BIG disappointment....what should we do?

[Xhausted]

Hi,
Just wanted you to know my heart goes out to ya!---
but if everything is paid for then go ahead and use this opportunity to enjoy family time...I think it would be a double whammy to DH if you cancel trip too...He is already dealing with the feelings of losing his job...Let him go on vacation, come back home refreshed and relaxed to go look for a job not tense and edgy because he thought he cheated his family out of something they had been planning to do.
Just be honest with the kids about the situation and adjust park spending on souvenirs and extras.

and just in case you hadn't thought about it... if your hubby takes a few resumes and goes on a job interview while there I think you can write part of the trip off on your taxes next year.....check with your tax man about that.. but it would bring some of the money back in house.

Good Luck, we'll be praying for you here,
X

 

[rockyne]

I am so aorry for your family!
I was laid off last fall in October. We had planned our trip for this fall. Went back and forth whether to go ahead or cancel. But, better things were around the bend. I ended up getting a better job with a better company, and raise to boot! Needless to say we are still going to the World this fall.
I guess the moral to this story is...you never know what will happen in the future. You, your husband, or any one of your family may not be here in a year or so. If the trip is paid for go ahead and go. You may not have a lot of spending money, but you have a 50/50 chance that things will get better! Be Optimistic!!! I bet your hubby is great at what he does, and things will work out for the best.
Your family will be in my prayers, and good luck!
Rockyne

 

[pats]

I think you should check into getting your money back..and if you would lose money on the tix and such i would go anyway. I agree with the people who said cut back on food..eat breakfast and dinner each day. Food in the room works for kids. And a couple days just laying by the pool at the hotel would be wonderful!!

 

[Mrs.Tigger]

Mrs. Pixie Dust -

My hubby was just laid off 7/31 - one of 235 permanent layoffs. So...no job. The plane tickets were purchased courtesy of a voucher for agreeing to get booted off an overbooked flight on our last trip, the room was paid for, and all we had left to get was the park tickets.

I was like you - wanting to cancel, worried about the future. It was the meals, the tickets, the amount we were likely to spend OVER and above that was worrying me.

My husband INSISTED that we should go and have a great time. That if he gets a new job, we don't know where it will be, what the family will go thru (perhaps a move) and when we will be able to do this again.

It took me a couple days of thinking - but he's right! We don't know where we will be a few months from now, but kids have a way of living in the present. We will be there 8/25 - 9/2...(I don't know who is more excited, me or my family - OK, I admit - it's me!)

GO, GO, GO....Grab the present. You just don't know when you will have this chance again. But, budget the meals. We are renting a cooler and eating breakfasts at our room, then eating our big meal at about 2:30 (which is better for you anyway, and if you want to splurge on a sitdown meal, gives you lunch prices!), and then getting a snack in the evening. You won't forget that he's laid off...but you can make the best of it.
GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

If you have plenty of $$$$ in the bank and your trip is already paid in full--then GO.

If there's not much money in the bank and you can't get most of your money back, but can shorten the trip without too much $$ airfare penalize--then GO. Just need to budget the money once you're in disney.

If there's not much money in the bank and can get most (hopefully ALL) your money back--I wouldn't go. WDW will be there tomorrow and always waiting. I know family time is very precious and making happy memories are very precious, BUT if it's going to put a lot of burden to you and your husband as far as financial, then it's not worth the headache to go cause if you go and come back from the trip, the financial burden will still be there.

I'm so sorry about your husband's lay-off. I hope things will get better. I hope you guys get to go to WDW and hope that there will be enough money to cover whatever bills there are.

 

[tarmand]

mrs.pixiedust,

My husband and I have no kids and are early 30ish, so what we would do may not be appropriate for your family. I asked him his opinion and we both agreed that you should go. We feel that if everything is paid for you should go and enjoy yourselves. We have been married eight years and every year take a vacation or two or three. Sometimes we have the money, other times we don't and we charge it on low interest credit cards. Vacation time is just that important to us. Don't get me wrong, I don't suggest that you charge any part of this vacation. When we do it, we always pay it off during the low interest period. Just judge what is important to you. I'm not talking choosing WDW over food and shelter. If your financial situation were that bad I can't imagine that you would still even consider taking this trip. If you are leaning toward not going, can't you get a refund on your room? You could try to sell your tickets to someone you know that is going. But, I'm sure being a great budgeter, you got the best rate on your tickets meaning they are non-refundable so you probably would lose the money for them.

I see you have added other posts since this one so are you going? Please update us if you can.

 

[Lewisc]

I guess I'll join Bob (minority view). I think you should figure out how much money you'll get back if you cancel outright and how much you'd save if you cut your trip in half. I don't know how much savings you have, how long it'll take your husband to get his job back, get a new job or if you can get a job. If you are reasonably sure your financial situation will improve you might consider the trip but I do know if you get back and can't pay your mortgage, car insurance...the memories of your trip will be very clouded. You SHOULD NOT CHARGE ANYTHING THIS TRIP. Adding debt to pay for the trip is adding fuel to a fire.
Hopefully your families economic situation will imporve to the point you can make the trip without any worry.

