Debt Dumpers - 2018

[pblack]

I'm glad your daughter is okay. That had to be scary!

For the dress don't forget to add alterations. We bought my daughter's dress for $499 which I was happy with and then alterations (which I didn't think she even had that many of) were almost $400!!!

Did you do the alterations where you bought the dress? The best piece of advice I got when I got married was to take it to an entirely different place for alterations. Still something to factor in though.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm glad your daughter is okay. That had to be scary!

For the dress don't forget to add alterations. We bought my daughter's dress for $499 which I was happy with and then alterations (which I didn't think she even had that many of) were almost $400!!!

Lucky for me, my mom is a really good seamstress, so hopefully any alterations she can do. The last one I tried on wouldn't need any. Yay for a corset back!

 

[crazycatstacy]

Did you do the alterations where you bought the dress? The best piece of advice I got when I got married was to take it to an entirely different place for alterations. Still something to factor in though.

We did get them at the same place. It was a total **** show to be honest. We didn't even think to take it somewhere else- good to remember for the future!

Lucky for me, my mom is a really good seamstress, so hopefully any alterations she can do. The last one I tried on wouldn't need any. Yay for a corset back!

So lucky your mom is a good seamstress! Enjoy shopping for the wedding dress- I think it is soooo much fun!

 

[cdg121990]

Goal: save save save!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

I checked the rates again, they are going up. We are a budget fail this summer all around. Moving did not help, and I'm just going to say moving is expensive! Even when it's somewhat reimbursed through or get travel allowances through work, it never really covers it all, with all the deposits for utilities, new groceries, change in prices (our car and rental insurance are now higher), window treatments for windows that you don't have the size curtains for, fixing things, furniture that needs to be bought because it doesn't fit the new place or storage needs are not adequate, etc. etc.

Tell me about it! One month since I put my paperwork in and still waiting. I did call payroll last week so hopefully next pay. My biggest issue at the moment is that we want some sticky wall hooks to hang up our photos etc but I just have to keep using funds v elsewhere. Such a little thing but would make our new place more homely.

 

[bababear_50]

Tell me about it! One month since I put my paperwork in and still waiting. I did call payroll last week so hopefully next pay. My biggest issue at the moment is that we want some sticky wall hooks to hang up our photos etc but I just have to keep using funds v elsewhere. Such a little thing but would make our new place more homely.

Hugs Hon
I know what you mean,,,It's the little things that make a home comfy. I have been waiting to put some stuff up and finally yesterday we did all the pictures and my Big wall clock. I had to buy a stud finder also,,, so all in my trip to Canadian Tire to get the picture sticky things and some special hooks cost $85.00. I've got 2 unopened packages left over and I think I'll return them today. I am still waiting on 3 chairs for the livingroom to be delivered but hopefully that happens this week. I will say I have amazed myself in that I have put together some small nesting tables,,,this is a big deal for me as I usually run the other direction when things have to be put together.(It was only attaching the legs) But I did it.
Now onto organizing the china buffet and curio cabinet.
Best wishes for a warm and comfy home!
Hugs Mel

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Well, I should be upset that i missed my overtime shift today, but DD2 decided it would be fun to climb on her little chair, get up on the counter, and grab the bottle of baby Tylenol my mom left up there, and drink the whole thing. So we spent 4 hours in the er last night. If she drank as much as was in there, her levels should have been toxic and we would have been admitted to children's. But by some miracle, her levels came back okay and we got to come home instead. Lesson learned for all of us, but that meant I ended up not going in.

We also just got the official quote for the wedding in from the planner. Our budget is $15k. For venue/catering (dinner and cocktail hour snacks)/bar/all the detail stuff (linens, centerpieces, etc), the estimate came in at $11k. That leave me $4k to get my dress, his tux, photographer, the few flowers and our dj. I should hit right at the 15k mark.

Glad she is alright. We have been doing lots of baby proofing now that DD is getting close to walking and man does the cost of all this stuff add up. But better safe than sorry for sure.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Pulled the stuff off Poshmark and sold it at Plato’s closet. Put that money in the bank for the annual passes.

Husband had agreed to sit down and really look at our budget this weekend. I think if he’s 100% invested in it, it will be easier

Weekend plans are to stay home doing things at home. No need to spend money

 

[KSR0330]

Pulled the stuff off Poshmark and sold it at Plato’s closet. Put that money in the bank for the annual passes.

