Debt Dumpers - 2019

I feel slightly nauseous. I just bought a new annual pass certificate through Sams Club today because of the price increases. I was going to buy a new one in February 2020, so this is VERY early, but it's a $250ish savings. I won't get into debt from it, but I will be pulling from my savings. I will have to pay myself back.
Considering the news on the price increase, that would be the way to go.
 
Major update here. DH is leaving his job, he gave his two-week notice last week. Long story I won't go into but we had a week of high stress and talking over every option and this is the right thing to do. He's got a bunch of vacation time he'll get paid for, so we'll be at full paycheck status through most of the summer. We'll have to start pulling from DS' 529 and had hoped we would be able to not do that this year. But hopefully DH will get another job before DS' freshman year of college is over. We have a nest egg and just hope we don't go through it all before he finds a new job. He is scared about all this because of his age and it's a major change after 20 years with the same company (well, kind of, it's gotten bought out several times).

I am trying not to freak out over the money part because hopefully that will work itself out over time, and the other reasons are more important right now. Luckily, I hold our health insurance and it should not be too expensive to add dental. I'm still maxing out on retirement and can pull back a lot on that if we need to (I want to keep putting in 2.5% to get my 10% match). We have a lot in retirement that we could access and take the penalty if we need to, so I have been trying to remind DH that he's not going to "ruin [our] lives" like he kept saying last week if we made this decision. We have no credit card debt and will cut back on going out. Part of our reasons are health-related and DH has already cut way back on his fast food, which will help both health- and money-wise. And even though it costs money, I went back to weight watchers this week. It was time. DH said he wanted me to go back on because I seemed happier on it and said not to worry about that money.

I know it sounds like I am trying to convince myself it will be fine while telling you all. I am calmer than I was last week, I was trying to be there for him but was crying pretty much all week. I really feel like this is the right thing to do (sorry, I don't want to go into all of it here) and hope it will all be fine.
 
Major update here. DH is leaving his job, he gave his two-week notice last week. Long story I won't go into but we had a week of high stress and talking over every option and this is the right thing to do. He's got a bunch of vacation time he'll get paid for, so we'll be at full paycheck status through most of the summer. We'll have to start pulling from DS' 529 and had hoped we would be able to not do that this year. But hopefully DH will get another job before DS' freshman year of college is over. We have a nest egg and just hope we don't go through it all before he finds a new job. He is scared about all this because of his age and it's a major change after 20 years with the same company (well, kind of, it's gotten bought out several times).

I am trying not to freak out over the money part because hopefully that will work itself out over time, and the other reasons are more important right now. Luckily, I hold our health insurance and it should not be too expensive to add dental. I'm still maxing out on retirement and can pull back a lot on that if we need to (I want to keep putting in 2.5% to get my 10% match). We have a lot in retirement that we could access and take the penalty if we need to, so I have been trying to remind DH that he's not going to "ruin [our] lives" like he kept saying last week if we made this decision. We have no credit card debt and will cut back on going out. Part of our reasons are health-related and DH has already cut way back on his fast food, which will help both health- and money-wise. And even though it costs money, I went back to weight watchers this week. It was time. DH said he wanted me to go back on because I seemed happier on it and said not to worry about that money.

I know it sounds like I am trying to convince myself it will be fine while telling you all. I am calmer than I was last week, I was trying to be there for him but was crying pretty much all week. I really feel like this is the right thing to do (sorry, I don't want to go into all of it here) and hope it will all be fine.


so sorry for your situation, but been there and made the mistake of NOT leaving when i should have resulting in total disability (my body was telling me it was too stressed but i didn't listen to it so it went into total shut down via 2 minor strokes) so i applaud you/your dh for making a smart decision.

that said-some suggestions-

since he will be in full pay status (guessing he is not getting a cash out of vacation so he technically still employed during the 'vacation' pay) can't you stay on his dental until you have to change (if it's less expensive)? it might be less expensive that way. if you can stay on it and you already met the year's deductible you might want to try to get any work/cleanings and such that are due in the fall done while he still has the coverage b/c a new plan will have a new deductible which if you are looking at cleanings/work in the fall means you meet it just before a new calendar year to meet starts again.

contact your ds's financial aid office at college NOW. a change in financial circumstances (including job loss) can change his eligibility to scholarships/grants and such. being paid off for vacation hours is not the same as regular pay so there may be some funds available to your son that won't be repayable.


