Disneyland or pay down debt? - Page 2

[MommytoTwo]

Pay the debt. It'd be different if you only owed $2000 but $12000 is still a lot. We have never been on vacation in 11 yrs of marriage nor have my kids. We have fun in other ways!

[Jenelle]

Originally Posted by freespirited

The card is at 23.99%

Oh, wow. You have $12,000 @ 23.99%

If you pay only your minimum payment (I figured 2% of balance), this will be paid off... NEVER. No, seriously. NEVER. I just did a calculator, and that is what it said. (Meaning, not in your lifetime. By the year 2108 the balance would still be $7465.84.)

Edited to add: I just figured out what the number "6001" meant on that page. It was 6001 MONTHS to pay off that loan... approximately 500 years.

Whew. That changes the picture. Stay home and pay off that debt! (I know, you already said this...)

Is there any way you can get that balance transferred? That is a really, really, bad interest rate -- especially for that amount of debt.

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

Come join us on the no-spend thread.

We'll help you pay down on that debt.

[Emmeline II]

h and I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon 8+ years ago because we have been paying down debt and building up savings. By May we should be debt free and we may plan a cruise with the kiddies for the following year.

[flowers]

First of all- can you transfer that debt to a card that will give you a zero or really low APR on balance transfers. Seriously, that cc debt is set up to be a never ending cycle.

Secondly, I would get really creative and skip Disney. Especially with the kids so young.

We have *tons* of fun taking really great day trips to cool swimming spots with a big cooler full of food, a ball, kite etc. We make very little on the books but we feel like we live a very high quality of life. I think it's because we make everyday trips extra fun. We aren't staying at fancy hotels so we can afford to get great food, some wine for the grown-ups etc. Last summer we bought one of those bike trailers and really went exploring with the kids. It was so fun.

I'd say start calling family meetings with a big blank notebook and start brainstorming of all the fun things you guys can do in everyday life. YOu would be surprised.

[Sonnenwende]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

oh, yeah. We've been to both Disneyland (several yrs ago) and DisneyWorld (this past summer). I do think that if it's a once in a lifetime type of thing, waiting until they are 8ish or so is the ideal age to go. My DD doesn't remember anything about DL when she was 3, but DH and I remember her face lighting up and the fun that she did have.

ETA: I was typing as you were editing out my quote sorry!

Hehe, I wasn't sure why I ended up quoting you. You had a point, but then I ended up talking to the OP and it looked confusing to me to have you quoted. My mind rambling.

[Ruthla]

You haven't been on vacation "in a whole year"? Oh, please. I haven't gone on any kind of family vacation (that involves an overnight stay in a hotel) since before DS was born.

We do go on day trips occasionally- things that cost no more than $25 for the whole family for the day (or occasionally up to $100 for something REALLY special). The concept of spending thousands of dollars on a vacation is just a foreign idea to me. There's no need to feel stir-crazy because you can't afford a super-expensive vacation- I'm not sure what area you live in but I'm sure there's fun stuff to be found!

[Jenelle]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

You haven't been on vacation "in a whole year"? Oh, please.

Once again, I think it depends on your situation.

I could go into details about my life and WHY we spring for a vacation each year, but my whole point would be that we all have unique situations.

[freespirited]

Originally Posted by Jenelle

Oh, wow. You have $12,000 @ 23.99%

If you pay only your minimum payment (I figured 2% of balance), this will be paid off... NEVER. No, seriously. NEVER. I just did a calculator, and that is what it said. (Meaning, not in your lifetime. By the year 2108 the balance would still be $7465.84.)

Edited to add: I just figured out what the number "6001" meant on that page. It was 6001 MONTHS to pay off that loan... approximately 500 years.

Whew. That changes the picture. Stay home and pay off that debt! (I know, you already said this...)

Is there any way you can get that balance transferred? That is a really, really, bad interest rate -- especially for that amount of debt.

