Debt Dumpers - 2018

[ruadisneyfan2]

I just got accepted for a legit side hustle...I'm stoked. It's not going to make me a ton of money, but an extra $200 a month or so going right to the mortgage will help me feel like I'm making progress. Work on my schedule type thing I can do anywhere. Pay starts fairly low, but I'm just starting. Making extra cash as I'm having Sunday coffee for a few hours works for me...or when I'm bored as crap at home.

This sounds perfect! May I ask what your side job is? Not that I get time to be bored as crap at home but I do drink coffee and surf/vegg for about 2 hrs on the weekends. $200/month extra to the mortgage is wonderful!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

There is definitely a sadness in realizing your kids might have to live at home forever. That's us...with two autistic sons, it's questionable whether they will ever be fully independent.

I guess the bottom line is, whether they leave home and live as successful, independent adults or need life long support at home, it will lead to sadness either way. We just can't win. Although, if either or both of my sons ever reaches the point where they can fly the coop, it will be the happiest moment of my life.

I know all kids are different, and there's a wide range along the spectrum, but we have a nephew with autism who is same age as ds21 and he is doing better than ds! They both earned black belts in Tae Kwon Do, but our nephew graduated HS in the top 10 of his class, went away to college (from NJ to FL), and is set to graduate in December, a semester early. He said college is expensive so he asked for the max # of classes each semester without having to be charged extra so that's how he did it.
It kind of makes me sad to think if my dh had stayed in college, he would be a senior now. Sigh...
Over the summer break my nephew was selling Cutco knives and came over for a demonstration. He admitted at the end that it's all very hard for him but he is trying his best to overcome any personal obstacles. I was so proud of him. It's hard to believe he's the same child who would chew up the front collar of all of his shirts til they were sopping wet and full of holes, and couldn't ride a bike without training wheels until he was halfway through elementary school.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have been feeling really stressed lately. Things with the basement project aren't going all that well. I am having a terrible time finding contractors. Not a single person has gotten back to me with an estimate for the framing and drywall. Work has also felt stressful lately. Just so many projects happening all at the same time is making it hard to keep things straight and make all of my deadlines. After mid-September, things should hopefully calm down a bit more.

And then there has been a bit of resource stress. Our house just isn't getting clean. And I had a dream of hiring someone to come once or twice a month to ease the load, but that doesn't seem financially possible without making bit cuts from somewhere else. DH and I sat down and really talked it out. We decided that we needed more accountability and so we made up a cleaning/chores schedule with tasks assigned to each of us. We tried to be reasonable, not making our expectations too lofty because at this point, almost anything will be an improvement over what we are doing now. We downloaded an app that DH has dubbed, "YNAB for cleaning." It cost $8, which is a lot less than the $350 per month I was quoted for a bi-weekly cleaning service. I am hoping that it will give us the extra push that we need to get things under control and reduce my stress levels.

I was in the same boat as you when ds21 was a baby. Then came baby #2 and it was really beyond disgusting and we couldn't take it anymore. Back then it was like $60 biweekly. I kept it until our youngest was 10 and probably could have done away with it sooner. He is now 18 and I am paying him $80/biweekly to clean. It doesn't all get done in 2-3 hours like the service did, but I know it's helping both of us, not just me. He is getting more efficient and can now do it all in one day.

If you're thinking of ever having more children, try to hold out with the cleaning service. You will see it's much crazier life with 2 and you will look back and think 1 was easy. You'll feel less guilty at paying someone else. I looked at it as the cost of working FT. I also earn more than dh and felt that anyone can scrub a toilet but I am the only one who is Mommy to our children.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Hello all!! I'm back (with a new avatar) and it has officially been WAY too long since I checked in! DH and I have been crazy busy over the last month. We've traveled to four different states, including a trip to Disneyland, and have just been going nonstop. In between that, I've been crazy busy at work, and am about to get even busier. I'm trying to go back and catch up a little bit on what everyone has posted--I've read the last page or so.

Definitely need to tighten my belt over the next couple months- literally and financially. DH and I have been eating a ton with all of our travels since it's impossible for us to take food or cook in the places we've been going (mainly horse shows). We're now both dieting and will be cutting way, way back on eating out.

Other than that, we're chugging along. I think I sold a pair of horseback riding boots I don't like for $250 last night, which will be nice. A friend of mine took them home for her daughter to try last night so I'm just waiting to hear back. I picked up one of my horse braiding jobs tonight for an extra $40.

