Debt Dumpers - 2016

[Dentam]

I'm glad that your dog is okay! It's a bummer to have that vet bill (although we know it could've been much higher!) but you must have really great friends to look out for their safety! I would've done the same thing as them but there are some pet lovers who wouldn't have rushed all 3 to the vet to be on the safe side!

Yes, I appreciate that they were on the safe side. I think they are assuming it was my dog that chewed up the head lamp and it very well could have been. I don't leave stuff like that out for her to get into so I'm not sure if she'd do that or not. Anyway, I think next time I'll just board her since I won't have to worry about that kind of thing when she's boarded at her doggy daycare. The friends she was staying with have had to take their dogs to the emergency vet quite a few times after they've gotten into stuff and I just think they need to be more careful about leaving things within reach. This includes their young dog eating a bunch of doggy meds one time and another time a few bags of treats. It made me a bit cautious about leaving my dog with them and they were only charging a few bucks less a night then the doggy daycare. After the vet bill it ended up costing me more to have her stay with them. Oh well, lesson learned and I am glad that they made sure that all the dogs were okay!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Yes, I appreciate that they were on the safe side. I think they are assuming it was my dog that chewed up the head lamp and it very well could have been. I don't leave stuff like that out for her to get into so I'm not sure if she'd do that or not. Anyway, I think next time I'll just board her since I won't have to worry about that kind of thing when she's boarded at her doggy daycare. The friends she was staying with have had to take their dogs to the emergency vet quite a few times after they've gotten into stuff and I just think they need to be more careful about leaving things within reach. This includes their young dog eating a bunch of doggy meds one time and another time a few bags of treats. It made me a bit cautious about leaving my dog with them and they were only charging a few bucks less a night then the doggy daycare. After the vet bill it ended up costing me more to have her stay with them. Oh well, lesson learned and I am glad that they made sure that all the dogs were okay!

I agree with this decision. I would rather leave my dog with a professional boarding service even if it costs a few bucks more. I just think its crazy that they charged you the money though because they obviously didn't do a good job of looking for the bulb before they rushed all the dogs to the emergency vet. That can get really expensive.

 

[4Mickeys]

I just think its crazy that they charged you the money though because they obviously didn't do a good job of looking for the bulb before they rushed all the dogs to the emergency vet.

Got to admit my first thought when I read your original post was why did you have to pay? It happened on their watch....

 

[stayhomemom77]

So for the past few months, I've been really worked on budgeting money as it has come in--not just buying stuff and assuming I'll figure out how to pay for it in the end. I am happy to report that I actually had a few dollars left at the end of December to put towards debt. That's in DECEMBER people, the most spendy of months! Now, to just keep this ball rolling...

Awesome! We came in ON budget...which is what I was aiming for. Kudos to you for being under!! Bet it feels great!!

Got to admit my first thought when I read your original post was why did you have to pay? It happened on their watch....

I thought that too...but we don't have pets, so I thought I'd better keep my opinion to myself.

 

[4Mickeys]

I thought that too...but we don't have pets, so I thought I'd better keep my opinion to myself.

Well I lasted a few days of keeping it to myself but once another poster opened the door - I thought yeah that's what I was thinking lol

 

[Dentam]

I agree with this decision. I would rather leave my dog with a professional boarding service even if it costs a few bucks more. I just think its crazy that they charged you the money though because they obviously didn't do a good job of looking for the bulb before they rushed all the dogs to the emergency vet. That can get really expensive.

Got to admit my first thought when I read your original post was why did you have to pay? It happened on their watch....

Yeah, I'm not super pleased with them. I wish they would have searched more thoroughly for the battery before taking the dogs to the vet. I didn't mention that the vet gave them one dog's x-ray for free and from how I understood it when they explained all of this to me, they applied it to one of their dogs. In my opinion it would have been nice to just divide the total cost by the three dogs. They also took her to a doggy daycare one day and gave me the bill for that - $28. If I was paying to have her boarded that would include the doggy daycare. I don't feel like creating a big deal out of it with them though so will just pay them and plan for my dog to stay at the doggy daycare/boarding facility during future trips.

 

[Dentam]

Well I lasted a few days of keeping it to myself but once another poster opened the door - I thought yeah that's what I was thinking lol

I actually just posted about it yesterday, but it does seem like longer ago already, lol. My reason for having her stay with them in the first place was my concern that she would get sick at the boarding place. She went there for doggy daycare as a puppy and got kennel cough once. She's vaccinated for it but the vaccine isn't a 100% guarantee. Now that she's older maybe her immune system will be a bit stronger. It's just a trade off I guess. At least with kennel cough it's not something that usually requires a vet visit... though I'd like her to stay healthy of course.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Yeah, I'm not super pleased with them. I wish they would have searched more thoroughly for the battery before taking the dogs to the vet. I didn't mention that the vet gave them one dog's x-ray for free and from how I understood it when they explained all of this to me, they applied it to one of their dogs. In my opinion it would have been nice to just divide the total cost by the three dogs. They also took her to a doggy daycare one day and gave me the bill for that - $28. If I was paying to have her boarded that would include the doggy daycare. I don't feel like creating a big deal out of it with them though so will just pay them and plan for my dog to stay at the doggy daycare/boarding facility during future trips.

