Debt Dumpers - 2017

[Tygerlilly]

Tax money was in today! Paid a full months worth of bills early to get them out of the way.

Also managed to snag the double stroller I've been eyeballing for 20% off with a coupon I got in my email. Saved me $60! Also knocked out getting new baby gates with a 20% off coupon at the other baby store. Now to wait for target to do their big free gift card with diaper purchase deal so i can stock up on newborn diapers and take that free gift card money and flip them into disney money.

 

[s3058]

I've been doing well with spending lately but my dog has been acting strange, she hasn't been eating and has been crying all night, every night for the past week or so. I think it's time to take her to the vet. I wasn't that worried about the food, she goes into periods of eating a tonne and then not eating at all really so nothing new there but since she was a pup she has slept through the night so that has me worried. It will only be about 20 for the visit so not a major expense unless something is wrong

Also got some not great medical news a few weeks ago that means I'll be on medication long term, which I'm really not happy about. its a small expense, only 10 a month, but its another outgoing to add to the list. Although I am very aware of the situation I would be in if I lived in other countries where medication isn't subsidised so I'm very grateful to live somewhere that does provide that service.

Flights have been booked for the October trip 500 I'll miss from my account but it is very worth it!

Sorry to hear about the water heater Ngwira but its great that you have something positive to think about instead.

 

[dayvewc]

Checking in a bit. So sorry to hear about troubles. Glad to hear the good news.

I spent too much this month. One of the trees in my yard was looking dead, so I got in touch with someone to trim it. $1000 later, the tree is topped and the mailbox was destroyed. So, new post and box and numbers and stencils and paint etc. and I'm out $200 more.

I also found out this week that the district I teach in does not have a bereavement policy, so there went the last of my sick days. Which is bad since I finally got a referral to a pain specialist for the chronic back pain I've had for 2 years and he requires monthly visits. Which means all the medical visits will cost me my daily pay rate off my check. Because of the way they reconcile absences, my March check will be missing 3 days, which is about 20% off the top.

Along those lines, I had an MRI today, so I'll find out Monday if I'm living the plot of "The Fly" or "Alien"

 

[Eureka]

I plan to continue doing some more research and some more visits to other centers to make sure I am happy with this place. DH and I both felt that $50 was not a huge deal to save a spot and that we could always change our minds later. This just gives us some peace of mind that we have something lined up.

They actually recommended that I visit after the birth but before baby would start day care and to visit as often as I like to get baby a bit familiar with the center. I live 1/2 mile from the center and think it would be good to maybe take walks their every once in a while in those first few months.

They may also have you bring the baby in for an hour or two before it's time to start sending him or her, just to see how it goes. That's another visit where you can check out how they interact with the kids. It's so hard when babies can't tell you what's happening. The one thing that I thought was interesting was how you said there was a one to two year old room. That's a huge age range at that point. Wonder how they handle that.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

They may also have you bring the baby in for an hour or two before it's time to start sending him or her, just to see how it goes. That's another visit where you can check out how they interact with the kids. It's so hard when babies can't tell you what's happening. The one thing that I thought was interesting was how you said there was a one to two year old room. That's a huge age range at that point. Wonder how they handle that.

I might have the age ranges a bit off, since I didn't write them down. It might have been 12-18 months. There was a lot of information to take in. But I watched the kids in that class for a while and those on the older end of the range were engaging in a lot of independent and group play, walking around and climbing on an indoor gym, etc. Some of the younger kids in that group were getting more individual attention from the caregivers. The owner (who gave me the tour) said that they base a child's advancement to a classroom on personal development and the needs of the child. So a child that isn't ready at 12 months would remain in the infant classroom until they felt it was appropriate to advance. The 1-2 year (or 12-18 month?) room is more structured, with the kids being on a group schedule for eating, napping, play, etc., unlike the infant room, which is based on the individual needs of each child.

 

[chewysmom]

I've been following along but not posting much.

We were able to pay off two CCs with our tax refund. They were the smallest two, with the lowest monthly payments, but they are G.O.N.E.! We'll save about $55/month.

