Debt Dumpers - 2016

[Dentam]

DS passed out at school today,
First time it's ever happened outside of water. So he had an ambulance ride from school to the hospital, a couple of EKGs,
Blood work, a monitor reading and several calls to his cardiologist and we are not done. I'm grateful DS is ok, he was released and I can't really take off work tomorrow so he's going to school then his cousin is coming to hang out with him until I get home. His dad didn't show up (thank goodness!) but he did at least text me when he heard from his mom. I didn't even have his phone number until today.

I am grateful I have my emergency fund and I'm grateful DS has already reached his deductible. So now we wait for results, consultations, and the medical bills to roll in.

How scary! I'm glad your son is okay and hope the doctors will figure this out.

 

[DisneyMandC]

DS passed out at school today,
First time it's ever happened outside of water. So he had an ambulance ride from school to the hospital, a couple of EKGs,
Blood work, a monitor reading and several calls to his cardiologist and we are not done. I'm grateful DS is ok, he was released and I can't really take off work tomorrow so he's going to school then his cousin is coming to hang out with him until I get home. His dad didn't show up (thank goodness!) but he did at least text me when he heard from his mom. I didn't even have his phone number until today.

I am grateful I have my emergency fund and I'm grateful DS has already reached his deductible. So now we wait for results, consultations, and the medical bills to roll in.

Oh jeez, after we were just talking about it this weekend. Glad he's ok, hope this provides some definitive results for you all that can give you some peace of mind.

 

[bcwife76]

@PrincessKymm oh wow, that's so scary!! I hope he's ok and that the docs can finally get to the bottom of all this!

 

[DisneyMandC]

My student loan provider updated my PSLF payments now that they have my employment dates straight. 2 more payments, only 104 to go! But that's ok, I'm thankful for the program and just hopeful that it holds up.

 

[momtosam]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

 

[Ngwira]

Murphy is lurking...I think we have a leak in our downstairs bathroom. We were away for 14 days and our water bill was only $5 less than it normally is. Also I see signs of water damage in the laminate flooring. I plan to get some quotes asap.

 

[Eureka]

DS passed out at school today,
First time it's ever happened outside of water. So he had an ambulance ride from school to the hospital, a couple of EKGs,
Blood work, a monitor reading and several calls to his cardiologist and we are not done. I'm grateful DS is ok, he was released and I can't really take off work tomorrow so he's going to school then his cousin is coming to hang out with him until I get home. His dad didn't show up (thank goodness!) but he did at least text me when he heard from his mom. I didn't even have his phone number until today.

I am grateful I have my emergency fund and I'm grateful DS has already reached his deductible. So now we wait for results, consultations, and the medical bills to roll in.

Glad he is ok. This whole thing sounds like a high-anxiety situation. Good luck.

 

[Eureka]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

Sorry to hear

 

[Dentam]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

So sorry to hear this - how devastating. I have a coworker who is battling leukemia and it has put things in perspective for me too.

 

[DisneyMandC]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

I'm so sorry. That is so young. DH and I have been feeling the same way since his father's heart attack and since my best friend's mother passed away unexpectedly in a car accident three weeks ago. Lots of talking about our wishes should one of us ever become incapacitated. It's scary stuff.

 

[Ngwira]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

I'm so sorry and am praying for your friend's family.

 

[bcwife76]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

I'm so sorry to hear this Life can be so fragile and I know we take it for granted and that's natural.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

I'm so sorry.
I have been battling this "balance" for most of my adult life. It's not easy and part of the reason I'm here on this thread. I've worked in large hospital/trauma center/spinal cord injury center for 26 years. So, so many horrible accidents and diseases that hit people in the prime of their lives. I have memories of watching middle aged moms & dads (who back then in my 20's I thought was old, lol) rushing through the doors to the trauma bay looking for their son then literally falling down sobbing hysterically upon hearing that their 20 yr old would be paralyzed from the neck down. Seeing a man my father's age (at the time) do this will forever be my etched in my mind. Seriously, I could use some amnesia.

Also I very clearly recall in 1st grade when my now BFF, lost her mom and the teacher had the class all sign a card for her. Over the years we have had some drunken moments growing up when she told me how much she missed her and how she has such few memories of her. Then in 10th grade she lost her dad. It's amazing she has turned out as normal as she has. She's a great mom & still a great friend too.
So despite having to be one of the few working moms on my street, I promised myself when I became a mom that I would make as many fun memories with my kids as possible, take a zillion pictures of even the simplest moments, so that my kids will not ever have to say that. They will have so many memories of us together that they will be sick of me. lol. So you can imagine what a nut job I was when I ended up having a breast biopsy on ds16's 6th birthday. All I could think of was that he will be too young to remember me!!
It turned out all good which is a miracle with my family history but only reinforced the "live for now" idea. Add to that my love of travel and some feeling of obligation that I need to show my kids the world and it's a terrible mix. So fast forward 25 trips to WDW later, 18 DCL cruises + 5 others, tens of non-Disney trips.

