Debt Dumpers - 2015

[Angeejoe]

Great job!! I can't wait to see my balances on two cc's go to zero once my house sale is final! 10 days and counting!!

10 days & you will be rich.....

 

[Angeejoe]

I haven't posted in quite a while, but I have been reading everyones' posts. Very inspiring! I've been watching every penny, slowly working to pay down out debt. It's very empowering to see those balances continue to drop!

Great job!!

 

[Dentam]

10 days & you will be rich.....

Ha ha ha!! If only!! I will just be in less debt but I'll take it!

 

[Angeejoe]

Ha ha ha!! If only!! I will just be in less debt but I'll take it!

Amen sister!

 

[Angeejoe]

Any of you guys sell something substantial to pay off debt?

 

[dayvewc]

Any of you guys sell something substantial to pay off debt?

I thought about selling my moral compass, but based on my history I think it's defective. :-D

 

[gracie1]

Any of you guys sell something substantial to pay off debt?

What types of stuff? Are you talking like clothes, and things that you want to be rid of?

 

[Angeejoe]

I thought about selling my moral compass, but based on my history I think it's defective. :-D

 

[Angeejoe]

What types of stuff? Are you talking like clothes, and things that you want to be rid of?

No more like stuff worth thousands of dollars. We have an extra sporty car for sale that I plan to use on debt, but I'm thinking of other big things. The problem is that all the big things belong to DH...lol. Not sure how to broach it with him. I'm talking more about big boy toys that he has multiples of. Not family heirlooms or anything sentimental.

Though recently I have thought of taking some name brand nice clothes that don't fit & seeing if a resale shop would be willing to buy. I generally donate everything to Salvation Army or Easter Seals.

 

[Dentam]

I thought about selling my moral compass, but based on my history I think it's defective. :-D

Ha! Pretty sure the people who would really need it wouldn't be interested in buying it anyway.

 

[A W Reezy]

Sold our house last month and paid off 2 credit cards, a home equity loan, a small loan, and now I won't have a mortgage until we start building our new home! Feels pretty darn good! LOL

 

[Belle in TX]

I'm new here and following! We paid off our cc's and now only have student loans, family debt, and down payment on new house! We've been hitting debt hard cleaning our credit.

 

[Angeejoe]

To both of you!

Sold our house last month and paid off 2 credit cards, a home equity loan, a small loan, and now I won't have a mortgage until we start building our new home! Feels pretty darn good! LOL

Congrats! I bet that's the best feeling ever.

I'm new here and following! We paid off our cc's and now only have student loans, family debt, and down payment on new house! We've been hitting debt hard cleaning our credit.

Great job!

 

[A W Reezy]

It sure is! Thank you!

 

[Angeejoe]

It sure is! Thank you!

Well now that you're done with your bills, I have a stack over here at my house for you...

 

[Narnia_girl]

No more like stuff worth thousands of dollars. We have an extra sporty car for sale that I plan to use on debt, but I'm thinking of other big things. The problem is that all the big things belong to DH...lol. Not sure how to broach it with him. I'm talking more about big boy toys that he has multiples of. Not family heirlooms or anything sentimental.

Though recently I have thought of taking some name brand nice clothes that don't fit & seeing if a resale shop would be willing to buy. I generally donate everything to Salvation Army or Easter Seals.

I used to take name brand children's clothes to a resale shop. They paid me 50% of what they sold it for. Then they raised their take to 60%. When it hit 70% I decided I would rather donate it than earn 30%. Sort of a principle thing for me. So you might check around and see what percent different stores will give you.

 

[dayvewc]

I saw this the other day, but it deserved a longer comment than I could easily make on my phone. Today is the first day in a week that I've been able to sit up at my desk enough to type. And even now, I've got some serious pain happening in my left thigh and knee.

I know how you feel. I just went through it around 2 yrs ago. The pain was so bad I couldn't get comfortable now matter how I sit, stand, or lay down. By the time I was headed for my 2nd night without sleep, I was ready to jump off a bridge. It was like someone shoved a butcher's knife into my left hip. I could barely walk and missed a week of work. At its worst, the only way I could sit on the toilet was with 2 Percocets. Once I got some steroids (reduces inflammation) pain relievers & muscle relaxers, I could finally do more than cry in agony.

