ruadisneyfan2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 20, 2006
I am so sorry for the loss of your mom. That is severe pain.
Debt Dumpers 2023
- Thread starter pblack
- Start date
zebrastreyepz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2016
Very sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. Hang in there and take it one day at a time.
Happy for you on the new job and the accelerated debt free timeline.
DisneyMandC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2015
So sorry to hear about your mom. Glad to see you joining us again, I always like hearing from you!
Tygerlilly
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2009
Big hugs. I understand your pain 1000%. I lost my dad the day before Thanksgiving. Some days I forget it really happened and other days it hits like a brick wall. I don't even think there's a stage anymore, just weird limbo.
I got a chunk from my dad's life insurance policy which helped a lot to pay off everything, but like you, I'd rather have my dad.
slightly_obsessed
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2008
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing. It's so hard on top of all the other things you were dealing with. Thinking of you and wishing you the best.
jen7233
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2005
Sorry for your loss of your mom. What a year you had.
Taxes, we don’t file until later. Not sure yet if W2 came out since I didn’t get a notice. No earmark, things always unexpected seem to happen.
goofytinkerbell
Tinkerbell
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
What a rough year!! Sorry to hear of all of it. Anything you wind up doing is absolutely spectacular. Just functioning is perfectly good enough.
goofytinkerbell
Tinkerbell
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
I'm trying to post regular updates, but we'll see how long it lasts.
Financially:
1. Pay off my credit cards (it's not a lot, but it's debt)
-I actually cleared it!! I did have to put some back on, so it didn't stay clear, but I'd already expected this to happen. The goal for the winter is to keep it from piling up, so that I can tackle my other goals without having to pay this off again first.
-I haven't seen the money I'm supposed to get from fixing the government stuff, but they said I should have it by the beginning of next month.
2. Figure out a way to put some sort of extra on the mortgage, even if it's the $100 minimum
-Going to try and do #1 first
3. Get some things I NEED to have (rims/tires for the car, etc)
-Going to try and do #1 first
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-Going to try and do #1 first
General stuff:
1. Make a will. A marriage voids your existing will, a divorce does NOT. My Dad had a heart attack recently, so this is especially important to me now.
-Not yet
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.
-10 items gone since the last update. Still in double digits! I'm tracking this in more detail on the thread specifically for it.
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.
-I did NOT get accepted into the free training program I was looking at (too many applicants). Now I have to decide whether to spend money I don't have on another program or hope I can get a better job with my current skills. For all the complaining I hear about unfilled jobs, there doesn't seem to be much out there.
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!
-I wasn't able to get anything completed this week, but I did work on a project. This one might take a little longer to finish up, but carving out the time means I can consider that progress.
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.
-Did 2 workouts this week. Not as good as I'd been doing, but it's still something.
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.
-Spent some time with friends twice this week
8. NEW! Organize my stuff!
-I kind of need to do this one to facilitate #2. If I can see what I have, then it might be easier to actually justify to myself why I don't need certain things.
Financially:
1. Pay off my credit cards (it's not a lot, but it's debt)
-I actually cleared it!! I did have to put some back on, so it didn't stay clear, but I'd already expected this to happen. The goal for the winter is to keep it from piling up, so that I can tackle my other goals without having to pay this off again first.
-I haven't seen the money I'm supposed to get from fixing the government stuff, but they said I should have it by the beginning of next month.
2. Figure out a way to put some sort of extra on the mortgage, even if it's the $100 minimum
-Going to try and do #1 first
3. Get some things I NEED to have (rims/tires for the car, etc)
-Going to try and do #1 first
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-Going to try and do #1 first
General stuff:
1. Make a will. A marriage voids your existing will, a divorce does NOT. My Dad had a heart attack recently, so this is especially important to me now.
-Not yet
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.
-10 items gone since the last update. Still in double digits! I'm tracking this in more detail on the thread specifically for it.
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.
-I did NOT get accepted into the free training program I was looking at (too many applicants). Now I have to decide whether to spend money I don't have on another program or hope I can get a better job with my current skills. For all the complaining I hear about unfilled jobs, there doesn't seem to be much out there.
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!
-I wasn't able to get anything completed this week, but I did work on a project. This one might take a little longer to finish up, but carving out the time means I can consider that progress.
