Debt Dumpers - 2018

[ruadisneyfan2]

So, DD is direct deposit, I'm guessing.

It is showing up about a week after approval? Hmmm, I thought they only issued funds on Fridays. Fingers crossed mine gets approved Mon/Tues and it's the same delay.

Ours was DD on Feb 8, a Thurs. I remember clearly bc it was my niece's birthday.

 

[bababear_50]

DD had her 4 month wellness exam on Tuesday. The doctor commented on her having an overall tight demeanor. DD also had a shake in one of her arms that the doctor was initially concerned about, but then said that it was probably due to her being cold, since I had just undressed her. The doctor asked me about her milestones, such as smiling, making eye contact, picking things up and holding her hands together. She does all of those things, with the exception of rolling. But I had read in my baby book that not all babies start rolling at 4 months. She seems to be getting closer though, since she often rolls on to her side. But after I got home, I got a bit concerned and did way too much reading the internet. That obviously made me even more concerned, since hypertonia (high muscle ton) can be a sign of cerebral palsy. But she is really still too young to tell if it is a larger problem like that.

I told DH that the doctor had mentioned that DD seemed tight and he thought that we should take her back to physical therapy. So I called the pediatrician's office this morning and they gave us a referral. So once the referral goes through, I will be scheduling some more sessions with the PT that DD saw before. I am hoping that this is just a temporary thing that she will outgrow and that it isn't a sign of a larger problem.

I wish I had put more money into our FSA. I had to decide on the amount for the year before DD was even born. We have already gone through about 1/3 of the money and it isn't even the end of February yet.

Hi Hon
The internet can be a scary place at times...please don't go there. I think you and Hubby are correct--a bit of P.T. sounds like a great idea. They can also teach you and hubby all sorts of fun PT activities to do with DD at home.
Maybe her Childcare center would be willing to enhance her day with some fun infant stimulation activities?
I have done quite a bit of play therapy and massage therapy with babies. I often recommend play therapy in a warm therapy pool,,,does wonders for the moms too. You are doing all the right mom and dad things.

Funny note: I didn't walk till I was 14 months old,,,so you can imagine my anxiety when my first son started walking (almost running) at 9 months of age. Every child is unique and special and will sometimes (ok often) surprise the daylights out of you.
Hugs to you
Mel

 

[Ngwira]

So, DD is direct deposit, I'm guessing.

It is showing up about a week after approval? Hmmm, I thought they only issued funds on Fridays. Fingers crossed mine gets approved Mon/Tues and it's the same delay.

Yes.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

$4700 in bank bonuses..woah.. I bow down to you! That's boss!

Actually I did another $2200 for ds21, but yes it's a fun hobby.

Most came from that beautiful M&T gravy train that finally derailed. My gosh, now I wish I did more of that while it was easy. I was hesitant to create any potential trouble for us by having too many accounts.
For anyone wanting to know more about how to find banks offering bonuses, read here.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/

Many of them are so easy, it's like they're giving money away. Some, like BMO Harris, make you really work for it. I practically had to wag my tail and do tricks for it.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

DD had her 4 month wellness exam on Tuesday. The doctor commented on her having an overall tight demeanor. DD also had a shake in one of her arms that the doctor was initially concerned about, but then said that it was probably due to her being cold, since I had just undressed her. The doctor asked me about her milestones, such as smiling, making eye contact, picking things up and holding her hands together. She does all of those things, with the exception of rolling. But I had read in my baby book that not all babies start rolling at 4 months. She seems to be getting closer though, since she often rolls on to her side. But after I got home, I got a bit concerned and did way too much reading the internet. That obviously made me even more concerned, since hypertonia (high muscle ton) can be a sign of cerebral palsy. But she is really still too young to tell if it is a larger problem like that.

I told DH that the doctor had mentioned that DD seemed tight and he thought that we should take her back to physical therapy. So I called the pediatrician's office this morning and they gave us a referral. So once the referral goes through, I will be scheduling some more sessions with the PT that DD saw before. I am hoping that this is just a temporary thing that she will outgrow and that it isn't a sign of a larger problem.

I wish I had put more money into our FSA. I had to decide on the amount for the year before DD was even born. We have already gone through about 1/3 of the money and it isn't even the end of February yet.

I think it’s a great idea to have another evaluation/more sessions with PT. Early intervention is so important! Hopefully they say all is well at her next evaluation/session. And yes, TOTALLY normal not to be rolling yet. All five of mine were different with when they met their physical milestones.

