Buying DVC – A Millennials Perspective
I am a Millennial. I know our average reader and follower is not a Millennial and the term ‘Millennial’ brings on a lot of negative connotations for many people. Overall we’ve not been a group that has the purchasing power for something like DVC, until recently. Most of us have been ‘adults’ for a while now, but not necessarily, ‘grown-ups.’
We have some adult responsibilities, debts, and opportunities, but I believe it takes a little while and some life experience before you can have the stability to jump into a commitment like Disney Vacation Club. Seeing the price tag and being in your Mid-20’s, you think of the cool car you could have for $20,000 or a down payment on a house. You think about the student loan debt you could pay off. You think about possibly getting married and having children soon and those expenses. Even a huge Disney fan that’s in the Millennial age group might have already been to Disneyworld/land a million times as a child and would rather take the money and try Adventure’s by Disney, Disney CruiseLine, Aulani or a foreign Disney park like Paris or Tokyo. So, where can Disney Vacation Club fit into all of this?
Millennials lived through and observed a lot of the pitfalls of The Great Recession. Many of our parents, mine included, fell on very hard times through no fault of their own. My parents bought a house that they could afford at the time for an inflated price because all the homes had skyrocketed in price, but when the economy turned, they were out of work with a home that was now devalued and ended up losing it. This has caused me to be a little more cautious than I probably would have been in making a long term purchase. For people who are more seasoned with DVC or earn more income than I do, you can probably pay off your DVC in a few years, but I would be purchasing with the intention of taking the full 10 years that financing institutions typically price out because I can’t necessarily commit to a larger payment.
With all of this being said, why would I want to buy DVC at this point in my life? Well, first of all, I love Disney! I grew up going to Disney parks and living the Disney Renaissance and I want to own a small piece of that, even if it’s temporarily. While I love going to Disneyworld, I really can’t afford to stay in Deluxe resorts for vacations. I would have to limit my vacation to 3-4 nights at Wilderness Lodge, whereas I could stay a week in a Moderate or even 10 days at an All-Star resort. If I buy into DVC now, I get to lock in my current rate, use my home resort and also try some other resorts over the years, which would be out of my budget for a long time, if I paid per visit. Also, in a few years I will be even more established and earning more income but I will still be locked into my current price for DVC!
Now, for the biggest reason that I think now is the time for myself and other Millennials to look into buying DVC is our age. It’s the main thing we have going for us with Disney Vacation Club! Obviously, that’s not to disparage Baby Boomers or any other generation but, statistically speaking I should live to the end of my DVC contract if I bought any resort right now. Tomorrow morning I could wake up and purchase a resale of Copper Creek and confidently know that I should be able to enjoy that contract until the end of its term. Yes, I will be in my mid-70’s when that contract expires but in the grand scheme of things, was $25,000 really that big a deal for the value of having a piece of Disney property until I’m 75 years old? If I used the same money on a new car, would I even remember that car in 49 years? Isn’t this a much better investment of my money? Also, I feel confident in knowing that if I fell on hard times and needed to rid myself of my DVC contract, I can do that.
Furthermore, I think of the memories that I will get to make in doing this. Disney is always changing and evolving; j
I don’t think there is a more perfect age to buy into Disney Vacation Club than in your 20’s. You get so many opportunities to create awesome memories at Disney and it’s an investment that can literally span the rest of your life. You can’t really go wrong!
If you are interested, Monera Financial can give loans with no credit checks. So, if you see a contract you are interested in, you can use their calculator to see what your monthly payment would be. https://monerafinancial.com/loan-application/.
I too am a millennial (probably a bit older than you by the sounds of it though) and am looking at DVC. For a lot of reasons, I agree with your thinking. When you are in your late 20’s to early 30’s, you are probably at the point where you are just starting a family, and therefore more likely to continue to go to Disney for a while.
My one caution is to really understand the math. I don’t want to disparage anyone, but on the boards I notice a lot of people who are calculating the value of the DVC using incorrect math because it is easier to understand. Just because using a Net Present Value calculation is based on estimates and the logic behind it may be difficult to understand, doesn’t mean it is wrong. DVC and other timeshare companies prey on the Average Joe’s misunderstanding of the math.
The biggest justification you hear is that people don’t care about the Net Present Value because they would rather have the vacations than invest the money. Remember the choice doesn’t have to be invest or DVC. Think about this scenario for a second.
Take all of the money that you have earmarked for DVC (Purchase price, closing costs, annual maintenance fees, etc….), invest in some sort of long term investment (Broad market ETF’s, Mutual Funds, or even something as simple as a high interest savings account), and then every year when you would have traveled to WDW using your DVC points, pay in cash for your hotel reservations by pulling money out of this investment. You may be surprised how far this might get you.
