Debt Dumpers - 2019

[Dentam]

@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.

Thanks for the tip, I will look that up!

ETA: I just looked it up. Oh. My. God. I think we have a winner! Drop dead gorgeous is right!

 

[barkley]

There is a cold front coming here next week.. high on Wednesday will only be in 60s which is cold for Florida.

florida needs to come here tomorrow and learn about real cold-w/wind chill factor we are looking at NEGATIVE 8, if we avoid any wind it will be a much warmer 6 (i swear this snow will never melt).

thus the reason i limit my grocery shopping to once a month (or really anything that entails leaving the house)

 

[Dentam]

florida needs to come here tomorrow and learn about real cold-w/wind chill factor we are looking at NEGATIVE 8, if we avoid any wind it will be a much warmer 6 (i swear this snow will never melt).

thus the reason i limit my grocery shopping to once a month (or really anything that entails leaving the house)

I feel your pain. We have a snow storm moving in here today through tomorrow. Single digit temps overnight and a high of 13 tomorrow. And I'll be doing snow removal at work starting at 7am tomorrow.

 

[jen7233]

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!!

Hopefully the Magic Band will still be good, 2015 is a little old. You should be able to add the ticket on MDE, if you have trouble call the internet help desk. I would have her put the MDE app on her phone if she has one, and maybe friends the same, then when in the parks can get more FPs as they use them. There are some kiosks, but using MDE on the go is easier in my opinion. I can't think of anything else with FPs, was it just about MDE and FPs, or also looking for general trip or trip budgeting thoughts for teens?

 

[dina444444]

Hopefully the Magic Band will still be good, 2015 is a little old. You should be able to add the ticket on MDE, if you have trouble call the internet help desk. I would have her put the MDE app on her phone if she has one, and maybe friends the same, then when in the parks can get more FPs as they use them. There are some kiosks, but using MDE on the go is easier in my opinion. I can't think of anything else with FPs, was it just about MDE and FPs, or also looking for general trip or trip budgeting thoughts for teens?

The magic band will still work at touch points. It’s for things like ride pictures with no touch point that the battery will eventually die.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Got the letter from the lawyer today. In very clear bold letter, it says as long as I pay the $1500 by the 10th, the debt will be considered paid in full and a cease letter will be sent to the clerk to stop all further garnishments. Cue the happy relief tears.

DF admitted to me today he was concerned and slightly stressed about paying for the wedding. I haven't told him about the settlement yet, because I want to make sure it's 100% done with first, but even if we were still dealing with it, we would have paid for the wedding in time. He just has to trust my process. However, this just took a LOT of stress off of things.

Now I just have to make it through Monday's appointment for Piper's arm and pray to every higher power she doesn't need surgery.

 

[Shughart]

I feel your pain. We have a snow storm moving in here today through tomorrow. Single digit temps overnight and a high of 13 tomorrow. And I'll be doing snow removal at work starting at 7am tomorrow.

Chicago winter is why (and cost) my husband doesn't want to fly for our December Disney trip this year. He's afraid we'll get stuck or diverted and not be able to get home.

 

[Dentam]

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.

They are ridiculously cute as puppies. I had people stop their cars or bikes on a regular basis when I would walk her in her puppy days. Everyone wanted to say hi and pet her. She still gets a ton of compliments now that she's almost 5 also.

I hadn't heard of this but looked it up using your links... so, I'm fairly terrified of heights (can't even climb up a tall ladder without shaking) so I'm thinking this type of activity wouldn't be the best for me. Thanks for the suggestion though!

The food all sounds amazing! I can't wait to eat my way through France and Switzerland! Guess I better buckle down on my diet now so I can do that...

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Feeling kinda frustrated. So, if anyone remembers we have a current garnishment for a car we gave back a few years ago. It's $340ish a check, so about $700 a month and we owe approximately $7000 on it (already paid $8000).

WAIT! WHAT? You owe money on a car you don’t have? Is that legal for them to charge you?

 

[barkley]

WAIT! WHAT? You owe money on a car you don’t have? Is that legal for them to charge you?

yes. you give it back or they repo it and it ends up the same-they sell it at auction for whatever they can get but you are still on the hook for difference between what they get for it (minus a myriad of fees for their 'expenses' in selling it/commission to auction...) and the remainder of whatever YOU financed it for (or can negotiate it down to) plus all the ongoing interest for however long it takes to pay it off.

 

[Tygerlilly]

WAIT! WHAT? You owe money on a car you don’t have? Is that legal for them to charge you?

yes. you give it back or they repo it and it ends up the same-they sell it at auction for whatever they can get but you are still on the hook for difference between what they get for it (minus a myriad of fees for their 'expenses' in selling it/commission to auction...) and the remainder of whatever YOU financed it for (or can negotiate it down to) plus all the ongoing interest for however long it takes to pay it off.