It's bad alright, and our total household income is 25k a year so it's REAL bad. Dh was unemployed for 8 months last year and so we survived on the cards. I forgot to mention that $3800 of that debt was transferred to another card with 0% interest until June, so our focus will be on the $8200 left on the other card with the 23.99%, at least until the other one shoots back up to 28% and then we will transfer that back to the 23.99% one. Here's the thing, we can barely afford to make the minimum payments. I did a bad mistake and I bought 7k worth of jewelry I was supposed to be able to sell for a 3-4k profit (don't ask details). I am stuck with quite a bit of gold rings, all 14k or 18k. I sold some on Ebay and the rest, though beautiful, have just not been selling, even when I lower the prices, so I am going to try again now that gold is up. If I can even get 5k back I will be happy with that, so I am going to focus on selling that jewelry and put every cent towards debt.

Secondly, I may have a real estate commission coming if I can sell a relative's property. I have shown it a few times so far and it is well-priced, but it's still a tough market so who knows. That would give me 6k. I have also looked for a part-time evening job to no avail, and we were turned down for a 10k heloc on our home to pay off the cc because the cc debt is too big.: Short of the above things, I don't know how we are going to tackle this monster. I am definitely going to join the no-spending tribe and get rid of the credit cards. I must admit I've used them to put $10-20 worth of groceries on them at the end of the month when we are broke but I need to stop doing that!

On our income, if we paid cash for everything, we wouldn't really be able to spend because we just barely get by. We realize our debt is way huge for our income and we tried to sell our house last year but had no luck. We want to try again next month but lower the price 10k. If we sell it, we can pay the cc off because we do have some equity in it. If not, well we need to work really hard to get out of this hole, however we can.

[KaraBoo]

Debt.

And perhaps save a hundred and do an "at home" vacation. Order in food, watch movies, putter around your neighborhood...Take yourself out of your normal everyday routine but do it cheaply.

[freespirited]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

You haven't been on vacation "in a whole year"? Oh, please. I haven't gone on any kind of family vacation (that involves an overnight stay in a hotel) since before DS was born.

We do go on day trips occasionally- things that cost no more than $25 for the whole family for the day (or occasionally up to $100 for something REALLY special). The concept of spending thousands of dollars on a vacation is just a foreign idea to me. There's no need to feel stir-crazy because you can't afford a super-expensive vacation- I'm not sure what area you live in but I'm sure there's fun stuff to be found!

My husband's family live in Costa Rica and they have barely seen their granddaughters since they were born. That's been very hard on both of us and probably part of my anxiety/restlessness. I know my dh suffers a lot.We saw them last over a year ago but for 3 weeks, and the years before that about the same every year. They are a really close family. We wanted to be able to see them every year so we decided to sell our house, pay off debt, move back in with my parents here for awhile, and just save, save, save. But that hasn't worked out. I also have SAD and I think my husband does too and the thought of waiting until at least May for warmth and sunshine is disheartening. We live in Idaho. I thought the road trip to somewhere sunny (L.A.) would be as much fun as Disneyland itself. So yeah, everyone is different in their reasons and thoughts about vacations. We would do anything to visit dh's family again but that isn't going to happen, and at $700 a ticket and his family being broke, it might not happen for years.

[Sonnenwende]

I'd definitely advise against going on vacation. You need every penny to pay off the debt and to simply survive.

Again, I'd look into local public lakes/state parks and camp for your vacations for the time being if you really just have to get away for sanity. I don't know where you are or I'd recommend some places. Seriously, those vacations can be just as fun as big money ones and you may find local places were a lot nicer than you previously thought.

I hope things start looking up for your family financially soon.

[WeasleyMum]

OK I will be the 1,000th person to say, "put it towards the debt!" Honestly, you will feel better about it in the long run. Things like Disneyland or cruises are the really big, expensive vacations-- there are tons of cheaper options, WAY cheaper. My DH splurged a little on our honeymoon two years ago, but to celebrate our anniversary last May, we took a long camping weekend. We can't do the biggie every year, and I'm not even sure I'd want to, you know?

