How can people afford expensive cruises?

[mamaofami]

In our area, an average working person's three bedroom 2 bath house on 10,000 sq ft lot pays real estate taxes at least $3,400 yearly. MANY are far higher.

 

 

Where we used to live, in a suburb 30 minutes north of NYC, average real estate taxes for the type of home you describe are 4 and 5 times that amount.

 

Everyone has to decide how they want to spend their money, when they want to eat out, how many cruises they can afford. We each have different priorities.

[Gloria Mundi]

The problem with those numbers about saving for retirement includes everyone. there is a huge population of folks that aren't saving (or saved) for retirement because they can barely put food on the table. then you have another huge group of folks who have lived most their lives on welfare, food stamps, etc. who assume they will continue to be supported.

 

Totally agreed- if you're trying to support a family at a McJob there's no money left in the budget for savings. My concern is with the portion of the population who can afford new cars, smartphones, boats, and taking their kids to Disney World but claim they can't save for retirement, and I believe there are a lot of them.

[FKGirl]

In terms of luxury cruises, those lines have good sales from time to time, as well. If you are a savvy shopper and factor in the included values that you would pay for on another line (gratuities, alcohol, soft drinks, coffee drinks, specialty restaurants, etc....) there is sometimes not as great a disparity as you might imagine.

[Waterloomarc]

is that even legal these days?

 

wow must be nice.. I live outside of a small hick town in Ohio.. 2400 sq ft ranch, 3 br, 2 ba, 25yo house. last year the taxes were $4400 plus a 1% income tax for the schools on top of that.

 

I should've said no paid maternity leave. They abide by the bare minimum FMLA requirements. Really stunk because her company was bought out, the previous company allowed you to carry over your sick time. Neither her nor I call in sick unless deathly ill. She lost 64 sick days... That we were intentionally saving for when she got pregnant. We keep it in perspective and fully realize the new company could've just as easily let everyone go but it still stinks to have lost all that time.

 

Cheers

 

 

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[greatam]

In terms of luxury cruises, those lines have good sales from time to time, as well. If you are a savvy shopper and factor in the included values that you would pay for on another line (gratuities, alcohol, soft drinks, coffee drinks, specialty restaurants, etc....) there is sometimes not as great a disparity as you might imagine.

 

I so agree. Seaborne TA's sometimes are SUPER bargains. With all the booze included, plus gratuities and other things, a $2500-3000pp Seaborne TA cruise won't cost much more (if any) than a two week Celebrity TA in a comparable cabin when you factor in the booze bill, the excursions, the gratuities, not having to pay for specialty restaurants because the steak is REALLY good in the MDR.

 

And for solo cruisers, the luxury lines can be a real bargain. Very often, there is NO or very little single supplement. But of course, you have to compare apples to apples. Can't compare an inside Celebrity cabin as a solo to a Seaborne cabin.

[buggins0402]

We live in the same area, so our frame of reference is similar. I really don't think the Vets on Harper are making $125,000---but I could be wrong. I also was of the understanding that the Pharmacists in our area made around 90,000. But...what do I know???

 

 

Well, a few years back we had a cat that we ran up there for emergency visits so often they probably cracked $125K that year.:rolleyes:

[greatam]

 

There's a happy medium. I'm 15 years younger than DH and I hope he's up for travel when I retire but I can't count on it. It's one of the reasons we take a major trip every year. OTOH, those stats about what the average person has saved (or doesn't have saved) for retirement are downright scary. One way or another the taxpayers are going to end up supporting them in the forms of Medicaid nursing homes, subsidized housing, food stamps.. and I fully expect my SS to be taxed away completely to be given to those who could have saved, but didn't. I shudder for my son's generation which will have to foot the bill.

 

I'm a spend person. Life is just too short. I have paid for property and a business I can sell if I REALLY need the money.

 

My dear DH died very unexpectently in February. I am so thankful he quit his full time engineering job when I had to start traveling so much overseas for business. We have literally been around the world twice. We got to see so much and have done so many "out of the box" things we never would have done had he kept working.

 

I also watched my Mom and Dad save and save "for retirement" so they could do all the things they had put off. Grandpa had a big farm which was sold for some pretty good money after Grandma died. This was about 8 years after my Dad retired. They made a trip to Europe and bought a cabin in the mountains. Had a horrible cruisetour to Alaska. Then my Dad got cancer. He was too sick to travel much, particularly out of the USA.

