Debt Dumpers - 2016

[OhMari]

Well, it sounds this was a much needed upgrade. I agree with the stuck on the side of the road with a baby sentiment. Plus, the new car probably has much updated safety equipment, which is also important with a new baby. The car DH currently has is only at 230,000 km so it still has a lot of life left in it. I am sure his brother will appreciate getting the chance to use it now.

The hardest part of getting his new car will be looking at everything in miles and not km now.

You can set it up to read km. My volkswagon has this feature.

 

[stayhomemom77]

What is with men, my dh wanted one too.

Mine too!! And I just don't get it! His DREAM is to own a Tesla. I've always been fine with a hybrid but I'm not sold yet on fully electric because we take a lot of road trips where we drive for as long as we can stand it. When we go to Disney we either drive 12, 15 or 18 hours in one go. We can't to that in an electric.

Plus, his Dad is a parts manager at a Chevrolet/Buick/GMC dealership so he'd be disowned if he didn't keep the car purchase in the family.

He told me around Easter about a good, affordable hybrid that his Dad would sanction (I think it was the Chevy Volt) so in a couple of years when we are looking to buy...that's the one he's eyeing (at least for now). By then, there will probably be a new toy available.

 

[OhMari]

Mine too!! And I just don't get it! His DREAM is to own a Tesla. I've always been fine with a hybrid but I'm not sold yet on fully electric because we take a lot of road trips where we drive for as long as we can stand it. When we go to Disney we either drive 12, 15 or 18 hours in one go. We can't to that in an electric.

Plus, his Dad is a parts manager at a Chevrolet/Buick/GMC dealership so he'd be disowned if he didn't keep the car purchase in the family.

He told me around Easter about a good, affordable hybrid that his Dad would sanction (I think it was the Chevy Volt) so in a couple of years when we are looking to buy...that's the one he's eyeing (at least for now). By then, there will probably be a new toy available.

Can you image driving long distances, and trying to find a place to plug in and charge up. I know a few dealerships have the plug in. But sometimes they close their gates at night. I think right now, it would be a huge headache.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Can you image driving long distances, and trying to find a place to plug in and charge up. I know a few dealerships have the plug in. But sometimes they close their gates at night. I think right now, it would be a huge headache.

That's what I always think too. I want a hybrid for my next car so that I can take long road trips with fewer gas station stops!

 

[dayvewc]

Actually yes I did see the trip report & it did look like a nice resort! Good to know that BlueGreen seems on the up and up! But my DH is always trying to sign up at those stupid kiosks in the mall where you "win a free vacation" I'm like NO WALK AWAY! Good luck with the rest of this mess hopefully you can get it resolved sooner than later.

Thanks.

And in the ongoing saga, going through all the paperwork last night just to see what I had signed, I discovered that it is missing at least one page of documentation. Maybe more. One of the pages is marked as being "Page 1 of 2" but there is no page marked "Page 2 of 2" and all of the other pages distinctly belong to different sections. Also, in one of the emails with the customer service people, they said that there was a document receipt that I had signed. It isn't in the package they sent either. So, that could be another page missing.

Best case scenario, there is 1 missing page that is the 2nd page of that section and is the document receipt acknowledgement. Worst case scenario, there are multiple missing pages and I have no idea what they are or how many are missing.

I'm composing a response email to the hospitality management person expressing my displeasure in still not having the full contract delivered. And, I'm adding it to my list of complaints.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've got a good start to my weekend- Just got another job interview! I have a good feeling about this one, so I'm really hoping this pulls through... It's similar to my last job, which I LOVED. Interview is next Friday, so fingers crossed!

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I've got a good start to my weekend- Just got another job interview! I have a good feeling about this one, so I'm really hoping this pulls through... It's similar to my last job, which I LOVED. Interview is next Friday, so fingers crossed!

sending prayers and good vibes your way!!

