Debt Dumpers - 2017

[dayvewc]

So, I'm feeling a bit frustrated. I've been working on filing for VA benefits since April, and finally got in touch with the service organization that is supposed to be helping me, and turns out that there were things that should have been done in April that weren't, and things that I should have done differently. So, not sure how that will roll out, but it makes me less than happy that I've been trying to do what I thought I was supposed to, and it was the wrong thing.

Arrgghhh

Sorry for the really vague and uninformative message. Just had to vent somewhere for a little bit.

 

[Tygerlilly]

So, work decided it would be a fun new experiment to move all the shift start times back 4 hours. I don't really care one way or another what time I actually start as long as it doesn't interfere with hubbys schedule too (we got word the next day his shift also will move up 4 hours, so no worries at all).

The one super big perk to this is now I'm considered working "nights" and get a 35 cent raise per hour. In addition to that, my 1 year raise of 50 cents also takes effect the same week. So in a couple weeks, I get an 85 cent raise. Not a lot compared to some of you, but I should see an extra $50 or so on my checks now.

 

[Miss Whimsy]

My manager just handed me my salary increase letter. It goes into effect today and I should see it in my next paycheck. Woohoo. (Knowing my DH, he will already have a plan for it, LOL).

ooh, congrats!

that reminds me, it salary increase season at my job too. I've never gotten less than the maximum allowed (I'm an overachiever at work, what can I say) so here's hoping that streak continues. *knocks on wood*

 

[Miss Whimsy]

So in a couple weeks, I get an 85 cent raise. Not a lot compared to some of you, but I should see an extra $50 or so on my checks now

hey, nothing to sneeze at. congrats!

 

[Tygerlilly]

hey, nothing to sneeze at. congrats!

Thanks! I'm definitely not complaining. An extra $100/month will at the very least improve my grocery budget every month. Lol. Better than losing money.

 

[bababear_50]

So, I'm feeling a bit frustrated. I've been working on filing for VA benefits since April, and finally got in touch with the service organization that is supposed to be helping me, and turns out that there were things that should have been done in April that weren't, and things that I should have done differently. So, not sure how that will roll out, but it makes me less than happy that I've been trying to do what I thought I was supposed to, and it was the wrong thing.

Arrgghhh

Sorry for the really vague and uninformative message. Just had to vent somewhere for a little bit.

Hi Hon
I don't have any advice but I wanted to say things will get better and venting is good for the soul!
Sending you good wishes.
Hugs Mel

 

[DisneyMandC]

Need to make some of those annual phone calls this year trying to get bills lowered. Nothing major, just little stuff. I like to stay on top of our tv and internet providers and my tv bill just went back up again after getting a $20 credit every month for the last year. I've been putting off doing it, but I've now been charged the full price for the last two months so I'm mad at myself haha. I also discovered that my homeowner's insurance is going up by $250! I was seriously mad, I've never had any claims! I called and they said that it's due to all the claims in my area. Which seems absurd, but we had some hail storms last year so I guess that's the reason for it? I don't live in a high-crime area or anything, so it can't be related to that. The problem is we live in a log cabin and not everyone insures log homes. I'm going to get a copy of my policy and shop around though.

DH is trying to tell me he wants to go shopping this weekend, but I'm ignoring those comments currently

 

[AmyAnne]

Need to make some of those annual phone calls this year trying to get bills lowered. Nothing major, just little stuff. I like to stay on top of our tv and internet providers and my tv bill just went back up again after getting a $20 credit every month for the last year. I've been putting off doing it, but I've now been charged the full price for the last two months so I'm mad at myself haha. I also discovered that my homeowner's insurance is going up by $250! I was seriously mad, I've never had any claims! I called and they said that it's due to all the claims in my area. Which seems absurd, but we had some hail storms last year so I guess that's the reason for it? I don't live in a high-crime area or anything, so it can't be related to that. The problem is we live in a log cabin and not everyone insures log homes. I'm going to get a copy of my policy and shop around though.

