Gaming World Forums
General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: datamanc3r on August 03, 2009, 04:48:57 pm
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For those of you who don't know what a timeshare is, it's basically a collection of vacation hotels that the people who own the timeshare collectively own with everyone else in the program. With a timeshare, you are able to rent out any vacation spot around the world (that the provider owns) for free or, when the credits allotted to your timeshare runs out, for a reduced price of $50 a night. You pay for the timeshare in monthly increments, and once you own the timeshare, it's basically like an asset you control. You can resell it, or just continue using it.
My dad is preparing to declare bankruptcy, which means that he has to get rid his timeshare. He's already put around $18k into it, which is halfway to ownership. The payments are around $300 a month, so the other half will take 5 years to pay off. Should I take the chance and take the timeshare?
Quite a few of you guys are Europeans, which means you travel to other countries more extensively than I do. I don't really know whether getting this is a good deal, compared to being able to use the money now, investing it into stocks, and saving it up for the occasional trip or two. I've got a couple things to think about, i.e. paying for a car + insurance, working on schoolwork, and buying food for my brothers and I. Making payments on the timeshare may adversely affect these things, especially if I work nights at the hospital – the pay is $17 an hour and the job is per diem, which kinda fits with the college schedule, but working nights isn't really conducive to doing well in school.
Working on schoolwork is a biggie here because I think I'ma major in Electrical Engineering (I'm undecided though because I'm uncomfortable with the major) and then head into law school. The thing is, I really, really want to get into Harvard, and if I'm making these payments (ie not studying), my grades could be affected (Electrical Engineering's tough) and I probably won't be able to get in. Basically, this decision could affect my future at large.
I always wanted to travel; I've never been out of the country and it's great to get a new perspective from time to time. I'd really want to stay someplace weeks at a time, just to soak in the people there (I hate tourism and just 'seeing stuff'). And working $17 dollars an hour will definitely allow me to pay for this. The question is, is it feasible? Is it worth it?
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Yeah definitely. Buy 12.
My dad is preparing to declare bankruptcy, which means that he has to get rid his timeshare.
Liked this bit
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You're 'tarded. This is a legitimate thing to consider.
As for my dad filing bankruptcy, I'm not about to defend his finances; it can be assumed that he doesn't manage his money well. But that does not mean that this isn't the perfect chance for me to get some property. Besides, he's old and it kind of blows to think that he's going to be stuck to his finances all his life, so if I take this we can still go places with the family and everything. We were never rich and he just wanted something to hold onto and pass along to his sons. You really have no idea.
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Do you have a list of the places they own? Sounds interesting.
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They have a list of resorts in-country here: http://trendwest.com/resorts/index.html
And they're affiliated with RCI, so I'd be able to use these: http://www.rci.com/RCI/RCIW/RCIW_index?body=RCIW_rdMain
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You don't have a lot of money, but you're going into electrical engineering and then going to Harvard Law?
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I'm going to jr. college all expenses paid, then I'ma transfer to UCSD, where the tution itself is taken care of by FAFSA. By which time I'll have a car, so I don't have to room there, which means Electrical Engineering is practically spoken for. As for law school, I'm going to do Peace Corp as soon as I finish college, and use that to waive a good chunk of my law school loans (Thank you, Obama). Lawyers who graduate from Harvard, by the way, are paid *far* more than lawyers who graduate from lesser schools, so according to the people I've talked to (one of them being a superior court judge for the 9th district), I can pay that off in a cinch.
I am such a fucking freeloader.
EDIT:
Thing is, and this is kinda off topic, but I really want to go into civil law. The problem is I'll have wasted 4 years of college. Then again, I know a guy who's majoring in frigging PHILOSOPHY (fat lot that'll do him) because he expects to go into law. So what if he realizes Law's not good for him? Well he's fucked. Electrical Engineering is supposed to be my 'backup plan' just in case everything blows over. That doesn't make me like it any more though. I guess I'ma think about another major.
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uh yeah but the problem with that is it's difficult as fuck getting accepted into harvard.
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and joining the peace corp doesn't pay any money towards your college loans, it just defers payment/interest while you're volunteering
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That wouldn't stop me from doing Peace Corps, but depending on how many years you put into it you can get up to 70% of a Perkins loan forgiven. And of course getting into Harvard is hard. But I'ma scrape my ass in if it's the last thing I'll do. :fogetcool: I have connections and references up the ass already.
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Who cares if you'll get paid more money if you go to harvard. Money doesn't make people happy. Or do you really need all the expensive stuff it can buy. I wouldn't buy that timeshare. It sounds quite useless.
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Meh. A sense of purpose, a goal, and a sense of accomplishment make people happy. I have everything I need, really. I won't be entirely too unhappy if I don't make it. I just have one direction to go from here, and that's up. But yeah, I also think the timeshare might be unnecessary. It's costly, to say the least. It could be worth it, though. I would plan to use it extensively -- get mah money's worth. Life's too short to stay in one place all the time.
