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#204662 - 06/25/04 05:40 PM Thoughts on want vs need...
Brandy Osborne Offline
Platinum Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 660
KY
Okay so I want your all's thoughts on something.
I love London England, I was there about 6 years ago in college and have loved it and wanted to go back ever since. (tried to find a way to live there but that didn't pan out.) I am also wanting to start a family in the near future (next year or two). So I started thinking that wouldn't it be great to go to London with my husband before we have kids as it's not likely we'll get to go after . so I started doing some looking around (not on travelocity! ) and I figure it'll cost about $5,000.00 for the both of us for two weeks. so here's my question: while this is not chump change to us and also not something would sink us (we spent more than that for our wedding and honeymoon last year, which we've paid off), it is still a lot of money... is it worth it? Am I being silly (I haven't been this excited about the prospect of doing something in a long while)? Or should I sod off and just put the lot on a low, fixed rate CC and get on with it? for
my husband, it will take some work to get him convinced... but I want to go sooo bad. I feel like a little kid again and my Dad telling me there is a big difference between needs and wants. Thoughts?
_________________________
Practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and in fault lines change

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#204663 - 06/25/04 05:51 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
ChicagoGuy Offline
Diamond Poster
ChicagoGuy
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,577
Chicago, IL
Yes, $5,000 is a good sum of money, but honestly, does not sound like an excessive amount to spend to go to London for two weeks. Geez, I hate to tell you what we spent for 10 days at Disney in Florida 10 years ago.....!!!! So, from that perspective, I think it's fair. On the other hand, only you would know the ramifications..good and bad....on your household budget to do this. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on your situation and if you do this, what you are taking on. Good luck with your decision...i'm sure it will be good no matter what you decide!

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#204664 - 06/25/04 05:52 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Truffle Royale Offline

10K Club
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 17,395
And he's absolutely right. As long as you recognize this as a want and don't skip the mortgage payment to finance the trip, go for it! It's not good to start a family wishing you'd done something else. Post partum hormones can turn that into resentment. Who knows? Maybe the trip will turn out to be starting your family! Bon Voyage!

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#204665 - 06/25/04 05:54 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
gone Offline
Platinum Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 770
As someone who started a family right out of the blocks (okay before marriage--but its all good) I suggest you go for it. It is a wonderful opportunity. I do not regret my kiddos or starting my family at the age of 18, but this year is the first time I get to go on a real vacation (i.e. not visiting his relatives in Ft. Worth for a weekend, going to the zoo, and that's it)-- 10 years later.
If you can afford it, why not? It's something you both will enjoy together, just the two of you (okay now I'm day dreaming of how wonderful that would be )

So my two itty bitty cents worth-
GO for it! You are not being selfish, I'm in your corner girl!

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#204666 - 06/25/04 06:12 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Retired DQ Offline
10K Club
Retired DQ
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,766
Turnpike Exit 10
Oh, I think you should go, as long as it won't strap you financially. Have a great time!
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Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain

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#204667 - 06/25/04 06:19 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Brandy Osborne Offline
Platinum Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 660
KY
I'm glad i'm not being to crazy. i just need some other bankers to back me up!
_________________________
Practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and in fault lines change

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#204668 - 06/25/04 06:19 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
MackenzieS Offline
Diamond Poster
MackenzieS
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,722
Oklahoma
I agree with the other posters. Once you have decided to begin a family, then trips such as this may not become available to you for a long, long time. Children are a blessing, but they require a lot of money and sometimes you will find the extra cash you had to put back into savings may end up going to take care of day to day responsibilities...therefore, outside of smaller vacations, you might not get this chance again for awhile.

Good luck and I hope to hear your bags will be packed soon!

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#204669 - 06/25/04 06:44 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
bam Offline
Gold Star
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 419
Kansas City, Mo
Pleeeeease don't put it on your credit card. Low rates won't last forever. You will pay for the trip for the rest of your life.
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#204670 - 06/25/04 06:52 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
renniks Offline
Diamond Poster
renniks
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,162
New England
If you are planning on using a credit card to finance this trip, remember $5,000.00 today can end up costing you 10 times that much! I also love London, it is really a great place!! If you don't have the cash money, maybe you should think about a shorter trip, maybe 4 or 5 days. I know that British Air is always advertising packages for a 3 or 4 nights, including airfare, hotel, for a couple of hundred bucks!! That way, you would still get to go, but not "break the bank".

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#204671 - 06/25/04 06:57 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Snowqueen Offline
Diamond Poster
Snowqueen
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,289
dreaming of a warm beach......
Geez girl...GO FOR IT!! A dream trip with your dream man before you settle into motherhood. The opportunity is there...the funds can be worked out....JUST DO IT!!!

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#204672 - 06/25/04 06:59 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Brandy Osborne Offline
Platinum Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 660
KY
my thought on the cc is to allow us to go ahead and purchase tickets/ reserve room while saving/ paying off the purchases. this is not debt that would be out there for more than a year... but these are things to think about. I'm not sure i could do london in a week... for me it'd be a return trip, but for my husband it'd be his first time there.
_________________________
Practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and in fault lines change

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#204673 - 06/25/04 07:02 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Inquisitor / Sommelier Omega Offline
Diamond Poster
Inquisitor / Sommelier Omega
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,357
A Grant Wood painting.
Sixteen years ago this August, my wife & I flew to Alberta (from Dallas) on our honeymoon. That is the last thing we financed on a credit card and I don't regret it one bit. I believe that if you want to be a good parent you should start by being a good spouse. Take the trip while you still have the energy to enjoy it!
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The opinions expressed are what you can expect for the price paid.

