Debt Dumpers 2020

Bi monthly check in
I Wish I was checking in for a Disney reservation..lol. Have a great trip
dayvewc pixiedust: (Very tough decision you have). Be Safe!!

So far I've been able to not touch my savings account,,,the summer may be difficult as I am laid off till the Fall.

I have been so shocked by the increase in cost of everyday things I usually buy during this Pandemic.

So for the past 2 weeks I have been searching for those products and doing a 1 year stock pile of them. Yes I am worried about a second wave/surge in Covid cases next Fall.

So far I have:
Colgate toothpaste 99 cents each
Toilet Paper 24 pack =$3.99
Kleenex Scotties 6 pack = $2.99
Paper Towels 8 pack = $3.99 .
Purex HE Laundry Soap = $3.33
Bounce unscented Laundry sheets box = $3.33
Garbage Bags & Recycling Bags = $2.49
Kraft Peanut butter = $2.99
Tetley Tea Bags = $6.99
Pasta,,4 different varieties = $1.99

Still on my list to get are
Dish soap/ Antibacterial Palmolive = 88 cents
Bottle/Can veggie pasta sauces=hopefully $1.50 to $2.00 each
Rice,,on the look-out for prices to come down.
Wipes,,,,I don't ever think they are coming back in stock....I wish I had some for back to work in the Fall,(school).
If you have anything that you stock up on please share.

I dumped my travel rewards card for a new credit card that gives cash back.
I already have a huge amount of travel rewards banked from this past winter/Spring.

I am doing cloth bags for next Christmas and found a great Etsy seller(great quality) and ordered all my bags needed ahead of time.:santa:
I am redoing my Christmas list and being very aggressive with pairing it down.

Now I just really need to come up with a craft/hobby to keep me busy so I don't over eat.
Suggestions are welcome!

Hugs to everyone
Mel

i've been stocking up as well and we share many of the same items. a few additional items i've grabbed are things i don't use all the time but if i can have it on hand/it's shelf stable and will last until i do use it up then it keeps me from from going to the store more than absolutly needed-

cooking oil
seasoning mixes (i make 'brown bag chili' several times a year so i got a good supply vs. getting it just when i plan to make it, same with a few other all in one seasoning packs)
dishwasher tablets (yup, spendy to stock up on for an extended period but if it keeps me out of costco all the better to have it on hand)
soup (it's was in short supply/still not great so i've been grabbing extras for colder months)
canned meat (corn beef hash/chicken/tuna) just convenient and piece of mind to have on hand

otc meds-
there are a handful the 3 of use day to day and i had an issue finding a couple when all this went down so along with some traditional (for us) 'winter meds' like coricidin, dayquil/nyquil and such i've been getting next winter/spring's supply now.

got dh stocked up on shaving razors, ds on his acne pads.


I really need to decide how much i need in savings to feel "safe." A year's worth of expenses just doesn't feel like enough but I don't want to be ridiculous about it either. I'm paying 3.5 percent interest on my mortgage in order to hold on to cash earning less than 1% interest. I know a lot of smart people think that's a dumb move :scratchin.

i don't think it's dumb at all. we could have paid off our mortgage earlier than we did but in our marriage we had already experienced major entire income ending emergencies so i wanted money set aside and easily accessible. people will say 'oh, in an emergency there's unemployment or disability monies....' well, from experience i can say it can take months and months for private or public disability to get approved and issued-and we've all seen the nightmarish situation with unemployment applications these days. better in my mind to have a nest egg set aside. i think a year's worth is great and if it makes you feel better-set aside an additional amount equal to the deductible on your auto insurance and homeowner's. that way you are covered for a year and in the event of a big event. like dave ramsey is now telling people 'save, you can't eat your home'.
 
"and in the event of a big event, like Dave Ramsey is now telling people 'Save, you can't eat your home'."