Luckily, at some point in my 40s I got the feeling like financially, I have been walking along the edge of a steep cliff for a long time and it's getting tiresome. I need more financial security. I'm tired of worrying. I worry over how much I worry. I even feel guilty that if I didn't spend any of that money on vacations, we'd have some pretty fat bank accounts.
So now that we're back from our recent vacation we are renewed in our strength & willpower to pay all these bills off and be done with debt for good.
The $15k Parent Plus loan we took for ds19's semester of college had a 6.something % interest rate which is ridiculous. I paid it down from to $11k since spring but then had to start saving for Christmas which is where my snowball is going until the end of Oct. So now I broke out the Disney visa checks with their 0% til next October and paid it off. Yes, it's a 2% BT fee but that's still better than racking up $90/month in interest. Unless we have some catastrophic disaster, we should have it paid off by the end of the school year, giving us a few extra months cushion until the promo rate expires.
After that it's on to the Home Equity loan for our 'back porch to home office' conversion which is almost done. Hopefully there are some funds leftover that we can immediately pay back on the principal.

So that's where we are and you're all caught up on half of my life story. lol I feel like I've been gone for so long. Congrats to all of you (and your spouses) starting new jobs!!
Also best wishes for good health to those of you with family members that aren't well.

 

[4Mickeys]

I even feel guilty that if I didn't spend any of that money on vacations, we'd have some pretty fat bank accounts.

But not nearly as many memories

Hello all - I have been MIA for months! I have been soooo busy working hard - I would like to say I am further along in my debt dumpling plans for the year but there have been a few unexpected expenses that popped up thanks to Murphy - I have had to replace 2 tyres on my car before they needed to be due to 1. a screw and 2 a flattened can on the road that acted like a knife and sliced my tyre open - Tyres for my car are $228 ea! and that's for the cheaper ones. Also a hit and run on my front bumper - which is going to cost me $167.

So things I have managed to pay off are:

Credit Card 1: $1350 - I think I have like a $50 balance left so it will be gone completely in the next month.
Credit Card 2: $2800 - Paid off in full! yippee
Kids School Fee Debt: $750 paid off in full! yippee

Still to go:

Credit Card 3: $1900 balance
Credit Card 4: $2900 balance
Personal Loan: $33000 !! eeekk

I have just applied for a 0% balance transfer card to move that $1900 and $2900 onto that so fingers crossed - the last time I tried this earlier in the year, they knocked me back. I would love to be able to be paying all of that off the debt rather paying interest.

Wow so that's $4900 I have managed to pay off this year - it hasn't been easy and really hard work some weeks. But I will keep on pushing on. I would love to have all the CC debt gone by the end of next year - that might be a stretch but if next years tax return/govt rebate comes through ok - I might be able to swing it.

I will go back a few pages to see how everyone has been going - good luck with your continued debt dumping everyone!

 

[Ngwira]

Hey everyone,
I received the title to my car yesterday. I'm pretty stoked about that. I also replaced the entire $3500 that I took from savings to pay off the car. I still have the window loan which still has $5600.00 on it down from $7100 back in July..so progress. I am paying $300.00 a month until it's fully paid off in July 2018.

Hope everyone is ok .

 

[PrincessKymm]

Thanks to all that sent DS positive thoughts and prayers. Cardiologist said it wasnt related to his condition so it was probably just a fluke. I bought him a desktop fan to use at school so he should be ok from now on.

Went to the dentist yesterday and DS needs braces. Ugh.

I'm not feeling it today. This week has been so sucky. I really
Just want to curl up in a ball with some wine and cry. I may allow myself to do it this weekend while DS visits his grandma. Work has also been sucky. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

We are trying to balance this condition we know zero about and the fact that DS could very well be perfectly ok. So yes we need to live life to the fullest and I received that message loud and clear. So we are throwing DS an amazing birthday bash this year. Instead of renting the video game truck we are making our own in my moms party room which will
Cost is $50 in the end vs $300. He already has 3 gaming systems (yes outdated but who cares?) So mom brag coming, DS wants to ask for toy donations for toys for tots instead of gifts! I put the idea in his head but he really got excited. He doesn't want much since he's already got plenty. I'm stoked! I was already wanting to throw a huge party and now he's into it too. At 13, this is exciting lol. Normally I can't get him to talk to me at all and we talked so much this week. Amazing what doing for others can do for yourself.

Thanks everyone! Keep up the great work!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks to all that sent DS positive thoughts and prayers. Cardiologist said it wasnt related to his condition so it was probably just a fluke. I bought him a desktop fan to use at school so he should be ok from now on.