Yeah, pretty much what Barkley said. I gave it back to the bank in 2016 when I lost my job and couldnt afford the payment. We were too far upside down on it to trade and make a difference, and they wouldn't work with me on payments. At the time it was pretty much my only option.

I'm pretty happy to say it will be done and over with on Tuesday. I'll be making the settlement payment and can finally move on with things. I'm also happy to say I'm finally under $10k owed on my current vehicle. If it wasn't for the wedding we're paying for in November, I'd have that gone by the end of the year.

 

[TashK]

@tygerlily you are my DD, budgeting inspiration. Before joining this thread I followed for 2 years and it is incredibly impressive at what you have achieved.

 

[TashK]

2019 Financial goals:

• Save $6,000 towards our emergency fund $5200
• Increase both of our super contributions to 15% Done
• Establish a Disney trip fund. Our last trip was 7 days DL in 2016
• Increase our share holdings by $4000 $300 increase
• Establish a car fund

2019 Personal goals:

• Make more time for self-care
• Keep a regular exercise routine Done
• Establish work/life boundaries 9-5 and 5 days a week Done
• Lose 12 pounds I don't think I have lost any yet but I'm still swimming mornings & gym nights 5 days a week

 

[TashK]

Just updating my end of month stats. I'm pretty happy with how we are travelling, implementing lots of changes but haven't gotten to all goals yet.

March I am adding a mini goal of limiting take out to $30 a week. We transfer 1.5 hours to our weekday house on Sundays nights and seem to be in the habit of takeaway and DH comes in from the farm on Fridays too so we get takeaway again. It's not healthy eating nor budgetwise and we are on a strict budget with running 2 houses and the kids in private school.

Last month we dipped into the emergency fund $4000 as DH booked a family holiday to Fiji -Malolo Island for July school holidays. We will be able to replenish that as we both have some big jobs on this month with our business's. We are also trying to keep spending tight as we head to New Zealand in 2 weeks time. It was funny reading @Dentam having NZ on her bucket list. I'm not sure why as it is an incredible country but luckily a very quick trip flight for us Aussies. In did make me think for a moment as I suffer severe FOMO everytime 1 of you head for a quick Disney trip but then on the other hand Fiji, Bali, Bora Bora, NZ are all so accessible for us.

NZ is just a quick 1 week trip, DH is a long distance trailrunner and is entering this race: https://rof.co.nz/ he is doing the volcanic ultra which is 78kms around the base of Mt Ruapehu.
We have booked this house to stay in mainly because of the view of Mt Ruapehu https://www.bachcare.co.nz/holiday-...ks-eco-lodge-national-park-holiday-house/3119

My back has been unpleasant this month, I think I may be finally coming around to consider surgery. I just can't keep living/working with chronic pain when there are some options albeit frightening.
Last month also saw myself and DS 11 become hooked on gardening. Maybe its being away from the farm in town but when we get home all we want to do is be outside. So we have been mulching the gardens the last 2 weekends. This is a big job as we have 2 acres of gardens. Lots to go. DS also hates being stuck inside the tiny townhouse during the week so I am teaching him how to take cuttings so that he can garden here in pots and them we can work them into the garden at home without spending money on plants. Maybe I could add this too my selfcare goal as gardening is good for the soul.

 

[TashK]

I also wanted to share this about New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Adern. Here in Australia most of us have a crush on her as our own Prime Minister is about as liked as is Donald Trump
Sorry to get all political on you guys but Jacinda is just kick ***. She is a new mum & her partner is a stay at home Dad. She embodies everything that I think a leader should be.

 

[Eureka]

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!

It’s so hard to not buy stuff at Target. I am like you, do a lot of our grocery shopping there. I use cartwheel and save a lot. But I don’t have the red card. I know it will save me more but I don’t want yet another card to keep track of.

 

[MN_Andi]

End of the month reflections:

My Financial Goals for 2019:

• Have $5000 in my savings account: I added $500 to my savings account, bringing the balance to $1800.
• Have under $28,000 in student loans: My student loans are now at $33,619.44, which is approximately $900 down in my balance this past month. Before interest, I put over $1000, which I thought was super awesome!
• Save $2,000 for vacation in November to California/Disneyland: I did not put any money aside this month for my vacation. My parents still owe me ~$450, so they will probably buy my tickets or flight. We'll start planning out the details in a month or two, so I'm not too concerned about saving for the vacation at this time.

My tax refund really helped out my savings/student loan payments, since I had to pay for my wisdom teeth removal. I did a lot better staying within budget this month, and only went slightly over budget in my going out/wants category. The only "unexpected" expense was that I went to the eye doctor. It had been ages since I went, and I wanted to make sure everything was ok. Got a year's supply of contacts, but it was fairly expensive (but I guess everything would be fairly expensive for something I wasn't even anticipating on purchasing that month!), so I have to pay off that on my CC this month, so there may be a little less saving and student loan debt dumping this month. I may just pick up an extra shift or two at my second job to help pay it down.