Ouch. Definitely sounds similar to what I have. This is day 15, and it has felt like someone has been repeatedly stabbing me in the lower back with an ice-pick for the last 2 weeks. It has also moved down into my hip, thigh, knee, and foot. Somehow, it skipped my shin. And I know exactly what you are talking about. When I finally got to see a medical person, I told them I would be completely fine with taking a chainsaw and removing everything below my ribcage.

I then started physical therapy 2x/week and what a difference it made. Over the course of around 8 weeks they kept reassessing my pain, strength & range of motion and adjusting the treatment to what I needed. They put me in traction a few sessions too. They were so awesome I didn't want our sessions to end. On the last day I brought them a bag of candy & wished I could do more for them. They did say it usually just comes with age and not necessarily that I "did something" to it. It all started for me when I put socks on. Dh has been through it too.

I've had issues with my back, hip, thigh, and knee for about 4 years. The regular doctors have done x-rays, MRI's, and I don't know how many different tests and finally concluded that they didn't know what was wrong. I got the feeling they were just too polite to tell me they thought it was all in my head. This time was different, in that in the past I would get burning pains that would last 4-12 hours and would go away. This time it didn't go away at all, and by day 6 I was ready to sign over my firstborn or anything else they might want if someone could help.

I still have a strip of numbness that runs down the outer part of my left leg to my little toe and it's always numb there but at least it's not pain. Last weekend I planted 40 flowers and ached a little more than usual but nothing some ibuprofen couldn't fix.

That doesn't sound great. Not as bad as if there was still pain, but still not great.

I work in radiology in a large hospital that is also a trauma center/regional spinal cord injury center so we tend to lean toward orthopedics/PT vs. chiropractors. (In MD circles, chiropractors & podiatrists are kind of viewed at as "wanna be" physicians.) Some people though have said a chiropractor has helped when their doctor couldn't. Respectfully, it's your choice of course. Do whatever works for you.

This was my first ever visit to a chiropractor. And if it hadn't been for the agony and the fact that in 4 years the regular MD wasn't able to find any cause I might not have gone. Several of the people I work with recommended this particular one, but I'm withholding judgement for now.

Ortho & PT are covered by health insurance so my copay was $15/visit. If you go that route, at least you wouldn't have to deal with Care Credit.

My insurance is bottom-of-the-barrel, so I am not sure exactly what or how much it covers. I could have just used my HSA account to pay for everything on a payment plan, but that would have wiped out the total amount. Using the Care Credit, I can spread the payments over several months at 0% interest, and when there is enough in my HSA I can file for a reimbursement. That would let me pay off any remaining balance on the Care Credit. Using the Care Credit was not my first choice, but was the best of limited options (taking into account my general financial paranoia). Also, my insurance is actually paying for part of the chiropractor visits, so it's not completely out of pocket. My basic co-pay is $25 at the MD, but at the chiropractor they are $35. Or at least for now. We'll see what the final bill turns out to be, as I know I haven't met my deductible for the year. I absolutely anticipate a future bill from insurance for the difference up to my deductible. (Another reason to not completely drain my HSA account right now).

I wish I still had the papers they gave me in PT with diagrams of the stretching exercises. I will look for them and send them to you if I find them. I kind of got out of the habit of doing them.
The one I found most helpful was laying on my back, no pillow, with knees bent, feet flat on the bed. Then lifting buttocks up off the bed as much as comfortably possible & hold for a few seconds. Actually, this is good for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting at work. Sitting is so bad for our backs.

Thank you!! I got a couple of pages of diagrams of stretching exercises, but haven't been able to do any of them so far. Too much pain.

I hope you feel better!!!

Thanks again!! I hope I feel better also. Hope you don't go through this again.

ETA: I just wanted to add, I also got some OT with the PT. Only a session or 2 but it was really helpful. They watch how you do everyday things and give tips on how to do them without making your back worse, keeping shoulders hips & knees in alignment. So he'd throw a piece of paper on the floor and watch how I pick it up. They had a large bin to pretend how I'd take clothes from the washer. Things like that.
So instead of just bending over to pick up paper, keep one foot more in front while facing the paper, then lift the opposite/back foot toward the sky up as you lean down. This is the way golfers pick up a ball. That has helped a lot and I find myself doing that even just when I have to lean a little, like reaching into the washer, without having to consciously think about doing it. It just becomes a habit.