Husband had agreed to sit down and really look at our budget this weekend. I think if he’s 100% invested in it, it will be easier

Weekend plans are to stay home doing things at home. No need to spend money

How was Plato's closet? Was it a fairly easy process? I have one near me and have always thought about bringing things there.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Glad she is alright. We have been doing lots of baby proofing now that DD is getting close to walking and man does the cost of all this stuff add up. But better safe than sorry for sure.

We have the kitchen completely baby gated off, which neither girl can get over. But I guess our next step in baby proofing is to put their chairs up after each meal too. Kids. They keep you on your toes for sure!

 

[crazycatstacy]

How was Plato's closet? Was it a fairly easy process? I have one near me and have always thought about bringing things there.

It’s super easy. Take your clothes in a bag or a tote. You sign in with your drivers license. You can either wait for them to go through them or leave and they text you. I don’t think they pay a lot but they pay more than the nothing I get having them hang in my closet If you have any men’s clothes I usually get more money for those than mine!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

We only ever baby proofed the cupboard under the sink for both kids. Until a fortnight ago when we went and got locks for our pantry, fridge and freezer. Youngest is 5 now but has developed a terrible habit of getting up and eating whatever she can find or getting her craft supplies out and doing some painting at 2 am!


Got a promo code for a meal box subscription service so we are going to try that next week. $1 for 4 meals for 4 people and I'll cancel it straight away but can't pass up the chance to put those $$$ to another use!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I checked the rates again, they are going up. We are a budget fail this summer all around. Moving did not help, and I'm just going to say moving is expensive! Even when it's somewhat reimbursed through or get travel allowances through work, it never really covers it all, with all the deposits for utilities, new groceries, change in prices (our car and rental insurance are now higher), window treatments for windows that you don't have the size curtains for, fixing things, furniture that needs to be bought because it doesn't fit the new place or storage needs are not adequate, etc. etc.

We are doing a small trip to Orlando area (not Disney) before school starts, and last minute flights do not help the cause. Well, we had been discussing we only go one place for one week each summer, and would like to add a three or four day trip once or twice in the year also to spend more time traveling, seeing things, not getting younger. OK, this is great in theory for us, but factoring in airfare will need to be a criteria going forward. I know people that do three and four day trips often as in every other month, and fly to their locations, and I'm wondering now how in the world do they afford this? Definitely no flights after this until Disney Land or World next summer.

I have enough air miles on Southwest to have used for the upcoming Orlando three day trip, but with booking so close I didn't have much choice on which flights to book and so I didn't use the points I have. Not a good money move but I think we'll recover.

You can always use the pts for a one way flight if any work for you.

We dropped our SWA visa and switched to Chase Sapphire Preferred. I never thought it would happen but we just happened to go into a Chase branch in 2016 to sign up for their $300 checking acct bonus offer and got roped into the CSP with a great bonus for that. I was reluctant at first but gave it a try and I'll never go back. The CSP offers double points for all dining and travel. That includes the simple things like ordering take out or paying for airport parking. The SW card only offers double pts for SW purchases which for us using points so often, we were rarely buying plane tickets and that's when it hit me we were missing out on so much double pt opportunities.
With the CSP, you can still transfer pts to SWA at a 1:1 ratio but also can transfer to Hyatt, Marriott, American, British Airways (and others) and can book travel flights, hotels (including WDW stays) directly through the Chase website. We charge everything to our CSP except our mortgage & property taxes and any utilities that charge a fee to pay by cc.

I have 2 unused WDW tickets leftover from a trip that our kids were going to join us for but then opted out. (I didn't mind since I know there's always another trip eventually.) These tix expire in mid January so while we still have the SW companion pass for 2018, we might as well go for a long weekend. I looked at Dec and can get the Swan for our dates with booking through Chase using Ultimate Reward pts. So the flight and hotel are free and tickets are already bought. It's kind of silly to not go. I know we won't lose all value of our tickets but I don't feel like having to deal with finding a way to apply their value to future tickets and once expired I can't use them to book FP until their value is applied to new tickets which I doubt they'll do on the phone.

The companion passes help a lot. Last year I got 2 SWA visa cards when they were offering 60k bonuses. I applied for both on the same day for myself and dh. So we both got a companion pass (due to the 120k bonus pts) for the remainder of 2017 and all of 2018. With the CP, all 4 of us can fly free. I wouldn't be doing weekend trips unless the flights were free or crazy low.

