Debt Dumpers - 2016

[MinnieFanatic]

After the braces were paid off, we switched back down to $1500/year but it's not enough. It will be exhausted before the end of the school year.

Let's see if this quote thing works for me. Okay, we have fairly good insurance, it has covered most everything except basic copays. I never thought we needed it because we've basically been 100% covered. This year it seemingly went a little off the rails following the birth of dd#4 and our deductibles went up and dental insurance got worse. So I am now thinking you all are right and we need the FSA/HSA. I think it's too late for this year but I'll be ready next fall.

 

[MinnieFanatic]

Well it did work but then I hit enter too soon. I will be spending it all on braces but just in case. Do you use it for co pays and insurance out of pocket expenses? Prescription meds? We have coverage so most meds are $5 but who knows when that will go up.

 

[Gena001]

Ok...we have u-verse for TV, internet & home phone. The promotional rates expired and their new quote are no where near the old rates I paid. It's unbelievable how much they charge. So, I've gotten the family to agree to dump the TV. obviously we need internet. My DBF has the cable company for her Internet and she said their rates fluxuate annually, but right now they are paying $45 per month. Is that what I should expect?

As for TV, we have Netflix and I have Amazon Prime (but I'm not impressed with the TV, unless I'm looking at it incorrectly ). Thinking about Sling TV or looking into Playstation Vue (hubby loves automotive shows on Spike). Anyone have experience with Sling or Vue? Not sure I understand Vue very well.

Thoughts?

 

[Gena001]

Well it did work but then I hit enter too soon. I will be spending it all on braces but just in case. Do you use it for co pays and insurance out of pocket expenses? Prescription meds? We have coverage so most meds are $5 but who knows when that will go up.

We use ours for everything: sick visits, prescriptions, ortho, eye doctor, DD6 vision therapy, medical equipment...Co pays and out of pockets! If you have any $ left that you may lose, ask your doctor for scripts for basic needs: band aids, saline solution, etc. With a script those items are covered.

 

[bcwife76]

@dayvewc yes you most definitely have now agreed to a TR

Although I'm a little disturbed that you said 'totes' in your post...............hehheh

Hope you're having a blast at US!!!

 

[Barnabas T Bullion]

Just wanted to put this out there. Last week we finally used part of our tax refund to pay off the last remaining bit of our massive credit card debt. It was well over 20 grand at one point when I found out my wife, who paid the bills at the time, was not paying down and only paying minimums while spending like a maniac while on maternity leave. I took over finances 7-8 years ago and chipped away at it as best we could.

Feels great to be free of the weight of that debt! No more interest for the credit card companies! Scares me to think of how much they already got in interest.

 

[Dentam]

Although I'm a little disturbed that you said 'totes' in your post...............hehheh

I was laughing about that too - he hangs out with youngsters all day so he's more up on the lingo than us older folks!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just found out my federal tax return will be deposited by this Thursday! Now I just need to make sure DH sends it straight to his car payment... I'm ready to be done with that stupid thing! We will still have a ways to go on it after this, but that will take it down about 30%!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Although I'm a little disturbed that you said 'totes' in your post...............hehheh

I thought it was hilarious but was too chicken to tease him about it! So thanks!!

 

[Ava]

Another difference between an HSA & an FSA is that you typically have to have a high-deductible health insurance plan to be eligible for an HSA. We have an HSA and also have the option to have a limited-use FSA in addition, but opt to only have the HSA. I try to save it for larger/unexpected expenses like emergency room or sick visits, and cover smaller items like co-pays and prescriptions out of our regular budget. I also like that I can pay for things with my own funds and then request a reimbursement directly to my checking account from the HSA; I have paid large medical bills on a points-earning credit card and then requested a reimbursement from the HSA to cover the payment.

@Gena001 I use Hulu Plus to watch current TV shows. Some regular networks don't make all of their shows available and availability for shows on basic cable (FX, AMC, etc) is hit or miss, but I get enough out of it to justify the $8/month for the basic plan. We have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime and between those three services we have more than enough TV to watch. Another upside to getting rid of regular TV is that my kids never see toy commercials. DD6 never asks for the new hot thing because she doesn't know it exists, unless another kid at school happens to talk about it. Win/win!