DH is trying to tell me he wants to go shopping this weekend, but I'm ignoring those comments currently

I hope you have better luck with the tv/internet provider than I had today. We have Spectrum (used to be Time Warner) and they insist that we already have the lowest bundle (TV and internet for just over $100 with taxes fees etc.). I have tried to figure out how we can drop the cable, but if we do that then the internet goes up to about $80 because its not bundled. While we don't need TV, we do need internet - both DH and I work from home some and I can say that Spectrum has been very reliable. So we keep the TV because it does seem worth $20 a month. But $100 a month for tv/internet still makes me not pleased.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I hope you have better luck with the tv/internet provider than I had today. We have Spectrum (used to be Time Warner) and they insist that we already have the lowest bundle (TV and internet for just over $100 with taxes fees etc.). I have tried to figure out how we can drop the cable, but if we do that then the internet goes up to about $80 because its not bundled. While we don't need TV, we do need internet - both DH and I work from home some and I can say that Spectrum has been very reliable. So we keep the TV because it does seem worth $20 a month. But $100 a month for tv/internet still makes me not pleased.

I called earlier and actually didn't too bad. Our big problem is we are waaaaay out in the country and can't get anything like Comcast/Verizon/Spectrum. As a result, we have a Sprint MiFi card with 30 GBs of data a month for $110/mo and Directv for tv at $105/mo. I tried Sprint first and they refused to budge one bit on my bill. Unfortunately, they are literally the only reliable service provider in my area and also actually the cheapest. I ended up chatting with an AT&T/Directv rep online and had much better luck with them. I switched to AT&T last year when they were running a free iPhone plus unlimited data when you have Directv. They just redid their plans so I ended up changing to another unlimited plan where I'll get a $5/mo credit on my bill, plus get a $25 credit each month on my Directv bill, plus free HBO, PLUS I can now use my phone as a hotspot and get 10 GB worth of data a month. So that will be really nice because we really can't watch anything like Netflix with our current data plan without getting close to going over.

So all in all, my bill will drop and I'll get more internet!

I tried to call and get a copy of my homeowner's policy today (it won't show up online for me for some reason). After 15 minutes of being on hold, it dawned on me that there were probably a lot of people in Texas who needed to talk to them more than I did I hung up and will call back at a later date to deal with that.

Now, I'm going to work from home for a good chunk of the weekend and bank some more PTO time.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I made a big purchase today. A bit unexpected, but something that I have been actively seeking. I watch craigslist and facebook marketplace on the regular for certain things, including sewing items. Well, a high end collapsible sewing cabinet went up for sale. We eventually would like to finish the basement and make a multipurpose sewing room/guest room with a murphy bed and collapsible sewing cabinets to hold my machines, etc. so I have had my eye out for a good deal on a used cabinet.

This cabinet probably retailed for $2-3k when it was new. I made sure that my sewing machine would fit and that the cabinet would fit into DH's wagon. They were asking $850, but I didn't want to spend any more than $500 on it, so that is what I offered. And they accepted it, so we got into the car at 9am this morning and drove an hour and a half to check it out, load it up and bring it home.

It has a few minor cosmetic issues, but is in very good structural condition. I am really pleased with this cabinet because it will have room to not only hold my sewing machine, but also my serger and coverpro machines too. That in itself makes it totally worth it.

Because I wasn't planning to buy this, I didn't really have the money saved and I am still paying off my serger and coverpro machines for the next few months. So I have had to "borrow" money from another savings fund to pay back over the next several months. It isn't a big deal, but it means that I will basically have zero allowance money until the end of the year or so. Still worth it in the long run.

 

[AmyAnne]

I called earlier and actually didn't too bad. Our big problem is we are waaaaay out in the country and can't get anything like Comcast/Verizon/Spectrum. As a result, we have a Sprint MiFi card with 30 GBs of data a month for $110/mo and Directv for tv at $105/mo. I tried Sprint first and they refused to budge one bit on my bill. Unfortunately, they are literally the only reliable service provider in my area and also actually the cheapest. I ended up chatting with an AT&T/Directv rep online and had much better luck with them. I switched to AT&T last year when they were running a free iPhone plus unlimited data when you have Directv. They just redid their plans so I ended up changing to another unlimited plan where I'll get a $5/mo credit on my bill, plus get a $25 credit each month on my Directv bill, plus free HBO, PLUS I can now use my phone as a hotspot and get 10 GB worth of data a month. So that will be really nice because we really can't watch anything like Netflix with our current data plan without getting close to going over.

So all in all, my bill will drop and I'll get more internet!

I tried to call and get a copy of my homeowner's policy today (it won't show up online for me for some reason). After 15 minutes of being on hold, it dawned on me that there were probably a lot of people in Texas who needed to talk to them more than I did I hung up and will call back at a later date to deal with that.