 

[Ava]

I fell off the wagon a bit in March, as far as controlling/tracking spending, so I'm trying to get back to it this month. I was hoping to use my "extra" paycheck in March to buy the girls bunk beds but most of it ended up being spent on other things, so I only had $150 left to put towards the beds. I guess that's better than nothing, but I'd really like to buy them so we can get rid of DD2's toddler bed/crib and open up more space in their bedroom. There are far too many toys in my living room and I'm getting tired of it, lol.

We also had to buy a new washer & dryer, as BOTH of them died within weeks of each other! They are small portable units for apartments so not too expensive, but also not worth paying to have repaired out of warranty. So that's about $400 that I have to add back into my emergency/curveball fund. Bright side, I had the money available to cover it.

And, lastly, we started looking into preschools for my DD2 for the fall. She visited one last week and the teacher was so impressed with her that she invited her to join the class one day per week for the rest of this school year. (She wasn't old enough to start in this program last fall but now she is within the age range.) The school is the one we were most likely going to choose any way, because a friend of ours who also taught at older DD's preschool used to teach there and highly recommended it, so I'd love to do it. But, it wasn't planned for in the budget so we'll have to tighten the belts/get creative to pay for it.

I also still haven't finished our taxes. I started them, and so far we should be getting a refund. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

 

[toystoryduo]

Happy Friday, everyone!

Just a few updates from this week:

* I added $25 to our Disney fund. I'm still not sure what we are going to do about our trip. My DH and I are going out to eat tonight to discuss the trip and other stuff too. Gift card for dinner is courtesy of Swagbucks.

* We cashed in my DH's credit card rewards and got some Home Depot cards. By the end of this month, we should have enough gift cards that we can pay 3/4 of the cost of a new dishwasher with them. Yay! (We've been without a dishwasher for almost 2 years now! )

* I've been adding to the savings account, but it's been slow going. I'm hoping to get some eBay listings up this weekend or next week to help us get to our goal much faster.

Finally, we may have to dip back into savings again. My DH's paycheck issue from last month may not be cleared up until next month. I'm not super upset about it because we do have the money to cover it, but I do wish that it was taken care of already. Sigh....

That's about all from here. Have a great weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks.

And in the ongoing saga, going through all the paperwork last night just to see what I had signed, I discovered that it is missing at least one page of documentation. Maybe more. One of the pages is marked as being "Page 1 of 2" but there is no page marked "Page 2 of 2" and all of the other pages distinctly belong to different sections. Also, in one of the emails with the customer service people, they said that there was a document receipt that I had signed. It isn't in the package they sent either. So, that could be another page missing.

Best case scenario, there is 1 missing page that is the 2nd page of that section and is the document receipt acknowledgement. Worst case scenario, there are multiple missing pages and I have no idea what they are or how many are missing.

I'm composing a response email to the hospitality management person expressing my displeasure in still not having the full contract delivered. And, I'm adding it to my list of complaints.

Wow! I am so sorry that you are going through this. You are doing a great job staying on top of everything! I am sure this is really stressful for you though. More prayers for a good outcome in your favor!

I've got a good start to my weekend- Just got another job interview! I have a good feeling about this one, so I'm really hoping this pulls through... It's similar to my last job, which I LOVED. Interview is next Friday, so fingers crossed!

Woohoo! Hope the interview goes well for you!

I fell off the wagon a bit in March, as far as controlling/tracking spending, so I'm trying to get back to it this month. I was hoping to use my "extra" paycheck in March to buy the girls bunk beds but most of it ended up being spent on other things, so I only had $150 left to put towards the beds. I guess that's better than nothing, but I'd really like to buy them so we can get rid of DD2's toddler bed/crib and open up more space in their bedroom. There are far too many toys in my living room and I'm getting tired of it, lol.

We also had to buy a new washer & dryer, as BOTH of them died within weeks of each other! They are small portable units for apartments so not too expensive, but also not worth paying to have repaired out of warranty. So that's about $400 that I have to add back into my emergency/curveball fund. Bright side, I had the money available to cover it.