Today was the day they released all the EIC and child tax credit returns to be processed also, so you might be caught up in all of that.

I forgot about that delay! We don’t qualify for the EIC, but after a careful look at our 1040, it looks like we did get a small amount from the refundable additional child tax credit. That explains the delay!

My car is up and running! Only took the mechanic about half an hour to replace the starter and it runs great now so it seems that the sensor replacement I did was also successful. The mechanic's charge was $78 which feels like money very well spent. New starter was $115 which I purchased myself from an auto parts store within walking distance of my house. Used a 15% off coupon on it. New battery with installation was $165 and the new sensor was $15. So, in total, I've spent almost $400 on car maintenance this past month. I've actually been very lucky since the last larger repair I had was over five years ago (also the starter) and it's just needed general maintenance (oil changes and a throttle position sensor that I installed myself) since.

I went and did some grocery shopping today after the mechanic left (hadn't been to a store in a couple of weeks) and also got my car washed. Nice to have it all clean and ready to go for hopefully at least another year!

Woot! Woot! I am so glad to hear of your victory in the car department

Actually I did another $2200 for ds21, but yes it's a fun hobby.

Most came from that beautiful M&T gravy train that finally derailed. My gosh, now I wish I did more of that while it was easy. I was hesitant to create any potential trouble for us by having too many accounts.
For anyone wanting to know more about how to find banks offering bonuses, read here.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/

Many of them are so easy, it's like they're giving money away. Some, like BMO Harris, make you really work for it. I practically had to wag my tail and do tricks for it.

That is amazing!! I am going to read up on that tonight!

Funny kind of afternoon. So all day I was waiting to hear about compensation for the PRN job. The director (who I know from the hospital and who is new to the University) had been trying to get a figure from HR. They had sent her a range. The low end was AWFUL while the higher end was moderate. I told her as great as the benefits are, I just could not accept anything in the lower end of the range. She was going to contact HR to get an exact figure for me. About 30 mins later, I get an email that says, ‘Congratulations on accepting a position with the University of...’ with links to a background check and info on where to go for a drug screening. I was like I called the director immediately as I had not accepted anything. She had no idea HR sent that and got on the phone with them as they had not even told her a figure. I FINALLY was told about compensation at about 4pm. The rate is 15% lower than the hospital, but all their benefits make up for it. She said she is going to work hard to get me a full time position as she loved having me on her team at the hospital and she knows I’ll be a great asset to the University. It’s definitely nice getting that kind of feedback! I am still kind of shocked about how this all turned out! I never would have expected my decision to make a cold call like that would turn into such an awesome opportunity. Even if full time takes a while, it’s another stream of income to help me meet my debt dumping goals!

 

[Ngwira]

Our federal tax refund is pending in our account with a date of 2/20.

 

[Ngwira]

I think it’s a great idea to have another evaluation/more sessions with PT. Early intervention is so important! Hopefully they say all is well at her next evaluation/session. And yes, TOTALLY normal not to be rolling yet. All five of mine were different with when they met their physical milestones.



I forgot about that delay! We don’t qualify for the EIC, but after a careful look at our 1040, it looks like we did get a small amount from the refundable additional child tax credit. That explains the delay!



Woot! Woot! I am so glad to hear of your victory in the car department



That is amazing!! I am going to read up on that tonight!

Funny kind of afternoon. So all day I was waiting to hear about compensation for the PRN job. The director (who I know from the hospital and who is new to the University) had been trying to get a figure from HR. They had sent her a range. The low end was AWFUL while the higher end was moderate. I told her as great as the benefits are, I just could not accept anything in the lower end of the range. She was going to contact HR to get an exact figure for me. About 30 mins later, I get an email that says, ‘Congratulations on accepting a position with the University of...’ with links to a background check and info on where to go for a drug screening. I was like I called the director immediately as I had not accepted anything. She had no idea HR sent that and got on the phone with them as they had not even told her a figure. I FINALLY was told about compensation at about 4pm. The rate is 15% lower than the hospital, but all their benefits make up for it. She said she is going to work hard to get me a full time position as she loved having me on her team at the hospital and she knows I’ll be a great asset to the University. It’s definitely nice getting that kind of feedback! I am still kind of shocked about how this all turned out! I never would have expected my decision to make a cold call like that would turn into such an awesome opportunity. Even if full time takes a while, it’s another stream of income to help me meet my debt dumping goals!