 

What good did the savings do? I am so thankful DH and I did our traveling when we were young enough and healthy enough to enjoy it and do some very out of the box things. The money was WELL spent.

[blackpool belle]

I see you are residing in the UK, which has quite a different retirement program than what we have in the US. Also, correct me if I am wrong, but don't real property owners (i.e. homeowners) hold only 99- or 100- year "leases" on their property? If so, then if I, too, were a UK resident I would have little incentive to invest money into my home property, because it's really not mine at all. Here in the US, as you know, our home is ours and can be disposed with however we wish, meaning, it can be passed down from generation to generation. Likewise, I would have very little motivation to save for old age, as things in the UK vary a great deal compared to the US.

 

I have more than a few Brit friends (and my mum is British) and they talk about the UK "never-never" lifestyle, where a person one can never get ahead financially, by investing now and coming out affluent in the future. With that kind of economic and social framework, I can understand why the Carpe Diem mentality in the UK is prevalent. As you are aware, here in the States we don't have the social welfare safety net (yet) as in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. That is both good and bad: good, because if we choose to live frugally now we can reap the rewards later; bad, because if we spend it all now won't have anything later.

 

Also, most of us here in the US have only 1 or 2 vacation weeks a year. If we are higher up in the career ladder, we are either afraid to take more time off, are owners of our own business and therefore unable to take much-needed time off, or so overwhelmed with chores that need be done around the house/children/elderly parent caretaking that we have limited free time. Thus, the only opportunity we have to take extended and/or costly cruises is in our retirement years.

 

They don't call it "Yankee work ethic" and "Yankee thrift" for nothing!

 

 

Most homeowners ( including myself) own freehold properties not leasehold. I would say that only new build property is leasehold these days. Yes, it's true, we may have a National Health system but it is paid for indirectly through tax and National Insurance payments. On a personal level I never buy what I can't afford which thankfully makes me debt-free.

[LindaM]

Well, a few years back we had a cat that we ran up there for emergency visits so often they probably cracked $125K that year.:rolleyes:

 

I think the owner probably does well, but I don't think he is as generous with the rest. He used your $$$ for new and improved equipment! He wanted to charge us for giving insulin to our dog who was boarded there, after a while. I think he thought we were rich---because of going on cruises often!! No mercy for us!

 

I may have misread a post...I think the person said the professions mentioned made less than $125,000.

[ksimpso3]

I'm a spend person. Life is just too short. I have paid for property and a business I can sell if I REALLY need the money.

 

My dear DH died very unexpectently in February. I am so thankful he quit his full time engineering job when I had to start traveling so much overseas for business. We have literally been around the world twice. We got to see so much and have done so many "out of the box" things we never would have done had he kept working.

 

I also watched my Mom and Dad save and save "for retirement" so they could do all the things they had put off. Grandpa had a big farm which was sold for some pretty good money after Grandma died. This was about 8 years after my Dad retired. They made a trip to Europe and bought a cabin in the mountains. Had a horrible cruisetour to Alaska. Then my Dad got cancer. He was too sick to travel much, particularly out of the USA.

 

What good did the savings do? I am so thankful DH and I did our traveling when we were young enough and healthy enough to enjoy it and do some very out of the box things. The money was WELL spent.

 

I totally agree with you ! I have a 403b at work that I contribute to every paycheck but other than that, we don't have much savings. We go on vacation at least once a year and have had motor homes and boats. We own a 4 BR house and have college debt for our daughters but we ENJOY life now!! I have known too many people ( many family members) who saved for retirement and didn't travel,etc only to end up with cancer or strokes or heart attacks soon after retiring so they never got to enjoy the money they were saving up. Live in the here-and-now (while having some savings also) because you never know when it will end. As far as how we pay for suites...my grandmother died and left me some money that we used for our garden villa splurge on NCL Dawn (along with some price watching) and we have used tax returns for others.

 

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[calliopecruiser]

Well, a few years back we had a cat that we ran up there for emergency visits so often they probably cracked $125K that year.:rolleyes:

 

I hope that ;) is irony.......you know that what employees make and what the company charges customers are often very, very far apart - even for employees who are professionals (like vets). Actually, even owners, who have to pay for costs (staff, equipment, inventory, etc) often don't make as much as you think they do.