And, lastly, we started looking into preschools for my DD2 for the fall. She visited one last week and the teacher was so impressed with her that she invited her to join the class one day per week for the rest of this school year. (She wasn't old enough to start in this program last fall but now she is within the age range.) The school is the one we were most likely going to choose any way, because a friend of ours who also taught at older DD's preschool used to teach there and highly recommended it, so I'd love to do it. But, it wasn't planned for in the budget so we'll have to tighten the belts/get creative to pay for it.

I also still haven't finished our taxes. I started them, and so far we should be getting a refund. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

Sorry to hear about the washer and dryer. We have been having issues with several of our appliances too lately. That's great that you had the money to cover the new purchases!

Hope you are able to finish the taxes and that you get a good refund!

 

[Dentam]

After over three months of living frugally and sticking to my debt dumping plan, I went on a bit of a shopping spree this morning. Nothing too big, but since I haven't really been making any unnecessary purchases for months it did feel like I was being "bad". Oh well, it was fun and now I have some new comfy shoes for our upcoming DL trip - they are Skechers with memory foam soles and they are SO comfortable already! I will break them in more before our trip. I also got some stuff at Bath and Body Works and Origins. Still scheduled to pay $1,000 on my cc next Friday as well!

 

[dayvewc]

Well. I heard back from the senior consultant at the law firm, and mixed news. The lawyers did agree that they could win a cancellation of my contract, which would require that Diamond report to all 3 credit bureaus that the account was closed and marked "paid in full", but they did not think they could win litigation against Diamond for additional funds (I wasn't interested in that, so wasn't too upset at hearing it) AND they will not guarantee that they can get a refund of what I have paid. All for a flat fee of just $3500. If they could guarantee a refund, I'd go for it, as the refund would be more than the fee, but I don't have the ability to pay that much without getting the refund. The consultant also suggested that I contact the credit card company I used for part of the down payment and contest the charge. He said that most likely, they will suspend the amount for a couple of months as they investigate, but then return that it was a valid charge and reinstate it along with any interest that might have accrued. So, not really seeing a winning solution there.

I emailed the hospitality management contact and informed her that I had received a package that contained a partial copy of my contract. I explained how I knew it was incomplete, and asked that a full copy be delivered to me. I also mentioned that with the growing list of errors and mistakes, that the entire transaction was crossing over into fraudulent business practice territory. Not sure that it will have an effect, but I just couldn't resist. I did manage to tone down the snarkiness of the email quite a bit. *sigh* And it was such good snark too. I saved a draft, just in case I need it for later.

While I was writing the final draft of the email, I did some research looking for the exact correct phrasing I wanted to use, and discovered (or realized?) that the ARDA has a website and a consumer information contact. I am thinking of sending them a comment as well and seeing what happens.

On the forward looking front, Diamond has until 12 April to respond to the BBB complaint. Don't know what good it will do in the long term, but at least it will be out there and public.

 

[Gena001]

We have an account with Southern Bank. The bank is based in Missouri and we're in Illinois, but we opened it by mail and linked our accounts so it's very easy to use.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked at their website and the account is only open to residents of Missiouri and Arkansas now.

OOH! AWESOME SAUCE NEWS! I'm looking for a new account and I believe they have a location SUPER close by my house!

I feel like I've just won the lottery!

THANK YOU!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Oh hello, Murphy. In the form of a tick head embedded under my dog's leg. $142 later at the vet...

 

[bcwife76]

Can you image driving long distances, and trying to find a place to plug in and charge up. I know a few dealerships have the plug in. But sometimes they close their gates at night. I think right now, it would be a huge headache.

This was the point I was trying to get across to my husband. Argh!!! Plus the fact we would have to pay an electrician to add a special plug to our garage - not like you can plug your electric car into any old plug!!!

 

[bcwife76]

@dayvewc I can't believe how complicated and convoluted this has become for you What a friggin hassle (to put it mildly). I hope you get a positive outcome soon!!

