Debt Dumpers - 2016

[gracie1]

So, surprisingly great news on the Comcast situation I had. They sent me to collections (without ever contacting me first, unless it was sent to my old address) because they claimed I kept 2 cable boxes and an internet modem that I leased from them. Well, I did keep the modem because I bought it (not leased it) from Best Buy. Anyway I built up the nerve (confrontation is VERY difficult for me) and went to the main office here with the modem (to show the serial numbers) and my receipt from Best Buy. My hope was to get the portion of the money they said I owed dropped for the modem since I had proof of purchasing it. I also wanted to argue the cable boxes but could not find paperwork showing I turned them in, thus having no proof, and no hope of that going anywhere.

Long story short, the incredibly friendly individual I talked to said that clearly their techs did not file things correctly. And since I could provide proof of the modem she was going to take me on my word about the cable boxes and drop ALL charges!!!! She said it could take 30 days for them to pull the collection, but did provide me paperwork saying I was no longer responsible for the payment. This is such a relief as it was over $600 in charges!

So, to anyone who gets nervous (like me) about talking to people about these situations...DO IT! You never know what the outcome will be unless you ask

That is awesome!! I'm glad that you finally went in there and didn't just call to set up a payment plan! Now make sure you hold on to that paperwork! And keep a check on your credit report to make sure they remove it. Yay!! 2016 is starting out good for you!

 

[gracie1]

So I got a call from a lawyer this morning; my father passed away and he's dealing with the estate. My father and I have been estranged since 2011; he did some truly awful things when I was growing up and as an adult (including stealing money from me)....all of it a very long story. In the end I just decided I couldn't handle any of his crap and deceit any longer and stopped talking to him. That also included my step mother (horrid woman) and my half brother (again, not someone I would like to associate with, too much like our father). So no I did not receive a phone call from either of them that had he passed, but instead I got a phone call from a lawyer I had never met (and honestly this did not surprise me). My father died without a will (he told me he had one) so if he wanted to cut me out he can't any longer. Once the estate is probated by his administrator (his wife) 1/3 of his estate comes to me by law. So it remains to be seen what this will include. The biggest chunk is his house but at the moment I'm not entirely sure if his wife gets it or if that must be divided between her, myself and my half brother. The house is worth approx $1.4 million. I just want it all done and dusted, whether I get anything or not. I need to move on from all their hatred and deceit.

Sorry to hear your going through this. Maybe this will be closure for you.

 

[DnA2010]

So I got a call from a lawyer this morning; my father passed away and he's dealing with the estate. My father and I have been estranged since 2011; he did some truly awful things when I was growing up and as an adult (including stealing money from me)....all of it a very long story. In the end I just decided I couldn't handle any of his crap and deceit any longer and stopped talking to him. That also included my step mother (horrid woman) and my half brother (again, not someone I would like to associate with, too much like our father). So no I did not receive a phone call from either of them that had he passed, but instead I got a phone call from a lawyer I had never met (and honestly this did not surprise me). My father died without a will (he told me he had one) so if he wanted to cut me out he can't any longer. Once the estate is probated by his administrator (his wife) 1/3 of his estate comes to me by law. So it remains to be seen what this will include. The biggest chunk is his house but at the moment I'm not entirely sure if his wife gets it or if that must be divided between her, myself and my half brother. The house is worth approx $1.4 million. I just want it all done and dusted, whether I get anything or not. I need to move on from all their hatred and deceit.

Wow what a call. I hope that this is closure for you and that it works out favorably for you with as little hassle as possible. :hugs:

 

[stayhomemom77]

Wow what a call. I hope that this is closure for you and that it works out favorably for you with as little hassle as possible. :hugs:

This. Couldn't have said it better myself. Thoughts and prayers with you and yours in the coming weeks and months as this gets resolved. Hoping it doesn't get messy.

 

[gracie1]

Okay everyone - I need you to keep your fingers crossed but I got my settlement date for Thursday to do the refi! Yay!!! I hope nothing happens in the meantime!! This is to combine my home equity into my mortgage. I still had almost 8 years left on the home equity loan and 20 on the house so I refinanced for the 20 years. In the long run it saves a ton on interest!! It does raise my regular mortgage payment by $105 a month but it saves me the $473 home equity payment each month for almost 8 years - so technically I'm saving in the long run!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Okay everyone - I need you to keep your fingers crossed but I got my settlement date for Thursday to do the refi! Yay!!! I hope nothing happens in the meantime!! This is to combine my home equity into my mortgage. I still had almost 8 years left on the home equity loan and 20 on the house so I refinanced for the 20 years. In the long run it saves a ton on interest!! It does raise my regular mortgage payment by $105 a month but it saves me the $473 home equity payment each month for almost 8 years - so technically I'm saving in the long run!!

