Debt Dumpers - 2016

[gracie1]

I haven't been on the boards lately either. I ended up getting a new car today (well used but new for me). It is a Malibu with only 14k miles. I took my car into a shop two weeks ago because the air wasn't working and they basically blew up the whole electrical panel so the car will start and drive but nothing electrical works. And the guy expects me to pay for the job as well as buy a new computer for it. I haven't paid and my car is still there. So with all that drama I ended up going car shopping today and got a car. Absolutely hate having a car payment but I guess it was time. I am so not happy with what happened to my car though.

 

[gracie1]

We recently got rid of our Keurig (sold it for $25, better than nothing!) and bought a Ninja Coffee Bar. LOOOOOOOVE it!!!! But with our Keurig we had a reuseable filter as well.

Does the ninja coffee bar also have a coffee grinder on it too? I have a keurig as well as a bunn coffee maker. Love the bunn but I see those commercials for the Ninja and very tempting to have that as my next one1

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Won't be making much headway in the debt department this month. I did make a $1,000 payment for the windows. Balance is $6k 0 percent interest due August 2018. I did take 5k out of my checking to pay for the car. Balance is 6k 1.9 interest until July 2021. I am hoping not to add anymore to our debt situation. All extra money will go towards these two debts.
I found out yesterday that our taxes for half of 2016 and 2107 are going up...no surprise there. This is NJ and everything keeps climbing. When we bought the house in 2013, our taxes were $5400, now 3 short years later, we are approaching 6k..this is for a 1400 square feet home with no garage or basement. Our home is modest, but in a great neighborhood, so while I don't like it, I just have to deal with it.
I was able to use my FSA to pay the ER and urgent care copays so no money out of pocket! My goal for August is to pay as much debt as I can.

I totally feel your pain about the taxes.
Ours were $3200 when we bought in1996. Now they're up to $8987.
It's around 1600 ft. No basement but 2 car garage.
Soon they will jump higher because we are in the process of converting our screened-in back porch into a home office so that will add to the home value and sq. footage. Oh well.

Speaking of the home office, we took out a home equity loan to get it done. Dh has been pleading to do this for 20 years but any spare $ would go to vacation
And to think I was a mere 6-8 weeks away from having no debt but our mortgage. Now we have a car loan & home equity loan too. Sigh. It never freakin ends. Oh wait, and the parent plus loan.

I love my FSA. Especially for ds19 when he has copays for biweekly therapy and it's $40 each. He has a card in his name and I don't have to worry about how he'll pay for it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I haven't been on the boards lately either. I ended up getting a new car today (well used but new for me). It is a Malibu with only 14k miles. I took my car into a shop two weeks ago because the air wasn't working and they basically blew up the whole electrical panel so the car will start and drive but nothing electrical works. And the guy expects me to pay for the job as well as buy a new computer for it. I haven't paid and my car is still there. So with all that drama I ended up going car shopping today and got a car. Absolutely hate having a car payment but I guess it was time. I am so not happy with what happened to my car though.

OOOooooo! Congratulations! The Malibu's are nice! We test drove a 2013 when we car shopped for ds. It felt like you were sitting in the cockpit of a rocket. Sadly though it made a loud vibrating noise during acceleration which made us nervous.
I wish you many happy, care-free, deer-free miles with it.

 

[Ngwira]

I totally feel your pain about the taxes.
Ours were $3200 when we bought in1996. Now they're up to $8987.
It's around 1600 ft. No basement but 2 car garage.
Soon they will jump higher because we are in the process of converting our screened-in back porch into a home office so that will add to the home value and sq. footage. Oh well.

Speaking of the home office, we took out a home equity loan to get it done. Dh has been pleading to do this for 20 years but any spare $ would go to vacation
And to think I was a mere 6-8 weeks away from having no debt but our mortgage. Now we have a car loan & home equity loan too. Sigh. It never freakin ends. Oh wait, and the parent plus loan.

I love my FSA. Especially for ds19 when he has copays for biweekly therapy and it's $40 each. He has a card in his name and

Did you get good terms for the home equity loan?

 

[Ngwira]

I haven't been on the boards lately either. I ended up getting a new car today (well used but new for me). It is a Malibu with only 14k miles. I took my car into a shop two weeks ago because the air wasn't working and they basically blew up the whole electrical panel so the car will start and drive but nothing electrical works. And the guy expects me to pay for the job as well as buy a new computer for it. I haven't paid and my car is still there. So with all that drama I ended up going car shopping today and got a car. Absolutely hate having a car payment but I guess it was time. I am so not happy with what happened to my car though.

