Debt Dumpers 2023

[cvjw]

My dad can't even make a phone call on his Apple phone, let alone the tiny watch. (He checks the weather and listens to music.) Also some Apple watches are water resistant but it's not recommended to get soap, shampoo, etc on it which is part of showering. If he fell in the shower, he wouldn't have that protection.
Also, he has dementia so he may not remember to put back it back on. He wears his pendant 24/7.
It's from Lifefone. They will call his house, then up to 4 contacts before calling 911.
Every now and then, the fall detection gives a false alarm but it's still a great service.

When my niece took him to the shore for a long weekend, she just packed up the base device that just needs an electric outlet to plug in. Once they get to the new location, just call Lifefone and give the address where he's staying so they know which town's emergency services they'd need to call.

It works well for him but different seniors have different needs and abilities.

My in laws are 91 and 87 and both are very comfortable with their iPhones and Apple Watches. Guess it just depends on the person.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My in laws are 91 and 87 and both are very comfortable with their iPhones and Apple Watches. Guess it just depends on the person.

Yes, it does. Dementia makes it hard to learn new things. He inherited my mom's iphone but barely uses it. She knew it well. Meanwhile his mother lived to age 99 and loved her Kindle. Every now and then she'd end up somewhere she couldn't navigate and my mom would help her get back to the page she was on.

 

[barkley]

on a bright note budget wise-got our 1000 gallon propane tank topped off for winter and was surprised to find that propane prices have dropped about 16 cents per gallon since last december. we only needed about 250 gallons (it provides the fuel for our generac in case of power loss so we make sure it's at capacity just in case b/c our roads can get pretty sketchy with the ice and snow) but still a nice savings vs. the extra cost i figured we would be looking at.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Hope you’re feeling better soon!

Thanks! It's been just about 2 weeks now and today was the first time I was able to make it out to go get a few groceries. It's definitely something you want to avoid catching if you can

 

[Tygerlilly]

It's from Lifefone.

I believe this is what we had for my grandfather. My dad liked it for him.

 

[pblack]

What should have been a fun disneyland weekend for us turned into a complete train wreck. On Wednesday my dad was trying to trim a tree branch and it broke off and split his head open. He's been in the trauma center since Wednesday, sedated, and not really wanting to wake up. He does open and close his eyes, but rarely talks and doesn't make sense when he does. He is stable though which is good. They're also concerned he may have suffered a stroke, but they weren't able to get him into an mri today. We ended up still taking our trip for a variety of reasons (please no negative feedback), but I honestly wish we had ended up canceling. We ended up eating the cost of our 3rd park day today and came home earlier than planned. I'm heading to the hospital tomorrow to see him, but I'm feeling like a complete wreck about it. All this to say, I'd love the power of positive vibes, prayers, good wishes... whatever it is that you believe in for the best possible outcome of all this. I'm a complete daddy's girl so I've got a lot of emotions going on right now.

 

[FQLover]

Oh, I am so sorry, @pblack! I will add prayers for his complete recovery to my prayer list tonight. I am sure that this is a scary time for you and your family. Hugs!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

What should have been a fun disneyland weekend for us turned into a complete train wreck. On Wednesday my dad was trying to trim a tree branch and it broke off and split his head open. He's been in the trauma center since Wednesday, sedated, and not really wanting to wake up. He does open and close his eyes, but rarely talks and doesn't make sense when he does. He is stable though which is good. They're also concerned he may have suffered a stroke, but they weren't able to get him into an mri today. We ended up still taking our trip for a variety of reasons (please no negative feedback), but I honestly wish we had ended up canceling. We ended up eating the cost of our 3rd park day today and came home earlier than planned. I'm heading to the hospital tomorrow to see him, but I'm feeling like a complete wreck about it. All this to say, I'd love the power of positive vibes, prayers, good wishes... whatever it is that you believe in for the best possible outcome of all this. I'm a complete daddy's girl so I've got a lot of emotions going on right now.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. Wishing your dad a complete recovery.
If I can make a suggestion…
I only say this bc the hospital where I work is a trauma center and I’ve worked there in radiology for 33+ years. Put pressure on them to get the MR done asap. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Trauma/emergency cases always take priority over other scheduled cases. That shiet would not flush at our hospital. Trauma surgeons would be throwing a fit to be told they can’t get same day imaging.
Sending you hugs and hoping you get encouraging news of progress very soon!

