Balancing the cost of cruising with cost of life...

[cbressler76]

Thanks.

 

I think I just needed to hear this. Thanks for the straight talk.

 

We do need more financial discipline... hubby and I were actually going to sit down this weekend to talk about budgeting and saving, so we recognize it's something we need to change. I have never heard of Dave Ramsey... maybe it's something we should look into.

 

I guess I am just afraid of going the way of my parents... my parents spent all their money on buying a house and raising us kids. They NEVER did anything for themselves. Now that we are out of the house, they say they are "too old" to travel. I feel guilty about this... and I think that guilt has turned into a fear that if I don't do my traveling NOW, then I never will.

 

His parents are the same way. They talk every year about going on a vacation... and they never do. Again... I don't want to be that way when I am their age.

 

Irrational... I am sure it is. But, I am least being honest about how I feel. And I recognize the root of my problem.

 

I just need some assurance that if we go ahead and spend the next 5-10 years getting financially stable, that we can still travel and have a life outside of being a homeowner and (possibly) parent.

 

 

....I always wanted to go to Europe!! .....but I have 2 kids and a house!!....(I'm 33).....I do wish that I could go to Europe.......BUT I would not trade my house and kids for it.... My kids are the BEST thing ever!! Maybe your parents feel that way about you? Also, I can go to Europe when they are older..... :)

[rlthomas7]

I didn't take the time to read all the responses, but I'll add my two cents. I was very lucky to afford to travel after college, I had some great trips with my friends and later with my husband. Now I have an almost two year old and I really miss the freedom of travel (which is why I'm on here, planning our family's cruise for 2011!)

 

But at the same time, buying a home and having money to fix it, update it and decorate it is very important too if you live in an area where you can afford to do it. It's a great time to do buy and programs like FHA allow you to buy with little to no down payment.

 

My advice is to still travel, but cut corners. Spending $6500 for a cruise when you have little savings seems crazy to me, and it's not something I would have done even for our honeymoon. So take that $6500 and spend $3000 on a cruise and put the $3500 into a house fund.

[live.love.cruise]

This is just me, but I would go on the cruise.

 

My mom and dad spent their entire lives waiting for dad to retire so they could travel. Mom always wanted to go to Hawaii.......she never got there, she got cancer at 47, died when she was 53 and dad retired 6 months later........

 

I don't wait to live life. I may have to tighten the belt in a lot of ways to afford it but I live it.

 

 

Wow....thanks for sharing your personal story.

 

Stories like this are the reason I LIVE for TODAY. Although I plan for the future (retirement funds & college savings acct for my daughter)....I'm LIVING for the MOMENT...because that is all we have...RIGHT HERE.....RIGHT NOW.

 

 

“Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.”

[Soon2BCrusin]

Wow....thanks for sharing your personal story.

 

Stories like this are the reason I LIVE for TODAY. Although I plan for the future (retirement funds & college savings acct for my daughter)....I'm LIVING for the MOMENT...because that is all we have...RIGHT HERE.....RIGHT NOW.

 

 

“Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.”

 

I think that's kinda been the general advice from most here... IF you can afford to go today, and not financially kill yourself for tomorrow (as you're doing with retirement savings / college savings) then GOOOOOOOO, and go now :D

 

"live as if you'll die today" doesn't sound like one who plans for the future to be taken care of. But I guess conversely, living for today doesn't have to be mutually exclusive from saving for tomorrow either.

[mariemorgan]

I have never heard of Dave Ramsey... maybe it's something we should look into.

 

You should really looking into Dave Ramsey's book or classes. He has helped soo many people that I know personally get out of debt and/or save a bunch of money. I took his quiz online to see if he would help me but I already pretty much do what he teaches.

 

http://www.daveramsey.com/

[awhcruiser]

Maybe consider a cruise that is less expensive? I own a house (no mortgage) and I would not spend that kind of money on a cruise...