We also have old non-exp water park tickets from around 2009. (When you buy WP option on a 10 day ticket, it gives you 10 WP days.) So I feel like we should squeeze in a few weekends of water parks while it's still very warm.

Anyway, even with free flights the hotel, food (or cruise) costs add up and I can only take off so much time from work.

People who fly for work usually earn airline & hotel pts by the ton so maybe this is how your friends are doing it or maybe just from cc pts like I do.

 

[jen7233]

just happened to go into a Chase branch in 2016 to sign up for their $300 checking acct bonus offer and got roped into the CSP with a great bonus for that. I was reluctant at first but gave it a try and I'll never go back. The CSP offers double points for all dining and travel. That includes the simple things like ordering take out or paying for airport parking. The SW card only offers double pts for SW purchases which for us using points so often, we were rarely buying plane tickets and that's when it hit me we were missing out on so much double pt opportunities.
With the CSP, you can still transfer pts to SWA at a 1:1 ratio but also can transfer to Hyatt, Marriott, American, British Airways (and others) and can book travel flights, hotels (including WDW stays) directly through the Chase website. We charge everything to our CSP except our mortgage & property taxes and any utilities that charge a fee to pay by cc

We probably will change to another travel type rewards card next year. I am nowhere near tracking as in depth on when I signed up for cards like I know some track, but I'm pretty sure I'd be over the "5/24" rule I read about.

I have 2 unused WDW tickets leftover from a trip that our kids were going to join us for but then opted out. (I didn't mind since I know there's always another trip eventually.) These tix expire in mid January so while we still have the SW companion pass for 2018, we might as well go for a long weekend. I looked at Dec and can get the Swan for our dates with booking through Chase using Ultimate Reward pts. So the flight and hotel are free and tickets are already bought. It's kind of silly to not go. I know we won't lose all value of our tickets but I don't feel like having to deal with finding a way to apply their value to future tickets and once expired I can't use them to book FP until their value is applied to new tickets which I doubt they'll do on the phone.

The companion passes help a lot. Last year I got 2 SWA visa cards when they were offering 60k bonuses. I applied for both on the same day for myself and dh. So we both got a companion pass (due to the 120k bonus pts) for the remainder of 2017 and all of 2018. With the CP, all 4 of us can fly free. I wouldn't be doing weekend trips unless the flights were free or crazy low.

That's a great trip! Totally worth going.
We both signed up for SW early this year but the bonus was 50k each. I don't get how to combine our points to get the companion pass? I don't even think it's possible for us to get it, unless I'm missing something! I won't sign up for a business card, and don't think I can make up the difference in what points I need to get to 120k in shopping or bills. I wish there was an easier way, or if we could somehow combine our points, but I just don't know of any. This is one reason I'm thinking down the road to switch to a more generalized travel rewards card and not just be limited to SW.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We probably will change to another travel type rewards card next year. I am nowhere near tracking as in depth on when I signed up for cards like I know some track, but I'm pretty sure I'd be over the "5/24" rule I read about.



That's a great trip! Totally worth going.
We both signed up for SW early this year but the bonus was 50k each. I don't get how to combine our points to get the companion pass? I don't even think it's possible for us to get it, unless I'm missing something! I won't sign up for a business card, and don't think I can make up the difference in what points I need to get to 120k in shopping or bills. I wish there was an easier way, or if we could somehow combine our points, but I just don't know of any. This is one reason I'm thinking down the road to switch to a more generalized travel rewards card and not just be limited to SW.

SW doesn't let you combine RR points. They offer 3 versions of SW cc: 2 are for anyone and one for business. We each got the 2 non-business cards. I forget what they're called, something like plus and premiere. So applying for 2 cc on the same day only counts as one inquiry to your credit report. So that was 4 new cards to get bonuses. (A little hairy for a while but it worked.)
I think after so many people jumped on for this offer, Chase has since changed their rules that one can only earn one bonus per year. We would never be able to reach CP status with paid flights and cc points.