Congratulations!!

 

[Ngwira]

Actually I did another $2200 for ds21, but yes it's a fun hobby.

Most came from that beautiful M&T gravy train that finally derailed. My gosh, now I wish I did more of that while it was easy. I was hesitant to create any potential trouble for us by having too many accounts.
For anyone wanting to know more about how to find banks offering bonuses, read here.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/

Many of them are so easy, it's like they're giving money away. Some, like BMO Harris, make you really work for it. I practically had to wag my tail and do tricks for it.

We were able to get $700 last year. So far we are at $550 with no DD required. I go for the low hanging fruit since it’s tough for me to change DD at my job. I may go for the Chase $300.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Funny kind of afternoon. So all day I was waiting to hear about compensation for the PRN job. The director (who I know from the hospital and who is new to the University) had been trying to get a figure from HR. They had sent her a range. The low end was AWFUL while the higher end was moderate. I told her as great as the benefits are, I just could not accept anything in the lower end of the range. She was going to contact HR to get an exact figure for me. About 30 mins later, I get an email that says, ‘Congratulations on accepting a position with the University of...’ with links to a background check and info on where to go for a drug screening. I was like I called the director immediately as I had not accepted anything. She had no idea HR sent that and got on the phone with them as they had not even told her a figure. I FINALLY was told about compensation at about 4pm. The rate is 15% lower than the hospital, but all their benefits make up for it. She said she is going to work hard to get me a full time position as she loved having me on her team at the hospital and she knows I’ll be a great asset to the University. It’s definitely nice getting that kind of feedback! I am still kind of shocked about how this all turned out! I never would have expected my decision to make a cold call like that would turn into such an awesome opportunity. Even if full time takes a while, it’s another stream of income to help me meet my debt dumping goals!

Congratulations! I am so glad that this worked out for you and hoping the full time position opens up really soon.

 

[Dentam]

Woot! Woot! I am so glad to hear of your victory in the car department

Thank you so much! And I am so happy to hear about your new position - it sounds amazing!

 

[speedyfishy]

Actually I did another $2200 for ds21, but yes it's a fun hobby.

Most came from that beautiful M&T gravy train that finally derailed. My gosh, now I wish I did more of that while it was easy. I was hesitant to create any potential trouble for us by having too many accounts.

I just started in January and between my significant other and I we have 1000. We each did discover for $200 which was so easy and we did Wells Fargo for $300. I still plan on hitting some other banks.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Funny kind of afternoon. So all day I was waiting to hear about compensation for the PRN job. The director (who I know from the hospital and who is new to the University) had been trying to get a figure from HR. They had sent her a range. The low end was AWFUL while the higher end was moderate. I told her as great as the benefits are, I just could not accept anything in the lower end of the range. She was going to contact HR to get an exact figure for me. About 30 mins later, I get an email that says, ‘Congratulations on accepting a position with the University of...’ with links to a background check and info on where to go for a drug screening. I was like I called the director immediately as I had not accepted anything. She had no idea HR sent that and got on the phone with them as they had not even told her a figure. I FINALLY was told about compensation at about 4pm. The rate is 15% lower than the hospital, but all their benefits make up for it. She said she is going to work hard to get me a full time position as she loved having me on her team at the hospital and she knows I’ll be a great asset to the University. It’s definitely nice getting that kind of feedback! I am still kind of shocked about how this all turned out! I never would have expected my decision to make a cold call like that would turn into such an awesome opportunity. Even if full time takes a while, it’s another stream of income to help me meet my debt dumping goals

Congratulations!! That sounds like a great position! I took a 15% paycut for a job two years ago and it's the best decision I've made. Good benefits really make a big difference!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I just started in January and between my significant other and I we have 1000. We each did discover for $200 which was so easy and we did Wells Fargo for $300. I still plan on hitting some other banks.

We were able to get $700 last year. So far we are at $550 with no DD required. I go for the low hanging fruit since it’s tough for me to change DD at my job. I may go for the Chase $300.

After a while it does get harder and harder to find new ones. The amount above is for me and dh. Only Fulton Bank had a one per household rule and BMO Harris was so much work, dh would be too annoyed to follow it all.

 

[speedyfishy]

After a while it does get harder and harder to find new ones. The amount above is for me and dh. Only Fulton Bank had a one per household rule and BMO Harris was so much work, dh would be too annoyed to follow it all.