[buggins0402]

I hope that ;) is irony.......you know that what employees make and what the company charges customers are often very, very far apart - even for employees who are professionals (like vets). Actually, even owners, who have to pay for costs (staff, equipment, inventory, etc) often don't make as much as you think they do.

 

It was as intended:rolleyes:! DH is a practicing professional and has ALOT of overhead so I understand

 

As and aside, with another cat what we spent on Chemo could have upgraded us to a high end cruise line.... but we'll never regret spending the money on the cat!

Edited October 26, 2013 by buggins0402

[buggins0402]

I think the owner probably does well, but I don't think he is as generous with the rest. He used your $$$ for new and improved equipment! He wanted to charge us for giving insulin to our dog who was boarded there, after a while. I think he thought we were rich---because of going on cruises often!! No mercy for us!

 

I may have misread a post...I think the person said the professions mentioned made less than $125,000.

 

I misread it also!

 

We don't use that vet since we're near the DMZ - except for emergencies - the only place open 24/7.

 

Our vet did charge extra for another cat's hydration treatments while we were away and boarded - but we could understand that. But, it didn't matter because that cat had a trust fund, complements of her previous owner. Now that cat could have cruised on Regent!

[Lovely other]

travel is the only thing we spend our spare cash on. we're both self-employed, we don't have children and we've bought an average sized house. the key for us is that we always book last minute, our last 11 day on holland america cost us £675 each, all in. when onboard we don't spend much on drinks etc and never take ship excursions.

 

i was just looking at a grand voyage for 30 days next spring, its currently almost £3,000, if its still there in a few months it will be around half that price or even less. i like a bargain :D

[ellasabe]

Questions for those cruisers who are "living the now" and not saving very much: How much do your financial planners advise you to save? What forecast are you given for your future needs, when you can no longer work? Do you future plans include living at the same level you are living now, with the same amount of travel, or are you going to reduce your traveling and lifestyle as you get older?

 

I am 52 and have only about $200K in an IRA, and I no longer work. My spouse is 14 years older, 66, retired, and has a substantial estate due to an inheritance. He also has some IRAs, about $300K. He receives SSI but it is nothing to live on, only about $1200 a month. We do own our house and our 2 vehicles.

 

We try to take an extended vacation or cruise every year, about 3 to 6 weeks, at a cost from $4000 to $10,000, depending. We could certainly spend more (tapping into the trust inheritance) but my husband and I are both concerned that if we deplete that account, there won't be anything for me if/when hubby passes on. So we live frugally and economically, acquiring massive amounts of frequent flyer points in creative ways [i am sure many readers can identify!] and sprinkle 5* hotel stays between hostels, pensiones, guesthouses, mid-range and luxury cruises. We try to fly business class, but only using points--on our dime, we fly coach.

 

We wonder: what happens if suddenly one of us should have a severe and incapacitating illness, like a stroke, that lasts for years and years? How on earth are we going to pay for medical care, if we don't economize now?

 

For those people who spend, spend, spend today--how do they intend to take care of themselves in their old age? Who will pay for their nursing home or rehabilitation stay? Will they curtail their cruising once they hit retirement age and their finances dwindle?

Edited October 27, 2013 by ellasabe

[calliopecruiser]

Ahhh.....that's the real challenge: to balance the need to save for the future lack of income (knowing there will be a time when you can't or won't work) with the need to enjoy life while you are healthy and alive (knowing that tragedy in the form or incapacitation or death could strike at any time).

 

Savings are great, if you're alive to spend them. On the other hand, being alive without savings would suck.

[ksimpso3]

Questions for those cruisers who are "living the now" and not saving very much: How much do your financial planners advise you to save? What forecast are you given for your future needs, when you can no longer work? Do you future plans include living at the same level you are living now, with the same amount of travel, or are you going to reduce your traveling and lifestyle as you get older?

 

I am 52 and have only about $200K in an IRA, and I no longer work. My spouse is 14 years older, 66, retired, and has a substantial estate due to an inheritance. He also has some bits and pieces of IRAs, about $300K. He receives SSI but it is nothing to live on, only about $1200 a month. We do own our house and our 2 vehicles.

