Debt Dumpers 2022

[crazycatstacy]

I think we have a solid plan going forward to get/stay on track. Fingers crossed lol. My nephew from Florida was supposed to start school on August 10. He still hasn't. At first, it was because his mom didn't realize he needed a booster shot (it said on the front page of the school website!), but now she says she doesn't have his birth certificate. She swears both she and her grandma have a copy of his birth certificate but they can't find it, but they will keep looking. I ordered one online for her and had it sent so that cost $44 but I need that boy to be in school! They frustrate me so much and sometimes I just want to eat and shop my feelings but I have been doing good with it.

 

[amalone1013]

I also have the CSP card. When I first signed up several years ago, it was 2 pts for travel and dining, 1 pt/$ for everything else. Lately, it switched to 3 pts/$ for dining but we don't eat out very often. I've never looked into the Marriott card but it would be easy to say without a doubt that one free night in any of Marriott's brands would be more than $95. I feel like anything that steers us away from earing UR points, usually just messes us up. At some point, I'll go to book something and be like "Dang, I just need 500 more points." which I would have had if I just stick with the CSP. Also with CSP, you can book the Marriott room for free without having to transfer UR points to Bonvoy. You just book through Chase Rewards link from your account's main page, enter dates, and choose a hotel. Most of the time, they are refundable and I've cancelled in the past and points get re-deposited almost immediately. When we first got our cards, Disney hotels were available to be booked using UR points and we were able to stay 4 nts club level at the Boardwalk with only having to kick in like $400. Yay! Shortly after that, Disney pulled all their hotels out because God forbid, someone use their cc perks to stay at WDW. I don't know why they'd care as long as they're getting paid by Chase.
I'd like to add some 4 letter words here as to how evil that is, but I won't.

I did get the American Airlines card recently since we'll be flying AA RT in a few weeks for our cruise on the Dream and we get 1 bag free pp each way. Also we'll get a bunch of AA miles for completing the minimum spend which will be easy. I haven't started using it yet so I need to look into it more. I am waiting for our CSP statement cycle to close before starting to charge on the AA card. Don't want to get in over my head with juggling balances on several cards at a time.

We used to occasionally sign up for SWA cards for the bonus points but lately, SWA has been terrible out of Philly with so few non stop flights to anywhere. In the past we've had non-stops to MCO, FLL, TPA, PHX, LAS, & HOU. There were multiple options per day of non stops to MCO. Now there is like one per week. So, no point in getting a SW card any time soon.

It was so great when Disney was on there! I used it for several stays and tickets. Ridiculous it was pulled

I think UR points are best for earning and flexibility of use. I have several cards I keep just for perks, like Marriott with the free night and southwest for anniversary points, upgraded boarding, etc. I count the annual fee as part of my travel budget for the year and don't spend on them outside of that. I still play the credit card game so am often spending on a new card - have had to slow down a bit with little miss to care for - but tend to fall back to my UR earning cards in between. Or DHs sears card that often sends offers for 15% cashback, which is hard to beat as much as I love my travel points

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It was so great when Disney was on there! I used it for several stays and tickets. Ridiculous it was pulled

I think UR points are best for earning and flexibility of use. I have several cards I keep just for perks, like Marriott with the free night and southwest for anniversary points, upgraded boarding, etc. I count the annual fee as part of my travel budget for the year and don't spend on them outside of that. I still play the credit card game so am often spending on a new card - have had to slow down a bit with little miss to care for - but tend to fall back to my UR earning cards in between. Or DHs sears card that often sends offers for 15% cashback, which is hard to beat as much as I love my travel points

What is the upgraded boarding for SW card?

ETA: Oh that's right, they added free EBCI to cardholders when you charge EBCI to your SW card. That is 2 times per year that you get that, corrrect?

 

[pblack]

Thanks for the responses @amalone1013 and @ruadisneyfan2! I think i'm going to ponder it a little bit more, but i'm leaning towards getting it. I'm thinking it would come in handy for staying in hotels during/before trips/cruises. I think I need to figure out what our plan is for next year and whether not we're going to renew/upgrade our Disneyland APs. I think I also need to figure out whether or not I'd wanna use this card as a more regular card in addition to my sapphire card. Like @ruadisneyfan2 mentioned, I hate trying to keep track of multiple cards I need to pay off in a month lol. In addition to my sapphire card I also have the Southwest priority card ($149/AF) that I keep for the anniversary points and (4) upgraded boardings.