you may be surprised to see your household expenses drop in ways you hadn't thought of. where we lived when i left work i didn't realize that the utilities were billed at different rates during different periods of the day. by being at home and running washer/dryer/dishwasher during the mornings (lower tier pricing) we saved. by being at home i could meal plan/prep and we ate out less (and healthier). i contacted my auto insurer and found that b/c i wasn't going to commute and would be using the car under so many miles per month i was eligible to a lower premium. i wasn't paying out as much for gas/tolls so that was a savings, and i really didn't realize how much those once or twice a week starbucks and a snack here and there added up until i wasn't in an environment to be reaching for them.

last suggestion-before you go breaking into any penalty driven accounts, if your dh is not employed by the time his vacation pay runs out you might want to consult with a cpa to see if you should change your withholdings. i was very surprised at how our tax rate dropped during the period i was without an income (between job loss/disability pay kicked in). our cpa had us adjust our withholdings so that instead of seeing a big refund the following year we had that money spread out monthly to help meet expenses.
 


I feel slightly nauseous. I just bought a new annual pass certificate through Sams Club today because of the price increases. I was going to buy a new one in February 2020, so this is VERY early, but it's a $250ish savings. I won't get into debt from it, but I will be pulling from my savings. I will have to pay myself back.

I read that thread too, crazy increases, I'm glad someone shared that info about Sam's!

I decided about two weeks ago that I wanted a more compact umbrella stroller that is lightweight and can fit into overhead bins on airplanes since we have several trips coming up this year. I did a ton of research and settled on the Zoe XLC:

https://www.zoestrollers.com/p/zoe-xlc
DH said that I could get the stroller if I could find the money for it, so I listed a bunch of items on Facebook and sold quite a few. I also sold a book on Amazon and used my end of academic year work appreciation gift ($25 Target gift card) to pay for groceries and then added the grocery money to the stroller fund. I had accumulated just over $100 before we left for Toronto. Last Friday I checked the website and I was able to snag one of the discounted returns and apply a 10% coupon code as well. That allowed me to add the rain cover and carry strap as well for a total of $189. I was just $87 short. Then yesterday I got a class action lawsuit payout for $83! I took the remaining $4 out of the trailer fund and plan to repay it once I sell some more stuff.

Someone is hopefully coming tomorrow to purchase a printer for $70 and then I plan to list our old umbrella stroller for $35, so we should still be continuing to make progress on the trailer fund while cleaning out things that we don't need.

I have been selling some clothes that I haven't hardly ever worn (lots of Lularoe that I loved but never reached for and most doesn't fit anymore) on eBay to fund the Fitbit smart watch that is my reward for hitting 50 lbs of weight loss (I have 13 more lbs to go).

Just booked our dining reservations for our December Disney trip. DH requested that we try some new places, so here is my list.

Dinner at Spice Road Table, Epcot
Dinner at Topolino's Terrace, Riveria Resort
Chip 'n' Dale's Harvest Feast Dinner at Garden Grill, Epcot
Breakfast at Kona Cafe, Polynesian Resort (this isn't new, I just really need tonga toast)
Lunch at Morimoto Asia, Disney Springs

Did I miss that you'll be there in December? When is your trip? We are there the 14-20/21

Major update here. DH is leaving his job, he gave his two-week notice last week. Long story I won't go into but we had a week of high stress and talking over every option and this is the right thing to do. He's got a bunch of vacation time he'll get paid for, so we'll be at full paycheck status through most of the summer. We'll have to start pulling from DS' 529 and had hoped we would be able to not do that this year. But hopefully DH will get another job before DS' freshman year of college is over. We have a nest egg and just hope we don't go through it all before he finds a new job. He is scared about all this because of his age and it's a major change after 20 years with the same company (well, kind of, it's gotten bought out several times).

I am trying not to freak out over the money part because hopefully that will work itself out over time, and the other reasons are more important right now. Luckily, I hold our health insurance and it should not be too expensive to add dental. I'm still maxing out on retirement and can pull back a lot on that if we need to (I want to keep putting in 2.5% to get my 10% match). We have a lot in retirement that we could access and take the penalty if we need to, so I have been trying to remind DH that he's not going to "ruin [our] lives" like he kept saying last week if we made this decision. We have no credit card debt and will cut back on going out. Part of our reasons are health-related and DH has already cut way back on his fast food, which will help both health- and money-wise. And even though it costs money, I went back to weight watchers this week. It was time. DH said he wanted me to go back on because I seemed happier on it and said not to worry about that money.

