Debt Dumpers 2023

[newski_mom]

they are also great in a pinch if something happens to your glasses when traveling-they can pull up the scrip on their system to do a replacement (if they can't repair onsite which they frequently can for no cost).


there IS a way to work around this if you have a costco gift card for any amount you can purchase in warehouse at warehouse prices (online there's a bit of an up charge). every few months i buy a handful of $10 cards for my oldest-a membership is not worth it for him but there are a few products he likes there (and gets his glasses there). he uses 1 single gift card as the initial payment source on each trip and pays the rest with cash or debit. i wish they would offer the option to add a 3rd household member for an up charge on their memberships-i think allot of people would avail themselves of it.

So when you do this, do you just show the gift card to get in the warehouse?

Also, does this work for purchasing gas? If you have a $10 gift card, will they allow you to buy gas with it and put the rest on your credit card?

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Friday again!
Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Still using them and paying them off before they start earning interest.
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)
-Bought nothing last week, but got the thing I bought last week installed. Kind of. There's a bit of weirdness going on that I haven't had time to investigate yet.
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No extra progress this week
-Purchased a couple gifts, which took this fund away

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.
-13 items gone this week
-No bites on the posted items for sale. I really need to post up some more.
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.
-Updated my Linkedin realized and tweaked it a bit. I think I have the basics all covered.
-Checked the email notifications and jobs sites daily
-Applied for 3 jobs
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. Priorities have shifted, so this one has been pushed down the list.
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 4 workouts, and 2 short (a bit over 10 minute) walks
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.
-Nothing this week
8. Organize my stuff!
-Sorted through some magazines. There's still a massive pile, but I'm going through each to make sure there's no recipes or anything I want out of them before they go into the pile.

I'm back in the office 4 days a week now, so I've lost all the commute time and lunch breaks where I used to do things I'm also quite miserable and don't want to be around people.

 

[barkley]

So when you do this, do you just show the gift card to get in the warehouse?

Also, does this work for purchasing gas? If you have a $10 gift card, will they allow you to buy gas with it and put the rest on your credit card?

yes just flash it at the door. as far as buying gas goes i know you have to get assistance at the pump-we've never done it so i don't know how you coordinate it with another form of payment if the gift card balance isn't enough for the amount you want to purchase.

 

[newski_mom]

yes just flash it at the door. as far as buying gas goes i know you have to get assistance at the pump-we've never done it so i don't know how you coordinate it with another form of payment if the gift card balance isn't enough for the amount you want to purchase.

Thanks! one of my daughters doesn't have a membership, so I may get her a few gift cards to get her in the door if she wants.

 

[AmyAnne]

they are also great in a pinch if something happens to your glasses when traveling-they can pull up the scrip on their system to do a replacement (if they can't repair onsite which they frequently can for no cost).


there IS a way to work around this if you have a costco gift card for any amount you can purchase in warehouse at warehouse prices (online there's a bit of an up charge). every few months i buy a handful of $10 cards for my oldest-a membership is not worth it for him but there are a few products he likes there (and gets his glasses there). he uses 1 single gift card as the initial payment source on each trip and pays the rest with cash or debit. i wish they would offer the option to add a 3rd household member for an up charge on their memberships-i think allot of people would avail themselves of it.

Thanks for posting about this. I'm curious how it works at checkout when you are supposed to scan your membership number--do you just scan the gift card?

 

[barkley]

Thanks for posting about this. I'm curious how it works at checkout when you are supposed to scan your membership number--do you just scan the gift card?

yes, they just scan the gift card then will use it as the first payment method before it allows you to default to another payment method. my kiddo purposely has me get the $10 cards b/c that way he can get a stockpile for multiple trips.

 

[cvjw]

Thanks for posting about this. I'm curious how it works at checkout when you are supposed to scan your membership number--do you just scan the gift card?

My Costco has been cracking down on people using other peoples Costco cards. Before you can check out in the self checkout lane, you have to show an employee your Costco card. Not sure how this change will affect trying to circumvent getting a Costco membership by using Costco gift cards - there would be no Costco membership card to show. Wonder if they would even let you in the checkout lane.

 

[DLgal]

My Costco has been cracking down on people using other peoples Costco cards. Before you can check out in the self checkout lane, you have to show an employee your Costco card. Not sure how this change will affect trying to circumvent getting a Costco membership by using Costco gift cards - there would be no Costco membership card to show. Wonder if they would even let you in the checkout lane.

