Comments on: Living Above Your Means: Thoughts from the High Seas

By: Max

Max — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:33:07 +0000

Just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise that took a weekly tour of the southern Caribbean. We were amazed at how many in our group of 25 were hitting the ship casino daily (losing $$), spending large amounts on jewelry at the ports AND on ship, spending $60+/person for the island tours, running large bar bills, etc. It was an eye-opener!

We took it easy and paid for only one tour ($50/person) on Curacao – which was well worth the money. But buyer beware…the ships are marketing at you 24-7. As a jeweler said, if quality gems were that cheap on the islands, wouldn’t we be buying them there?

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:18:50 +0000

Good grief! I’m with you Nickel, spending money is ok even on wants…when your finances are in order. But this guy is taking it to the extreme. If you need to finance a vacation, and you do it every year, it’s a pretty good indication they don’t have their finances in order, are struggling with other debts, and/or have a major instant gratification complex. I guess it’s possible this guy has no other debt and he’s only borrowing for the vacation so that he can get away immediately, but I doubt that’s simply the case. $1600 on a watch, though. Sounds like he’s got a major case of keeping up with the Joneses.

By: DW

DW — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:29:32 +0000

DH and I took our first-ever cruise last year (all paid for up front, BTW). But we were uncomfortable with the constant emphasis on shopping — both on and off the boat. (Then I learned that many cruise lines own those jewelry stores in the ports of call.)
I wonder how long it was going to take some of those folks to pay off those shopping sprees — or their bar tabs

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:16:15 +0000

Some good frugal comments, always nice to keep in perspective the things that matter.

By: QOAS

QOAS — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:45:56 +0000

Saving up for a vacation is a really good suggestion than having to spend the money that you don’t have and running out funds to pay for the expenses of the trip.Nice post!Keep it up!

By: jeff smith

jeff smith — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:45:28 +0000

We are taking our first cruise this summer – on Disney. We’ve paid for everything – the cruise, airfare, etc already. We saved for a LONG time for this.

On our regular vacations, we save for about $200 per day to spend on top of our accomodations. That way when we come home we don’t owe ANYTHING and usually have some money left over for next year or some other item we want to buy.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:04:46 +0000

The story is SAD!

But what is even sadder (if that’s a word) is there are more of those guys than there are of us. He is an example of the new “American Way”.

This “spending party” has been going on for years, and will soon resume in full blast after everyone is over their hangover from the last party– this guy is a real winner . . .

By: Atlas@mymoneyshrugged

Atlas@mymoneyshrugged — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:54:11 +0000

My Girlfriend and I are in the process of getting our vacation finalized. We are headed to California and driving up the coast. We have everything saved up except a couple hundred dollars. It feels so good to have everything saved up so like you said so we can enjoy ourselves!

Glad to have you back and to hear yall had a great time!

By: Nickel

Nickel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:34:14 +0000

Williams: We have four kids and no family nearby. Thus, a Disney Cruise offers us a unique opportunity in that we can go on vacation as a family, but also get ample time to ourselves away from the kids (they have tons of kids activities on board that allow them to enjoy a good bit of time on their own). They also wait on you hand and foot, which means that we don’t have to hustle food for four kids, etc.

We’ve been to both Disney World and Las Vegas. The problem is that we arrive home more tired and stressed out than when we left. That wasn’t the case with the Disney Cruise.

By: Williams

Williams — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:21:45 +0000

…well, apparently lots of folks enjoy cruises — but I don’t want to be trapped on a boat with 3,000 people.

IMO you get much better value per dollar ashore (DisneyWorld or Las Vegas for example). Most cruise reviews rave about the ’shore-excursions’ (Duh!)

Cruise ships are the essence of high-density living… big boxes crammed with people. Sanitation is a constant struggle. Passengers are stuffed with food to distract them from their tiny, noisy accommodations.

I like the ocean… but not under those conditions.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:56:18 +0000

I was talking to a coworker the other day, who had just spent a fair amount on a vacation. They did have the money to pay for it up front; however that left them with basically no emergency fund. It seemed like a similar situation, in that he was excited about the vacation, but a little stressed about the lack of emergency fund. I like being able to sleep peacefully at night, knowing things are paid for, and I have a good emergency fund.

@ Danielle, it did take us 10 years before my wife and I had a major vacation; however, when we did, we went to Cancun and were able to pay for it all no problem. From my experience, I’d say it’s worth waiting the 10 years, versus going for two weeks now and paying it off for two years.

By: RB @ recessionsblow

RB @ recessionsblow — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:53:22 +0000

It’s funny that the guy would boast about a 1,600 dollar watch and talk about how long it’s going to take him to pay off a vacation in the same breath. He obviously didn’t have his finances in order.

A new car is my next big purchase I’m saving for…

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:31:58 +0000

I think it is going to take a decade or so to be able to fully fund a major out of state vacation for me. I have started making the effort to save up as much as I can before the vacation, but with a baby on the way, a basement to finish and assorted other financial goals… if I waited to have 100% saved up we would never get to go anywhere!!

Then again, I’m not going to buy Disney art or $1600 watches while I am on vacation either…

By: Ellen

Ellen — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:17:05 +0000

My boyfriend and I have been slowly saving up both for our move from CA to Austin, TX, and for a vacation to Jamaice we want to take in August. I’m still paying at least $1,000 a month on my student loans, but it’s so great to be able to also save for these big expenses. When summer comes around, we won’t be fretting about how we’re going to pay for everything.

I remember when I was a senior in high school, my mom paid for one last huge family vacation (by huge I mean her, me, my brother, grandparents, 3 aunts, 1 uncle, and 3 cousins). She saved for YEARS to be able to pay for everyone’s stay and tickets for 5 days at Disney World. That always stuck with me that even vacations need to be saved up for, and they’re always so much more amazing because you really get to enjoy your time with your loved ones instead of worrying about paying off all that debt later.