Went to the dentist yesterday and DS needs braces. Ugh.

I'm not feeling it today. This week has been so sucky. I really
Just want to curl up in a ball with some wine and cry. I may allow myself to do it this weekend while DS visits his grandma. Work has also been sucky. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

We are trying to balance this condition we know zero about and the fact that DS could very well be perfectly ok. So yes we need to live life to the fullest and I received that message loud and clear. So we are throwing DS an amazing birthday bash this year. Instead of renting the video game truck we are making our own in my moms party room which will
Cost is $50 in the end vs $300. He already has 3 gaming systems (yes outdated but who cares?) So mom brag coming, DS wants to ask for toy donations for toys for tots instead of gifts! I put the idea in his head but he really got excited. He doesn't want much since he's already got plenty. I'm stoked! I was already wanting to throw a huge party and now he's into it too. At 13, this is exciting lol. Normally I can't get him to talk to me at all and we talked so much this week. Amazing what doing for others can do for yourself.

Thanks everyone! Keep up the great work!

Sounds like you're raising your son to be a fine young man! Good for you!
We all have our moments to cry and I think sometimes we really need to just let it out. Keeping all our frustrations in only bottles them up which is not good.
Does your employer offer a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for medical expenses? Braces is an approved expense. The federal government caps it at $2500 per employee but the good part about it is that annual sign up is coming soon so timing is just right if you can do it.
All of the funds are available Jan 1 on a special visa card so we chose MLK Day to get them installed (both kids on same day) so they didn't miss any school. We used the FSA card for the $1500 down (or something like that) and then around $100/month x 24 months interest free but debited directly to the FSA card. It's super convenient and nice to know the amount you are spending on braces is not subjected to fed income tax. I do everything I can to lower our taxes owed!!
Then some day when your son's braces are off and you see what a beautiful smile he has, you will look back and see it was worth it.
The day that ds16 got his removed he texted me a picture of him after braces then also a picture from the orth computer of frontal and profile pics they took the day he got the braces on. omg what a difference.
Of all the spending in my lifetime I honestly think that was the best money I ever spent. Zero regrets here!!

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks to all that sent DS positive thoughts and prayers. Cardiologist said it wasnt related to his condition so it was probably just a fluke. I bought him a desktop fan to use at school so he should be ok from now on.

Went to the dentist yesterday and DS needs braces. Ugh.

I'm not feeling it today. This week has been so sucky. I really
Just want to curl up in a ball with some wine and cry. I may allow myself to do it this weekend while DS visits his grandma. Work has also been sucky. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

We are trying to balance this condition we know zero about and the fact that DS could very well be perfectly ok. So yes we need to live life to the fullest and I received that message loud and clear. So we are throwing DS an amazing birthday bash this year. Instead of renting the video game truck we are making our own in my moms party room which will
Cost is $50 in the end vs $300. He already has 3 gaming systems (yes outdated but who cares?) So mom brag coming, DS wants to ask for toy donations for toys for tots instead of gifts! I put the idea in his head but he really got excited. He doesn't want much since he's already got plenty. I'm stoked! I was already wanting to throw a huge party and now he's into it too. At 13, this is exciting lol. Normally I can't get him to talk to me at all and we talked so much this week. Amazing what doing for others can do for yourself.

Thanks everyone! Keep up the great work!

So glad DS is ok . As for taking the time to cry, sometimes it's needed. The sun will come out again. Big hugs to you and DS's party sounds amazing.

 

[bcwife76]

@PrincessKymm love it, what a great kid!!

 

[bcwife76]

Thought I would do a quick update. I received my inheritance cheque today from the lawyer from my dad's estate. They paid out 80% of the estate to the 3 of us, 20% of the estate is being held back until next year - once taxes are filed and a notice to creditors is put in the paper (and any creditors that come out of the woodwork have been paid, but I don't think it's likely that there are any) then the remaining 20% will be paid out to us.

The cheque is enough to pay off our mortgage and still leave us a lump sum to invest/retirement etc. Plus the lump sum I'll receive next year. Kind of all over the map right now with my emotions.

We are meeting with a mortgage specialist from our bank next week to determine how/when to pay it off. I know the penalty is 3 months interest plus other fees. However, our mortgage is up for renewal in 4 1/2 months so we need to figure out if it's better to just wait until then. Once I have all the hard numbers written down then we can make a decision. After that we will meet with a financial advisor (one who is NOT associate with our bank) to discuss what we should do with the rest of the money + the money I'm getting next year. Plus the money we will have 'left over' each month from no longer have a mortgage payment.

You can see why my head is spinning! One thing I did do this morning though (which I had been planning to do all along) was to move our Alaska cruise from the 5 night in early August to a 7 night at the end of August 2017. Hey, I can't be completely responsible, right?