 

[pblack]

I’m sorry you’re going through this. Wishing your dad a complete recovery.
If I can make a suggestion…
I only say this bc the hospital where I work is a trauma center and I’ve worked there in radiology for 33+ years. Put pressure on them to get the MR done asap. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Trauma/emergency cases always take priority over other scheduled cases. That shiet would not flush at our hospital. Trauma surgeons would be throwing a fit to be told they can’t get same day imaging.
Sending you hugs and hoping you get encouraging news of progress very soon!

I'm hoping they'll be able to get it done today. The reason they weren't able to yesterday was due to my dad not being able to lay still long enough/something about his breathing to get it done and not anything to do with the hospital. Hoping I can get some clarification on a lot of things today instead of relying on like 3rd hand information.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

What should have been a fun disneyland weekend for us turned into a complete train wreck. On Wednesday my dad was trying to trim a tree branch and it broke off and split his head open. He's been in the trauma center since Wednesday, sedated, and not really wanting to wake up. He does open and close his eyes, but rarely talks and doesn't make sense when he does. He is stable though which is good. They're also concerned he may have suffered a stroke, but they weren't able to get him into an mri today. We ended up still taking our trip for a variety of reasons (please no negative feedback), but I honestly wish we had ended up canceling. We ended up eating the cost of our 3rd park day today and came home earlier than planned. I'm heading to the hospital tomorrow to see him, but I'm feeling like a complete wreck about it. All this to say, I'd love the power of positive vibes, prayers, good wishes... whatever it is that you believe in for the best possible outcome of all this. I'm a complete daddy's girl so I've got a lot of emotions going on right now.

That's terrible

I understand why you'd have wanted to try and keep the trip (it's easier for the less economically privileged to "get it") but I also understand why you might have regretted it.

Here's hoping it all pans out well. It's hard to predict what might happen with a head injury, especially in older people.

 

[barkley]

I'm hoping they'll be able to get it done today. The reason they weren't able to yesterday was due to my dad not being able to lay still long enough/something about his breathing to get it done and not anything to do with the hospital. Hoping I can get some clarification on a lot of things today instead of relying on like 3rd hand information.

hope all is going well with your dad (and you). i totally get the issue with the mri-i did several with no issue but then developed bad claustrophobia (even with open end) such that i have to be slightly sedated to have one done. when it was thought that i had had another stroke they had to delay b/c they did'nt want to use any sedatives that might create conflicting opinions over symptoms being stroke or sedative related. IF your dad did have a stroke keep in mind that things can dramatically change/improve with time.

you/your dad are in my thoughts.

 

[pblack]

Thanks all for the love/kind words/good thoughts. Received a good news update tonight. They finally were able to get the mri done today under sedation, everything looked pretty good though he did have a mild stroke. But everything appears to be healing well. He also took some ice chips today, said his own name, and followed some commands which is great improvement from yesterday when I saw him (he wouldn't do any of that yesterday). They plan on moving him to a rehab center on Thursday (hopefully) and the rehab center is so much closer to my house so that's good news for me. All in all we seem to be moving in the right direction. I'd appreciate it though if everyone could continue sending good juju our way.

 

[huggybuff]

Hey guys, I still exist! I checked the previous thread and I haven't checked in since since Aug 2022.

MY BAD

I hope everyone has been dumping since I've been away without too many setbacks...because we all know those happen.

Just a mini update for now...
I have $800 and change left on my personal loan and will have it paid off no later than 1/5/2024.

My car should've been paid off in February 2024, howEVER, I totaled it on 10/26 this year. So now I've got a new car loan and a 2019 Audi A3 that I absolutely love. I'm still figuring out all of the bells and whistles and buttons. Truly the car I've always wanted. (The most important thing was that I didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else in the accident of course.) As far as the car payments go, I was able to put down almost half of the price of the car from my insurance settlement and the payment is $200 less than the monthly car payment I was paying on the Kia. Another howEVER...I plan to knock it out in 3 years by paying extra every month starting in January.

I'm slowly knocking down the balances on my credit cards by using the snowball method. Very slowly. But I've paid off the first of 7 cards - all smallish balances. 3 of the cards will be destroyed and accounts closed after they are paid because they are not consumer friendly...annual fees, etc.

I have 1 credit card settlement that was negotiated outside of my personal loan package and I'm paying $238 a month to get rid of that for another year.

I started using the YNAB program/app last month. I'll admit it hasn't totally clicked for me yet. I mean, I understand it logically but it still doesn't feel effortless. I paid for a year's subscription and will definitely keep working at it.

My credit score is slowly coming up. Decreasing the credit card use percentage should help it rise more.