 

Hi guys,

 

We board the Legend in 29 days, and I am as psyched as could be. That being said... hubby and I are already looking ahead to a possible Mediterranean cruise in 2011.

 

However, I am torn. Hubby and I are 24 and 27. We live in a beautiful apartment. No kids, and no plans to have them anytime soon (I am not even sure yet if we want them at all). We both have nice jobs that we enjoy... but we aren't making a million bucks, by any means. With our current spending habits, we are left with a little surplus, and it goes mostly to retirement and our "cushion fund". The cushion fund is where the cruise costs come out of. It also covers us for a couple months in case one of us loses our job.

 

That being said... in the two years we have been married, we haven't saved a darn thing for a house. Not a darn thing. We have the beginnings of a down payment, which he brought to the table. But, we have never added to it, other than the interest it is making in a high yield savings.

 

What is more important? Saving for a house? Or going on the trip of a lifetime? We estimate that the Med. cruise will cost us about $6500.

 

I have two fears:

 

a. That we will go on this trip, and again we won't put any money towards a house, so it will take us 10 years to actually afford one

 

and

 

b. That we will not go on the trip, we will buy a house, and then the cost of the house will prevent us from ever taking this trip ( I wouldn't want to cruise the med. with kids either) and we will miss out on memories and experiences that could last us a lifetime

 

In your mind, what is more important? Making memories and seeing far away places, or the pride of being a homeowner?

 

And for all those who cruise often (I want to be like you someday!)... how do you do it? Are there things that you sacrifice, to be able to cruise often?

[jfulcher]

My wife and I took a Dave Ramsey class at our church. Really helped correct our spending habits but we both made a lot of good choices like no debt. Take one of his classes our buy his book. It's all about discipline.

 

+1 My wife and I took "Financial Peace University"(by Dave Ramsey) at a local church. You don't even need to be a member. It's a few month course, but only once a week for a couple hours. Pretty inexpensive too. It helps you set goals in your life and budget your money so you can plan for vacations, a new house etc. I highly suggest taking this class - it will help prevent money arguments in the future. You'd be surprised as well how much money you waste on things when you actually budget things out.

[Soon2BCrusin]

+1 My wife and I took "Financial Peace University"(by Dave Ramsey) at a local church. You don't even need to be a member. It's a few month course, but only once a week for a couple hours. Pretty inexpensive too. It helps you set goals in your life and budget your money so you can plan for vacations, a new house etc. I highly suggest taking this class - it will help prevent money arguments in the future. You'd be surprised as well how much money you waste on things when you actually budget things out.

 

Yeah, my Church does the class for the cost of the material, which is 100$ It's a 13 week course, and is usually like 2hrs 1 night a week. Great class... My wife and I haven't had a money fight in I don't know how long (likely 3 years, since thats when we first took the course haha). It's nice...

[jfulcher]

You are basically on the same side of the coin as I am. I have been telling myself "right now is not the time to worry about being responsible".

 

However, I am worried if I don't become responsible soon, 10 years from now I will kick myself.

 

It's hard. My mom is pushing us to travel... hubby's dad is pushing us to buy a house. Both are basically in the same position. And I understand both points of view.

 

Thank you for being honest and in voicing the same concerns/feelings that I have

 

Buying a house isn't always the right move - I *really* urge you to take FPU and figure things out in your life. At the same time live your life now like you want to as long as you are paying off debt and not incurring any new debt. Make sure to set yourself up for success in the future. Being a homeowner is so much larger than just the house payment. Honestly there are a lot of days I wish I could go back to renting. If I get bored with someplace I could just up and move.

 

Dave will explain to you that the tax writeoff just isn't worth it - and that's the reason people justify for buying a house. Buy a house when you are READY for a house and not until then. A house is not a short term investment like a lot of people like to think it is.

[cruiserNC]

I am for going on the cruise the now.