 

[AquaDame]

omg, don't get me started on BoA!! We had their US Airways card and back around 10 yrs ago when we were up to our necks in debt with really high balances, like $22k on their cc, my online payment was a 1/2 hour late and not only did they charge me the late fee but jacked the interest rate up to 32%!!

The minimum payment was something like $500 with $5 going toward the principal and we could barely afford that let alone pay extra. That's when we decided to refinance and pay off all the cards with some equity. It got us out of that grave we were digging but didn't fix how we were spending so when things started to creep back up, that's when I found this thread which I truly feel saved us.

Anyway, once the BoA card was paid off, I sent them a sarcastic letter thanking them for bending me over with their interest rates which forced me to take a hard look at our financial situation and get that card paid off but never again will I deal with BoA in any way whatsoever.

Hmm.. we keep them for Alaska, you had US Airways - I wonder how my suckers I mean customers they only have for those benefits.. and oh my word... 32%?! I would have lost it...! Two things mean its still in my wallet - #1 we really like Alaska Airlines and #2 the interest rate I have on that card is actually rather low. Not USAA low but lower than USBank (my primary) and definitely lower than my Chase Freedom. I think the Sapphire will be around the same APR even though my credit rating has gone up since I got the Freedom, but I definitely have no plans to charge anything anymore unless we have the means to pay it off right away once they are all cleared. Airfare needed in July aside, I am in no hurry to get another card soon. And we will likely pay for the flights in cash anyway since its over the holiday so doing it on miles would be an insane rate.

Just wanted to put this out there. Last week we finally used part of our tax refund to pay off the last remaining bit of our massive credit card debt. It was well over 20 grand at one point when I found out my wife, who paid the bills at the time, was not paying down and only paying minimums while spending like a maniac while on maternity leave. I took over finances 7-8 years ago and chipped away at it as best we could.

Feels great to be free of the weight of that debt! No more interest for the credit card companies! Scares me to think of how much they already got in interest.

Congratulations!!! We have a spreadsheet that calculates interest charges... knowing how much money I was giving them for free every month was the final straw!

Just found out my federal tax return will be deposited by this Thursday! Now I just need to make sure DH sends it straight to his car payment... I'm ready to be done with that stupid thing! We will still have a ways to go on it after this, but that will take it down about 30%!

Congratulations to you also!

 

[dayvewc]

Let's see if this quote thing works for me. Okay, we have fairly good insurance, it has covered most everything except basic copays. I never thought we needed it because we've basically been 100% covered. This year it seemingly went a little off the rails following the birth of dd#4 and our deductibles went up and dental insurance got worse. So I am now thinking you all are right and we need the FSA/HSA. I think it's too late for this year but I'll be ready next fall.

Well it did work but then I hit enter too soon. I will be spending it all on braces but just in case. Do you use it for co pays and insurance out of pocket expenses? Prescription meds? We have coverage so most meds are $5 but who knows when that will go up.

Another difference between an HSA & an FSA is that you typically have to have a high-deductible health insurance plan to be eligible for an HSA. We have an HSA and also have the option to have a limited-use FSA in addition, but opt to only have the HSA. I try to save it for larger/unexpected expenses like emergency room or sick visits, and cover smaller items like co-pays and prescriptions out of our regular budget. I also like that I can pay for things with my own funds and then request a reimbursement directly to my checking account from the HSA; I have paid large medical bills on a points-earning credit card and then requested a reimbursement from the HSA to cover the payment.

I can use my HSA card for anything (almost) medical related. Doctor/dentist/eye exams, prescriptions, eyeglasses, etc. I can't use it to buy over the counter medicines unless I have a prescription. I think that I actually have to request a reimbursement for those and send in the prescription. I could be wrong on that. Generally for tylenol, bandaids, etc. I just find it easier to pay for them and not worry about it. You do have to have a high-deductible plan for the HSA, but my understanding was you had to have that for the FSA as well. Again, I could be completely wrong. If you are eligible for an HSA, it shoudn't be too late to get one. Like I said earlier, I found out last fall that I can make changes to the HSA at anytime during the year, and my understanding was that included starting one. (But, I have been wrong once or twice, doublecheck with your HR person to make sure) Actually checking with the HR is a great place to start. Or at least for me. Mine is great and quite willing to do her best to explain all the different options. By law, they are not allowed to make "recommendations", but just having someone explain what all the numbers on the paper mean is helpful to me. I like to think that I am a relatively intelligent person (my use of slang like "totes" aside ) but insurance is absolutely baffling to me.