Our Costco will only let people using gift cards without a membership use the traditional manned lanes, no self checkout.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Our Costco looked at my photo on my card and held it up next to my face to make sure it's me. This was upon entrance, at the pharmacy, and at the checkout. Dh refuses to use self checkouts anywhere saying it puts people out of work.

 

[barkley]

here is what the costco website shows for their gift cards (they call them 'shop cards')-

Non-members as well as members may use Costco Shop Cards to shop at any Costco location in the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico, as well as online at Costco.com and Costco.ca.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Of course, the minute we pay off our van (as part of our closing), the transmission starts acting up. We had an extended warranty thru the company. I dug out all the paperwork and it looks like we're still covered for another 30k miles. We'll now only have to pay $200oop to have it fixed instead of either our deductible or paying out of pocket completely. It also covers the towing cost AND a rental car for 7 days. I'm going to give CarMax a call on my way to work and see what we can do and how fast they can get it in.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Of course, the minute we pay off our van (as part of our closing), the transmission starts acting up. We had an extended warranty thru the company. I dug out all the paperwork and it looks like we're still covered for another 30k miles. We'll now only have to pay $200oop to have it fixed instead of either our deductible or paying out of pocket completely. It also covers the towing cost AND a rental car for 7 days. I'm going to give CarMax a call on my way to work and see what we can do and how fast they can get it in.

We used our carmax warranty to replace a transmission a few years ago (not just once, but twice ). They actually got it done pretty quickly but they farm the work out to their partner shops, they have some specific name for them I can’t remember. So we just took it to a local service place and they did the work. We also got a $50 discount on the deductible for using them as opposed to actually using carmax. That was 2 years ago though so I don’t know if they still do that or not. Good luck! I hope it’s not a Nissan…

 

[Tygerlilly]

We used our carmax warranty to replace a transmission a few years ago (not just once, but twice ). They actually got it done pretty quickly but they farm the work out to their partner shops, they have some specific name for them I can’t remember. So we just took it to a local service place and they did the work. We also got a $50 discount on the deductible for using them as opposed to actually using carmax. That was 2 years ago though so I don’t know if they still do that or not. Good luck! I hope it’s not a Nissan…

Good to know! We've been pleased with all their service lately when we had a different issue come up. It's a Dodge Caravan, which is known to have transmission issues. We're about an hour from the CarMax we got it from, so I imagine they'll take it somewhere local to us.

 

[barkley]

totally off topic but i have to ask of anyone on this thread who lives in or is familiar with canadian real estate-

is there no requirement when purchasing a home there for inspections or permit researches?????

background-i've been binge watching 'love it or list it too' and yes, i know that be it in the u.s or canada there's always something going on with the homes that are chosen for these types of shows BUT i CANNOT get over how many of the canadian homes on this show, be they even newer construction-have such apparant structural and mechanical defects that a traditional home buyers inspection would have uncovered, OR have entire portions, improvements, repairs....supposedly predating the current owners-that are entirely unpermitted.

i get it that with the recent u.s. housing market allot of people bought/buy here 'as is' but unless they have a b---load of cash to pay in full they would find no u.s. lender to issue a mortgage on houses with these issues.

someone please explain to me.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

totally off topic but i have to ask of anyone on this thread who lives in or is familiar with canadian real estate-

is there no requirement when purchasing a home there for inspections or permit researches?????

background-i've been binge watching 'love it or list it too' and yes, i know that be it in the u.s or canada there's always something going on with the homes that are chosen for these types of shows BUT i CANNOT get over how many of the canadian homes on this show, be they even newer construction-have such apparant structural and mechanical defects that a traditional home buyers inspection would have uncovered, OR have entire portions, improvements, repairs....supposedly predating the current owners-that are entirely unpermitted.

i get it that with the recent u.s. housing market allot of people bought/buy here 'as is' but unless they have a b---load of cash to pay in full they would find no u.s. lender to issue a mortgage on houses with these issues.

someone please explain to me.

There is no requirement in Canada to have an inspection or any sort of permit research. We do have to do things like a title search (and it's all handled by the lawyer, or at least mine was), but there's surprisingly little that needs to be done.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Due for another update

Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Still using them and paying them off before they start earning interest.
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)
-Didn't buy anything, but I can't figure out the installation issue I was having with the last thing. Going to try and get some help this weekend
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No extra progress this week. I'm on a razor thin budget at the moment.

