Debt Dumpers - 2019

[DLgal]

i HATE what it costs to pay to park at airports! i was THRILLED BEYOND BELIEF when i recently learned that the resort dd works at near our local airport extends the same free secured long term parking and airport shuttle service they offer their paying guests as a benefit to their vacationing employees. we've got a 10 day trip in december and i was NOT looking forward to having to pay for the premium parking garage (b/c no way did we want to come back to a car covered under a foot or more of snow in one of the uncovered lots).

i swear one of the biggest budget killers with vacations is all the peripheral expenses (parking, tips, appliance rental...) it adds up so quick!

I should have just taken a Lyft.

 

[pblack]

My DH and I have been married for 5 years this August, and for most of those 5 years i've been "kindly" questioning why he still has his motorcycle that he never rides anymore. I'm excited to say that this weekend we are FINALLY selling his motorcycle! He found a used dealership that will give him $1500 for it, which we both feel is a fair price. We will also be saving ~$22/mo by cancelling his insurance (it's separate from our car insurance.) We had ear-marked this money for the tree removal we will be doing this fall, but since we still have some things we are wanting for our house (some new bedroom furniture to try and make extra space in our really small bedroom) and he also wants a PSP (he games a lot on his phone/ipad and he wants this for when we travel) I think we are going to set aside $1000 for the tree removal and use the other $500 for the bedroom/psp. Our credit card debt should be paid off in the next 2 months and i'll be able to easily pay ourselves back the other $500 for the tree removal. I'm so excited!!

 

[barkley]

We had ear-marked this money for the tree removal we will be doing this fall,

i'm so glad to finally live somewhere that tree removal is legal. the last 2 cities we lived in required a permit and then you had to replant from a list of approved trees. we had one that was in the stupidest placement at one home but it was less expensive to get a tree company to trim it to the smallest it could be short of being considered a removal.

 

[pblack]

i'm so glad to finally live somewhere that tree removal is legal. the last 2 cities we lived in required a permit and then you had to replant from a list of approved trees. we had one that was in the stupidest placement at one home but it was less expensive to get a tree company to trim it to the smallest it could be short of being considered a removal.

Luckily we don't need a permit. We talked about just trimming it, but it's a mulberry tree which is apparently fast growing. The difference between having it trimmed and removed entirely was only a few hundred dollars. If we trimmed it, we'd just have to do it again in another year or 2 and I just don't want the continued cost of having to trim it. We've talked about replacing it with another good shade tree, but something that won't need as much upkeep. This tree is great for shade, but it's so overgrown from the previous owners not taking care of it and there's branches that hang over our neighbors roof and our pool. When the leaves drop in the fall, our pool is a complete mess.

 

[jen7233]

My DH and I have been married for 5 years this August, and for most of those 5 years i've been "kindly" questioning why he still has his motorcycle that he never rides anymore. I'm excited to say that this weekend we are FINALLY selling his motorcycle! He found a used dealership that will give him $1500 for it, which we both feel is a fair price. We will also be saving ~$22/mo by cancelling his insurance (it's separate from our car insurance.) We had ear-marked this money for the tree removal we will be doing this fall, but since we still have some things we are wanting for our house (some new bedroom furniture to try and make extra space in our really small bedroom) and he also wants a PSP (he games a lot on his phone/ipad and he wants this for when we travel) I think we are going to set aside $1000 for the tree removal and use the other $500 for the bedroom/psp. Our credit card debt should be paid off in the next 2 months and i'll be able to easily pay ourselves back the other $500 for the tree removal. I'm so excited!!

Good convincing it sounds like! I think in general some motorized toys don't add up much on insurance, but it can be questionable if used. I really want a boat for years, so does DH, but we've never went ahead and purchased, probably won't ever get one just on this reason, will we actually use it enough? Sounds fun in theory though!

No exciting mid month finance talk. I have been reading some of the other budget board posts on Intersection of Fire and Disney, and checking out a few financial podcasts and YouTube. Some shows are interesting, some are yet just more people coming out of the woodwork to try to be Youtubers and podcasters that seem to hope to be the latest financially savvy person to listen to (way too many out there) and to try to make a following, but it's all more of the same, heard it pretty much all before, and rather make up my own mind what to do. It is pretty amazing though how much "stuff" is out there, almost too much noise. Still, it's something to put on for walks if I'm not in the mood to listen to music, series (i.e. Blackout, etc.) or listening to Disney podcasts.

-Emergency fund going along now at $1500.
-Maxed Roth IRA for the year.
-Still saving monthly other savings for Christmas, insurance, registrations/sports, medical bills, vet bills, etc. in Ally.
-Definitely stopping ESA investing next year.
-Pay car payment as is monthly until later next year, front load Roth investing again, then pushing extra money at car along with freed up ESA money, likely to knock it out by Dec 2021 or not much after.

 

[DLgal]

This is totally random, but I know this came up a bit ago on this thread and I wanted to share.

I made a reservation at Great Wolf Lodge for July for my son's birthday. They now allow you to purchase "insurance" (mine was $25 for a 2 night stay) that allows you to cancel by midnight 2 days before arrival with a full refund of the deposit. This is a great new offering since the deposit on those reservations can be really high and is nonrefundable if you have to cancel.