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.
-Did 2 workouts this week. Not as good as I'd been doing, but it's still something.
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.
-Spent some time with friends twice this week
8. NEW! Organize my stuff!
-I kind of need to do this one to facilitate #2. If I can see what I have, then it might be easier to actually justify to myself why I don't need certain things.
MerissaAndMomLoveDis
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2008
Well, my 2023 is starting off with unplanned renovations. I made my list of 2023 goals on 1/13/23, and planned to post them here over that weekend. You all may recall that in March 2020, I purchased my deceased grandmother’s little house out in the country on family land, but I am still two and a half years away from retirement so I am holding on the my “city” house for work purposes for now. On 1/14/23 I went to my little “country“ house for the long weekend and was hit with a horrific smell upon entering the house. The water heater had burst and flooded the laundry room and kitchen. I spent the weekend sucking up water with the shop vac and pulling out carpet (hated having carpet in the laundry room and kitchen anyway, so not sad to see those go), and figuring out a plan. Previous posters are right, when you start replacing one thing, it seems to snowball! Some of the floor got warped and will need to have the under flooring replaced as well. I’ve picked out some flooring this week but haven’t pulled the trigger just yet—a new water heater and new floor in the laundry room and kitchen are a must, but I am trying to refigure the budget to go ahead and replace all the flooring in the house, and I am considering painting all the walls, then that makes me want to pull and replace the baseboards if we are painting and getting new floors.
Here are my 2023 goals:
(1) Pay off credit cards to zero every month.
(2) Cash flow daughter‘s college expenses (no student loans!).
(3) Max HSA contribution.
(4) One big vacation and 2-3 small vacations.
(5) Finish organizing all passwords and important documents into one place, so that if I die, my daughter has a very easy roadmap to my affairs.
(6) Personal health enhancement. I committed to weight loss in 2022 and lost over 100 lbs in 2022, which has resulted in changes to body and skin. In 2023, I want to
(a) figure out the physical strength and endurance fitness plan that works best for me,
(b) experiment with skin care routines until I find the right balance, and
(c) consider corrective dental work.
Had first appt to take impressions.
(7) Reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen since COVID began. Dinner or coffee/tea or long catchup phone call with a friend two times per month. January— Reconnected with four friends.
(8) Country House project goals:
(a) New flooring
(b) New baseboards
(c) Porch project—power wash and re-stain porch, paint some miscellaneous places under the eaves where boards were replaced when new roof was put on.
(9) City house project goals:
(a) Clean out and remodel home office.
(b) Front yard project—remove current sidewalk to driveway, replace with stepping stones, remove ring and old plants around tree and enlarge plant area, replace grass.
(c) Declutter garage and fix garage door.
(10) Make a Shutterfly photo album of our December 2022 Europe vacation to Rhine River Christmas markets, Amsterdam, Paris and Disneyland Paris.
(11) I had planned to put an extra $1500 toward mortgage each month and beef up my emergency fund in 2023, but I am scaling that back to $600.00 per month extra on the mortgage until I see how much all these house projects cost.
(12) Earn employer’s $300 yearly wellness bonus.
Here are my 2023 goals:
(1) Pay off credit cards to zero every month.
(2) Cash flow daughter‘s college expenses (no student loans!).
(3) Max HSA contribution.
(4) One big vacation and 2-3 small vacations.
(5) Finish organizing all passwords and important documents into one place, so that if I die, my daughter has a very easy roadmap to my affairs.
(6) Personal health enhancement. I committed to weight loss in 2022 and lost over 100 lbs in 2022, which has resulted in changes to body and skin. In 2023, I want to
(a) figure out the physical strength and endurance fitness plan that works best for me,
(b) experiment with skin care routines until I find the right balance, and
(c) consider corrective dental work.
Had first appt to take impressions.(7) Reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen since COVID began. Dinner or coffee/tea or long catchup phone call with a friend two times per month.
January— Reconnected with four friends.(8) Country House project goals:
(a) New flooring
(b) New baseboards
(c) Porch project—power wash and re-stain porch, paint some miscellaneous places under the eaves where boards were replaced when new roof was put on.
(9) City house project goals:
(a) Clean out and remodel home office.
