Average age to buy into DVC?

Im curious to know what the average age is to buy into DVC because my fiancé & I are wondering if we bought in too soon. I'm 27 & she's 29. Did we jump in to early?

Short answer is, it depends. My wife and I bought our first timeshare around that same time in our lives and in retrospect it was probably too soon. However, we are now using the heck out of it every year and loving it, so it worked out in the end.

The good news is that what's done is done. Seriously, follow my thinking here. Even if purchasing was a mistake, and I'm not saying it was, you are now in a position where your gross revenue on a year to year basis is higher than your gross expenses. Depending on where you own your dues are about $6 per point and you can rent your points for $12 per point. So you are actually cash flow positive on a year to year basis. Meaning, if you feel you made a mistake by buying, you are not compounding it every year, in fact you are mitigating it. Furthermore, your question speaks right to the heart of the purchasing decision and is the biggest reason why I espouse buying resale. The lower the price you pay to get in, the larger percentage of your initial investment you can recoup should you change your mind. Hope this helps.
 
We are saving for college right now as well, and I think this thread has been misleading about the costs. Sure, a lot of good private schools and some public schools advertise $40,000 per year plus tuitions, however very few people pay full MSRP. If you are willing to put in even a minimal effort such as filling out a FAFSA and applying for private scholarships, then possibly receiving in state discounts, as well as other discounts available, you are probably looking at half that cost if not even more of a reduction.
For example I have narrowed down our list to two schools nearby. One charges $39,800 per year in tuition and my son can attend for $9750 per year automatically with his GPA and ACT score, and probably lower if we try for a private scholarship. Our second option is about $28,000 per year, but we would pay a maximum of $6500 per year to attend, so I wouldn't go strictly off of published MSRP's.
 
I was 33 and DH was 35. My boys had just turned 5 When we first took them, I was miserable being in one room and navigating nap time. DH want to go back every year and I knew that I needed a better way.

Fast forward 13 1/2 years, the boys are in college and DVC is paid off. I have more points than I need this year so I am renting them out to help pay for college.
 
We are saving for college right now as well, and I think this thread has been misleading about the costs. Sure, a lot of good private schools and some public schools advertise $40,000 per year plus tuitions, however very few people pay full MSRP. If you are willing to put in even a minimal effort such as filling out a FAFSA and applying for private scholarships, then possibly receiving in state discounts, as well as other discounts available, you are probably looking at half that cost if not even more of a reduction.
For example I have narrowed down our list to two schools nearby. One charges $39,800 per year in tuition and my son can attend for $9750 per year automatically with his GPA and ACT score, and probably lower if we try for a private scholarship. Our second option is about $28,000 per year, but we would pay a maximum of $6500 per year to attend, so I wouldn't go strictly off of published MSRP's.
Keep in mind that what you're eligible for via FAFSA and state grants is based on income. If the parents make above a certain amount of money, that student will be eligible for very little aid, if any. Also, some states are more generous than others. And none of this is guaranteed either. While we know that *currently* Federal and state governments have programs to assist with college expenses (based on income level), there is no guarantee that those programs will still exist 10 or 15 years down the road. And some colleges (Ivy League especially) only offer income-based scholarships, not merit. So really, every family's situation is going to be unique based on where they live, their income level, and where their child(ren) plan(s) to go to school.
 


My 21 yr old wants to buy now. He is planning on school loan payback asap and then getting DVC!
I am adding him as owner now to my so he can start reaping the benefits if he goes alone- my biggest regret is not buying on my honeymoon when I was 24.... before kids, before crazy travel hockey, private schools. I would have been enjoying it instead of waiting for the "right" time!
 
Keep in mind that what you're eligible for via FAFSA and state grants is based on income. If the parents make above a certain amount of money, that student will be eligible for very little aid, if any. Also, some states are more generous than others. And none of this is guaranteed either. While we know that *currently* Federal and state governments have programs to assist with college expenses (based on income level), there is no guarantee that those programs will still exist 10 or 15 years down the road. And some colleges (Ivy League especially) only offer income-based scholarships, not merit. So really, every family's situation is going to be unique based on where they live, their income level, and where their child(ren) plan(s) to go to school.
While what you say is true, if you research top colleges by US news, listed every year, even their number 1 university, Princeton (which happens to be IVY league, the report says 63.1% applied financial aid and 100% report that their need was fully met.
So my point was is that most people don't pay full MSRP and that is a true statement. In our case we don't qualify for FAFSA, but we do qualify for automatic merit based scholarships almost everywhere.
 
Im curious to know what the average age is to buy into DVC because my fiancé & I are wondering if we bought in too soon. I'm 27 & she's 29. Did we jump in to early?
My fiance' and I are 28 - we bought in last year. If you love Disney World and are with someone who loves Disney World, I don't think you can 'jump in too early' - especially if you have the means.

