Debt Dumpers - 2018

[jen7233]

To those of you who have dealt with CC transfers, how long do they take? I have the receiving (new) CC saying that it was processed on Saturday. But my CC is still showing the balance.

I’ve only done a BT once, it reflected on one card fast within the week, the other maybe another week later? Wasn’t more than two weeks in total if I recall.

I’ve never experienced the park ticket issue, so I can’t contribute much on that except just to double check with the company you got them from to be certain they don’t have any exceptions to refunds.

 

[imbatman]

Which park is it for? Tickets are non refundable, but from my understanding for Disneyland you can use them for someone else and I believe for world you can reassign unused tickets. Worse comes to worse the tickets retain there value even when they expire you just have to apply them towards the current ticket costs at the gate.

WDW. And I will confirm that I can apply the amount toward a future ticket. Wish I could apply it to a DL ticket, since I'm taking my mom next year!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Anyone into black Friday shopping? I'm picking up an extra shift this week and next to have some extra funds to go to the stores with. DF wants a new tv for the living room and since I don't really have any "wants", I agreed to make that a joint present for the both of us. The girls loved playing with the little kitchen at my MIL's, so we're getting them that as a big joint gift, a couple small gifts, and stocking stuff. Keeping it real small this year since our goals have shifted slightly over the last couple months.


Edited to add a couple things:
Last night we went to target to check out their Christmas options and walked into a Halloween clearance at 70% off. Managed to get 7 costumes for $2-3 each, a Halloween shirt for each kid for next year, and some fall goodies for me and only spent $21! That was less than one costumes original price! I'm making the girls a dress up area as part of their big girl room in a few weeks and these will be perfect christmas presents.

And, since I'm obviously insane, I decided to host Thanksgiving at our house this year instead of going to my parents. My mother is notorious for being a let down and with DF's work schedule, it's easier for us to be home and me cook then to load up and go to their house for 1pm lunch (that my mother won't have ready to eat until 4pm like last year ). Work is giving us our choice of a free turkey or ham, so I'm getting the turkey and DF is getting a ham, so it looks like we will have both to cook. Lol.

 

[dina444444]

Anyone into black Friday shopping? I'm picking up an extra shift this week and next to have some extra funds to go to the stores with. DF wants a new tv for the living room and since I don't really have any "wants", I agreed to make that a joint present for the both of us. The girls loved playing with the little kitchen at my MIL's, so we're getting them that as a big joint gift, a couple small gifts, and stocking stuff. Keeping it real small this year since our goals have shifted slightly over the last couple months.

I am. I pick up most of my Blu Rays during Black Friday sales. This year I am in the market also for a handful of small kitchen items and I may replace my dishes, some video game consoles/games, a new iPad and I’m going to check out some of the clothing items Target and JCPenney will have on sale. At this point just waiting on Walmart and Best Buy ads to drop.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I am. I pick up most of my Blu Rays during Black Friday sales. This year I am in the market also for a handful of small kitchen items and I may replace my dishes, some video game consoles/games, a new iPad and I’m going to check out some of the clothing items Target and JCPenney will have on sale. At this point just waiting on Walmart and Best Buy ads to drop.

I swear every year Wal-Mart takes longer and longer to drop. Don't they know I need to make a game plan!? Lol. I thought I just saw the Best Buy ad online this morning?

 

[pblack]

I also shop on Black Friday, but i tend to shop online and maybe venture out to a few stores in the late morning/early afternoon on Friday. Most of my shopping though tends to be personal from Kohls. Comforters, sheets, kitchen items, etc. Last year i did get some tank tops from Target for myself though. I also usually scope out Blu-rays/4k movies. I'll probably grab a few 4k movies this year.

 

[Eureka]

I also shop on Black Friday, but i tend to shop online and maybe venture out to a few stores in the late morning/early afternoon on Friday. Most of my shopping though tends to be personal from Kohls. Comforters, sheets, kitchen items, etc. Last year i did get some tank tops from Target for myself though. I also usually scope out Blu-rays/4k movies. I'll probably grab a few 4k movies this year.

Oooh, your comment about sheets made me wonder if I could get DS some towels to take to school (next year) on a good sale this year. Just need to ask him what color he wants....

 

[Tygerlilly]

I also shop on Black Friday, but i tend to shop online and maybe venture out to a few stores in the late morning/early afternoon on Friday. Most of my shopping though tends to be personal from Kohls. Comforters, sheets, kitchen items, etc. Last year i did get some tank tops from Target for myself though. I also usually scope out Blu-rays/4k movies. I'll probably grab a few 4k movies this year.

