Debt Dumpers - 2017

[dayvewc]

The different benefits for a resale purchase are a little worrisome - not so much for the actual different benefits now (the benefits that direct purchasers get are not things that we really want) but the possibility that there might be further changes. But we are not buying more than 100 points now, and it seems like Disney is not threatening any additional changes, so for us the cost difference is worth the risk.

Also, congrats on the new payment plan!

With the caveat of "past actions are no guarantee of future performance", if you aren't interested in the current additional benefits, then I wouldn't worry about any upcoming changes.

When DVC did the first change (resale members could not trade for DCL, AbD, or RCI), they grandfathered in all the resale members up to that date. Same thing when they ended the discounts and member only benefits, everyone who owned by the start date were eligible. Which actually means there are 3 different member types - 1) Direct owners and resale owners who bought before 2007 (I think) who have no restrictions; 2) resale owners who bought between 2007 and 2016, who get member only benefits, but cannot trade outside the DVC resorts; 3) resale owners who bought after 2016 (And I think the date was April 1) who can only trade inside the DVC resorts.

Honestly, the only member benefit that I have used is the Gold Annual Pass. DVC and Florida residents are able to buy the Gold AP, which has blockout dates at Christmas and Easter. First year (I bought it) cost was about $450, and the renewal rate is about $375. Much cheaper than trying to buy 5-6 day tickets and then paying for Photopass and parking. (Most of my trips to WDW I stay off property, so free parking saves me $100 a week)

So like I said at the beginning, if you aren't worried about the extra stuff (and you should NEVER buy a timeshare depending on the extras) save the direct buy cost and go resale.

 

[Ngwira]

Back from our trip to NYC. Our trip was wonderful. We were upgraded to a Times Square View room so it was even more special.
In budget news, I should be getting $50.00 back from ebates. Our window loan is now $2600 and should be paid off in less than 9 months! It was $7200 a year ago.
I received our renewal paperwork from Geico for our 6 month car insurance premium. It went DOWN $52.00, which is wonderful!
We are headed to Washington DC this weekend, then WDW mid August. After that, I'll be able to build the vacation fund back up.

 

[pblack]

No big reports on my end. I had about $500 extra on my paycheck this month due to a raise and a working out of class differential. I had been debating taking that $500 and paying off the smallest credit card debt we have or saving it to pay for our hotels for our Disneyland trip in October. After talking it over with the hubby we decided to save it and keep it for October. My check next month should have another $400-500 "extra" from the out of class differential, which I will also put towards our October trip. I was still able to pay down more than normal on the smallest credit card, so now we only owe $400 on it and a total of $6275 on all our credit cards. I hope to get that total down by $750-1000 by the end of the year. (The $400 will easily be paid off in a month or two.)

We made a trip out to Ikea this weekend and splurged on a hutch that we plan to use as a bar. Needless to say Ikea directions suck and neither of us were very happy after trying to put the P.O.S. (frustrations talking) together last night. I'll leave it at that lol. Our quickie Disneyland trip is fast approaching (08/26!) and i'm sooo ready for it.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Got cash out at an ATM yesterday and got an extra $20 note! Bought ourselves a ni e bottle of wine as we are going to a friend's for dinner tomorrow night.

 

[DisneyMandC]

We leave at 8 am tomorrow morning for our Disney trip!! Very excited here!! I've got my discounted Disney gift card, someone gave me a $10 Starbucks card for my birthday, and my MIL gave me a $25 Visa gift card for my birthday, so all of those will come with us for spending money. I have a couple souvenirs planned (Pop Century pin, AK Starbucks mug, Christmas ornament) but other than that am hoping not to come home with too much.

In fantastic budget news, we finally received the checks from last month's horse show where my horse did very well. We were expecting to receive about $1100, but were VERY pleasantly surprised to discover he had also won an additional $1000 in one class!! We do split the money with our trainer, since he showed the horse, but it more than paid all of our expenses, so we are very, very happy!

 

[Dentam]

Have a fantastic trip, @DisneyMandC !!

 

[bcwife76]

Well after nearly 10 weeks our air conditioning was finally fixed yesterday Just in time for the heat wave that is hitting here this week Total was $4500 which was the original quote so no surprises but still......ouuuuuuuccccchhhhhh. Positives about not having had a/c the past few weeks include a lower than average Hydro bill and the money that is ear marked for the payment has been earning interest in our savings account ;-) Plus I got a shed load of PC rewards points on my PC mastercard!

