Debt Dumpers - 2017

[bababear_50]

Did you try physical therapy for your sciatic pain?
I have a herniated disc and back in 2012, I was putting a sock on and just felt a jolt down my leg and excruciating pain. My calf was twitching like it was possessed. Really freaky! I could barely walk and the pain was insane. Like someone had jammed a butcher knife in my left upper outer thigh/lower buttock. Excruciating. At its worst, I only got 3 hrs sleep one night and collapsed in bed at 6 pm delirious but still in too much pain to sleep. By 2am I went to our local ER for pain meds before I'd go insane from lack of sleep.
I was out of work for a week and my dr gave me steroids to reduce inflammation and muscle relaxers. I started PT 2x/week and that was the best thing ever. I went for prob 8-10 weeks and they kept changing it up as I progressed. I applied for FMLA and luckily I work in a hospital so I could take their last appt of the day and just walk over after my shift.
I work in a busy xray dept with lots of leaning, bending, squatting sometimes & lifting. There is no "light duty".
I also had some OT where they had a simulated washer/dryer and had me move like I was doing laundry to see how I bend, pick things up off the floor such as a dropped pen. They gave me all kinds of tips such as lifting the further back foot up off the ground to pick things up, the way a golfer retrieves his ball from the hole.

I was happy to be done with the $30/week in copays but even more happy to be pain free and have my normal life back.

Anyway, 5 years later, the stripe of complete numbness is still there from my hip down to, and including, my little toe. It's a strange sensation when I'm shaving my leg and go across the numb area.
I still work FT and if it starts acting up again I will get right back into PT again. They were so phenomenal, I hated to leave them and brought them a big bag of candy on my last visit. This was our own hospital's PT dept. (we're a regional spinal-cord injury center) not one of those chain-type outpatient centers like NovaCare. I used one of those once for my back several years ago after I fell and they were so pathetic. Unprofessional & lazy is the most Dis-friendly terminology I can use here.

Best wishes to you and hope you feel better soon!!
I know that sciatic pain is excruciating and though I'd consider myself a mentally strong person, this constant pain is enough to make me want to jump off a bridge. Not kidding. I would have done ANYTHING to get some relief & solid sleep.

Speaking of sleep, do try keeping a pillow under your knees while on your back or between your knees when on your side. It really does help!

Hi Hon
Welcome back from your travels, it sounds like you had a great time.
I have done a few months of Physio Therapy, and while I found it helped I now feel I can do the exercises from home. I was thinking this weekend of going for massage therapy and am going to set up some appointments this week.
I have figured out the hard way (lack of restorative sleep) that I will have to take the prescribed medication ,gabapentin until this subsides. Going back to work mornings is going ok, sometimes I feel more numbness, muscle spasms and pain by lunch time ,but Advil and stretching helps.
I tried swimming but my skin is not a happy camper--hates the chemicals in the pool so I am going to try and walk in the forest by my home once a day.
Oh my gosh you are so right about the extra pillow,,I bought a body pillow and use it regularly.
I so happy PT was able to help you and that you are doing well.
BIg Hugs To You
Mel

 

[Ngwira]

As for our debt dumping, I have completely derailed.
I haven't accumulated any more debt but I haven't been so diligent in following The Plan. If I stuck to my budget, we would have had $5k ready for Christmas. ($1700 of that is a bonus that dh used to get right before Christmas and he would give me that in cash as my gift to go book a trip. His employer has since changed from a lump sum bonus every Dec to a pay increase spread over the year but dh still likes to give me that for Christmas since I like trips better than any material thing.)

So anyhoo, our London/Paris trip was awesome!!! All the hotels, tours & transfers we booked turned out great. Thanks TripAdvisor!!
The food there was waaaaaay more expensive than I anticipated. Whew!! For 4 of us to have burgers at a casual table service restaurant was easily 114 GBP. 139 at the Hard Rock Café. At today's exchange rate that's $186+
Yikes! Why did I look that up? I was happier thinking it's like $$.

Anyway so we went over budget by a few hundred $$ for food. We didn't buy a ton of souvenirs so that was good.