@dayvewc yes you most definitely have now agreed to a TR

Although I'm a little disturbed that you said 'totes' in your post...............hehheh

Hope you're having a blast at US!!!

*sigh* guess I need to start in on it then, don't I?

I was laughing about that too - he hangs out with youngsters all day so he's more up on the lingo than us older folks!

Not sure any of my students really think I am "up on the lingo" though. Most of them just roll their eyes and sigh. lol

I thought it was hilarious but was too chicken to tease him about it! So thanks!!

Oh, please, go ahead. We're all friends here (unlike some other threads).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I can use my HSA card for anything (almost) medical related. Doctor/dentist/eye exams, prescriptions, eyeglasses, etc. I can't use it to buy over the counter medicines unless I have a prescription. I think that I actually have to request a reimbursement for those and send in the prescription. I could be wrong on that. Generally for tylenol, bandaids, etc. I just find it easier to pay for them and not worry about it. You do have to have a high-deductible plan for the HSA, but my understanding was you had to have that for the FSA as well. Again, I could be completely wrong. If you are eligible for an HSA, it shoudn't be too late to get one. Like I said earlier, I found out last fall that I can make changes to the HSA at anytime during the year, and my understanding was that included starting one. (But, I have been wrong once or twice, doublecheck with your HR person to make sure) Actually checking with the HR is a great place to start. Or at least for me. Mine is great and quite willing to do her best to explain all the different options. By law, they are not allowed to make "recommendations", but just having someone explain what all the numbers on the paper mean is helpful to me. I like to think that I am a relatively intelligent person (my use of slang like "totes" aside ) but insurance is absolutely baffling to me.



*sigh* guess I need to start in on it then, don't I?



Not sure any of my students really think I am "up on the lingo" though. Most of them just roll their eyes and sigh. lol



Oh, please, go ahead. We're all friends here (unlike some other threads).

This is what deterred me from choosing the HSA. It was a lot of OOP costs for this insurance. OTOH, we are offered Blue Cross Personal Choice which is just a $20-35 copay and pretty much anything we'll ever need is covered 100% with no referrals needed to see a specialist. It's very little OOP but even still, with all 4 of us we still plow through it. I chatted with one of our ultrasound techs who is young, healthy & single. The HSA works great for her because she rarely uses her health insurance and the money keep rolling over year after year.
At my work the FSA has nothing to do with which health insurance plan I choose. It's simply a tax benefit that's offered by the government that you can opt in or decline. I could still choose a FSA even if I decline the medical insurance and go with insurance offered by dh's employer.
We are also offered a similar benefit for child care, up to $5000/year, which we used until our kids were too old for day camp.
I'll take anything to lower our tax obligation. Legally, that is.

 

[PrincessKymm]

Ok...we have u-verse for TV, internet & home phone. The promotional rates expired and their new quote are no where near the old rates I paid. It's unbelievable how much they charge. So, I've gotten the family to agree to dump the TV. obviously we need internet. My DBF has the cable company for her Internet and she said their rates fluxuate annually, but right now they are paying $45 per month. Is that what I should expect?

As for TV, we have Netflix and I have Amazon Prime (but I'm not impressed with the TV, unless I'm looking at it incorrectly ). Thinking about Sling TV or looking into Playstation Vue (hubby loves automotive shows on Spike). Anyone have experience with Sling or Vue? Not sure I understand Vue very well.

Thoughts?

I've had sling. You can sign up and pay for 3 months to try it and you get a free roku stick which is very helpful since you can add other apps to watch if you decide you don't like sling. I ended up canceling sling but mostly because I didn't have it in my room or the living room. I ended up putting it in DS's room and he was only watching YouTube on it so I canceled sling but I'm considering it again. You can only watch one device at a time which I thought was the only bad part. If DS wanted to watch cartoons I couldn't watch TBS at the same time on my iPad. But for $20 a month, I mean it's fine.


I pay $8.63 for Netflix, $20.98 for Hulu with Showtime and I already pay for Amazon prime so I use the tv and music at home and even with showtime I'm paying just a small fraction of what uverse was charging.