I feel like that's mainly what I buy also. Movies for the kids for car rides, sheets, pillows, towels.

I've been getting asked where we are registered for the wedding and I haven't even thought about what to put on that. We've lived together for 6 years by the time the wedding rolls around, we have what we need and have no use for fancy dinner plates that are $60/each. Is it lame to put towels, sheets, a new toaster, etc as our registry? I don't know how this works. Lol.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Is it lame to put towels, sheets, a new toaster, etc as our registry?

Not at all! We got married in 2016 and that's a lot of the sorts of things we put on ours! (We'd also lived together for several years already).

What I did was, I went into my kitchen and went through all of my cupboards. I specifically looked for things that were cheap/ bad quality or things that had been worn down (we were in college when we moved in together so a lot of things were dollar store or thrift store finds) and made a list. Then I looked at things that were mismatched that I'd like to have matching, like place settings (we'd gotten a lot of hand me downs from family, so we had 3 plates from one setting, 2 from another, etc). Finally, I thought about things I'd like but would never splurge on for myself (griddle, nice mixer, Christmas dishes, etc.)

Here's a couple examples of things I put on mine:

-Nice blender (ours was a super cheap black friday special that had been dropped twice and was chipped)

-Stainless steel measuring cups and spoons (ours were cheap plastic ones with the measuring amounts worn off)

- New hand towels/ dish rags (they get worn down pretty easily it seems, so it never hurts to have another set ready to go)

-Fiesta dishes, both in regular colors and Christmas colors

-Tools

- A nice wine carafe for nice dinners/ date nights

 

[pblack]

I second what @fifthdimensiondweller said, @Tygerlilly. My DH and I lived together in our own place for about 4 months before we got married and we ended up buying a lot of items we needed before the wedding. Our registry had towels, sheets, kitchen accessories, etc on it. We also didn't want any fancy place settings, but we did put down a relatively inexpensive dish set by Noritake that we received from his grandparents. This replaced/was in addition to the dollar store plates we had purchased before. We still have both sets today (4 years later).

 

[pblack]

Well my Disneyland trip this weekend became a little bit easier. My director and co-worker in my department just gave me a $200 disney gift card.

 

[kool_kat]

I feel like that's mainly what I buy also. Movies for the kids for car rides, sheets, pillows, towels.

I've been getting asked where we are registered for the wedding and I haven't even thought about what to put on that. We've lived together for 6 years by the time the wedding rolls around, we have what we need and have no use for fancy dinner plates that are $60/each. Is it lame to put towels, sheets, a new toaster, etc as our registry? I don't know how this works. Lol.

I think all of those items are staples for a wedding registry. I didn't get married until I was 34 and had lived on my own for a long time and was pretty set up. I also owned 3 sets of china thanks to being passed down from my grandmother, so I really didn't need fancy plates. What we ended up doing was asking for some updated things - new towels, a new pot set, etc... We also asked for a couple of things we wanted but would never buy ourselves. For me, it was the fancy mat that goes in front of the kitchen sink that is squishy and helps with standing pain. I would never allow myself to pay 70.00 for one, but it is one of my favorite gifts 3 years later. Also, if you all need tools/lawn equipment etc... don't forget to register for those.

 

[Alexle2007]

I feel like that's mainly what I buy also. Movies for the kids for car rides, sheets, pillows, towels.

I've been getting asked where we are registered for the wedding and I haven't even thought about what to put on that. We've lived together for 6 years by the time the wedding rolls around, we have what we need and have no use for fancy dinner plates that are $60/each. Is it lame to put towels, sheets, a new toaster, etc as our registry? I don't know how this works. Lol.

According to my MIL, it is bad luck to receive towels as gifts since according to her "that means you can't afford them" so needless to say there were no towels on our registry. I did get lots of fancy dinner plates and they sit in the china cabinet on display. I have used them twice for Thanksgiving or Christmas and regret it every time since they need to handwashed and I then spend my evening washing dishes rather than spending time with my family. I now use my Pfaltzgraff dishes instead so much easier!

 

[jen7233]

I've been getting asked where we are registered for the wedding and I haven't even thought about what to put on that. We've lived together for 6 years by the time the wedding rolls around, we have what we need and have no use for fancy dinner plates that are $60/each. Is it lame to put towels, sheets, a new toaster, etc as our registry? I don't know how this works. Lol.

