In this time of trial and trouble, it is a good feeling to have a zero balance

[Lesinindy]

Just made my final payment on our cruise a little early because come hell or high water I am out of here in December. With the recent talk of cancellation insurance (which we bought) I don't have to worry about health issues, but did want to commit the money for my sanity trip. Is that a great feeling or what to have it paid off and now it is just waiting time................for ..........a ...........long...........time.

[CowPrincess]

Congratulations, that is awesome!

So now, bi-weekly or whenever, start purchasing a few of the extras -- so you get a little thrill once in a while to help make the upcoming cruise feel like it is getting closer :) Pinnacle reservations, a shorex, some OBC -- spread out over time, you won't even feel the spending.

I just bought my wine card. Now I know I'm going on a cruise :D

[Jojo's Mama]

Yes, it is a great feeling. MY DH & I paid off our Sept. cruise in May and wow...what a load off. We are now putting payments towards our (2)2011 cruises. Though, I am beginning to feel the pinch and wondering if I should truly do the 2012 given that our son is in his 2nd year of college and the tuition has gone up:eek:. However, I have not yet figured out whether my addiction has taken over my common sense. Let's see...mortgage paid, bills paid, Princeton University tuition up to date...I guess I'm not that far gone yet:p.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulaltions on making your final payment.

The next weeks and months will fly by and soon you will be cruising.

[sail7seas]

Congratulations!!!!

We never board a ship if the balance has not been fully paid. Thankfully, we always restricted ourselves to only doing things for which we knew we had the funds. In our earlier years, that meant lots of things we didn't do. :D

Hope you have a wonderful cruise..... you certainly are making wonderful plans for it.

[HamOp]

We never board a ship if the balance has not been fully paid.

I didn't think anyone could board a ship unless the balance was fully paid:rolleyes:

[brendaswise]

GREAT ... GREAT... U did it...
I just got a 0 balance on my cruise trip.:D.
for March 28, 2011....
Now I wait.... also :eek:

[mamaofami]

I didn't think anyone could board a ship unless the balance was fully paid:rolleyes:

My thoughts too. Maybe Sail meant she never boards unless the balance is paid off on her credit card.

[HamOp]

My thoughts too. Maybe Sail meant she never boards unless the balance is paid off on her credit card.

Oh, I'll bet you are right Carol! That never entered my mind. I don't have any credit cards.

[Kay240]

Congratulations, that is awesome!

So now, bi-weekly or whenever, start purchasing a few of the extras -- so you get a little thrill once in a while to help make the upcoming cruise feel like it is getting closer :) Pinnacle reservations, a shorex, some OBC -- spread out over time, you won't even feel the spending.



We used to purchase our Shore Excursions once we boarded our ship, but now we buy most of them online beforehand. This way we can spread the cost over several months.:D We prioritize the excursions that we have selected, so that we are assured a space for anything that is very important to us. Depending on the length of the cruise, the ports, the cost of the excursions, and the months available we may purchase anywhere from 1-4 different shorex at a time and avoid the month the final payment is due. As we seldom "drink" and usually have OBC, our parting statement is very minimal, and that encourages us to put a deposit (while onboard) on another cruise (or two), which gives us an OBC...:D

[sail7seas]

I didn't think anyone could board a ship unless the balance was fully paid:rolleyes:

My thoughts too. Maybe Sail meant she never boards unless the balance is paid off on her credit card.


Haven't we heard all about people throughout our society who have lived off their credit cards for years? I think they are the ones in the Bankruptcy Court these days. :( Many folks said "charge it" but never actually "paid it".

[HamOp]

Haven't we heard all about people throughout our society who have lived off their credit cards for years? I think they are the ones in the Bankruptcy Court these days. :( Many folks said "charge it" but never actually "paid it".

Yes, and that's so sad that anyone would let get in a condition like that.

[Taxguy77]

Always paid up to date. Bought old used cars and new cars but I always bought them, not the bank!
That's how we are able to have so much fun now!

