Debt Dumpers - 2018

[Tygerlilly]

Well, May already has us so far buried I can't even find a plus to any of it. Long story made into the bottom line: fiance is having 25% of his wages garnished for a car we voluntarily gave back when I lost my job and the bank refused to work with us on payments. We never got any paperwork on it, and his check was an unexpected $340 shorter than usual. We have $150 we were saving for vacation in 2 weeks (which we cancelled) and I'm hoping I can get a refund from the one hotel we were going to stop at on our way home, but I'm still $150 short for bills.
Our yard sale is next weekend, so I'm hoping I bring in that $150 then. And we are now both looking for a second job (whoever gets offered the higher paying one will accept and be the worker).

Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere with this debt dumping... I guess the only silver lining is this will take about a year to pay off, with about $700/month being garnished. At the end of the year, all our loans will be paid off, his truck will be paid off, and then this will be done, so we're going to be so set in our bare bones spending ways and have an extra $1500 a month to our name to save and put towards my car to pay it off faster.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I apologize. I meant the outside. Diluted lemon juice cuts through the grease and smoke. And it smells better than grease cleaner.

The BEST, and I mean best, thing we ever did was start cooking with the copper mats. First off, the meat doesn't stick to the grill. Secondly, the meat is much more tender. Also, no grease fires, not even with burgers!

I don't think one wash will hurt anything.

What is a copper mat?

 

[DLgal]

I apologize. I meant the outside. Diluted lemon juice cuts through the grease and smoke. And it smells better than grease cleaner.

The BEST, and I mean best, thing we ever did was start cooking with the copper mats. First off, the meat doesn't stick to the grill. Secondly, the meat is much more tender. Also, no grease fires, not even with burgers!

I don't think one wash will hurt anything.

Which copper mats do you use? All the ones I've seen say the maximum temperature they can withstand is 500 degrees. We routinely grill at higher temperatures than that.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

First of all, that is one seriously cute baby you have there Second of all, I'm thinking those sunglasses are not actually going to last until she's 2. I'm not trying to be mean, but kids are kids and once she's mobile, all bets are off on where things are (stuck in the most interesting places sometimes) and not broken. Sorry to hear she's still having eating issues but the fact that you've got appointments lined up already is a great head start for her.

As long as they aren't lost, then there is a 100% replacement guarantee on the frames and lenses them from the company if they break. It even covers scratches on the lenses. We bought the strap to keep them on her face, so hopefully they won't get lost either!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

@Jen and Ashwin so cute!!!!

 

[Ngwira]

@dayvewc Sorry for being late to the party, but congratulations! Looking forward to hearing more about the arrangements and the actual wedding. Hawaii sounds amazing for the honeymoon.

April update:

We have continued to go over on medical expenses. We started DD on solids at the beginning of April, but she is having lots of difficulties. She gags and throws up almost every single time. I have made very smooth purees and tried adding formula to help with the consistency, but nothing seems to help. This is likely related to her difficulties with bottle feeding. She just doesn't know how to eat. So we have been referred back to OT to try and figure it out. I am working to set up her first appointment.

We also went over a bit on baby expenses. DD transitioned into 6-9 months clothes and I realized I didn't have enough of the right things, so had to order a few more items. I also bought some things from Facebook Marketplace. They are all for when DD is a little older, but they were great deals, so I thought it best to buy it when I saw it. Plus the weather is finally getting warmer, so I bought her 2 hats (one for home and 1 to stay at daycare) and sunglasses. The sunglasses were $36, but they are supposedly unbreakable and should last until she is 2+ years old. Plus they look super amazingly cute on her.

View attachment 320194

But in good news, I was able to sell some of the baby items that we decided we weren't going to use and recouped about $400. I still have all of the breastfeeding items left to post, so hoping that I can recoup another couple hundred dollars. I also made just shy of $500 via eBay and rewards programs, which I put towards our DVC fund. We are now at $5700 in the DVC fund and I should be adding a bit more to that this month because I did a few bank bonuses and plan to continue with some more in the next few months. And hoping more sewing machines sell on eBay.

Also booked our flights for our March WDW trip using airline points and booked shore excursions for our October cruise, which was completely covered by our vacation fund. We have decided that when we go in March to WDW, we will upgrade to annual passes and go again in October for DDs 2nd birthday.

Goal for May is to stay within budget!

Omg, your daughter is too cute .

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Sauntering back in here, haven't had much to report this year plus we've been super busy with kid and graduation stuff.

