Debt Dumpers - 2019

No I don't, but I pay for $90 of things in cash anyway. It helps me stay on budget.

I completely hear you on the cash. I use cash at Aldi and Trader Joe's. Sam's we have not gotten to that point, but we know what we are getting and stick to that list which helps with the budget.
 
@AJollyHoliday do I need to add dosh offers to my wallet? Or do they automatically search for offers when my card is swiped? I just downloaded it and am a little confused on how it works.
 
February went decently! We had a whole $3.72 left in our budget by the end of the month :rotfl2: BUT we also funded our sinking funds, so I’m happy with that. We’re not fully buffered, but bills are covered through the 17th and since this is an extra paycheck month, we should be fully buffered by April 1.

Also, since my DH was not as enthusiastic as I am about spending our savings on WDW (although I can’t imagine why! :earboy2:) I decided to break down how many shifts I would need to pick up to pay for the trip with extra earnings vs savings. I always base it on my net vs gross pay because taxes eat a good chunk. I only need to pick up two shifts/month from now until November to cover the vast majority of our trip! This is TOTALLY doable given that I only work once or twice/week. They called me last night desperate for help becaue we had a lot of add on surgeries. So I worked 7.5 hours today for time and half and then they asked me to pick up again on Monday for time and a half. Even though I didn’t work my full 10 hours today, I based the number of shifts needed on straight time, so I’ll already have my two March shifts done by Monday! I plan to just keep taking any shift they offer as we are super busy and short staffed. Maybe we’ll even make more progress on the van this year than I originally thought! :shamrock:
 
I live in Geneva and have traveled around a bit (I've been here about 18 months). I love this country (though it is VERY expensive). Many great places to visit - depends on your interests - hiking? museums? food?

I'm mainly interested in hiking, seeing the Swiss Alps, and Bernese Mountain Dogs since I own one! :teeth: Oh, and food is an interest where ever I go.
 
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Small victory for me: I managed to stay about $50 under my budget for my Target spending in February! I have a Target Red Card and budget $200/month for it which I pay off every month. I get most of my groceries and home stuff there along with food and litter for my cat. The card saves me 5% which adds up. I came in at $151.94 this past month! :thumbsup2
 
Small victory for me: I managed to stay about $50 under my budget for my Target spending in February! I have a Target Red Card and budget $200/month for it which I pay off every month. I get most of my groceries and home stuff there along with food and litter for my cat. The card saves me 5% which adds up. I came in at $151.94 this past month! :thumbsup2

That's quite the accomplishment. I go into Target for one thing half the time and end up spending $50 lol.
 
That's quite the accomplishment. I go into Target for one thing half the time and end up spending $50 lol.

I know, me too! I will probably have a harder time once the spring/summer yard and garden stuff comes out!
 
We had a whole $3.72 left in our budget by the end of the month


that's still a positive vs. breaking even or worse-having to pull it from savings or put it on a credit card. it may not seem like allot in the big picture put it all adds up. i look at it in the context of the grocery shopping i just got back from doing-i bought pork loin for around $1.85 per pound (cheaper than the chops i wanted so we'll cut it into chops and freeze in multiple packages) so that $3.72 you saved would equate to about 2 pounds of pork which for us would be a couple of dinners.

a few bucks might not seem like a lot saved-the cost of 2 dinners seems like a whole lot more so party:your $3.72!!!
 
Y'all, I'm crying happy tears today.
Last week I got a letter from our repo lawyers saying they could settle the account for $4000. I said there was no way I could do that much and countered for $1500. This morning they called and said they ACCEPTED my offer! I'll have that paid off by the March 5th and then we're DONE with it! Settling means it's paid off over 8 months early and saves us so much ($700 a month!). Because of this, I'm able to pay off so many other things and put money towards the wedding faster. I cried on the phone to the lady.

Just gotta wait for my taxes to post. They've been approved, now I just have to wait for the deposit tonight or tomorrow night!


Awesome! but CYA; get it all in writing!!

ETA: I see I'm late to this party too and others already said this.
 
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that's still a positive vs. breaking even or worse-having to pull it from savings or put it on a credit card. it may not seem like allot in the big picture put it all adds up. i look at it in the context of the grocery shopping i just got back from doing-i bought pork loin for around $1.85 per pound (cheaper than the chops i wanted so we'll cut it into chops and freeze in multiple packages) so that $3.72 you saved would equate to about 2 pounds of pork which for us would be a couple of dinners.

a few bucks might not seem like a lot saved-the cost of 2 dinners seems like a whole lot more so party:your $3.72!!!

