Debt Dumpers - 2017

[mrsabbott]

I was reading about people getting their federal returns back already and I was wondering what was taking so long with mine. Turns out I somehow didn't complete the last step in completing the efile. Oops!
I feel so dumb... we will get it filed tonight when the Hubs gets home because I need his info to complete it.

 

[NinaBella]

They are still coming pretty fast. My 24-year old got his in 3 business day. My 22-year old e-filed last Thursday and got his today (1-week). I got the last piece of info I was waiting for today so i will be filing within the next couple days. I hope they stay quick returns.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm impatiently waiting on my taxes still. Stupid hold for anyone who got the income credit. I'm trying to get the last of the things I need for baby #2 and there's a ton of great sales, but I'm waiting on that extra money.

We keep going back and forth on what we will do with the extra. I really wanted to pay a bunch of stuff off, but he made a good point that he will have the only income for a month and a half and that we should put that money back for my maternity leave and also pay for half of our fall family trip (so we don't finance it). Two of our debts will be paid off in June if we just keep making our regular payments, so I guess that isn't too bad. I suppose in July I can start doubling up on the rest to hopefully get them gone by the end of the year. But I would feel better having the extra cushion while not working.

 

[DisneyMandC]

New student loan payment came through this morning! Down to $311/mo from $815/mo! Happy Friday to me! First payment is in March so I'll have some breathing room this month.

Still no federal refund. It has only been 10 days since I mailed though, and I'm in VA so I imagine it took a couple days to reach Kansas City.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

First unexpected expense of 2017 is here! $340 for genetic testing for my husband. haven't talked about it much here, but we plan to start TTC in May (We went to Mexico in Nov so we have to wait 6 months due to the Zika virus). Long story short, a few cousins in my family had Muscular Dystrophy a few generations back, so we decided to get tested to make sure neither of us is a carrier. Naturally, insurance didn't cover, so it's $340 for DH and then if we comes back positive for anything it will probably be $340 for me as well. We decided to not do both at once, since if he comes back not being a carrier for anything I wouldn't really need to be tested, since there would be no chance of passing it on. Bad news is since we put about $300/ mo in savings that negates our savings for the month, but on the bright side it won't be on a credit card like it would have been a year ago! : )

 

[dayvewc]

First unexpected expense of 2017 is here! $340 for genetic testing for my husband. haven't talked about it much here, but we plan to start TTC in May (We went to Mexico in Nov so we have to wait 6 months due to the Zika virus). Long story short, a few cousins in my family had Muscular Dystrophy a few generations back, so we decided to get tested to make sure neither of us is a carrier. Naturally, insurance didn't cover, so it's $340 for DH and then if we comes back positive for anything it will probably be $340 for me as well. We decided to not do both at once, since if he comes back not being a carrier for anything I wouldn't really need to be tested, since there would be no chance of passing it on. Bad news is since we put about $300/ mo in savings that negates our savings for the month, but on the bright side it won't be on a credit card like it would have been a year ago! : )

Keep looking on the bright side. And I hope it all comes back negative.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Keep looking on the bright side. And I hope it all comes back negative.

Thank you! : )

 

[mrsabbott]

Taxes are officially filed!
I swear, the first thing I am going to do is buy a dishwasher!! I can't take handwashing all our dishes anymore! Aargh!!

 

[Eureka]

I remember you saying that you didn't care for it. My girls are 10 and 7 so GWL is right up their alley. They love it. Fun for hubby and I too since we love the wave pool.

I looked into the NF location last summer when we went to Canada. Ended up at the 4 points at Sheraton booked on cash plus points and we upgraded to a Falls view room. We enjoyed it very much and would go back to that hotel in a heartbeat.

We went to GWL (Williamsburg, VA) when the boys were 6 and 8 and they loved it. Actually, we all did. Being in 84 degree weather in January, even if it was inside, was nice.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

First unexpected expense of 2017 is here! $340 for genetic testing for my husband. haven't talked about it much here, but we plan to start TTC in May (We went to Mexico in Nov so we have to wait 6 months due to the Zika virus). Long story short, a few cousins in my family had Muscular Dystrophy a few generations back, so we decided to get tested to make sure neither of us is a carrier. Naturally, insurance didn't cover, so it's $340 for DH and then if we comes back positive for anything it will probably be $340 for me as well. We decided to not do both at once, since if he comes back not being a carrier for anything I wouldn't really need to be tested, since there would be no chance of passing it on. Bad news is since we put about $300/ mo in savings that negates our savings for the month, but on the bright side it won't be on a credit card like it would have been a year ago! : )

This is a very smart move I think. When DH and I went through the retrieval cycle for IVF, you have the option to do genetic testing on the embryos to ensure there are no chromosomal abnormalities. It wasn't covered by insurance and cost $2050, but we felt that it was a worthy expense to ensure the health of our future kids. All of our embryos came back negative for abnormalities, which the doctor commented is very rare, but I don't have any regrets. It gave us a lot of peace of mind and also increases our chances at a successful pregnancy. I know some people might have objections against such testing or might not think the expense was worth it, but after a serious conversation, DH and I agreed this was the right thing for us.