I finally sent back my boxes and cancelled my local programming and just bought two antennae's (one for the living room and one for my bedroom since I like to watch the news while I get ready) and even with the higher internet I'm paying less than $100 a month for all my tv stuff. Crazy what they charge for cable!

Also I will mention, I don't miss cable as much as I thought. I miss the selection sometimes but usually I find I'm really bored and it's helped me to get my workouts out in instead of "being too tired" and just watching tv I find that I'm more apt to shut the tv off and go do something. I say just cancel it and if you find you miss something then you can make a decision. I miss the Big Bang theory but I can go buy all the seasons on DVD for much less than the cost of cable for a year. Just my two cents.

 

[PrincessKymm]

I have a spending problem. I added up my debt and cried a little. I haven't added all of it up since before I quit my job and started this new one but seeing my credit cards and student loans not making progress just hurts.

I've embraced a new fitness routine so I hope this helps me and doesn't hinder me. I find myself wanting new shoes and workout clothes but I promised myself not until I lose the weight. DS has an actual need for clothes for his track practices so I have to put needs first.

I need a new plan. I feel defeated. Any advice?

 

[DisneyMandC]

I have a spending problem. I added up my debt and cried a little. I haven't added all of it up since before I quit my job and started this new one but seeing my credit cards and student loans not making progress just hurts.

I've embraced a new fitness routine so I hope this helps me and doesn't hinder me. I find myself wanting new shoes and workout clothes but I promised myself not until I lose the weight. DS has an actual need for clothes for his track practices so I have to put needs first.

I need a new plan. I feel defeated. Any advice?

Sorry, Kymm As to your credit cards, can you do the freeze it in a block of ice thing? I mean, not literally, but put it in a drawer and use cash instead? I like using my credit card for points and cashback, but if you can't resist the temptation to swipe it then it may be better to switch to cash until you get back on your feet.

As to your student loans, are you on an income-based repayment plan? I'm assuming you have federal loans. Can you request a forbearance temporarily while you work on paying down your credit card debt? If your credit cards have the higher interest rate (likely) it may be a good idea to do that and get some of that paid down. You will have the interest added back into your student loan once you start the payments again, but if you can keep setting aside a little bit of money towards the student loan each month, it may be worth it.

 

[kool_kat]

So I am more of a lurker than poster on this thread, but I must say I'm pretty excited we are paying off my car this weekend!!! My husband and I decided to postpone buying a new house (we have a perfectly good house, just wanted a different one) and we are now using some of the money we were going to put into that to pay off my car. While the interest rate was great (1.49%), I'm thrilled to have the $400 a month.

 

[DnA2010]

So I am more of a lurker than poster on this thread, but I must say I'm pretty excited we are paying off my car this weekend!!! My husband and I decided to postpone buying a new house (we have a perfectly good house, just wanted a different one) and we are now using some of the money we were going to put into that to pay off my car. While the interest rate was great (1.49%), I'm thrilled to have the $400 a month.

That's awesome, well done! DH and I paid off our car loan in i think a year and a half last year, and it felt so good! Now we put that extra money into our savings and into overpaying our mortgage Congrats!!

 

[kool_kat]

That's awesome, well done! DH and I paid off our car loan in i think a year and a half last year, and it felt so good! Now we put that extra money into our savings and into overpaying our mortgage Congrats!!

Yeah, I've got a plan to pay off his student loans in the next month and then all we have is his car loan and our house. Unfortunately, his car loan is huge. We are looking to start trying to have a child next year, so I'm trying to get us ready financially. I figure all this "extra money" from paying things off will have to go to daycare, but until we start having to pay that, I'm going to sock it away into building my savings back up.

It's funny because my husband is a spender and I'm a saver...so paying off a car means nothing to him because he'd rather spend that money, but I'm giddy like a child to pay it off!

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

DH is still waiting to hear back from the interview. We are so anxious I feel like I'm going to be ill! Hopefully we get news soon and that it's good news!!

A dodged a bit of Murphy today though, took my car in for brake check up-nothing is wrong with my brakes at all just my brake pedal is squeaking some. Thank goodness on that. Next week I take it in for the actuator switch hopefully that won't be an arm and a leg