@Jen and Ashwin I completely understand what you're saying on cleaning. I actually just hired someone to clean our house this past week and come every two weeks. DH and I have both been insanely busy at work, and DH also picked up some side contract work from his old job. I will be working nights and weekends for at least the next six weeks trying to get everything done for my job. Fortunately, our house is extremely tiny so the cleaner, who we've known for a long time, doesn't charge us much at all. I'm also technically not supposed to be doing things like dusting and vacuuming since I have a severe dust mite allergy, so I'll chalk it up to being ordered by my allergist

Love the new avatar picture!

Our house is a decent size. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath. The quotes that I got were not something that we could sustain on a bi-weekly basis, so I am thinking about maybe having a one time deep cleaning to get things in better shape. Then we could "start fresh" and try to maintain better. I would probably have to use all my birthday money from my mom, but maybe my sanity and happiness is worth it.

 

[DLgal]

I know all kids are different, and there's a wide range along the spectrum, but we have a nephew with autism who is same age as ds21 and he is doing better than ds! They both earned black belts in Tae Kwon Do, but our nephew graduated HS in the top 10 of his class, went away to college (from NJ to FL), and is set to graduate in December, a semester early. He said college is expensive so he asked for the max # of classes each semester without having to be charged extra so that's how he did it.
It kind of makes me sad to think if my dh had stayed in college, he would be a senior now. Sigh...
Over the summer break my nephew was selling Cutco knives and came over for a demonstration. He admitted at the end that it's all very hard for him but he is trying his best to overcome any personal obstacles. I was so proud of him. It's hard to believe he's the same child who would chew up the front collar of all of his shirts til they were sopping wet and full of holes, and couldn't ride a bike without training wheels until he was halfway through elementary school.

That's so great! I love hearing success stories. Unfortunately, while my oldest son is a math savant, and has a photographic memory, he is severely behind in reading and writing...at. 2nd grade level as a high school freshman. He won't be able to even get a regular diploma because he requires curriculum modifications in two core subjects, English and History. Our youngest son struggles quite a lot with academics. We are going to plan for some type of vocational training and hope for the best. At least we won't be dealing with college costs...that will be helpful.

 

[mmbrad02]

I looked at it as the cost of working FT.

THIS! We can't afford house cleaning as much as most, but we live in an area where individuals clean for people and I was able to get a gal recommended by my two dearest coworkers. I have her once every 3 weeks, so basically just barely more than once a month. My gal charges $25 an hour, and I have her for four hours. It is SO worth it. DH and I both work full time, with one DD in second grade. We truly keep our house picked up well, but when it comes to down right cleaning/scrubbing, we just don't have time. Or the time I have, I honestly don't want to spend cleaning! I wish I could have her more often but budget wise it won't/can't happen, but what I do get helps me keep my sanity!

 

[amalone1013]

Love the new avatar picture!

Our house is a decent size. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath. The quotes that I got were not something that we could sustain on a bi-weekly basis, so I am thinking about maybe having a one time deep cleaning to get things in better shape. Then we could "start fresh" and try to maintain better. I would probably have to use all my birthday money from my mom, but maybe my sanity and happiness is worth it.

I have no idea what the costs run for this, so maybe it's not feasible... but I was going to suggest something like @mmbrad02. Maybe there's a happy medium where they aren't there every week but once a month or every other that could work in your budget? Just a thought.

I hope you start having better luck with contractors too!

 

[jen7233]

Really annoyed with ATT wireless for our cell phones. They first changed the plan we had as they no longer offered it so we went to the 32G plan, I wish they would grandfather plans. So, naturally the bill went up an extra 20 something. Now today after chatting with them when I see another wireless charge billed to the credit card in the same month, they have another change. They are billing those on credit card autopay 4 days after the billing cycle ends. Yes, next month everything will even out as it'll pull on the 22nd, but I'm just annoyed to have paid on the 5th and again on the 22nd in the same month due to their policy changes. If one pays by debit card or bank draft it can stay the same, but the credit card policy changed.