Disneyland Paris was surprisingly a lot like our Disney World except smaller and service was not so magical. Some of their rides were way better than ours such as Small World has a globe shaped fountain with lovely gardens outside and a huge clock tower animated display. Every 15 mins it does this little thing where doors open up and little people from all over the world come out while the song plays. It's cute.
Also their Space Mtn is called Hyperspace Mtn and it shoots you out fast and goes upside down like our Aerosmith.

They also have LOTS of smokers, everywhere. No matter where you stand, someone's smoke is in your face. Ugh!
It's like going back to the 70's here. Also lots of line cutters due to very little supervision of FP lines. On Big Thunder Mtn people would hop the railing and get into the FP line and no one else checks for actual FPs except at the initial FP entrance. Another UGH moment.

The park itself is beautiful and loved our hotel, Newport Bay Club Resort. It was just remodeled and felt like our Yacht Club. Their club level lounge was awesome at breakfast, a massive buffet compared to WDW, with bacon, eggs, sausage, waffles, smoothies and all our usual offerings.

We saw lots of police presence in London but that paled compared to Paris which had HUGE military police with machine guns all over the city, and heavy presence at very touristy spots like Eiffel tower and Notre Dame. I never felt unsafe but really if we went 20 mins without seeing one, that was a long stretch.

At DLP, of course security was super tight also but no guns. The gate guard questioned our driver "who is in the vehicle", searched the trunk, not looking inside our bags. After being dropped off outside the lobby, security is set up to have all bags xrayed and we go through metal detectors before even entering the front doors. Once inside we all spread em' and get wanded down again. Wow.
The parks are about 15 min walk and all must pass through a mini version of DTD to reach the gates but first must go through another round of xraying bags and go through metal detectors. After a few times this became very routine. One could debate privacy vs security all day but I was truly glad they were doing all they could short of a cavity search so we could feel relaxed inside the parks. Without, DLP would be an easy target.

To further break my budget plans, right before leaving for our big trip, I stumbled onto flights from PHL to MCO for just $29 each way incl tax that coincided perfectly with some days off work. I think I'm pretty strong but you know that is my kryptonite! So we spent 3 nts at Yacht Club last week. We had a crazy late arrival, (flew after work) and stopped at the desk since they never texted our room assignment. Well what a shock, they upgraded us to a 2BR/3BA suite! omg, it starts off looking like a king room with a big screen tv, balcony, and the usual fridge/coffeemaker but it kept going on and on, such incredible space. A connecting door led to a full living room with another huge tv, prob 60" and double doors leading out to the hall way. Then another full bath, then a wet bar with another fridge & coffeemaker then a dining area for 4, then a huge master BR & bath! Yowza!! Then another balcony that overlooked Stormalong Bay, which I FINALLY got to swim in after every other visit being too cold to swim!

Too bad it was only 2.5 day vacation but it was really special and I teased dh that I will never be able to go back to slumming in a standard room after being so spoiled. lol.

So now we're back to hunkering down and I'll have all the Christmas $ saved by early November.

I was hoping to squeeze in one more visit before the Cirque show ends Dec 31. I have a Companion Pass with SWA thanks to their cc bonuses but I feel like I really need get a grip and stop splurging!
Like in Monsters Inc.: SMACK! - Keep it together Man!!

Thanks for the details on your trip. Both trips sound like you had an amazing time.That upgrade at Yacht club sounds bananas. I thought we got lucky when we were upgraded last year at Grand Floridian to club level when we paid 273 a night.
Which airline did you find $29 flights...

 

[Ngwira]

Getting the house painted next weekend. Wohoo. Had an extra check last month (3 paycheck month) to cover it.

In addition to the 400 I’m getting from a PNC bank account bonus, DH signed up too and is getting a 300 bonus. So, We will have an extra 700 in our trip fund.

Vacation plans for next year have changed a bit. We are no longer going to Toronto in June. Instead, we are headed to Vegas in February and the Canadian Rockies in April for Easter. WDW in August again and I’ll book as soon as the magical rates come out this November. I still have $950 on a Disney giftcard that I plan to put towards our trip since I put all food expenses on my chase to get the points this year.