In happy-we-paid-it-off-months-ago- news we leave on our Alaskan cruise 4 weeks today

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Finally decided to start being smart about what accounts were paying for what and moved most of our monthly payments onto the credit card to maximize the amount of points we get each month. I'm annoyed at myself for not thinking about this sooner--we were spending more than we needed to every month because I'd keep money in the bank account to cover bills/food and then depending on what we needed that month I'd go crazy trying to figure out if we could use the money in the bank account or if we needed to put it on the credit card...well, since we want to pay the credit card down ANYWAY, it makes WAY MORE SENSE to just put any and all spare money on it until it's paid down. So basically we're paying more than we charge on it every month and not double-dipping because I'm nervous about the bank account balance.

I'm not sure that explanation made sense, but it's definitely paying off for us! More points earned every month, credit card balance going down, bills paid, food gotten, win-win!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Finally decided to start being smart about what accounts were paying for what and moved most of our monthly payments onto the credit card to maximize the amount of points we get each month. I'm annoyed at myself for not thinking about this sooner--we were spending more than we needed to every month because I'd keep money in the bank account to cover bills/food and then depending on what we needed that month I'd go crazy trying to figure out if we could use the money in the bank account or if we needed to put it on the credit card...well, since we want to pay the credit card down ANYWAY, it makes WAY MORE SENSE to just put any and all spare money on it until it's paid down. So basically we're paying more than we charge on it every month and not double-dipping because I'm nervous about the bank account balance.

I'm not sure that explanation made sense, but it's definitely paying off for us! More points earned every month, credit card balance going down, bills paid, food gotten, win-win!

You should try some budgeting software. It will take all of the guess work out of the "can I spend that money in the bank account" question. We have now been using YNAB for over a year and not having to second guess what money should be going towards what bills has made a huge difference on my stress levels/sanity. We used to get down really low in our checking account by the end of the month, but now that we have eliminated the credit card debt and budget for everything, our account always has a very big cushion so I never worry anymore.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I've got a very detailed spreadsheet that I update religiously, but that is only as good as the most recent bank update. Like, for instance, even though my DVC dues are supposed to be taken out on the 1st it can vary up to 5 days! So when making a purchase in the beginning of the month I always panic about when things are supposed to hit v. when they do. This takes that guesswork out!

 

[fallonkendra]

I haven't been updating much on here, and we haven't been too focused on paying off debt this year with our wedding coming up in January - but anytime I can save some money on things I take it as a win!

When we decided to extend our trip a few days earlier, we reserved a room at Pop Century for the 3 additional nights. Since these 3 nights were December 30th, 31st and January 1st, it was at a cost of $217/night (for a value - ouch!). We finally set up our room block at Disney for the wedding, and I was able to cancel my existing reservation for Pop and rebook for December 30th and 31st using the room block prices - $101/night at Pop Then, we are using our complimentary night on January 1st to stay at the Grand Floridian. So, originally it was going to cost us $651+tax for 3 nights at Pop, now it will only cost $202+tax for 2 nights at Pop and our free night at the Grand - a savings of $450.

We have a WestJet Mastercard, so we booked our flights using our annual companion flight (pay full price for the first flight, and only $99 plus taxes and fees for the second flight). I find it very expensive to fly in Canada, and I was very adamant on taking a direct flight to Orlando this time, so this companion flight voucher ended up saving us about $500.

The US dollar was struggling a bit over the past few weeks, but the Canadian dollar hit yearly highs. I used this to my advantage by making a few large payments on wedding related items to save on the exchange rate. A few months ago, $1000USD was about $1400CAD, but last week $1000USD was only $1250CAD - which means I save $150. These payments to Disney weren't due until December, but I saved money and took some stress off by paying things down early.

Even though it's not technically getting rid of debt, I am getting the wedding of my dreams and not sinking too much farther into debt than I already was. I have been able to save over $1000 just from the three things I mentioned above!