Wow, are you leaving the old car there? Congrats on the new car

 

[Ngwira]

Updates from earlier this week:
1. Dishwasher motor is what's making the terrible noise. Would cost almost $400 to replace the motor and the guy said as long as we "can bear the noise" it may still last us awhile yet. So, we will be in the market for a new dishwasher at some point. Cost $59 for him to tell me that.
2. Plumber came and was in and out in 10 minutes to clear the clog. Told me to stop putting potatoes and orange peels in the disposal and to run a tray of ice through it once in a while to clean/sharpen the blades. Cost $150 for him to tell me that.
3. Honda airbag recall part came in from being back ordered so have an appointment for next week. Will cost me $0.
4. Phone interview turned out to just be an HR screening to check legal status for hiring (I'm a US citizen, so yes, I can work anywhere in the country) and salary requirements, so I passed that part. Emailed over writing samples they requested and hope to move on to the real phone interview. They want to have someone in asap so hopefully I will hear about that before I go on vacation. Hopeful, but they said they only just started screening so it could take awhile and of course no guarantees at all. Had two more email rejections this week too
5. Got email from Bill.com that one of my freelance invoices is getting paid out tomorrow. Only $325 but better than nothing. Have been taking care of "life" this week so haven't worked, which means I can get UI next week. Sad that I find that exciting, but there you go.
6. Bought tickets for Niagara Falls that I'd been putting off. Put a dent in our checking account but glad it didn't go on a credit card. Cost about $195 USD.
7. DH gave me a GC to the salon/spa where I get my hair cut for the December holidays and the woman who does facials is back from maternity leave so I scheduled one for tomorrow afternoon. Feels so good and a true pampering. Should only cost me a few dollars for tip because the GC will cover the treatment and about half the tip.

Good luck on getting a second interview and have a great time at the falls! Did you get the adventure pass classic?

 

[Ngwira]

Glad you made it back safe!

Glad you are back safely. Rest up.

 

[momtosam]

We are going to Niagara Falls, too. We'll be there in August. Which tickets did you get?

Updates from earlier this week:
1. Dishwasher motor is what's making the terrible noise. Would cost almost $400 to replace the motor and the guy said as long as we "can bear the noise" it may still last us awhile yet. So, we will be in the market for a new dishwasher at some point. Cost $59 for him to tell me that.
2. Plumber came and was in and out in 10 minutes to clear the clog. Told me to stop putting potatoes and orange peels in the disposal and to run a tray of ice through it once in a while to clean/sharpen the blades. Cost $150 for him to tell me that.
3. Honda airbag recall part came in from being back ordered so have an appointment for next week. Will cost me $0.
4. Phone interview turned out to just be an HR screening to check legal status for hiring (I'm a US citizen, so yes, I can work anywhere in the country) and salary requirements, so I passed that part. Emailed over writing samples they requested and hope to move on to the real phone interview. They want to have someone in asap so hopefully I will hear about that before I go on vacation. Hopeful, but they said they only just started screening so it could take awhile and of course no guarantees at all. Had two more email rejections this week too
5. Got email from Bill.com that one of my freelance invoices is getting paid out tomorrow. Only $325 but better than nothing. Have been taking care of "life" this week so haven't worked, which means I can get UI next week. Sad that I find that exciting, but there you go.
6. Bought tickets for Niagara Falls that I'd been putting off. Put a dent in our checking account but glad it didn't go on a credit card. Cost about $195 USD.
7. DH gave me a GC to the salon/spa where I get my hair cut for the December holidays and the woman who does facials is back from maternity leave so I scheduled one for tomorrow afternoon. Feels so good and a true pampering. Should only cost me a few dollars for tip because the GC will cover the treatment and about half the tip.

 

[dayvewc]

Will you be able to be refunded everything? Or just the rental car?

Only get a refund on the rental. I asked about getting a refund on hotel but no go. I used my reward points for the nights, so I was able to stay in some decent hotels relatively cheap.

 

[bcwife76]

Does the ninja coffee bar also have a coffee grinder on it too? I have a keurig as well as a bunn coffee maker. Love the bunn but I see those commercials for the Ninja and very tempting to have that as my next one1

No it doesn't come with a grinder. We have our own, it's by Hamilton Beach and it's awesome!! Choose your grind, it automatically shuts off when it's reached the level you want it to. Here's the link to it from the Canadian site. We paid less though, about $25CAD at Walmart:
http://www.hamiltonbeach.ca/custom-grind-coffee-grinder-80365c.html

 

[bcwife76]

@dayvewc glad that car saga is now behind you, sorry it was such a long drawn out process

 

[Eureka]

Good luck on getting a second interview and have a great time at the falls! Did you get the adventure pass classic?

