Debt Dumpers - 2018

[Aurora_Australis]

Not good debt dumping this weekend but at least we have money squirreled away to help family out. Need to send $1500 to FIL today (only found out yesterday, when DH was on the last leg of his trip home from ILs and didn't have anyone else in the car anymore) so they can secure a consolidation loan and not have to declare bankrupt. He's been keeping it in for at least 6mths, if not longer, and finally explains a whole bunch of stuff that hasn't quite made sense.

I'm lucky that I can get my hands on it pretty quickly (some will have to be transferred from the kids savings accounts so that we don't have zero left til payday) and I've told DH we can probably offer another $1500 in the next week. Puts any hope of paying off debt on hold for at least a month though, along with tightening our belts a LOT more.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

No I've never done that. I would just call the company and see if they'll raise your limit for purchase.

Interesting, my credit score went back up to what it used to be a couple months ago. I had cancelled some credit cards, think I have mentioned it on here. Anyway, I had cancelled them because I didn't use or want them, and the score dropped. Now today some maybe 8 weeks later I think it is, my score is back up.

Well that’s good to know they don’t permanently penalize people for cancelling unwanted credit cards.

 

[bababear_50]

I have been reading up on banking costs and fees that retired people and investors incur,
I thought this article explained it nicely....Management Expense Ratio (MER)
CARP (Canadian Association Retired Person)
Article is from April/2017
http://www.carp.ca/campaign/investor-protection/

When you look at the money the bank (investment costs) is making and what the retired person actually gets it's staggering..
My bank wants 1.6%,,,not happening.

Hugs Mel

 

[Dentam]

Well that’s good to know they don’t permanently penalize people for cancelling unwanted credit cards.

Yes, this is definitely good to know since I knew that canceling cards would decrease your credit score, but I wasn't sure for how long.

 

[EpiStitch]

I finally convinced BF to go to Disney this year!! We had talked about it several times and I had shown him some stuff online, but I texted him some possible dates on Friday and we talked about the options yesterday and booked a week in mid-September! I can't wait to show him around since it will be his first time.

Here at home, I'm trying to pay off my car loan by the end of May, $2900 left, some of which will come from my tax refund if I'm ever able to file it. I have all the forms, but one of them is missing an ID so I can't file until I get that, which is really annoying because TurboTax raised prices on March 1, so I will look into other options. I'm also looking to get my closet redone since there are currently no drawers or anything in it and I have clothes in trash bags for the time being. I'm hoping to have someone out to measure and order in the next couple weeks. This will come out of savings and be repaid in the coming months since it will need to be done relatively soon.

In more exciting news, my BF will likely be moving in this summer when his lease is up! This should mean more money available so I can start paying toward my personal loan at a higher rate and save more toward the emergency fund and future trips. I also have my financial advisor looking at models to see if I can be on track to retire by 60 (I'm in my 30s, so I have time to adjust).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

DCL just released summer 2019 dates. I NEED to get back to FT work. I can't stand to live on 1 paycheck. No room for fun!

 

[pblack]

Not good debt dumping this weekend but at least we have money squirreled away to help family out. Need to send $1500 to FIL today (only found out yesterday, when DH was on the last leg of his trip home from ILs and didn't have anyone else in the car anymore) so they can secure a consolidation loan and not have to declare bankrupt. He's been keeping it in for at least 6mths, if not longer, and finally explains a whole bunch of stuff that hasn't quite made sense.

I'm lucky that I can get my hands on it pretty quickly (some will have to be transferred from the kids savings accounts so that we don't have zero left til payday) and I've told DH we can probably offer another $1500 in the next week. Puts any hope of paying off debt on hold for at least a month though, along with tightening our belts a LOT more.

It sounds like a good cause for putting off your debt dumping for a short while. I'm sure he's really appreciate to you guys for the help.

 

[Ngwira]

DCL just released summer 2019 dates. I NEED to get back to FT work. I can't stand to live on 1 paycheck. No room for fun!

I just looked and still see up to May 2019 released. Did the prices go up alot?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I just looked and still see up to May 2019 released. Did the prices go up alot?

I don’t know. Usually when new schedules open, the first day or 2 is only for gold and platinum members and the only way to book is through a TA or by phone. So I emailed my TA but haven’t gotten a reply. She’s probably swamped. She says it’s always a feeding frenzy early on.