I will admit that I've still got a spending problem. Online shopping is the main culprit. Hoping that YNAB will help with that issue, at least a little.

My husband has 2 credit cards that he's trying to pay off as well. He's knocked down the Discover balance in half and after that he'll tackle the Capital One card. We racked up some of that debt on our WDW honeymoon this past April but it was worth it

We're going to get a joint account (finally) around May after I get some savings going after the personal loan is paid off. We're still keeping our own accounts but want one joint account for household expenses we can both contribute to monthly.

I guess that wasn't so 'mini' of an update.

Tomorrow I'll try to write up some goals

 

[Tygerlilly]

Welcome back!

 

[huggybuff]

Welcome back!

Thanks girl!!!

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Still having some lingering covid issues, but I'm far away from being contagious and I have some energy and sense of taste back. The sense of smell is still pretty much gone.

Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Still using them and paying them off before they start earning interest.
-As soon as I paid everything off I had to put a ton of stuff on my card, and I don't even know how much I owe. I have some time to figure it out and work on paying it, but I need to get on it. Now until spring is always a struggle.
2. Figure out a way to put some sort of extra on the mortgage, even if it's the $100 minimum - DONE!
3. Get some things I NEED to have (rims/tires for the car, items that need replacing at home, etc)
-Nothing this week, probably nothing else this year
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week, and maybe not for the whole winter. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings. Christmas should be mostly done now.

General stuff:
1. Make a will - DONE!
2. Continue to clear out the crap. I need to go through my clothes and that sort of thing. I got a pile done in 2022, but it really wasn't enough.
-1 item gone this week.
3. Look for a new job. The reason nothing has been getting done is because I'm burned out from my existing job and I'm being severely underpaid for the work I do.
-Checked the email notifications and job sites daily.
-Talked to a contact I have about a potential position.
-Applied for one job.
4. Get my passport.-DONE!
5. Knock some half-finished projects off the list. Everything from making a scarf to some jewelry. Lots of stuff has been started, but not finished. Enough already!
-Nothing this week
6. Get into better shape. I'd like to say 'lose weight', but I'd be happy to be able to run up my own steps without getting winded. The weight loss may or may not come, but it's not as important.
-2 workouts was all I could manage. They weren't even good ones, but it's better than it was.
7. Spend more time with loved ones. I don't see friends/family much. I guess I really need to do #3 in order to facilitate this one.
-Went to see family. They've also passed the contagious stage of covid, so I could see them again.
8. Organize my stuff!
-Nothing

 

[pblack]

Goal wise: everything seems to still be moving in the right direction. Our Mexico trip at the end of January is up in the air depending on how things go over the next few weeks with my dad.

Dad wise: it feels like 2 steps forward, 4 steps back. They did not end up moving him to rehab last week as planned. They wanted to make sure he was stable enough to do so. He apparently has pneumonia, which we learned about a day or 2 after they started treating him for it. (side note: my mom and I actually think he may have had it before all this happened and he just didn't know it) He's been sedated for the last few days and on a ventilator because his oxygen levels dropped really low and then his heart rate had been crazy elevated and they couldn't seem to get it to come down. Yesterday they finally found a medicine that helped and his vitals have been stable since yesterday, so that's a good thing. His latest MRI looked good according to the doctor, all 3 brain bleeds had stopped. He also did not have a mild stroke, even though we were told that twice. So now it's still just a waiting game. The biggest issue at the moment seems to be the pneumonia. Hopefully once they get it under control and they bring him out of sedation, we can start trying to move forward and not backwards. I'd love a Christmas miracle! I very much appreciate any thoughts, good vibes, and prayers anyone can spare. It's been a heck of an emotional roller coaster the last almost 2 weeks.

I hope everyone is still plugging along and that everyone has a gentle holiday season! I'll get the 2024 debt thread going for anyone who is ready to jump in there with their goals for next year!

 

[jackers]

I haven't checked in in a while but have definitely been following along. For those of you dealing with difficulties right now, my best wishes to you and your loved ones.

