Debt Dumpers - 2016

[Eureka]

Hey everyone. Hope Thanksgiving was good. @Jen and Ashwin sorry your holiday got derailed and you used up all your meds but I hope the retrieval went well and I'll be crossing my fingers for you.

Our update: end of the year crunch has set in. Last week we had to replace the starter on the van...the one we should just give up on but can't afford two car payments at once. We had to take the money from savings but at least we had it. That makes about $1400 we've put into it this fall. Grr. I have started on our holiday shopping and have gotten some great deals, but still feel like I'm spending a ton of money I shouldn't right now. We went to see Shear Madness this weekend, and put the tickets on the credit card which was the first time using it since we paid it off. Hoping I can get it paid off before the holidays. Can't wait until January when everything in terms of my retirement resets, so we can start putting more into college savings again, not use the credit card and get back to how it was before I lost my old job.

Oh, and DS15 got his learners permit this weekend! He'll be 16 in two weeks....how do they grow up so fast?! Now we need to teach him to drive and find/price out drivers ed though he probably won't have time to take it until summer.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ok, I'm coming on here so that maybe I'll stop shopping! Phew! I think my credit card is about to catch fire! It will be paid off no problem though Honestly, we haven't done too bad. Bought a lot, but other than one gift for my brother-in-law and one gift for my niece, we didn't purchase anything on Black Friday that wasn't at least 50% off.

Still finished off the month with a pretty good chunk of change towards DH's FINAL car payment next month!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

 

[dayvewc]

Hey all. I've been very sporadic recently. Somehow, life has just gotten super hectic the past few months. I'm chugging along, but I think I've been losing ground lately.

Updating news (and I really don't remember what I've shared before, so some of this might be repeats)

• Dad was diagnosed in late August with a form of leukemia
• he underwent 3 rounds of chemo
• the test results this week did not show any of the leukemia cells present, but he will continue with doctor visits and regular checks

• There was some back and forth with the Missouri Attorney General's office and the timeshare company that I have had such a bad time with all year. (I filed the MO AG complaint in April, but didn't hear anything back until September, but they were able to get the company to communicate at least)
• The company offered a resolution to my attorneys that I have accepted, just waiting now for it to be settled. Should happen by Dec 20
• As part of the settlement, I am not allowed to make any disparaging remarks about the company, so I won't mention them

• One of my roommates moved out in August, and I got a new one that moved in in September. The new one has been much better about paying his share of rent, so that is good, but he is planning to move out next spring, either March or April
• But, I have another friend that is thinking about moving in after the holidays. He wants to move away from where he is living now, the only delay is trying to find a job nearby first. (neither of us want him to move in if he is unemployed)

I think that is about it. oh, wait, the graduate program I am in kicked my butt this fall. I had to drop one of the classes. Going to start back in January, so hoping things get better after the new year.

@Jen and Ashwin , good luck!!! And everyone else keep on chugging!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Hey all. I've been very sporadic recently. Somehow, life has just gotten super hectic the past few months. I'm chugging along, but I think I've been losing ground lately.

Updating news (and I really don't remember what I've shared before, so some of this might be repeats)

• Dad was diagnosed in late August with a form of leukemia
• he underwent 3 rounds of chemo
• the test results this week did not show any of the leukemia cells present, but he will continue with doctor visits and regular checks

• There was some back and forth with the Missouri Attorney General's office and the timeshare company that I have had such a bad time with all year. (I filed the MO AG complaint in April, but didn't hear anything back until September, but they were able to get the company to communicate at least)
• The company offered a resolution to my attorneys that I have accepted, just waiting now for it to be settled. Should happen by Dec 20
• As part of the settlement, I am not allowed to make any disparaging remarks about the company, so I won't mention them

• One of my roommates moved out in August, and I got a new one that moved in in September. The new one has been much better about paying his share of rent, so that is good, but he is planning to move out next spring, either March or April
• But, I have another friend that is thinking about moving in after the holidays. He wants to move away from where he is living now, the only delay is trying to find a job nearby first. (neither of us want him to move in if he is unemployed)

I think that is about it. oh, wait, the graduate program I am in kicked my butt this fall. I had to drop one of the classes. Going to start back in January, so hoping things get better after the new year.