 

[HunnyPots]

Am I understanding correctly that EVERYTHING is paid for, excluding food? If so, think of it this way; you have to eat whether or not you're on vacation, right? Use your regular grocery budget and buy sandwich fixings, fruit, breakfast items such as pop tarts, etc., and GO! Eat all your meals in the room and it should not cost you any more than you'd spend at home to eat.
As a child, my dad was out of work on a regular basis (recession of the 70's) and, believe me, children worry as much about your finances as you do! Taking this trip may make everyone feel "normal" again. If your DH says go then GO! I know he feels bad enough without feeling like he's ruining things for the whole family.
And, for the record, I'm not so "disney-addicted" that I think WDW is more important than paying the mortgage. I would give the same advice if you were planning a trip to the grand canyon or Nashville, TN. It's just a matter of keeping some sense of normalcy during a time of stress!
Good luck!

 

[robinb]

I'm also going to join the "minority view" here and suggest that you cancel your trip at the last posssible moment. The most that you will lose will be the fee for changing your airfare. Even many "non-refundable" tickets allow changes for $75-$100 per ticket. If you wait until the last possible minute, your DH may be able to score a new job in the meantime.

I can understand that your DH may want to "get away", but he's only been laid off for a couple of days. Reality will sink in when he's out of work for a longer period of time. Yes, your kids will be disappointed, but that's real life. You have a couple of thousand dollars sunk into your trip. That could pay for a month or two of your expenses. While paying the mortgage and putting food on the table is not as much fun as going to WDW, it's the right thing to do.

 

[mickey7861]

I would not go on vacation while my DH or myself were unemployed. You have no idea how long this lay off could last. Although you may lose some $$ on cancellation you will probably get some back. The kids may be disappointed but if you're scrimpping pennies for the next 6 months they'll notice that too. Using a credit card to build up aditional debt is not a good idea. You may need a cash advance to pay the mortgage someday. My DH and I are in our 40's and our kids are 18 & 16 now. Looking back at the trips we had to cancel over the years no damage was done. We just enjoyed the next trip even more because of the break. You were there in 2000 I'd put this trip on hold. If you have savings enough to carry you through 4-6 months of payments then go, if not I'd skip it.

 

[sorlando]

First of all I am so sorry to hear about the layoff. Only you know your financial situation and
your desire to take risks if your husband is unable to find employment immediately. I was faced with a
similar question in the Spring. Most of my division was eliminated in January and fortunately I found
another job within the company. In March, we went through layoffs again and at that time, my husband
and I agreed that if I was impacted, that we were going to postpone the trip. We just didn't feel
right about risking our financial future on a trip (just to let you know our trip was paid for, but we did
have trip insurance for everything, but the airfare), however nice it might be. We made that decision
because so many of our friends have been out of work for awhile and we knew it would take time to find
another position and as chief breadwinner in our family, my income was important.

Unlike your situation, mine turned out okay, wasn't laid off (at least this round) and we took the trip and
enjoyed it. But no matter how much fun we had, we wouldn't have had fun if I wasn't working. DisneyWorld
will always be there and there is no reason to add to the financial pressure.


Best of luck in your decision and in your husband's job search.

 

[buzz5985]

On December 12, 2001, while I was out Christmas shopping, there was a call on cellphone that I missed, when I called back to my house a stranger answered. It was a Paramedic. My Husbands Left hand went through a table saw. We had a trip planned for March. He had no disability insurance. Nothing. It is amazing what you can do when you want to. We went on our trip - After we got permission from my husbands Physical Therapist!!!! My son was 4, so wouldn't have cared if we went. My husband was so relaxed. He did his therapy every day.

Now if you had asked me if you should go to Disney before my husbands accident, I would have told you Well gee, how much do you have saved? Blah Blah Blah. But since his accident? Go for it. You never know whats going to happen. We are going again Feb 2002. The Doctors want to amputate my husbands index finger. But we are still going. He is back to work fulltime, learning to adapt to the lack of use of the index finger and partial use of the thumb.

Enjoy. Just cut back.

 

[TinkerbellRules]

I know how disappointing cancelling a trip can be. We just had to cancel due to the school systems new policy on absences, but that's another story I have mixed feelings about this as well. You said everything was paid for except the food. Like someone else said, you have to eat anyway, so maybe you could budget the same amount of money you would if you were at home. I also make an allowance in my budget for that (well, I would spend $100 this week anyway, blah, blah).