 

[jen7233]

This is totally random, but I know this came up a bit ago on this thread and I wanted to share.

I made a reservation at Great Wolf Lodge for July for my son's birthday. They now allow you to purchase "insurance" (mine was $25 for a 2 night stay) that allows you to cancel by midnight 2 days before arrival with a full refund of the deposit. This is a great new offering since the deposit on those reservations can be really high and is nonrefundable if you have to cancel.

Yes, I saw that now as an option, glad they added it. I actually booked GWL Williamsburg last week for a two day trip this summer after school is out and saw they were doing that. Wish I would have done it over the 60 day discount window. We have no other plans this summer. I figured this time, with it being summer our schedule is a little more flexible or should I say guaranteed we are going unless (knock on wood) something terrible happens, so I didn't get it. We went during school winter break last time for two nights, but I was so up in the air if it was going to happen then for some different reasons, I could have used that then! The deposit was high as it typically is, that's the one thing I hate about making reservations with them! They say one night deposit, but it's certainly more that I paid. But, I can also say at least when I get there I have so much less to pay!

 

[DLgal]

Yes, I saw that now as an option, glad they added it. I actually booked GWL Williamsburg last week for a two day trip this summer after school is out and saw they were doing that. Wish I would have done it over the 60 day discount window. We have no other plans this summer. I figured this time, with it being summer our schedule is a little more flexible or should I say guaranteed we are going unless (knock on wood) something terrible happens, so I didn't get it. We went during school winter break last time for two nights, but I was so up in the air if it was going to happen then for some different reasons, I could have used that then! The deposit was high as it typically is, that's the one thing I hate about making reservations with them! They say one night deposit, but it's certainly more that I paid. But, I can also say at least when I get there I have so much less to pay!

I only purchased the insurance because my sister and nephew are coming so we booked a huge suite, but if they can't at the last minute, I'd rather cancel and rebook a standard room for me and my kids.

 

[thiabelle]

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday!! Not too much new on the money front over here. DD wiped out in the kitchen and severely sprained her wrist. It's purple now. We went to urgent care and that was $56 but I was happy they could do the x ray right there. The doc said that we have to wait a week and see if the pain lessens... if not off to the orthopedic doc. She didn't think it was broken but said you never know with tiny little fractures. Luckily DD only has one full day of school with week (her last full day!! sniff) and some goofy senior exam schedule where she goes in at normal time and leaves after first or second period. Thank goodness she drives and has a car. The letter was very clear that seniors were NOT invited to stay on campus!!
DH keeps grumbling about having a budget meeting soon but I told him that didn't make sense since so much is up in the air for the fall. We won't really know what her expenses are until she gets to college. I'm happy with the budget the way it is... I hate change.
I did have some fun at work this week. One of the young folks I eat lunch with was asking questions about the upcoming HR fair and if she should start a 403B. She was really open to listening to my advice and asked me to go to the fair with her. We looked at her budget and I told her about YNAB. I kept stressing that time is her friend and that starting now and throwing as much money as possible into an account as early as possible was the right move. She already has a Roth which I told her was amazing... keep doing that too!!
I think I finally got my Disney credit card down to zero. I cancelled an AirBnB reservation I made for October because I am going to Disney in December. I didn't know that when I made the reservation. I can look at the fall leaves outside my windows or on Youtube. I just didn't need that extra expense.
This week doesn't look too spendy. I am getting my hair done on Friday but I have the money already set aside and in an envelope. Not sure what else we will do- maybe a movie?
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

 

[barkley]

DH keeps grumbling about having a budget meeting soon but I told him that didn't make sense since so much is up in the air for the fall. We won't really know what her expenses are until she gets to college. I'm happy with the budget the way it is... I hate change.

if she's going away for college you might be able to start getting some idea of 'household' expenses for her (be it full blown if living on her own, or the odds and ends if living in the dorm) by starting to do a weekly on-line look at the LOCAL (if nationwide put in the location identifier for the one near the campus-they can differ even within identical zip codes) store ads for places she may use near her college. it can give you an idea of the cost and sale trends-and what NEVER goes on sale near an individual campus (the stores near ours rarely do personal hygiene products or otc meds on sale b/c they have the captive audience of the students-the locals buy those items at more distanced away stores, the savvy students learn to keep lists and when they hit the minimum for free shipping do a walmart or target order).

 

[MN_Andi]

Mid-month check in. Last week I put the down payment on my invisalign ($500), and they are getting installed on 6/20 .

My budget is pretty shot for the month, but I am tracking everything that I'm purchasing, so I consider that win! I have more plans with people twice this next week, but I think that is money well spent. I also am working extra shifts at my 2nd job, so that will help out a bit too.

