In my experience, overwhelmingly, old people lead awful lives. I want to be dead well before 94.
Luckily, I will be. My dad died at 70 and Iām overweight.
I have zero interest in getting old just for the sake of it.
2 Likes
Without taking a look at finances, I would argue living modestly now and being healthy has more to do with her current living situation than āliving modestly for years.ā You get sick and it doesnāt really matter how well you saved your entire lifeā¦ unless your saving yielded you to be a millionaire. Nursing Homes and/or assisted care will burn through your reserves extremely quickly (but once they do, the government picks up the tab).
Kids are a gamble though. You canāt rely that theyāll be there. What if you become estranged? What if they are they end up being less-than-productive citizens?
4 Likes
Thatās why you have manyā¦hedge your bets!
6 Likes
But if you have too many then your Disney trip just got that much more expensive!
6 Likes
Itās a balance for sure.
1 Like
Exactly. I have five. At least ONE of them has to turn out responsible! 
In their case, they lived modestly their whole lives. They were farmers. (Which also meant they lived healthily as well!)
Thatās sad. It hasnāt been my experience. My parents (mom, 80, dad, 85) are going pretty strong still (some health issues, but nothing debilitating or anything) for example.
Oh, so true. 
I think we all make choices. I was 47 years old before I ever took a week long vacation. I have spent my life saving money. For what? As my son tells me I have āabout another good 10 years or soā (yup- he can still walk). You know what- he may be right. I still work 70 hour days but I am going to go to Disney when I want. I do not have any debt. When I retire I will have a great pension (yup- they still exist) I am spending some of my sonās inheritance. Ha- he most likely will use some of it for Disney anyways.
3 Likes
Thatās how I am! We save in cash, we live well within our means, etc. Itās just SO MUCH. And compared to what others are posting, we arenāt even spending a lot 
Usually we do the national parks or other outdoor focused type trips where the hotel/Airbnb is the most expensive part! We do lots of free hiking, biking, sightseeing thatās free! Disney is way different for us! We talk about heading back to do Universal but will decide once we know how we liked Disney! Our next trip is likely Yellowstone, so universal will be a few years at least!
2 Likes
Umā¦
Well after that comment, reallyā¦he deserves it. 
3 Likes
Weāre in for about $7K for a five-night trip. I could never afford this every year. One and done unless I start making much more money, and I make a great salary now
3 Likes
LOL, my old man likes to text me pictures of his new RV or his new motorcycle and tell me he had to dip into my inheritance. So I text him back pictures of a nursing homeā¦
7 Likes
Then your experience is very atypical. Go visit an old folks home and see what quality of life the residents have. Itās mostly bloody awful.
3 Likes
Oooh, thereās a new one? Thanks for this, I didnāt realized it had been seven years! I love this series.
2 Likes
I should also say that the Jersey shore - which is notoriously overpriced - is fantastic fun if you plan it right, but I live here. I wouldnāt recommend anyone make it a fly-in destination. When you stay near any boardwalk, there is plenty for the kids to do, at any age. Same for adults. While Disney is $7K for five nights, I can get a Jersey Shore trip done, at its overpriced rate because of somewhat low-end hotels, for $3K easy. Weāve gotten Europe done, for six weeks, for about $9K
1 Like
The one my mom went to wasnāt too terrible most of the time. But it was still incredibly depressing. It was like being at a Summer Camp you didnāt want to be at. The staff tried to make the most of it, and my mom really got along with some of the staff. They would do activities all the time for the residents.
But it obviously wasnāt āhomeā in any respect and it sure as hell wasnāt āDisneyā
1 Like
Good point on the value resort. From a five-night trip at Wilderness Lodge in June to a value resort would save us $300 X 5 = $1500, taking us down from $7K to $5.5K. We didnāt even consider the value resort.
So are the value resorts clean, decently appointed, decent pools, comfortable rooms, decent commute to parks (in comparison to the deluxe resorts)?
1 Like
So, our first trip was at Wilderness Lodge. Loved it, nothing bad to say (well except for the price LOL). Last trip was at AS Movies which is arguably the āāworseāā Disney Hotel. Well, we loved it !!! Yeah itās much (MUCH) less spectacular than WL but at the end of the day, we just need good beds to sleep in and a nice pool and a food court and we had all of that. We were 100% satisfied with our choice.
8 Likes
Back to the original questionā¦I go to Disney every year because it is easy. I am a single, middle aged woman, and am intimidated by new things. Disney makes it easy for me. I donāt have to rent a car, worry if my hotel is in a safe neighborhood, or try to figure out where to eat. I take the ME to my hotel, bus to the parks, and there are things to do and restaurants everywhere I turn. Mostly, Disney makes me feel safe. Iām sure the amount of money I spend could pay for a trip overseas, but I donāt have the courage to do it. Maybe one day Iāll actually branch out and visit Disneyland instead!
10 Likes
Yes, but mine are far enough along in life that Iām pretty sure at least two of three wonāt fall into any of those categories. Besides, they know if they did, the Disney trips might stop.
I donāt mind spending the money on them now, rather than them inheriting it when Iām dead. Thatās not a choice everyone has, though. Iām lucky to have it. I actually did a fairly in-depth financial analysis a couple years back and it advised me to spend more now, if you can believe it.
3 Likes