Also worth noting - my wedding budget spreadsheet covers all expenses for our entire 2 week trip (including hotels, park tickets, flights, all wedding day related costs, etc but excluding souvenirs and eating at restaurants, since we exchange Canadian money over to US every payday, and aim to pay for those things with the cash we save). We have done some basic pricing out, and a single day wedding event in the city we live in would cost us more than our 2 week Disney wedding trip - so I also take that as a win haha. Also, we have stayed under budget on every single thing we've paid out on the wedding so far. For example, I had $100/each in the budget for my fiance and I to get new shoes for the wedding, but we found a sale and ended up getting both pairs for $125.

 

[Superchikk]

I've got a very detailed spreadsheet that I update religiously, but that is only as good as the most recent bank update. Like, for instance, even though my DVC dues are supposed to be taken out on the 1st it can vary up to 5 days! So when making a purchase in the beginning of the month I always panic about when things are supposed to hit v. when they do. This takes that guesswork out!

We put as much on our CC as possible, and pay it off every month. The way I keep track of it is to have a line item in my spreadsheet. When something is charged to the card, I move it from the budget account it comes out of (Electric bill, for instance), and put it into the CC line item. I keep all receipts and have a sheet for thinks I don't have receipts for that I write down expenses - auto bill things that don't send statements, etc. I do that with every expense. That way, when the statement arrives, I can check each charge against the receipts/expenses I've written down. I can see immediately if I've missed anything and which budget category it needs to come from. Then, the money is set aside to pay the card, no guesswork and no freaking out when the statement comes with a big number on it.

 

[Eureka]

Feeling very down in the whole debt area. Have lots of CC debt from NYC trip and this week I'll be paying off one card (that has interest) and working on the other card (no interest for another six months). Took one of the cars in because we'd been having tire problems (ended up that there was a nail) and they found much more that needed doing. Since DH drives hundreds of miles a week (not quite as much as me but still a lot), it needed to be done. DH's work has been going through a merger for the past year and his work phone is about to be wiped of all personal stuff, he so decided it was time to buy a personal iphone. Monthly bill going up by $65, plus he needed a case, blah blah blah. Had to buy one kid a lot of stuff for his summer work (science labs) and the other running shoes....they don't go back to school for a month but starting to think about what else they'll need....and DH and my anniversary trip is coming up. All in all, the money is just leaking out of our pores lately. DH likes to sock away as much money as possible for retirement and college so when our monthly bills go up, we need to take from somewhere but he doesn't always curb his daily spending (fast food) so I end up juggling. (We've had this particular "heated conversation" before and it's just not a battle I'm willing to continue picking). Luckily I am thrifty and when I cook, I am creative, but I am not cooking every night anymore so when he cooks, it's lots of meat. Hate feeling like this and I know it will all be fine but we were doing so well for awhile and now it's back to the drawing board. Thanks for listening, sorry to whine.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I am exhausted! We just got back from our trip north for our baby shower- we had a fantastic time and got so many beautiful gifts but I'm happy to be back in my own bed for sure! Now that we're home and can see what gifts we received, I need to go through and see what we still need from our registries. Since we did a gender reveal shower (it's a boy!) we got a lot more practical gifts and more off of our registry than I think is typical, which will help us so much! Of course, we also got lots of adorable (gender neutral) outfits and some cloth diapers!

The trip itself wasn't too hard on our budget, mostly just food there and back, but since we didn't buy groceries for the week we were gone it came out of there. We did get a few cash gifts for our shower, so we will use it to open up a savings account for the baby. Any recommendations? Not sure if we should we going with a college savings plan specifically or just a regular savings account for him. Lots to think about!

 

[DnA2010]

Well our Alaska cruise (my mom is taking us) is coming quick and so far it is going to be cheap as I just haven't had time to look into any excursions..with babies we aren't going to be doing anything crazy anyways.
Not sure yet if we will be staying with family the night before, so I have booked 2 rooms at the Fairmont Waterfront right beside the cruise port in Vancouver under my corporate rate which is less than half the rack rate- still pricey (rack rate is generally $500 a night!) but it's a lovely hotel right next to the port, one for us, one for my sister (my mom will hop in with them for 1 night)

We are love love loving our new fridge and also our new bed- I hate spending money but I'm glad we bought these with our surplus maternity leave fund.