With the CSR, dh and I both got one that day and still maintain both and that lets you easily combine points online within same household. One might think it's silly to pay 2 annual fees to keep 2 accounts but for occasional charges such as travel, home projects, or car insurance, it would really mess me up to have those big charges on our "regular" card. I don't budget for all our little expenses but I can tell if we're spending a lot and need to throttle back just by looking at our cc balance. Without straining or re-budgeting, we can handle around $2500/month on our regular cc. In the rare times that we'd charge something big our balance is suddenly $5000, it's hard to separate it in my head and gets overwhelming. lol. So keeping 2 cards is not the smartest from a math POV but I'm afraid to go back into cc debt due to losing track. I busted my azz to get out of debt and I don't ever want to go there again.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Got a promo code for a meal box subscription service so we are going to try that next week. $1 for 4 meals for 4 people and I'll cancel it straight away but can't pass up the chance to put those $$$ to another use!

You'll have to let us know which one you tried and how you liked it! I've seen so many and the options all look overwhelming.

 

[Alexle2007]

SW doesn't let you combine RR points. They offer 3 versions of SW cc: 2 are for anyone and one for business. We each got the 2 non-business cards. I forget what they're called, something like plus and premiere. So applying for 2 cc on the same day only counts as one inquiry to your credit report. So that was 4 new cards to get bonuses. (A little hairy for a while but it worked.)
I think after so many people jumped on for this offer, Chase has since changed their rules that one can only earn one bonus per year. We would never be able to reach CP status with paid flights and cc points.

With the CSR, dh and I both got one that day and still maintain both and that lets you easily combine points online within same household. One might think it's silly to pay 2 annual fees to keep 2 accounts but for occasional charges such as travel, home projects, or car insurance, it would really mess me up to have those big charges on our "regular" card. I don't budget for all our little expenses but I can tell if we're spending a lot and need to throttle back just by looking at our cc balance. Without straining or re-budgeting, we can handle around $2500/month on our regular cc. In the rare times that we'd charge something big our balance is suddenly $5000, it's hard to separate it in my head and gets overwhelming. lol. So keeping 2 cards is not the smartest from a math POV but I'm afraid to go back into cc debt due to losing track. I busted my azz to get out of debt and I don't ever want to go there again.

If you order a replacement card from Chase on either your account or your wife’s, you could go down to one CSP (I believe that’s what you have instead of CSR which has the $450 annual fee.) I have the CSR and just got a replacement card for DH to use for the 3x for dining and travel. The replacement CSP does not de-activate the original card so you can have the original and DW can have the replacement.

Some additional SW info, Chase has since changed the rules on SW personal cards and you can only apply for one/hold one personal at a time (Plus, Premier or their new luxury card.) The only way around this is to apply for 2 SW personal cards on the same day, using different browsers, devices or incognito and get approved. This is typically known as the “double dip.” SW also has the Biz card that can be held, in addition, to the the personal. It currently has a bonus of 60k SW points after you meet the MSR. You can only receive the bonus every 24 months from when you last received the prior bonus. so like I received my SW Plus and Premier bonuses on 1/1/18 and 1/3/18. I am ineligible to receive the bonus again until after 1/2020.

 

[jackers]

July Update: Year to date progress towards 2018 goals:

Car Loan: $9,700 towards a $21,600 goal, which mathematically looks like I am behind on, but I’m going to be able to make up some of that difference here over the next few months and I get a year-end bonus that will cover a larger portion as well.

Savings: $2,200 towards a $5,000 goal (zero change here – I can’t seem to make any headway which is bothering me to no end).

Mortgage Overpay: $2,400 towards a $3,400 goal


DS13 College Fund: $2,650 towards a $3,000 goal

Personal goal: 32 pounds lost. Only 2 pounds lost this month again, but I managed to not put on any weight over our vacation (and even worked in 8 miles of running over the 4 days) so I consider that a win. I’m still hoping to lose these last pesky 7 pounds before the end of September but in general, I feel pretty good about where I am and what I have accomplished this year and just hoping I can continue to maintain. I’m such a yo-yo-er when it comes to my weight/level of health.


We had a good time in Orlando and ended up going to Universal for a day (spent WAY too much on that one day). Not necessarily over budget, but it’s definitely keeping the general budget tight here over the next two weeks. Personal challenge is to see if I can keep general household and groceries to just $100 over the next two weeks).