Dh's job is still ~22-24 hours a week, so most of our refund went to pay monthly bills, get some much needed clothes and shoes for the kids, etc. I had so hoped to pay off more, but such is life. Dh did interview at a place yesterday that's willing to have him work either FT or PT. The bad thing is they don't offer family insurance. For me to get insurance at my job would literally leave me with about $100/month left over, so that's a no go. So, he'll stay where he is (they have awesome family insurance), ride out this lull, and hopefully be able to get some PT hours in at the other place.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I might have the age ranges a bit off, since I didn't write them down. It might have been 12-18 months. There was a lot of information to take in. But I watched the kids in that class for a while and those on the older end of the range were engaging in a lot of independent and group play, walking around and climbing on an indoor gym, etc. Some of the younger kids in that group were getting more individual attention from the caregivers. The owner (who gave me the tour) said that they base a child's advancement to a classroom on personal development and the needs of the child. So a child that isn't ready at 12 months would remain in the infant classroom until they felt it was appropriate to advance. The 1-2 year (or 12-18 month?) room is more structured, with the kids being on a group schedule for eating, napping, play, etc., unlike the infant room, which is based on the individual needs of each child.

It also wouldn't hurt to talk to some of the parents (not while inside the facility). Maybe if you catch one on their way home that doesn't look like they're in an awful hurry. Morning drop offs are usually more stressful & parents would be on their way to work so probably would not feel so chatty then.

 

[Imagineer5]

I went to tour the day care this morning. It seems like a great center. They have several caregivers that have been there 10-20 years. The infant room has a 3:1 child to caregiver ratio, so each child was receiving lots of attention. The infant room includes cribs, bouncers, walkers, activity mats, rocking chairs, toys, etc. They even have a separate space specifically for outdoor infant play during good weather.

The ages groups are split up into several rooms for ages 0-1, 1-2, 2-2.5 and 2.5-3.5, each doing activities appropriate to their age group and development. The preschool class was on a field trip today so I didn't get to see that class, but the Pre-K class were having a morning snack and then story time. The children all seemed happy and well cared for during my 1 hour visit.

They were extremely detailed and told me about things I would never have thought to ask regarding daycare. And I made sure to ask about the sick policy and other things you guys mentioned here. So at the end of the tour, I decided to go ahead and put down the $50 deposit to hold a space.

It's wonderful how close the daycare is to your home, and how nice that it gave you a great feeling.

Have you looked into home daycares?

I only ask because I am SO SO glad we went with a home daycare when I was pregnant with DD1. We toured a number of home daycares, centers, and even the center attached to my work (where a lot of my co-workers kids go) and I felt so much more comfortable with this home daycare that my DD has been for 5 years now. There has been much less sickness, and I love that my DD grew up with the same kids, of different ages. Now that I have DD2 who is 15 months old - I love that they get to spend the days together. I have DD#3 on the way and she will go there too (just as DD1 starts Kindergarten). The daycare provider keeps up her preschool certification so I am 100% confident that my oldest is more than ready for Kindergarten.

The center daycare at my office (I work for the Navy) seems great - BUT my coworkers kids have had every illness you can imagine multiple times, and I don't really like the age separation. For instance, my DD's kept their 2nd nap/day until around 17 months (DD2 currently naps about 9:30-11AM and again 1:30-3PM). At the center daycare at work, my coworkers babies were made to change their schedule to 1 nap/day when they moved to the 1-2Y room at 12 months old. I don't like forcing a child to drop naps like that (I have no idea if other centers do this). At my small home daycare, I provide a schedule from Day 1 and let her know when it changes, and we work together through any transitions, potty training, etc.

Just a thought!! I did visit a number of home daycares that were atrocious, but know there are some really wonderful ones out there too!!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Still no tax refund in our account yet. DH checked the other day and it said his was processing, so I suppose that's fine. I'm just always so anxious that I somehow messed it up! We had so little to put on there this year with filing separate that I can't imagine we were able to colossally screw anything up though.

Our trip to NYC in April is paid off. I'm going to put any leftover money this month into travel and budget a good amount next month towards it since I know we'll want to eat out a lot and shop some too. I've never been to NYC so I'm looking forward to it!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It's wonderful how close the daycare is to your home, and how nice that it gave you a great feeling.

