The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

Here’s a crazy weird fact for you... the S&P 500 as it stands this moment is UP from where it stood in early Oct of 2019... (yes just 7 months ago)
I was looking yesterday and we're up 20% on some of the SPTM shares purchased 6 weeks ago. Only a small portion of overall portfolio of course but it helps the average purchase price.
The market has lost its mind.
I want to agree but every time I begin to think I understand which way the market is going... it does the opposite. Really glad we're following our plan put together years ago which automates investment contributions and leaves them alone because otherwise I would have probably done something stupid.
 
I was looking yesterday and we're up 20% on some of the SPTM shares purchased 6 weeks ago. Only a small portion of overall portfolio of course but it helps the average purchase price.

I want to agree but every time I begin to think I understand which way the market is going... it does the opposite. Really glad we're following our plan put together years ago which automates investment contributions and leaves them alone because otherwise I would have probably done something stupid.
Yep - love it! Make decisions based on a plan developed during a calm period - then stick to it through the volatility (and don’t react to the idiocy of the media’s obsession with the ups and downs from day to day). I enjoy just seeing where the market is at sometimes and due to my optimism generator (ie my brain) I can justify that every market movement is a good thing. I either made money or a buying opportunity was created. It’s all good to me 😃
 


Yep - love it! Make decisions based on a plan developed during a calm period - then stick to it through the volatility (and don’t react to the idiocy of the media’s obsession with the ups and downs from day to day). I enjoy just seeing where the market is at sometimes and due to my optimism generator (ie my brain) I can justify that every market movement is a good thing. I either made money or a buying opportunity was created. It’s all good to me 😃

My problem is always new purchases. Right now I’m trying to figure out what to do when my CDs mature. I had been rolling over 3 month treasury bills until the Fed lost its mind.
 
My problem is always new purchases. Right now I’m trying to figure out what to do when my CDs mature. I had been rolling over 3 month treasury bills until the Fed lost its mind.
I can definitely see how that's a tough call for somebody trying to manage their liquid funds and still generate a return.
 


I wish everyone who is pursuing FIRE the best of luck. I'm endlessly fascinated by it, I know others can & have achieved it, but I don't think I could pull it off. I've got the funds, but not the gumption to stick to a budget each & every year. I guess I'd just prefer to keep my salary & help pay for the kiddo's college, Disney & other vacations, etc. This covid-19 mess shows an extreme event & has been an interesting wrinkle to lots of people's retirement plans--with most that could retire continuing to work for now. For the most part my money has bounced back (still about 10-15% loss right now from Jan/Feb highs) BUT that's with me still pumping money into them & not withdrawing anything. And I doubt the worst of it is over. If I wait until full retirement age--just 13 years from now, I could live off my pension & social security, and my TSP (401-K equivalent) would just be bonus money. It's hard to walk away from that security. My job isn't miserable, and since I've been working from home these past 2 months it's almost a dream job...
 
I wish everyone who is pursuing FIRE the best of luck. I'm endlessly fascinated by it, I know others can & have achieved it, but I don't think I could pull it off. I've got the funds, but not the gumption to stick to a budget each & every year. I guess I'd just prefer to keep my salary & help pay for the kiddo's college, Disney & other vacations, etc. This covid-19 mess shows an extreme event & has been an interesting wrinkle to lots of people's retirement plans--with most that could retire continuing to work for now. For the most part my money has bounced back (still about 10-15% loss right now from Jan/Feb highs) BUT that's with me still pumping money into them & not withdrawing anything. And I doubt the worst of it is over. If I wait until full retirement age--just 13 years from now, I could live off my pension & social security, and my TSP (401-K equivalent) would just be bonus money. It's hard to walk away from that security. My job isn't miserable, and since I've been working from home these past 2 months it's almost a dream job...
You will eventually though. :)

In your situation though, I agree it's tougher in a situation like that because of the pension and relatively short time to retirement. Many of us pursuing FIRE have decades to a typical retirement age and no pension so the payoff of an early retirement is much more substantial.
 
We were contemplating retiring this fall, but are pretty sure we are going to work at least another year - can’t travel like we want to, so might as well work and save as much as possible to find our FIRE.
They always say to retire “to something” and sadly there’s not much to retire to right now. 😔

Working and saving more will probably benefit you down the line in this current situation. Still stinks though for sure! How old are you guys?
 
They always say to retire “to something” and sadly there’s not much to retire to right now. 😔

Working and saving more will probably benefit you down the line in this current situation. Still stinks though for sure! How old are you guys?
Very true, we also just sold our business about 6 months ago and are working for the new owners. So, it all depends how well that continues to plays out too.
We are 53 & 54.
 
Disclaimer: I know there is a DVC specific subforum but our financials/goals more align with the people in here. That subforum would just tell me to buy. :P

Anyone on the FI/RE side looked into DVC? I had run a few analysis on it years ago and we decided to shelve the idea until the next downturn as prices seemed pretty inflated. Well... a pretty significant pullback happened and resale prices have started to soften. DVC prices lagged the market drop in 2008-2009 by a year or two so still a ways to go but much like investing in the market, we're putting plans in place regarding target resort(s) and price where we'd be interested so the decision isn't made on emotion.