So true! I am in higher ed, and I think that our future definitely looks somewhat dicey. I am not paying anything off right now but am continuing to save pretty hard during this pandemic--even if it is toward earmarked funds, I can always use those accounts for general living if I have to.
 
barkley

Great stock up items , thanks!
I can't believe I forgot the Tuna, which is something I eat at least 3 times a week.
Ever since having gallbladder problems and it's recent removal I can only handle Tuna and small portions of Chicken. Unfortunately no spices for me ,,, again darn gallbladder.

I think Clorox products are made in the USA,,here in Ontario Canada we haven't seen any on the shelves in 4 months.

I just added dishwasher tabs ,soups, Brita water filters and hot oatmeal packs to the list.

My thermometer finally arrived from Amazon (it took 5 months) and I did pick up a first aid kit ,extra OTC meds and a battery operated transistor radio.
I take one prescription med for thyroid replacement and I am going to try and get a 3 months advance supply on it. In March our pharmacies went to a 1 month supply only,, ordered by the government,,,I don't like not having extra of this med,,worries me.


We will be well prepared,thanks for sharing your ideas.
Hugs
Mel
 
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That's a tough one, maybe you're both excited and anxious! We were supposed to go early August but debated it back and forth, and ultimately decided no. I don't think I can take the heat in a mask, and mostly my kids probably can't. However, a big part of that with kids, even though they are older kids not little ones, they are still under 18 and I'd feel horrible with myself if they got sick over a vacation I knew had large numbers of coronavirus reported in the state. Also, I have reason to believe not everyone getting on an airplane is going to responsibly follow self quarantine 14 day rules if exposed prior, and I can't put my trust in someone else's ability to tell the truth or not. So, I thought oh heck no am I getting on an airplane right now.

I do have an couple of advantages.
  • No kids to worry about.
  • No planes or airports as I am driving.
  • The mask in the heat is bothersome, but you don't have to wear it if you are eating. I may gain more than the normal vacation weight. :rolleyes1
I was looking at the calendar, and the parks are only open 10 hours a day.
  • Animal Kingdom is 8 - 6 daily,
  • Magic Kingdom is 9 - 7,
  • Hollywood Studios is 10 - 8, and
  • Epcot is 11 - 9.
Paired with no fireworks or evening shows, and no parades, the later openings at EP and HS will make for nice lazy mornings (since I'm staying in an Epcot area resort) and the early closings for AK and MK will mean plenty of resort time in the evening. Something I usually miss out on going from park open to close.
 


My concern with having/depending on life insurance offered through our jobs is that if you become sick enough to lose your job, you also lose your life insurance.
We had a coworker that I lost touch with after I moved to the division where I work now. She developed cancer in her early 50s and battled it several years. She was intermittently out of work and eventually out of work for at least 6 months which is longer than the time limit that our hospital will hold a job for someone. They let her go/fired her eventually which I would assume would cancel her benefits package (health/life/dental ins.) She later died and I hoped, for the sake of her family, she had separate life insurance.
Looking back now it seems naïve, but until that point, it never dawned on me that it could happen in that order; I had always worried about needing life insurance for things like car or plane accidents. That's when I switched to my own policy separate from work. My job still provides a minimal amount (I think one year's salary) and we don't pay toward that at all.
I'm a nurse and the only time I feared for my job was when I worked in public health in 2008 and my role funding was paid by our school systems (I was a school nurse). They did end up cutting two positions and I went ahead and left, knowing I was one of the newest team members (we had been considering moving and that was the final push).
That is...until my system laid off a bunch of people, including some nurses, just before COVID. Now who knows what will happen due to the pandemic and the decrease in revenue due to cancelled surgeries and decreased admissions for months. I'm glad we have our own life insurance policies on top of work- if we had lost our jobs we would have lost our life insurance and I know we have a back up for a long time!
 
