Debt Dumpers - 2015

[bcwife76]

Okay - did you send Murphy to visit me? How weird is it that after I posted about my dog having uti's before on your post and then she contracted some kind of bacterial infection? I called the vet yesterday afternoon and they took her in last night - she doesn't technically have a uti but has bacteria and swollen "lady parts". Sound gross and is gross!! So at the tune of $301 she is on two medications and has to have another urinalysis test in two weeks. The test showed that she was full of white blood cells and very few red ones to fight off the infection. The plus side is even though she just started the meds last night she seems to be doing much better already!!

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that What is with our pups this week? Glad to hear she is already improving!

 

[gracie1]

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that What is with our pups this week? Glad to hear she is already improving!

i don't know what is going on!! It's crazy. I just wish my dogs could have a cheap illness for once! Lol.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Poor puppies! Hope they feel better soon.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Well we have had a little bit of good news. My mother in laws father died a few years ago and she and her siblings decided to sell off some of the land they had. Each sibling received a significant amount of money from the sale. Sunday my in laws asked that everyone come to their house for dinner. They then presented each grandchild with two checks- 1 for college and 1 for fun money. They then gave each adult child (they have 3) a check. Our portion will pay off one credit card and provided us our spending money for Disney in two weeks. We had paid for our trip on a monthly basis but we had slacked on saving spending money so this will ensure nothing has to get added to credit cards!! Whoo hoo!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Well we have had a little bit of good news. My mother in laws father died a few years ago and she and her siblings decided to sell off some of the land they had. Each sibling received a significant amount of money from the sale. Sunday my in laws asked that everyone come to their house for dinner. They then presented each grandchild with two checks- 1 for college and 1 for fun money. They then gave each adult child (they have 3) a check. Our portion will pay off one credit card and provided us our spending money for Disney in two weeks. We had paid for our trip on a monthly basis but we had slacked on saving spending money so this will ensure nothing has to get added to credit cards!! Whoo hoo!!

That is so amazing!!!!! Congrats! It always helps boost your resolve when you can put a big chunk of money on the debt pile, you can do this!!!!

I feel like an addict that needs to come to this thread EVERY DAY for accountability. I love to spend money. I am VERY proud of myself when I can go a day without spending. I am so committed to this goal of debt free, so I must make a DAILY decision to stick with our monthly budget. So glad I found this thread!

 

[crazycatstacy]

I too love spending money and this time of year is incredibly difficult for both my budget and my diet!!

 

[PrincessKymm]

Well we have had a little bit of good news. My mother in laws father died a few years ago and she and her siblings decided to sell off some of the land they had. Each sibling received a significant amount of money from the sale. Sunday my in laws asked that everyone come to their house for dinner. They then presented each grandchild with two checks- 1 for college and 1 for fun money. They then gave each adult child (they have 3) a check. Our portion will pay off one credit card and provided us our spending money for Disney in two weeks. We had paid for our trip on a monthly basis but we had slacked on saving spending money so this will ensure nothing has to get added to credit cards!! Whoo hoo!!

Congrats!!!!

 

[PrincessKymm]

I have fallen off the wagon! I haven't been adding to my debt which is good BUT I need to pull my act together. My sister talked me into a cruise next year as well as my Disney trip.

I've gotten used to spending money I don't have so I'm determined to change my spending habits in the next 6 months to becoming more frugal (again). Since my sister is moving in with us during her divorce I will need to change my habits. I will be cooking nightly if possible so that will save a lot of money on eating out and lunches out. I'm also hoping it will help with my waistline!

This part of the year is so hard but my whole family knows I'm working on finding new employment since I'm so miserable where I am, so to prepare I am cutting a lot of my spending. Very frugal birthday party and gifts for DS and he's very happy. Total birthday cost including decorations, food, and gifts $120. I'd normally spend $200-$250! My dad bought a cake, my mom is bringing chips and soda and I'm buying frozen pizza's for his 3 friends that are sleeping over. I'll also make brownies and some appetizers that I already have in my cupboards.