YES! I love this! And it for sure deserves a dance of it’s own! We covered 70% of our March bills with our February income and this is a WORLD of difference from last year. By the end of February we were just YNAB broke (which equates to a really decent buffer) vs the pay check to pay check cycle we used to be in. It may sound like an overstatement, but in all honesty YNAB changed my (financial) life and helped me appreciate that $3.72 a WHOLE lot more and really appreciate the value of a dollar in a whole new way. And this should totally be our dance for budget wins!party:
 
It’s amazing how well kids do! We are on our fourth fracture :sad2: I usually have to remind my kids to give the broken arm a break. Like, ‘Buddy, don’t hang from the monkey bars with the casted arm you broke three weeks ago.’ At one point our ortho was worried about my DD’s innervation because during a x-ray check they had removed the cast and my DD used the broken arm to boost and hold herself on the elevated counter so she could see the x-ray too. Both the ortho and I had a mild panic with that one. Kids really are amazingly resilient! Hopefully your DD’s fracture can be healed with casting alone and you can avoid surgery. Keep us updated!

So true. Ds22 fractured his arms 3x. 16 months, 4 and 7. :sad2: I have pictures of him pulling his wagon with the casted arm the first round. Luckily the ortho near us offers waterproof casting so when the last fracture happened 2 weeks before our first cruise, it was great that he could still swim and snorkel and have fun. That last one was a doozy. It was severely displaced and they had to give him IV sedation to set it. That was hard to watch. Ortho was really hauling on it but in end it was perfect alignment.

Ironically, my younger one is the daredevil. Go figure.
 
I'm mainly interested in hiking, seeing the Swiss Alps, and Bernese Mountain Dogs since I own one! :teeth: Oh, and food is an interest where ever I go.

I love Bernese Mountain dogs (especially the puppies)!

Have you ever done a via ferrata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_ferrata). There are a number in Switzerland (https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/via-ferrata-in-switzerland.html).

Fondue (though I prefer raclette), Bircher muesli and, of course, chocolate. Around here, there is a lot of perch (from Lake Geneva/Lac Leman) and french pastries (since France is about 5 minutes from where I'm sitting). Oh, and meringues with Gruyere cream. Rosti is my main memory from German cantons.
 
Weather is a beauty so far.. 80s during the day and 60s at night! Our room was ready at 8:30am and we have monorail views. Headed to downtown Disney and AK tonight with fast passes for FOP, Dinosaur and Safari.
Lunch at Chef Arts and dinner at Yak and Yeti.
 
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Weather is a beauty so far.. 80s during the day and 60s at night! Our room was ready at 8:30am and we have monorail views. Headed to downtown Disney and AK tonight with fast passes for FOP, Dinosaur and Everest.
Lunch at Chef Arts and dinner at Yak and Yeti.
At first I thought what part of the country is this with 80s weather??? Then kept reading, Disney!:goodvibes
 
At first I thought what part of the country is this with 80s weather??? Then kept reading, Disney!:goodvibes
Yup.. friends and family keep texting me pics of the snow lol.. we left NJ at the right time! There is a cold front coming here next week.. high on Wednesday will only be in 60s which is cold for Florida. We leave tomorrow night.
 
Hello fellow Debt Dumpers! I'm seeking non-debt dumping advice regarding my DD upcoming Senior Trip to Orlando. We haven't been to WDW in a few years (went on Disney cruise last year and to Disneyland the year before), so I feel out of the loop on tickets and magic bands and fast passes. Her class is going to Disneyworld for 2 days during the trip. They got their tickets which seem to be regular Disney tickets purchased thru Disney, so I have the ticket number. They are staying off site. She has several magic bands dating to 2015 and earlier. They have no fast passes reserved. None of her friends have been before and they do not already have My Disney Experience accounts.
Where I need advice: (edited)
I am going to try to take the ticket number and add it to her My Disney Experience so she can try (so last minute ugghhh) to get some fast passes reserved. Per MDE, she has an active Magic Band that is still good but I can't tell if I can add her ticket to her Magic Band online or does she have to do it at the park? If they are willing, I am going to add/link her friends to my My Disney Experience account so that the friendgroup can try to grab coordinating fast passes. Do you see any pitfalls to any of this or have anything to add that I may not have thought of already? Thanks in advance!!
 
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@Dentam I have been to Lucerne and Mt. Pilates and agree that it is beautiful with fun unique experiences. However, the most drop dead gorgeous part of Switzerland to me is Lauterbrunnen/Lauterbrunnen Valley. Check it out. You really can't go wrong with either though.
 

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