Debt Dumpers - 2018

[DLgal]

I have looked around a bit. It seems that USAA (independent policy) has the lowest rate that I can find and they are the ones quoting double for my current weight versus 30 lbs less.

USAA isnt the best insurance company for term life insurance. I have a policy with them but they put a LOT of limitations on their policies. They would only give me a $500k policy 13 years ago as a SAHM, which they said was "industry standard" which I believed. Turns out, that is absolutely not the case, and that "industry standard" is to insure a non working spouse at the same level as the working spouse. It was cheap, sure, but when it came time to boost our coverage last year, we went with AIG.

I will say, there isn't much difference in pricing from 29 to 30. It's from 39 to 40 where premiums skyrocket. I got a $1M 30 year term policy last year for myself and it's only $82/month, which I think is very reasonable for that level of coverage..If I had waited until this year, it would have been $225/month!!! I also didn't qualify for the top tier due to high liver enzymes levels in the bloodwork (still of unknown origin, by the way). My USAA policy is only $19/month but I got it when I was 29 and it's only a 20 year term policy, which we realized with horror last year, would be expiring in 9 more years, at a time where our kids will definitely NOT be on the path to independence. If I could go back in time, I would have purchased 30 or 35 year term plans through AIG initially, and skipped USAA life insurance.

Definitely shop around and get other quotes. Some companies are more lenient than others on the height and weight standards. I will say, AIG gave me a MUCH more thorough health assessment than USAA did. They asked about 100 questions about all aspects of my lifestyle and health history. They don't just rely on arbitrary numbers like age, height and weight.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

USAA isnt the best insurance company for term life insurance. I have a policy with them but they put a LOT of limitations on their policies. They would only give me a $500k policy 13 years ago as a SAHM, which they said was "industry standard" which I believed. Turns out, that is absolutely not the case, and that "industry standard" is to insure a non working spouse at the same level as the working spouse. It was cheap, sure, but when it came time to boost our coverage last year, we went with AIG.

I will say, there isn't much difference in pricing from 29 to 30. It's from 39 to 40 where premiums skyrocket. I got a $1M 30 year term policy last year for myself and it's only $82/month, which I think is very reasonable for that level of coverage..If I had waited until this year, it would have been $225/month!!! I also didn't qualify for the top tier due to high liver enzymes levels in the bloodwork (still of unknown origin, by the way). My USAA policy is only $19/month but I got it when I was 29 and it's only a 20 year term policy, which we realized with horror last year, would be expiring in 9 more years, at a time where our kids will definitely NOT be on the path to independence. If I could go back in time, I would have purchased 30 or 35 year term plans through AIG initially, and skipped USAA life insurance.

Definitely shop around and get other quotes. Some companies are more lenient than others on the height and weight standards. I will say, AIG gave me a MUCH more thorough health assessment than USAA did. They asked about 100 questions about all aspects of my lifestyle and health history. They don't just rely on arbitrary numbers like age, height and weight.

Thanks. I will check out AIG and some other places as well. I had done some quotes last year and it seemed like USAA was coming up with the best prices. I am looking to get 30 year term policies for $1mil on both me and DH.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks. I will check out AIG and some other places as well. I had done some quotes last year and it seemed like USAA was coming up with the best prices. I am looking to get 30 year term policies for $1mil on both me and DH.

Don't put too much faith in the quick online quotes. They can't give you an accurate quote until AFTER the medical exam. They tend to lowball what they show you upfront. Also, check the specifics of any policy you buy and read the whole contract before you sign it. Some policies have exclusions that may be deal breakers (look for things like suicide clauses, pre existing medical clauses, act of war clauses, etc). Ideally your policy has NO disqualifying clauses.

 

[dayvewc]

Schools here start the 2nd week of August and end sometime at the end of May. Our "snow days" are usually to cover when it gets to icy since snow is a rare thing. I don't think it even snowed at all last year, other than a day or 2 of flurries that never stuck.