Not purchasing DVC also free’s your cash up for something else that at the moment may not seem like a big deal, but in the future may very well be. Things like
– Loss of job
– Child’s education
– Down payment on a home
– Vacation’s away from WDW (From what I understand, RCI exchange is a pretty bad deal)
– Retirement savings
– Daycare costs
– Wedding (your’s if your not married yet, or possibly your children’s)
– etc….
It also doesn’t tie you into a vacation every year. You may switch to a new job where you don’t get access to vacation time right away. You may need to use your vacation time one year to travel to a sibling, or best friend’s wedding. You may decide that you want to save some money in a particular year to cover the cost of a reno on your home. Remember, the hotel cost is actually just a fraction of the overall cost of a Disney trip.
I am a millennial and I purchased in 2011 when I was 25. I had a job, car, and house but the capacity to pay another loan and the interest in taking better vacations. I was still going to spend a few grand on hotel rooms each year, so I looked at it as applying it to my payments for DVC and the monthly dues and then I could immediately start staying in nicer rooms. I paid my first (and then second contract) off in under 5 years and own free a clear and its so nice to go to the World a few times a year without a cash outlay for rooms. I don’t regret buying for one second. I wish I bought more points at 2011 prices…
Things aren’t so different from 25 years ago when my husband and I became owner 55 at Vero Beach. At that time, it was retirees buying in. It was a big expense for our young family to buy in. In fact we waited until our car was paid off before we purchased. What a wonderful investment. Our millennial children all grew up with DVC vacations. It was worth the financial stretching we had to do over the years. Now one of our kids has purchased to make the same wonderful memories with her children.
I’ve happily owned DVC since 2007- my son was 10- he’s now 22 and we now enjoy separately and together!
As Canada disney said- you don’t want to get tied in to a Disney vacation every year- you don’t have to- you can roll your points over for a year-AND there are 600 places you can go worldwide- doesn’t necessarily have to be Disney.
They are do wonderful about rolling points and even helpful when my mom was sick . They let me keep my points even though it had beef over the two year maximum for using. Disney is wonderful to work with AND many discounts just for being a DVC member.
Where else can you go knowing lodging gas been paid for for 12 years now- we just book and go-
You won’t be sorry!
I admire your logic in purchasing into DVC.
I bought into DVC in 1995 for all the reasons you mentioned! My children were very young when I purchased and I didnt have much money, but I was attracted by the idea of always having some type of vacation. As they grew, we visited Disneworld many times and stayed at resorts I couldn’t begin to pay for on a single income.
My children are now grown and I have grandchildren we now take on vacation too! We have been to Aulani and Disneyland too! I have done reunions with friends at Disneyworld and I could go on and on.
I always tell people it is the best investment I ever made and my one regret is I didn’t buy in 5 years earlier when it was in the planning stages!!
Good luck.
We bought DVC in our late 20’s and have raised our kids on faith, trust and pixie dust, more than a few Mickey Bars and a dream to send them on DVC honeymoons (still waiting on this one). We’ve grown up with them, and with Disney, through DVC resorts and cruises. Now, about half-way through our contract, it’s amazing how many memories, and how much history we have intertwined between DVC experiences and “real life.” It has been the loom of our family’s tapestry. We cannot wait to see what new threads and designs emerge as we enjoy our contract to the fullest. I can’t agree more with this article. Well done! And, we look forward to welcoming you to the “neighborhood.”
this was my exact logic the, i have a car payment but i started a buisneas at 22 and i used it for that and im paying off my weddimg as i made smart investments with my money i am going to universal this year and going to disney next year for my honeymoon and it will be my 3rd time in disney in 4 years! So before i spend another 4 grand I know ill be coming back at least 4 more times and if I pay it off in 5 i Have saved a ton of money! As a room at the Riviera cost $4200 for the week I would spend that in a year and still go to disney in those 5 years and pay just maintenance fees as saratoga springs is $6.77 a point so if 100 points gets you a week at saratoga so thats 677 a year even if they go up, a moderate resort would cost you $1500 or close to $2000 so your staying a premier resort that would cost $4000 a week, for cheaper than staying at a moderate resort at disney. You could also rent out points if you are not going to go which is awesome! And again this is not an investment this is purely about saving for future vacations and for the exact reasons you will pay so much more amd this would be great for your kids homeymoon gift and birthdays and general memories that you paid off when you dont have major expenses like a mortgage and property tax. Its really a no brainer if you plan on going to disney at least 6 times in those 50 years as its not an investment for you but for your family as well. So again it breaks down you are paying for a premier resort for 5 years in a row then after the 5 years you then pay less then a moderate resort for a premier. Amd then you get all the perks as well.