 

[Ngwira]

New student loan payment came through this morning! Down to $311/mo from $815/mo! Happy Friday to me! First payment is in March so I'll have some breathing room this month.

Still no federal refund. It has only been 10 days since I mailed though, and I'm in VA so I imagine it took a couple days to reach Kansas City.

Wow, just wow. That's awesome.

 

[Ngwira]

State taxes are filed. Looking forward to our refund.
DH and I are having a frugal, yet fun Valentine's weekend. Spending tomorrow night at our local Marriott on points= $0. Dinner at our favorite restaurant using gift cards we bought at Christmas that came with a bonus. Time away from the kids= priceless. Mother in law is babysitting so no sitter cost.

 

[lemonsours]

Taxes are officially filed!
I swear, the first thing I am going to do is buy a dishwasher!! I can't take handwashing all our dishes anymore! Aargh!!

Too funny, that is our first priority too! 4 years of handwashing is enough!

 

[mrsabbott]

My taxes were accepted and I got a message that said to expect my return sometime between the 15th and the 27th.

I was tempted a few times to eat out or buy a coffee or something, but am determined to have as many "no spend" days as I can. I will buy the kiddos a little box of Valentine's chocolates, but that is the only thing I plan to spend money on this month.

Looking forward to jump starting our debt snowball this month!! I can't wait to be debt free!!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I am starting to gather information on day care facilities. Not sure what wait lists may be like in my area, so I want to start sooner rather than later. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that some places cost as much as 25% of our take home pay for infant care 5 days a week. Ugh. Just have to do a lot of research to find the right place at the right price point, I guess.

 

[dclpluto]

Haven't did my taxes yet. Last year I had to pay maybe around 500 dollars between federal and state. So after I did the taxes last year I had my work take out 20 more dollars in federal taxes and 10 more dollars in state taxes a pay check. I get paid every two weeks. So hopefully I will get a little back. I claim married and 0 but it still wasn't enough.

 

[Ngwira]

I am starting to gather information on day care facilities. Not sure what wait lists may be like in my area, so I want to start sooner rather than later. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that some places cost as much as 25% of our take home pay for infant care 5 days a week. Ugh. Just have to do a lot of research to find the right place at the right price point, I guess.

Yes, it's so very expensive. But once they are school age the expenses comes down a bit. DH and I call the kids "money stealers", but we wouldn't give them up for the world.

 

[AmyAnne]

I am starting to gather information on day care facilities. Not sure what wait lists may be like in my area, so I want to start sooner rather than later. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that some places cost as much as 25% of our take home pay for infant care 5 days a week. Ugh. Just have to do a lot of research to find the right place at the right price point, I guess.

If I remember correctly, you are living in a university town? If so, I would advise checking into whether the university has a day care center. We sent some of our kids to one and it was great - the cost was slightly lower and the care/attention was excellent, because it was staffed by not only full-time staff but professors and students who used the kids as part of the teaching process.

Another thing we did for our first child was find a caretaker who was the wife of a foreign graduate student. She had a child who was a few years older, and our son pretty much became her second child (during the work week) for his first few years. We were so sad when her husband finished his degree and they moved.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

If I remember correctly, you are living in a university town? If so, I would advise checking into whether the university has a day care center. We sent some of our kids to one and it was great - the cost was slightly lower and the care/attention was excellent, because it was staffed by not only full-time staff but professors and students who used the kids as part of the teaching process.

Another thing we did for our first child was find a caretaker who was the wife of a foreign graduate student. She had a child who was a few years older, and our son pretty much became her second child (during the work week) for his first few years. We were so sad when her husband finished his degree and they moved.

The university's day care center is one of the most expensive. That is the one that is 25% of our income for 5 days per week. Our income is too high to qualify for any kind of discounts. Also, all but 1 of the 3 locations on campus are actually pretty inconvenient to where we work. I have also looked at the JCC, which is a few hundred dollars cheaper per month and I have heard good things about, but is still a bit more than I would like to spend and the location would again be a bit out of the way.

We live 13 miles from work, so having something either close to home, directly on the way to work or close to work would be optimal. There is a location that is 1/2 a mile from our house. They take infants and it is accredited by NAEYC, which is a plus (University and JCC are as well). I don't know the price range yet because they don't have it on their website, but I sent an email inquiring about several things. Being so close, on days that I work from home, DH would be able to take the baby around 8am when he heads out to work, I could work during the day and then easily pick them up at 4pm or so, which seems like a huge plus to me. The center seems nice with a low caregiver to infant ratio and a very diverse group of kids.

I am not as interested in a single caregiver situation because I worry about child care if that single person is ill or has something else come up. I travel a lot for work, so if I were not in town, my husband would have to take a day (or more) off of work to care for the baby then. He can't work remotely at this point since he is still considered a junior developer. I feel like we would be much less likely to have an issue at a day care center.

I guess it would be interesting to know the costs per month that others spent towards day care for their infants. I wonder if my area is just very expensive.

 

[disneyduonj]

It's around 1200 a month here!!!