[shandryl]

This is so true, people take vacations land or sea and put the whole thing on thier credit cards..........:eek: Then they come back.........stressed about paying the credit card/cards off...........eeeewww!!

The only thing I want to think about when I get home from my cruise vacation is...................**Booking the next cruise*** My motto is.......if I can afford it........I don't buy it. Sleeping at nights is important to me. Not having nightmares and sleepless nights worry about debt. :eek::( IMHO

Haven't we heard all about people throughout our society who have lived off their credit cards for years? I think they are the ones in the Bankruptcy Court these days. :( Many folks said "charge it" but never actually "paid it".

[ariawoman]

Made my final payment last friday but the bill wont come due til next month. It will be paid off as soon as it hits me though, as I've not carried a balance in over 10 years (on an interest stealing account that is, 0%s i'll let ride).

Ah wouldn't that be cool if we could find a cruise line that did like say, furniture stores, and did 0% interest until 2012? LOL.

Would be a whole different ballgame for some then I'd think.

It is sad how many people got themselves in over their heads. I got lucky and righted myself when i was in my 20s, so I'd not have to worry about that now. If i can't pay it off when the bill comes, I can't buy it.

Congrats for paying it off, it is indeed a great feeling. Now go buy everything else you need, so you can pay that all off before your sail date :-)

[shandryl]

Good for you!! Lesinindy!! :)

I am making payments for my cruise. I will have it paid off by the cut off date. My flights and hotel are paid in full. :D The only thing left is the shorex and my winecard/coffeecard/popcards and I should be good to go! :D

Just made my final payment on our cruise a little early because come hell or high water I am out of here in December. With the recent talk of cancellation insurance (which we bought) I don't have to worry about health issues, but did want to commit the money for my sanity trip. Is that a great feeling or what to have it paid off and now it is just waiting time................for ..........a ...........long...........time.

[Lesinindy]

Good for you!! Lesinindy!! :)

I am making payments for my cruise. I will have it paid off by the cut off date. My flights and hotel are paid in full. :D The only thing left is the shorex and my winecard/coffeecard/popcards and I should be good to go! :D
I have paid off the pre-cruise hotel, flight is paid off and now the cruise and still over 4 months to the day we leave. Thanks to DW I have the money in the bank and the knowledge to use it properly. Our charge cards are paid in full every month and she even canceled those store cards that now charge a fee for a paper statement. living debt free has made living more fun with less hassle. Now to buy the shore excursions in the coming weeks. To celebrate the pay off I am going to order that bottle of Baileys this morning.

[airlink diva]

I have paid off the pre-cruise hotel, flight is paid off and now the cruise and still over 4 months to the day we leave. Thanks to DW I have the money in the bank and the knowledge to use it properly. Our charge cards are paid in full every month and she even canceled those store cards that now charge a fee for a paper statement. living debt free has made living more fun with less hassle. Now to buy the shore excursions in the coming weeks. To celebrate the pay off I am going to order that bottle of Baileys this morning.

You sound alot like me!
Since the majority of my co-workers take their vacations in the summer, I pick up extra time like crazy! But the end results are very sweet!
I also paid off my December cruise early. I also have money in my cruise account for my car rental,hotels and daily spending. My shore tours are either paid for or the money in my cruise fund (for those they are paid at the end of the tour).
I still take two credit cards as backup on my cruises, but due to my budgeting skills, never need to use them.
I love it when my travel agent sends that e-mail stating that cruise is "Paid in Full" :D

[NMLady]

I didn't think anyone could board a ship unless the balance was fully paid:rolleyes:

Some people board the ship with the balance fully paid to the cruise line, but with a credit card that is not fully paid. Some people are still paying for the cruise for months after they return home, with credit card interest added.