What is the upgraded boarding for SW card?

ETA: Oh that's right, they added free EBCI to cardholders when you charge EBCI to your SW card. That is 2 times per year that you get that, corrrect?

With the priority card you receive 4 upgraded boarding's per year when available. It's not the early bird check in that they offer, it's priority boarding of A1-15 which you'd normally only receive if you purchase business select fares. I've never had it not be available for me when I've wanted to use it. I'm actually planning on using my 4 upgrades for my DH and I when we fly out to Texas this weekend. SW has now made it to where after you check in for your flight you can now purchase this upgrade online/in the app instead of having to wait and see the ticketing agent at the gate. (Really excited for this!) But it's also good to know that if you have a flight with a layover and you were wanting to upgrade both legs of your trip that would count as using 2 upgrades and I believe you'd have to see the ticketing agent at your layover stop to add it on to the second flight. So it's most beneficial when you're flying nonstop.

 

[amalone1013]

What is the upgraded boarding for SW card?

ETA: Oh that's right, they added free EBCI to cardholders when you charge EBCI to your SW card. That is 2 times per year that you get that, corrrect?

Yes, on the 2 lower annual fee cards they added that 2 times a year (based on card anniversary)
I have the higher fee card. It covers 4 upgrades to an A1-15 boarding spot

Jk I see @pblack has this covered! Exciting to realize you can purchase ahead! We leave next Friday for WDW. My inlaws are coming but going home a few days before us, so I plan to use upgraded boardings to MCO and I tried the EBCI for them coming home - DH has a card with that. We love the upgraded boarding though because he's been A list Premier for a few years from work trips and always gets A16-30 spots, so we just use one upgrade for me. I really love that Priority card thought, between anniversary points, the $75 credit, and boarding upgrades!

 

[Carol_]

Student loans: paid another $5997
Still owe $2k
I’m in my buffer zone so I’ll have to earn a couple more bucks before I can make that LAST PAYMENT…
Stay tuned.

 

[disney-inspired]

September Update on 2022 Goals
- Focus on paying down private student loans until federal loans go back into repayment. Current combined balance is $47,953, a decrease of $125. Now that student loan forgiveness has been announced, I will stay focused on my paying down my private student loan until the federal loans go back into repayment. I qualify for the 10k forgiveness and whenever that happens, my combined balance will be $37,953.
- Buy a new ECV scooter. - I purchased this to find out the model I ordered is backordered 4.5 months. Ended up canceling the order a couple of weeks ago to have that money on hand.
- Fully Fund SD vacation - Goal Met
- Fully Fund USO/IOA Trip - Goal Met
- Fully Fund DL weekend trip - Goal Met
- Fully Fund WDW 2023 vacation - ($1823/$2754) 66%

2022 Other Goals:
Health:
- Increase physical activity to be consistent 4x a week - It is 100+ for the next two weeks so we are staying inside.
- Find feasible healthier eating options - Still eating out because I'm lazy LOL but I am making better decisions when I eat out. I changed medications and have lost 5.2lbs in the last week 3 weeks!

 

[pblack]

I really love that Priority card thought, between anniversary points, the $75 credit, and boarding upgrades!

Ahh, yes I totally forgot about the $75 credit lol. I also didn't realize the lower cards give you early bird credit. Learning something new!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Student loans: paid another $5997
Still owe $2k
I’m in my buffer zone so I’ll have to earn a couple more bucks before I can make that LAST PAYMENT…
Stay tuned.

So close!!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Was on Experian's website earlier checking both mine and DH's credit scores since we opened the care credit and each opened credit cards that earn cash back or points for travel (we're going to attempt to travel hack a few smaller trips we have planned for next year). I did some playing around with their credit simulator and my score can potentially go up 40 points in 3 months if I keep my usage around 30%. I have "poor" credit and it would move me up into the next category.
We have put our plans for moving amd a vehicle on hold until after the new year and instead are going to focus on getting the care credit and furniture loans gone asap.

 

[npatellye]

Life is busy and all star cheer closer to home is considerably more expensive than the girls’ all star cheer gym two years ago. We had figured that cost out.