As of today, I have 4 more payments left on our Sapphire and 7 on the Discover!!! That is the conservative, throwing no extra money at it. I'm so excited!!! :rockband:
Grateful I'm going conservative because on my vacation I ended up having to buy four new tires (hit nails on the road) AND my battery went dead. Savings covered it all, but the savings is back to baby status. DH and I are so grateful that when both things happened, we were in a safe spot and that it didn't happen on the way to/from Stanford appointments. And we both were happy that we have savings to cover it. Put it on the card for points and now are paying that off this week.
This got me thinking...
I love our Chase Sapphire Preferred card but right now would be a good idea to switch to our Discover card and enjoy the cash back. Hmm... then again, if we keep racking up Chase points, we'd have enough when this pandemic is over to do something really special. I will have to sleep on this a while.
I need to think this over too. However, it'd be awesome to have so many travel points waiting!
 
My husband has been accepted into an online master's program that begins this fall. It will cost approximately $15k and we are paying out of pocket. I decided to open a 529 plan in his name so we can transfer money out of our kids plans and into his. Between our boys, we have about $75k saved, and they will almost definitely not need it all for higher education due to their
disabilities. If anything, they will do a certificate or skills based trade program and we still have a few years to save for them. My 15 year old son wants to be a pastry chef or work in a bakery and the younger one has no real career goals, but wants to work at Target or a Lego store, so I think we can spare the $15k that my husband needs. He wanted to use our savings, but I convinced him this was a better idea.
 


I ended up cancelling my AA flight out to Orlando in November and got my points back. Instead we our now booked on SW flights out there and back. Our flight out there I was able to get for a pretty cheap price, but our return flight was kinda pricey. I'm hoping that SW has some kind of sales between now and then so I can get some points back. But seeing as our flights back are on the Saturday before Thanksgiving i'm not holding my breath. I'm still not even sure if our cruise is actually happening or not, but at least this gives me the peace of mind that I can cancel my flights and get my points back at any time. We're also still unsure about our Texas trip in a few weeks.
 
I ended up cancelling my AA flight out to Orlando in November and got my points back. Instead we our now booked on SW flights out there and back. Our flight out there I was able to get for a pretty cheap price, but our return flight was kinda pricey. I'm hoping that SW has some kind of sales between now and then so I can get some points back. But seeing as our flights back are on the Saturday before Thanksgiving i'm not holding my breath. I'm still not even sure if our cruise is actually happening or not, but at least this gives me the peace of mind that I can cancel my flights and get my points back at any time. We're also still unsure about our Texas trip in a few weeks.
Had a friend fly to Wyoming and back last week for a wedding. The guy across the aisle wore a full Boba Fett mask for the flight back. She said she's also never seen such a clean plane and the airports were like ghost towns.
 

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Our november cruise just got canceled 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. Carnival just posted that their 2 new ships have been delayed. I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before we heard something about our cruise, but I'm still really bummed about it. At least the news came before our final payment date. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
 
Our november cruise just got canceled 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. Carnival just posted that their 2 new ships have been delayed. I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before we heard something about our cruise, but I'm still really bummed about it. At least the news came before our final payment date. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I just saw the news posted in my TA group and was coming to make sure you saw it too. Sorry your cruise got cancelled, but glad it was before your PIF date.
 
Bi monthly check in
I Wish I was checking in for a Disney reservation..lol. Have a great trip
dayvewc pixiedust: (Very tough decision you have). Be Safe!!

So far I've been able to not touch my savings account,,,the summer may be difficult as I am laid off till the Fall.

I have been so shocked by the increase in cost of everyday things I usually buy during this Pandemic.

So for the past 2 weeks I have been searching for those products and doing a 1 year stock pile of them. Yes I am worried about a second wave/surge in Covid cases next Fall.

So far I have:
Colgate toothpaste 99 cents each
Toilet Paper 24 pack =$3.99
Kleenex Scotties 6 pack = $2.99
Paper Towels 8 pack = $3.99 .
Purex HE Laundry Soap = $3.33
Bounce unscented Laundry sheets box = $3.33
Garbage Bags & Recycling Bags = $2.49
Kraft Peanut butter = $2.99
Tetley Tea Bags = $6.99
Pasta,,4 different varieties = $1.99

Still on my list to get are
Dish soap/ Antibacterial Palmolive = 88 cents
Bottle/Can veggie pasta sauces=hopefully $1.50 to $2.00 each
Rice,,on the look-out for prices to come down.
Wipes,,,,I don't ever think they are coming back in stock....I wish I had some for back to work in the Fall,(school).
If you have anything that you stock up on please share.

