Debt Dumpers - 2018

[disney-inspired]

You know what you need? A banana dance to help you celebrate this bleak time: You're doing a heck of a job @disney-inspired . Keep it up. I look at my snowball (just about an hour ago) and know I'll be where you are next year. Hopefully, by the end of 2019, we will only have the house and student loans. And really, the house is our main focus. We won't default on DH's student loans, but we are paying for an almost degree for a field he never went into. So ridiculous of us. Wish I could go back and slap ourselves.

Also, 2/3's done means closer to Christmas! And I'm not saying that for the presents. I LOVE seeing the lights go up. And I'm "one of those" who puts mine up early. For me, this year, it's a bonus that my Dad is still with us.

Yesterday, I don't know why, but I called Magical Express to make sure my work trip flights were there for next month. Well thank goodness I did! They weren't and we would've been looking at an $80 cab ride!

Thank you @imbatman I needed that banana dance! I wish I could back in time and yell at my 18 year old self who was applying for a credit card, "IT'S A TRAAAAP!" and then again to my 20 year old self when I transferred to a 4 year university that it's okay to take more than 4 years to complete your degree if it means no debt.

I love Christmas! We might squeeze in a Disneyland trip (I have my annual pass) sometime in the fall. I don't go as often because it still costs money for parking and food so have to plan it out. I did just cash out $25 in a Disney giftcard so may go down in a week or so but it's totally different from taking a full on vacation. Also it's stinking HOT out here!

 

[Eureka]

We have DD's birthday plans all set! My parents will be coming on her birthday and we will have a smash cake for her. Then we are going to a Halloween themed event for little kids at Greenfield Village on Saturday. The event has a hayride, an Alice in Wonderland themed dinner buffet with a cookie decorating activity, a Halloween sing-a-long and a costume parade all before sunset. And then on Sunday we will all be going to the Toledo Zoo to see all of the animals, which I know DD will love. I am pretty excited for all of the fun family activities we will do instead of a party. With no family close by, it seems silly to just invite our friends for a kids birthday party.

I understand completely. We don't live near family and DS17 was born close to Christmas so we just celebrated his first birthday the three of us and then a bigger family party when we traveled for the holiday.

 

[imbatman]

I love Christmas! We might squeeze in a Disneyland trip (I have my annual pass) sometime in the fall. I don't go as often because it still costs money for parking and food so have to plan it out. I did just cash out $25 in a Disney giftcard so may go down in a week or so but it's totally different from taking a full on vacation. Also it's stinking HOT out here!

YES!!! I'm neighbors with the Carr fire right now, so it's 100+ every.single.day, with the oppressive smoke to boot. DL is expensive. Last year, DH and I cashed in rewards for a free hotel (holy cow, it was a heck of a walk, though!) but we both agree that it was fantastic (other than he had the flu...). I'm not a hotel snob. I try to spend the least amount of time in a room, so as long as the beds are clean, I don't mind putting my suitcase on the table in the corner. But we did pick one with free parking and that helped.

 

[pblack]

@Jen and Ashwin maybe this post by Disneyland Daily will help you with planning your day at DCA with your little one since Bug's Land is/will be no more.

https://www.facebook.com/DisneylandDailyCasey/posts/1706077022823267

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

@Jen and Ashwin maybe this post by Disneyland Daily will help you with planning your day at DCA with your little one since Bug's Land is/will be no more.

https://www.facebook.com/DisneylandDailyCasey/posts/1706077022823267

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, DD won't even be 32 inches by November, so a lot of the rides that she lists like Soarin', Radiator Springs Racers, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, etc. will all be out of her height range. The Bug's Land area was really a necessary place for really little ones to enjoy that park and taking it out leaves a huge void.

Does anyone know how strict they are with the height limits on some of the lower end, 32 inches rides? I feel like she could handle
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, but she will still be an inch or two short probably.

 

[Ngwira]

Happy Friday, everyone. I’m currently at the mechanics fixing my brakes and tires. Lots of money to be spent right before a Disney World vacation but what can you do when you drive 100 miles per day? Winter is coming meaning it gets dark at 4:30 and cell phone coverage is spotty in areas of my commute. I’d rather play it safe even though I’d rather not spend the money.

Celebrating both DDs birthdays this weekend. Found a Groupon for iplay America so they can play as many games as they want. Then birthday dinner at Bertuccis. We compromised and let them invite 2 friends each instead of just 1. Shouldn’t bring the cost up too much since it’s pizza and everyone can share.

