Debt Dumpers - 2017

[Ngwira]

Budget is busted since I just booked a trip for my family of 4 to Las Vegas in June. I came under 2,000 for flights and hotel and we have the money so I don't feel too bad. Looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam!

 

[OhMari]

Budget is busted since I just booked a trip for my family of 4 to Las Vegas in June. I came under 2,000 for flights and hotel and we have the money so I don't feel too bad. Looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam!

Just to let you know that the Grand Canyon is 6-7 hours away from Las Vegas. We were in Phoenix and our 2 oldest sons convinced us to go to Vegas for 2 days on our Vacation. We had to drive back to Phoenix to visit with our daughter and to fly back home. We decided to detour and go see the Grand Canyon. It was 40 miles off the main highway, so 80 miles extra. I felt so bad, we stayed about 20 minutes, took a bunch of pictures and left. When we got back in the car, I was mad and said, "that is not the way I wanted to see the Grand Canyon." My family looked at me like I was nuts and they wanted to know what else there was to see.

 

[Ngwira]

Just to let you know that the Grand Canyon is 6-7 hours away from Las Vegas. We were in Phoenix and our 2 oldest sons convinced us to go to Vegas for 2 days on our Vacation. We had to drive back to Phoenix to visit with our daughter and to fly back home. We decided to detour and go see the Grand Canyon. It was 40 miles off the main highway, so 80 miles extra. I felt so bad, we stayed about 20 minutes, took a bunch of pictures and left. When we got back in the car, I was mad and said, "that is not the way I wanted to see the Grand Canyon." My family looked at me like I was nuts and they wanted to know what else there was to see.

Thanks for the info. We are taking a bus tour from our hotel. The total tour is 14 hours. We are picked up from our Vegas hotel around 7:00 am and returned at 9:30pm. No way I could drive those unfamiliar roads on my own. That was a concern of mine and the reason why I hesitated to visit the GC on my own. Found a groupon for a tour company that has great reviews.

 

[OhMari]

Thanks for the info. We are taking a bus tour from our hotel. The total tour is 14 hours. We are picked up from our Vegas hotel around 7:00 am and returned at 9:30pm. No way I could drive those unfamiliar roads on my own. That was a concern of mine and the reason why I hesitated to visit the GC on my own. Found a groupon for a tour company that has great reviews.

There is no easy way or short cut across the dessert to get to the Grand Canyon. You basically travel north, then south and then north again to get there. I looked on the map, and there is no short cut road that cuts across to the Grand Canyon from Vegas. You will love the Hoover dam. We visited when the new road above the Dam just opened. I think it was amazing, that the main road went on top of the dam. You can still drive across, but most walk across and back.

 

[Ngwira]

I'm so excited. It's my 40th birthday trip so splurged a little. We booked the Bellagio I've never been to Vegas or Arizona so looking forward to an amazing once in a lifetime (for me) trip.

 

[Ngwira]

That is a similar deal that is available on the US Costco site too, but they also have one called the Las Vegas Power Pass. What I did was get on the regular sites for each card (the go card has a few options, inclusive, explorer, or build your own) and I compared which card had what attractions, and figured out which one worked best for us.

Here are the sites:
http://www.smartdestinations.com/las-vegas-attractions-and-tours/_d_Las-p1.html?pass=Las_Prod_Exp
https://www.lasvegaspass.com/

The US Costco site sells the 3 day Power Pass for $122, which is just under the regular price for the 2 day pass. Right now the Power Pass is 10-20% off through tomorrow, but if this is like the London Pass I used two years ago, those sales happen pretty often. Usually you can also find a promo code via google. If we had been able to use three full days with our pass, we could have easily gotten another $100 value each with the things that interested us. If my fiance gets the job he went out to quote, he'll have to go back, and we might make another weekend of it, but I don't know if the Pass would be worth it a second time because some of the things are one-and-done for us. It was great for a first trip though, or if there's lots you want to see again.

ETA: I also noticed with the Go Card, that the Costco one is special with 4 attractions, the regular site sells 3/5/7 attraction cards. The Costco one is about the same price at the 3 attraction one.

Bumping this. Thanks!

 

[dayvewc]

My summer trip, I'm driving to visit my sister in Albuquerque for 5 days, then to the Grand Canyon for 2 nights, over to Vegas for 3 nights, in to Disneyland for 5 nights, down to San Diego for 2 nights, 2 days to get to San Antonio and 3 nights there then home. Taking my mom, she hasn't seen anything west of New Mexico. And we figure it'll be good for her to get out and about after dad died.

 

[Dentam]

My summer trip, I'm driving to visit my sister in Albuquerque for 5 days, then to the Grand Canyon for 2 nights, over to Vegas for 3 nights, in to Disneyland for 5 nights, down to San Diego for 2 nights, 2 days to get to San Antonio and 3 nights there then home. Taking my mom, she hasn't seen anything west of New Mexico. And we figure it'll be good for her to get out and about after dad died.

Sounds like an awesome trip! I've still never been to the southwest and I live in CO now. Talking about doing a road trip next spring.

 

[amalone1013]

Bumping this. Thanks!

Definitely check them out!

We did the full $30pp tour at the Hoover dam which was really cool. You can see just the power plant area for $15, and the full one you takes you down inside the dam. We got to look out of a vent about halfway down the face of the dam

 

[Eureka]

I'm so excited. It's my 40th birthday trip so splurged a little. We booked the Bellagio I've never been to Vegas or Arizona so looking forward to an amazing once in a lifetime (for me) trip.