Our budget is tight enough that we don't even book a cruise unless we already have the funds for cruise/air/insurance and know for sure we can budget for everything else without having an unpaid balance on our credit card after due dates at any time.
I have a lot of cruises on my 'wish list' but right now it doesn't look as
if we'll be cruising in 2011 or 2012 either. :( We've had too many unexpected maintenance issues the past months (roof repairs, well drilling, furnace repair) with more in the future.

[matondo]

DH and I opened a checking account with one of those offers from the bank. They gave us $100 for doing it. We have been putting money in and now it is sitting there waiting for the credit card to come due. It keeps us from frittering away the money in our regular account. It is a fun way to save for vacation and not worry about having enough to pay the everyday bills (insurance, gas, electric, mortgage and the list goes on and on).

[luvs2travl]

I have paid off the pre-cruise hotel, flight is paid off and now the cruise and still over 4 months to the day we leave. Thanks to DW I have the money in the bank and the knowledge to use it properly. Our charge cards are paid in full every month and she even canceled those store cards that now charge a fee for a paper statement. living debt free has made living more fun with less hassle. Now to buy the shore excursions in the coming weeks. To celebrate the pay off I am going to order that bottle of Baileys this morning.

Good for you! We live the same way - planned for this type of retirement all our married lives, and I must agree - it is a wonderful feeling.

Now - I must ask, where in Louisiana are you from originally? With that signature, I just know you gotta be from somewhere down here, cher'! :)

[ZachMary]

Reading these messages are a great inspiration to us. My DH and I took a Dave Ramsey class about 2 yrs ago and it completley changed our lives. We didn't have much debt - but some, now it is all paid off, except the house - which we are working on.

We paid our cruise in full when we got it. I love going on a vacation and know it's not coming back home with me - just the memories.

I lived with my Grandmother for many years, and this is how she always taught me to live. Wish more people in my generation would learn to live within their means, we probably would be in the mess we are in now.

Now I'm going car shopping for a new-to-me (used) car. Can't wait to see the sales guys when we tell them, no financing for us - "you take cash don't you!".

:)

[kakalina]

We also have it all paid off before we leave the house. Just paid off our OCt. cruise and are getting ready to put deposit on our March cruise. It will be paid off well before March. We have never seen any reason to pay someone else interest
Car is paid for, condo paid off, CC bills paid in full every month.
Ain't retirement grand?!

[Lesinindy]

Good for you! We live the same way - planned for this type of retirement all our married lives, and I must agree - it is a wonderful feeling.

Now - I must ask, where in Louisiana are you from originally? With that signature, I just know you gotta be from somewhere down here, cher'! :)
I was just a fan of the late Cajun Cook Justin Wilson. I loved his humor.

[trouble1964]

I did Dave Ramsey's financial peace class a few years ago. I have now been credit card free for 6 years.......debit card only.

I didn't know that you could make payments on cruises until I started reading this board. We paid for ours all at once. But then again, we can't really plan anything more than 3-4 months in advance, so picking one next year and making payments wouldn't be an option for us anyway. Still, it's nice to know that we can pay installments for that one day when we don't have to rely on the way business is going to know when we can take time off!

[luvs2travl]

We also have it all paid off before we leave the house. Just paid off our OCt. cruise and are getting ready to put deposit on our March cruise. It will be paid off well before March. We have never seen any reason to pay someone else interest
Car is paid for, condo paid off, CC bills paid in full every month.
Ain't retirement grand?!

You betcha!! We are now paying off our Hawaii cruise on the Zaandam for April, 2011, and will have it done by December! All we have monthly is food, utilities, DirecTV, gas, and whatever else we choose to do along the way. We even pay our homeowners & car insurances in one lump sum!

"Adventure Before Dementia" - I read that somewhere on these boards and fell in love with it. I think I'm going to 'steal' it & put it in my signature! ;):D

[NMLady]

... "Adventure Before Dementia" - I read that somewhere on these boards and fell in love with it. I think I'm going to 'steal' it & put it in my signature! ;):D

That ~is~ a good one! Love it! Another one I love is 'spending our children's inheritance -- one cruise at a time'.