As for Christmas, DS needs pants so I'm going to purchase 4 pairs at JCPenny on Black Friday using their $10 off $10 purchase they pass out in stores. Me, my mom and my sister will all go, get coupons and then each pay for a pair making them $8 a pair after taxes. I've had zero luck at the thrift stores and TJ Maxx because his size is so small. He needs a new winter coat which I will also buy on BF for $40 or so. My sister gets a 20% associate discount at JCP as well so she said she might buy him the coat for his birthday instead. He doesn't need a ton of shirts because my mom bought him some at Walmart for his birthday. My dad got him his big want for Christmas so I'm going to give him a couple of gift cards and then hit the exchange for used video games and CDs (he still uses them I swear!). I eventually load them on his iPod too but he listens to CD's on his boom box while he sleeps.

We cut cable and I don't really miss it too much so now I'm looking for other ways to save. I did save $60 a month by getting rid of it since my promo was over. Our cellphone bill is already as low as it can go. Any other suggestions?

 

[Dentam]

Well... my laptop which is over six years old has started to slowly die. It's to the point now that it has a mind of its own when I first turn it on. I won't even touch it and the mouse will be moving all over the screen, opening files, deleting things, creating new folders, etc. I'm afraid I'm going to need to replace it very soon.

My dog's surgery is next Friday. She has to spend the night at the vet's office after the surgery so they can monitor her and make sure she's recovering well.

So, basically I think my debt dumping is done for the year. I'll be back at it in 2016 though!

 

[dayvewc]

Well... my laptop which is over six years old has started to slowly die. It's to the point now that it has a mind of its own when I first turn it on. I won't even touch it and the mouse will be moving all over the screen, opening files, deleting things, creating new folders, etc. I'm afraid I'm going to need to replace it very soon.

My dog's surgery is next Friday. She has to spend the night at the vet's office after the surgery so they can monitor her and make sure she's recovering well.

So, basically I think my debt dumping is done for the year. I'll be back at it in 2016 though!

I hear you about the laptop - mine's 7 1/2 years old and the cooling fan no longer works so it shuts down after about 10 minutes. I need to replace it, but just trying to hold out a few more months. I'll have one of my 0% accounts paid off around March, and would like to wait to transfer that payment over to the new laptop.

Here's hoping the surgery goes well on the furry 4-legged family member!!

 

[Dentam]

Thanks, @dayvewc - today is the first day that I've turned on my laptop and it's behaving perfectly. I really hope it'll hang in there for a few more months also. I tend to like to use things until they're completely done... like my 15 year old car which still runs great. Knock on wood after the "behaving perfectly" and "runs great" statements by the way....

 

[dayvewc]

Ok, I'm not doing a full TR on my recent getaway weekend, but here are the basic highlights:

Flew down Wednesday Nov 4 after work, and didn't arrive at MCO until after midnight. Got to AKL Kidani Village and got checked in and crashed heavy.

Woke up Thursday and went over to AK, rode a couple of rides (Dinosaur and Expedition Everest) then went by guest services and upgraded my 4-day ticket to the Gold annual pass for $164.01. That is cheaper than buying the Memory Maker (so, yes, I do have pictures) though not quite as cheap as buying it in advance. But considering that I plan to return next fall for the same weekend, I justified it to myself as being cheaper than what the ticket cost would be for 2 trips. ;-)

Went back to the room for a quick nap, then headed over to MK to catch the Festival of Fantasy parade, ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Jungle Cruise, Seven Dwarfs, and Space Mountain before planting myself around the hub to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes and then back to the room for an early night.

Friday was spent at Hollywood Studios for the sole purpose of the Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. I did ride Star Tours a couple of times, and I love the Muppets 3D show, and of course I rode Tower or Terror and then Rockin' Roller Coaster, and even ate at my favorite restaurant in HS - 50's Prime Time Cafe. But the focus of the day was the Dancing Lights Spectacle.

Since it was the last year, and I had never seen them, I splurged on the Merry & Bright Dessert Party. The dessert party probably wasn't worth as much as I paid for it, maybe if I had taken advantage of the open bar. As for the lights themselves, let me just say it this way: If you need to sell a kid or two, do so and go see the lights. You can always have more kids. It was AWESOME!!!