I can't think of Bellagio without thinking of Oceans Eleven!

 

[amalone1013]

I can't think of Bellagio without thinking of Oceans Eleven!

Haha, I said all I know about Vegas I learned from Oceans and the Hangover. The whole time we were there we kept saying, those are Terry Benedict's places...

 

[beansmom]

I'm so excited. It's my 40th birthday trip so splurged a little. We booked the Bellagio I've never been to Vegas or Arizona so looking forward to an amazing once in a lifetime (for me) trip.

we went to Phoenix in March then rented a car and drove to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest. After that we went down ROute 66 to Flagstaff and on to Williams. We took the train from Williams up to the Canyon--it took about 2 hours each way and you were at the Canyon to look around for about 3 days. After that we drove to Vegas....the next morning back to Phoenix thru the Joshua Tree Scenic area. It was an amazing trip and we are so glad we did it!

One thing we did was to seek out places from 'Diners, Drive=ins an Dives' for meals...it added an extra bit of fun.

 

[bcwife76]

Haha, looks like there are a lot of us doing Vegas this year! Dh and I leave Monday night!! Cannot WAIT! It's been a stressful Spring thus far, very much looking forward to forgetting it all for a few days in Vegas.

 

[beansmom]

We took the train from Williams up to the Canyon--it took about 2 hours each way and you were at the Canyon to look around for about 3 days. .

3 HOURS...not 3 days..sheesh.

 

[DisneyMandC]

One thing we did was to seek out places from 'Diners, Drive=ins an Dives' for meals...it added an extra bit of fun.

We do this anywhere we travel to! I'm not a big Guy Fieri fan (why is his hair so bright?), but I've never been disappointed in one of the restaurants we've gone to where he's been before. We went to a delicious Italian restaurant in NYC, and I think still have dreams of the seafood I ate at a restaurant in Honolulu.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Ugh, watching the credit card climb is making me so anxious. Little things and big things adding up fast. $600 for the car to get fixed. Ugh.

I feel like even when we make a "big" payment we're just blowing through it. I wonder if it would be better to make minimum payments (well, minimum + interest charge) for a couple of months and stash some money into savings to make some change on interest and then make a BIG payment. Will that keep us from making purchases on it for a bit? At least moreso than we do now?

Really, I just need to win the lottery!

 

[dayvewc]

One thing we did was to seek out places from 'Diners, Drive=ins an Dives' for meals...it added an extra bit of fun.

I SO want to spend time seeking out some of those places. But ... DM (Disney Mom?) is diabetic, on a salt-restricted diet, and can't eat much/many breads or starches (no potatoes), no fried foods (no french fries), lean proteins (no cheeseburgers), etc. Couple that with the 10 days of car travel, from 4 - 8 hours each day, and we AREN'T looking to do much exploratory eating. There's always the next trip, though.

 

[OhMari]

Sort of getting back to Dept. Dumpers. My dh is restoring a 1967 Chevy Chevelle. He took a loan out on it, for the car and parts. We finally have it paid off, so I am applying the payment to my VW Car. I plan on having it paid off in one year. I was already paying $1100 a month, when the payment is $430. So my payment will be a little over $1500.
Snowballing does work. I also make an extra $1,000's a month to our mortgage.
I just read a mortgage calculator, if I apply another $420 to our mortgage each month, I can knock off another 5 years.
So next year, I can start hitting our mortgage payments harder.
6 years ago, we were $112,000 in debt with credit cards, student-parent loans, car loans and mortgage.
So it does take work and time.
We are now down to car loan and mortgage.

 

[DnA2010]

Vegas - so fun! We are hoping to go in the fall/winter once they announce the schedule for the new hockey team!

A few years ago my mom and sis and I flew to Vegas, did 3 days/nights, then drove to the Grand Canyon, stayed the night, then drove to Phoenix, stayed a few nights then flew back- great trip!

Really want to figure out a cheap trip before I go back to work after maternity leave... we have stayed on budget and are doing well, still lots of the savings in the bank...needs to be 4-7ish days long, either west coast or a good deal on flights, and baby friendly..missed out on a RCL cruise that I was watching (4 nighter out of Seattle) can't do a last minute Alaska as my mom wants us all to go next year, can't do DL as we couldn't go with out DD and she won't be coming on this little trip...

 

[pblack]

Sort of getting back to Dept. Dumpers. My dh is restoring a 1967 Chevy Chevelle. He took a loan out on it, for the car and parts. We finally have it paid off, so I am applying the payment to my VW Car. I plan on having it paid off in one year. I was already paying $1100 a month, when the payment is $430. So my payment will be a little over $1500.
Snowballing does work. I also make an extra $1,000's a month to our mortgage.
I just read a mortgage calculator, if I apply another $420 to our mortgage each month, I can knock off another 5 years.
So next year, I can start hitting our mortgage payments harder.
6 years ago, we were $112,000 in debt with credit cards, student-parent loans, car loans and mortgage.
So it does take work and time.
We are now down to car loan and mortgage.

Congrats on the progress you've made so far! The "snowball" method is what i'm attempting now. Trying to pay the smallest debts first, and then hitting the larger debts with the "extra" money from the smaller debts.