(b) Front yard project—remove current sidewalk to driveway, replace with stepping stones, remove ring and old plants around tree and enlarge plant area, replace grass.
(c) Declutter garage and fix garage door.
(10) Make a Shutterfly photo album of our December 2022 Europe vacation to Rhine River Christmas markets, Amsterdam, Paris and Disneyland Paris.
(11) I had planned to put an extra $1500 toward mortgage each month and beef up my emergency fund in 2023, but I am scaling that back to $600.00 per month extra on the mortgage until I see how much all these house projects cost.
(12) Earn employer’s $300 yearly wellness bonus.
crazycatstacy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2013
Did you do the rhine River Christmas market vacation through adventures by Disney or somewhere else? It’s a bucket list item for me and I’m not sure what’s the best way to do it.Well, my 2023 is starting off with unplanned renovations. I made my list of 2023 goals on 1/13/23, and planned to post them here over that weekend. You all may recall that in March 2020, I purchased my deceased grandmother’s little house out in the country on family land, but I am still two and a half years away from retirement so I am holding on the my “city” house for work purposes for now. On 1/14/23 I went to my little “country“ house for the long weekend and was hit with a horrific smell upon entering the house. The water heater had burst and flooded the laundry room and kitchen. I spent the weekend sucking up water with the shop vac and pulling out carpet (hated having carpet in the laundry room and kitchen anyway, so not sad to see those go), and figuring out a plan. Previous posters are right, when you start replacing one thing, it seems to snowball! Some of the floor got warped and will need to have the under flooring replaced as well. I’ve picked out some flooring this week but haven’t pulled the trigger just yet—a new water heater and new floor in the laundry room and kitchen are a must, but I am trying to refigure the budget to go ahead and replace all the flooring in the house, and I am considering painting all the walls, then that makes me want to pull and replace the baseboards if we are painting and getting new floors.
Here are my 2023 goals:
(1) Pay off credit cards to zero every month.
(2) Cash flow daughter‘s college expenses (no student loans!).
(3) Max HSA contribution.
(4) One big vacation and 2-3 small vacations.
(5) Finish organizing all passwords and important documents into one place, so that if I die, my daughter has a very easy roadmap to my affairs.
(6) Personal health enhancement. I committed to weight loss in 2022 and lost over 100 lbs in 2022, which has resulted in changes to body and skin. In 2023, I want to
(a) figure out the physical strength and endurance fitness plan that works best for me,
(b) experiment with skin care routines until I find the right balance, and
(c) consider corrective dental work.
(7) Reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen since COVID began. Dinner or coffee/tea or long catchup phone call with a friend two times per month.
(8) Country House project goals:
(a) New flooring
(b) New baseboards
(c) Porch project—power wash and re-stain porch, paint some miscellaneous places under the eaves where boards were replaced when new roof was put on.
(9) City house project goals:
(a) Clean out and remodel home office.
(b) Front yard project—remove current sidewalk to driveway, replace with stepping stones, remove ring and old plants around tree and enlarge plant area, replace grass.
(c) Declutter garage and fix garage door.
(10) Make a Shutterfly photo album of our December 2022 Europe vacation to Rhine River Christmas markets, Amsterdam, Paris and Disneyland Paris.
(11) I had planned to put an extra $1500 toward mortgage each month and beef up my emergency fund in 2023, but I am scaling that back to $600.00 per month extra on the mortgage until I see how much all these house projects cost.
(12) Earn employer’s $300 yearly wellness bonus.
MerissaAndMomLoveDis
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2008
Hi @crazycatstacy. We went with Viking, which may not be an option for you if you are traveling with persons under 18 (my daughter is 21-all travelers on Viking must be 18 and up). It was quite a bit cheaper than Disney, but the main reason we picked it over Disney is that we had a very narrow window of possible start dates—we had to balance when she’d be done with final exams at her college (Dec 16) and studying when the Christmas markets in various ports of call would start closing. Some considerations: we chose the Basel to Amsterdam route instead of Amsterdam to Basel route because it seemed more Christmas markets would remain open during the cruise dates in that direction, we disembarked in Amsterdam on Christmas day and EVERYTHING was open (we made reservations for and went to the Rijksmuseum and Ann Frank House on Christmas Day), and due to her final exam schedule we did not have time to do much in our arrival city before embarking on the cruise so we decided we wanted more time in Amsterdam than Basel. Finally, on a Christmas markets cruise in particular, I don’t feel there would be a ton of added worth for the Adventures by Disney difference—you are hitting up to two different ports Christmas markets per day, so there just isn’t a lot of time for other events. The Viking ship was very nice, the food was great, the cruise director was terrific, and we enjoyed all the extra on board talks/events. Also, I think maybe the cruisers for this particular Viking cruise maybe skewed a bit younger than normal for Viking—there were many young couples and families with college students. Feel free to ask any other questions that come to mind!