Now, I'm going to work from home for a good chunk of the weekend and bank some more PTO time.

I'm glad you were able to get some concession from AT&T. I have considered switching to them but they aren't offering any better deals than Spectrum. And we live in a major metropolitan area that in theory has multiple options, but they all offer more or less the same service for more or less the same price.

 

[dayvewc]

I had to call my cell phone provider the other day. Long story short, needed to know options on suspending service on one of the lines.

During the conservation, i was offered a 5Gb upgrade on my data package for free. I took it. I was already on a 15Gb plan for the price of 10. But now it's 20Gb for the price of 10Gb. Probably don't need that much, but it's nicer to have and not need than need and not have.

 

[bcwife76]

Got back from our Alaska cruise yesterday (it was fantastic!!!) but boy....that was a large bill at the end. We had a LOT of fun ;-) Ummm......anyway, we rebooked our May 2018 cruise and saved $400 plus got OBC so that's something. Cancelled the original reservation for that cruise today and will be getting a $750 (US, so even more Canadian) refund so that will get rid of a nice chunk of our onboard bill

Kids back to school and husband back to work today. He had a long day so made some overtime. I cleaned, ran errands and tried to be productive too, including some surveys so every penny baby!

STILL WAITING for the last chunk of my inheritance from my dad's estate. Was told it would come through by the end of June. When it didn't I contacted the lawyer who was vague and said things were still waiting to be filed. So I emailed him this morning and have had NO response. Grrrr. He's an older guy (basically retired lawyer who works from home) so I will give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's on vacation (he doesn't even have an assistant, he works alone). If I don't get a response by next Monday I will be calling him, not just emailing.

 

[DnA2010]

Got back from our Alaska cruise yesterday (it was fantastic!!!) but boy....that was a large bill at the end. We had a LOT of fun ;-) Ummm......anyway, we rebooked our May 2018 cruise and saved $400 plus got OBC so that's something. Cancelled the original reservation for that cruise today and will be getting a $750 (US, so even more Canadian) refund so that will get rid of a nice chunk of our onboard bill

Kids back to school and husband back to work today. He had a long day so made some overtime. I cleaned, ran errands and tried to be productive too, including some surveys so every penny baby!

STILL WAITING for the last chunk of my inheritance from my dad's estate. Was told it would come through by the end of June. When it didn't I contacted the lawyer who was vague and said things were still waiting to be filed. So I emailed him this morning and have had NO response. Grrrr. He's an older guy (basically retired lawyer who works from home) so I will give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's on vacation (he doesn't even have an assistant, he works alone). If I don't get a response by next Monday I will be calling him, not just emailing.

Did you do any excursions in Alaska? yay for a bunch of money back! Fingers crossed the money sorts out soon, def give him a call by Monday, he's had lots of time!

 

[bcwife76]

Did you do any excursions in Alaska? yay for a bunch of money back! Fingers crossed the money sorts out soon, def give him a call by Monday, he's had lots of time!

Yes we did excursions in each port, hence our onboard bill being higher lol We booked directly through DCL because we didn't do things like dog sledding/mushing or whale watching so there wasn't really a way of booking them without going through DCL (or maybe I just didn't look hard enough lol) I'd love to go back when the girls are older (probably on a diff cruise line) to do more adventurous excursions. In Skagway we did Liarsville, in Juneau we did Mendenhall Glacier and a fish hatchery and then in Ketchikan we did an off road/back country jeep excursion (driving the jeep yourselves) and that ended with a canoe across a clear glacier lake. Amazing and the most adventurous by far of the three but a bit *too* bumpy for my girls as one nearly was sick and unfortunately the youngest WAS sick about 4 minutes before we got to the end of the second trail I was semi prepared with a bag to puke in but really should have given her gravol (which I left on the ship, d'oh!)

 

[DnA2010]

Yes we did excursions in each port, hence our onboard bill being higher lol We booked directly through DCL because we didn't do things like dog sledding/mushing or whale watching so there wasn't really a way of booking them without going through DCL (or maybe I just didn't look hard enough lol) I'd love to go back when the girls are older (probably on a diff cruise line) to do more adventurous excursions. In Skagway we did Liarsville, in Juneau we did Mendenhall Glacier and a fish hatchery and then in Ketchikan we did an off road/back country jeep excursion (driving the jeep yourselves) and that ended with a canoe across a clear glacier lake. Amazing and the most adventurous by far of the three but a bit *too* bumpy for my girls as one nearly was sick and unfortunately the youngest WAS sick about 4 minutes before we got to the end of the second trail I was semi prepared with a bag to puke in but really should have given her gravol (which I left on the ship, d'oh!)