 

[Angeejoe]

So I got a call from a lawyer this morning; my father passed away and he's dealing with the estate. My father and I have been estranged since 2011; he did some truly awful things when I was growing up and as an adult (including stealing money from me)....all of it a very long story. In the end I just decided I couldn't handle any of his crap and deceit any longer and stopped talking to him. That also included my step mother (horrid woman) and my half brother (again, not someone I would like to associate with, too much like our father). So no I did not receive a phone call from either of them that had he passed, but instead I got a phone call from a lawyer I had never met (and honestly this did not surprise me). My father died without a will (he told me he had one) so if he wanted to cut me out he can't any longer. Once the estate is probated by his administrator (his wife) 1/3 of his estate comes to me by law. So it remains to be seen what this will include. The biggest chunk is his house but at the moment I'm not entirely sure if his wife gets it or if that must be divided between her, myself and my half brother. The house is worth approx $1.4 million. I just want it all done and dusted, whether I get anything or not. I need to move on from all their hatred and deceit.

Sending you . Family dramas never really go away, they always seem to come back around. Wishing a strong journey through this!

 

[Angeejoe]

Okay everyone - I need you to keep your fingers crossed but I got my settlement date for Thursday to do the refi! Yay!!! I hope nothing happens in the meantime!! This is to combine my home equity into my mortgage. I still had almost 8 years left on the home equity loan and 20 on the house so I refinanced for the 20 years. In the long run it saves a ton on interest!! It does raise my regular mortgage payment by $105 a month but it saves me the $473 home equity payment each month for almost 8 years - so technically I'm saving in the long run!!

 

[bcwife76]

Thank you everyone for all your kind words.

@gracie1 I've got all my fingers and toes crossed for you!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ouch is all I can say now that I have put down my debts in writing! But now I know where to start and how to make progress. I think snowballing is going to be my best option at this point and that starts in earnest in February when I make my last car payment thus freeing up $325 a month to pay on CC bills.

That's great! That's a huge payment to start your snowball with. It's hard to face it all at once like that but the best place to start is at the beginning.
Remember, it didn't all accumulate overnight and it won't go away overnight either but with perseverance it can be done!

So I got a call from a lawyer this morning; my father passed away and he's dealing with the estate. My father and I have been estranged since 2011; he did some truly awful things when I was growing up and as an adult (including stealing money from me)....all of it a very long story. In the end I just decided I couldn't handle any of his crap and deceit any longer and stopped talking to him. That also included my step mother (horrid woman) and my half brother (again, not someone I would like to associate with, too much like our father). So no I did not receive a phone call from either of them that had he passed, but instead I got a phone call from a lawyer I had never met (and honestly this did not surprise me). My father died without a will (he told me he had one) so if he wanted to cut me out he can't any longer. Once the estate is probated by his administrator (his wife) 1/3 of his estate comes to me by law. So it remains to be seen what this will include. The biggest chunk is his house but at the moment I'm not entirely sure if his wife gets it or if that must be divided between her, myself and my half brother. The house is worth approx $1.4 million. I just want it all done and dusted, whether I get anything or not. I need to move on from all their hatred and deceit.

I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

[agavegirl1]

Okay everyone - I need you to keep your fingers crossed but I got my settlement date for Thursday to do the refi! Yay!!! I hope nothing happens in the meantime!! This is to combine my home equity into my mortgage. I still had almost 8 years left on the home equity loan and 20 on the house so I refinanced for the 20 years. In the long run it saves a ton on interest!! It does raise my regular mortgage payment by $105 a month but it saves me the $473 home equity payment each month for almost 8 years - so technically I'm saving in the long run!!

Saving a ton on interest is one of the greatest things ever! We refinanced 2 years ago for 15 years and are so grateful. Wishing you the best!

 

[karmomof3]

I have debt that I am woking on and I have been very focused. My Christmas gift to myself was paying off $3000 in credit card this December. However, yesterday I found plane tickets to Orlando for $632 for a family of 4. Unfortunately, I am always looking at flights but have stayed strong. EX husband says he will pay for the Disney tickets. He is military. Boyfriend says he will pay for hotel. I just have to pay for plane tickets and food for 3 Disney adults and one kid. I do have debt, some in savings, college fully funded for two, and an ok retirement plan. Cars paid off. I am swimming in debt that will take me about 4 to 5 years to pay off. Oldest will be off to college. Middle kid will be a Senior in high school. Time for family vacations are almost done. Oh, I will have the cash to pay for this. Middle girl is willing to sell some of her American Girl collection (very extensive). Older son is willing to sell some of his lego sets and shovel snow or do anything to help pay for the trip. Younger son says he will sell some of his books and toys (he is just 5). All my children love Disney. The rest will come from savings or the extra I put toward debt.
Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