Finally got the house refinanced last week, saving $400 a month but not losing any traction on the timeline, that was a lot more time consuming than I had expected. Also paid off 4 credit cards and a car loan in March.
Moved the last of the credit cards onto a consolidation loan and a zero interest credit card. This is going to save a lot in interest. Fingers crossed we will have both loans and my car paid off in 18 months, then I am tackling the house.

 

[Ngwira]

Last weekend, I finally booked our flights for our Food and Wine/Jersey Week/MVMCP trip. We are counting down to our June stay for DH's 44th birthday. 45 days to go. I also make ADR's for our November trip in 8 days and Fatspasses for our August trip in a month and a half.

With all these trips, an AP makes sense. We plan to go for Spring break next year, as well. For the 4 of us, that means about $2700 if we upgrade our tickets during our June trip. I also have until October to pay the balance on our November stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. June and August trips are PIF.

While searching MDE, I was able to score a dining reservation for the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno which is on the Boardwalk. It's a character breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and other characters. I'm so excited. I also snagged a ressie for this place in August so hoping it's so good we do it twice.

Other than that, just chugging along.

 

[OhMari]

Last weekend, I finally booked our flights for our Food and Wine/Jersey Week/MVMCP trip. We are counting down to our June stay for DH's 44th birthday. 45 days to go. I also make ADR's for our November trip in 8 days and Fatspasses for our August trip in a month and a half.

With all these trips, an AP makes sense. We plan to go for Spring break next year, as well. For the 4 of us, that means about $2700 if we upgrade our tickets during our June trip. I also have until October to pay the balance on our November stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. June and August trips are PIF.

While searching MDE, I was able to score a dining reservation for the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno which is on the Boardwalk. It's a character breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and other characters. I'm so excited. I also snagged a ressie for this place in August so hoping it's so good we do it twice.

Other than that, just chugging along.

Good use of your AP's. I had a friend that just had breakfast at Trattoria with the characters, and she didn't know if it was just a morning thing, but she said the characters had about as much charm as a flat pancake. They walked up, took a picture and walked away. No hi, how you doing, they said they didn't feel they were in character at all, but had bad attitudes. Sorry for the opinion, maybe things will be better when you go.

 

[belleelc77]

While searching MDE, I was able to score a dining reservation for the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno which is on the Boardwalk. It's a character breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and other characters. I'm so excited. I also snagged a ressie for this place in August so hoping it's so good we do it twice.

My daughter and I did this breakfast a couple of weeks ago. We thought the character interaction was good, but my food choices were limited to one option due to food allergies. We liked it, but I don't think I'll be spending the money on it again anytime soon. JMO

 

[DisneyMandC]

@dayvewc Sorry for being late to the party, but congratulations! Looking forward to hearing more about the arrangements and the actual wedding. Hawaii sounds amazing for the honeymoon.

April update:

We have continued to go over on medical expenses. We started DD on solids at the beginning of April, but she is having lots of difficulties. She gags and throws up almost every single time. I have made very smooth purees and tried adding formula to help with the consistency, but nothing seems to help. This is likely related to her difficulties with bottle feeding. She just doesn't know how to eat. So we have been referred back to OT to try and figure it out. I am working to set up her first appointment.

We also went over a bit on baby expenses. DD transitioned into 6-9 months clothes and I realized I didn't have enough of the right things, so had to order a few more items. I also bought some things from Facebook Marketplace. They are all for when DD is a little older, but they were great deals, so I thought it best to buy it when I saw it. Plus the weather is finally getting warmer, so I bought her 2 hats (one for home and 1 to stay at daycare) and sunglasses. The sunglasses were $36, but they are supposedly unbreakable and should last until she is 2+ years old. Plus they look super amazingly cute on her.

View attachment 320194

But in good news, I was able to sell some of the baby items that we decided we weren't going to use and recouped about $400. I still have all of the breastfeeding items left to post, so hoping that I can recoup another couple hundred dollars. I also made just shy of $500 via eBay and rewards programs, which I put towards our DVC fund. We are now at $5700 in the DVC fund and I should be adding a bit more to that this month because I did a few bank bonuses and plan to continue with some more in the next few months. And hoping more sewing machines sell on eBay.

Also booked our flights for our March WDW trip using airline points and booked shore excursions for our October cruise, which was completely covered by our vacation fund. We have decided that when we go in March to WDW, we will upgrade to annual passes and go again in October for DDs 2nd birthday.

Goal for May is to stay within budget!

Look at those cheeks!!! What a cutie!! Good luck with her OT, sorry she's having so many struggles with feeding. One day she'll be through this and you'll be able to pass on to other new moms how you got through it.