 

We try to take an extended vacation or cruise every year, about 3 to 6 weeks, and anywhere from $4000 to $10,000, depending. We could certainly spend more (tapping into the trust inheritance) but my husband and I are both concerned that if we deplete that account, there won't be anything for me in 20+ years, if hubby has passed on. So we live frugally and economically, acquiring massive amounts of frequent flyer points in creative ways [i am sure many readers can identify!] and sprinkle 5* hotel stays between hostels, pensiones, guesthouses, mid-range and luxury cruises. We try to fly business class, but only using points--on our dime, we fly coach.

 

We wonder: what happens if suddenly one of us should have a severe and incapacitating illness, like a stroke, that lasts for years and years? How on earth are we going to pay for medical care, if we don't economize now?

 

It makes me wonder, all those people who spend, spend, spend today--how do they intend to take care of themselves in their old age? Will they curtail their cruising once they hit retirement age and their finances dwindle?

 

there is no guarantee that we will make it to retirement so like I said, I have a savings account and contribute to it twice monthly. I have no idea if we will continue cruising in the future (if there even is a future because you never know), so we would rather enjoy ourselves now instead of "waiting until we retire". That is how we are living. It may not be how you think it should be done but I am comfortable that with the assets and savings we have now that we will be able to survive after retirement. If we can't afford to cruise then so be it...we are making many memories with our girls now that many people will never get the chance to do no matter how much they "save for retirement ".

 

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[GranysT]

Scrapnana,

 

Wow, saving 18 yrs for a world cruise. I think that is wonderful, and I am amazed at your tenacity. Congratulations. I am glad to see that you will soon be sailing on your well deserved trip. I hope it turns out to be above and beyond any, and all, of your expectations. Bon Voyage

[ducklite]

I didn't notice where OP lives (and it took too long for me to read this whole thread that I'm not going to check!) but in some areas $125k is still pretty darn good money.

 

I grew up outside of Toronto and even when I was in college over a decade ago now (yikes that happens fast!) $125k wasn't much and I'm sure it's much less now. I live in the suburbs of Birmingham and make about that now and relatively speaking live pretty well. Could I afford a Luxury cruise? Yes but probably only 1 every other year. Wife and I would rather cruise more often less lavishly. Of course I have fantasies of just going whole hog and doing it anyway but the realities of getting burnt out at work and needing a vacation outweigh that. We had to go this last year without a vacation because of my wife's pregnancy. Okay we chose to, her company doesn't offer maternity leave so we opted to skip vacations and save the money so she could stay home as long as she wanted. But it was rough! I wouldn't want to do that again just to pay for a luxury cruise. It really made me realize how important vacations were to our mental health!

 

Anyway I had 2 points that I wanted to make and I've started rambling...back on task. First is I suspect there are more than we would think on these lavish cruises up to their eyeballs in debt and behind on many things. I always say it would be amazing how much stuff I could afford if I only paid each of my bills every 3 months.

 

Secondly, the property tax estimate listed earlier isn't accurate for what I think would be a large area of the country. While I'm sure that's accurate or even low for an urban area in a "have" state there's a lot of fly-over states. For instance tax on my 4 bed/3 bath house is only $711 a year. That's alone puts me $2100 closer to cruising than the assumption of $200/mo ;)

 

Edited to add we still work so for us a luxury cruise would be limited to 2 weeks at the max so that's why I say I could possibly afford it. No way I could ever swing or justify a $50k 2 month cruise. Maybe in another 30 years!

 

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I live in Florida in a 4/3. My taxes are close to $5K, and I'm happy about that. At one point they were $10K. Florida is supposed to be cheap. Yeah, right.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[GlendaleCruiser]

 

Everyone has to decide how they want to spend their money, when they want to eat out, how many cruises they can afford. We each have different priorities.

 

Exactly! The same people who ask me how I can afford to cruise have cleaning ladies, lawn services, buy their clothes at Macy's and have someone detail their cars.

 

I clean my own house, water and mow my own lawn, buy my clothes on sale or at the thrift store and wash my own car..................

 

.....................and cruise once a year...............

[e11wa]

What an intriguing topic. My wife and I are both pushing 30, and attempt to travel internationally once a year.

We've just booked onto out 3rd cruise together, liberty out of Barcelona in june 2014.