so sorry to hear of this! will homeowner's insurance cover it? if so then you might get a good surprise on items you don't realize they will cover looking at the initial damage but b/c of how things (for lack of a better word) 'interlocked' ARE covered. we had an issue with our roof that caused a need for repainting a a couple of areas on walls-b/c the walls in our house have the slightly rounded corners vs. squared off insurance said they had to paint all the connecting walls to the damaged area so all but bedrooms/bathrooms/laundry room was repainted. if your water damage caused wall or paint damage near the floor boards it may result in painting being covered (and we were able to pick new colors). if the baseboards need to be replaced insurance should cover them as well but if not-when we replaced a big chunk of our flooring last spring i took the base boards after they were removed to install the lvp and gave them a good scrubbing-it was amazing what a difference it made. we also did find that it was far less expensive to just go ahead and do multiple rooms of flooring at once vs. over multiple individual projects (even if you don't go this route-if the flooring is lvp and you want it to match one with the other-consider buying all of it NOW so it will come from the same production run and you won't get variations in colors and such-just store it till you need it).
again, so sorry for this-take care!
ruadisneyfan2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 20, 2006
Can you submit that to homeowner's insurance? Water damage due to leaking plumbing is different that typical "flooding". It can't hurt to ask.Well, my 2023 is starting off with unplanned renovations. I made my list of 2023 goals on 1/13/23, and planned to post them here over that weekend. You all may recall that in March 2020, I purchased my deceased grandmother’s little house out in the country on family land, but I am still two and a half years away from retirement so I am holding on the my “city” house for work purposes for now. On 1/14/23 I went to my little “country“ house for the long weekend and was hit with a horrific smell upon entering the house. The water heater had burst and flooded the laundry room and kitchen. I spent the weekend sucking up water with the shop vac and pulling out carpet (hated having carpet in the laundry room and kitchen anyway, so not sad to see those go), and figuring out a plan. Previous posters are right, when you start replacing one thing, it seems to snowball! Some of the floor got warped and will need to have the under flooring replaced as well. I’ve picked out some flooring this week but haven’t pulled the trigger just yet—a new water heater and new floor in the laundry room and kitchen are a must, but I am trying to refigure the budget to go ahead and replace all the flooring in the house, and I am considering painting all the walls, then that makes me want to pull and replace the baseboards if we are painting and getting new floors.
Here are my 2023 goals:
(1) Pay off credit cards to zero every month.
(2) Cash flow daughter‘s college expenses (no student loans!).
(3) Max HSA contribution.
(4) One big vacation and 2-3 small vacations.
(5) Finish organizing all passwords and important documents into one place, so that if I die, my daughter has a very easy roadmap to my affairs.
(6) Personal health enhancement. I committed to weight loss in 2022 and lost over 100 lbs in 2022, which has resulted in changes to body and skin. In 2023, I want to
(a) figure out the physical strength and endurance fitness plan that works best for me,
(b) experiment with skin care routines until I find the right balance, and
(c) consider corrective dental work.
(7) Reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen since COVID began. Dinner or coffee/tea or long catchup phone call with a friend two times per month.
(8) Country House project goals:
(a) New flooring
(b) New baseboards
(c) Porch project—power wash and re-stain porch, paint some miscellaneous places under the eaves where boards were replaced when new roof was put on.
(9) City house project goals:
(a) Clean out and remodel home office.
(b) Front yard project—remove current sidewalk to driveway, replace with stepping stones, remove ring and old plants around tree and enlarge plant area, replace grass.
(c) Declutter garage and fix garage door.
(10) Make a Shutterfly photo album of our December 2022 Europe vacation to Rhine River Christmas markets, Amsterdam, Paris and Disneyland Paris.