Final Update on 2023 (with color-coding on results ):

2023 Financial Goals

• Car Payment – Pay off Cherokee Completed
• Mortgage: Reduce by 20%. Reduced by 19%.
• Savings: Increase savings balance by at least 10% Increased 7%
• 401K: Max out contributions. Completed
• Reduce year over year spending in discretionary budget by using a cash budget (expense categories included food and general household items - for both humans and cats - personal care items, clothing, donations, gas, gifts, and entertainment). With the year not finished yet and quite a bit of groceries to still buy for holiday parties, I don’t have an exact number, but it’s a significant decrease. I am anticipating going slightly over my overall budget by maybe $100-$200, but this will still result in over a 50% reduction in these categories compared to last year. With these results I would have normally expected to see overachievement in my mortgage and savings goals, but my son filed for divorce back in March and really needed a lot of financial help this year in starting over. I’m so glad I took on this challenge of reducing my spending because I was still able to be largely successful in my own goals and still help him out. He just started a new job (in a stable industry/environment) with a significant pay increase so he should be going into 2024 in a good place.

2023 Personal Goals

• Get a will drawn up. Don’t want to talk about it.
• Get healthier – make better food choices and exercise. I need to do so much better with this in 2024.

In other outdated 2023 updates: DH and I had planned a 6 day trip to Outer Banks in September. First two days were amazing. Morning three we both woke up with sore throats. By end of day four we were feeling terrible and just called it and spent extra money on our rental car to drive home instead of flying. Tested positive for Covid once we got home (so driving was definitely the right call!). Sucks that we only got to enjoy a small part of the trip but what do you do? We did get a credit for our cancelled flights home so we’ll figure out how to use those in 2024.

Looking forward to a couple extra days off over the holidays and seeing family.

Happy Holidays to everyone! See you all in the new year and the new 2024 thread.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Our car insurance has ballooned to over $325 per month. That's for 2 cards. It was less than $175 just a year ago. So what are we doing wrong? We have the same amount of coverage as a year ago. Right now, we have Progressive. They started out this past summer at $220. Now it's over $100 more per month. I'm thinking about calling and figuring out why as that doesn't make any sense. Not sure how to check around to see if something is cheaper. Any help?

 

[Tygerlilly]

Y'all. The money transfer is processing. And it's for more than I was expecting. I may see it tomorrow or just after the new year, depends on how fast the banks process. We're going to be going into 2023 with no debt except our new van we just bought. I'm shaking. So now I can make real plans for next year.

2023 goals
Financial
1) Vegas in April (0/2000)
• We were supposed to do this trip a couple years ago, but we found out we were having our 1.5 year old on our last trip and have had to postpone. We're flying in late Thursday and home late Sunday. Rooms are comped other than resort fees, so expenses are just food and spending money. We're meeting up with one of our favorite YouTube slot channels and Hubby is VERY excited for this one.
2) Disney/Universal in November (0/12,000)
• This might fluctuate depending on if my step son and his family can make it. We're going with a homeschool group, so tickets are fairly inexpensive for 6 day tickets. There will be 10 of us who need them if they can all go. If everyone can make it, we'll rent a house for 2 weeks, otherwise we'll stay on site. Also planning on adding the universal tickets they offer. Most meals will be at the house, so that will help cost wise.
3) House down payment (0/5000)
• Once my mom gets moved to PA we will start looking for a house in IN. We're debating between renting or just buying and selling once we find our preferred property. This will be our forever home so I'm fine with finding something smaller/cheaper while we secure land and build what we want or the perfect country home becomes available.
4) Max 401k and HSA contributions.
5) Have 3 months of savings and live "one month ahead".

Personal
1) Continue with weight loss. I'm down 15lbs from October. I'd like to try for 10lbs a month for 4 months and see how I like how I'm feeling.
2) Read 1 book a month.
3) Make and keep a good cleaning schedule.
4) Decorate the house.
My post partum mental health wasn't good. I let a lot slip, fell into bad depression, almost lost my marriage... I've been doing much better the last few months and working out and eating better has really helped. Now I just need to do better about cleaning and maintaining the house and not letting it all fall on hubby.

2023 didn't go anything like I thought it would, but in a good way.
•We got part of my dad's life insurance policy money that allowed us to pay off pretty much all debt and put a huge chunk down on an amazing house.
•We lost hubby's dad and his sister is planning on splitting the proceeds from his home sale between the siblings. That should be listed any day now.
•I quit my job to stay home with the kids and continue homeschooling. It's been the best change for our family.
•I randomly decided to see if selling the little sensory kits I've been making for my kids would have any interest here locally. I had 91 people enter my giveaway and sold 9 kits so far. The local artesian market wants to carry them in store. So I guess my little side hustle is working out now!
•Vegas and Disney both happened and were amazing trips. I'm so glad the whole family was able to go. Hubby, who previously said we would go every other year, keeps saying "next year". So I think we converted him.


See you in 2024 everyone!! Enjoy your holidays!