Everything is chugging along here. I managed to put away quite a bit into our horse show fund last month, so that was nice. We will be going to OK for a show in August, so that will be a big expense. The good news is our hotel is paid for with points and $475 of our $720(total) flights will be paid with a voucher. Just need to have cash set aside for the remaining expenses for the horse.

I called this morning about getting our terrible front door replaced on our house and I'm supposed to have the contractor come look at that soon. I've set aside about $550 for the door and the work, but I might get him to replace some trim too.

DH's paycheck with his bonus comes in next Friday. I'll pull out the bonus and hopefully be able to pay my student loan off in one fell swoop. If it's not all gone this month, it should be gone by the end of the summer at the very latest.

I also just got off the phone from making some changes to our Disney reservation for this November. We were booked for one night at Boardwalk Villas, which was a nice splurge for us but something we wanted to do. After looking at our plans some more, we decided we would rather do two nights at Disney at a cheaper hotel. I moved us to Caribbean Beach Resort, which we have never stayed at! I'm looking forward to it, and the two nights worked out to be the same price as one at BWV. I'll call again when the fall room discounts come out and get that applied so we'll get a refund.

 

[Dentam]

I feel like crying and just need to vent. I went into this school year knowing that many of the kids I was going to work with would need lots of assistance and guidance. Little did I know that none of the kids would be a problem compared to a co-worker.
This work year has been so stressful. I feel my self worth is at an all time low and am now questioning everything I do.
Has anyone ever worked with someone who is passive agressive to the extreme.?
Do you have any suggestions?
I was thinking of transferring out for next year but the person actually just informed me that she is leaving and going to a new school.
God help me to get through the next 2 months.
Ok vent over and I feel a bit better,,thanks for letting me vent.

So far I am on track for learning to live within my new budget.
I got a shock this morning when I filled up my car and it was $45.00,,,I mean I have a small car.
I guess this is that thing called rising inflation.

Hugs to everyone
Mel

I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this person, Mel. I've worked with people like that (luckily only one or two) and I understand how awful it can be. I agree with a previous poster who said to start a countdown for their departure and try not to let this person affect your self worth. It's sad that some people feel like they need to bring others down to make themselves feel better. It's obvious to me just from reading your posts here that you are a very kind and thoughtful person!

 

[Ngwira]

Good use of your AP's. I had a friend that just had breakfast at Trattoria with the characters, and she didn't know if it was just a morning thing, but she said the characters had about as much charm as a flat pancake. They walked up, took a picture and walked away. No hi, how you doing, they said they didn't feel they were in character at all, but had bad attitudes. Sorry for the opinion, maybe things will be better when you go.

I sure hope so. I want to take a pic of Flynn doing his “smolder”.

 

[Ngwira]

Look at those cheeks!!! What a cutie!! Good luck with her OT, sorry she's having so many struggles with feeding. One day she'll be through this and you'll be able to pass on to other new moms how you got through it.

Everything is chugging along here. I managed to put away quite a bit into our horse show fund last month, so that was nice. We will be going to OK for a show in August, so that will be a big expense. The good news is our hotel is paid for with points and $475 of our $720(total) flights will be paid with a voucher. Just need to have cash set aside for the remaining expenses for the horse.

I called this morning about getting our terrible front door replaced on our house and I'm supposed to have the contractor come look at that soon. I've set aside about $550 for the door and the work, but I might get him to replace some trim too.

DH's paycheck with his bonus comes in next Friday. I'll pull out the bonus and hopefully be able to pay my student loan off in one fell swoop. If it's not all gone this month, it should be gone by the end of the summer at the very latest.

I also just got off the phone from making some changes to our Disney reservation for this November. We were booked for one night at Boardwalk Villas, which was a nice splurge for us but something we wanted to do. After looking at our plans some more, we decided we would rather do two nights at Disney at a cheaper hotel. I moved us to Caribbean Beach Resort, which we have never stayed at! I'm looking forward to it, and the two nights worked out to be the same price as one at BWV. I'll call again when the fall room discounts come out and get that applied so we'll get a refund.

Good choice to stay at a mod so you can stay longer. I’m excited to try Port Orleans. Have only done value - All star sports and deluxe.

 

[bababear_50]

Murphys came to visit.................now I'm sending him on his way!
Air Conditioning Company came out tonight to look at my unit.
Long story short Tech says I need a new unit.
It's going to be a little over $3,200.00 installed.
Looks like there will be no big summer vacation trip but at least we will be cool.