That sounds like it could be useful. I may have to try to become aware of how I do some of these things. I know most of the "proper" lifting techniques, but don't usually think about doing them. That might help long-term if I focused on doing it correctly.

The only thing I will say so far about the chiropractor is that it feels like 2 steps forward and 1 back. Or some days, 1 step forward and 2 back. For a couple of hours after each visit, I feel almost pain free, but then it comes back. And in the course of realigning my back, he is also working on realigning my left knee, which (in my opinion from the middle of the treatment) backfired. After he did the adjustment on my knee Thursday, I was unable to walk at all for the entire weekend, and actually only was able to walk in 15-20 foot stretches today. I explained what I was feeling, and he did another adjustment and said that essentially in trying to compensate for the pain in my back I was causing more issues with my knee, but when I try to compensate for the pain in my knee I was causing more issues with my back. I can tell that he has helped, as at least now I can walk fully upright. For most of the first week, I was walking in a stooped over position taking very very short steps. Now, I'm more upright, and while my stride is not the full stride I usually have, it is probably twice the length of the "old-man" shuffle I was doing.

So far, I'm 3 visits down and 20-25 to go, so it might be too early to adequately judge the effectiveness.

On the MD front, I have had 2 visits with my doctor. Last week he prescribed a pain-killer and a muscle relaxant - which actually caused a funny story at work the next day. Several of my students decided I was "high" after I took the muscle relaxer. Principal and nurse came and checked out my vitals, examined my prescriptions, and then I was sent home for the remainder of the day. :-/ Today, I went back for a follow-up, because the pain-killer wasn't really working. So, I have a stronger prescription and an appointment with orthopedics next week. We will see how that turns out.

It is really beginning to look like I won't be able to make my planned trip, which is making me sad. I have been really looking forward to going in June instead of late July. But, I am holding off any final decision until middle of next week. Since I'll lose my deposit regardless at this point, I am waiting as long as possible before I cancel on the off-chance that I'll be able to go. I just don't really think that 6 more chiropractor visits, and the intake visit with the orthopedic will improve me enough to manage. And, with all this going on, I haven't been able to work my weekend job, so I am losing out on about $60/week that was earmarked for gas and food.

Fingers crossed, I'll forgo my trip this time if I can just get to feeling better.

 

[Angeejoe]

I used to take name brand children's clothes to a resale shop. They paid me 50% of what they sold it for. Then they raised their take to 60%. When it hit 70% I decided I would rather donate it than earn 30%. Sort of a principle thing for me. So you might check around and see what percent different stores will give you.

Very good point. I guess it won't hurt to try. Just loosing my time if they say no!

 

[Angeejoe]

I saw this the other day, but it deserved a longer comment than I could easily make on my phone. Today is the first day in a week that I've been able to sit up at my desk enough to type. And even now, I've got some serious pain happening in my left thigh and knee.



Ouch. Definitely sounds similar to what I have. This is day 15, and it has felt like someone has been repeatedly stabbing me in the lower back with an ice-pick for the last 2 weeks. It has also moved down into my hip, thigh, knee, and foot. Somehow, it skipped my shin. And I know exactly what you are talking about. When I finally got to see a medical person, I told them I would be completely fine with taking a chainsaw and removing everything below my ribcage.




I've had issues with my back, hip, thigh, and knee for about 4 years. The regular doctors have done x-rays, MRI's, and I don't know how many different tests and finally concluded that they didn't know what was wrong. I got the feeling they were just too polite to tell me they thought it was all in my head. This time was different, in that in the past I would get burning pains that would last 4-12 hours and would go away. This time it didn't go away at all, and by day 6 I was ready to sign over my firstborn or anything else they might want if someone could help.



That doesn't sound great. Not as bad as if there was still pain, but still not great.




This was my first ever visit to a chiropractor. And if it hadn't been for the agony and the fact that in 4 years the regular MD wasn't able to find any cause I might not have gone. Several of the people I work with recommended this particular one, but I'm withholding judgement for now.



