Oh my goodness, I'd never seen her before, but went to check her out. That was just wonderful! Thank you for mentioning her. I think I'm going to buy my mom her dvd for Christmas. I had tears watching her. I'm not sure why. Maybe because she reminds me of my Granny who we lost 6 years ago.
She reminds me of someone I loved too. Maybe that's why I like her! But personal reasons aside, she's giving good advice on cooking inexpensive, basic foods -- and many of us were raised with convenience foods and restaurant foods, so we could use the lessons!
Yes, EVERYONE lives beyond their means at some point. Have you EVER charged something to a credit card and not paid it off immediately?
No.
Even when I was in college and when I was first married, we never once spent money that we didn't have on consumer goods. We ate lots of beans and pasta. We had old blankets over the windows because we couldn't afford curtains. We had one car between us. The list could go on, but you get the point. We did without things rather than go into debt.
Do you have a mortgage? That means you did not have the cash available to purchase the house you wanted outright and are penalized by having to pay interest on a mortgage.
A mortgage and a car payment are different. Most of us cannot have these things (at least in our younger years) without incurring debt; however, there's responsible debt and irresponsible debt. Taking on a mortgage that's proportional to one's pay is a responsible way of building wealth for the long-term.
And, just for the record, no, I don't have a mortgage. I own my house free and clear. It took 13 years of payments, making an extra payment on every single month. After 13 years we traded up to a larger house and paid cash. It's a very good feeling to know that every brick is OURS.
Oh, and those who say cancel the trip. If everything is paid for other than food, what good would that do? They have to eat whether they are at Disney or at home. Since they will ahve access to a kitchen, they can grocery shop in Orlando just as easily as at home.
No, they can't go on the trip as cheaply as they can stay home. They said they have tickets for the children; the adult tickets will still cost money that they don't have. Also, unless I"m very different from everyone else, I
always spend more when I cook in a vacation condo (less than I'd spend eating out, but more than I'd spend at home). On vacation I buy more convenience foods and deli foods, which are more expensive. We buy more alcohol, more snacks -- in the long run, it's NOT a wash. Vacation cooking costs more. And no matter what the OP may plan, she's going to spend
something on souveniers for the kids and incidentals (little things like airport parking, tips for the maid, etc). She will SPEND MONEY if she goes.
In contrast, she can make money by renting the DVC points, and she can get a credit for the airline tickets (and next year's trip can be a goal to work towards). She can MAKE MONEY if she stays home.
I have and guess what we did - We canceled a WDW vacation.
Know what? I have too. Well, I didn't have to cancel a Disney trip, but I had to cancel my 40th birthday cruise. It wasn't money-related, but other circumstances dictated that it was the best choice. We did lose money by cancelling, but we rescheduled the next year. I did enjoy claiming that I didn't have to be 40 'til I'd been taken on a cruise!
You can call that judgmental if you like, but she came here looking for help.
Yep, you can't come here asking for help, then complain if people point out the obvious.