I didn't have traditional weddings (married twice, Vegas fast and first and on the beach second...), anyway I didn't have registries, but I still don't think it's lame to put any of those items you mentioned on a registry. They seem like standard needed items. Linens can get quite expensive and are so useful, I'd think go ahead. Definitely kitchen items, bathroom items, someone mentioned lawncare. I think it'll be fine whatever you've got on there. Maybe some holiday items like great holiday dishes and bakingware or now is that going too far, for those with experience in setting up registries?

*Well, I am going for it and trying to cancel still for New Years from my booking.com reservation, and then rebooking through the hotel for cheaper. Booking.com says it's nonrefundable BUT up to the hotel, so I contacted the hotel and they put a note in my reservations to request fee waiver, and that I am rebooking with them, at the same time requesting my cancel with booking.com. Now it's up to management I suppose and have to wait to hear back from booking.com. This way will save me $200 if it works. I really am never using them again, they didn't honor the cheaper rates I saw because they were specialty rates so I'm told. Anyway, big lessons learned here by me about not being impulsive over New Year's plans!

 

[imbatman]

It can take a few days to a week to show up as complete on both your credit cards. If it's still not correct by next week i'd give them a call.

Showed up today. The fee for the transaction was less than two months of interest, so hurray me! Will be able to knock this out a few weeks ahead of schedule next year!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Walmart finally dropped their BF ad and I'm happy to see the tv we wanted on it for $399 instead of $598! Gonna cross my fingers that I can snag one. A few other smaller things that looked good, including a few kitchen items DF's son/gf were wanting for Christmas. Looks like my time will be spent between Wal-Mart and Kohl's. Thank goodness they are in the same parking lot!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We got back from our 10 day trip on Sunday. My mom and DD did great together while we were gone. My mom took her to daycare during the weekdays so that she had some downtime, which was definitely the right choice. At first my mom said that she could just take care of DD 24/7 and that we could submit vacation time at daycare, but I told her that maybe she didn't remember how demanding taking care of a 1 year old was and that she might want some time to herself. She was very happy to have that time. Plus my dad flew in for the first weekend that we were gone, so my mom got to share the work with him. My mom commented on how hard it must be to both work full time and take care of our daughter (yeah, tell me about it!). Overall, it went well. DD never got upset at us being gone, probably because she knows and trusts my parents. She keep her routine intact by going to daycare each day. And when we got back, even though DD has always been a good sleeper, she actually goes down to sleep easier than when we left.

Unfortunately, we both got sick right before we left for our cruise and I still haven't recovered (2 weeks later). I have been so sick all week and am on what feels like a million prescription medications to control mucus and coughing. But luckily my co-workers were out all week, so I haven't needed to go into the office at all. It is truly times like these that I thank my lucky stars for having such a flexible job.

We also spent way too much money on our trip. I thought I had prepaid gratuities, but nope, I didn't. And though we barely bought anything for ourselves, we bought loads of things for DD. A sweatshirt in Venice, lace dresses in Burano, a sundress in Olympia, etc. Mostly clothes, because there isn't much else to buy such a little kid. We also booked another cruise for March 2020 to the Caribbean. DH is super excited to take DD on her first cruise. We picked one of the big boats with lots of cool stuff to do on board. That was a $300 deposit. To cover the costs, I had to borrow from ourselves and have set up a plan to repay ourselves over several months.

And last night, we finally finalized the purchase of the travel trailer. It took forever for the seller's bank to clear their loan and provide the payoff letter to clear the lien on the title. Tax, title, registration and a permanent plate cost $1720, but we had the money waiting so no surprises there. I called this morning and paid for a year's insurance, $318, also planned for and covered. So tomorrow I will be going to secure our storage space for the trailer. This should be $36 per month going forward. I called a bunch of storage facilities near us and this was the most cost effective and the nicest, both for the facility itself, but also being close to both our house and the highway.

And finally, we got an updated quote from the contractor. It came in just over $60k, which is the hard stop for our budget. I have inquired about cutting out the painting and us doing that ourselves to save $4k. That will give us a enough wiggle room to be able to cover the carpeting after the project is done, since that isn't actually in the current quote. Though the amount is high, it is almost $40k less than the other contractor and their breakdown shows that they are quoting less than the individual contractors that we got quotes from for things (plumbing, HVAC, framing and drywall, etc.). So basically, the difference is that we are paying $8k extra to have them manage the project, which is just 15%, a very fair rate since industry standard is generally 20%. After spending all summer and fall trying to get quotes with little to no luck, I just can't manage this thing myself. Also, I think labor is just really expensive were I am because there is a lot of demand and not as much supply. So we have decided to move forward with our project and just work to add the other elements (wet bar, theatre room furniture and electronics) as we can. Hoping this all goes smoothly.