My insurance is bottom-of-the-barrel, so I am not sure exactly what or how much it covers. I could have just used my HSA account to pay for everything on a payment plan, but that would have wiped out the total amount. Using the Care Credit, I can spread the payments over several months at 0% interest, and when there is enough in my HSA I can file for a reimbursement. That would let me pay off any remaining balance on the Care Credit. Using the Care Credit was not my first choice, but was the best of limited options (taking into account my general financial paranoia). Also, my insurance is actually paying for part of the chiropractor visits, so it's not completely out of pocket. My basic co-pay is $25 at the MD, but at the chiropractor they are $35. Or at least for now. We'll see what the final bill turns out to be, as I know I haven't met my deductible for the year. I absolutely anticipate a future bill from insurance for the difference up to my deductible. (Another reason to not completely drain my HSA account right now).



Thank you!! I got a couple of pages of diagrams of stretching exercises, but haven't been able to do any of them so far. Too much pain.



Thanks again!! I hope I feel better also. Hope you don't go through this again.



That sounds like it could be useful. I may have to try to become aware of how I do some of these things. I know most of the "proper" lifting techniques, but don't usually think about doing them. That might help long-term if I focused on doing it correctly.

The only thing I will say so far about the chiropractor is that it feels like 2 steps forward and 1 back. Or some days, 1 step forward and 2 back. For a couple of hours after each visit, I feel almost pain free, but then it comes back. And in the course of realigning my back, he is also working on realigning my left knee, which (in my opinion from the middle of the treatment) backfired. After he did the adjustment on my knee Thursday, I was unable to walk at all for the entire weekend, and actually only was able to walk in 15-20 foot stretches today. I explained what I was feeling, and he did another adjustment and said that essentially in trying to compensate for the pain in my back I was causing more issues with my knee, but when I try to compensate for the pain in my knee I was causing more issues with my back. I can tell that he has helped, as at least now I can walk fully upright. For most of the first week, I was walking in a stooped over position taking very very short steps. Now, I'm more upright, and while my stride is not the full stride I usually have, it is probably twice the length of the "old-man" shuffle I was doing.

So far, I'm 3 visits down and 20-25 to go, so it might be too early to adequately judge the effectiveness.

On the MD front, I have had 2 visits with my doctor. Last week he prescribed a pain-killer and a muscle relaxant - which actually caused a funny story at work the next day. Several of my students decided I was "high" after I took the muscle relaxer. Principal and nurse came and checked out my vitals, examined my prescriptions, and then I was sent home for the remainder of the day. :-/ Today, I went back for a follow-up, because the pain-killer wasn't really working. So, I have a stronger prescription and an appointment with orthopedics next week. We will see how that turns out.

It is really beginning to look like I won't be able to make my planned trip, which is making me sad. I have been really looking forward to going in June instead of late July. But, I am holding off any final decision until middle of next week. Since I'll lose my deposit regardless at this point, I am waiting as long as possible before I cancel on the off-chance that I'll be able to go. I just don't really think that 6 more chiropractor visits, and the intake visit with the orthopedic will improve me enough to manage. And, with all this going on, I haven't been able to work my weekend job, so I am losing out on about $60/week that was earmarked for gas and food.

Fingers crossed, I'll forgo my trip this time if I can just get to feeling better.

So sorry Dayv! I hope that they figure out your back issues & find something that will help with the pain. I'm also so bummed for you about the trip!! I hope you get better & get to go. I need a new TR of yours to read....

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I saw this the other day, but it deserved a longer comment than I could easily make on my phone. Today is the first day in a week that I've been able to sit up at my desk enough to type. And even now, I've got some serious pain happening in my left thigh and knee.



Ouch. Definitely sounds similar to what I have. This is day 15, and it has felt like someone has been repeatedly stabbing me in the lower back with an ice-pick for the last 2 weeks. It has also moved down into my hip, thigh, knee, and foot. Somehow, it skipped my shin. And I know exactly what you are talking about. When I finally got to see a medical person, I told them I would be completely fine with taking a chainsaw and removing everything below my ribcage.