DVC makes the most sense if you use it and enjoy it. My fiance' and I love going just the two of us. We know it'll be a few years before we have kids, so being able to get in 5+ trips before that is huge in terms of value. Additionally, later in life, once you have kids and more financial responsibilities, it's harder to make that jump and put a ton of money down for DVC.

Enjoy it!
 


While what you say is true, if you research top colleges by US news, listed every year, even their number 1 university, Princeton (which happens to be IVY league, the report says 63.1% applied financial aid and 100% report that their need was fully met.
So my point was is that most people don't pay full MSRP and that is a true statement. In our case we don't qualify for FAFSA, but we do qualify for automatic merit based scholarships almost everywhere.
That statistic is absolutely true -- but to Mamabear's point, the 100% of need being met means that of families whose income and debt showed that they were financially unable to pay, their need was met. Also, meeting the need includes work study and loans -- it is not 100% grants/scholarships.
 
While what you say is true, if you research top colleges by US news, listed every year, even their number 1 university, Princeton (which happens to be IVY league, the report says 63.1% applied financial aid and 100% report that their need was fully met.
So my point was is that most people don't pay full MSRP and that is a true statement. In our case we don't qualify for FAFSA, but we do qualify for automatic merit based scholarships almost everywhere.

I totally get what you're saying, but understand that Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized student loans are also considered financial aid, so a student's financial aid need being met doesn't necessarily mean free money. It can also mean that the university was able to secure a non-private student loan for the student, a parent plus loan, etc., which will have to be paid back, not necessarily that they were able to lower the sticker price by a lot. I received merit scholarships for undergrad and a fully funded masters, and still graduated with some debt. I realize it's very possible to lower the sticker price, and it was lowered for me and my siblings. But I also have friends who graduated $40K+ (some significantly more) in debt and my brother is looking at a $250K med school bill. So, reality is higher ed can be very expensive and with the cost ever increasing (and government support to state schools going down in some states), it's not unrealistic to want to save a significant amount if you can (especially if you know your child won't qualify for financial aid because of your income). I'm sure my children will qualify for merit scholarships, if the school offers them. I know for Harvard at least scholarships are awarded based on need, not merit, so if one of our children were to choose that route, s/he would be on the hook for most of the sticker price, which I believe is around $60K per year (including room and board) currently. I don't even want to think how much it will be in 14 years...
 
I totally get what you're saying, but understand that Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized student loans are also considered financial aid, so a student's financial aid need being met doesn't necessarily mean free money. It can also mean that the university was able to secure a non-private student loan for the student, a parent plus loan, etc., which will have to be paid back, not necessarily that they were able to lower the sticker price by a lot. I received merit scholarships for undergrad and a fully funded masters, and still graduated with some debt. I realize it's very possible to lower the sticker price, and it was lowered for me and my siblings. But I also have friends who graduated $40K+ (some significantly more) in debt and my brother is looking at a $250K med school bill. So, reality is higher ed can be very expensive and with the cost ever increasing (and government support to state schools going down in some states), it's not unrealistic to want to save a significant amount if you can (especially if you know your child won't qualify for financial aid because of your income). I'm sure my children will qualify for merit scholarships, if the school offers them. I know for Harvard at least scholarships are awarded based on need, not merit, so if one of our children were to choose that route, s/he would be on the hook for most of the sticker price, which I believe is around $60K per year (including room and board) currently. I don't even want to think how much it will be in 14 years...
We will choose less expensive options for our children, but your reasoning in this post is sound and depending on what you want (paying for a Harvard education?) you could potentially need to save a whole lot of money. I agree with this post.
 
We will choose less expensive options for our children, but your reasoning in this post is sound and depending on what you want (paying for a Harvard education?) you could potentially need to save a whole lot of money. I agree with this post.
I certainly wouldn't mind if my children chose less expensive universities, but if one of the Ivy's is their dream and they get accepted, we want to be prepared to help them out.
 
Thanks for the discussion on this issue, I've been working on college savings, maximizing social security, IRA's and 457 plan options the last few months.
Well here's my alternative plan:

We have 2 kids, 5 and 7. We have $70,000 saved for college right now but we aren't adding any more. Instead, we are paying $5000 per month to pay off our mortgage in the next 10 years. We currently have $460,000 left on our mortgage.

When our oldest reaches college age in 2027 we'll have no mortgage and have $5,000 per month available to spend on tuition, plus whatever the 70k that's in there now grows to (probably 150k).

Why aren't we putting the extra in a 529 instead of the mortgage? Because I'm paranoid about a 2008 situation. I just don't think 10 years is enough time. If we invest in a 529 and the market crashes in 2026 we're screwed. So rather than investing in bonds with their 2.2% return (yield on the 10 year) we decided to refi the mortgage to a 15 year at 2.875% this summer. 2.875% is better than 2.2% in bonds. So we're actually coming out ahead. We'd only do better if we invest in stocks and I don't want to take that risk with such as short time horizon. We'll be able to pay off our mortgage and have enough money left over each month to cash flow college once the kids go. I'm a big believer in not taking more risk than you have to. And we don't have to take any risk to be successful.

