LendingTree survey - 45% of Disney-Going Parents With Young Children Have Gone Into Debt for Trip

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I just buy whatever I want and put it on the Underhill's tab.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

I just buy whatever I want and put it on the Underhill's tab.

Buying stuff is for losers

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I prefer to have minimal debt showing on my credit reports to keep my DTI low

That's a choice. But if you have enough approved credit, your credit utilization can be low anyway paying right on time. Especially if you have several credit cards and spread your purchases across the cards. I'd also rather look at the statements and ensure there's no errors each month.

My credit utilization is currently at 6%. Paying a few days early isn't going to make that much of a difference on my credit score.

 

[MisterPenguin]

An average of about $2,000 for a family (let's suppose, a family of 4) for a week at Disney.

Nowadays, that's cheap.

And easy to charge on a credit card (how else do you pay for plane fare, tickets, and accommodations) on the internet?

Since the majority are 'paying it off' within half a year. It sounds like normal credit card purchases to me.

Seems like Lending Tree simply wants people to know, "Hey, you can take out a personal loan rather than use your credit card!".

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That's why you check the statements, but auto pay also keeps you out of trouble if you happen to forget that a card payment was due.

Never had a late fee or missed payment and my credit score is over 800.

That’s very good…be happy you’re not “the norm”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

An average of about $2,000 for a family (let's suppose, a family of 4) for a week at Disney.

What year we in?

Since the majority are 'paying it off' within half a year. It sounds like normal credit card purchases to me.

You think that’s hard data?

Or “surveys” rife with “good intentions”?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just as a FYI, the current APR on a Disney Co-Branded Chase Visa card tops out currently at 28.24%.

But you get 6 months promo at 0% for any Disney Vacation bookings and purchases. (FREE MONEY YAY!!!!)

Hell…how many points can i get with that?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In general, over the decades, countless people have considered a Disney World vacation as a special trip to do at least once in a lifetime — and of those, countless then became fans who revisit, sometimes remarkably frequently.

And yes, for many people, experiences are worth more than physical goods. Especially experiences shared with loved ones.

By definition…if you’re repeating your trips it’s not an “experience”…it’s a routine.

And financing that seems not the brightest way to go.

There’s a good argument for “one trip”…not so much when you have the hook permanently stuck in your jaw.

It is what it is.

 

[Chef Mickey]

You’ve already got threads where you can continue your campaign against Disney’s current value proposition.

In general, over the decades, countless people have considered a Disney World vacation as a special trip to do at least once in a lifetime — and of those, countless then became fans who revisit, sometimes remarkably frequently.

And yes, for many people, experiences are worth more than physical goods. Especially experiences shared with loved ones.

You shouldn’t go into debt for any “once in a lifetime” experience, physical goods, or any fake justification for poor financial choices.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

There's no surpise. There's no great mystery. There's a credit bubble. It's going to burst. It is going to be very painful for some.

Credit cards will start slashing credit lines. The person with the $7500 credit line who owes $5500 is going to wake up one morning to find out that his line has been cut to $5750. His utlization takes a hit, his score takes a hit, and his interest rate for future purchases will more than likely increase. Including that Disney Vacation.

The current patterns are unsustainable.

 

[Dranth]

A $6,500 vacation on a credit card with even the ridiculous 28.24% APR pointed out earlier that is paid off over six months will increase the cost of you vacation by roughly $365.

Obviously this only applies to people who actually pay it off over a reasonable time (which was most survey respondents) but less than $400 dollars for a possible once in a life time trip isn't that bad.

Personally I wouldn't do it but to each their own.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

You shouldn’t go into debt for any “once in a lifetime” experience, physical goods, or any fake justification for poor financial choices.

You'll never get hired at "Disney Marketing"

 

[Chef Mickey]

Disney visa lets you finance your vacation at 0% APR for six months. Most likely what this is.

If you have to finance at 0% for a vacation, you’ll also be the type to not have the money after the interest free period ends. Why do you think they offer that?

“Oh, but’s it’s smart money management. I can earn more than that investing.”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There's no surpise. There's no great mystery. There's a credit bubble. It's going to burst. It is going to be very painful for some.