Have you looked into home daycares?

I only ask because I am SO SO glad we went with a home daycare when I was pregnant with DD1. We toured a number of home daycares, centers, and even the center attached to my work (where a lot of my co-workers kids go) and I felt so much more comfortable with this home daycare that my DD has been for 5 years now. There has been much less sickness, and I love that my DD grew up with the same kids, of different ages. Now that I have DD2 who is 15 months old - I love that they get to spend the days together. I have DD#3 on the way and she will go there too (just as DD1 starts Kindergarten). The daycare provider keeps up her preschool certification so I am 100% confident that my oldest is more than ready for Kindergarten.

The center daycare at my office (I work for the Navy) seems great - BUT my coworkers kids have had every illness you can imagine multiple times, and I don't really like the age separation. For instance, my DD's kept their 2nd nap/day until around 17 months (DD2 currently naps about 9:30-11AM and again 1:30-3PM). At the center daycare at work, my coworkers babies were made to change their schedule to 1 nap/day when they moved to the 1-2Y room at 12 months old. I don't like forcing a child to drop naps like that (I have no idea if other centers do this). At my small home daycare, I provide a schedule from Day 1 and let her know when it changes, and we work together through any transitions, potty training, etc.

Just a thought!! I did visit a number of home daycares that were atrocious, but know there are some really wonderful ones out there too!!

We used home day care for both of our kids too. In fact, we loved ds20's provider so much (she was like a 3rd grandmother to him) that when our 2nd child came along and she didn't legally have space to add another child, we let him stay there and found another provider for our 2nd baby. She was also awesome and we are still in touch with both of them even all these years later. Both fully declared their income so I could still claim it on our tax return.
There are pros & cons to both types of child care settings but I felt this was as close to him feeling the same as if I were a stay home mom.

I also did visit some that I could have just turned around and flat out said, never mind, we can stop right here & not waste either of our time any further. Ugh. Closed cords hanging from blinds, filthy house, provider folding laundry instead of interacting with kids, kids running amok with TV constantly on & they were all pulling each others pants down, etc.

When I found the ones I liked, it was almost instant chemistry and I found that as the tour/interview went on, I only felt more and more confident that I could see us there every day. At that instant, I would have paid any rate for peace of mind but usually they cost less than day care centers anyway but honestly price was not my priority. Peace of mind is priceless.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Still no tax refund in our account yet. DH checked the other day and it said his was processing, so I suppose that's fine. I'm just always so anxious that I somehow messed it up! We had so little to put on there this year with filing separate that I can't imagine we were able to colossally screw anything up though.

Our trip to NYC in April is paid off. I'm going to put any leftover money this month into travel and budget a good amount next month towards it since I know we'll want to eat out a lot and shop some too. I've never been to NYC so I'm looking forward to it!

They would contact you if you did. Once year I entered a typo for ds16's SSN. I got an email a few days later telling me I had an error to fix and must re-submit it.
I file through www.freefilefillableforms.com

 

[DisneyMandC]

They would contact you if you did. Once year I entered a typo for ds16's SSN. I got an email a few days later telling me I had an error to fix and must re-submit it.
I file through www.freefilefillableforms.com

Interesting. We have to mail ours because they have DH's birthday wrong. It works fine when you mail but it won't verify to e-file. I suppose it just took a little longer mailing maybe. We have no dire need for the refund, but it would be nice to get it!

 

[Imagineer5]

We used home day care for both of our kids too. In fact, we loved ds20's provider so much (she was like a 3rd grandmother to him) that when our 2nd child came along and she didn't legally have space to add another child, we let him stay there and found another provider for our 2nd baby. She was also awesome and we are still in touch with both of them even all these years later. Both fully declared their income so I could still claim it on our tax return.
There are pros & cons to both types of child care settings but I felt this was as close to him feeling the same as if I were a stay home mom.

I also did visit some that I could have just turned around and flat out said, never mind, we can stop right here & not waste either of our time any further. Ugh. Closed cords hanging from blinds, filthy house, provider folding laundry instead of interacting with kids, kids running amok with TV constantly on & they were all pulling each others pants down, etc.