Wait to take your Disneyland trip until you can feel really, really good about it: not guilty, not defensive, not justifying, but just GOOD. Take it when you have everything under control financially... That super-expensive debt paid off (Cuz you're doing so well already! )... When your kiddies are a little older and can make their own memories of the trip... Use the idea of this vacation as a future goal, a huge reward for getting where you want to be, rather than something to do this year in spite of everything.

BTW, I'd call your credit card company ASAP and just ask for a lower rate. It takes ten minutes and the worst they can say is, "We can't do that." I've had a lot of success with it! If you can get them to knock it down 3-4 or even 5 percent, well every bit helps!

[yogafeet]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

Debt.

Hands-down you should pay off the debt.

[EmsMom]

Yeah, based on all of the above information, basically every penny should go either towards the debt or into a small emergency fund. You know, there have been some great threads on these boards with people posting their budgets/expenses followed by lots of great advice on how to manage all of it. The advice to ask for an interest rate reduction is excellent. If you don't get anywhere with the first person, ask for a supervisor. There is more leeway there than they like to let on and the banks are really over a barrel if more and more people declare bankruptcy, which could easily be where that kind of debt at that kind of interest is taking you.

I have never heard a single person complain about having paid off their debt. Everyone says it feels wonderful and freeing. Your kids would have just as much fun if you invite another family to a potluck at the park. If you make it a regular thing, even better (and very cheap!)

[Amys1st]

I have to jump in on this and I usually do not post on these type of threads.

I was in SoCal just last week. We make almost 3 times what your family does, but we also have and have always had zero debt w/ exception to our smaller mortgage. I want to get that out front and foremost. We also have a large retirement savings even after the loss of 60K.

But we still flew to the westcoast on free tickets, negoitated a deal on the hotel, and were going to spend one day up in Anaheim at Disneyland. It would have cost $145 for the 4 of us to spend a day there. My girls are 6 and almost 3. In our area its 12 degrees right now. In SoCal it was 85 and sunny the entire duration of our trip. Guess what? DD1 decided she didnt want to go to Disneyland. She said she wanted to just swim at the pool and go to the beach. Thankfully we didnt spend any money on admissions etc yet. So our frugal vacation got even more frugal because she just wanted to play. You dont need to take 2 kids under 5 yrs old to an expensive amusement park for them to say- hey lets chase the pigeons! We asked the girls what was the best part of the trip- the 2 1/2 yr old liked the sand and my dd1 liked the pool.

FWIW, we had not vacationed in over 3 years (dd2 could not fly her first 2 years) And yes some say 12K is a normal debt but there is nothing normal about raking up debt and more debt. Pay it down, you will sleep easier and maybe the punishment of getting yourself out of debt will teach you not to do it again. Then you can spend time down in DH's native area.

[freespirited]

Originally Posted by WeasleyMum

OK I will be the 1,000th person to say, "put it towards the debt!" Honestly, you will feel better about it in the long run. Things like Disneyland or cruises are the really big, expensive vacations-- there are tons of cheaper options, WAY cheaper. My DH splurged a little on our honeymoon two years ago, but to celebrate our anniversary last May, we took a long camping weekend. We can't do the biggie every year, and I'm not even sure I'd want to, you know?

Wait to take your Disneyland trip until you can feel really, really good about it: not guilty, not defensive, not justifying, but just GOOD. Take it when you have everything under control financially... That super-expensive debt paid off (Cuz you're doing so well already! )... When your kiddies are a little older and can make their own memories of the trip... Use the idea of this vacation as a future goal, a huge reward for getting where you want to be, rather than something to do this year in spite of everything.

BTW, I'd call your credit card company ASAP and just ask for a lower rate. It takes ten minutes and the worst they can say is, "We can't do that." I've had a lot of success with it! If you can get them to knock it down 3-4 or even 5 percent, well every bit helps!