My district got waivers on our academic calendar. We start classes with students the Monday after the first weekend in August. (Weird way to say it, but don't know how else to describe it. We do workshops the last week of July / first days in August, and then start classes on Monday).
The upside is that we get out around the 2nd week in May, and we get a long (4 day) weekend in Oct., a week at Thanksgiving, 2 to 2 1/2 weeks for Christmas/New Years, several federal holidays, a week for spring break in March, and Good Friday. I dislike starting so early, but it is nice getting out as early as we do. The other districts in the state don't start until 2-3 weeks later and don't get out until sometime in June. I like getting out earlier, but the drawback is starting earlier.

 

[disney-inspired]

I am two months away from being consumer debt free. I'm so excited!

 

[Ngwira]

Happy 1st of October!
Paid off my smallest credit card debt this morning! We now owe a total of just over $5400 on credit cards. If we hadn't bought a house and needed to buy appliances we'd owe about $2000ish less. Stupid appliances. Granted this is about $5000 less than what we owed at the beginning of last year, so I guess I should be excited by the progress. Depending on what we get back during tax season i'll either pay off/down more of the credit card debt, or my husbands student loans.

And in the spirit of October i'm attaching a couple pics of the decorations I put up over the weekend.

Congratulations. I also love your decorations.

 

[Ngwira]

Murphy has been here, too. First, our homeowners policy is going up $80. May not seem like much but now our mortgage payment will be going up, too. They are also asking us to cut a neighbors tree..to the tune of $1000. The branches are leaning over our roof so yeah, a hazard.
We bought a new sofa and loveseat too which ran about $600. Of course we bought it before the homeowners insurance debacle.

So bleeding money from all ends. Sigh.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Murphy has been here, too. First, our homeowners policy is going up $80. May not seem like much but now our mortgage payment will be going up, too. They are also asking us to cut a neighbors tree..to the tune of $1000. The branches are leaning over our roof so yeah, a hazard.
We bought a new sofa and loveseat too which ran about $600. Of course we bought it before the homeowners insurance debacle.

So bleeding money from all ends. Sigh.

After I posted about getting so much back from escrow the other day, I got an email that my homeowners is going up $90... plus that doesn’t include the $67 jewelry policy I just added (which will actually save me money since I have been paying $115 a year for jewelry insurance). Yet somehow my mortgage company has calculated that my mortgage payment should be $40 less a month... I think I’m going to take that $40 a month I was going to put to principal and budget it into savings every month for the inevitable letter next September that I owe money to escrow.

In good news though, my septic tank pump turned out to be fine, so dodged Murphy on that again. I had to pay $75 for the service call but I was more than happy to pay that in exchange for not hearing the news that I’d be shelling out $1000 for a new septic tank pump.

My mom’s boyfriend also came and installed our new to us washer and hauled our old one away. My mom had a washing machine that is fairly new and was just sitting in her shed that someone had given her from a set. My mom only needed the dryer, so she told me to take the washer. Our old washer made an AWFUL screeching noise that could not be fixed and had stopped agitating one direction. Very thankful we could get this one! The only appliance in our house we haven’t upgraded now is the dryer, which is still fairly new, and the fridge. I hate our side by side fridge and want to upgrade to a French door fridge like my moms at some point. We’ve been talking about it for a while, so maybe in the spring we can hit up the Sears Outlet.

 

[Ngwira]

After I posted about getting so much back from escrow the other day, I got an email that my homeowners is going up $90... plus that doesn’t include the $67 jewelry policy I just added (which will actually save me money since I have been paying $115 a year for jewelry insurance). Yet somehow my mortgage company has calculated that my mortgage payment should be $40 less a month... I think I’m going to take that $40 a month I was going to put to principal and budget it into savings every month for the inevitable letter next September that I owe money to escrow.

In good news though, my septic tank pump turned out to be fine, so dodged Murphy on that again. I had to pay $75 for the service call but I was more than happy to pay that in exchange for not hearing the news that I’d be shelling out $1000 for a new septic tank pump.