 

[Eureka]

Happy Friday, everyone. I’m currently at the mechanics fixing my brakes and tires. Lots of money to be spent right before a Disney World vacation but what can you do when you drive 100 miles per day? Winter is coming meaning it gets dark at 4:30 and cell phone coverage is spotty in areas of my commute. I’d rather play it safe even though I’d rather not spend the money.

Celebrating both DDs birthdays this weekend. Found a Groupon for iplay America so they can play as many games as they want. Then birthday dinner at Bertuccis. We compromised and let them invite 2 friends each instead of just 1. Shouldn’t bring the cost up too much since it’s pizza and everyone can share.

Ugh, I hear you, my commute is the same mileage. I hate driving in the dark. Hope you have a fun birthday celebration and a great Disney trip!

 

[Ngwira]

Ugh, I hear you, my commute is the same mileage. I hate driving in the dark. Hope you have a fun birthday celebration and a great Disney trip!

Thank you. I know you feel my pain. Have had this car for 2 years and this is the most significant money I’ve spent on it so not bad. I have a 2010 Toyota Camry. Mechanic charged me $540 for brakes and 4 new tires. I was able to put it on my Chase Freedom Unlimited so at least I get the points.

 

[amalone1013]

Thank you. I know you feel my pain. Have had this car for 2 years and this is the most significant money I’ve spent on it so not bad. I have a 2010 Toyota Camry. Mechanic charges me $540 for brakes and 4 new tires.

I love Camrys!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Just had our annual AC/furnace inspection. The AC is in great shape, but the furnace's inducer motor is nearing its last leg. Likely the bearings are wearing down in it and it is much noisier than it used to be. The tech said it might last through the winter, but might not. I kind of want to take the risk and not replace it until it actually dies to see if we can make it one more season. So we will be looking at the budget tonight and setting aside the $400 for that repair over the next few months. That way, we will be ready in case it does die. And if not, then I will have it replaced next year.

 

[Eureka]

Thank you. I know you feel my pain. Have had this car for 2 years and this is the most significant money I’ve spent on it so not bad. I have a 2010 Toyota Camry. Mechanic charged me $540 for brakes and 4 new tires. I was able to put it on my Chase Freedom Unlimited so at least I get the points.

That's actually not bad a deal at all for tires and brakes. We have a 2010 Camry too. And just bought a 2015 Camry. And have a 2012 Rav. We should be the poster family for Toyota, lol.

 

[jen7233]

Does anyone know how strict they are with the height limits on some of the lower end, 32 inches rides? I feel like she could handle
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, but she will still be an inch or two short probably.

It's been a long time since I took mine as babies to Disneyland with one and World another. What a bummer about the Bug's Land. I still remember it being fun though at the parks, they had more parades then, and we loved having the stroller to have them in and to stash our own things. I remember going on Dumbo, Small World, and don't remember too many more details. Anyway, hopefully she can go on some things and they won't be too strict on the height requirement for ones that seem capable for a younger child to go on with parents.

Winter is coming meaning it gets dark at 4:30 and cell phone coverage is spotty in areas of my commute. I’d rather play it safe even though I’d rather not spend the money.

Wow winter already? What region do you live in, is it northeast? I can't get enough of summer, I love it, and the late hours of daylight but yes those days are slowly getting darker earlier but we are still at about 8:10 p.m. roughly for sundown.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Double posting to ask a question on the "using points" from credit cards for trips, etc. I have two main credit cards - one is a Disney Chase, which I currently don't use as we don't have any plans for a Disney trip in the future (please don't flog me), so it's just backup/emergency. The other is a Chase Freedom which I get 1.5 cash back on all purchases. I use this for almost everything non-bill related. Currently, I just cash out the "cash back" each month and apply it back towards my credit card, but even if I saved those dollars for a trip, I just don't see how I could ever rack up enough points to always cover airfare and/or hotel for both my husband and I (let alone our son).

Are people just continually signing up for new credit cards in order to get the initial offer deals, etc? At some point that hurts your credit score because your "age" of credit is going to be really small. And I know of the 5/24 rule but even if you are just getting 5 new cards every 2 years... well, I just can't imagine constantly changing the CC company I do business with that frequently. Maybe I am just too old school. The previous posts of having a multitude of accounts in order to get bonuses, etc. gave me anxiety just trying to think of managing all of that and I am an analyst by trade that does this type of stuff every day! LOL

I don't do it very often; maybe every few years. My age of credit (20+ yrs)stays the same because it's none of the new cards we sign up for. I have old cards I never ever use with no AF.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you order a replacement card from Chase on either your account or your wife’s, you could go down to one CSP (I believe that’s what you have instead of CSR which has the $450 annual fee.) I have the CSR and just got a replacement card for DH to use for the 3x for dining and travel. The replacement CSP does not de-activate the original card so you can have the original and DW can have the replacement.

