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After 6 years of owning Marriott timeshares, what advice would I give my 5 married children regarding the "financial aspects" of timeshare/points ownership? Incidentally, our ownership includes 5 Newport Coast weeks, 1 Custom House week in Boston, 1 Grand Chateau week in Las Vegas, and 2,500 Vacation Club points. This investment nears $200,000. I would advise them to "rent" what they need thru Redweek; and, should they really insist on ownership, to only buy high season easily traded weeks in the secondary market. I would tell them not to worry about the added flexibility of the point system as it is not worth the cost. I would remind them of the annual maintenance fees that amount to half or more of the cost of renting a week. I would tell them to invest their money safely and avoid the extraordinary and immediate decline in value one experiences from buying a timeshare product. I would also remind them that there is no acceptable exit strategy for timeshare products. What else? I would tell them to plan vacations 9-12 months in advance and that they can have the fun without the extraordinary cost of timeshare ownership. One last thing, I would remind them that we have had great "family building" experiences on Marriott vacations.