My mom’s boyfriend also came and installed our new to us washer and hauled our old one away. My mom had a washing machine that is fairly new and was just sitting in her shed that someone had given her from a set. My mom only needed the dryer, so she told me to take the washer. Our old washer made an AWFUL screeching noise that could not be fixed and had stopped agitating one direction. Very thankful we could get this one! The only appliance in our house we haven’t upgraded now is the dryer, which is still fairly new, and the fridge. I hate our side by side fridge and want to upgrade to a French door fridge like my moms at some point. We’ve been talking about it for a while, so maybe in the spring we can hit up the Sears Outlet.

So glad the septic tank is ok. So I called a few more companies including a highly rated one that beats all estimates by ten percent. I also noticed the estimate includes pruning etc and we didn’t ask for all of that. Just to trim the branches. I think there is a whole lot of “fat” in that estimate. It should come out cheaper. But this is why it’s so important to set aside a “home repair” fund as a homeowner. Because things WILL go wrong and you cannot call your landlord.

We also got a tune up on our furnace in anticipation for the winter and he indicated that our ignition needed replacement. Luckily, I signed up for furnace protection through our utility company back in 2013 when we purchased the home. I’ve been paying $9 a month for 5 years so this expensive part is allowing me to recoup my investment!

Our new couch and loveseat will be delivered on Sunday. Our sectional actually broke in 2015 and we’ve been sitting on a broken couch for 3 years..lol. It was time.

 

[jen7233]

Actively car searching. Not excited about it and find it stressful. DH thinks this should be a fun experience for me, but I don't! He just drives trucks, which I think are easier to deal on as they are more negotiable, but hey I could be wrong. I went through a long process the other day got close to purchase but didn't. I'm shocked at the taxes here, and fees. Then I'm wondering if I'm getting into too much car? I love having the extra space.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Actively car searching. Not excited about it and find it stressful. DH thinks this should be a fun experience for me, but I don't! He just drives trucks, which I think are easier to deal on as they are more negotiable, but hey I could be wrong. I went through a long process the other day got close to purchase but didn't. I'm shocked at the taxes here, and fees. Then I'm wondering if I'm getting into too much car? I love having the extra space.

Have you tried USAA car buying service? They have it for new and used cars. I used it when I got my car in 2013 and I got the absolute lowest price that I saw anywhere on my car. And when I got to the dealer, I didn't have to negotiate at all. To be part of the service, they have to honor the offer on the certificate. It made everything so easy.

 

[jen7233]

Have you tried USAA car buying service? They have it for new and used cars. I used it when I got my car in 2013 and I got the absolute lowest price that I saw anywhere on my car. And when I got to the dealer, I didn't have to negotiate at all. To be part of the service, they have to honor the offer on the certificate. It made everything so easy.

Yes, I'm actually half using them/half doing my own browsing. I think my problem is I'm all over the board on what I need vs. what I want. Then part of what I find has unnecessary features to me, like heated steering wheel, heated seats. I lived in Alaska before, lol, and these were not needed then, I certainly don't need them now! But, the cars I'm looking at with the features I typically use are power lift gate and remote start, and these come with a lot of unnecessary things that cost extra. Only thing that was great to me then was an AWD vs. FWD, I had a FWD van and slid all over before quickly trading in for AWD, and my remote start-I use that all the time. Okay, and heated outside mirrors were sort of nice have to also admit. My dog, yes, another story but I could find a spot for her but since she needs lifting in and out and is a 50 pounder, sort of don't want a tall vehicle in case she slips from carry, or it's hard on the back to lift that high. *Add that yes, I take her with me all the time.

I feel like with my kids getting to teen years I'm still leaning on that I'd like to have the space so I am looking at a six, seven, eight seater. Anyway, lots of thoughts going on and trying to keep it at also something within the budget, is stressful.

 

[christineinvegas]

I am lurking and following along with you guys. I am proud of how you've all done.

As for myself, we are doing well. My mom had a stroke 6 weeks ago and her insurance stopped paying 100% on her rehab after 20 days. So luckily we were able to cash flow an additional 2 weeks with no affect on the budget. It just meant less to put on the house. But it was worth it.

@Jen and Ashwin ...check Zander insurance. They are a broker and can check prices with many different places. We originally had term insurance thru Ameriprise and didn't think much of it....it was a little expensive, but we didn't know better. Last summer our policies expired and we called Zander. We both got new policies with higher amounts for way cheaper. So it's worth checking out. (I was 37 at the time and overweight, my $750k/20 year policy is $42 and my hubby's is $59/month).