When I found the ones I liked, it was almost instant chemistry and I found that as the tour/interview went on, I only felt more and more confident that I could see us there every day. At that instant, I would have paid any rate for peace of mind but usually they cost less than day care centers anyway but honestly price was not my priority. Peace of mind is priceless.

Totally agree, this was the only home daycare we felt 100% comfortable in, and still to this day. DD2 has allergies, and she is her first allergy kiddo ever, but she has been amazing working with her to make sure she stays safe. Also, she was happy to cloth diaper even though it was her first experience with that, too. Working through all the little things that come up has just been amazing. She is state licensed, and so we can claim her on taxes as well.

She costs approx. the same as the Navy center here at work, which is significantly less than other centers. She takes 1 UNPAID week off each year (this year she is going to Disney and I'm helping her out with the planning!) and gives us 1 unpaid week off as well to use as we wish.

When my oldest starts K in the Fall, she'll be going to before/after school at the same daycare (thus spending that extra time with her sisters) and she gets to ride the school bus with her best friend, the daycare provider's son who is 1 year older and she has known since she was 12 weeks old. Such a wonderful feeling!

We were so lucky that she had the space for DD2 and then now with DD3 being a super surprise, she was the 2nd person I told behind DH lol! Luckily it falls within her regulations though.

As a huge bonus, she charges 50% for additional children. We're currently paying $100 less per week than my friend who has her baby at a center for our TWO kids at a home daycare. But as you said, the price really wasn't what kept us there - moreso the feeling of family we have with her and her family.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

@ruadisneyfan2 and @Imagineer5

How many children (including any of the caregivers own children) were in care at one time? How did you go about finding your caregivers? What kind of holiday closures did the caregivers have? What was the learning curriculum like that your children were provided?

 

[Imagineer5]

@ruadisneyfan2 and @Imagineer5

How many children (including any of the caregivers own children) were in care at one time? How did you go about finding your caregivers? What kind of holiday closures did the caregivers have? What was the learning curriculum like that your children were provided?

There are 6 kids total, plus I believe she can have two before/after school school-age kids.

I found them from my state's list of licensed childcare providers, then looked at a map and made a list of 10 or 15 that I wanted to call. I had a list of questions I asked including cost, whether they had space at the timeframe we needed, whether they would use cloth diapers, hours (I wanted one that would open at 6:30am), their total open hours, vacations, holidays, and then I always asked something regarding potty training (I have no idea why, but I was hung up on how to potty train my un-born child when I was pregnant LOL so I would ask their system - it caught most off guard but I appreciated their answers. Some would say they worked with the parents when they both agreed it was time, some would be way more "loose" about it which I didn't really like). The questions led to narrowing down to 4 I wanted to visit in person. (I don't have my word document I made when calling anymore, but I would just figure out a few questions that are important to you and start calling around).

Holidays - she's open for many holidays (like MLK day) but we are both off of work so we haven't needed to use her for any holidays. She's open for Christmas week (not Christmas day / new years day). She takes 1 unpaid week off each year and tells us in advance when that will be, and then gives us 1 unpaid week off as well. Unexpected closures have been very few - maybe once per year? for illness and she doesn't charge for those days. Also nice, was that I went back to work 3 days per week to start with and she only charged me for 3 days, not a full week.

As far as curriculum, I mentioned she keeps up her preschool certification. All the kids have daily projects they bring home, they do lots of arts and crafts. DD could spell/write her name by 3 and is working on reading. Since she has ages 1-5 in the daycare (currently, soon she'll have 12 weeks -5), she has age-appropriate projects that differ per child (which I am seeing now that I have two kiddos in daycare). They do various projects based on the season/holidays/etc and she sends home a monthly calendar that lists out the plan for the month, songs/books they plan to read, etc. I kept my 5 yo there vs. sending her to a pre-school for 2 reasons 1- she already does the curriculum so I don't feel like she will be behind either school or social wise and 2- pre-schools around me do not have the hours we needed for our work schedules (most are half day, one went to full day just last year but then with before/after school care there, it was more expensive than just keeping her at daycare).

 

[NinaBella]

So, on the topic of Debt Dumping...

I am torn on which account to snowball next.