Yes, and also to @momtosam I got the adventure classic pass. We are only going to be there a day and a half or so before we move on to Toronto.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Did you get good terms for the home equity loan?

Not too bad. 4.49% for 10 yrs with no fees/costs except county recording fees. We could have gotten 3.99% for 7 yrs but the payment was a bit steep. As it is, around half of my snowball is back to paying new bills instead of paying off old debt. I was afraid to commit more than that. The good part is that now with dh having his way, he has agreed to putting all of our future tax refund $ toward debt which he was reluctant to do in the past.

 

[Ngwira]

I totally feel your pain about the taxes.
Ours were $3200 when we bought in1996. Now they're up to $8987.
It's around 1600 ft. No basement but 2 car garage.
Soon they will jump higher because we are in the process of converting our screened-in back porch into a home office so that will add to the home value and sq. footage. Oh well.

Speaking of the home office, we took out a home equity loan to get it done. Dh has been pleading to do this for 20 years but any spare $ would go to vacation
And to think I was a mere 6-8 weeks away from having no debt but our mortgage. Now we have a car loan & home equity loan too. Sigh. It never freakin ends. Oh wait, and the parent plus loan.

I love my FSA. Especially for ds19 when he has copays for biweekly therapy and it's $40 each. He has a card in his name and

Wow, 9k in cherry hill.. That's why we refused to buy there. Taxes are better in Voorhees. Even better in Marlton which is Burlington county, right?

 

[Ngwira]

Not too bad. 4.49% for 10 yrs with no fees/costs except county recording fees. We could have gotten 3.99% for 7 yrs but the payment was a bit steep. As it is, around half of my snowball is back to paying new bills instead of paying off old debt. I was afraid to commit more than that. The good part is that now with dh having his way, he has agreed to putting all of our future tax refund $ toward debt which he was reluctant to do in the past.

That's not too bad. I know how you feel about paying off new debt..sigh... That was a great compromise by DH.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow, 9k in cherry hill.. That's why we refused to buy there. Taxes are better in Voorhees. Even better in Marlton which is Burlington county, right?

When we were house shopping 20 yrs ago, Voorhees was higher than Cherry Hill for similar homes. We also looked in Marlton but that would be a longer commute through the worse areas of traffic.
We looked as far north as Florence and south to Mullica Hill/South Harrison and east to Tabernacle over 10 months.
We chose our house for good schools and convenience to my train.
My coworker lives in Gloucester Twp and hers go up a good $500/yr. Now at almost $11k for not a huge house. Taxes are high all over so you might as well live where you'll be happiest.

 

[PrincessKymm]

Thank you all for the well wishes. I am feeling better (finally!). I got a letter in the mail yesterday that my hospital stay was deemed medically necessary so most of everything should be paid by my insurance minus the majority of my deductible.

I managed to spend money this week. Not a huge amount but on "stuff" some needed some not. I will admit to some purchases that just made me feel better. I was able to work from home this week so I haven't seen many people in about 2 weeks, I was starting to feel lonely so I went shopping.

I did manage to pay double the minimum on my lowest credits card bringing the balance to under $900! I'm hoping to have it under $700 by next weekend.

I'm going out tonight and my sister is moving tomorrow so I will probably spend some money this weekend too.

Also now that the cruise is not happening I am planning DS's birthday party. I always go big and I feel kind of stupid spending a ton of money going to Dave and Busters but he's my only kid and he's turning 14. Not much time left to throw parties for him.

 

[Ngwira]

When we were house shopping 20 yrs ago, Voorhees was higher than Cherry Hill for similar homes. We also looked in Marlton but that would be a longer commute through the worse areas of traffic.
We looked as far north as Florence and south to Mullica Hill/South Harrison and east to Tabernacle over 10 months.
We chose our house for good schools and convenience to my train.
My coworker lives in Gloucester Twp and hers go up a good $500/yr. Now at almost $11k for not a huge house. Taxes are high all over so you might as well live where you'll be happiest.

We looked for 6 years before we bought. Yeah, Gloucester township is ridiculous...the schools aren't even that great for what you pay in taxes. At least Cherry Hill schools are excellent.

 

[Ngwira]

Do you guys think I should use my Chase freedom to pay for dining at Disney? There is a 5 percent cash back promo on restaurants and all data points show that restaurants at Disney code for the 5 percent rebate. I do have Disney Gift cards for this but wondering if it would be better to use the freedom for the free $75.00...thoughts? I could always use the saved gift cards for next years trip...