Other than that, still paying extra on student loans and window loan and anxiously anticipating what our new mortgage payment will look like come Dec 1.

 

[Ngwira]

I’m looking at quite an expense for a tour I plan to book for our Vegas trip. I want to do a day tour to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Cheapest tours I’ve seen are at least $250pp and there are 4 of us so not cheap. I’m hoping to find a Groupon, but if not I should have the money by February.

 

[Miss Whimsy]

Starting October in the red. (I mean, I'm overall in the red, which is why I'm in the debt dumpers thread, but I'm down to one final debt that I'm working on and I've been doing a good job of breaking even/saving everywhere else.)

And October is shaping up to be expensive, it's always my busiest social month.

ughhhhhh

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks for the details on your trip. Both trips sound like you had an amazing time.That upgrade at Yacht club sounds bananas. I thought we got lucky when we were upgraded last year at Grand Floridian to club level when we paid 273 a night.
Which airline did you find $29 flights...

That is an awesome upgrade too!
We flew Frontier. Super low budget experience but you know how baggage pick up is at PHL. You just wanna get home and they are always so slow. Like go crochet a blanket & come back when it's done.
Well this time with only a short bathroom stop after deplaning, our bag was there waiting for us. I was shocked; that's a once in a lifetime moment. lol

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I’m looking at quite an expense for a tour I plan to book for our Vegas trip. I want to do a day tour to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Cheapest tours I’ve seen are at least $250pp and there are 4 of us so not cheap. I’m hoping to find a Groupon, but if not I should have the money by February.

That's a lot to squeeze into one day.
We rented a cabin in between the 2 parks and allotted 3 days and it still seemed rushed. We rented a car from LAS but we're not big into Vegas so we were only there for their airport.

I guess it's doable, as long as you don't mind a quicky look, like Chevy Chase looking at the Grand Canyon in his Vacation movie.


Not sure of your kids' ages but mine were 14 & 17 at the time and in Utah one only has to be 14 to ride. They would say this was def the highlight of that trip:
http://brycecanyonatvadventures.com/
It was easy riding, nothing dangerous, and fully guided. Their trails are all public & maintained by the state. Wish NJ would offer this somewhere.
My younger ds LOVED that he could ride his own.

https://www.vrbo.com/359078

We also spent 2 days in Page, AZ after leaving the cabin for this:
http://www.raftthecanyon.com/raft-the-river/slot-canyon-raft-tour/

The slot canyon and rafting were both amazing to see but we also drove out for the views of Horseshoe Bend from above before driving back to LAS.
Really such a beautiful part of our country. Compared to our area, driving is so easy & relaxed out there.

Not that I'm trying to commandeer your vacation plans; just saying what we did.

 

[Ngwira]

That is an awesome upgrade too!
We flew Frontier. Super low budget experience but you know how baggage pick up is at PHL. You just wanna get home and they are always so slow. Like go crochet a blanket & come back when it's done.
Well this time with only a short bathroom stop after deplaning, our bag was there waiting for us. I was shocked; that's a once in a lifetime moment. lol

Wow, I’m shocked at frontier being a no hassle airline. I’m looking to book our 2018 tickets to MCO so I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks.

 

[Ngwira]

I

That's a lot to squeeze into one day.
We rented a cabin in between the 2 parks and allotted 3 days and it still seemed rushed. We rented a car from LAS but we're not big into Vegas so we were only there for their airport.

I guess it's doable, as long as you don't mind a quicky look, like Chevy Chase looking at the Grand Canyon in his Vacation movie.


Not sure of your kids' ages but mine were 14 & 17 at the time and in Utah one only has to be 14 to ride. They would say this was def the highlight of that trip:
http://brycecanyonatvadventures.com/
It was easy riding, nothing dangerous, and fully guided. Their trails are all public & maintained by the state. Wish NJ would offer this somewhere.
My younger ds LOVED that he could ride his own.

https://www.vrbo.com/359078

We also spent 2 days in Page, AZ after leaving the cabin for this:
http://www.raftthecanyon.com/raft-the-river/slot-canyon-raft-tour/

The slot canyon and rafting were both amazing to see but we also drove out for the views of Horseshoe Bend from above before driving back to LAS.
Really such a beautiful part of our country. Compared to our area, driving is so easy & relaxed out there.