@Jen and Ashwin , good luck!!! And everyone else keep on chugging!

Sending good wishes for your father. I am glad his results show not leukemia. Let's hope it stays that way. Also glad the timeshare debacle seems to be coming to an end. And thank you for the good wishes. We are currently just waiting to hear news from the clinic and it has been a very stressful and emotional week. I am hoping I will hear something today or tomorrow.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Sending good wishes for your father. I am glad his results show not leukemia. Let's hope it stays that way. Also glad the timeshare debacle seems to be coming to an end. And thank you for the good wishes. We are currently just waiting to hear news from the clinic and it has been a very stressful and emotional week. I am hoping I will hear something today or tomorrow.

Good luck to you!!

 

[Eureka]

Great news about your dad, @dayvewc!

@Jen and Ashwin any news about your retrieval, did it go well?

Today I've been feeling overwhelmed. Thanks ahead of time for listening. Warning, its long!

Yesterday I took older Ds out driving for the first time in a school parking lot. It was the first time when driving our "good car" (i.e. not the van that's currently a money pit) without highway noise in awhile and I noticed it was running "loud." DH and I went out for dinner so I told him I was going to make an appointment for it near my office (48 miles from my house) for Monday and have their shuttle take me to/from work three miles down the road.

Fast forward to today, when I had tickets to go with a friend to a book signing for Jacques Pepin, one of my favorites. DH went to the movies about 30 min away and I was heading out in the car to the metro station and it's not only running loud but starting to overheat. I pull into the only place I see around that's open on Sunday, a Valvoline. They saw right away that my coolant is leaking. They don't know if is coming from the reservoir or radiator but fill it back up and I make it home (3-4 miles away) just barely. A friend was very nice and drove me the 15 miles to the metro station. DH could just pick me up after younger DS soccer game later and we'd figure out what to do tomorrow. Problem is I just started my new job and can't take leave time yet and in fact Friday took a sick day bc younger DS was sick, so I need to go to the office tomorrow.

Then when I was about to come home, DH called, the van wouldn't start, so I'd have to find another way home. Luckily DS has friends on his team and could get a ride to the game. I was with my best friend at the signing, she had driven into DC and said she'd drive me home, which was way out of her way. Get home and van is gone. Older DS said they found a wire loose to the battery and tightened it and it started, so then DH went to the game. So now the plan is I will call AAA in the morning and go with the tow truck to Toyota and hope they can give me a loaner or rental so I can go to work. But what a pain, and our checking account is very low right now from holiday shopping in addition to normal bills, and we've had to put one of the van repairs and ez pass rebill on a credit card because they upped our rebill amount by hundreds of dollars without telling us and the debit card we use for that got refused, so we had to make a one time payment with the credit card.

Older DS birthday is next weekend and we have track meets and away soccer games and other school events all week so two working cars is a must.

So all in all, holiday time is just not very magical for me right now. I hate feeling like this, even though I know it will work out and nobody has died or anything. I just feel like all the progress I thought we would make with this new job, is not happening.

 

[Ngwira]

Great news about your dad, @dayvewc!

@Jen and Ashwin any news about your retrieval, did it go well?

Today I've been feeling overwhelmed. Thanks ahead of time for listening. Warning, its long!

Yesterday I took older Ds out driving for the first time in a school parking lot. It was the first time when driving our "good car" (i.e. not the van that's currently a money pit) without highway noise in awhile and I noticed it was running "loud." DH and I went out for dinner so I told him I was going to make an appointment for it near my office (48 miles from my house) for Monday and have their shuttle take me to/from work three miles down the road.