Some additional SW info, Chase has since changed the rules on SW personal cards and you can only apply for one/hold one personal at a time (Plus, Premier or their new luxury card.) The only way around this is to apply for 2 SW personal cards on the same day, using different browsers, devices or incognito and get approved. This is typically known as the “double dip.” SW also has the Biz card that can be held, in addition, to the the personal. It currently has a bonus of 60k SW points after you meet the MSR. You can only receive the bonus every 24 months from when you last received the prior bonus. so like I received my SW Plus and Premier bonuses on 1/1/18 and 1/3/18. I am ineligible to receive the bonus again until after 1/2020.

It's not a matter of simply having 2 cards; it's having 2 separate accounts that's helping me. One in each of our names then we added each other as authorized users for each other's accounts. So we can both charge on both accounts as needed.

 

[christineinvegas]

Thank you. I know you feel my pain. Have had this car for 2 years and this is the most significant money I’ve spent on it so not bad. I have a 2010 Toyota Camry. Mechanic charged me $540 for brakes and 4 new tires. I was able to put it on my Chase Freedom Unlimited so at least I get the points.

I work for a Toyota dealer, and I don't think that's too bad. We charge $250 for front brakes, so less than $300 for 4 tires is pretty good IMO.

I have a 2012 Camry and LOVE it. Good cars as long as you keep them maintained!

 

[Ngwira]

Wow winter already? What region do you live in, is it northeast? I can't get enough of summer, I love it, and the late hours of daylight but yes those days are slowly getting darker earlier but we are still at about 8:10 p.m. roughly for sundown.[/QUOTE]
Northeast too but it gets dark around 4:30 end of September which is a month and a half away. October is deer season here and deer plus darkness leads to scary commute. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You know what you need? A banana dance to help you celebrate this bleak time: You're doing a heck of a job @disney-inspired . Keep it up. I look at my snowball (just about an hour ago) and know I'll be where you are next year. Hopefully, by the end of 2019, we will only have the house and student loans. And really, the house is our main focus. We won't default on DH's student loans, but we are paying for an almost degree for a field he never went into. So ridiculous of us. Wish I could go back and slap ourselves.

Also, 2/3's done means closer to Christmas! And I'm not saying that for the presents. I LOVE seeing the lights go up. And I'm "one of those" who puts mine up early. For me, this year, it's a bonus that my Dad is still with us.

Yesterday, I don't know why, but I called Magical Express to make sure my work trip flights were there for next month. Well thank goodness I did! They weren't and we would've been looking at an $80 cab ride!

Don't slap yourselves. No education is ever a waste of money. Yes, it's an "invisible" thing when it doesn't end with a degree but in a way it partly shaped him into the person he is now.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, DD won't even be 32 inches by November, so a lot of the rides that she lists like Soarin', Radiator Springs Racers, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, etc. will all be out of her height range. The Bug's Land area was really a necessary place for really little ones to enjoy that park and taking it out leaves a huge void.

Does anyone know how strict they are with the height limits on some of the lower end, 32 inches rides? I feel like she could handle
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, but she will still be an inch or two short probably.

We started taking DS4 to Disneyland when he was 7 months old. I got so excited when he was tall enough for Mater's because he loves Cars. CMs for Mater and Jumping Jellyfish seemed just as attentive to height measurements as the bigger rides. The trip he was 33 inches, CMs were always checking his height.

As for rides with no height restrictions, the Golden Zyphyr and TSMM were my son's favorite.

 

[bababear_50]

Another Toyota owner here.
I have the Toyota Yaris Hatchback, while I bought her used she is a little gem.
When I got her the Salesperson advice was to never skip an oil change.
I do have a new to me car savings account I started last year and I will probably buy Toyota again.
(Mine has a secret 3rd glove compartment behind the steering wheel.
Her name is Bluebell
Hugs Mel

 

[Eureka]

Another Toyota owner here.
I have the Toyota Yaris Hatchback, while I bought her used she is a little gem.
When I got her the Salesperson advice was to never skip an oil change.
I do have a new to me car savings account I started last year and I will probably buy Toyota again.
(Mine has a secret 3rd glove compartment behind the steering wheel.
Her name is Bluebell
Hugs Mel

Cute car! I have seen the Yaris on the road and it seems tiny, since we still have the (tall) boys at home, it wouldn’t work for us (yet). Is it gas-efficient? Not that I will be in the market for a new car for quite a while, we have bought two new-to-us cars in the last 18 months!