I'm not going to Disney in August. I have no idea how to take the ticker off since it has been there since 2011.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have debt that I am woking on and I have been very focused. My Christmas gift to myself was paying off $3000 in credit card this December. However, yesterday I found plane tickets to Orlando for $632 for a family of 4. Unfortunately, I am always looking at flights but have stayed strong. EX husband says he will pay for the Disney tickets. He is military. Boyfriend says he will pay for hotel. I just have to pay for plane tickets and food for 3 Disney adults and one kid. I do have debt, some in savings, college fully funded for two, and an ok retirement plan. Cars paid off. I am swimming in debt that will take me about 4 to 5 years to pay off. Oldest will be off to college. Middle kid will be a Senior in high school. Time for family vacations are almost done. Oh, I will have the cash to pay for this. Middle girl is willing to sell some of her American Girl collection (very extensive). Older son is willing to sell some of his lego sets and shovel snow or do anything to help pay for the trip. Younger son says he will sell some of his books and toys (he is just 5). All my children love Disney. The rest will come from savings or the extra I put toward debt.
Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

I'm not going to Disney in August. I have no idea how to take the ticker off since it has been there since 2011.

That's a tough one. For me vacations are my weakness. When I see an awesome deal, I cave. I have been strong on several occasions since starting my debt paydown but just as many times I have been weak.
In the end it's a matter of how quickly you'd like to get out of debt. Do you have an emergency fund? If so, would you be dipping into it to take the trip?

 

[karmomof3]

That's a tough one. For me vacations are my weakness. When I see an awesome deal, I cave. I have been strong on several occasions since starting my debt paydown but just as many times I have been weak.
In the end it's a matter of how quickly you'd like to get out of debt. Do you have an emergency fund? If so, would you be dipping into it to take the trip?

I have an emergency fund and enough for 2 months of bills. I would not be dipping into that fund. I would just use the extra money that I would normally put toward debt. That would work out to be about 4 months of extra payments to debt. I have enough for the plane tickets right now.

 

[DisneyMandC]

DH managed to sell a (very ugly) faux antler chandelier that came with our new house for $200 on Craigslist! It's a pretty big chandelier, and we threw in a three bulb matching fixture that was in the laundry room, but I'm still surprised the woman paid asking price for it. I was thinking we'd use that money towards DH's car loan, but I actually think we might budget it towards buying new exterior doors for our house. We have two doors and both fit very poorly in the frame and are mainly glass. DH has added weather stripping around the edges and we've put those foam things on the bottom to stop cold air coming in, but I still feel like we lose a lot of heat through them with the glass. It's always super cold in our downstairs, which isn't helped by our 10 foot ceilings. So I think we might save up for two new doors. Hopefully that would help us with saving on electricity with our heat pump too. Our house isn't very big at all, but I feel like our heat pump is constantly kicking on lately and I know those doors have to be part of the reason.

 

[dayvewc]

I have debt that I am woking on and I have been very focused. My Christmas gift to myself was paying off $3000 in credit card this December. However, yesterday I found plane tickets to Orlando for $632 for a family of 4. Unfortunately, I am always looking at flights but have stayed strong. EX husband says he will pay for the Disney tickets. He is military. Boyfriend says he will pay for hotel. I just have to pay for plane tickets and food for 3 Disney adults and one kid. I do have debt, some in savings, college fully funded for two, and an ok retirement plan. Cars paid off. I am swimming in debt that will take me about 4 to 5 years to pay off. Oldest will be off to college. Middle kid will be a Senior in high school. Time for family vacations are almost done. Oh, I will have the cash to pay for this. Middle girl is willing to sell some of her American Girl collection (very extensive). Older son is willing to sell some of his lego sets and shovel snow or do anything to help pay for the trip. Younger son says he will sell some of his books and toys (he is just 5). All my children love Disney. The rest will come from savings or the extra I put toward debt.
Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

I'm not going to Disney in August. I have no idea how to take the ticker off since it has been there since 2011.

I have an emergency fund and enough for 2 months of bills. I would not be dipping into that fund. I would just use the extra money that I would normally put toward debt. That would work out to be about 4 months of extra payments to debt. I have enough for the plane tickets right now.

I probably shouldn't be chiming in here, but I say go for it. The tickets and hotel are the most expensive parts of the trip, and if the ex and bf are covering those, AND you are not actually increasing your debt (just extending the time you have it), then I think it is an absolute doable plan. We all need a break. And yes, finances come before pleasure, but not at the expense of pleasure. Just my un-asked-for input.