Fast forward to today, when I had tickets to go with a friend to a book signing for Jacques Pepin, one of my favorites. DH went to the movies about 30 min away and I was heading out in the car to the metro station and it's not only running loud but starting to overheat. I pull into the only place I see around that's open on Sunday, a Valvoline. They saw right away that my coolant is leaking. They don't know if is coming from the reservoir or radiator but fill it back up and I make it home (3-4 miles away) just barely. A friend was very nice and drove me the 15 miles to the metro station. DH could just pick me up after younger DS soccer game later and we'd figure out what to do tomorrow. Problem is I just started my new job and can't take leave time yet and in fact Friday took a sick day bc younger DS was sick, so I need to go to the office tomorrow.

Then when I was about to come home, DH called, the van wouldn't start, so I'd have to find another way home. Luckily DS has friends on his team and could get a ride to the game. I was with my best friend at the signing, she had driven into DC and said she'd drive me home, which was way out of her way. Get home and van is gone. Older DS said they found a wire loose to the battery and tightened it and it started, so then DH went to the game. So now the plan is I will call AAA in the morning and go with the tow truck to Toyota and hope they can give me a loaner or rental so I can go to work. But what a pain, and our checking account is very low right now from holiday shopping in addition to normal bills, and we've had to put one of the van repairs and ez pass rebill on a credit card because they upped our rebill amount by hundreds of dollars without telling us and the debit card we use for that got refused, so we had to make a one time payment with the credit card.

Older DS birthday is next weekend and we have track meets and away soccer games and other school events all week so two working cars is a must.

So all in all, holiday time is just not very magical for me right now. I hate feeling like this, even though I know it will work out and nobody has died or anything. I just feel like all the progress I thought we would make with this new job, is not happening.

Aww Eureka..that sucks. I'm so sorry. It will get better. As an aside, we also had car problems..DH left the light on twice this week leading to a dead battery and also refused to get gas because it was 10 cents higher than he wanted to pay..ended up breaking down on a busy intersection..called aaa and luckily no charge for the tow but our mechanic charged us $100 for a new battery.
Christmas spend, normal bills and also 12k for my new car and almost 3k for our new windows plus 8k "churning" has led to a sad checking account.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Great news about your dad, @dayvewc!

@Jen and Ashwin any news about your retrieval, did it go well?

Today I've been feeling overwhelmed. Thanks ahead of time for listening. Warning, its long!

Yesterday I took older Ds out driving for the first time in a school parking lot. It was the first time when driving our "good car" (i.e. not the van that's currently a money pit) without highway noise in awhile and I noticed it was running "loud." DH and I went out for dinner so I told him I was going to make an appointment for it near my office (48 miles from my house) for Monday and have their shuttle take me to/from work three miles down the road.

Fast forward to today, when I had tickets to go with a friend to a book signing for Jacques Pepin, one of my favorites. DH went to the movies about 30 min away and I was heading out in the car to the metro station and it's not only running loud but starting to overheat. I pull into the only place I see around that's open on Sunday, a Valvoline. They saw right away that my coolant is leaking. They don't know if is coming from the reservoir or radiator but fill it back up and I make it home (3-4 miles away) just barely. A friend was very nice and drove me the 15 miles to the metro station. DH could just pick me up after younger DS soccer game later and we'd figure out what to do tomorrow. Problem is I just started my new job and can't take leave time yet and in fact Friday took a sick day bc younger DS was sick, so I need to go to the office tomorrow.

Then when I was about to come home, DH called, the van wouldn't start, so I'd have to find another way home. Luckily DS has friends on his team and could get a ride to the game. I was with my best friend at the signing, she had driven into DC and said she'd drive me home, which was way out of her way. Get home and van is gone. Older DS said they found a wire loose to the battery and tightened it and it started, so then DH went to the game. So now the plan is I will call AAA in the morning and go with the tow truck to Toyota and hope they can give me a loaner or rental so I can go to work. But what a pain, and our checking account is very low right now from holiday shopping in addition to normal bills, and we've had to put one of the van repairs and ez pass rebill on a credit card because they upped our rebill amount by hundreds of dollars without telling us and the debit card we use for that got refused, so we had to make a one time payment with the credit card.

Older DS birthday is next weekend and we have track meets and away soccer games and other school events all week so two working cars is a must.