 

[jen7233]

DCL just released summer 2019 dates. I NEED to get back to FT work. I can't stand to live on 1 paycheck. No room for fun!

I saw this!! I so want to go on a Disney cruise. It's been a bucket list item for a long time now. One day......

I finally convinced BF to go to Disney this year!! We had talked about it several times and I had shown him some stuff online, but I texted him some possible dates on Friday and we talked about the options yesterday and booked a week in mid-September! I can't wait to show him around since it will be his first time.

That is great!!! And good on the car loan paying.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I evaluated how much we have been spending on baby supplies, because I was curious. It has been such a huge help now that I have been using the Similac/Enfamil/Gerber rebate coupons on the Costco formula. Over 4 months, it has cost us just $33.75 per month for formula. That is for about 4 cans per month. And when I switched to Costco formula, I also decided to try their diapers. We have been really happy with them in both quality and price. Over 4 months, we have averaged about $37.50 per month in diapers.

The architect is almost done with the plans for the basement, after a little bit of back and forth with some revisions. And it looks awesome. It will be such an amazing, functional space once we have it all completed. I am especially excited for the big open play space for DD. Our 2 upper levels have so much furniture, having an uncluttered play area will be so nice once she is mobile.

And I don't think I mentioned this before, but DD has her first tooth coming in. I went and bought her a teething mitt because she always seems to drop her teething toys. It cost $20, but I thought it might solve the problem. Unfortunately, her hand is still pretty small and she often whips her hand quickly, then the mitt then flies across the room. *sigh*

 

[LMA712014]

Looking at a new to us car today (I’ve realized how nice it has been to be car payment free and I cringe at the idea of going back). Fingers crossed they’ll take my enclosed trailer as a trade, which should cut the price nearly in half, and I believe we have a private purchaser for our Trailblazer which would cover the remainder of the purchase price. Crossing all the body parts that this pans off so it doesn’t slip us into payments again.

We also found a used RV from a local individual my husband knows for a really reasonable price so yahoo! That’s in motion - and I couldn’t be more excited.

Now to eagerly wait our tax return deposit to knock out some debt!

 

[DnA2010]

I evaluated how much we have been spending on baby supplies, because I was curious. It has been such a huge help now that I have been using the Similac/Enfamil/Gerber rebate coupons on the Costco formula. Over 4 months, it has cost us just $33.75 per month for formula. That is for about 4 cans per month. And when I switched to Costco formula, I also decided to try their diapers. We have been really happy with them in both quality and price. Over 4 months, we have averaged about $37.50 per month in diapers.

The architect is almost done with the plans for the basement, after a little bit of back and forth with some revisions. And it looks awesome. It will be such an amazing, functional space once we have it all completed. I am especially excited for the big open play space for DD. Our 2 upper levels have so much furniture, having an uncluttered play area will be so nice once she is mobile.

And I don't think I mentioned this before, but DD has her first tooth coming in. I went and bought her a teething mitt because she always seems to drop her teething toys. It cost $20, but I thought it might solve the problem. Unfortunately, her hand is still pretty small and she often whips her hand quickly, then the mitt then flies across the room. *sigh*

The coupons are awesome! I actually pretty much all my formula for free as we have one store that lets you stack formula coupons. I combo fed, but it still helped a lot. People gave them away on FB groups, and my FB baby group lots of people sent me theirs.

Your basement sounds great! we really want to finish ours in the coming years too.

Did you get the "munch" mitt? My DD had one but we never could get it to stay either and she just chucked it around. Do you have a Sophie? My DD liked Sophie.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

The coupons are awesome! I actually pretty much all my formula for free as we have one store that lets you stack formula coupons. I combo fed, but it still helped a lot. People gave them away on FB groups, and my FB baby group lots of people sent me theirs.

Your basement sounds great! we really want to finish ours in the coming years too.

Did you get the "munch" mitt? My DD had one but we never could get it to stay either and she just chucked it around. Do you have a Sophie? My DD liked Sophie.

I have gotten a few of the coupons from a local FB group. No one seems to want the Gerber coupons, so I always ask for them. Costco lets me use one rebate per can. But someone gave me an $18 Gerber rebate this past week, which is for more than the Costco formula even costs.

I did get the munch mitt. She really seems to like it, but it doesn't seem to stay on her hand very long. She does have a Sophie, but she isn't really into it. She will hold it, but doesn't seem to like to munch on it. She actually seems to like to mouth her soft toys the most.