Now, our 401ks are all 100% invested in the small cap funds, so I'm taking the most possible risk there since we still have 18 years until we retire. We're 40 now and will retire when our youngest graduates from college. That's another benefit from paying off the mortgage, with no mortgage payment we won't need to work after the college bills are all paid.
 
I was 41 and my wife 40. I went ahead and justified the superfluous expense for vacations, by reasoning that my income has been enough to pay all bills, while still investing maximum in 401k for employer matching at work, building a 7 home rental income portfolio, putting a small amount in a high risk/reward startup, having a sufficient amount of life insurance, having enough left for vacations, and setting aside regular money for kid's college tuition. The expense for the DVC was not a good investment in my opinion, but I chalked it up to priceless experiences with family and loved ones, and you can't put a price tag on that. If things start to go south, I figured I could always rent out my points to cover my DVC costs or sell it altogether, so the risk was calculated.
If someone finds themselves in a similar situation, or a situation that they are comfortable with, I don't think age has anything to do with it.
 
Well here's my alternative plan:

We have 2 kids, 5 and 7. We have $70,000 saved for college right now but we aren't adding any more. Instead, we are paying $5000 per month to pay off our mortgage in the next 10 years. We currently have $460,000 left on our mortgage.

When our oldest reaches college age in 2027 we'll have no mortgage and have $5,000 per month available to spend on tuition, plus whatever the 70k that's in there now grows to (probably 150k).

Why aren't we putting the extra in a 529 instead of the mortgage? Because I'm paranoid about a 2008 situation. I just don't think 10 years is enough time. If we invest in a 529 and the market crashes in 2026 we're screwed. So rather than investing in bonds with their 2.2% return (yield on the 10 year) we decided to refi the mortgage to a 15 year at 2.875% this summer. 2.875% is better than 2.2% in bonds. So we're actually coming out ahead. We'd only do better if we invest in stocks and I don't want to take that risk with such as short time horizon. We'll be able to pay off our mortgage and have enough money left over each month to cash flow college once the kids go. I'm a big believer in not taking more risk than you have to. And we don't have to take any risk to be successful.

Now, our 401ks are all 100% invested in the small cap funds, so I'm taking the most possible risk there since we still have 18 years until we retire. We're 40 now and will retire when our youngest graduates from college. That's another benefit from paying off the mortgage, with no mortgage payment we won't need to work after the college bills are all paid.

That's sort of what we did, but the mortgage got paid off when the kids were in elementary school, so we put the money into 529s.

My original plan was pay down the mortgage, then use the mortgage money and - if I needed it - a home equity loan - to put the kids through college. I figured that the house would be paid off about the time they needed it. But we got really lucky with careers during the dot com boom- and the house was paid off a lot sooner. We are semi-retired now - with the kids still in high school.
 
That statistic is absolutely true -- but to Mamabear's point, the 100% of need being met means that of families whose income and debt showed that they were financially unable to pay, their need was met. Also, meeting the need includes work study and loans -- it is not 100% grants/scholarships.

And its financial need based on the governments definition - which is pretty steep.

If you haven't, if you have college bills on the horizon, fill out a aid estimator like this one: http://www.savingforcollege.com/financial-aid-calculator/ Your expected family contribution is what you will be expected to come up with every year for any government aid. And for many colleges, that will also determine any school grants unless they have merit aid available.

Princeton isn't going to meet your financial needs because you went to Disney three times a year instead of saving for college. They are going to meet your financial needs because you don't make a lot of money. If you make between $120k and $140k a year, they'll cover 95% of tuition - you are still on the hook for room and board (room and board for 2017 is $13k, tuition is around $41k, so you'll need about $15k a year - not including books, travel expenses, incidentals). And Princeton is VERY generous and VERY difficult to get into.

https://www.princeton.edu/pr/aid/pdf/1314/PU-Making-It-Possible.pdf
 
I bought mine when I was 37, but I wish I bought them earlier. I feel like i'm playing catch up now.
 
33 here. Finally had enough saved up.

It's different for everyone I'm sure. Definitely could have invested more elsewhere or finish getting everything ready for college, but hey, life's short. Enjoy it while you can!
 
We first bought when I was 42 and DH was 55. I am like all of the others who wished I bought sooner.
 
We bought when I was 27 and my wife was 28. We added on two years later. I am happy we bought when we did since direct prices have risen so much over that time frame. The one regret I have is that we did not buy resale to start out with since we could have saved more, but not much I can do about that now. My thinking is if you can afford it buy it, but I would look at resale. My thinking is that as things change in your life (kids, job, etc) you may decide DVC just does not work out so well. If you buy SSR resale for instance I feel pretty good that you would be able to sell it back in a few years and get your money back out of it +/- $10 a point or so. Buying direct at today's prices may be a little harder to get out of in a few years without taking a little bit bigger hit.
 

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