So all in all, holiday time is just not very magical for me right now. I hate feeling like this, even though I know it will work out and nobody has died or anything. I just feel like all the progress I thought we would make with this new job, is not happening.

I am sorry to hear about your car troubles. But honestly, the car troubles aren't related to your new job. It sounds to me like you have made tremendous progress the last few months making up retirement savings for the months you were looking for work over the summer. You should feel really proud of that.

As for our IVF, it hasn't gone as well as we would have hoped. We got results from the clinic and we have just 3 eggs that made it to the blastocyst phase. I was really hoping for more, like 5 or 6, because that would give us a good chance to conceive now and have eggs left over later to try for a sibling. I am pretty heart broken and worried. If this doesn't work then we will have to save for a long time to try again, it would probably cost us $30k for the next round because insurance would cover almost nothing. The embryos have been biopsied and cryopreserved. The biopsy samples have been sent to another lab for genetic testing and we should know in about a week or so if all 3 embryos are chromosomally sound. I am praying that they all are, so we at least have 3 good embryos to try with. I have my next appointment on the 15th where we will discuss everything and set up my schedule for transplantation.

And on top of that, the sump pump in our basement started spewing water and flooded a huge area. We were lucky that not much was in that area so there wasn't really any damage to stuff. But I had to call the plumber and it cost us $115. Wasn't really planning for an expense like that, so it sucks. But I am thankful that it wasn't worse. I am really upset about it though because I believe it was caused by construction on an oil pipeline that is running through our neighborhood. I can see the construction crew outside my back window. They have been working for over a week, getting here at 6am, even on weekends. And when they work, the whole house shakes. I work from home several days a week and this is extremely distracting and the noise and vibrations are giving me a constant headache. I am going to call an attorney today to discuss the issue, since I am concerned about ongoing damage to the house.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Yeesh, I'm sorry for everyone's run of bad luck lately I hope you all have some Christmas magic coming your way! I'll be keeping all of you in my thoughts.

It's going to be a tight month around here with paying off DH's car. We have the money, but I know we will probably be slightly over budget with Christmas presents too. We don't go overboard on Christmas, but I like to have at least one thoughtful gift for each family member. I'm looking forward to not having the car payment in January though. That will free up over $500 each month in our budget.

 

[Eureka]

I am sorry to hear about your car troubles. But honestly, the car troubles aren't related to your new job. It sounds to me like you have made tremendous progress the last few months making up retirement savings for the months you were looking for work over the summer. You should feel really proud of that.

As for our IVF, it hasn't gone as well as we would have hoped. We got results from the clinic and we have just 3 eggs that made it to the blastocyst phase. I was really hoping for more, like 5 or 6, because that would give us a good chance to conceive now and have eggs left over later to try for a sibling. I am pretty heart broken and worried. If this doesn't work then we will have to save for a long time to try again, it would probably cost us $30k for the next round because insurance would cover almost nothing. The embryos have been biopsied and cryopreserved. The biopsy samples have been sent to another lab for genetic testing and we should know in about a week or so if all 3 embryos are chromosomally sound. I am praying that they all are, so we at least have 3 good embryos to try with. I have my next appointment on the 15th where we will discuss everything and set up my schedule for transplantation.

And on top of that, the sump pump in our basement started spewing water and flooded a huge area. We were lucky that not much was in that area so there wasn't really any damage to stuff. But I had to call the plumber and it cost us $115. Wasn't really planning for an expense like that, so it sucks. But I am thankful that it wasn't worse. I am really upset about it though because I believe it was caused by construction on an oil pipeline that is running through our neighborhood. I can see the construction crew outside my back window. They have been working for over a week, getting here at 6am, even on weekends. And when they work, the whole house shakes. I work from home several days a week and this is extremely distracting and the noise and vibrations are giving me a constant headache. I am going to call an attorney today to discuss the issue, since I am concerned about ongoing damage to the house.