Then we got a lovely letter from the mortgage company that, because our property taxes went up, and because our homeowners’ insurance went up (because the value of our home has tripled from what we paid for it-we knew it was worth at least double with TLC-and because the replacement value of our home is now quadruple what we paid for it), our mortgage is going up $250/month to make sure our escrow has a larger cushion.

Oh and the oil company sent us their prices: $4.29/gallon if we prepay for the year by check, $4.59/gallon if we prepay for the year by credit card, and $4.99/gallon for the budget plan. We have a credit because I paid for more than we used last year but ouch. That is going to hit the savings account in a week or two; we need to have the payment cleared by the September 30th.

But we are all healthy and my father is finally doing better after his unexpected heart failure then transplant then nearly 7 month hospital stay. We are hoping things keep going well with his health because the girls are finally able to see him (as long as everyone is masked, of course).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We have put our plans for moving amd a vehicle on hold until after the new year and instead are going to focus on getting the care credit and furniture loans gone asap.

Doing this first will make doing the other things easier.
It’s hard but you can do it.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Doing this first will make doing the other things easier.
It’s hard but you can do it.

The worst thing (and it may be silly to some), is that I hate not having a vehicle should something happen to one of the kids or hubby while he's at work and I have no way of getting anywhere. *If* and that's a big if, we can knock down the payments enough by end of December, I'll consider the vehicle a little earlier just for my mental health.

 

[barkley]

Then we got a lovely letter from the mortgage company that, because our property taxes went up, and because our homeowners’ insurance went up (because the value of our home has tripled from what we paid for it-we knew it was worth at least double with TLC-and because the replacement value of our home is now quadruple what we paid for it), our mortgage is going up $250/month to make sure our escrow has a larger cushion.

make sure your homeowner's coverage is sufficient with the increased value of your home. you hate to pay more but the amount per month will come nowhere close to the high 5 figure numbers friends are having to come up with due to the shortfall in their coverage/major damage.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The worst thing (and it may be silly to some), is that I hate not having a vehicle should something happen to one of the kids or hubby while he's at work and I have no way of getting anywhere. *If* and that's a big if, we can knock down the payments enough by end of December, I'll consider the vehicle a little earlier just for my mental health.

It's not silly; it's the feeling of being trapped at home, and compounds the typical mom/wife worry that we all have, I think. Do you have 911 where you live? It may sound like a silly question but we didn't always have it in South Jersey. I still have our police and fire phone numbers memorized because we had stickers with those numbers on our phones when I was a kid. I would imagine some rural areas may not necessarily have it.

Anyway, IF something terrible happened to your kids, you can always call 911 or your town's emergency phone number for an ambulance. It doesn't have to necessarily be strictly life or death situation. Our elderly neighbor tripped over the extension cord to his Christmas lights/Nativity display in his yard and broke his arm. He couldn't get up, and his wife was out shopping, but luckily had his cell phone on him and called us. We couldn't pull him up because of the arm injury and poor strenth in his legs due to having had polio as a child. We finally called 911 and they scooped him right up and whisked him off to the ER in no time. He would have sat on the cold damp ground in the dark with no coat on for hours if not for his cell phone. Anyway, my point is, 911 isn't only for major things like stroke and heart attack. If you have an emergency, you call them. That's what they're for.
If something happened to your hubby at work and you need to get to him quickly or get to a nearby hospital, could you just Uber there? Are you close enough with any of your neighbors that you'd feel ok with letting them babysit while you attended an emergency for your hubby?
Another alternative plan is maybe you could drive your hubby to work and you keep the car. That might be a PITA trekking out with 3 kids in tow RT but at least you'd have a car while he's at work.

Nothing really could stop me from worrying when my kids were little. Understandably, it's a vulnerable position to be in. Children really need their parents, and parents need each other. The only thing that helped my worrying was having my kids grow into adults and become more independent. Now I just worry about dh, and the thought of losing him. We both agree that we'd be lost without each other. I still worry some about my kids, that they're happy/content, car accidents, etc, but not excessively.

 

[npatellye]

make sure your homeowner's coverage is sufficient with the increased value of your home. you hate to pay more but the amount per month will come nowhere close to the high 5 figure numbers friends are having to come up with due to the shortfall in their coverage/major damage.

Great advice! I review our coverage a month prior to renewal every year so we are good to go for this year. I’ve seen too many people get stuck with high costs because of shortfalls in coverage.