My wife and I were married 3 years before we purchased our first home and 7 years before we had our daughter, so we could experience traveling exotic up front in our lives. The only problem that we ran into was that our friends and family at our age could not do the things we were doing at the time because of their children and now that we have a 3 year old most of our friends children are in their teens...something to think about. But we do not regret our decision the future is no guarantee so live a little!

[nrdsb4]

Wow....thanks for sharing your personal story.

 

Stories like this are the reason I LIVE for TODAY. Although I plan for the future (retirement funds & college savings acct for my daughter)....I'm LIVING for the MOMENT...because that is all we have...RIGHT HERE.....RIGHT NOW.

 

 

“Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.”

 

Unfortunately, a whole lot of people live for today and do NOT concurrently plan for the future. That kind of irresponsibility doesn't just fall on their shoulders. We're all paying for it in one way or another.

 

I personally don't understand the "you can be reponsible later" mentality a few have mentioned. These are adults we're talking about. They need to be reponsible NOW. What that boils down to is priorities. There is nothing wrong with choosing travel over a house if that's what is more important to them. That's not being irresponsible, it's choosing how one spends their hard earned money. But I would question spending "cushion money" on travel. Cushion money is supposed to be emergency fund (and most financial planners advocate having more than a couple of months living expenses saved; cushion money also has to include money for beyond normal living expenses, i.e. car breaking down or something along those lines) which shouldn't be touched unless absolutely necessary. We have cushion savings, which is completely separate from our "fun stuff" savings. Perhaps the OP does as well, and just didn't express it that way.

 

When my spouse and I planned our house budget, we were advised to base it on only ONE income. That way, if someone loses their job, you don't lose the house. I think that is great advice.

 

Good luck to the OP.

[jfulcher]

We are not in debt, other than student loans and car payments. No CC debt or anything of the sort. We always have extra at the end of each month. My concern is, should that extra go towards house or cruise?

 

Make cuts in your current budget and start saving more and create a vacation fund and a savings fund for emergencies and potentially a house down payment. The wife and I are currently paying off student loan debt and working to get rid of our car payments, but at the same time we aren't starving ourselves either - we put $ every month into a vacation fund, because it's important to reward yourself too for your hard work. Before FPU though we wouldn't have worked so hard to pay the cars off early and pay the student loans above the minimum payment though and just wasted $. Once our cars are paid off - no more car payments ever hopefully. I personally think I would plan a vacation closer to home that won't cost as much as the med cruise and make a long term budget for that med cruise.

[jfulcher]

Well, I'll give you my honest opinion on this. Since you're DINKS, (double income, no kids) I think you should GO NOW, while you can afford it, and while you have minimum responsibility at home. As you grow older, the obligations at home grow, and grow and grow, and eventually you get to the point where it's next to impossible to get away. You have 30+ years to pay off that home, so make your reservations and do it now.

I do, however, think you can make this once in a lifetime trip for a bit less money than you've quoted. A good friend of mine just booked the new Carnival "Magic" for a Med cruise, balcony in July of 2011 for $1500 per person. Inside cabins for $909. Do a bit of shopping, but I don't blame you at all for going while you're young!

Have a GREAT time!

 

"SKY"

 

I'm going to throw a little something out based on this comment for you to ponder whenever you decide to buy a house in the future. A 30 year mortgage is just a horrible idea. Budget and buy a house you can afford with a 15 year mortgage and still work to pay it off early.

[Soon2BCrusin]

I'm going to throw a little something out based on this comment for you to ponder whenever you decide to buy a house in the future. A 30 year mortgage is just a horrible idea. Budget and buy a house you can afford with a 15 year mortgage and still work to pay it off early.

 

30yr mortgage isn't "horrible". It's not the Dave Ramsey plan... and it absolutely costs you more money... but some people (myself included) can't afford a home on a 15yr fixed @ no more than 25% of take home because of where we live. So it's not evil, but it's not great either.

 

Now, if I up and move to TX, and transfer to my companies office in Allen, I can do that. But Then I leave behind all my family and all my friends etc...

