Some time ago, ex-hubby called and said we "needed to revisit some long-buried converstations"...uh??
Turns out he wanted to talk to me about:
1. A promise he never fulfilled (and, in my mind, I just thought: which one of them all??-- lucky I decided not to say it!)
2. His airline employee ticket benefits will end next year and, he will save 2 (space available) tickets for Ale and myself to go to Disney if we want to. Now, mind you, he isn't Ale's dad (warning, because if he were, this next thing would be petty!)...I have to pay for the tickets...about $300/each (taxes and fees INCLUDED)...which is a lot less than the regular fares from ES to Miami, which generally fluctuate between $599 and $649 (tax and fees NOT included! which means they come up to $750-$875!)..
so, it's a good deal...the problem, of course, is: it takes more than plane tickets to get there!!!...I've been doing numbers and, I estimate I'd need at least $1,300 (including plane tickets!) to even consider it a go...Ale, of course, thinks we can make it...I'm not so sure...
Mainly, I'm still having trouble paying down debt...I expect to "catch up" in November, and, be up to date with everything + pay a cc in full...but, that will leave only about $45/month (which is my current minimum payment on that cc, and which I'll allocate to other payments starting Dec 2007)...
I've investigated and, the best dates for us (based on school schedule and potential flight availability) would be:
Between March 13-19
May 1-5
Between June 21-28
June would be my preferred option:
1. Ale is on vacation
2. Her birthday is June 26. It would be cool if this were our last day at the parks!
3. It's further away= more time to save
4. I receive a small bonus in June
The problem? ex-hubby said ticket benefits end June 2008...so I don't know if that means:
1.tickets must be purchased before June 1st
2. tickets must be purchased before June 30th
3. tickets must be used (travel finished) by June 1st
4. tickets must be used (travel finished) by June 30th.
I've already asked about this and also about the exact price (since we are space available, price isn't subject to seasonal changes!)
So far, we have $121 in our Disney account (which I set up back in 2004, and should be nearing the $1K mark, but I had to take out the money to pay down debt about a year ago!) and the ~$12/pay period from my salary increase ....and I have decided that the package of translations to be paid at $0.03 go towards this, too...I estimate all these would get me to the $600 mark (once collected)...so, I'd have the plane tickets...Have to find a way to earn the rest!
Of course, the REAL challenge is to do THIS while keeping the same targets I had for paying my debts!! (which is why I added the other ticker ABOVE the Disney one!)
Keep tuned for updates!
About that trip to Disney....
September 6th, 2007 at 09:48 pm
September 6th, 2007 at 10:27 pm 1189114063
September 6th, 2007 at 10:36 pm 1189114609
September 7th, 2007 at 01:30 am 1189125006
miclason - I haven't been following your story, so I don't know what your debt consists of. I'll refrain from giving an opinion on whether or not you should be planning and saving for a Disney trip (or any other trip) while still in debt. Only you know what you are comfortable with and what you can truly afford. I'll just say that Disney World isn't going anywhere. It will still be there in a year or two or five if that's when your finances will be in better shape.
September 7th, 2007 at 05:43 pm 1189183432
As I said: my debt repayment plan is set and, I will adhere to it...if there is more money, it'll go to the trip fund...if not...too bad!...I guess it will all depend on the toy and school supply season and/or any extra translations/admin work that comes my way...I figure worst case scenario June 2008 will find me with $300-$500 saved in that account and we cannot take the trip but, at least have a starter on the $$$ we would need!...((Plus, there's a rumor that an LCC- Low Cost Carrier- is coming into Central America...that would certainly change the price of "space positive" plane tickets!!!...
Right now, most of my debt comes from 3 personal loans...2 of them I will finish paying next year (I just made the last payment on a 4th one, so that leaves me $69 each month, to be allocated to the next largest/more expensive creditor)...