Not that I'm trying to commandeer your vacation plans; just saying what we did.

I do appreciate the help. I know it’s such a tall order. I may table this for our April 2019 trip to Salt Lake City. We plan to spend our entire spring break there. We are doing arches, Zion,Canyonlands and Bryce. We will have 10 days so should probably just keep this current trip to Vegas only. We only have 4 nights this February so we will probably just do Hoover Dam and valley of fire. I found a car rental for dirt cheap-30 for the day.

That atv ride looks epic. My kiddos are only 8 and 11 and girls so my DH would have a fit if they did this. Anyway, you are awesome for all these ideas.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Getting the house painted next weekend. Wohoo. Had an extra check last month (3 paycheck month) to cover it.

In addition to the 400 I’m getting from a PNC bank account bonus, DH signed up too and is getting a 300 bonus. So, We will have an extra 700 in our trip fund.

Vacation plans for next year have changed a bit. We are no longer going to Toronto in June. Instead, we are headed to Vegas in February and the Canadian Rockies in April for Easter. WDW in August again and I’ll book as soon as the magical rates come out this November. I still have $950 on a Disney giftcard that I plan to put towards our trip since I put all food expenses on my chase to get the points this year.

Other than that, still paying extra on student loans and window loan and anxiously anticipating what our new mortgage payment will look like come Dec 1.

Did you happen to find any good deals or anything to Toronto or come up with any fun ideas for that trip? I am (very tentatively) thinking about an end of next July trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto for a couple days. Haven't really looked into it much though. We would only be able to do about 5 days so I don't know if I'd want to save that for a longer trip.

 

[Ngwira]

Did you happen to find any good deals or anything to Toronto or come up with any fun ideas for that trip? I am (very tentatively) thinking about an end of next July trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto for a couple days. Haven't really looked into it much though. We would only be able to do about 5 days so I don't know if I'd want to save that for a longer trip.

We went to Niagara Falls /Toronto in 2016. We stayed at the Four points by Sheraton on points. Main attraction there is the falls. The boat ride to the falls is a MUST. Toronto is an hour and a half drive from Niagara. You can get a cheap rental car and check out this fabulous city. You should visit the harbor islands. We loved the Eaton centre for shopping. We also enjoyed the Royal Ontario Museum. Overall, great budget friendly trip. Especially if you drive into Canada. 5 days is plenty to see both areas. In terms of "deals", you can easily "travel hack" your way there. There are plenty of Marriotts, Hiltons, IhG, Hyatt's and other major hotel brands. You can easily stay for free at any major hotel if you have the right "currency". We live in South Jersey so we drove into Canada. It took about 7 hours to drive through Pennsylvania and through New York, so flights weren't an issue.

Sounds like a very doable trip for you and your DH. The Canadian dollar is still at a favorable exchange rate to the US dollar.
If I were you, I'd definitely do it. A July trip will ensure great weather and there tend to be lots of festivities around that time. Toronto is like a much cleaner New York City. Very cosmopolitan and chic. You could do 2 days in Niagara Falls and 3 days in Toronto. Hotels in Toronto are expensive though which makes booking on points an even better deal.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Did you happen to find any good deals or anything to Toronto or come up with any fun ideas for that trip? I am (very tentatively) thinking about an end of next July trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto for a couple days. Haven't really looked into it much though. We would only be able to do about 5 days so I don't know if I'd want to save that for a longer trip.

My DH is from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA, as the locals say), so I have been there many times. My in-laws live in a northern suburb, so I have spent more time in that area, but Toronto proper is a great city with lots of stuff to do. When I first went to Toronto to visit DH and his family, we got the City Pass. I hadn't been to Toronto since I was a kid, so this was a really perfect way to see the city. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, Casa Loma, the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Zoo. We got the 4 day pass, I think, and even then we only got to see half of the zoo on the last day. You will definitely want a rental car if you are flying into the city, since things are pretty spread out and the mass transit doesn't really go everywhere. And if you have a car, you have a lot more choice in hotels since you can find something outside of downtown at a more reasonable price. July is a great time to go since the weather will be some of the best, but it usually stays in the 70s, even during the summer. You will want to back some light jackets because it can get cooler in the evenings. That was something I found strange when I first started visiting.