The other bills we have mostly want autodraft from checking also (gas/water/electricity/internet, etc.) or they will charge an extra fee. Rent is paid by check, well now I can also have our bank write the check for us since I opened up a separate account for rent and they can do that. Not too long ago I was paying most bills with the credit card and earning points, now it's mostly all defaulting to direct from checking with our move to the east coast. Not interested in Plastiq either. No real point here, just expressing missing the old ways the bills were handled.

 

[dina444444]

Really annoyed with ATT wireless for our cell phones. They first changed the plan we had as they no longer offered it so we went to the 32G plan, I wish they would grandfather plans. So, naturally the bill went up an extra 20 something. Now today after chatting with them when I see another wireless charge billed to the credit card in the same month, they have another change. They are billing those on credit card autopay 4 days after the billing cycle ends. Yes, next month everything will even out as it'll pull on the 22nd, but I'm just annoyed to have paid on the 5th and again on the 22nd in the same month due to their policy changes. If one pays by debit card or bank draft it can stay the same, but the credit card policy changed.

The other bills we have mostly want autodraft from checking also (gas/water/electricity/internet, etc.) or they will charge an extra fee. Rent is paid by check, well now I can also have our bank write the check for us since I opened up a separate account for rent and they can do that. Not too long ago I was paying most bills with the credit card and earning points, now it's mostly all defaulting to direct from checking with our move to the east coast. Not interested in Plastiq either. No real point here, just expressing missing the old ways the bills were handled.

This happened to me as well with AT&T but I was sent a notice back in the spring that this would be happening.

 

[Eureka]

This happened to me as well with AT&T but I was sent a notice back in the spring that this would be happening.

This is why we do not have anything on autopay except for our deductions to the 529s. We were able to schedule that ourselves, and made it for two days after one of my paychecks so we always know the money is there.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Managed to snag an extra shift tonight, so that should add an extra $300 or so to my check. Really hoping I can get one or two days next week to really beef up this check since it will include the bonus. Our Aldi finally reopened after being closed for 2 months for remodeling. Spent $120 and got an entire cart of groceries and diapers. Just need to swing by walmart the last few things and should hit my $150 budget dead on.

Still having issues with my stupid financial aid to go through. I had to kinda bs my way through my first quiz in each class because I still don't have my books. Got 9/10 and a 10/10 though, so I suppose I can't complain too much. Just frustrating to be starting out so far behind and it's only the first week of class.

 

[jen7233]

Managed to snag an extra shift tonight, so that should add an extra $300 or so to my check. Really hoping I can get one or two days next week to really beef up this check since it will include the bonus. Our Aldi finally reopened after being closed for 2 months for remodeling. Spent $120 and got an entire cart of groceries and diapers. Just need to swing by walmart the last few things and should hit my $150 budget dead on.

Still having issues with my stupid financial aid to go through. I had to kinda bs my way through my first quiz in each class because I still don't have my books. Got 9/10 and a 10/10 though, so I suppose I can't complain too much. Just frustrating to be starting out so far behind and it's only the first week of class.

I love Aldi! Sorry your financial aid didn’t complete before school!

This is why we do not have anything on autopay except for our deductions to the 529s. We were able to schedule that ourselves, and made it for two days after one of my paychecks so we always know the money is there.

Yes, makes me rethink autopay. I may take everything off minus the savings/529.

 

[DnA2010]

I have been feeling really stressed lately. Things with the basement project aren't going all that well. I am having a terrible time finding contractors. Not a single person has gotten back to me with an estimate for the framing and drywall. Work has also felt stressful lately. Just so many projects happening all at the same time is making it hard to keep things straight and make all of my deadlines. After mid-September, things should hopefully calm down a bit more.

And then there has been a bit of resource stress. Our house just isn't getting clean. And I had a dream of hiring someone to come once or twice a month to ease the load, but that doesn't seem financially possible without making bit cuts from somewhere else. DH and I sat down and really talked it out. We decided that we needed more accountability and so we made up a cleaning/chores schedule with tasks assigned to each of us. We tried to be reasonable, not making our expectations too lofty because at this point, almost anything will be an improvement over what we are doing now. We downloaded an app that DH has dubbed, "YNAB for cleaning." It cost $8, which is a lot less than the $350 per month I was quoted for a bi-weekly cleaning service. I am hoping that it will give us the extra push that we need to get things under control and reduce my stress levels.

$350- yikes! My cleaner charges $20/hour and is usually around 3-4 hours ever 2-3 weeks. Honesty it’s a life saver for us

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

My neighbor had a really nice, large and expensive Step 2 playset in their backyard.