Rant - I did such a stupid thing. I was online yesterday scheduling a bill to be paid in two weeks after my next paycheck. They had recently re-vamped their site and as I’m going through the process, I kept thinking the whole bill paying process seemed so complicated, none of my personal information had been saved so I had to reenter bank info, etc, and then they charged me a $1.50 convenience fee on top of it all which had never been there before. I hit submit and then it dawned on me that I had not set the date of the payment which meant it was going to come out immediately instead of in two weeks which was NOT in the financial plan. I was irritated with myself that I screwed the whole thing up so badly and then realized, when I went back to the home page, that I had clicked on “Make Same Day Payment” instead of “Schedule a Payment” which is why everything looked different and they never asked me a date for the payment. Ugh. Feel like an idiot. Thankfully, it dawned on me that I could cancel and reschedule another payment for two weeks out and essentially swap the two payments, timing wise, and still come out even. It would have been fine if I hadn’t been able to do that – I just would have had to transfer money out of savings to cover the accidental early payment – but I didn’t WANT to do that because I feel like I’ve been raiding the savings account way too much for little stuff like this (and too many times in one month and I get a fee for excessive withdrawals).

But, on the bright side, August is a 3 paycheck month so I feel like this is my chance to get caught back up and on track – especially with the savings goal.

 

[jackers]

Double posting to ask a question on the "using points" from credit cards for trips, etc. I have two main credit cards - one is a Disney Chase, which I currently don't use as we don't have any plans for a Disney trip in the future (please don't flog me), so it's just backup/emergency. The other is a Chase Freedom which I get 1.5 cash back on all purchases. I use this for almost everything non-bill related. Currently, I just cash out the "cash back" each month and apply it back towards my credit card, but even if I saved those dollars for a trip, I just don't see how I could ever rack up enough points to always cover airfare and/or hotel for both my husband and I (let alone our son).

Are people just continually signing up for new credit cards in order to get the initial offer deals, etc? At some point that hurts your credit score because your "age" of credit is going to be really small. And I know of the 5/24 rule but even if you are just getting 5 new cards every 2 years... well, I just can't imagine constantly changing the CC company I do business with that frequently. Maybe I am just too old school. The previous posts of having a multitude of accounts in order to get bonuses, etc. gave me anxiety just trying to think of managing all of that and I am an analyst by trade that does this type of stuff every day! LOL

 

[amalone1013]

Double posting to ask a question on the "using points" from credit cards for trips, etc. I have two main credit cards - one is a Disney Chase, which I currently don't use as we don't have any plans for a Disney trip in the future (please don't flog me), so it's just backup/emergency. The other is a Chase Freedom which I get 1.5 cash back on all purchases. I use this for almost everything non-bill related. Currently, I just cash out the "cash back" each month and apply it back towards my credit card, but even if I saved those dollars for a trip, I just don't see how I could ever rack up enough points to always cover airfare and/or hotel for both my husband and I (let alone our son).

Are people just continually signing up for new credit cards in order to get the initial offer deals, etc? At some point that hurts your credit score because your "age" of credit is going to be really small. And I know of the 5/24 rule but even if you are just getting 5 new cards every 2 years... well, I just can't imagine constantly changing the CC company I do business with that frequently. Maybe I am just too old school. The previous posts of having a multitude of accounts in order to get bonuses, etc. gave me anxiety just trying to think of managing all of that and I am an analyst by trade that does this type of stuff every day! LOL

There is a lot of signing up for new cards, and also just maximizing your daily spend across what cards you have. Certain cards give more points or cash back in certain categories, like right now the Chase Freedom with the rotating 5x categories includes Walgreens, so I will buy some gift cards for places I am spending anyways to get 5x points instead of 1x on another card. Or I have an AMEX card giving me 10% back on Lowe's purchases, so I am buying grocery gift cards there. There is an AMEX card that gives either 3x or 6x back at grocery stores, so some people buy gift cards at the grocery store for their spending, plus they may also get fuel points too. It requires being organized and is not necessarily for everyone. There are lots of knowledgeable people on the credit card thread if you'd like to know more, or even would want to consider one new card to earn more points for travel I have been doing it for about 2 years now and we've had free flights (DH and I) for 6 trips, and for 3 more trips before the end of this year. All in it is about $4200 in flights, instead we pay $22.40 each time. Without points we would not have taken as many trips, we would have taken 3-4 of them and it would have cost us $1400-$1800. I've also covered a large chunk of hotel costs with points. Our credit scores were in the 740s when we started and are now in the low 800s.