I am on a new mission. I have decided that there is something I want, and it’s going to take a lot of work and discipline to get it. I’ve figured out what I am going to need to do to reach this goal, and it’s quite ambitious. Quite possibly too ambitious for my means, but just the fact that I have a plan and hopefully an outcome on a set date in the future does make it all a bit exciting.
It’s no secret that I love Disney. And it’s no secret I visit the theme parks several times a year. Let’s take a look back at all of my trips to Disney Theme Parks just to give an example.
- July 1995 – Walt Disney World
- March 2002 – Walt Disney World
- February 2004 – Walt Disney World
- March 2004 – Walt Disney World
- May 2004 – Walt Disney World
- September 2004 – Walt Disney World
- Feb 2005 – Walt Disney World
- June 2005 – Disneyland
- January 2006 – Walt Disney World
- September 2006 – Disneyland
- January 2007 – Walt Disney World
- March 2007 – Walt Disney World
- October 2007 – Walt Disney World
- October 2007 – Disney Cruise Line
- January 2008 – Walt Disney World
That’s fifteen trips so far in my lifetime. Thirteen of which have been within the past four years. I think it’s a fair assessment that this is obviously something that is a huge part of my life and will probably continue to be so in the future. So, planning ahead, I’ve decided to pursue something I’ve wanted for the past few years. Something that will make my future vacations to Disney much easier and more comfortable for decades to come.
I have decided that I will join the Disney Vacation Club. During this most recent trip to the parks in Orlando, I stayed at one of the DVC properties by renting membership points from a current member in order to get a taste of what actual membership is like. And while the brief time I stayed there during this trip wasn’t incredibly different than my other non-DVC trips, there was just something that felt different about it. Maybe it was always being told "Welcome Home" everytime I arrived back at the resort that had something to do with it. I don’t know what it was, but it just felt nice. And financially, if I continue to go in the future as frequently as I do now, it would financially just make sense to join. Plus, it would make taking trips with my family (both current and future, whomever they may be) and friends much easier.
Naturally, owning a timeshare isn’t cheap. And I would be silly to think I could just phone them up and hand over some cash and join today, although it would be awesome if I were able to do that. This is something that is going to take me a lot of saving and planning in order to accomplish. And therefore, I’m attempting a pretty ambitious savings plan. One that will hopefully allow me to join the DVC sooner than later and soon enough to actually be able to enjoy my full membership before I’m too old to even travel anymore.
I call this savings plan Fifteen in Thirty by Thirty.
I’d like to save up fifteen thousand dollars over the next thirty months in order to put down a substantial downpayment and join the DVC on my thirtieth birthday.
Fifteen in Thirty by Thirty.
It sounds good in theory. But the reality of the situation is that this would require me to put aside five hundred dollars a month over the next two and a half years in order to reach this goal. I’m not entirely sure this is within my financial means right now, but at least it gives me a good basis to start from and something to strive for. And who knows, maybe it will keep me in check and keep me from spending as much money on some frivilous things. Either that, or it could cause me to starve to death.
If all goes as planned, on August 18, 2010, I will be able to proudly say that I am the newest member of the Disney Vacation Club and will able to book a 3 Bedroom Grand Villa for all of my friends and family to come and help me celebrate.
And even more importantly, it will keep me distracted so hopefully I won’t notice that I just turned 30.