 

[DnA2010]

We got back from our 10 day trip on Sunday. My mom and DD did great together while we were gone. My mom took her to daycare during the weekdays so that she had some downtime, which was definitely the right choice. At first my mom said that she could just take care of DD 24/7 and that we could submit vacation time at daycare, but I told her that maybe she didn't remember how demanding taking care of a 1 year old was and that she might want some time to herself. She was very happy to have that time. Plus my dad flew in for the first weekend that we were gone, so my mom got to share the work with him. My mom commented on how hard it must be to both work full time and take care of our daughter (yeah, tell me about it!). Overall, it went well. DD never got upset at us being gone, probably because she knows and trusts my parents. She keep her routine intact by going to daycare each day. And when we got back, even though DD has always been a good sleeper, she actually goes down to sleep easier than when we left.

Unfortunately, we both got sick right before we left for our cruise and I still haven't recovered (2 weeks later). I have been so sick all week and am on what feels like a million prescription medications to control mucus and coughing. But luckily my co-workers were out all week, so I haven't needed to go into the office at all. It is truly times like these that I thank my lucky stars for having such a flexible job.

We also spent way too much money on our trip. I thought I had prepaid gratuities, but nope, I didn't. And though we barely bought anything for ourselves, we bought loads of things for DD. A sweatshirt in Venice, lace dresses in Burano, a sundress in Olympia, etc. Mostly clothes, because there isn't much else to buy such a little kid. We also booked another cruise for March 2020 to the Caribbean. DH is super excited to take DD on her first cruise. We picked one of the big boats with lots of cool stuff to do on board. That was a $300 deposit. To cover the costs, I had to borrow from ourselves and have set up a plan to repay ourselves over several months.

And last night, we finally finalized the purchase of the travel trailer. It took forever for the seller's bank to clear their loan and provide the payoff letter to clear the lien on the title. Tax, title, registration and a permanent plate cost $1720, but we had the money waiting so no surprises there. I called this morning and paid for a year's insurance, $318, also planned for and covered. So tomorrow I will be going to secure our storage space for the trailer. This should be $36 per month going forward. I called a bunch of storage facilities near us and this was the most cost effective and the nicest, both for the facility itself, but also being close to both our house and the highway.

And finally, we got an updated quote from the contractor. It came in just over $60k, which is the hard stop for our budget. I have inquired about cutting out the painting and us doing that ourselves to save $4k. That will give us a enough wiggle room to be able to cover the carpeting after the project is done, since that isn't actually in the current quote. Though the amount is high, it is almost $40k less than the other contractor and their breakdown shows that they are quoting less than the individual contractors that we got quotes from for things (plumbing, HVAC, framing and drywall, etc.). So basically, the difference is that we are paying $8k extra to have them manage the project, which is just 15%, a very fair rate since industry standard is generally 20%. After spending all summer and fall trying to get quotes with little to no luck, I just can't manage this thing myself. Also, I think labor is just really expensive were I am because there is a lot of demand and not as much supply. So we have decided to move forward with our project and just work to add the other elements (wet bar, theatre room furniture and electronics) as we can. Hoping this all goes smoothly.

Wow you did 10 days away from your DD! We actually just did our first trip away too (our DD was 2 in sept) but It was 5 days and that felt like a lot! That’s awesome that your DD did so well, but she’s been going to daycare for a while though, so that prob helps as she’s used to being away from you guys. Ours did pretty well too, but we split the time between my mom and inlaws...have your inlaws gotten back involved?
Which big ship did you book? We’re looking forward to taking ours on a big ship too someday.

Sounds promising on your basement, we’re doing ours this winter too, but it is started (some electrical, some of the plumbing in for bathroom) so we are expecting the cost to be a lot less (fingers crossed) can’t wait for all that play space!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Wow you did 10 days away from your DD! We actually just did our first trip away too (our DD was 2 in sept) but It was 5 days and that felt like a lot! That’s awesome that your DD did so well, but she’s been going to daycare for a while though, so that prob helps as she’s used to being away from you guys. Ours did pretty well too, but we split the time between my mom and inlaws...have your inlaws gotten back involved?
Which big ship did you book? We’re looking forward to taking ours on a big ship too someday.