What a score! Crazy! My aunt is getting DS a Step 2 wagon as a combo birthday/ Christmas gift, and I'm thrilled to death about it. I've heard such good things about the quality of their products!


We are back from our second and final wedding of the summer and did great budget wise. I had some coupons in my chik-fil-a app that I was able to use going there and back, and we tried to keep it cheap at our two sit down meals.I also got my $70 ebates check right before we left so I was able to plug that right in to help with trip costs!

We have an insanely busy period coming up now. My mom gets in town today for a week long visit, the day she leaves we have DS's 9 month photos and my cousin's quincaenera, then we are off on our cruise a few days later. When we gt back our friend will still be here for a few more weeks, then he leaves and another friend comes to visit for a long weekend for her birthday! I'm cringing already at the $$ all this will cost but my cousin's gift is bought and my mom is paying for DS's photos, so that's a huge help.

Still no luck finding a job but I'm not stressing- it'll be a great bonus when it happens but we can survive without it. Hopefully with all the HS and college kids headed back some retail stuff will open up and I'll get some calls!

Planning on going through my gift bin tonight and making a final tally on what I still need for Christmas and birthdays for the rest of the year. I scored a fantastic deal at the Disney Store today on a Frozen school supplies set for my goddaughter as part of her Christmas gift. She starts Kindergarten Monday and I'm imagining by Christmas she'll need some supplies refreshed! Gotta add that to the bin and take a look at everything.

 

[jackers]

Oh man, Christmas. I haven’t even thought about Christmas yet. I usually go way overboard because that’s what I like to do (I don’t add to debt for it), but wondering if I can keep it more reined in this year without it feeling like I am doing that, if that makes sense.

 

[bababear_50]

Oh man, Christmas. I haven’t even thought about Christmas yet. I usually go way overboard because that’s what I like to do (I don’t add to debt for it), but wondering if I can keep it more reined in this year without it feeling like I am doing that, if that makes sense.

I struggle with this too!
Christmas is my favorite time of the year and in the past I am very guilty of overspending to the point that now I think other people just expect it.
I tried telling my sons/daughter inlaw and granddaughter that I am cutting back this year. a I think until I actually do it they will not believe me.
I will be doing Santa sacks this year--kind of my way of still doing stockings cause I love doing stockings and including a few special items.
Hopefully I can live up to my words.....oh boy..

Hugs Mel.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Christmas will be rather subdued here this year. It's at the start of our 6 weeks of summer holidays when DH will have no pay. I'll do exam marking before Christmas and get a good chunk of money to cover presents and any activities we want to do but it won't be huge.

DD9 is basically getting a family trip and a token present, she is the Harry Potter fan and we're going interstate to visit friends and will see the show when we're there. Flights and tickets already paid for, need hotel and spending money before late Jan.

DD5 is getting a trampoline. The adults all do a Kris Kringle so we're not buying for heaps of people but people just keep having babies and it feels like we're buying for a thousand kids this year!

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Hello fellow Debt Dumpers! I was a regular for a while here this year, then the craziness of two part time jobs and five kids kept me busy! I have pages and pages to catch up on, but I’m going to try to do it bit by bit

In Debt Dumping news, we decided to take advantage of our area’s super hot real estate market and sell our rental property. We had two offers in 12 hours and close tomorrow This will go a LOOONG way in our Debt Dumping goals and help us to start our Dream Home fund WAY sooner than we had anticipated.

Plus, we have now officially started planning our WDW October 2019 trip. It is oh so far away still, but exciting to look forward to

Looking forward to catching up with all of you!

 

[Dentam]

Welcome back @MamaBelleRN and congrats on the house sale!

 

[Deffenm]

Oh man, Christmas. I haven’t even thought about Christmas yet. I usually go way overboard because that’s what I like to do (I don’t add to debt for it), but wondering if I can keep it more reined in this year without it feeling like I am doing that, if that makes sense.

Ugh.. I love Christmas but I don't because of how much money I spend. Not only do I have Christmas but DD14 and DS17 birthday's are the week of Christmas 12/24 and 12/30. I have started saving the Free Friday Download items from Kroger that I think the kids will like to put in their stocking. I really need to set a budget and stick to it this year. I never put anything on credit but I don't really set a budget either.