Debt Dumpers 2023

[goofytinkerbell]

It's Friday, and a long weekend here!

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)
-Installed the thing I'd previously purchased
-Had a contractor in to replace the fan in my bathroom. This one actually works, and is supposed to be energy efficient.
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week, and maybe not for the whole winter. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings. Christmas is coming, along with a couple bigger things for the house that I need to deal with

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.
-4 items gone this week.
-Posted more items for sale, even though I'm not having much luck
-No luck with the things I've posted online. I'm hoping to find some time this weekend to put up more ads.
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 job sites daily. Nothing this week to apply to.
-I had a lead on a potential job, which now looks like it'll be on site. I don't live anywhere close, but they asked me to apply anyway in case it winds up being something that will be considered for a remote position.
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
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.
-2 workouts
-2 walks
-1 active activity
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 the "in laws" over 2 days
8. Organize my stuff!
Sorted through some papers. I have to clean half my place again after the construction, but then I'm hoping to be able to work on this a bit over the weekend. Unless I have company... I'm not sure about that yet.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Our first week in Orlando has been super successful! We've had an absolute blast and did all 4 Disney parks in 3 days (half day at one, hop to another after mid-day break) and 2 days of Universal so far.

I'm a little... irritated I guess tho. 3 days before we were leaving hubby's sons girlfriend (their whole family was coming with us on this trip) calls me and says they're 2 months behind on rent and could I send them an additional $2000 for that. I don't want them to get evicted while on vacation or using half of the money we were gifting them for the trip to pay bills instead of using it for the trip. She made a comment yesterday about trying to be careful with money so she didn't have to ask for more. They've known about the trip since April and I was clear they would need travel and food money. She had a baby and has yet to return to work (baby is almost 8 months now). Sorry, but if you're struggling that bad financially, you need to get back to work.

Rant over.

Other than that, we've been staying on budget for the trip, eating out one mid-day meal and doing breakfast and snacky dinners at the house. I've gotten 90% of the souvenirs I've wanted already so the next week should be a little less painful to the wallet.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Sorry, but if you're struggling that bad financially, you need to get back to work.

Preach it sista!
I’d give it to them and say Merry Christmas.

Have a great time!

 

[Tygerlilly]

I will never buy a car without the extra warranty again. Specifically, thru CarMax and their extra warranty.
As we were trying to leave Animal Kingdom Monday night, we get in the car and it wouldn't start. Plenty of battery power, no crank. We got it towed to the local dodge dealer and the warranty covered the cost and labor of a new starter ($1260), all I had to pay was the $200 deductible. This is the second major fix we've had to have that the warranty has covered. We've paid $400 total for about $9700 in repairs over the last couple months.

We ended up getting a rental for a couple days while they fixed up our car, so that was $230, but we ended up in a Suburban and now I want one. Lol.

It rained all afternoon and night yesterday and all day today, so I spent some time finishing up laundry, re-packing, and trying to organize so we can spend our last day tomorrow enjoying Epcot for half a day before we leave Saturday morning and surprise the kids with a stop in Pensacola to see the beach!

Amazingly, still under budget so far! Can't wait to get home and get some normalcy though.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Happy Friday! I got derailed a bit again this week, but the last couple months of the year are always hectic. A little off the rails is fine, I'll just try and keep out of the trees.

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)
-Nothing this week
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week, and maybe not for the whole winter. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings. Christmas is coming, along with a couple bigger things for the house that I need to deal with

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.
-2 items gone this week.
-Posted more items for sale, bit zip for interest in anything. Everyone here wants things for free
-Set aside some more things to post for sale
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 job sites daily. Nothing this week to apply to.
-I had a lead on a potential job, which now looks like it'll be on site. I don't live anywhere close, but they asked me to apply anyway in case it winds up being something that will be considered for a remote position. Update on this, I finally got a bit of info around the job itself, so I just need to tweak my resume and send it
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
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.
-1 workout. It was a busy work week
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, but there will be some family in town tomorrow
8. Organize my stuff!
-My attempt at this failed

I expect this week will be a write-off and possibly the following week as well, but it is what it is.
I'm trying to work out some S.M.A.R.T. goals for next year, as opposed to the 'attempt to do things' goals of this year. I'd just needed somewhere to start, and to have some accountability, and this has been great for that. But next year I want to try and make some real progress and if that doesn't happen I need to hold myself accountable (actual reasons are fine, excuses are not).

 

[LordG]

So sorry.
My mom died before my dad and my dad got dementia as well. It didn't make him say mean things but it did make his filter go off and he told me a couple of family secrets I don't think I was meant to know.
Mom passed in Dec. of '19 and dad passed Dec. of '22.

Those are the same years when I lost my mom and dad, exactly.

 

[pblack]

@goofytinkerbell I'm not sure what you're trying to sell or where you're trying to sell it at, but i'd suggest looking into Mercari if it's clothes or smaller items. I've had pretty decent luck with selling things on Mercari, specifically with Disney items. Just wanted to offer a suggestion.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

@goofytinkerbell I'm not sure what you're trying to sell or where you're trying to sell it at, but i'd suggest looking into Mercari if it's clothes or smaller items. I've had pretty decent luck with selling things on Mercari, specifically with Disney items. Just wanted to offer a suggestion.

I always appreciate suggestions

There's a whole bunch of assorted things, though there are a lot of books... Is that US only?