[mom2isabella05cole08]

DH and I will both be 30 next year. We're fortunate for where we stand right now. We have two kids ages 1 and 4, no car payments, after we get our tax return our ccs will be paid off (we have enough in savings to pay them off, but DH works on commission so we don't want to break into savings just in case he has a bad month). Before having kids, we had a trip/vacation every year. Two years we went to Vegas with my FIL, and numerous trips to CA. Since having kids, all of our trips/vacations have been based on seeing family, which has really limited our choices to CA, OR, WA, and CO.

 

Now that we can actually start putting money aside, we've decided that even though we HAVE to take a trip to CA this year (DH's grandma isn't doing well health wise), we're still going to take a cruise next year. I want to have a vacation where I'm not so busy running between family members that I can actually relax. If that means spending close to 3000 on a cruise (since we're taking the kids with us and going on a 7 day cruise) then that's what we're going to do. At this point, we can afford to do that every few years and then have smaller vacations the years we don't cruise (although we're hoping to be able to cruise every year)

 

Currently we own three houses and I have my days when I miss renting. It was so much cheaper when we didn't have to pay to fix the roof, a/c unit, plumbing, etc. But, in 14 years when our oldest goes off to college, we know we'll be able to help pay. And when it comes time to retire, we know we will have the income from the two rental houses to help supplement our currently non-existant 401ks (DH took a big hit to his...and I'm a full time stay at home mom)

 

Now, we do sacrifice in other areas. We hardly ever eat out, we don't have cable tv (or satelite or dish). These were all things that we decided we didn't need in order for me to stay at home. I'll try to finish my degree starting this fall, even if it's only one class a semester. When my youngest starts school I'll definately go back to work (I really miss working and come from a family of work-a-holics)

 

I say if you want to take a trip, and you can afford to take a trip, then take the trip. I agree with others though about watching how much you spend. I know on our trip, we're not planning on doing excursions at every port, we may do one or two, but that's not the point of the trip. We want to relax and enjoy it, take it one day at a time.

[jfulcher]

30yr mortgage isn't "horrible". It's not the Dave Ramsey plan... and it absolutely costs you more money... but some people (myself included) can't afford a home on a 15yr fixed @ no more than 25% of take home because of where we live. So it's not evil, but it's not great either.

 

Now, if I up and move to TX, and transfer to my companies office in Allen, I can do that. But Then I leave behind all my family and all my friends etc...

 

Right I guess i'm speaking more to my area. With the cost of real estate for you guys out in SD I don't see how anyone affords anything! I've always thought 30 year mortgages were evil though - even before Dave. I took a 15 year mortgage on the house I bought before my wife and I got married just for that reason. I always thought 5 and 6 year car loans were horrible too and always tried to buy a car that I could afford with a 36 month loan or 48 month worst case scenario. However after Dave I think all car payments are horrible though. ;)

[Smithkids5521]

This is a very personal decision...so although I can definitely relate to your worries, I will just let you know my personal opinion here-

 

You mention that you and DH are in no rush to have kids anytime soon (and maybe not ever)...so what is the big rush to buy a house?

My vote is for the cruise! This is the time in your lives that you should be having fun and living life- which is why I think your mom is voting for the cruise. She realizes that when she was your age everyone was in such a rush to "grow up"- and then once we do we wish we could go back and have more fun! You already sound more responsible than most people I know that are your age (you have savings, retirement plans, etc).

 

I own my home and have 2 kids...and while I absolutely adore my children I really wish I had done more travelling before we started our family and bought a house. Now, while we have the money to do some travelling/vacations, most of our xtra money goes into the house (remodel kitchen, new deck, etc) or the kids (XBox 360, Barbie Dream house...on and on...) and our vacations are planned around school and work schedules.

 

Another point to think about is you really don't need much money now a days to buy a home (especially not for 1st time homebuyers). Of course, the larger your down payment- the better. But there are many programs (FHA loans only require 3 % of the price as down payment, there are piggyback loan programs, etc...). Don't think you have to eat Raman noodles and PB&J for every meal in order to save for a house.