On the work front
co worker doesn't like to be ignored but I sure felt better.

Hugs Mel

 

[DisneyMandC]

Good choice to stay at a mod so you can stay longer. I’m excited to try Port Orleans. Have only done value - All star sports and deluxe.

I agree! Wanted to do Port Orleans but it was completely booked! Staying at every Disney resort is on our list though, so we're excited to try CBR

 

[bababear_50]

I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this person, Mel. I've worked with people like that (luckily only one or two) and I understand how awful it can be. I agree with a previous poster who said to start a countdown for their departure and try not to let this person affect your self worth. It's sad that some people feel like they need to bring others down to make themselves feel better. It's obvious to me just from reading your posts here that you are a very kind and thoughtful person!

Thanks Hon
Hugs Mel

 

[bababear_50]

@dayvewc Sorry for being late to the party, but congratulations! Looking forward to hearing more about the arrangements and the actual wedding. Hawaii sounds amazing for the honeymoon.

April update:

We have continued to go over on medical expenses. We started DD on solids at the beginning of April, but she is having lots of difficulties. She gags and throws up almost every single time. I have made very smooth purees and tried adding formula to help with the consistency, but nothing seems to help. This is likely related to her difficulties with bottle feeding. She just doesn't know how to eat. So we have been referred back to OT to try and figure it out. I am working to set up her first appointment.

We also went over a bit on baby expenses. DD transitioned into 6-9 months clothes and I realized I didn't have enough of the right things, so had to order a few more items. I also bought some things from Facebook Marketplace. They are all for when DD is a little older, but they were great deals, so I thought it best to buy it when I saw it. Plus the weather is finally getting warmer, so I bought her 2 hats (one for home and 1 to stay at daycare) and sunglasses. The sunglasses were $36, but they are supposedly unbreakable and should last until she is 2+ years old. Plus they look super amazingly cute on her.

View attachment 320194

But in good news, I was able to sell some of the baby items that we decided we weren't going to use and recouped about $400. I still have all of the breastfeeding items left to post, so hoping that I can recoup another couple hundred dollars. I also made just shy of $500 via eBay and rewards programs, which I put towards our DVC fund. We are now at $5700 in the DVC fund and I should be adding a bit more to that this month because I did a few bank bonuses and plan to continue with some more in the next few months. And hoping more sewing machines sell on eBay.

Also booked our flights for our March WDW trip using airline points and booked shore excursions for our October cruise, which was completely covered by our vacation fund. We have decided that when we go in March to WDW, we will upgrade to annual passes and go again in October for DDs 2nd birthday.

Goal for May is to stay within budget!

Jen
Oh my gosh she looks like a movie star!
I just booked my March 2019 Spring break trip--OUCH the flights from Canada are so high this year.
I will be staying at OKW (Old Key West),I might waitlist for AKV but I will be staying at AKV for our January trip.
Keep up the great work with that DVC fund!

Hugs Hon
Mel

 

[bababear_50]

Well, May already has us so far buried I can't even find a plus to any of it. Long story made into the bottom line: fiance is having 25% of his wages garnished for a car we voluntarily gave back when I lost my job and the bank refused to work with us on payments. We never got any paperwork on it, and his check was an unexpected $340 shorter than usual. We have $150 we were saving for vacation in 2 weeks (which we cancelled) and I'm hoping I can get a refund from the one hotel we were going to stop at on our way home, but I'm still $150 short for bills.
Our yard sale is next weekend, so I'm hoping I bring in that $150 then. And we are now both looking for a second job (whoever gets offered the higher paying one will accept and be the worker).

Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere with this debt dumping... I guess the only silver lining is this will take about a year to pay off, with about $700/month being garnished. At the end of the year, all our loans will be paid off, his truck will be paid off, and then this will be done, so we're going to be so set in our bare bones spending ways and have an extra $1500 a month to our name to save and put towards my car to pay it off faster.

So sorry sweetie,,,,, but things will get better because you are working so hard to make them better,
sending positive thoughts your way!
Hugs to you
Mel

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Murphys came to visit.................now I'm sending him on his way!
Air Conditioning Company came out tonight to look at my unit.
Long story short Tech says I need a new unit.
It's going to be a little over $3,200.00 installed.
Looks like there will be no big summer vacation trip but at least we will be cool.

On the work front
co worker doesn't like to be ignored but I sure felt better.

Hugs Mel

Ask the AC people about financing. When we got our AC, they had ZERO percent financing for 18 months which helped a lot!