I know it sounds like I am trying to convince myself it will be fine while telling you all. I am calmer than I was last week, I was trying to be there for him but was crying pretty much all week. I really feel like this is the right thing to do (sorry, I don't want to go into all of it here) and hope it will all be fine.

Good luck on this venture. I hope your husband is able to find a new job, and his health is OK! Also PLEASE PLEASE take the advice of contacting your son's school immediately with any change in your finances/job situation.
 
Good luck on this venture. I hope your husband is able to find a new job, and his health is OK! Also PLEASE PLEASE take the advice of contacting your son's school immediately with any change in your finances/job situation


i suggested this b/c a friend's dh got injured while their dd was in college. despite having some wage continuation (lots of time on the books to draw from) i suggested they contact their dd's college. come to find out since he wasn't going to be receiving traditional job earnings (accruals weren't look at in the same way) it qualified their dd to some significant financial aide. it never hurts to give a call.
 
so sorry for your situation, but been there and made the mistake of NOT leaving when i should have resulting in total disability (my body was telling me it was too stressed but i didn't listen to it so it went into total shut down via 2 minor strokes) so i applaud you/your dh for making a smart decision.

that said-some suggestions-

since he will be in full pay status (guessing he is not getting a cash out of vacation so he technically still employed during the 'vacation' pay) can't you stay on his dental until you have to change (if it's less expensive)? it might be less expensive that way. if you can stay on it and you already met the year's deductible you might want to try to get any work/cleanings and such that are due in the fall done while he still has the coverage b/c a new plan will have a new deductible which if you are looking at cleanings/work in the fall means you meet it just before a new calendar year to meet starts again.

contact your ds's financial aid office at college NOW. a change in financial circumstances (including job loss) can change his eligibility to scholarships/grants and such. being paid off for vacation hours is not the same as regular pay so there may be some funds available to your son that won't be repayable.


you may be surprised to see your household expenses drop in ways you hadn't thought of. where we lived when i left work i didn't realize that the utilities were billed at different rates during different periods of the day. by being at home and running washer/dryer/dishwasher during the mornings (lower tier pricing) we saved. by being at home i could meal plan/prep and we ate out less (and healthier). i contacted my auto insurer and found that b/c i wasn't going to commute and would be using the car under so many miles per month i was eligible to a lower premium. i wasn't paying out as much for gas/tolls so that was a savings, and i really didn't realize how much those once or twice a week starbucks and a snack here and there added up until i wasn't in an environment to be reaching for them.

last suggestion-before you go breaking into any penalty driven accounts, if your dh is not employed by the time his vacation pay runs out you might want to consult with a cpa to see if you should change your withholdings. i was very surprised at how our tax rate dropped during the period i was without an income (between job loss/disability pay kicked in). our cpa had us adjust our withholdings so that instead of seeing a big refund the following year we had that money spread out monthly to help meet expenses.
Thanks for your notes. Yes, we'll be staying on his dental until he's no longer officially employed. But we'll need to switch to mine (not as good coverage, alas) when his runs out. And yes, financial aid...because they compute it on the previous previous year (year before last), it doesn't make much difference we have found. We still make too much for anything other than a loan. And finally, I will mention withholdings to DH but we generally don't get a substantial refund at all and don't want to have to owe. This year we got a little money back but last year we owed some and it wasn't fun. One major expense that will change while he is home is less gas and wear and tear on the car. He currently has a longer commute than I do and I drive 50 miles.
 


Eureka
Hi Hon
I am so sorry you and your family are having to go through this. One of the most important things I can tell you is to take Very good care of yourself and try your best not to stress too much(yeah I know impossible right). BUT you will together find ways to make this work. Life throws us curve balls and we find ways to throw them right back. I know he didn't lose his job but made a wise choice to leave ,,, maybe these articles would still apply.
Here are some articles that have a lot of positive ideas,,and staying positive is so important.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/womens...of-highly-effective-job-hunters/#48a5747b709dhttps://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/job-loss-and-unemployment-stress.htmhttps://www.rd.com/advice/work-career/10-things-people-wont-tell-you-when-you-lose-your-job/https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2012/07/03/15-things-to-do-if-you-lose-your-job
http://sixtyandme.com/so-you-just-lost-your-job-after-50-here-are-10-ways-to-move-forward/
Health is everything ,,a co worker of mine lost her husband last week and I wish they had had more time together ,,51 is just too young to die.