 

Whew...ok, I'll step down off the soap box now. My point was this- go have some fun while you are young and able. Like one poster mentioned- you never know what will happen tomorrow. Some of us may not be here on this Earth when the sun rises tomorrow. Go make your memories now...and when you 2 are ready to start a family or when you have done the things on your bucket list- get a realtor and find a house.

 

Take care,

Diana :)

[Kurbanfan]

I'm no financial planner, but I'd like to pass this on to you.

 

My husband and I bought our first home a little over a year ago. We bought a home that we could well afford on considerably less than our current income.

 

We did this 1) so that we could still spend money on other things we enjoy in life and not be working just to pay for the house, and 2) So we have a better chance of still being able to afford the house, should our incomes be reduced.

 

Our solution is basically to have the house and still be able to travel. We take several vacations every year, but never spend $6500 on one trip.

 

Best of luck to you in your decision. :)

 

Awesome! And this is what our kids are doing.......

 

OP seriously with interest rates so low right now use the money towards a down payment.......your mortgage payment will probably be the same or less then your rent payment.......and with no kids in the near future you will be able to have your cake and eat it too:)

Good luck!

[brooklynfc]

This is just me, but I would go on the cruise.

 

My mom and dad spent their entire lives waiting for dad to retire so they could travel. Mom always wanted to go to Hawaii.......she never got there, she got cancer at 47, died when she was 53 and dad retired 6 months later........

 

I don't wait to live life. I may have to tighten the belt in a lot of ways to afford it but I live it.

 

 

My grandmother was never one to shy away from vacationing. She was a real go getter. She said, " I earn the money and I will spend it the way I want to."

 

My mom and her planned on taking a cruise while she was in remission, but the cancer came back abruptly and harder than ever. They canceled the cruise and that following April, she passed away.

 

My mom has always been a practical person. Budgeting, coupons, all of it. I guess I get my my "money control" issues from her. But I also noticed that b/c she was always worried about it she never did anything fun with her money, that she def earns being a 1st grade teacher. And I don't want to be that way either.

 

I'm taking her on the cruise she never got with her mother this June. I'm paying. I budgeted the money to afford it and planned very carefully (I have an excel sheet of my bills, lol). I'm going to give her a little taste of what being a little in-practical is like and spend some time with my mom while I have the chance.

[soozles]

Here's my single 24 year old take on it. If you want to travel to Europe, great. You can actually do it pretty cheaply, but a cruise is not the most economical way to see Europe or the Mediterranean. I went to the Med. in the summer, spent about 5 or 6 weeks traveling around Europe, and I spent $5000 total, that includes my flights there, transportation there, hotels/hostels, and food. This was about 2 and a half years ago, so fairly recently. Personally, I don't feel like a cruise is the best way to see Europe anyway, I'll cruise anywhere and it's my favorite vacation, but I won't cruise in Europe.

 

If you like the fact that it's minimal planning with how you're getting to different cities, and not needing to worry about where you'll be staying each night, and seeing the Med. is your main priority, then check out some tour groups, Contiki is a good one for young adults, 18 to 30 somethings. That's how I went to Europe the first time, and it's pretty much hassle free and more affordable than a cruise. Course, if you're set on a cruise to Europe, then obviously a land tour won't mean much.

[lettienets]

....... my parents spent all their money on buying a house and raising us kids. They NEVER did anything for themselves. Now that we are out of the house, they say they are "too old" to travel. I feel guilty about this... and I think that guilt has turned into a fear that if I don't do my traveling NOW, then I never will.

 

His parents are the same way. They talk every year about going on a vacation... and they never do.......

People choose how to live their lives.

 

People who say they will travel someday, I don't think they are really travellers. People who want to travel find a way, even if it is cheap like camping, backpacking etc.

 

People who know how to budget can make savings and look forward to a trip.