1) Synchrony Bank: Air Conditioning Line of Credit when we replaced A/C. I think both names may be on this account. I pay from my bank web bill pay. Next time I get the paper statement I should create an online account.

Current Balance: $7,486.02 Interest Rate 9.9%
Minimum monthly payment: $109

My own personal update... This account is now under $6,000 since posting. I am headed out of state tomorrow so I am holding on to some $$$ until I return. I haven't filed taxes yet either. So I am expecting to put another big payment down early March. I still have a goal to have this paid by the end of July.

 

[Eureka]

I might have the age ranges a bit off, since I didn't write them down. It might have been 12-18 months. There was a lot of information to take in. But I watched the kids in that class for a while and those on the older end of the range were engaging in a lot of independent and group play, walking around and climbing on an indoor gym, etc. Some of the younger kids in that group were getting more individual attention from the caregivers. The owner (who gave me the tour) said that they base a child's advancement to a classroom on personal development and the needs of the child. So a child that isn't ready at 12 months would remain in the infant classroom until they felt it was appropriate to advance. The 1-2 year (or 12-18 month?) room is more structured, with the kids being on a group schedule for eating, napping, play, etc., unlike the infant room, which is based on the individual needs of each child.

12-18 sounds more in line with what my DS had. Some of it also had to do with who was walking, who wasn't, etc. He walked at 10 mos so they wanted to move him early (no savings in cost though!).

 

[Ngwira]

Dh says this is a very fair price. Everyone, please don't compare labor costs here to your neck of the woods. We are 90 mins from NYC, the epicenter of staggering wages. What plumbers make (and their costs) cannot be compared to what one would pay in Arkansas, Alabama, etc.

Dh said to ask how long the warranty is on the new water heater as that is usually a guide to what you're paying for with the more expensive ones, assuming you're comparing apples to apples. The parts are basically the same but you pay more for a longer warranty. Then again, most people are not able to benefit from a warranty because they're so short, and even if you can, it's prorated so you don't get much down the road if it should fail.

Even the cheapest 40 gal gas water heater at homedepot.com is $350 with a 6 yr warranty so assuming your neighbor buys at a real plumbing supply shop vs. HD, he is probably getting a better quality than HD's cheapest. Everything at HD is crap quality for homeowners who don't know any better. (Dh like Barton's on Marlkress Rd. but probably plenty more closer to you) HD's more expensive ones were over $600 (again with longer warranty).

So assuming your neighbor gets something mid level, he is making something but definitely not ripping you off. And if you know him to be a good guy, you trust he will take care of you later if needed.

It absolutely sucks but try to hang in there. Get mold experts and be sure to check if there's a mold coverage on your homeowner's ins. I think some automatically exclude it. I know when we had AAA it did.


As for your dh being not so handy, we have a different skill set and something to contribute to a marriage and society. My dh is handy but terrible at paying bills, keeping track of anything. We'd have been in foreclosure with no TV, phone, water, heat or electric years ago if finances were under his control.

Me, I hate to cook.
No worries though. My mom says you only have to be good in one room of the house, not every room.



It's all a huge hassle, but remember, no one got hurt. You're all safe and you will get through it, one step at a time.
(Sorry if this sounds callous; I work in a hospital and see so many incredibly sad things so to me, health is priceless. All the money in the world can't buy it.)

You are so right. Yeah, i know for a fact that they are good people. We've been in their home and to their daughter's birthday party. They aren't scammy people.

 

[Ngwira]

Tax refund came this morning...and went right out to pay for the new water heater. It's in and installed! Wohoo. Our floors are still ripped up but the adjuster is coming tomorrow morning to let us know the process. I booked our Disney Cruise for August 2018. It's a short 3 day but we also do 6 park days so it works for us. Lots of money going out.... we leave on Friday night for Washington DC and return Sunday. Our splurge was for the gold floor at the Fairmont DC Georgetown. After the week we had, we NEED it.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Well, DH said he had the meeting today regarding possible overtime. They said the project would be 50 hours per month, though not all of that might be overtime, I guess. So not quite sure what this will amount to and we haven't yet discussed where that money would go. We could put it towards the auto loans or maybe our DVC fund to buy another contract. We will have to see what DH thinks.