I've had issues with my back, hip, thigh, and knee for about 4 years. The regular doctors have done x-rays, MRI's, and I don't know how many different tests and finally concluded that they didn't know what was wrong. I got the feeling they were just too polite to tell me they thought it was all in my head. This time was different, in that in the past I would get burning pains that would last 4-12 hours and would go away. This time it didn't go away at all, and by day 6 I was ready to sign over my firstborn or anything else they might want if someone could help.



That doesn't sound great. Not as bad as if there was still pain, but still not great.




This was my first ever visit to a chiropractor. And if it hadn't been for the agony and the fact that in 4 years the regular MD wasn't able to find any cause I might not have gone. Several of the people I work with recommended this particular one, but I'm withholding judgement for now.



My insurance is bottom-of-the-barrel, so I am not sure exactly what or how much it covers. I could have just used my HSA account to pay for everything on a payment plan, but that would have wiped out the total amount. Using the Care Credit, I can spread the payments over several months at 0% interest, and when there is enough in my HSA I can file for a reimbursement. That would let me pay off any remaining balance on the Care Credit. Using the Care Credit was not my first choice, but was the best of limited options (taking into account my general financial paranoia). Also, my insurance is actually paying for part of the chiropractor visits, so it's not completely out of pocket. My basic co-pay is $25 at the MD, but at the chiropractor they are $35. Or at least for now. We'll see what the final bill turns out to be, as I know I haven't met my deductible for the year. I absolutely anticipate a future bill from insurance for the difference up to my deductible. (Another reason to not completely drain my HSA account right now).



Thank you!! I got a couple of pages of diagrams of stretching exercises, but haven't been able to do any of them so far. Too much pain.



Thanks again!! I hope I feel better also. Hope you don't go through this again.



That sounds like it could be useful. I may have to try to become aware of how I do some of these things. I know most of the "proper" lifting techniques, but don't usually think about doing them. That might help long-term if I focused on doing it correctly.

The only thing I will say so far about the chiropractor is that it feels like 2 steps forward and 1 back. Or some days, 1 step forward and 2 back. For a couple of hours after each visit, I feel almost pain free, but then it comes back. And in the course of realigning my back, he is also working on realigning my left knee, which (in my opinion from the middle of the treatment) backfired. After he did the adjustment on my knee Thursday, I was unable to walk at all for the entire weekend, and actually only was able to walk in 15-20 foot stretches today. I explained what I was feeling, and he did another adjustment and said that essentially in trying to compensate for the pain in my back I was causing more issues with my knee, but when I try to compensate for the pain in my knee I was causing more issues with my back. I can tell that he has helped, as at least now I can walk fully upright. For most of the first week, I was walking in a stooped over position taking very very short steps. Now, I'm more upright, and while my stride is not the full stride I usually have, it is probably twice the length of the "old-man" shuffle I was doing.

So far, I'm 3 visits down and 20-25 to go, so it might be too early to adequately judge the effectiveness.

On the MD front, I have had 2 visits with my doctor. Last week he prescribed a pain-killer and a muscle relaxant - which actually caused a funny story at work the next day. Several of my students decided I was "high" after I took the muscle relaxer. Principal and nurse came and checked out my vitals, examined my prescriptions, and then I was sent home for the remainder of the day. :-/ Today, I went back for a follow-up, because the pain-killer wasn't really working. So, I have a stronger prescription and an appointment with orthopedics next week. We will see how that turns out.

It is really beginning to look like I won't be able to make my planned trip, which is making me sad. I have been really looking forward to going in June instead of late July. But, I am holding off any final decision until middle of next week. Since I'll lose my deposit regardless at this point, I am waiting as long as possible before I cancel on the off-chance that I'll be able to go. I just don't really think that 6 more chiropractor visits, and the intake visit with the orthopedic will improve me enough to manage. And, with all this going on, I haven't been able to work my weekend job, so I am losing out on about $60/week that was earmarked for gas and food.

Fingers crossed, I'll forgo my trip this time if I can just get to feeling better.

Well, good luck to you in finding the right treatment. I wouldn't give up on the trip just yet. You never know; it may just work itself out. Once I wasn't in excruciating pain anymore, I found it was best to keep active. It seemed the more I laid around the less I felt able to do.
Does the MRI show a bulging or herniated disk? I found it amazing that something so tiny could cause so much agony.
Hang in there. It does get better.