 

[DisneyMandC]

We went to Niagara Falls /Toronto in 2016. We stayed at the Four points by Sheraton on points. Main attraction there is the falls. The boat ride to the falls is a MUST. Toronto is a hour and a half drive from Niagara. You can get a cheap rental car and check out this fabulous city. You should visit the harbor islands. We loved the Eaton centre for shopping. We also enjoyed the Royal Ontario Museum. Overall, great budget friendly trip. Especially if you drive into Canada. 5 days is plenty to see both areas. In terms of "deals", you can easily "travel hack" your way there. There are plenty of Marriotts, Hiltons, IhG, Hyatt's and other major hotel brands. You can easily stay for free at any major hotel if you have the right "currency". We live in South Jersey so we drove into Canada. It took about 7 hours to drive through Pennsylvania and through New York, so flights weren't an issue.

Sounds like a very doable trip for you and your DH. The Canadian dollar is still at a favorable exchange rate to the US dollar.
If I were you, I'd definitely do it. A July trip will ensure great weather and there tend to be lots of festivities around that time. Toronto is like a much cleaner New York City. Very cosmopolitan and chic. You could do 2 days in Niagara Falls and 3 days in Toronto. Hotels in Toronto are expensive though which makes booking on points an even better deal.

Thanks for the detailed response!! I've heard a lot of good things about Toronto, and neither DH nor I have been there. We are slowly putting our feet into the water for travel hacking with our new CSP; we've been Marriott rewards members for a long time and use a lot of those points to pay for our horse show hotel stays free. We got a week in a suite with a full kitchen in Columbus this month for free! I checked out some Airbnbs for Toronto too and there are some pretty decent prices on those if we decided to pay out of pocket. I'll have to look around closer too and see how flight prices look. Our other thought was to go to Philadelphia and do that and some of Amish country and Hershey. PA is driving distance for us (5 hours) so I think it'll just depend on how the travel budget looks next year.

We are definitely doing Asheville, NC in April, so I'm really looking forward to that! DH is less than thrilled about touring the Biltmore, but there's an outlet mall nearby that I've promised him we can go shopping at while we're there Yes, we like to defy stereotypes in this relationship!

 

[DisneyMandC]

My DH is from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA, as the locals say), so I have been there many times. My in-laws live in a northern suburb, so I have spent more time in that area, but Toronto proper is a great city with lots of stuff to do. When I first went to Toronto to visit DH and his family, we got the City Pass. I hadn't been to Toronto since I was a kid, so this was a really perfect way to see the city. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, Casa Loma, the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Zoo. We got the 4 day pass, I think, and even then we only got to see half of the zoo on the last day. You will definitely want a rental car if you are flying into the city, since things are pretty spread out and the mass transit doesn't really go everywhere. And if you have a car, you have a lot more choice in hotels since you can find something outside of downtown at a more reasonable price. July is a great time to go since the weather will be some of the best, but it usually stays in the 70s, even during the summer. You will want to back some light jackets because it can get cooler in the evenings. That was something I found strange when I first started visiting.

Great to know! I was wondering how transit was there and if it would be a hassle or super expensive to park a car, like NYC. I think if we were to do the trip, we would probably fly to Buffalo, do two days/one night in Niagara Falls, and then drive to Toronto. So that sounds like it work out pretty well to let us see the city.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow, I’m shocked at frontier being a no hassle airline. I’m looking to book our 2018 tickets to MCO so I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks.