And I came here to vent some frustrations. I went to pick up DD from daycare and they hadn't fed her the last bottle today. Which means the last time she was fed was 4 hours before I got there. When I got her home she was so frantic and I couldn't even get her bib on her because she was so crazed when she saw the bottle. The daycare has had some staff turnover recently and they transitioned some of the older babies into the wobbler room and there are 4 new little infants too. The transition hasn't seemed to be going well and there have been issues. DD's sheets that they record her feedings/naps/diaper changes on haven't always been complete. Since we are still tracking her feedings (because she still isn't very consistent), this matters to us. Last Friday, they hadn't filled it out at all! But today it seems that they didn't just neglect her sheet, but they neglected her. I have been trying to be patient and hope that they would work things out, but I am getting really frustrated now.

We are on a waitlist for another daycare because I wanted a backup in case this one didn't work out. But they said they wouldn't have a spot open until June. That is still 3 months away. I could look into another place, but if we go to daycares that are closer to work and not home, it would be much more expensive and much less convenient. I am just feeling really upset right now and sad because I want DD to be well cared for and right now I don't think that she is getting that.

 

[jen7233]

We are on a waitlist for another daycare because I wanted a backup in case this one didn't work out. But they said they wouldn't have a spot open until June. That is still 3 months away. I could look into another place, but if we go to daycares that are closer to work and not home, it would be much more expensive and much less convenient. I am just feeling really upset right now and sad because I want DD to be well cared for and right now I don't think that she is getting that.

Ugh, sorry! I hope you get it resolved. Have you talked to the staff or director about it? Definitely do that. Sometimes those waitlists fly out of nowhere could be number 10 then suddenly number one, and maybe you'll get her to the new one sooner.

Looking at a new to us car today

Fun, and even better when it's a good deal!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Ugh, sorry! I hope you get it resolved. Have you talked to the staff or director about it? Definitely do that. Sometimes those waitlists fly out of nowhere could be number 10 then suddenly number one, and maybe you'll get her to the new one sooner.

I definitely spoke to the director on my way out the door today. And I have made a point to say something each time they didn't fill out her daily sheet. I was hoping that the kinks were just going to be short-lived and once the staff transition had a little time, things would get back to business as usual. But it doesn't seem to be happening and things actually seem to be getting worse. At this point, we don't have tons of options short of paying $800+ more per month for a daycare center closer to work. But at that price, I would seriously consider looking for a nanny instead. At least with a nanny, she would have someone's undivided attention.

 

[DisneyMandC]

And I came here to vent some frustrations. I went to pick up DD from daycare and they hadn't fed her the last bottle today. Which means the last time she was fed was 4 hours before I got there. When I got her home she was so frantic and I couldn't even get her bib on her because she was so crazed when she saw the bottle. The daycare has had some staff turnover recently and they transitioned some of the older babies into the wobbler room and there are 4 new little infants too. The transition hasn't seemed to be going well and there have been issues. DD's sheets that they record her feedings/naps/diaper changes on haven't always been complete. Since we are still tracking her feedings (because she still isn't very consistent), this matters to us. Last Friday, they hadn't filled it out at all! But today it seems that they didn't just neglect her sheet, but they neglected her. I have been trying to be patient and hope that they would work things out, but I am getting really frustrated now.

Sorry you're dealing with this. We're going through something similar but on the opposite end of the age spectrum with my 96 year old grandmother. It can be very frustrating when you're paying such a high price for care and not receiving it!

 

[FQLover]

Hi All--since I mentioned that this is the very best thread on the DisBoard and the one that caused me to get out of lurking mode, I should introduce myself a little bit.

I found this Board about 10 years ago by following someone else's money-saving blog. I quickly became a daily reader, but there were a lot of unpleasant posts with people being unkind to each other back then. So, I just lurked and learned and never participated. I had not thought of Disney before--I was just here for the budgeting and cost-cutting ideas. However, in these ten years, my DD and I have made 3 trips to Disney now, haha! I also became a fan of Vera Bradley and Fiesta Ware through this darn board, so I have ended up spending some money I never would have before, to be sure.