My SO refuses to do the work. He allows me to open the accounts and he just requires that I am organized with excel sheets. I was going to open BMO next because I also opened a credit card and I need to spend 3k in 3 months so I wanted to fund an account with BMO to meet the spend and try and get the bonus at the same time. Do you mind sharing why it was a hassle? I also don’t live in a target state, but I am hoping I can still get the bonus.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My SO refuses to do the work. He allows me to open the accounts and he just requires that I am organized with excel sheets. I was going to open BMO next because I also opened a credit card and I need to spend 3k in 3 months so I wanted to fund an account with BMO to meet the spend and try and get the bonus at the same time. Do you mind sharing why it was a hassle? I also don’t live in a target state, but I am hoping I can still get the bonus.

I'm not in a target state for BMO but at the time I applied, it was not limited to specific states. Dh won't do a thing for any of it but just signs where I tell him to. lol. Once the account was open, you had to call between certain hours that were not convenient to my work schedule. I ended up having to call from work at the end of my shift, but before leaving to go home. Once on the phone you had to answer a 100 questions about how much you plan to use the account, how much monthly DD, how much international banking, how many checks per month, how much $ in checks per month, etc. So then of course the bonus doesn't post automatically, despite me using a real DD, and following every rule precisely. I had to keep sending SM to ask why there's no bonus, etc.
Dh is not involved with bill paying for our own household and is just not good with banking stuff. He probably couldn't answer any of those questions from our local bank let alone do it for an account we really won't be using. I felt bad to put him on the spot like that.
He was very willing to trek 45 mins to the nearest Chase bank branch for the $300 bonus. For that we also took ds, then prob 19, so we walked in and within an hour or so walked out set to get $900 in bonuses. Sweet! I'm looking forward to doing it for ds17 who will turn 18 in the spring.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

PNC is also good for spending to complete requirements of a new cc. They allow $2000 initial funding by cc. I'm doing that bonus now. We don't have any new cc spending to satisfy but it was nice to get an addl 4000 Chase UR points.

 

[Ngwira]

DH and I sat down and confirmed our dates for our spring break 2019 trip to Disneyland. So next year looks like we’re doing WDW and Disneyland. Do you think an annual pass is warranted? It would be for 4 people, so not cheap. Hotels would be on points at Hyatt and flights via points on JetBlue. Is an annual pass worth it for 2 visits?

 

[Ngwira]

PNC is also good for spending to complete requirements of a new cc. They allow $2000 initial funding by cc. I'm doing that bonus now. We don't have any new cc spending to satisfy but it was nice to get an addl $4000 in Chase UR points.

So do you withdraw the $4,000 from the account to pay the credit card bill off? Or you “float” the funds?

 

[Ngwira]

I'm not in a target state for BMO but at the time I applied, it was not limited to specific states. Dh won't do a thing for any of it but just signs where I tell him to. lol. Once the account was open, you had to call between certain hours that were not convenient to my work schedule. I ended up having to call from work at the end of my shift, but before leaving to go home. Once on the phone you had to answer a 100 questions about how much you plan to use the account, how much monthly DD, how much international banking, how many checks per month, how much $ in checks per month, etc. So then of course the bonus doesn't post automatically, despite me using a real DD, and following every rule precisely. I had to keep sending SM to ask why there's no bonus, etc.
Dh is not involved with bill paying for our own household and is just not good with banking stuff. He probably couldn't answer any of those questions from our local bank let alone do it for an account we really won't be using. I felt bad to put him on the spot like that.
He was very willing to trek 45 mins to the nearest Chase bank branch for the $300 bonus. For that we also took ds, then prob 19, so we walked in and within an hour or so walked out set to get $900 in bonuses. Sweet! I'm looking forward to doing it for ds17 who will turn 18 in the spring.

We did the PNC one with real DD and collected $700 for 2 of us. I was previously with Chase which has a branch 2 minutes from work. I’ve gotten $200 from BMT bank and $200 from Wells Fargo. Working on $150 from Fulton right now.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We did the PNC one with real DD and collected $700 for 2 of us. I was previously with Chase which has a branch 2 minutes from work. I’ve gotten $200 from BMT bank and $200 from Wells Fargo. Working on $150 from Fulton right now.

Columbia was an easy one too, and not limited to one per household.