On the ticker, if you go to the top of the page, and on the right hand side click your name so you get the drop down box, select "signature". Then highlight the ticker and press delete.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

So I definitely don't like to advocate taking on more debt, but if I were you I would probably take the trip. Like you said, your children are at the age that family vacations might soon be a thing of the past. One thing I miss now that I am an adult is going on those family trips with my parents and siblings. I think back on our Disney vacations and have such great memories of them. If your ex and your bf are covering a lot of the cost, I think $600 for flights is a really great deal. And you could work out ways to eat cheaply in the parks. Many people have great tips. I find it touching that your children have offered to sacrifice to help make this family trip possible, so it seems like it would mean a lot to them too.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I have debt that I am woking on and I have been very focused. My Christmas gift to myself was paying off $3000 in credit card this December. However, yesterday I found plane tickets to Orlando for $632 for a family of 4. Unfortunately, I am always looking at flights but have stayed strong. EX husband says he will pay for the Disney tickets. He is military. Boyfriend says he will pay for hotel. I just have to pay for plane tickets and food for 3 Disney adults and one kid. I do have debt, some in savings, college fully funded for two, and an ok retirement plan. Cars paid off. I am swimming in debt that will take me about 4 to 5 years to pay off. Oldest will be off to college. Middle kid will be a Senior in high school. Time for family vacations are almost done. Oh, I will have the cash to pay for this. Middle girl is willing to sell some of her American Girl collection (very extensive). Older son is willing to sell some of his lego sets and shovel snow or do anything to help pay for the trip. Younger son says he will sell some of his books and toys (he is just 5). All my children love Disney. The rest will come from savings or the extra I put toward debt.
Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

I'm not going to Disney in August. I have no idea how to take the ticker off since it has been there since 2011.

When would you be taking this trip? Would you have time to hop over onto the Disney Gift Card Deals thread and maybe pick up some tips on getting discounted gift cards to help pay for food/souvenirs? If you've got a couple months until your trip, you might be able to get some good deals. If nothing else, you can always get a Target Redcard (I got the debit card so there's not temptation to charge it up!) and at least get 5% off Disney gift cards!

 

[rnorwo1]

Kar, I would look at every single expense that you're likely to incur for the trip, just so your 4 months repayment delay doesn't turn into a year delay. See what you can do to cut all travel expenses down, no expense is too small to consider, and think about the trip as the splurge, not the food, drinks, extra activities, etc. if it truly is only 4 months delay in your repayment plan, I probably would go for it. Longer than that, maybe not. Yes, everyone deserves a break, but you also deserve to be in a great financial situation. You can get breaks with little expense and you can make memories with your kids anywhere, it doesn't have to be Disney.
I hope you are able to go, and I hope you're able to reach a decision that will give you peace!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I have debt that I am woking on and I have been very focused. My Christmas gift to myself was paying off $3000 in credit card this December. However, yesterday I found plane tickets to Orlando for $632 for a family of 4. Unfortunately, I am always looking at flights but have stayed strong. EX husband says he will pay for the Disney tickets. He is military. Boyfriend says he will pay for hotel. I just have to pay for plane tickets and food for 3 Disney adults and one kid. I do have debt, some in savings, college fully funded for two, and an ok retirement plan. Cars paid off. I am swimming in debt that will take me about 4 to 5 years to pay off. Oldest will be off to college. Middle kid will be a Senior in high school. Time for family vacations are almost done. Oh, I will have the cash to pay for this. Middle girl is willing to sell some of her American Girl collection (very extensive). Older son is willing to sell some of his lego sets and shovel snow or do anything to help pay for the trip. Younger son says he will sell some of his books and toys (he is just 5). All my children love Disney. The rest will come from savings or the extra I put toward debt.
Please help me decide what to do. Talk me out of Disney and give me a reality check. Divorce put me in a lot of debt and my kids and I had to adjust our lifestyle but finances should come first before pleasure, right? Thanks.

I'm not going to Disney in August. I have no idea how to take the ticker off since it has been there since 2011.

Yeah, I'm not going to talk you out of it either! If you are SURE that EX is covering park tickets and boyfriend is covering hotel, then I say go for it!

Finances SHOULD come before pleasure as a general rule, but there are exceptions to every rule. If you can make some special memories at a "steal" then it's worth the investment as far as I'm concerned.

But like rnorwo1 says, really be sure of that bottom line before you commit to this so that a couple more months of debt payments doesn't turn into a couple more years.

Best of luck deciding!!