In Skagway we just walked around, DD13 dud goldpanning at the rock shop, Juneau we thought about whale watching (there are lots of companies on the dock) but ended up taking a taxi to Mendenhall (van cost us $35 I think?) Which took all 8 of us (2babies) which was really nice as it was much quieter, Ketchikan it poured the whole time, we went to Creek street etc. You can book outside of the cruise either ahead or when you get there, lots of tour operators at each port. That jeep ride and paddle sounds great, sorry to hear your littles ended up sick!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Leaving work early today and taking off tomorrow for my side hustle. I ended up picking up 8 horses to braid at one of my horse shows at $55 a head, so it'll be a nice little bit of extra cash to have (or to just give straight to my horse trainer, lol). I'm going to make myself some sandwiches before I go to eat for dinner tonight, since I don't usually stop working long enough to go get something to eat once I get started. My hotel has a free breakfast so I'm going to take advantage of that tomorrow. Hopefully I should only have to spend out of pocket for lunch tomorrow.

I hope anyone in the path of Irma stays safe/evacuates as needed. Forecast still isn't clear for my area. We'll definitely get some of it, but not sure yet if it will be just some wind and rain, or the full deal. We have bad luck with "I" hurricanes in our area- Isabel and Irene were our two biggest in recent history. We lost power for 12 days with Isabel. None of it will start for us until at least Monday morning, and that will just be little bits coming up from further down the coast.

 

[bcwife76]

In Skagway we just walked around, DD13 dud goldpanning at the rock shop, Juneau we thought about whale watching (there are lots of companies on the dock) but ended up taking a taxi to Mendenhall (van cost us $35 I think?) Which took all 8 of us (2babies) which was really nice as it was much quieter, Ketchikan it poured the whole time, we went to Creek street etc. You can book outside of the cruise either ahead or when you get there, lots of tour operators at each port. That jeep ride and paddle sounds great, sorry to hear your littles ended up sick!

There were definitely no shortage of tour operators in every port so next time I might not book ahead and just see what we can find after we disembark. Our tour groups were not super large and overwhelming, though, so that was good. Skagway was the largest group, I think there were about 45-50 of us? Juneau we had 21 and the jeep tour there were 23 of us but that included people from an Oceania cruise ship docked next to us.

 

[Eureka]

Leaving work early today and taking off tomorrow for my side hustle. I ended up picking up 8 horses to braid at one of my horse shows at $55 a head, so it'll be a nice little bit of extra cash to have (or to just give straight to my horse trainer, lol). I'm going to make myself some sandwiches before I go to eat for dinner tonight, since I don't usually stop working long enough to go get something to eat once I get started. My hotel has a free breakfast so I'm going to take advantage of that tomorrow. Hopefully I should only have to spend out of pocket for lunch tomorrow.

I hope anyone in the path of Irma stays safe/evacuates as needed. Forecast still isn't clear for my area. We'll definitely get some of it, but not sure yet if it will be just some wind and rain, or the full deal. We have bad luck with "I" hurricanes in our area- Isabel and Irene were our two biggest in recent history. We lost power for 12 days with Isabel. None of it will start for us until at least Monday morning, and that will just be little bits coming up from further down the coast.

I am not a horse person so I just don't know...what exactly are you braiding? (LOL) And how long does it take? Just curious.

And yes, please everyone be safe. We are far enough away that I don't think we're even going to get rain this weekend. Fine by me, it's finally "fall" here (low 70s and the humidity is dropping). I might even turn the AC off this weekend.

 

[pblack]

I am not a horse person so I just don't know...what exactly are you braiding? (LOL) And how long does it take? Just curious.

And yes, please everyone be safe. We are far enough away that I don't think we're even going to get rain this weekend. Fine by me, it's finally "fall" here (low 70s and the humidity is dropping). I might even turn the AC off this weekend.

I'm thinking she means braiding their tails, maybe their mane, but i'm not sure I've ever seen the mane braided. I wish it was becoming "fall" here. Today it's not too bad, low 80s, but by Sunday it's supposed to be back to the mid to upper 90s. (Northern CA/Sacramento area) No A/C break in our near future. Still I can't complain to much when so many others have it way worse right now.