I dumped my travel rewards card for a new credit card that gives cash back.
I already have a huge amount of travel rewards banked from this past winter/Spring.

I am doing cloth bags for next Christmas and found a great Etsy seller(great quality) and ordered all my bags needed ahead of time.:santa:
I am redoing my Christmas list and being very aggressive with pairing it down.

Now I just really need to come up with a craft/hobby to keep me busy so I don't over eat.
Suggestions are welcome!

Hugs to everyone
Mel

Hi there! Long time lurker of this thread!! I may actually contribute my goals towards the end of the year... 2020 has brought me a lot of changes and I don't want to commit myself to this quittteeee yet.

Anyway, the reason that I'm posting (and quoting you) is to let you know that Costco has their Kirkland Signature disinfecting wipes (variety pack 304 count) back in stock for two-day delivery. I was able to add them to my cart this morning for two day delivery, but the website said it'd be more like 5 day delivery which is fine for me because I'm stocked up on Clorox wipes for the time being. (I traveled to Switzerland in February right when the virus became something that people were talking about. I was able to get back to the US in time to stock up on all sorts of disinfecting products before the local stores went bare.) Also, Borax powder might be something to look into stocking up on, if available in your area.
 
When it rains...

Remember my car woes last week? Well, we got home and our TV wouldn't work. That ended up being a no-cost fix because my BIL had a spare. And last night, my oven took a nose dive. The range still works but the heating element is not working. The possible fixes are an element ($150) or a motherboard ($300). We found a new one for $575 ($618 with tax) locally that I can get for 0% financing for 18 months. I have one more place to check in town, but would you agree that outright replacing a 15-year-old range/oven is wiser?
 
Eesh. Summer weather = summer electricity bills. Mine EXPLODED. I definitely need to be way more cognizant of what I set the thermostat to. Working from home means it's usually on constantly.
 
I would definitely replace the oven. Sometimes you just have to say "it owes me nothing and it just going to start costing way too much now". I am in much the same position with our 22 year old oven. Bits are slowly stopping working but the Covid-19 restrictions mean I can't really replace it just yet as I need to old one taking away and the new one installing, services that aren't available at the moment here in the UK.
 
When it rains...

Remember my car woes last week? Well, we got home and our TV wouldn't work. That ended up being a no-cost fix because my BIL had a spare. And last night, my oven took a nose dive. The range still works but the heating element is not working. The possible fixes are an element ($150) or a motherboard ($300). We found a new one for $575 ($618 with tax) locally that I can get for 0% financing for 18 months. I have one more place to check in town, but would you agree that outright replacing a 15-year-old range/oven is wiser?

replacement is the way to go. these days getting 15 years out of any major appliance is amazing. it gets to a point where the replacement parts (if you can even find them) get more costly than newer, more efficient replacements.

you might also check your local utility providers website-they may be offering rebates (ours frequently do if you replace older models with ones that have higher ratings-it can help offset the cost).
 
replacement is the way to go. these days getting 15 years out of any major appliance is amazing. it gets to a point where the replacement parts (if you can even find them) get more costly than newer, more efficient replacements.

you might also check your local utility providers website-they may be offering rebates (ours frequently do if you replace older models with ones that have higher ratings-it can help offset the cost).

Agree about checking your utility provider. Not sure if they still have it but ours gave us a new energy efficient fridge to replace our older model. It's a basic freezer on top fridge but was the same as what my mom would have bought so it worked out well. We'd had the fridge since I was around 4, their are pictures of my having the box as a house for a bit, and it got replaced with this program in 2013 or 2014 so it lasted about 30 years.
 

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