I meant the other types of financial progress...but I do take your point, we have put aside a lot of retirement savings in three months. Toyota just called, water pump is bad, plus then of course there's assorted things that aren't an immediate need but with driving 500 miles a week, we're doing them now. They still can't tell if the intermittent issues with power steering are related or not (let's hope so, so it will all just be fixed) but so far it's looking like over $1000. On the credit card it will go but this is the first major stuff we've needed done with this car, and it didn't die on the side of the road. I'm driving a keyless start corolla today which is really nice....hmm...food for thought, lol.

I'm so sorry to hear your cycle has not gone as well as hoped. I hope they are chromosomally sound and that a transplant ends up with a healthy pregnancy and baby for you guys. Keep us posted.

Yes, your house shaking from construction can't be a good sign!

 

[Ngwira]

I am sorry to hear about your car troubles. But honestly, the car troubles aren't related to your new job. It sounds to me like you have made tremendous progress the last few months making up retirement savings for the months you were looking for work over the summer. You should feel really proud of that.

As for our IVF, it hasn't gone as well as we would have hoped. We got results from the clinic and we have just 3 eggs that made it to the blastocyst phase. I was really hoping for more, like 5 or 6, because that would give us a good chance to conceive now and have eggs left over later to try for a sibling. I am pretty heart broken and worried. If this doesn't work then we will have to save for a long time to try again, it would probably cost us $30k for the next round because insurance would cover almost nothing. The embryos have been biopsied and cryopreserved. The biopsy samples have been sent to another lab for genetic testing and we should know in about a week or so if all 3 embryos are chromosomally sound. I am praying that they all are, so we at least have 3 good embryos to try with. I have my next appointment on the 15th where we will discuss everything and set up my schedule for transplantation.

And on top of that, the sump pump in our basement started spewing water and flooded a huge area. We were lucky that not much was in that area so there wasn't really any damage to stuff. But I had to call the plumber and it cost us $115. Wasn't really planning for an expense like that, so it sucks. But I am thankful that it wasn't worse. I am really upset about it though because I believe it was caused by construction on an oil pipeline that is running through our neighborhood. I can see the construction crew outside my back window. They have been working for over a week, getting here at 6am, even on weekends. And when they work, the whole house shakes. I work from home several days a week and this is extremely distracting and the noise and vibrations are giving me a constant headache. I am going to call an attorney today to discuss the issue, since I am concerned about ongoing damage to the house.

Also wishing you good thoughts Jen. Hope all 3 embryos are perfect.

 

[Ngwira]

I meant the other types of financial progress...but I do take your point, we have put aside a lot of retirement savings in three months. Toyota just called, water pump is bad, plus then of course there's assorted things that aren't an immediate need but with driving 500 miles a week, we're doing them now. They still can't tell if the intermittent issues with power steering are related or not (let's hope so, so it will all just be fixed) but so far it's looking like over $1000. On the credit card it will go but this is the first major stuff we've needed done with this car, and it didn't die on the side of the road. I'm driving a keyless start corolla today which is really nice....hmm...food for thought, lol.

I'm so sorry to hear your cycle has not gone as well as hoped. I hope they are chromosomally sound and that a transplant ends up with a healthy pregnancy and baby for you guys. Keep us posted.

Yes, your house shaking from construction can't be a good sign!

Fellow 500 mile a week commuter here..ugh..I feel your pain.

 

[Eureka]

Fellow 500 mile a week commuter here..ugh..I feel your pain.

@Ngwira How long does your commute take you? Friday mornings are my best, only an hour or so. But all the other times it's about 1:45.

DH has the same commute, even a few miles more but he works from home 1-2 days a week. Last night he said he thinks we need to replace the van and car shop this weekend. He hasn't said how we plan to pay for that yet, but I'm thinking if we reduce my retirement contributions starting January, it will work. My company matches 10% so we'd already be ahead, and then when we pay off the other car a year from now, we can bump it back up. We'll see if he has another idea bc he's all about saving for the future. (Even though we need to balance that with more immediate needs)

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

The uncertainty of IVF and knowing if/when we might be expecting had us thinking about our future Disney travel plans. If we have good luck and conceive next month, we might have a little one by next October. We were originally planning our next Disney trip for Feb. 2018, but that might not be too much fun with a 4-5 month old. Or, if we have to keep trying, then I could possibly be very pregnant at that time. So last month we decided to rent our DVC points and delay our next trip until Feb. 2019. By then, a little one might be more like 18 months (fingers crossed for next month being a success). That sounded more fun to both of us.

