10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

[gackle]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Plus, she'll feel better during the vacation since she won't feel guilty that it was taken while there was debt.

Speaking of feeling guilty, she just laid the guilt on me with your post. Sounds like the boss has won out. Thanks for your opinions!

How long have you been on BS2? Long enough to change behavior?

About 10 months. We're not "gazelling" it, but we are progressing on getting out of debt a lot faster than before the program.

[neatdesign]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Thanks, JanH. Our anniversary is actually in May, but we are already postponing the trip to October. We have not been able to come to agreement on where to go until last night - Costa Rica for a week at an all-inclusive resort. I think we could afford this in our current budget right now since all food is provided and last year I saw charter flights DFW-Liberia for either $79 O/W or R/T (either way both are a great price). I can't find the specials right now, but I'm confident they will come back. I think the extra money could be used to do some excursions though (canopy tours, volcano tour, scuba/snorkeling) instead of sitting around the resort for a week.

Aaah, Costa Rica! One of my favorite places on earth! I've spent a total of three months there, traveling all around the country. It is a precious gem of a place.

My husband and I traveled around Costa Rica for 17 days, and everything including international airfare was about $2500. But that was during their green season (August), we traveled by bus everywhere, and we stayed in sparse bungalows that cost $15/night. Those were the days.

Do you mind sharing where you're planning to go? What area/city, hotel, etc? And what you'd like to do there?

~ Jenney

[gackle]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Do you mind sharing where you're planning to go? What area/city, hotel, etc? And what you'd like to do there?

Hoping to go to the Premier Fiesta Resort on Gulf of Papagayo, about 20 minutes away from Liberia. Some of the reviews on tripadvisor.com mentioned canopy tours, volcano tours and snorkeling.

[Aleta]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

I also check out trip advisor. I also check out all of the areas around where I am staying. I always have a general idea of the area.

[Broken Arrow]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Were it up to me, I would have paid the van off first. But, I will concede that, to some degree, it is reasonable to enjoy life's certain pleasures even if it means to take a hit financially.

I think what the responses in this thread has shown is that, sometimes, there are no clear cut answers. Sometimes, it's really a question of what will work best for the both of you.

If all else fails, I do like the idea of re-considering a 50-50 split though. Perhaps there's a way to keep down the vacationing costs without compromising much?

[neatdesign]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Hoping to go to the Premier Fiesta Resort on Gulf of Papagayo, about 20 minutes away from Liberia. Some of the reviews on tripadvisor.com mentioned canopy tours, volcano tours and snorkeling.

Just did a quick Google for this resort and what I found more or less says that it's about $300/night (double) and is in a good diving area. Oddly, though, this resort doesn't own a website. I find that very strange indeed.

Personally, I would forget the volcano tours. They sound impressive but they're actually quite a let-down, especially the night-watching ones. It never looks like it does in the photos. Not worth your money or the time it will take to get from the resort to Arenal.

For a great canopy tour experience, you should head to Monteverde. I honestly think a visit to Costa Rica is incomplete without a visit to this nature preserve. It's worth it, even if you're only going for a day or two. Otherwise you'll just be staying a beach resort, which you can do in any number of places in the world. Monteverde is the jewel of Costa Rica, not to be missed.

~ Jenney

[gackle]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

The website for the resort is here. I did look on tripadvisor.com yesterday and they had mostly very good reviews. There will always be the disgruntleds that don't have a very good experience. Thanks for the tips, neatdesign. We'll be sure to incorporate them.
Wife also said we've got more like $15k left and will get the van paid off in October.

[zakity]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

I would do a short weekend celebration in May. You have plenty of time to work extra to save a couple of hundred dollars to cover it.

For our 10 year, we stayed in a La Quinta (includes breakfast with their rooms). We stopped and looked at what we wanted on the way there and took our time getting to our destination. We ate out cheaply most meals. We did go to a nicer place for dinner one night. We have kids and we just don't go to nicer restaurants (just isn't worth the money). We did free stuff (partially because what we wanted to do was free and partially because we could afford free). We really only paid for gas, eating, and hotel. We would have taken a cooler so we didn't have to eat out so much, but we were on the motorcycle and there wasn't room. We did save an arm and a leg in gas though, so I figured it sort of evened out.

[Aleta]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

I'm with you. I like the weekend deal myself. It's just enough time to enjoy yourself. Sometimes a whole week can be excessive unless you plan to rest some.

We did my high school reunion this year and just had the greatest time. We got there on a Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and left on Sunday. It was all planned and we had some free time. If you haven't done it, I'd really would reccommend it. It would be like a mini reward for what you are doing.

[fairy74]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

I vote for pay off the van first, go on the trip later (for many of the reasons that have already been addressed). Congrats on your anniversary and on getting debt free! Now, all I can say is with all this talk of Costa Rica, feel like taking all of us---hee hee?

[LuxLiving]

Re: 10 yr anniversary trip vs. pay-off van

Shoot for it - save like a madman and make it happen in cash so she doesn't worry about additional expense - save your allowance, pack your lunches, bike to work, recycle your cans, whatever, but take the trip AND pay off the van. The two of you working together on such a project should bring you even closer over the next few months - It's not til October after all, surely you guys can cut deep elsewhere or earn enough elsewhere (garage sale, ebay) to make it happen??