Have a great week everyone

 

[Eureka]

Yes, I saw that now as an option, glad they added it. I actually booked GWL Williamsburg last week for a two day trip this summer after school is out and saw they were doing that. Wish I would have done it over the 60 day discount window. We have no other plans this summer. I figured this time, with it being summer our schedule is a little more flexible or should I say guaranteed we are going unless (knock on wood) something terrible happens, so I didn't get it. We went during school winter break last time for two nights, but I was so up in the air if it was going to happen then for some different reasons, I could have used that then! The deposit was high as it typically is, that's the one thing I hate about making reservations with them! They say one night deposit, but it's certainly more that I paid. But, I can also say at least when I get there I have so much less to pay!

We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg when they were I think 7 and 9 and we all had a great time. We went in January so 84 degrees inside was awesome.

 

[jen7233]

We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg when they were I think 7 and 9 and we all had a great time. We went in January so 84 degrees inside was awesome.

Mine enjoy waterparks and pools so much. I've been to the ones in Kansas City and this one.

Pool membership paid for summer, pricey over $500 for the family but where we will spend most of our time this summer and is within walking distance. We are actually one of the cheaper pool memberships in the area, anywhere from $500 to $1400 is a standard range, mid East Coast area, so many pools are centered around communities and either bond or temporary type membership.

 

[makthompson]

I am so sorry for your loss! It hurts terribly to lose a parent. Not selfish at all to wish one more moment of time.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[pblack]

The motorcycle is officially gone! I thought my husband would change his mind at the last minute and decide not to sell, but he ended up going through with it. My original plan was to save $1000 and spending $500, but I think it's going to end up being more like we save $750 and spend ~$750 (depending on if he finds a PSP or not, he didn't have any luck this weekend). I have a courtesy hold on a balcony room for the cruise we want to go on in November of next year and the deposit for it is $250. We're both totally ok with pulling the extra $250 from this money for our deposit and it shouldn't be a problem to pay it back to ourselves before this fall. I want to lock in the price of the cruise now as I have a feeling the price will only go up seeing as it will be Carnival's brand new ship, Mardi Gras. We're also considering going a couple days early and spending 1.5-2 days in WDW since we've never been and we have to fly out to Orlando for the cruise anyway.

We did end up getting the dressers we wanted from Ikea this weekend and the wall shelf's I wanted to replace the bookcase in our bedroom. We have the dressers built in placed in the closet, now we just need to mount our TV to the wall to remove our old dresser, remove the bookcase, and hang the new wall shelves. This probably won't get done for a few weeks though as we leave for Texas on Friday to visit my BFF and her DH.

 

[barkley]

anyone else seeing cd rates dropping? i regularly check the rates to see if there's a good offer to lock in and potentially roll others into when their time comes due-i was surprised to see rates have decreased from 1/4-1/2 of a percent in the last week or so. i'm glad i did some minimum required deposits to open several at higher rates some months ago so that if rates keep going down i'll have somewhere to park those that will be coming due in the near future.

 

[jen7233]

anyone else seeing cd rates dropping? i regularly check the rates to see if there's a good offer to lock in and potentially roll others into when their time comes due-i was surprised to see rates have decreased from 1/4-1/2 of a percent in the last week or so. i'm glad i did some minimum required deposits to open several at higher rates some months ago so that if rates keep going down i'll have somewhere to park those that will be coming due in the near future.

I haven't been watching CD rates so I haven't noticed, I occasionally will look at them when I think I'm considering to make some shifts. There should still be some good finds out there.

 

[barkley]

I haven't been watching CD rates so I haven't noticed, I occasionally will look at them when I think I'm considering to make some shifts. There should still be some good finds out there.

i'm o.k. with what i've got-3% but i was surprised to see the full 1/2% drop on the current offerings vs. just about a week ago.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Trying to be responsible and make changes. It sucks. I want to do good but it's so hard sometimes! Shredded numerous credit cards this weekend- no reason to use them and have the temptation around. Getting a raise in July- about $40 a check. I called and upped my supplemental retirement by $25 a check starting then. I'm determined...

 

[imbatman]

Checking in before the end of the month because my oldest graduates high school next week and I don't have anything done. Kill me.

Took a hit when said almost graduates serpentine belt came off WHILE she was driving. Thankfully, she was not hurt and the alternator that was damaged was under warranty. However, the repair was $700. I wanted to cry. But we paid it and she volunteered to pay us back in full. And I'm grateful for that, but won't hold her feet to the fire. Right now, she's going through some awful issues with her BF. All of you praying folks, I can only ask that you pray she walks away from this relationship. We've offered to send her out of state, no matter the cost to us, if she wants to go to college somewhere else. And we are hoping she does that. I'd take All.The.Debt. if need be. There are some things worth doing.

Other than that, my hobby is starting to gain traction. I'm an author in my spare time. My first novella came out in March and a publisher has purchased the rights to my first full-length book, that'll come out in May 2020. I'm excited to see it start to come to fruition after the time, money, and effort I've put into this "hobby."

Looked through the finances yesterday and even with the $700 hit, we are still on track to have one CC paid off in July and another in August. I am getting a raise in Sept. but plan on rolling it into my Roth. I can retire early and have two pensions, one I can pull in 10 years and the other in 13. I still am keeping my eye on the long term goal of living comfortably after I (gladly) fly away from my desk job.