But, on the other hand, would you enjoy your trip knowing you might not have a job for a while and no $$? It really is your decision since you know your financial situation. I probably wouldn't go thinking I might need the money, but that's me. I don't like to charge anything I can't pay for when the bill comes.

Just another opinion. Let us know what you decide.

 

[jie]

Hi. i know exactly how you feel. it happened to us in April. My dh got laid off after we bought the air tixs which is for Aug. I was thinking going or not going, if we go we will spend more money than just the air tickets, but if we don't go, the tiks money will be drained., my Dh said we just go whatever will happen , it will happen, since this was planed and paid, just keep your faith that your dh will find a job sooner. My Dh found a job after 2 months. and he told his boss he would take an unpay vaction, and we are going in 5 days. i know my kids will be very disappointed if we don't go. my dh was the one wants to keep the original plan and go.
i hope your dh find a job soon. and be faithful !!!

 

[fostrmom2mny]

I have a suggestion. Here in Oklahoma, there are Temp. Service Employment Agencies that will hire people on a day to day basis. They usually pay each day as well. You can work the days that you want, and take off when you need to. You may work one day at one place, then somewhere else the next day. BUT sometimes you may stay at the same place and after a while, you may even get hired.

I do not know how far off you trip is, but this may be something that would help you out in the interim. BTW, if the CO that has laid him off told him that he is not eligible for Unemployment pay, I think that I'd check on it anyway! All they can do is say that he isn't allowed it, and on the other hand, he may be eligible for it. No, it won't be the same rate of pay, but something is better than nothing!

If your family eats out a lot, you can cut down on family expenses by eating at home, eating a few more bologna or peanutbutter sandwiches. Limit impulse spending and remember it's all for being able to make the trip to WDW.

Many people get depressed and go on spending sprees when this kind of thing happens. Many times the person who gets laid off may feel really guilty about what is happened. Pull together as a family, be reasonable and supportive of each other.

Gosh, I hope you can work it out so your family can go. I know that it would be really disappointing for all of you, but if you have to cancel, then don't let it make anyone feel guilty.
God Bless.
Gerri

 

[Miss Jasmine]

That is some great advice from fostrmom2mny. I hadn't even though of it even though that is how I got my current job. I got hired at temp agency and my first assignement turned out to be my last as I got hired by the company. You don't even have to go to the day labor places. Temp agenicies understand that you are interviewing for jobs and such. You can call and tell them that you can't work a certain week and they take you off the list for that week. But again, it depends on the overall economy of the area you live in. Though you would be suprised at how many companies layoff and then hire some temps to fill in (it's cheaper since they are not paying benefits and other personnel costs).

As to your trip. Only you and your family know your family's economy and how much you can handle with DH layed off. All I can say in analyze and don't go into debt to do it since you are not sure what the future will bring.

Good luck and much pixie dust!

 

[kylara]

As others have said, only you know your financial situation. And also, I don't know what type of person your husband is. If he is the type that likes to close his eyes to financial hardships then maybe you need to have the clear head and say cancel if it will bring more money back. But, if he has a good head on his shoulders, then I would trust that he knows it can be done and not add to his worries by cancelling.

And I do not say this because I am a disney fanatic. As someone else pointed out, I would say go no matter where the vacation was to. By going you are not just saying you don't care about finances...my sister has taken two vacations this summer and her husband is in a lay-off situation. Sometimes the memories, getting away, and being with family is more important (as long as you are not in danger of losing your house or car). I guess maybe some of this comes from the fact that this summer has made me (and my family) well aware of the fact that we never know what will happen in life. I have had two good friends lose family members with no notice and two others with family member diagnosed with cancer out of the blue (both people had had check-ups only a couple of months earlier with "no problems"). Those are the main reasons that my sister and her family still took the trips. They have had to give up some of the little extras in their life and the meals on vacation were more of fast food than sit-down resturants...but the kids were so happy and it helped them stop worrying about daddy being out of a job (these kids are 4 & 7 but they still picked up on it).

So, if you know you husband is smart about the family finances and he really thinks you can still swing the trip, I would say trust him on it and enjoy the time with your family.

 

[mrs.pixiedust]

inkbounc inkbounc inkbounc inkbounc inkbounc WONERFUL, EXCITING, UNEXPECTED!!!!!

My DH's company changed thier plans and are keeping about 30 extra employees. I feel like a gigantic weight has been lifted from my shoulders so I can only imagine how he feels. WAHOO!! We're going to Disney World!! Now I can resume planning without feeling guilty. However, this did put things in perspective and we will go ahead and scale back on some things. You just never know what can happen. Thank you for all of your advice. This has been a tough week and a half! For the record, we were going to go anyway. I wasn't 100% sure about it but now I know we'll be okay!

 

[Belle5]

Wow! What a huge blessing!!! I am so happy for you and your family!

 

[kylara]

Glad to hear that you get to go and that you will be able to enjoy the trip worry free. Have a great trip.