Ok, thanks for the tip! Should I tell them how much we make, and that we are struggling too much and might have to file bankruptcy? Also, our special offer just ended with that card and I haven't recieved the statement yet that will reflect the 23.99%. Should I wait until I get that one? Right now it's at 9% in the most recent statement but that rate was good only through the Jan cycle. Also, should I wait to make that large 5k payment before or after I get them to lower the rate, if they agree to? It's Bank of America, does anyone have any experience with them doing this?

I also agree that taking the trip when we are in a good place financially will be more satifsfying by far. I think also that I just really crave sunshine and warmth, but summer will be here soon enough, right?

[freespirited]

Originally Posted by Amys1st

I have to jump in on this and I usually do not post on these type of threads.

I was in SoCal just last week. We make almost 3 times what your family does, but we also have and have always had zero debt w/ exception to our smaller mortgage. I want to get that out front and foremost. We also have a large retirement savings even after the loss of 60K.

But we still flew to the westcoast on free tickets, negoitated a deal on the hotel, and were going to spend one day up in Anaheim at Disneyland. It would have cost $145 for the 4 of us to spend a day there. My girls are 6 and almost 3. In our area its 12 degrees right now. In SoCal it was 85 and sunny the entire duration of our trip. Guess what? DD1 decided she didnt want to go to Disneyland. She said she wanted to just swim at the pool and go to the beach. Thankfully we didnt spend any money on admissions etc yet. So our frugal vacation got even more frugal because she just wanted to play. You dont need to take 2 kids under 5 yrs old to an expensive amusement park for them to say- hey lets chase the pigeons! We asked the girls what was the best part of the trip- the 2 1/2 yr old liked the sand and my dd1 liked the pool.

FWIW, we had not vacationed in over 3 years (dd2 could not fly her first 2 years) And yes some say 12K is a normal debt but there is nothing normal about raking up debt and more debt. Pay it down, you will sleep easier and maybe the punishment of getting yourself out of debt will teach you not to do it again. Then you can spend time down in DH's native area.

Interesting about your girls preferring the free fun! I'm guessing mine would be totally fine with skipping Disneyland (although I wouldn't even mention Disneyland to them if we went to SoCal) and just hanging out at the beach, the boardwalk, etc. In our case, we'd drive there and so gas, lodging and food would make up the majority of the cost while the park admission would be small compared to the rest. I think too that the 16-hour drive through the desert might be kinda fun for us sun-deprived adults but not so fun for our little ones. I wouldn't be able to say anything to my almost 5 yr old, as she is obsessed with princesses and castles and she does know a bit about Disneyland. I'm sure she'll be just as into it next year or the year after, and by then, her little sister will probably be into those things too.

[PreciousTreasures]

Definately pay down the debt. You'll feel better and can immediately start saving for a big vacation feeling like you deserve it because you've paid your debt off. If you go to Disneyland now you'll regret it next time you have to pay that debt bill. Why go on vacation with that kind of burden?

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by Sonnenwende

I would wait to go to Disney Land simply because your children are still so young. I went to Disney Land at 5 years old and I couldn't tell you a thing about it. I barely remember going to California at all and then nothing about Disney Land. Maybe a little of Universal Studios and that I ran into the Pacific Ocean and got into trouble...other than that...drawing a blank here.

$12k really isn't that much and you should be able to pay that off in a reasonable amount of time. I'd just go to a large in-state lake if your daughter wants to go to the beach for right now.

I have a slightly different perspective.

We love Disneyworld and Disneyland and we go with kids or without! We like to go about every other year. We had a blast going on our honeymoon, later taking our one-year-old and last year taking our three-year-old and one-year-old. There's never a bad age to enjoy a Disney park! So I was coming to this thread all eager to say, Go Go Go!!! But I don't know, I think you still have a lot of debt. If it were me I would do a cheap (free) vacation (a stay-cation?) and focus on getting out of debt instead-- try to get out of debt as fast as possible, within one or two years, with the idea of rewarding ourselves with the Disney vacation afterwards.

I don't know though, it's a tough decision, I mean, it is important to have fun, too. Good luck deciding.