So I listed our points up at David's last month. They just sent a request this morning and I jumped right on it. Now our 2016 points and a few of our 2017 points have been rented out and we can just bank the remaining 2017 points into 2018 for our next trip. One of the exciting parts of this to me is that I plan to take the money we get from renting out points and put it towards our savings fund for a new DVC contract. DH and I both like the idea of getting some points at Wilderness Lodge next. This really helps give a jump start to that savings fund, an exciting prospect for future trips!

 

[DisneyMandC]

I got a 30% off rooms code in my email from Disney this morning.... ugggggh Wilderness Lodge you are so reasonably priced! I would absolutely love to take my mom on a quick four day trip... I may need to work on DH lol

 

[AquaDame]

The uncertainty of IVF and knowing if/when we might be expecting had us thinking about our future Disney travel plans. If we have good luck and conceive next month, we might have a little one by next October. We were originally planning our next Disney trip for Feb. 2018, but that might not be too much fun with a 4-5 month old. Or, if we have to keep trying, then I could possibly be very pregnant at that time. So last month we decided to rent our DVC points and delay our next trip until Feb. 2019. By then, a little one might be more like 18 months (fingers crossed for next month being a success). That sounded more fun to both of us.

So I listed our points up at David's last month. They just sent a request this morning and I jumped right on it. Now our 2016 points and a few of our 2017 points have been rented out and we can just bank the remaining 2017 points into 2018 for our next trip. One of the exciting parts of this to me is that I plan to take the money we get from renting out points and put it towards our savings fund for a new DVC contract. DH and I both like the idea of getting some points at Wilderness Lodge next. This really helps give a jump start to that savings fund, an exciting prospect for future trips!

Fingers crossed for a wonderful outcome!

I got a 30% off rooms code in my email from Disney this morning.... ugggggh Wilderness Lodge you are so reasonably priced! I would absolutely love to take my mom on a quick four day trip... I may need to work on DH lol

Tis the season after all...!

We are still chugging away slowly and without checking in... it's been 18 months since my husband was notified stocks were left in his name from his grandmothers estate but we still have not seen a penny. His aunt is dragging her heels closing the estate but if that ever comes through it will help! I should also be getting a Christmas bonus with my next paycheck and that will go to paying our Chase card back to $0 before it accrues interest. If we are signed up for a jam club instead I'll just pay it off with the normal $ for our bimonthly pay down, but having the 'extra' come in this time of year is always nice.

 

[DisneyMandC]

If we are signed up for a jam club instead

Ha! That made me laugh! Of course I hope that is not the case for you though, or that if it is you have a Cousin Eddie on your side!

 

[Ngwira]

I got a 30% off rooms code in my email from Disney this morning.... ugggggh Wilderness Lodge you are so reasonably priced! I would absolutely love to take my mom on a quick four day trip... I may need to work on DH lol

DO IT!!!

 

[Ngwira]

@Ngwira How long does your commute take you? Friday mornings are my best, only an hour or so. But all the other times it's about 1:45.

DH has the same commute, even a few miles more but he works from home 1-2 days a week. Last night he said he thinks we need to replace the van and car shop this weekend. He hasn't said how we plan to pay for that yet, but I'm thinking if we reduce my retirement contributions starting January, it will work. My company matches 10% so we'd already be ahead, and then when we pay off the other car a year from now, we can bump it back up. We'll see if he has another idea bc he's all about saving for the future. (Even though we need to balance that with more immediate needs)

Takes an hour..longest is 1 hour and 15..I am going and coming against the traffic. That makes it much easier.

 

[Ngwira]

More car troubles for DH...it may be his alternator.