Credit cards will start slashing credit lines. The person with the $7500 credit line who owes $5500 is going to wake up one morning to find out that his line has been cut to $5750. His utlization takes a hit, his score takes a hit, and his interest rate for future purchases will more than likely increase. Including that Disney Vacation.

The current patterns are unsustainable.

Agreed.

It’s been building for a long time…torpedoes be damned

You’ll see a lot of business “coverage” now alluding to Individual financial “markers” and it’s portrayed as some kinda mystery how they fit?

It comes back to debt. But that isn’t sexy to talk about in any economy. It’s not warned about like Jimmy Carter famously did.

The problem is the US - in particular - is over leveraged. How we got here is complicated…but here we are.

Back to Disney…they’re an easy example.

What do we think is really going on with attendance in Orlando in particular?

Go with the simplest explanation: not enough people can afford it and the business is dropping.
It’s not politics or any of a dozen other excuses.
It’s that people don’t have the money or can’t borrow it.

Cause debt.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You'll never get hired at "Disney Marketing"

…oh I don’t know…afterall they once hired me for that kinda thing

 

[Chef Mickey]

A $6,500 vacation on a credit card with even the ridiculous 28.24% APR pointed out earlier that is paid off over six months will increase the cost of you vacation by roughly $365.

Obviously this only applies to people who actually pay it off over a reasonable time (which was most survey respondents) but less than $400 dollars for a possible once in a life time trip isn't that bad.

Personally I wouldn't do it but to each their own.

Credit card debt is almost never paid off that quickly. The data show that. Promotional rates exist bc people don’t pay off their balances.

Everyone thinking they can “beat” the system are why the system exists.

People with money just pay for stuff. They aren’t juggling 0% promotions and acting like they are financially savvy by timing markets to beat promotional interest rates and paying off balances at the perfect time to maximize returns. Doesn’t happen. It’s a justification for spending money you don’t have.

Now watch all the poor financial decision makers with no money quote me to tell me I’m wrong.

 

[Dranth]

Credit card debt is almost never paid off that quickly. The data show that. Promotional rates exist bc people don’t pay off their balances.

Everyone thinking they can “beat” the system are why the system exists.

People with money just pay for stuff. They aren’t juggling 0% promotions and acting like they are financially savvy by timing markets to beat promotional interest rates and paying off balances at the perfect time to maximize returns. Doesn’t happen. It’s a justification for spending money you don’t have.

In general I agree but, in this case we are talking about a survey where 75% of people did exactly that.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

A $6,500 vacation on a credit card with even the ridiculous 28.24% APR pointed out earlier that is paid off over six months will increase the cost of you vacation by roughly $365.

Obviously this only applies to people who actually pay it off over a reasonable time (which was most survey respondents) but less than $400 dollars for a possible once in a life time trip isn't that bad.

Personally I wouldn't do it but to each their own.

I’m willing to bet this reporting is “respondents”…not hard data driven.

Most will say they’ll pay it off next month when polled.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In general I agree but, in this case we are talking about a survey where 75% of people did exactly that.

Do people lie on surveys?

That’s my sticking point here.

If you ask people who they’ll vote for in the next election 50% will lie to your face as it stands.

People are always better at everything than in reality…if “surveyed”

 

[jloucks]

What I’m curious about is if they count using a credit card to pay for things at Disney to be debt since technically it is.

However in my case it’s paid off before the statement cuts, so is it really debt? I pay no interest and no annual fee, so I consider it a way to spend 3% less at Disney thanks to cashback.

That is immediately what I was thinking. If you use a credit card, you are "in debt" until you pay it. The article was sloppy in that it did not immediately and clearly define what debt meant here. Almost exactly in the middle, it finally did. ...at least 3 months to pay off (and therefore paying interest).

At least, that's my basic interpretation, it was not super clear even then.

The spirit of the article is that debt is bad, and debt is bad because of interest exceeding income from the loan. So, no, I do not think a debt that is paid off before interest accrues is not debt in the spirit of this article.

I mean, like, 100% of us charge our trips right?