 

[pblack]

Feeling very down in the whole debt area. Have lots of CC debt from NYC trip and this week I'll be paying off one card (that has interest) and working on the other card (no interest for another six months). Took one of the cars in because we'd been having tire problems (ended up that there was a nail) and they found much more that needed doing. Since DH drives hundreds of miles a week (not quite as much as me but still a lot), it needed to be done. DH's work has been going through a merger for the past year and his work phone is about to be wiped of all personal stuff, he so decided it was time to buy a personal iphone. Monthly bill going up by $65, plus he needed a case, blah blah blah. Had to buy one kid a lot of stuff for his summer work (science labs) and the other running shoes....they don't go back to school for a month but starting to think about what else they'll need....and DH and my anniversary trip is coming up. All in all, the money is just leaking out of our pores lately. DH likes to sock away as much money as possible for retirement and college so when our monthly bills go up, we need to take from somewhere but he doesn't always curb his daily spending (fast food) so I end up juggling. (We've had this particular "heated conversation" before and it's just not a battle I'm willing to continue picking). Luckily I am thrifty and when I cook, I am creative, but I am not cooking every night anymore so when he cooks, it's lots of meat. Hate feeling like this and I know it will all be fine but we were doing so well for awhile and now it's back to the drawing board. Thanks for listening, sorry to whine.

I'm so sorry for all the troubles you've been having. At least you'll be paying off one credit card with no interest on the other! Just need to try and look at some of the more positive things. I'm sure this will all just be a minor speed bump on your path to paying down debt. At least you know you have some place to come vent where people understand.

 

[DnA2010]

Feeling very down in the whole debt area. Have lots of CC debt from NYC trip and this week I'll be paying off one card (that has interest) and working on the other card (no interest for another six months). Took one of the cars in because we'd been having tire problems (ended up that there was a nail) and they found much more that needed doing. Since DH drives hundreds of miles a week (not quite as much as me but still a lot), it needed to be done. DH's work has been going through a merger for the past year and his work phone is about to be wiped of all personal stuff, he so decided it was time to buy a personal iphone. Monthly bill going up by $65, plus he needed a case, blah blah blah. Had to buy one kid a lot of stuff for his summer work (science labs) and the other running shoes....they don't go back to school for a month but starting to think about what else they'll need....and DH and my anniversary trip is coming up. All in all, the money is just leaking out of our pores lately. DH likes to sock away as much money as possible for retirement and college so when our monthly bills go up, we need to take from somewhere but he doesn't always curb his daily spending (fast food) so I end up juggling. (We've had this particular "heated conversation" before and it's just not a battle I'm willing to continue picking). Luckily I am thrifty and when I cook, I am creative, but I am not cooking every night anymore so when he cooks, it's lots of meat. Hate feeling like this and I know it will all be fine but we were doing so well for awhile and now it's back to the drawing board. Thanks for listening, sorry to whine.

That's a toughy with not being on the same page with the personal spending - my DH used to do a lot of stopping on the ambulance and we had to come full circle with it and cut it out- it is a big leak for sure. Can you help him fill the void? Pack him extra food etc?

 

[bladiator]

That's a toughy with not being on the same page with the personal spending - my DH used to do a lot of stopping on the ambulance and we had to come full circle with it and cut it out- it is a big leak for sure. Can you help him fill the void? Pack him extra food etc?

I know that for me personally, saving money was a real hassle, but once I was able to see us getting ahead on bills and having way more money available to save for things I REALLY wanted (i.e., a WDW trip and not just a cheap hamburger that I may or may not enjoy), it was pretty infectious. My wife and I have really cut back. Yes, it's boring sometimes, but you just gotta find things to reward yourself (but not a reward that costs everything that you saved!).

 

[Eureka]

That's a toughy with not being on the same page with the personal spending - my DH used to do a lot of stopping on the ambulance and we had to come full circle with it and cut it out- it is a big leak for sure. Can you help him fill the void? Pack him extra food etc?

No. Years ago I packed him lunches but now that we're older, he just wants what he wants and we do make a good living so he gets it. It's just that sometimes we can't have it all at once, you know? And he did ask me if we could afford the new phone before we went, and we can...it's just we weren't expecting to pay $900 for car repairs....

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Eureka, I get that argument.

DH IS pretty good when things are tight but the minute we seem to have a little spare the small amount spending creeps up. We need to get a car loan/lease so it will be tighter again until the new year, when we would be clear with paying off stuff. But then I will be the one wanting to build up savings and DH will just loosen the belt. I hate arguing over it so I just try and juggle too.