Sounds promising on your basement, we’re doing ours this winter too, but it is started (some electrical, some of the plumbing in for bathroom) so we are expecting the cost to be a lot less (fingers crossed) can’t wait for all that play space!

Yes, I think that since DD is used to going to daycare, it helped a lot to keep her regular routine while we were gone. She just moved up to the "wobbler" room with the older kids and she LOVES it. They go outside everyday, they have more interesting toys, they all eat together at the same time. In the 1.5 weeks that she has been in the new classroom, she has learned a ton. She waves like crazy at everyone, says bye, shakes her head no, gives high-fives, etc. They also have a set nap schedule, which she has been much better about napping than when she was in the infant room.

Things with the in-laws are better. They apologized to me and DH and have promised to follow our directions in regards to our daughter. They are planning to visit at the end of December for a few days, so we will see how it all goes. I think I will try to find some activities that we can all do together, otherwise, it might be overwhelming.

I belong to a Royal Caribbean Moms at Sea facebook group and they all recommended that we book on Harmony of the Seas based on DD's age at the time of sailing. This ship has the Splashaway Bay, a carousel, ice skating, Aqua theatre shows, etc. Unfortunately, she will be just a little too young to be able to use the Kid's Club instead of the nursery, so we probably won't use that much. We are thinking that I might be pregnant during the trip, so this will be our last big trip with DD before another baby arrives. DH is really excited.

As for the basement, I can't wait for the big playspace for DD either. Though it is more than we originally wanted to spend, I think it will add a lot of utility to our home and make things better for DD and a future kid. We looked into the idea of moving instead of doing the basement, but given that home prices have jumped a lot since we bought in 2012, we wouldn't actually get anything more for our money if we sold. Plus we love our house and where we live. Having the basement finished will be the best solution so we have decided that we are willing to make the investment. Plus, I really like these builders. They have been really prompt with questions and modifications to the estimate. My mom met them while I was gone because they had a plumber come in to get a quote on that work. My mom really liked them as well and I value my mom's opinion. Hopefully things run smooth enough.

Good luck on your project. It is such a big process!

 

[DnA2010]

Yes, I think that since DD is used to going to daycare, it helped a lot to keep her regular routine while we were gone. She just moved up to the "wobbler" room with the older kids and she LOVES it. They go outside everyday, they have more interesting toys, they all eat together at the same time. In the 1.5 weeks that she has been in the new classroom, she has learned a ton. She waves like crazy at everyone, says bye, shakes her head no, gives high-fives, etc. They also have a set nap schedule, which she has been much better about napping than when she was in the infant room.

Things with the in-laws are better. They apologized to me and DH and have promised to follow our directions in regards to our daughter. They are planning to visit at the end of December for a few days, so we will see how it all goes. I think I will try to find some activities that we can all do together, otherwise, it might be overwhelming.

I belong to a Royal Caribbean Moms at Sea facebook group and they all recommended that we book on Harmony of the Seas based on DD's age at the time of sailing. This ship has the Splashaway Bay, a carousel, ice skating, Aqua theatre shows, etc. Unfortunately, she will be just a little too young to be able to use the Kid's Club instead of the nursery, so we probably won't use that much. We are thinking that I might be pregnant during the trip, so this will be our last big trip with DD before another baby arrives. DH is really excited.

As for the basement, I can't wait for the big playspace for DD either. Though it is more than we originally wanted to spend, I think it will add a lot of utility to our home and make things better for DD and a future kid. We looked into the idea of moving instead of doing the basement, but given that home prices have jumped a lot since we bought in 2012, we wouldn't actually get anything more for our money if we sold. Plus we love our house and where we live. Having the basement finished will be the best solution so we have decided that we are willing to make the investment. Plus, I really like these builders. They have been really prompt with questions and modifications to the estimate. My mom met them while I was gone because they had a plumber come in to get a quote on that work. My mom really liked them as well and I value my mom's opinion. Hopefully things run smooth enough.

Good luck on your project. It is such a big process!

That’s good to hear that the inlaws have apologized and are going to visit, glad they are coming around.

We are considering a big Royal ship for our next one too- we’ve been on Oasis and loved it...not sure if it will happen till 2021 though as we are pondering WDW for next year and doing Hawaii for 2020.

Our basement we are lucky as the hubby of one of my mom group friends is a builder, so he’s going to do it between houses...we will do th finishing ourselves and are also providing all the lumber needed as my inlaws have a little custom saw mill, that should cut some of the cost down.
The market here hasn’t taken off, what we will put into our house with the basement easily ups the value (not that we are planning on selling as we are also happy)