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#204674 - 06/25/04 07:19 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
califgirl Offline
Diamond Poster
califgirl
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,355
The O.C., California
Travel is a gift to yourself! You deserve it. You won't be able to take a trip like this for quite a while after you have children.

I love London, have been there 5 or 6 times.

And just think, if you happen to conceive while you're there, you can pretend you're a movie star and name the child London (boy or girl)!
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#204675 - 06/25/04 07:45 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Inquisitor / Sommelier Omega Offline
Diamond Poster
Inquisitor / Sommelier Omega
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,357
A Grant Wood painting.
Quote:

And just think, if you happen to conceive while you're there, you can pretend you're a movie star and name the child London (boy or girl)!




Let me introduce my daughter "Pontiac" and my son "Drive-in-Movie".
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The opinions expressed are what you can expect for the price paid.

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#204676 - 06/25/04 07:53 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Elwood P. Dowd Offline
10K Club
Elwood P. Dowd
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 21,939
Next to Harvey
Fast forward 40 years...do you really think you will be sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair holding a a gurgling grandchild and saying, "I'm so glad we never went to London when we were young?"
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In this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.

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#204677 - 06/25/04 07:54 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Brandy Osborne Offline
Platinum Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 660
KY
not a bad idea... actually my best friend is getting ready to start trying for kids (i figure, let her do it and we'll all see how it goes ) so she was buying all these baby books and i felt left out so i bought one of those 35,000 baby name books, now my husband and i play the "what about..." game... so far all i know if that we can't agree on more than a few names. i can't imagine him going for london, though i like the sounds of it.
_________________________
Practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and in fault lines change

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#204678 - 06/25/04 08:34 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
HMS Pippii Offline
Diamond Poster
HMS Pippii
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,636
snorkeling in warm, clear wate...
We got married right out of college, got pregnant 2 years later, got pregnant again 17 months after that - had a kid who lived for dance (not cheap!) - in a nutshell, the first family vacation we had that didn't involve staying with relatives was when she was 23 and our son was 21 and we spent 3 incredible weeks together in the UK and Ireland. I wish we'd been able to do something like that before we had the kids too - my vote is GO FOR IT!
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#204679 - 06/25/04 08:38 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Snowqueen Offline
Diamond Poster
Snowqueen
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,289
dreaming of a warm beach......
Quote:

Quote:

And just think, if you happen to conceive while you're there, you can pretend you're a movie star and name the child London (boy or girl)!




Let me introduce my daughter "Pontiac" and my son "Drive-in-Movie".




LOL- mine would be Merry Christmas, Wedding and Birthday!!!!

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#204680 - 06/25/04 08:45 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
MackenzieS Offline
Diamond Poster
MackenzieS
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,722
Oklahoma
Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

And just think, if you happen to conceive while you're there, you can pretend you're a movie star and name the child London (boy or girl)!




Let me introduce my daughter "Pontiac" and my son "Drive-in-Movie".




LOL- mine would be Merry Christmas, Wedding and Birthday!!!!




LMAO! Mine would be Eve...as in New Years Eve!

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#204681 - 06/25/04 08:45 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Anonymous
Unregistered

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even if you put it on your CC and took 5 years to pay it off that's only $125 a month at 18%. Go, go, go! Post the pictures on BOL for us! Yes, we married people with kids are trying to live vicariously through you.

If you do some planning, you might be able to write off the trip if you are going to look for a job. London is an international banking center. Talk to your CPA to see what documentation you will need.

Or, do you have a side job that requires you to go to London to taste food (catering business). Or, are you thinking of writing a book and need to do "research on the London nightlife scene". If you don't have a CPA get one, just make sure they can represent you in IRS court.

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#204682 - 06/25/04 08:57 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
DawgFan Offline
Diamond Poster
DawgFan
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,678
United States
Quote:

If you don't have a CPA get one, just make sure they can represent you in IRS court.




Confident about your advice, eh, Anon?
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Opinions expressed are solely my own.

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#204683 - 06/25/04 10:37 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
CRAatBOK Offline

Power Poster
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,172
Further South than I wanna be.
Quote:

I'm glad i'm not being to crazy. i just need some other bankers to back me up!




You wanted us crazy banker people to back up your crazy idea?

Go for it and enjoy. I hope your husband will appreciate the trip as much as you. If you put it on your CC, make sure it is one that gives you points for your charges.
_________________________
Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.

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#204684 - 06/26/04 04:24 AM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Truffle Royale Offline

10K Club
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 17,395
Something just occurred to me. Does your husband golf? You can get him a tee time at St Andrew's, the Mecca of the golf world. Give him a lovely card with the tee time written in it and that get out of the way while he rushes to pack up his golf clubs and suitcase! It's all in the presentation...

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#204685 - 06/26/04 05:28 PM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Cowboys Fan Offline
Power Poster
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,615
SC
Excellent idea. My brother golfed there and you would have thought he'd died and gone straight to heaven (I'll never understand golfers ).

If this is something you really want to do and can afford, go for it. Bon voyage
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#204686 - 06/28/04 01:19 AM Re: Thoughts on want vs need...
Citrus Offline
Diamond Poster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,139
I absolutely love to travel! I have sometimes gone into a little debt to do so. I have never - not once - ever regreted one trip. I have only regreted a time I had the opportunity to go somewhere and didn't go. I have the most fabulous memories, and beautiful photos to relive the moments.
You don't want to regret not going while you're healthy and excited about going and able to carry bags and walk through an airline terminal and wait in lines, etc. You must go!

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