Our target would be to buy enough points to cover a 1 week studio stay every 2 years (using banking/borrowing). That way we're not locked in to going every year if something happens. My calculations put AKL/SSR in the mid 130's per night and BLT/CCV in the $170-$180 per night range based on that strategy (using 2020 dues and current resale prices). I have the math on others as well but they're not as attractive.

Are we completely crazy to consider this? It goes counter to many biases we have in the FI world (timeshares, extravagance, etc) so I have some hesitation despite all numbers saying "this isn't a bad idea."

Note: We have done our couples trips to Disney World off site with hotel points. With kids entering the picture though we don't expect that to be as realistic and would prefer staying on site. I'm aware of the Swan/Dolphin hacks but that's quite point intensive and neither of us travel much for work anymore.
 
Very true, we also just sold our business about 6 months ago and are working for the new owners. So, it all depends how well that continues to plays out too.
We are 53 & 54.
I hope you got a great value for your business. That is probably a decision you won’t regret (especially if it involved some bank financing for the buyer). Business transaction activity is in a really tough place right now! Doesn’t worry me specifically as a banker but will have an affect on my work activities.
 
Disclaimer: I know there is a DVC specific subforum but our financials/goals more align with the people in here. That subforum would just tell me to buy. :P

Anyone on the FI/RE side looked into DVC? I had run a few analysis on it years ago and we decided to shelve the idea until the next downturn as prices seemed pretty inflated. Well... a pretty significant pullback happened and resale prices have started to soften. DVC prices lagged the market drop in 2008-2009 by a year or two so still a ways to go but much like investing in the market, we're putting plans in place regarding target resort(s) and price where we'd be interested so the decision isn't made on emotion.

Our target would be to buy enough points to cover a 1 week studio stay every 2 years (using banking/borrowing). That way we're not locked in to going every year if something happens. My calculations put AKL/SSR in the mid 130's per night and BLT/CCV in the $170-$180 per night range based on that strategy (using 2020 dues and current resale prices). I have the math on others as well but they're not as attractive.

Are we completely crazy to consider this? It goes counter to many biases we have in the FI world (timeshares, extravagance, etc) so I have some hesitation despite all numbers saying "this isn't a bad idea."

Note: We have done our couples trips to Disney World off site with hotel points. With kids entering the picture though we don't expect that to be as realistic and would prefer staying on site. I'm aware of the Swan/Dolphin hacks but that's quite point intensive and neither of us travel much for work anymore.
We have DVC and did an add on in 2013 right before resale prices started going up a lot. I told my DH if they dropped like they did in the time you are talkin about I want to do an another add on. I don’t think you are crazy, I think it sounds like a great idea and unless you want to wait a bit longer to see when you will be able to go to Disney again.
 
I don't think it's nuts to buy DVC, as long as you know/want what you're getting. But, are you talking buying resale or from developer? Resale will NOT get the discounts available to those who buy their points directly from Disney (like annual passes). To get those membership discounts, you have to have purchased 100 points from Disney directly. And I don't know that Disney is lowering their prices, but they might be offering more incentives. I also think they will block resales from booking at any new resort that the home resort, so if you do buy resale, buy where you'd like to stay. And Disney points have expiration date (which sometimes is a good thing). I'm sure you've researched it more than I have...

For me, DVC doesn't make sense, but I don't especially care for the 'Disney bubble' & already have plenty of timeshares. The timeshares I have are bigger, cost less in MF, and are next to restaurants that I like that are cheaper/different/better than Disney dinning (I still eat at the park plenty of times too). I go to Universal about half the time, not just Disney. I've never stayed at any of the DVC resorts, though I would like to stay at animal kingdom once just to see what it's like. But have heard that they are generally smaller, and perhaps less maintained just because they are always filled.
 
But, are you talking buying resale or from developer? Resale will NOT get the discounts available to those who buy their points directly from Disney (like annual passes). To get those membership discounts, you have to have purchased 100 points from Disney directly. And I don't know that Disney is lowering their prices, but they might be offering more incentives.
Resale. You are 100% correct that Disney will not lower direct prices, only offer incentives.

Our biggest issue with direct is the 100 points as we're just not ready to commit to that many at this time. I honestly haven't run the numbers much to see if it makes sense beyond that because it's a pretty big jump from our plan (we're looking for something in the 50-75 range).
 
Joining In!
We are 33 and on target for FIRE by 55. DH just started a new job, and hopefully it will be his last one, but we shall see. At minimum, I hope he'll stay where he is long enough for his matches to vest... His salary increased by about 30% though, which is giving us a LOT more choices than I was anticipating. (darn lifestyle creep). When he applied for the job in November, I was thinking we would have no trouble just socking his raise away into retirement and get that FIRE date up to 50 (at least 52)! But, we want all the things!

So anyway, I'm here for extra motivation to get that savings rate up and keep spending down!
 
Joining In!
We are 33 and on target for FIRE by 55. DH just started a new job, and hopefully it will be his last one, but we shall see. At minimum, I hope he'll stay where he is long enough for his matches to vest... His salary increased by about 30% though, which is giving us a LOT more choices than I was anticipating. (darn lifestyle creep). When he applied for the job in November, I was thinking we would have no trouble just socking his raise away into retirement and get that FIRE date up to 50 (at least 52)! But, we want all the things!

So anyway, I'm here for extra motivation to get that savings rate up and keep spending down!

Don’t buy pork or beef, and you’ll be alright.
 

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