Saturday was spent at EPCOT for the Food & Wine Festival. I got to go a couple of years ago, but didn't really get to experience it. I was kind of too amazed just looking at it all (and too broke to pay the prices). This time, I bought the Tasting Sampler Pack - again probably a bit more than it was worth, but it did give guaranteed priority seating at the 6:30 concert with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I love swing music, even the modern retro throwback versions.

Stayed for Illuminations, but I wound up in a less than ideal spot to watch it from. And that was entirely my fault. I staked out a spot along the fence near Norway, but too close to one of the trees, so a portion of the fireworks were obscured by the leaves.

Sunday, I woke up, checked my bags at the airline check-in counter, checked out of my room and went to AK again. Same rides plus the Safari ride, and it was back to catch the DME to the airport.

Which, indirectly to my twisted sense of humor, included the most amusing episode of the trip. Since the temperature had been in the 90's, I was wearing shorts, and the ones I wear actually fall below my knees, and so obscured the knee brace I wear. When I went through the scanner for the TSA, they pulled me to the side and asked if I was wearing a knee brace. I said "Yes" and reached down to pull my shorts up far enough to easily see the brace.

The agent said, "You don't need to do that, you can just drop your pants."

There was a brief pause, and he said, "That isn't what I meant, I mean you can just let it hang"

So I replied, "It does".

I'm a bit of a snot. but he laughed and I was laughing, so I guess it was all good.

Anyway, that is the $0.30 trip report. I must say that I really liked AKL Kidani Village. The theming was outstanding, and what I expect from Disney. I had the Savanna view, and it was amazing to see the ostriches, giraffes, and zebras outside the window - when I was in the room. That was my biggest regret, I was doing too much in too short a time to really enjoy the resort itself. My only dislike was the bathroom. It was HUGE, which was nice in a way, but absolutely made it noticeable that the rest of the room was smaller.

 

[gracie1]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.
I contacted all the credit agencies to put a fraud alert on my accounts and have also filed a report with the federal trade commission. Tomorrow I have to file the police report - and every card and bill that comes in the mail I then have to contact them and report fraud and fill out a ton of paper work. What a bad week
Oh - and to top it off I'm in the middle of trying to refinance my home - luckily they already received a copy of the credit report but I guess I will contact them tomorrow just to let them know of the identity theft in case they get a red flag notice from the ftc.
Sorry for such a long vent - just really angry and ticked off

 

[Angeejoe]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.
I contacted all the credit agencies to put a fraud alert on my accounts and have also filed a report with the federal trade commission. Tomorrow I have to file the police report - and every card and bill that comes in the mail I then have to contact them and report fraud and fill out a ton of paper work. What a bad week
Oh - and to top it off I'm in the middle of trying to refinance my home - luckily they already received a copy of the credit report but I guess I will contact them tomorrow just to let them know of the identity theft in case they get a red flag notice from the ftc.
Sorry for such a long vent - just really angry and ticked off

Omg Gracie!!! This is awful, I'm so sorry!! It sounds like a lot of work. How did you find out? Bills in the mail?

 

[Dentam]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.

I feel your pain. This happened to me years ago and I had to replace EVERYTHING. The thieves bought a cell phone and charged $400 in text messages on it. I notified T Mobile and they gave me the thief's phone number for that phone. Gave it to the police department and they said sorry, they didn't have the staff to follow up on it. At least with the police report I was able to prove I was a victim of identity theft and didn't have to pay for any of the charges. I did have to monitor my credit reports for a long time and it was a pain to replace all of my cards, open new checking and savings accounts, etc. So sorry that this happened to you!

 

[gracie1]

I feel your pain. This happened to me years ago and I had to replace EVERYTHING. The thieves bought a cell phone and charged $400 in text messages on it. I notified T Mobile and they gave me the thief's phone number for that phone. Gave it to the police department and they said sorry, they didn't have the staff to follow up on it. At least with the police report I was able to prove I was a victim of identity theft and didn't have to pay for any of the charges. I did have to monitor my credit reports for a long time and it was a pain to replace all of my cards, open new checking and savings accounts, etc. So sorry that this happened to you!