Yeah. It's probably not worth making a big deal, especially if they are friends. Live and learn. But $28 for doggy daycare too? Just wow.

 

[Dentam]

Yeah. It's probably not worth making a big deal, especially if they are friends. Live and learn. But $28 for doggy daycare too? Just wow.

Yeah, and I can see how splitting the vet bill 50/50 is fair too, which is basically what we're doing. My dog was apparently a bit of a pain with them in other ways (whining and barking to go outside all the time and refusing to come in, etc) so I think she was just more of a handful than they were expecting. She's only 1.5 years old so still has a lot of puppy in her. I'm just letting this go and I am grateful to them for making sure she was okay. It obviously would have been much worse if she had swallowed a battery and they didn't take her in.

 

[Angeejoe]

Yeah. It's probably not worth making a big deal, especially if they are friends. Live and learn. But $28 for doggy daycare too? Just wow.

@Dentam , you should've subtracted the $28 off their bill for care

 

[Dentam]

@Dentam , you should've subtracted the $28 off their bill for care

I know, right? That was my thought too. Trying to take the Frozen song approach though!

 

[Angeejoe]

I know, right? That was my thought too. Trying to take the Frozen song approach though!

LET IT GO...LET IT GO... Too funny

 

[mmounsey]

So many great tips on this board...joining in too

 

[4Mickeys]

I actually just posted about it yesterday, but it does seem like longer ago already, lol.

Haha you're right it did seem longer - I'm going to blame the time difference between our countries

Just as long as your doggy is ok in the end I suppose and now you know what do with her the next time you're away. Its hard travelling when you have pets.

 

[ashleyasiegel]

I have followed this thread off and on for a couple of years. Things got out of hand in 2015 and we have accumulated credit card debt. I couldn't say no to a couple of much needed vacations, ate out way too much, and shopped too much. I need to sit down and refigure out our budget and where everything is going.

I need to come up with a good system to keep track of everything. Anyone have any good tips of getting started?

 

[DisneyMandC]

I have followed this thread off and on for a couple of years. Things got out of hand in 2015 and we have accumulated credit card debt. I couldn't say no to a couple of much needed vacations, ate out way too much, and shopped too much. I need to sit down and refigure out our budget and where everything is going.

I need to come up with a good system to keep track of everything. Anyone have any good tips of getting started?

Check out You Need a Budget! There's a free trial and it comes with a lot of pre-entered categories where you can put in and track your spending.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I have followed this thread off and on for a couple of years. Things got out of hand in 2015 and we have accumulated credit card debt. I couldn't say no to a couple of much needed vacations, ate out way too much, and shopped too much. I need to sit down and refigure out our budget and where everything is going.

I need to come up with a good system to keep track of everything. Anyone have any good tips of getting started?

I have been using mint.com for years and have found it really helpful as a tool for seeing everything all at once. You link your bank accounts, loans, credit cards and investment accounts and it gives you a full picture of your current state. You can set up budget categories for each month. It will track all of your expenses made on credit.

I would also sit down with pencil and paper and write down all of your outstanding debts with the minimum monthly payments. Then determine which debt you want to tackle first (highest interest rate or lowest balance). You can figure out how much extra beyond the monthly payment you could contribute each month and make a timeline for payoff of that debt. Then once the first debt is paid off, you snowball that money into the next debt payment and so on.

 

[Eureka]

@Dentam , you should've subtracted the $28 off their bill for care

No kidding. If they had plans and needed to send her to daycare, that's their problem, not yours. (I'm a cat owner who only asks a friend to come in every other day to feed her and clean out the box when we're away, and she doesn't charge me. But I always leave a treat or small gc of some kind.)

 

[stayhomemom77]

Well, I sure hope your pooch doesn't get sick next time when you board her and you avoid all headaches and hassles. Glad to hear that none of the dogs swallowed the batteries.

 

[Gena001]

Today I've achieved a new level of debt dumping. I am currently processing my very first at home hair dye job!!!! Eeeeeks!!!! I will let you know how it comes out.

I switched last year, too! After 25 years of going to the salon (haven't seen my natural color since 1985) my roots are turning gray so it's much easier to be blond than it once was. I purchase kits on sale at Walgreens using my Balance Reward card. Then I just go into Great Clips to have my hair trimmed. I'm not as picky as I once was and the stylists I've had have been good. Plus at check out you get a coupon for your next visit!