I've travelled extensively for work until I changed jobs last month, but for us getting time off to be together somewhere is an absolute must.

We both lost a parent within a few months of one another, and figure it is best to seize the day while we still can, instead of spending our lives saying "I Can't wait to do xyz when we're older".

 

We always book the cheapest airfares we can find, our next trip we are treating ourselves to business class airfares Sydney to paris via malaysia return, including a stop in Malaysia on the return leg.

 

If you can afford, and can justify the expense, good for you.

I always book our accommodation through secret hotels on Hotwire.com, and have been able to get amazing deals, especially in places like kaanapali beach in hawaii, nob Hill in San Francisco, and plan on using their services again to book throughout Europe and Malaysia.

 

We even have my mum coming to sail with us out of Barcelona.

 

We are fortunate to have great jobs, we own out own cars, 2013 and 2010 Subaru's, and have made a great deal of headway into paying down our mortgage.

 

 

 

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[Gloria Mundi]

Exactly! The same people who ask me how I can afford to cruise have cleaning ladies, lawn services, buy their clothes at Macy's and have someone detail their cars.

 

I clean my own house, water and mow my own lawn, buy my clothes on sale or at the thrift store and wash my own car..................

 

.....................and cruise once a year...............

 

LOL! When I took my first trip to Europe at age 26 my co-workers gave me the "must be nice" rap. I pointed out that I was single, drove a POS car (1973 Hornet in 1978) and lived in an apartment. I'd saved double the cost of the trip so that I still had a cash cushion when I came home.

 

Our financial advisor laughs when I tell him we mow our own lawn, DH does the cleaning and cooking and we rarely go out to eat because we like our house. I cut DH's hair (he doesn't have much) and brown-bag my lunch. The one car we own is an unimpressive sedan bought from a car rental firm. I suppose that for people who want to live high off the hog that would sound like a miserable life, but we feel blessed.

[ducklite]

Exactly! The same people who ask me how I can afford to cruise have cleaning ladies, lawn services, buy their clothes at Macy's and have someone detail their cars.

 

I clean my own house, water and mow my own lawn, buy my clothes on sale or at the thrift store and wash my own car..................

 

.....................and cruise once a year...............

 

FYI--Macy's isn't all that, and if you hit the sales they are dirt cheap.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[Bookish Angel]

LOL! When I took my first trip to Europe at age 26 my co-workers gave me the "must be nice" rap. I pointed out that I was single, drove a POS car (1973 Hornet in 1978) and lived in an apartment. I'd saved double the cost of the trip so that I still had a cash cushion when I came home.

 

Our financial advisor laughs when I tell him we mow our own lawn, DH does the cleaning and cooking and we rarely go out to eat because we like our house. I cut DH's hair (he doesn't have much) and brown-bag my lunch. The one car we own is an unimpressive sedan bought from a car rental firm. I suppose that for people who want to live high off the hog that would sound like a miserable life, but we feel blessed.

 

We save a lot of money by not paying for services we can do ourselves such as car washes, housecleaning, many home repairs. We also never pay for valet parking or for someone to carry luggage or any other thing 2 able-bodied, self-sufficient people can do. We might have to someday, but for now, no way. Plus, that exercise is good for us.

 

I cannot imagine having very substantial savings at our ages - 48 and 53. If we did not, I could not sleep very well! We are both in good health and shape and so hope to work another 20 years in order to have an even bigger cushion.

 

While our lives might seem spare to others, my husband and I get a deep satisfation out of living frugally but still making travel a priority.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Bookish Angel

[frenchrci]

Wow, this thread kinda made me depressed. Where I come from, earning 125K a year is a large amount, and you can count yourself out of the middle class. People here, average about 2.2K a month. Before taxes that is. When we paid all of our beloved friends at the government, we keep about 60% of our income. I'm working 2 jobs and don't even earn 20K a year... That's just sad.

 

Me too... We should leave Europe ! :eek:

 

In France, if you win more than 4000$/month ($, not €!), you are considered rich. 60% of French people win less than 2.000$/month. Only 1% (!) of French people win more than 7k€ (9.000$) /month ! :roll eyes:

 

And when you are retired, it's less than 1.000$/month... For me, 125k$/year it's huge, even for a couple !