 

[crazycatstacy]

We have not done so well here. In mid March my father in law was flown from our local hospital to Mayo Clinic for surgery. He and my mother in law were life lighted and my husband, myself, and my two sister in laws drove the what seemed like a million mile journey. While waiting for my father in law to have surgery my mother in law had a seizure and got a concussion. She ended up being admitted. They got there on Wednesday. We all go there around 4AM on Thursday. My sister in laws and I left on Saturday but my husband stayed until he could drive them home the following Friday. Now this trip should have been fairly inexpensive as my inlaws paid for gas and hotel and the majority of the food, however; I found things while I was there I wanted to buy (I swear I could spend money anywhere) and then my once my husband came back we went off eating out basically every day.

Then I left for a 3 day out of town training. Spent less than I normally would have but still spent more than I should have. My husband and my father in law are taking a fishing trip in July and my daughter and I have a trip to Vegas planned in August for her 21st birthday. My inlaws had purchased a trip through Allegiant for the end of April, they cancelled the trip due to health reasons and not wanting to fly anymore. They were given a voucher that has to be used by this September. They generously gave the voucher to my husband and I. Since my husband is already on vacation in July (he has to request his vacation a year in advance) we are going to Vegas over the 4th of July weekend. The voucher will cover everything but our food. We have agreed to not really do anything except relax on this trip, but we can spend a lot of money on food.

My husband is working a ton of overtime thankfully so we are still paying one card off this month and hopefully, fingers crossed, we will pay off one and a half in June.

We had planned on going to Disney in September, 2017 and taking a whole in law family trip to Hawaii in 2018. After this my inlaws have decided they shouldn't fly anywhere and the Hawaii has been changed to an undetermined place that is in the US and likely will be in 2017 rather than 2018 due to health issues. I most likely will not be able to do that and Disney (and no one on my husbands side has any interest in Disney) so that is a bummer. I am wanting to try to revamp my budget as much as possible to see if both would be possible but it is unlikely unless I forgo food and start walking everywhere (which really couldn't possibly hurt!)

 

[dayvewc]

@dayvewc I can't believe how complicated and convoluted this has become for you What a friggin hassle (to put it mildly). I hope you get a positive outcome soon!!

Thanks. It is becoming a massive hassle. I spent about 2 hours this evening talking to a friend of mine in law enforcement. She recommended that I call the Branson Police Department and file a fraud report. I also called and disputed the charge on the credit card for the deposit on the grounds that they have not upheld their end of the contract. It may not do much, but my friend said that when the investigator calls from the cc company, if I have an incident report number for the fraud complaint it may help there. And, having the fraud complaint could be added ammunition to give to the Missouri Attorney General.

I also checked, just to see, and I actually COULD pay the law firm using one of my CC's. I just really didn't want to do that, I'd rather pay them down than add to them. And, in re-reading the email that the law firm sent, they do guarantee that if they don't win the case for me (but no guarantee for a refund from Diamond) that they will refund my retainer fee. That sounds good, but if they don't win that would mean I can't get the contract canceled, then I'll be stuck with added late fees and interest.

I'm really trying to decide if it will be worth it to my credit score to just quit trying to be accommodating and cease payments, should everything go south.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We just filed DH's Canadian tax return and he will be getting back just over $3k! He didn't make much this past year because he quit working way back in May because of the wedding/move to the States. This meant that he qualified for some decent tax benefits based on low income. We will be putting every last cent of his return towards his student loans, which will bring them down substantially! I am really excited because this makes it even more likely that we will be able to pay off his loans by the end of this year like I had wanted.

 

[Eureka]

After over three months of living frugally and sticking to my debt dumping plan, I went on a bit of a shopping spree this morning. Nothing too big, but since I haven't really been making any unnecessary purchases for months it did feel like I was being "bad". Oh well, it was fun and now I have some new comfy shoes for our upcoming DL trip - they are Skechers with memory foam soles and they are SO comfortable already! I will break them in more before our trip. I also got some stuff at Bath and Body Works and Origins. Still scheduled to pay $1,000 on my cc next Friday as well!

Sometimes, you just need to. And shoes that you'll wear aren't really a splurge in my book, though I do get where you're coming from. Great job on the cc!