[dickinson]

Nothing wrong with planning a vacation but you really can not afford $6500. You are bankrupting your future in order to live for today. You should be putting money away for whatever you want in the future whether it is kids, home, more vacations etc and taking less expensive vacations. Before you know it you will be of retirement age. There are no loans for retirement like there is for college. You don't want a mortgage when you are no longer working. Don't spend all your money now because you may not live to enjoy it later. Life is a balance. You live for today but you HAVE to plan for the future too.

[VeggieCruzer]

Personally, I'm 37 DH is 40, we have five kids and we travel as much as possible. It was easier without kids when we were younger (and single) BUT it's worth more than anything else you can buy as far as I'm concerned.

 

Now I also live in SoCal where houses are ridiculously expensive - ($895,000 for a 2 bed 1 bath 850 sq ft anyone???? 1.6 million for 3 beds, 2 baths????) so if I was choosing between traveling and 9K a month in mortgage, taxes, etc. there'd be no question that I'd choose traveling. I don't know if things are that expensive where you live but take into consideration that your payments are more than the mortgage, you need to pay taxes, dues (Sometimes) upkeep, etc.

 

Another thing - I always knew that I wanted to travel while I was young and can do things and really experience everything. Believe me, when I'm older I will totally travel and cruise and kick back and enjoy it but I want to hang from ziplines, ride camels, hike the Himalayans, etc. and those are things that may be more difficult in 30 years. We are going to see the pyramids next Feb (my dream since childhood) and then going to Antarctica the year after (that's going to take some serious saving).

 

Another thing - and I don't mean this to sound judgemental, but $6500 is not a terribly high amount to save in 2 years. You can do that by not eating out as much, not buying things you don't NEED. I think the other replies you got about learning to manage money are good ones. Plus, it's better to learn it now than later because then you'll have less time to catch-up.

 

Our extra money goes to two things - retirement and travel

 

Ultimately - you don't know if you'll be around for retirement because anything can happen AND no one can tell you what your priorities should be because you know yourself best of all.

[HowTheWestWasFun]

I say heck with the house for now, you dont have any children. You're only young once, have fun while you can, before you settle down.

[halos]

When my spouse and I planned our house budget, we were advised to base it on only ONE income. That way, if someone loses their job, you don't lose the house. I think that is great advice.

 

Good luck to the OP.

 

I agree one million percent!!!!!

I got married young. My DH and I were 21 and 22 years old at the time. We bought our first house one year after being married. Tossing money away in rent seemed totally stupid to us (and still does).

 

We both made very nice money at the time we were looking for a house. We were told that we could afford $1500 a month in mortgage payment.

:eek:

This was 1983...$1500 was a LOT of money for a mortgage payment back then (at least it seemed like that to us).

My Mom had always told me to only take on a mortgage that one salary could handle just in case something happened. It was one of the many good pieces of advice she gave me over the years and I am grateful that we listened. We bought a fixer-upper at a low cost. Our mortgage was 1/3 of what they told us we could afford. We fixed and expanded this little cape cod and 13 years later, sold it at a huge profit and moved into a really nice home, twice the size. Patience paid off.

During that 13 years in the first house, we started a family and I had to stop working full time, which cut our income considerably. I was glad our mortgage was so low. I was glad we didn't bite off more than we could chew.

We've since bought a third home..even bigger than the second. Each house was a nice investment. To the poster who said buying isn't a smart move, I'd say I have to disagree....tossing money away in rent seems like a bad choice to me.

 

There are plusses to spending all your money on vacations while you're young, but you will pay in the end.

The dues have to be paid one way or another, at one time or another.

 

I am a firm believer that vactioning should be a priority (for mental health) ....it's what you spend that's in question. You need to decide what your priorities are and hope that it coincides with the priorities you'll have years down the road.

 

Maybe a 'home' isn't as important to some as it is me though.....to me, my home is very important. Whether it's a little fixer-upper or something new and large makes no difference, but if I'm paying money for it every month, I want it to belong to me, not someone else.