the charges before the end of the card's next cycle or before any interest hits

This IS the budget board, after all.

 

[redsonja76]

For a VERY long time we put our vacations on debt and thought nothing of it. No we didn't calculate in the cost of the interest to the cost of the trip. We were "typical" consumers in the debt game. We learned our lesson though. Man it was a tough lesson to learn.

 

[tvguy]

If Disney knew you had that 50 bucks, they would have figured a way to get it!

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

.

LOL.
Between my credit rewards and my Disney dividends, I would get some of $50 back if I had spent it there.
It was a great trip.

 

[littlbugmom]

DH and I learned our lesson with credit right after we were married. We saved for the wedding and paid cash for everything but building a house right after had us putting a lot on credit. Took forever to pay off. It sucked.

Now we use credit for what it can get us in points/incentives. If we don't have the cash to pay for it outright, we don't put it on the card. 0% interest only!

DH has a niece who once borrowed money from us. She was short that month. Had "enough money for the bills but nothing left for groceries". We found out after the fact that the reason she didn't have enough for groceries that month was because she had to pay for her trip to Vegas. What. The. Heck.

 

[moesy4]

I would have to agree that on this board, the standard answer is going to be that no one is using debt to pay for their vacation.
The PPer does bring up an interesting point in that if you are using funds that could be used to pay off other debts (car loan, school loan, etc.) for a Disney vacation instead, wouldn't that be considered just as "bad" as going into CC debt for your trip?

 

[adisneyaunt]

I would never suggest or "practice" debt for a vacation , if we couldn't afford it, we would not go, simple as that.
I also Never pay interest, take full advantage of promos if/when available and avoid debt like the plague.
Accountability in earlier years make for a much easier transition in later years ..
Blessed!

 

[mousefan73]

As someone who in my 20's had the YOLO attitude, you do not take in account the interest cost as part of the vacation cost.. You are just happy to have a credit line that enables you to book a trip NOW. BAck then a lot of friends were buying their first homes and mortages.. Many were commenting they needed some unpaid credit as paying off every month somehow increase their credit score.. Is this true?

I also think that many who put a vacation on a Card and do not pay for it, have their good reasons.. Maybe this is the one and life time opportunity. Between Jobs and NOW have the time off. Or realize by time they save the cash this will be a missed opportunity for many reasons. We shouldn't negativly judge for using credit.. in fact my husband and I are thinking about a home line of credit.. our house is paid off and the interest rates are insanely low.. We have many things on our Long list of things to do...new furnance, new Couch, kitchen. Kids rooms Need Major update. etc.... Sure I can save 5 or so years... but for 2,5% I'll take the cash now and pay a bit of interest to have those 5 years of enjoyment.

 

[hsmamato2]

to answer the title question- No. We vacation how we can afford it. Whether it's in a tent somewhere cool,or in a great hotel on cc points, it's paid off.

 

[mousefan73]

I would have to agree that on this board, the standard answer is going to be that no one is using debt to pay for their vacation.
The PPer does bring up an interesting point in that if you are using funds that could be used to pay off other debts (car loan, school loan, etc.) for a Disney vacation instead, wouldn't that be considered just as "bad" as going into CC debt for your trip?

Wow if I used concept to use all available funds to first pay of my School debt and car before a vaction.. then I would have NEVER been on a vacation.. So to be fiscally responsible no vacations for most People until their 30's or 40's?.. I think a good mix of MONTHLY income and debt is responsible. There is also the cost of lost time.. I am sooo glad I had credit Card debt in my 20's and 30s.. I saw traveled the world, went out, and saw more of the world.. Those days of being single, free and having fun I cannot get back now ( best 500$ credit Card debt was spend for one of the best weekends of my life for a best friends bacholorette weekend in vegas.) Now I am an old middle aged mom, with no debt and have the memories.. Life is great now, just different. I have lost too many friends over the last few years.. All in their 40s.. I hope they weren't saving for a trip years down the road

Debit is good within reason... Look at it monthly ( income vs expenses + credit expenses). ... and have a safety net ( savings to cover monthly debt costs if out of Job...) .... and then go have FUN. You only live once and you can't take it with you.