Their seats are thin, uncomfortable, and don't recline. The tray table is about the side of a boarding pass that's printed by the airlines. Just enough room to put a drink and your phone.
I will only use them if it's unbelievably cheap. JMHO

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks for the detailed response!! I've heard a lot of good things about Toronto, and neither DH nor I have been there. We are slowly putting our feet into the water for travel hacking with our new CSP; we've been Marriott rewards members for a long time and use a lot of those points to pay for our horse show hotel stays free. We got a week in a suite with a full kitchen in Columbus this month for free! I checked out some Airbnbs for Toronto too and there are some pretty decent prices on those if we decided to pay out of pocket. I'll have to look around closer too and see how flight prices look. Our other thought was to go to Philadelphia and do that and some of Amish country and Hershey. PA is driving distance for us (5 hours) so I think it'll just depend on how the travel budget looks next year.

We are definitely doing Asheville, NC in April, so I'm really looking forward to that! DH is less than thrilled about touring the Biltmore, but there's an outlet mall nearby that I've promised him we can go shopping at while we're there Yes, we like to defy stereotypes in this relationship!

You and your DH are so cute..lol So I live 12 miles from Philadelphia so let me know if you do intend on coming and I can tell you what to check out. We are ALWAYS in Philly (DH works there!). We also are an hour and a half from Lancaster and Hershey and we're actually taking the kids to Hersheypark's Christmas festivities in November. I'm planning to stop at the outlets in Lancaster on our way followed by 2 nights at the Hershey Lodge. So I can probably help with that too.

I've never been to Asheville, NC. Is that where the Blue Ridge Mountains are? I'd love to see the Great Smoky Mountains, but DH isn't convinced.

 

[Ngwira]

Great to know! I was wondering how transit was there and if it would be a hassle or super expensive to park a car, like NYC. I think if we were to do the trip, we would probably fly to Buffalo, do two days/one night in Niagara Falls, and then drive to Toronto. So that sounds like it work out pretty well to let us see the city.

Parking is EXPENSIVE, if you stay downtown. The metro is very affordable and accessible if you stay downtown, though. We stayed at the Sheraton Toronto near Eaton Centre. Our hotel faced the famous "TORONTO" sign and we walked to the ferry to take us to the harbour islands.

 

[Ngwira]

Their seats are thin, uncomfortable, and don't recline. The tray table is about the side of a boarding pass that's printed by the airlines. Just enough room to put a drink and your phone.
I will only use them if it's unbelievably cheap. JMHO

Yes, but for a 2 hour flight...it may work. I LOVE Southwest and try to book them if at all possible. Spirit also flies out of PHL and ACY but I'm nervous to try them.

 

[DisneyMandC]

You and your DH are so cute..lol So I live 12 miles from Philadelphia so let me know if you do intend on coming and I can tell you what to check out. We are ALWAYS in Philly (DH works there!). We also are an hour and a half from Lancaster and Hershey and we're actually taking the kids to Hersheypark's Christmas festivities in November. So I can probably help with that too.

I've never been to Asheville, NC. Is that where the Blue Ridge Mountains are? I'd love to see the Great Smoky Mountains, but DH isn't convinced.

Thanks! I will definitely take you up on those offers if it works out!

Asheville is in southwest NC, almost to the South Carolina line. It is in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is most prominently known for the Biltmore Estate, which I HIGHLY recommend if you're into history and that sort of thing. I went when I was about 12 and loved it, and have been asking/telling DH for several years now that we should go. They're having a Titanic costume exhibit on site during the spring, so I told DH we HAD to go see that!

 

[Eureka]

My DH is from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA, as the locals say), so I have been there many times. My in-laws live in a northern suburb, so I have spent more time in that area, but Toronto proper is a great city with lots of stuff to do. When I first went to Toronto to visit DH and his family, we got the City Pass. I hadn't been to Toronto since I was a kid, so this was a really perfect way to see the city. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, Casa Loma, the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Zoo. We got the 4 day pass, I think, and even then we only got to see half of the zoo on the last day. You will definitely want a rental car if you are flying into the city, since things are pretty spread out and the mass transit doesn't really go everywhere. And if you have a car, you have a lot more choice in hotels since you can find something outside of downtown at a more reasonable price. July is a great time to go since the weather will be some of the best, but it usually stays in the 70s, even during the summer. You will want to back some light jackets because it can get cooler in the evenings. That was something I found strange when I first started visiting.

I second the City Pass. We went last summer. I loved Casa Loma.