 

[jen7233]

I've been excessively busy lately. I had an interview for another position, but that didn't go that well it's been a while since I interviewed and didn't practice that well, and had 10 performance-based questions. Also they were two and three part questions, so I forgot my strategy of making sure I answer each part. Part of it also is trying to have planned examples and where they may fit, jotting down part 2 and 3 or remembering to ask the interviewer to please say again the other parts. So, as I work I'll pull aside current examples I can use for future interviews. DH told me of a strategy he is using when he conducts interviews where they say the question, allow a minute for the candidate to consider and sort the answer, and then they restate the question for the candidate.

@pblack my DH as both the Marriott and the CSR. I find that we tried to strategically use the Marriott and planning involved trying to purposely search a way to use the free nights vs we have a trip and conveniently can use Marriott, if that makes sense. He had a ton of points also though for extensive business travel though. One cool feature though we just "discovered" were boutique hotels on Marriott site, we stayed in a cool one when we went to Savannah and the trip was a last second decision. We were actually traveling using a free Marriott night in Jacksonville going to spend two nights, but I disliked the hotel that much and said let's just go the next day, and stayed in Savannah historic district on points.

Was on Experian's website earlier checking both mine and DH's credit scores since we opened the care credit and each opened credit cards that earn cash back or points for travel (we're going to attempt to travel hack a few smaller trips we have planned for next year). I did some playing around with their credit simulator and my score can potentially go up 40 points in 3 months if I keep my usage around 30%. I have "poor" credit and it would move me up into the next category.
We have put our plans for moving amd a vehicle on hold until after the new year and instead are going to focus on getting the care credit and furniture loans gone asap.

40 points would be a huge jump. I find that our Transunion scores tended to be lower than the Experian and Equifax. We just got a breakdown of our scores sent to us from Navy Fed since we looked into getting prequaled on mortgage loan.

 

[Tygerlilly]

It's not silly; it's the feeling of being trapped at home, and compounds the typical mom/wife worry that we all have, I think. Do you have 911 where you live? It may sound like a silly question but we didn't always have it in South Jersey. I still have our police and fire phone numbers memorized because we had stickers with those numbers on our phones when I was a kid. I would imagine some rural areas may not necessarily have it.

Anyway, IF something terrible happened to your kids, you can always call 911 or your town's emergency phone number for an ambulance. It doesn't have to necessarily be strictly life or death situation. Our elderly neighbor tripped over the extension cord to his Christmas lights/Nativity display in his yard and broke his arm. He couldn't get up, and his wife was out shopping, but luckily had his cell phone on him and called us. We couldn't pull him up because of the arm injury and poor strenth in his legs due to having had polio as a child. We finally called 911 and they scooped him right up and whisked him off to the ER in no time. He would have sat on the cold damp ground in the dark with no coat on for hours if not for his cell phone. Anyway, my point is, 911 isn't only for major things like stroke and heart attack. If you have an emergency, you call them. That's what they're for.
If something happened to your hubby at work and you need to get to him quickly or get to a nearby hospital, could you just Uber there? Are you close enough with any of your neighbors that you'd feel ok with letting them babysit while you attended an emergency for your hubby?
Another alternative plan is maybe you could drive your hubby to work and you keep the car. That might be a PITA trekking out with 3 kids in tow RT but at least you'd have a car while he's at work.

Nothing really could stop me from worrying when my kids were little. Understandably, it's a vulnerable position to be in. Children really need their parents, and parents need each other. The only thing that helped my worrying was having my kids grow into adults and become more independent. Now I just worry about dh, and the thought of losing him. We both agree that we'd be lost without each other. I still worry some about my kids, that they're happy/content, car accidents, etc, but not excessively.

We do have 911 so that's an option, but they can't accommodate me and 2 extra kids in it, nor can I take them into the er. My parents live a mile away, but they're unreliable on a good day. It took my mom almost an hour to get to the house to watch the girls when I was in labor with #3. And I *could* take him to work and him me, but we work nights from 3pm to 3am (when we get our hours) and the thought of waking the baby up to go get him and then trying to get him back to sleep sounds awful. Lol.

 

[limace]

How about Uber or Lyft?

 

[Tygerlilly]

How about Uber or Lyft?

We work 40 mins from home and in the middle of the night. I'm just not comfortable doing that.