Owning vacation weeks makes more sense to us than renting motels or hotels, and here's why!

That said, let's examine why it should make sense to most people who take at least one or two vacations during a year.

Let's assume that you have a family of 4 people, two adults and two children. Vacations are meant to be fun for everyone of all ages to relax and enjoy time together.

You have 10 days to travel and sightsee.

Picture this scenario.

Day one: You have traveled most of the day, and now the kids are starting to get cranky. It's time to look for a motel that will be fun for both adults and children. OK, there's one. It has a pool, and that's what the kids want. But you have to unpack and settle in first. Next, you have to eat. The motel or hotel may or may not have a restaurant. Everyone is having fun. Hurry and eat , or there won't be time to go swimming. Then, try to get a good night's rest, all in the same motel room with two queen sized beds and one bathroom.

The next morning, you all wake up and head to the same bathroom. Oops, it's busy.

Breakfast anyone? Maybe there's a free continental breakfast. No? Back to the restaurant, but be sure everything is out of the room so you're not charged for an extra day.

Now it's time to pack and check out. Day one, with a continental breakfast, if available, and lodging, was well over $100. Get the picture?

Repeat this schedule for 10 days. Between food and lodging in one- room hotels and motels your vacation will cost between $1,000 to $1,500 at the minimum. What always got us, before owning vacations weeks, was the local taxes that were never quoted to us before we booked motel rooms. That can sometimes add 10% to 15% to your bill. You have nothing to show but receipts for the rentals of the motels and hotels. In addition to renting rooms in motels, what have you spent to enjoy the tourist attractions in each area, driving from one place to the next. Another reason for owning vacation weeks.

This is not a restful vacation, and sometime during the vacation, the adults will start to wonder whether or not it was worth it. The kids, if old enough, will reiterate the thought. There is also the problem of where to do laundry, and what to do with wet swimming suits during your restful vacation. Hmmm! An excellent reason for owning vacation weeks.

Now, picture this second scenario.

You purchased a two bedroom re-sale time share condo for $1,000 to $5,000, a one time cost, at a 5 star resort. It always works best to budget your maintenance and trading fees monthly. Now you own something that will last a lifetime and can be passed on to someone else to enjoy when you are done using it. That is an excellent reason in itself for owning vacation weeks.

Here's the next scenario. You travel one or two days to reach the resort.

You arrive, they are expecting you. You have already paid your maintenance fee for the year, so everybody unpacks in their separate bedrooms and uses their separate bathrooms. Great!

You need something to eat during the week so groceries are picked up prior to arriving at the resort or you have cleaned out your kitchen cabinets before leaving home and are ready to have a meal without leaving the condo. When owning vacation weeks, you feel at home, the kids, if old enough, can help themselves, and the laundry can be started right away so everybody has clean clothes during the week.

What's nice about a time share resort is that most everything that a family would like to do is on the resort or nearby. Whether you desire to stay at a resort that offers championship golf, majestic views, alpine skiing, spectacular fall foliage, or gourmet dining, you CAN find a time share resort that fulfills your dreams.

In the mornings you get up in your pj's and eat breakfast and sit around and plan your day. Maybe the first day you just take it easy. The kids can run and use the various amenities and you can just relax and finally get your book read. These are the benefits of owning vacation weeks.

We own two time share weeks, and the total cost of owning vacation weeks, initially, came to $3,000 and both vacation weeks are two bedroom units. We use them for trading to other 5 star resorts and have never been disappointed. The total cost of the yearly maintenance fee's for both resorts comes to $75 per month. That's $900 per year. Add another $139 for each exchange = $278 and another membership fee to Interval International of $84. The exchange fee and the Interval International fees are not required should you just use your vacations at your own resorts. In our case, the total monthly budget cost of owning vacation weeks is $105.16 excluding gas for travel by car and the possibility of staying out two nights during the year to reach our destination. These fees total $1,261.99 per year for two weeks of top notch 5 star time share vacations in two bedroom condos.

So, we have figured that the cost of owning vacation weeks, versus renting motels is more worthwhile than renting motel or hotel rooms, and we can have more fun just relaxing at a resort in a tourists destination area.

Initially, we had to re-educate our own thinking. Instead of saying, "We can't afford to stay near the Oregon coast where we can watch the whales, "we learned to say, "Is there a time share resort on the Oregon coast where we can spend a week?"

It's really exciting when, after putting in an internet request for a time share location, to check our on-line membership, and see the word "confirmed." Then, we know we're about to have one more dream fulfilled of being able to vacation at a premier resort location.

Owning Vacation Weeks. Click here For Some Great Listings.