My positive thoughts and good wishes are with you.
Hugs
Mel
 
Last edited:
I'm several pages behind at this point because I picked up a bunch of extra days at work. 3 last week and have 2 already scheduled for this week coming up. I should get at least one more week of 2 guaranteed days until after the holiday. Then I hope I can at least get 1 day.

Plugging along on the wedding fund. Only 4.5 months to go!
 
If any of you all are law enforcement or emergency nurses/doctors, check out Firstnet offered by AT&T. I'm an ER charge nurse and my husband is in state law enforcement and honestly, when I first saw the fliers, I ignored them because I didn't want to deal with changing providers. BUT, I checked it out and we signed up because it's legit.

My husband and I both qualify ( and the program is subsidized by the federal government and you have to prove eligibility). We get unlimited cell phone service, data, texting, and we chose to add mobile hotspot ($5 more). The price is $45 dollars per line. We then get a discount on our kids lines and our cell bill has decreased by $200 per month. Add to that that we already have AT&T for internet so picking up their mobile automatically takes $15 per month off our home internet bill.

I'll take the savings.

They're also offering 40% off phones when you sign up for Firstnet ( though I declined to buy a new phone, I'll keep this one until I have no choice).

I thought I'd pass the info on for others who can use it.
 
Did I miss that you'll be there in December? When is your trip? We are there the 14-20/21

We bought a new DVC contract at Riviera Resort and decided to use the points for a trip when the resort first opens in December. That will be our 3rd trip on our annual pass. We will be there 16-20, so there is an overlap!
 
If any of you all are law enforcement or emergency nurses/doctors, check out Firstnet offered by AT&T. I'm an ER charge nurse and my husband is in state law enforcement and honestly, when I first saw the fliers, I ignored them because I didn't want to deal with changing providers. BUT, I checked it out and we signed up because it's legit.

My husband and I both qualify ( and the program is subsidized by the federal government and you have to prove eligibility). We get unlimited cell phone service, data, texting, and we chose to add mobile hotspot ($5 more). The price is $45 dollars per line. We then get a discount on our kids lines and our cell bill has decreased by $200 per month. Add to that that we already have AT&T for internet so picking up their mobile automatically takes $15 per month off our home internet bill.

I'll take the savings.

They're also offering 40% off phones when you sign up for Firstnet ( though I declined to buy a new phone, I'll keep this one until I have no choice).

I thought I'd pass the info on for others who can use it.

My DH is in law enforcement and he has Firstnet. It is a great program. We signed up back in November and there wasn't that great deal on phones - boo hoo.
 
My DH is in law enforcement and he has Firstnet. It is a great program. We signed up back in November and there wasn't that great deal on phones - boo hoo.

I'm almost regretting not getting a new phone, but I'm really trying to save money and keeping my 7 until it's dead seems like a logical first step.
 
We bought a new DVC contract at Riviera Resort and decided to use the points for a trip when the resort first opens in December. That will be our 3rd trip on our annual pass. We will be there 16-20, so there is an overlap!


That's so exciting, the Riviera looks beautiful, if you'd be interested in meeting up at some point to say hello, feel free to reach out as we get close. If not I totally understand!
 
It's been awhile. I don't think I have updated since March/April.
April and May were both OK. We managed to stay on budget but things are so tight this year with 2 kids in private school ($3000 a month) so no spending. It's a juggle as we have to be careful to not to cut business spending (self-employed) due to tax ramifications, so we are watching every dollar.

I think DH thought I was being extreme with the budget as he accidentally overspent on podiatry even though he knew were were at budget for June. It led to some rather serious conversations :mad: The bright side is that he is now very interested in our finances and wants to participate in budget meetings. Previously he was not interested.
DH isn't a spender so this incident came out of the blue. I felt a little sorry for him though as he/we never have really had to worry about $$$ and he is a hard worker and he really didn't think twice about spending $480 at the podiatrist (budget was for $80). He took on some extra work to pay for it, which was a relief.