So looking into March, I'll be paying off the rest of my eye doctor appointment, and I also have to purchase new tabs for my car. I will probably just adjust a few categories this month to prevent too much frivolous spending. I've also been applying to some new jobs, so maybe in the next few months I'll be making more money, which will allow me to pay down my debts that much quicker!

 

[DnA2010]

2 more sleeps until Disney!



The basement is reaching final stages now. DH and I went down this morning and we are so pleased with how things are looking. It is going to be an amazingly functional space! Doors and trim have been completed. They built the elevated stage for the theatre room. We just need the toilet installed in the bathroom and the final work from the electrician. My mom will be coming for a few days the week after we return from our trip to help us with painting. Hoping we can get most, if not all, of the painting done by mid-March. And then we will just be waiting on the stuff for the wet bar. I ordered the wet bar cabinets this week because they were running a 20% sale. I didn't order the counter top because that wasn't on sale. I am hoping to get it at a discount since it costs almost as much as the cabinets. I also ordered an undercounter mini-fridge, microwave and bar faucet. I just need to order the tile for the back splash once I know the cost to install everything, so I can decide if we will go ahead with the fireplace or not. I am so excited that we are nearing the end!

Yay how exciting! We are in the final stages too! DH did the flooring last week, and the painting the week before, so this week him and FIL are get the bathroom vanity and toilet down, and the plumber and electrician and carpenter are coming to do the final installs (light fixtures, doors etc) then DH and his dad will do the trim and we are pretty much there too!

We have decided that we will take my bonus in cash this year, and swallow the tax hit..we usually put my bonus right to my RRSP (similar to US's 401) however I'm almost full anyways (not sure if you can carryforward unused space in this in the US) as I've been putting my bonus into it for the last few years, plus my company contributes 9% plus I was having some deducted etc.
We saved the $ for our basement project but it would be nice to have the extra cash available...we didn't budget for a new TV for the TV area, the one that we were using in our basement is tiny and like 15-20 years old, so we'd like to get a new big one for the wall, and we'd love to get a little trip or 2 on the horizon...we were thinking WDW but just think that with DD being 2, she's at a tough age to travel that far, and have to manage evenings/naps etc, and the cost is just a lot for the hassle, and travelling so far, so DH and I are hoping to go to Kentucky in August (always wanted to go there) as a pony I sold last summer is competing in the biggest show there in the US, so would love to see it, then check out the museums, bourbon trail etc. Trip wouldn't cost us much as we can use our aeroplan for the flights and there are lots of reasonably priced hotels in the area.
We are also pondering a Nov/Dec trip to DL to see SWGE and Xmas decorations as we've never seen the Christmas decorations. Will see how that one develops.

 

[amalone1013]

Progress as of 3/4/19:
Car Loans - $0 + $33024 = $33,024 - $8,525 change from the beginning of the year
Weight goal - ?%, 16 weeks to go (need to weigh myself...)

Car is not officially paid off, but currently that money is set aside and earning interest. We ate out less in February than January, though not by as much as we wanted. We are focused on a strict goal for March. I'm sending in my last name change things that I can think of today, besides our insurance. I want to wait until a claim is finished before doing that. We are going to go with the percentage based savings goals, with the knowledge we can always move things around a bit if needed/we feel like it. It will be very minimal amounts going to the different goals and the second car loan will get the majority of the focus. I'm feeling okay heading into March.

Ok, I'm finally officially mostly ready to jump in!

2019 Financial-y Goals:

• Pay off my car
• Set an extra amount to go towards DHs car each month
• Add to our house savings (will figure this out with DH this weekend… think that after base expenses, any OT/XT income will go into different goals on a percentage basis)
• Move my old 401k (~$1800) to an IRA
• Balance 401ks/IRAs savings amounts
• Make a Christmas budget - I keep saying this and it hasn't happened, maybe third time's the charm...
• Finish the last of combining accounts/changing names since getting married

2019 Lifestyle Goals:

• Eat out less - for health, but that's also our budget buster
• Get into a regular exercise routine
• Lose weight - I’ve got a goal in mind for June, before we go on a family trip

2019 starting balances:
Car Loans - $7616 + $33933 = $41,549

Progress as of 1/30/19:
Car Loans - $5216 + $33485 = $37,746 - $3,803 change from the beginning of the year
Weight goal - 0%, 20 weeks to go

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We are having a blast at Disney. DD is much more engaged with the rides than she was at DL in November. She naps easily in her stroller so we have been spending the whole day in the parks so far. This morning DD got her first haircut at Harmony barbershop and she was so good. And she has been eating like a pro from our meals rather than buying a kids meal for her. Last night we ate at the Skipper Canteen and she had lamb, shrimp, scallops, and fish plus broccoli, fingerling potatoes, and carrot purée. We got Quicksand for dessert and it was so yummy. I love that place. Tomorrow is Epcot and again on Friday for Flower and Garden Fedtival. I can’t wait for my favorite park.