Of course...law's not really conducive to taking a vacay any time you want...and once you do make the money, taking those vacays is nothing compared to what else you can afford. Hm. I'd still like to be able to travel places before I do Law.
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I think I'll take the timeshare up, then sell it when I don't need it anymore. I don't really plan to travel much after I'm settled in a career, but having that sort of thing at this time in my life is probably indispensable. Besides, when I sell it, it's like making $18k, isn't it? heh...I think it'd be really cool if I could use that to help my dad to get a house someplace. That'd be fucking awesome. He'd have to make the payments afterward, but that'd cover the down payment...as long as he'd be willing to move out of CA, it might be possible.
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sounds good except with the economy the state it is you could've bought the whole building for 18k.
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I don't think I've ever heard someone say a timeshare is a good idea. I'm not saying there aren't perks to owning one, but it's not cheap and usually doesn't pay for itself. I think it's closer to leasing equity than it is to own it, which is useless.
If timeshares were a sound investment, I think it's pretty safe to assume that people wouldn't be roped into advertising meetings by savvy marketing moguls as a means to sell them; they'd sell themselves. Look at ACTUAL real estate. Actual real estate sells pretty quickly and easily, regardless of where it is on the planet (for the most part). Timeshares can end up costing you a lot of money and giving you very little use, in the end. Especially if you decide to think even slightly outside the box of the timeshare company.
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Dont be so 'tarded Kaempher
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You're a college student with no money who can barely make your IMPORTANT payments as it is so, a) what the fuck would you do with a timeshare and b) how in the world are you going to afford traveling to these places???
i do not see why you think this is such a good idea what is wrong with you
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To keep the payments on the thing, I think that amount you would have to work combined with the amount of school work that you're going to have (which I think you are underestimating at this point, since you haven't actually gone to university yet) is less than ideal for keeping the academic levels that you're going to want to I think. I'm pretty much saying the say as Velfarre though. If you're struggling to pay for the things that are important now, adding a timeshare into the mix, despite still working and whatever is going to be less in your best interest. The only problem is what to do with it. I would've said it wasn't a good idea to get in the first place but now you're kind of stuck with it so :shrug:
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i kind of wonder how well you can even do in a law degree if your logic skills are like this
i mean i'm not saying that to be mean but really i don't know how you can justify a timeshare when you're apparently struggling to feed yourself AND YOUR SIBLINGS, i don't even think you can justify any vacations at all at this point, much less going abroad to your timeshare. you're just going to be getting extra jobs during college meaning you're not going to do so hot in school (working nights while going to school is a terrible idea, even though college sleeping habits are pretty poor anyway you're not going to do very good on your tests if you were working in a hospital all night the night before), you're just putting completely unnecessary strain on your entire living situation for reasons that are completely unimportant (yeah we all want to travel but sometimes it's just not in the cards for you at the time, sometimes you have to wait it out a bit until you can actually afford it)
there are all sorts of investments available out there but you can't make them when you can't afford them, it's as simple as that. sure i could make tons of money if i invested a certain amount in something, but what's the point if i'm not able to FEED MYSELF?
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i like timeshares because i can sit through a 2 hour brainwashing session and still get free gas money / free trips places without buying one at all.
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see now THAT'S thinking with a budget!
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I've done the math and with the hours I planned to work, the payments were feasible. It would leave me with enough money for a car + insurance, and food. You do mention a good point with re to paying for the flights themselves...those are goddamn expensive. I did think of ways to get around that -- my friend's dad is a pilot and can get us discounts -- but he's not very dependable.
As I've already said before, I suspected that actually implementing this would negatively affect my schooling. Mostly, I'm concerned about working nights.
I did suggest to my dad to sell it (to pay off some of his goddamn credit card balances -- which is why we're in this mess), but the market for that kinda blows today. I know we can make more off this after the economy rebounds (and I get some use out of it), which was another reason to consider taking up the payments for now. Everything considered though, and in light of what was brought up, It's not worth my education. Now that I think about it, it's kind of stupid trading the $18k I would inherit from this for the potential $100k per year I could make being a lawyer. I guess I should just stick it to my dad and tell him to deal with his debt, make him sell the timeshare short, and maybe he'll have learned a valuable lesson.
For the record, I never thought to change the quality of food my brothers and I eat, and I would have done everything I could to make sure they get fed. I agree with you in that any course otherwise would be a stupid thing to do.
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I think timeshares are pretty cool if you have EXTRA cash, but who the hell has extra cash?
Definitely dude, a timeshare is not something someone who is not even into college yet should own. Also I think it's funny you're considering both buying a timeshare and entering the peace corps.
also i got rejected from the peace corps just so everybody knows.
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Yeah, seems a bit much. Peace Corps should be enough.
Rejected? Why?
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yeah then buy an RV
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THAT'S WHAT I JUST THINKING
Timeshare --> RV
Hahaha.
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its just one of those things.......