So in June/July we have both our cars due for registration and insurance. We also have a 1 week trip to Fiji in July, hence being at budget.
August is much more friendly and I cannot wait to be there as we should have $5500 extra in our budget and it will be nice to talk about how to allocate it rather than trying to scrape together a shortfall.

As for goals:

2019 Financial goals, there hasn't been much happening since last update.
  • Save $6,000 towards our emergency fund- $0
  • Increase both of our super contributions to 15%- yes completed
  • Establish a Disney trip fund. Our last trip was 7 days DL in 2016 $0
  • Increase our share holdings by $4000- yes completed
  • Establish a car fund $0

2019 Personal goals:
  • Make more time for self-care - need the reminder but I have kept my work hours to M-F
  • Keep a regular exercise routine- YES! Still swimming & gym 5 days a week.
  • Establish work/life boundaries 9-5 and 5 days a week- Yes
  • Lose 12 pounds- Nothing :cake:
 
Also back in march a few people in here were talking about no spend months and I thought I would give it a go. It's surprising how you can train your brain and it became quite addictive saying no.
DH a couple of times mentioned that I needed new clothes but I found that the "no spend" was more interesting.
So I lasted until late this month and have finally given in as I needed some work clothes. I meet with clients twice a week and was just layering my summer outfit with a blazer. So I bought 2 new dresses and spent $230.00
Also needed a new swimsuit for Fiji. As I swim each day the chlorine doesn't make the suits last very long. I have been using up all of my old swimmers including rash shirts and board shorts, resisting the temptation to spend $$$ on proper pool/lap bathers.
I gave in today and bought a new set but I wouldn't really want to wreck them in chlorine as they were $$$ ($200 eek). I used AfterPay on both to divide it over 6 weeks and both have come out of my personal spending budget, which I will have to borrow ahead for some.

I haven't enjoyed spending these money on clothes at all and feel so tempted to send them back.

Last night spent some time going through bills looking for savings. Saved $50 on our monthly phone/internet at the farm/home and $60 on private health insurance.
I should have attended to this earlier as being in town Mon-Fri our internet plan at the farm is being wasted as DH only Facebooks.

We were still paying for Obstetrics, fertility and extra's on private health that we do not use. Our sons are 14 and 11 so that ship has sailed :teeth:
 
I got the job!!!! :)

I start on July 8th, and I'm still going to be a part of the same work group, so all of my holiday hours and sick time will roll over! I'll be getting a 34% increase in salary, and all of the same benefits!
July is a three paycheck month for me, and the paycheck I will receive on July 31st will be the first one with my new job. Financially, I'm going to be budgeting as if I was making my previous salary, and using that extra money to first boost my savings to my $5,000 goal, and then just start tearing down my student loans!
I will still be working my second job, but I've taken 1 day off. Not sure when I will cease working there, but I might use it to help save up quickly for my vacation to California, and then my vacation next year to Florida.
 
Plugging along here. My husband is working a TON of overtime so hopefully we can make some good progress the next couple months. Still patiently waiting to see if they have any discounts later in the year at Disney. We are currently at Port Orleans Riverside but have decided we would go to Pop to save some money but no Pop rooms are available currently. We will be fine at Port Orleans if that's where we stay but wouldn't mind saving some money since I really believe I need the new Dooney & Bourke cat purse!
 
Checking our bank account last night and I see I have a pending $75 charge from Bradford Exchange. I had signed up for a Halloween collection last year but received all the pieces and didn't receive notice that there were more. Called to cancel it and they said it is already shipped so they can't cancel it but will cancel any future ones. Ugh!
 
Checking our bank account last night and I see I have a pending $75 charge from Bradford Exchange. I had signed up for a Halloween collection last year but received all the pieces and didn't receive notice that there were more. Called to cancel it and they said it is already shipped so they can't cancel it but will cancel any future ones. Ugh!
I've never ordered Bradford Exchange but they should have notified you if they added a piece to the collection!

On subscriptions topic:
We cancelled Sirius radio for DH before the 1 July auto renewal, he confirmed he's good to use his phone apps and plug that in for music in the car. He's had it for several years, which I had been giving as part of Father's Day gifts. Wonder how he'll get used to no Sirius. I have it right now, but also considering if I will renew it or not when it comes around in January.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top