Even so, I learned about Dave Ramsey through this Board and got myself out of debt over 3 years. Now, every dollar has a name, and I keep accounts of all my spending each month, down to the $1.07 Diet Coke I get at the McDonald's drive-through! I enjoyed being out of debt (other than my mortgage) for about three years and having a nice amount saved when everything "old" sort of broke at once in the summer of 2016, My 10 year old van was needing more and more expensive repairs, and the AC repair on it only lasted 1 year before it went out again. I was looking at putting in another $3K of repairs when I had been hitting 1-2K a year already. No, can't do (we even drove around for 6 weeks in a heat wave with no AC while I dithered about going into debt again for a car). My DD17 looked at me with sweat running down her face one day in the car and asked me, politely, if I had made up my mind about the car situation yet. Yikes! Time to get a new car. I took a little from savings for a down payment but largely financed the car, feeling really bad about that. The same summer, her ortho told me that he wasn't going to wait for her late 12 year old molars to come in after all but was going to start with the braces. So, his office got me a total and put me on a payment plan.

That fall of '16, my 33 year old furnace bit the dust, despite me nursing it a long with a pretty big repair six months before. I paid cash for the $3400 new unit. Ouch. Then the same thing happened in the spring of '17 with my 19 year old central AC, again having paid for an expensive repair the year before. This time I shopped around until I found 0% financing for 5 years for the $3600 bill for a new unit. I just did not have enough savings to take a second big chunk of it out for heating and cooling within seven months. So, I am back in business with a car loan, monthly ortho payment, and an AC loan. I have managed to pay cash for my (large) portion of a tooth extraction, root canal, and bridge in this same time period, as well as a washing machine.

New expenses coming up: an unexpected second tooth extraction, root canal and bridge and.....a $1400-1600 work up at Purdue Animal Hospital in a couple of weeks for our 3 year old dog who is suspected of having bladder cancer. I know that Dave Ramsey says to take savings down to 1K in order to pay cash for everything, but I am just not comfortable with that. I am trying to batten down the hatches and be extra frugal each month, though. I saved enough from my monthly budget to pay off the remaining four months of the "braces" contract, so as of last week, I am done with that bill. I have the car, the AC, and the upcoming dental and vet bill (any surgery needed would be on top of that) still on the "debt books."

I tell you--you can feel great about where you have landed after some hard work but then when Murphy hits and everything breaks or goes south at the same time, you have decisions to make. How much of your savings are you going to use up? How much new debt to get into? I am the sole parent to my teen, and I am also a lot older than you guys, so there are always different things we each have to consider. This Board, and this thread, is very inspiring and informative, though.

Thanks for reading!

 

[ml sumner]

I don't post often either, but I can tell you from reading this board it has made me a lot more conscious of the charging and new debt that we take on. At tax time we used every bit of our $6K to pay off our credit card debt. I was so sick of seeing the interest charged every month. My goal is to try and stay in budget as much as possible this year. We were able to take our state refund to pay for our 7 day tickets for our upcoming trip at the end of May and will have enough in savings to finish paying for our room at POR upon arrival. We have already had several unexpected medical bills this year between me, my son, and our dog who is 11 years old and starting to have health issues, but so far we are staying on track. The purse strings are starting to get tighter though and I will have to be extra diligent in order to avoid running over our budget for the rest of the year. We have also upped our savings account, DS savings account, our Christmas Club account and my 401K savings. This is a nice support group that I love being apart of.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Sorry you're dealing with this. We're going through something similar but on the opposite end of the age spectrum with my 96 year old grandmother. It can be very frustrating when you're paying such a high price for care and not receiving it!

DH made sure to say something this morning when he dropped DD off to daycare. I really am hoping that they work out their problems because this daycare is by far the most convenient option for us.

But I now have an appointment on Friday morning to tour the other daycare that will have an opening starting in June. It is a Montessori daycare, which I know will probably be quite different from where DD is currently.

My parents are getting into town tomorrow. On Friday, they are going to help me with DD's nursery. I have been working on moving all of my sewing stuff down to the basement. Man do I have a ton of stuff. I really need to go through it and eliminate some things. When The Container Store was having their Elfa sale, I ordered a closet for DD's room. The boxes should all be here tomorrow and my dad said that we can work on putting it up. I am also hoping that we have time to get the crib put together too. Everything else is just moving furniture from other parts of the house into the nursery, like the rocking chair that is currently in our master bedroom and the changing table that is out in the hall. Hoping that we might get everything done and DD can start sleeping there now that the extra insulation is in the attic.