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.
-6 items gone this week
-No bites on the posted items for sale. Haven't gotten around to posting anything else
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 jobs sites daily. Didn't find anything new.
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. Priorities have shifted, so this one has been pushed down the list.
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, and 1 short (a bit over 10 minute) walk
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.
-Visited with family for the weekend
8. Organize my stuff!
-Sorted through some magazines and cookbooks. There's still a massive pile, but I'm going through each to make sure there's no recipes or anything I want out of them before they go into the pile.

This week of being in the office more seems SO much worse than last week. I'm exhausted, find it difficult to drag my behind to do anything, and I'm losing lunches and travel time that I could be using to do other things.

 

[barkley]

There is no requirement in Canada to have an inspection or any sort of permit research. We do have to do things like a title search (and it's all handled by the lawyer, or at least mine was), but there's surprisingly little that needs to be done.

thanks for the info. i got to questioning it b/c so many of the houses have such apparant additions added on and basement renos that end up costing tens of thousands of dollars to be totally ripped out when the show goes in to something fairly minor that requires a current permit.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

thanks for the info. i got to questioning it b/c so many of the houses have such apparant additions added on and basement renos that end up costing tens of thousands of dollars to be totally ripped out when the show goes in to something fairly minor that requires a current permit.

Unfortunately it happens a lot. My place had basement flooding. Only a couple inches, but enough that I had to wipe out the drywall. When the walls came off, I discovered that nothing was to code. It looks like they just slapped up enough to keep everything from falling, and even parts of the ceiling fell down. I'm certain there were no permits. Now if I want to fix it, I need to finish ripping everything out, have someone come and look at the electrical and plumbing (I've already found some electrical that was obviously not done by a professional) and get permits before I can start fixing it all.

Every time I've had a minor issue it's turned into a huge one... Example: The windows weren't properly installed, so they're surrounded by dry rot. Once I can afford to replace them, I need a permit and to take out half the wall to fix it "correctly". It's already happened with one of them. A 2-hour job turned into an all-day one

 

[CaleCakes]

Been reading along even though I haven't been posting. It's nice to see people making progress and other chipping away. It is encouraging for sure. Here's my update:

1. Pay off car note- haven't been paying too much extra and current balance sits at $4690. Windshield is still cracked, i don't think I am going to fix it anytime soon. It doesn't obstruct the view so as long as it passes inspection in Oct I'll leave it. We did look into trading it in, and even though we were offered what I considered to be a ton, the interest rates are just ridiculous right now. At this rate I won't make my goal of paying it off by Dec.

2. Rebuild savings account- goal is to add $5000. No change, in fact going in the wrong direction. Yup, same (hangs head)

3. Refrain from booking "big" trips- refrained from big and small trips. Welp, what is considered big . We did book a cruise for September out of Galveston, our home port. We didn't get our usual category but instead went with the more economical staterooms and did the "kids sale free" so we are sort of doing it on a budget. We don't plan on getting off at any of the stops, we just want to enjoy the ship.

4. Get to the "around the house" list- started on a few items. Making progess. Sold a bunch of stuff at the community yard sale- can almost park a car in the garage! Now just to get the rest of my family to part with items . Cleaned up more of the flower beds but then TX got really hot really fast so that is on hold for a bit. Turning my attention to an inside project- dismantling the office nook area. It has a built in desk and shelves but at a weird angle that I find unusable. I'm going to take it out and maybe put those ikea pak systems in.

5. Make photo albums- Still haven't started. I need to make this a priority.

6. Stay off YouTube shorts/tiktok- Yes! Been busy with my new IC gig so haven't really had time to waste with this.

7. Get a new job- Changing this to "Work towards 1 income". So I have 2 independent contractor jobs now. I am building the newer of the 2 so I can hopefully ditch the first one eventually, but DH and I have been working towards living comfortably off his salary and using my income as extra rather than a need. The last few months haven't been all that bad with my creative budgeting so I think we can do this. June has been a little weird because we did go away for a few days and DS has a birthday coming up. Making some changes in the way we spend had actually been a bit of a relief if that makes sense.

That's all for now.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I was a good girl and went to work all 6 of my scheduled days this pay period. We had some crazy long days, but my check is double what it normally is lol. I don't have any days scheduled off for the next little bit so I'm hoping to have all of our fall trip paid for out of my checks in July. It should be *very* close.