 

[barkley]

I always appreciate suggestions

There's a whole bunch of assorted things, though there are a lot of books... Is that US only?

it was great when amazon (pre pandemic) used to buy used books but at least around us you can't even give them away-so many people purged stuff that the used book stores are VERY selective and none of the libraries or thrift stores will even take them as donations.

 

[pblack]

I always appreciate suggestions

There's a whole bunch of assorted things, though there are a lot of books... Is that US only?

I honestly was not sure so I had to Google lol. It looks like it's just US and Japan. But maybe you have something similar where you live? I haven't had too much luck with books on Mercari, but it may just depend on the books you have.

 

[pblack]

It's been an expensive weekend for me. We took advantage of Black friday deals at best buy and bought a new stove, which I've been wanting for awhile. We also decided to buy a Nintendo switch. This one was a bit more of an impulse but I've been toying with the idea for awhile because I think it'll be nice to bring it along when we travel/fly. While we do have the money to pay for both in full, I opted to do 24 month 0% financing instead, that way I have the option to take my time with it or pay it off.

 

[Tygerlilly]

It's been an expensive weekend for me. We took advantage of Black friday deals at best buy and bought a new stove, which I've been wanting for awhile. We also decided to buy a Nintendo switch. This one was a bit more of an impulse but I've been toying with the idea for awhile because I think it'll be nice to bring it along when we travel/fly. While we do have the money to pay for both in full, I opted to do 24 month 0% financing instead, that way I have the option to take my time with it or pay it off.

I absolutely LOVE my switch. In fact, I loved it so much, I got each of my girls a switch lite earlier this year for all our road trips. They're really such versatile consoles.

 

[pblack]

I absolutely LOVE my switch. In fact, I loved it so much, I got each of my girls a switch lite earlier this year for all our road trips. They're really such versatile consoles.

It just got delivered today and I've already tried out 3 of the games I bought. definitely loving it so far. The one game I was really looking forward to got delayed, so ill have to wait a little longer for it. I think it's gonna be nice for road trips/ plane trips. Haven't tried out the 2 player aspect yet though since my DH also bought call of duty 2 for $20 for his Xbox so he's been playing that.

 

[pblack]

Happy Thanksgiving (to those that celebrate) debt dumpers! Hope those of you that want them find some awesome black friday deals.

I'm currently posted up on the couch because I managed to miss a step at my in laws earlier and I'm pretty sure I've sprained my foot. So don't be like me on this holiday.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I honestly was not sure so I had to Google lol. It looks like it's just US and Japan. But maybe you have something similar where you live? I haven't had too much luck with books on Mercari, but it may just depend on the books you have.

Shame
We have Kijiji, which is local, and most people around here do buy and sell through local facebook groups. People here just mostly want everything for free. I'm sure part of it is a low pay scale combined with a high cost of living, but it can be frustrating.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Happy Thanksgiving (a little late) and associated long weekend for those of you who celebrate it. Mine was back in October

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)
-Nothing this week
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week, and maybe not for the whole winter. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings. Christmas is coming, along with a couple bigger things for the house that I need to deal with. I have about the cheapest phone I could get when I bought it, and it seems to be dying, so now I'm also going to have to replace that

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.
-Finally sold one item! It was small, but it's one less thing around.
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 job sites daily.
-Applied to 2 jobs
-Did a bit of networking. It something I hate though. Socializing with the intent of using someone to try and get a job feels disingenuous to me. I was very up front about it, but i was still uncomfortable.
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
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.
-No actual workouts, but I was out shoveling snow twice
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.
-I had family in town one day last week, and I have more coming this weekend
8. Organize my stuff!
-Nothing really. I did get some filing done I guess

This week was more productive than expected, but I don't expect that for this upcoming week.

 

[pblack]

Happy (?) To report that my foot is just badly bruised/sprained and is not broken or fractured. I did not plan on having xrays done today or visiting the doctor but here we are. Currently comiserating with a beer at one of my favorite local spots.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I absolutely LOVE my switch. In fact, I loved it so much, I got each of my girls a switch lite earlier this year for all our road trips. They're really such versatile consoles.

I’m debating getting a switch lite for my DH for Christmas. I can’t figure out how to tell which games work with switch lite. Am I missing something? I’ve read all games are not compatible but I am not sure how to tell which are (or are not). I’d like to get a few games to go with it. Would love any pointers for figuring that out or game suggestions. Thanks

 

[Tygerlilly]

I’m debating getting a switch lite for my DH for Christmas. I can’t figure out how to tell which games work with switch lite. Am I missing something? I’ve read all games are not compatible but I am not sure how to tell which are (or are not). I’d like to get a few games to go with it. Would love any pointers for figuring that out or game suggestions. Thanks

I think all the games that don't require movement to work will work with the switch lite. Like there's a few games like dancing or sports where you need to hold the controller and move it to make it work, those won't work with the lite because you can't detach the controller.

We have both the regular switch and 2 switch lites and so far all the games have worked on both consoles, but we mainly just play regular games.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I think all the games that don't require movement to work will work with the switch lite. Like there's a few games like dancing or sports where you need to hold the controller and move it to make it work, those won't work with the lite because you can't detach the controller.

We have both the regular switch and 2 switch lites and so far all the games have worked on both consoles, but we mainly just play regular games.

Thank you! This is super helpful!! I would be buying regular games.