 

[jen7233]

I am lurking and following along with you guys. I am proud of how you've all done.

As for myself, we are doing well. My mom had a stroke 6 weeks ago and her insurance stopped paying 100% on her rehab after 20 days. So luckily we were able to cash flow an additional 2 weeks with no affect on the budget. It just meant less to put on the house. But it was worth it.

@Jen and Ashwin ...check Zander insurance. They are a broker and can check prices with many different places. We originally had term insurance thru Ameriprise and didn't think much of it....it was a little expensive, but we didn't know better. Last summer our policies expired and we called Zander. We both got new policies with higher amounts for way cheaper. So it's worth checking out. (I was 37 at the time and overweight, my $750k/20 year policy is $42 and my hubby's is $59/month).

Hello and thanks. That's terrible about your mom's insurance doing that, and quite scary. Yes, Zander will do a big search for the best rate since they are basically an insurance brokerage and can work with many companies to find the best rate.

 

[DLgal]

Hello and thanks. That's terrible about your mom's insurance doing that, and quite scary. Yes, Zander will do a big search for the best rate since they are basically an insurance brokerage and can work with many companies to find the best rate.

While this is a good idea, it is always important to look into the reputation of the insurance company, not just the lowest rates. You don't want a company that has a history of not paying out claims, for example.

 

[jen7233]

While this is a good idea, it is always important to look into the reputation of the insurance company, not just the lowest rates. You don't want a company that has a history of not paying out claims, for example.

True, I personally would never go with an insurance name I never heard of, or that hasn't been in the industry longstanding, but that is just me. Some people are comfortable with that. I actually tried Zander, and I got some pretty good quotes, but I still got my best quote with USAA. A few from Zander though were just about comparable within dollars.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

The planning for DD's second birthday trip to WDW has begun! I let my brother know the dates for our trip and they decided that they would love to come with us. I think the fact that it was in October, so we would be there during Food & Wine, plus Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party sold them on it. My SIL loves WDW, but they haven't been since 2014. They booked at Polynesian and my mom booked at Contemporary. We plan to book at Poly at the 11 month mark and then try to transfer the reservation to VGF at the 7 month mark.

My SIL has already put together an extensive google doc that lists dining ideas, show times, fastpass strategies and more. She is obviously psyched about the trip and it makes me happy to know that. But she is planning for some extra events that we don't normally do, such as dessert parties. And I am not sure how DD would do to stay up for the later shows. She might just sleep in her stroller as she does now, but that is a year from now so it is hard to say. I think I am just going to have to plan to save a bit extra and see how things go on our trip in March.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Convinced DF that we should take the girls on a Disney cruise. He said not until our youngest is 4, so I'm anxiously waiting for cruises for 2021 to open! I know they're already booking 2020, so I'm going try to book super early once they do so I have plenty of time to pay it off.

 

[StacyStrong]

Delete

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

So we might buy a travel trailer. We have been thinking about it all summer. When we started talking about upgrading to a larger SUV when we are closer to having another baby and that opened up the idea that we would now be able to tow a light travel trailer. We decided to just keep saving in the DVC fund, but realizing that we could repurpose that money towards a trailer if we wanted. We looked at quite a few different models and really liked the Camplite 21BHS. The floor plan seems like it would work really well for us.

Well, someone in my quilt guild is selling their 2017 model for a good price. They put in quite a few good upgrades as well, so it would be a good value. We are going to go see it this weekend when my parents are visiting. Since my parents have RV experience, I feel like it would be helpful for them to see it too.

So we have $10k saved in the DVC fund, but would need to finance the rest. I got an idea about loan rates and it seems that we could manage as low as a 4 year loan, but might consider taking a longer one. Since we don't have a vehicle yet that will tow it, we would be storing it for a year or so. I got quotes for insurance, which is coming up at just $250 a year. I just need to make some calls and figure out storage fees to make sure we think we can afford the ongoing costs.