T-mobile was on the list of hard inquiries but the application was denied. There was also SAMs club, Nordstrom, bjs - bjs did approve the credit card but there were no charges to it so as of right this minute the only one that they did charge to that I know of was Macy's - over $1k. I really hope this is the only one - I'm going to file the police report tomorrow and I think I will also contact the irs to let them know about the identity theft just in case they try to mess with my taxes. This is such a pain - and the absolute last thing I need to deal with as a few weeks ago my father was diagnosed with cancer - so dealing with cancer, a refinance and identity theft - I'm at my breaking point I feel. Thanks for letting me vent - oh and if you read identity theft stories in line it will scare the crap out of you - thinking you might end up in jail and things like that

 

[Eureka]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.
I contacted all the credit agencies to put a fraud alert on my accounts and have also filed a report with the federal trade commission. Tomorrow I have to file the police report - and every card and bill that comes in the mail I then have to contact them and report fraud and fill out a ton of paper work. What a bad week
Oh - and to top it off I'm in the middle of trying to refinance my home - luckily they already received a copy of the credit report but I guess I will contact them tomorrow just to let them know of the identity theft in case they get a red flag notice from the ftc.
Sorry for such a long vent - just really angry and ticked off

Oh no! I'm sorry that all happened. What a violation, not to mention the pain of dealing with it all. My debit card number was stolen last year but luckily the bank caught it before the thief charged too much, but credit cards were thankfully never opened. I hope you get it all straightened out without too much damage.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.
I contacted all the credit agencies to put a fraud alert on my accounts and have also filed a report with the federal trade commission. Tomorrow I have to file the police report - and every card and bill that comes in the mail I then have to contact them and report fraud and fill out a ton of paper work. What a bad week
Oh - and to top it off I'm in the middle of trying to refinance my home - luckily they already received a copy of the credit report but I guess I will contact them tomorrow just to let them know of the identity theft in case they get a red flag notice from the ftc.
Sorry for such a long vent - just really angry and ticked off

Oh no!!!!! So sorry! What a horrible thing to happen at all, but right here at the start of the already busy holiday season? Even worse!

 

[gracie1]

Omg Gracie!!! This is awful, I'm so sorry!! It sounds like a lot of work. How did you find out? Bills in the mail?

I had logged on to my credit karma account and say hard inquiries that I didn't request so I called all of them - then yesterday I received my new credit card from Macy's and there is over a $1k charge so I contacted them right away and they have to mail me fraud documents. I did file a report with the ftc and I called today and left a message with the state police to see about a police report. It says some police departments won't do anything - so before I make millions of copies and go there I want to make sure they will do the report. And I put a fraud alert on my credit report. What a mess!!!

 

[OhMari]

Well it seems that I am now a victim of identity theft what a mess this is - credit cards have been opened and charged to my name. Ugh - just felt like venting. Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm pretty ticked off that the stores let them open the accounts and charge on the spot. I mean unless they made a fake id up to prove their identity - but the one place they opened the account in Ohio and I'm in delaware - kind of a red flag there.
I contacted all the credit agencies to put a fraud alert on my accounts and have also filed a report with the federal trade commission. Tomorrow I have to file the police report - and every card and bill that comes in the mail I then have to contact them and report fraud and fill out a ton of paper work. What a bad week
Oh - and to top it off I'm in the middle of trying to refinance my home - luckily they already received a copy of the credit report but I guess I will contact them tomorrow just to let them know of the identity theft in case they get a red flag notice from the ftc.
Sorry for such a long vent - just really angry and ticked off

My dh company has an offer for us, where we can sign up for $1.00 a week and if we end up with identity theft, they would take care of it all for us. With everything you are going thru-would this service be something that you would have been interested in. My dh company employee's over 6000 people. If everyone signed up, this company would be making $6,000 a week. Throughout the years, I have had a few of my credit card numbers stolen and used-(my Disney Chase) and also my debit card 15 years ago, when they first came out. I am really on the fence with this. Yes, they would take care of everything, but I think as a (consumer) I would still have to put a lot of time and effort dealing with this. To me, it seems like someone figured out how to make money with people getting ripped off by identity theft. I can see people that don't have the time and effort, yet you still are going to have to do some of the leg work.