(11) I had planned to put an extra $1500 toward mortgage each month and beef up my emergency fund in 2023, but I am scaling that back to $600.00 per month extra on the mortgage until I see how much all these house projects cost.
(12) Earn employer’s $300 yearly wellness bonus.
That is awesome to lose 100 lbs!!! Good for you! That really takes an amazing amount of determination!
I LOVE Shutterfly's photo books. They do such a great job. I have made so many from our amazing trips and they never disappoint. It just takes me soooo long to make them. I keep tweaking things here and there and making changes in frames, backgrounds, layouts, zooming & croping pics, etc.
Once, I received a book and one page had a big ink blotch right in the center and I contacted them and they sent another book very quickly. That was nice because it was a gift to my parents and didn't want to give them a defective book.
EilonwyWanderer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2017
I too would love to know your secrets!
CaleCakes
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2016
Doing my check in a few days early as I don't anticipate any real changes in the next few days, so here goes:
1. Pay off car note- starting balance $7565- paid $600, current balance $7089.
2. Rebuild savings account- goal is to add $5000. No change.
3. Refrain from booking "big" trips- This was soooo hard! I came "this close" to booking a long weekend road trip for next weekend, the cruise I mentioned in the initial post because it was "on sale", and my DD5 keeps asking to go back to DW
but I refrained.
4. Get to the "around the house" list- started on a few items. Got rid of a few bikes and kid toys from the garage, organized DS7's Lego a bit better, and rearranged their playroom. Baby steps.
5. Make photo albums- Have not started this but I am about to have some spare time on my hands- see below newly added #7.
6. Stay off YouTube shorts/tiktok- Fixed spelling haha was that driving anyone else crazy too? I have refrained from watching shorts at night. I do still watch them when waiting in the pick up lane, or at an appointment etc. I feel good about it and have gotten more sleep! Down 75% at least.
7. Get a new job- so today I gave my resignation at my job. I have worked there for 3 years but have been increasingly unhappy for at least the last year and a half. It has become an unhealthy environment and it is time for me to depart gracefully. I currently have no backup plan, but it's going to be alright. Places are hiring left and right, I'll find something better.
So there ya have it, not giant leaps but nothing too bad either. Hoping to get the rest of the stuff needed to file taxes this week. We do tend to get a decent return but we shall see, I know some things have changed.
1. Pay off car note- starting balance $7565- paid $600, current balance $7089.
2. Rebuild savings account- goal is to add $5000. No change.
3. Refrain from booking "big" trips- This was soooo hard! I came "this close" to booking a long weekend road trip for next weekend, the cruise I mentioned in the initial post because it was "on sale", and my DD5 keeps asking to go back to DW
but I refrained. 4. Get to the "around the house" list- started on a few items. Got rid of a few bikes and kid toys from the garage, organized DS7's Lego a bit better, and rearranged their playroom. Baby steps.
5. Make photo albums- Have not started this but I am about to have some spare time on my hands- see below newly added #7.
6. Stay off YouTube shorts/tiktok- Fixed spelling haha was that driving anyone else crazy too? I have refrained from watching shorts at night. I do still watch them when waiting in the pick up lane, or at an appointment etc. I feel good about it and have gotten more sleep! Down 75% at least.
7. Get a new job- so today I gave my resignation at my job. I have worked there for 3 years but have been increasingly unhappy for at least the last year and a half. It has become an unhealthy environment and it is time for me to depart gracefully. I currently have no backup plan, but it's going to be alright. Places are hiring left and right, I'll find something better.
So there ya have it, not giant leaps but nothing too bad either. Hoping to get the rest of the stuff needed to file taxes this week. We do tend to get a decent return but we shall see, I know some things have changed.
crazycatstacy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2013
Thank you for the information. It would just be my husband and I so no kids.
Tygerlilly
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2009
Aw man. I always see commercials and ads for the Viking River cruises and I always thought they'd be awesome to do. I hadn't looked into them yet, but since we homeschool I thought they sounded so cool to take the kids on as part of a fun field trip, stopping at all the historical cities. Now that I really think about it, I never did see anyone under adult on the ads...
I'm going to have to do some looking and see if there are any all age river cruises around the US/Canada.
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