Debt Dumpers 2025

[firefly_ris]

I am in central CT so our growing seasons should be similar.

Eggplants like full sun, heat and I normally don’t start picking them until mid August. They are smaller than my other plants right now.

Are you getting flowers? Any fruit? If you are getting flowers and fruit but the plant is not growing them to maturity you may need a support. Eggplants are heavy, getting support has made a big difference for me.

How are you planting them? I usually plant my eggplants close together. This helps with pollination. I have also found mine don’t like being near tomatoes so I usually plant mine near my beans, cucumbers, and peppers.

I only fertilize with cow manure and noticed they do much better on the year I add it (I do it every other year). So I’ve started getting a garbage can on the off years for eggplants, peppers, and pumpkins.

I struggle with bell peppers but not hot peppers. If you have any suggestions let me know!

So, they are in full sun and it's finally been hot -- we did get a late start to planting season due to a pretty cold and dreary May. I didn't get anything in the ground until the week after Memorial Day. So that could be a factor.

There are no flowers. I didn't get any flowers on them last year either in the other location.

They are planted close together. I do compost.

However -- I DO have them right next to my san marzano tomato plants. And they were next to tomatoes last year too. Perhaps that is the issue? Everything else is pretty well established and I don't have an open space to move them to now unless I transferred them to a pot, not sure if that would be better or worse for them.

If I don't get anything out of them again, I'll plant them over by the cucumbers in the other garden next year and try again.

Bell peppers are my other enemy -- they grow about 7 inches tall and I get 1 whole pepper out of all the plants by September so I totally gave up on those.

Thank you!

 

[LoveDaisy]

@firefly_ris I walked out to my garden a few minutes ago and I can see the first flower bud starting to form on one of my eggplants. I planted Mother’s Day weekend so a few weeks before you. With that said the plants are still small. I think the cold rainy spring didn’t help.

I would try changing the location next year. I hope that helps!

I was talking to one of my older gardening neighbors a few years back and he told me peppers like sulfur. I have started taking matches and putting 6-7 in the soil before I plant. I went from getting no peppers to getting some. It’s a cheap thing to try next year. I took these pictures yesterday.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Here's my end of June update.
Terrible. We didn't do anything this month.
We didn't fall off the wagon, thankfully.
But we didn't really have much progress.

Personal
- Eating healthier: Didn't eat too well this weekend as my parents came to town, and we ate out every meal. Otherwise, we had been doing okay with not eating fried and eating more fruits and veggies.
- More Exercise: Too hot to walk. Been walking in place inside or doing some YT videos of at-home exercises with no equipment. Just something to get me sweating and my heart rate up. Still no support at home for this, so I have to do it on my own.
- Weight loss: Goal of 250 by July 27. Started at 278 on April 1.
Not even close. Still in the 260s. Only lost 2 pounds last month, from 264 to 262.

Financial
- Keep paying on/not using CC1: Still haven't used it this year. Been paying on it, but the amount only goes down about $10/month because of monthly fees ($8.25) and interest ($11). Very frustrating as it doesn't seem to be working.
- Eat Out Less: Goal was to get under $800. Didn't happen as we spent just over $840. But about $250 of that was this past weekend when my parents came to town, and they wanted to eat nice sit downs every meal.
- Sell, sell, sell: Not sure what I sold. Maybe a couple of hundred dollars' worth of baseball cards. Will bank all the money for Chicago. Also sold an extra set of golf clubs to my coworker for $100. Listed out a bunch of Disney stuff, chinaware and other stuff with no interest whatsoever.
- Save for Chicago: Chicago is this month! Can't wait.

Home/Projects
- Create an office space upstairs: Finished sorting boxes, registered for and filled a storage unit and got a desk this past weekend. It's a 100+ year old desk that belonged to my mom's great uncle that he built in grade school, probably around 1910. Got it in the room and all my computer/eBay stuff in place. Looking nice.
- Growing veggies: Too late this year. They didn't take. Will try again in March.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

July goals and June wrap-up!

June was the worst. I thought we were doing better but it felt like death by a thousand cuts and fees. Ugh. I hate it.

-At the end of June we paid the final fees for the neighborhood pool club and we are SO GLAD we did it because we've already used it a ton and it's a nice place to be able to go cool off with all this crazy heat we're having. Sucks financially right now but it was a good investment.

-We got totally hosed by a landscaper that promised us a 'spring cleanup' and then charged us $400 for getting rid of leaves and damaging the only plants we actually liked, scattering trash over the yard, and damaging the lattice on our porch. And not telling us any of that until I came home and was like *** happened to the yard? $400 and not even a mow?! The guy isn't budging on it so we just had to suck it up and then bad mouth him to the neighborhood facebook. I'm still so mad about it. Because of all the rain our yard is like a damn swamp with all the fast growing weeds we can't stay on top of and we just wanted someone to help us get it back to zero. Instead it looks worse than before, just without leaves, and now we're out $400. Blah.

-Then part of our dryer melted and tore up a bunch of clothes including my favorite shirt. We just had replacement parts come in and luckily we were able to fix that ourselves but come on, June!

-Our daughter's broken foot finally healed up (yay!) so we paid the final chunk of fees for the last of the summer camps.

-We did slightly better with eating out, but my oldest graduated from 5th grade so it was kind of a mess of celebrations/outings with classmates/family since she's the oldest grandchild. We do better!

Looking towards July goals:

Financial

1. Get the credit card down and KEEP IT DOWN. This is going to be a tiny bit hard because we're going on a one week vacation starting Thursday and will be eating out a lot (see 2). One of the credit cards I have sent me a promotion for one year of 0% APR so I was like...let's do it. I'm slowly shifting some spending over to that one to see how it is, though I am very wary of having two credit cards with balances. I hate that idea. But I like not paying APR. So we'll see how long that lasts and if I'm able to shift some of the regular spending on the regular card over enough that we can get the regular card down and not pay huge fees every month that seems like a win. But also kind of dangerous, so I'm going to stay on top of it. I would really, really love to not be carrying a huge balance on our main credit card by the end of the year. It just got so out of hand when we were hit with several big things one right after the other and we've never really been able to get it back to being manageable.
   
   
2. Stop eating out. Vacation gets a waver since we'll be in hotels without kitchens, but I also made sure we're going to have snacks for our long drives and sandwiches so that at least we'll be saving a bit on the road.

Health, Fitness & Self Care

1. I had terrible bloodwork last week at my annual where my triglycerides were sky high, so I REALLY need to maintain the weight loss from last year. This time with more exercise? I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor but I'm super bummed about it because I thought for sure it would be good since I lost so much weight. But no, everything was higher than usual and yet here I am, eating less and swimming and eating so much oatmeal, guys, why am I bothering.
2. Cook more at home. We're doing pretty well with this so long as we go to the grocery store on Sundays.
3. Walk at least 2 miles a day. Going to start this up after vacation next week. We will probably walk this while ON vacation, I just need to make sure on top of the swimming on days I'm in work I'm walking.
4. Plan one-on-one time with the kids. I just made my youngest a dress for the show we're going to see in Toronto and she sat with me while I did most of it and it was nice just chatting with her.

Home/Projects

1. Ugh the door. This is probably going to get pushed until fall because ugh. UGH!
2. Maybe redo all the screens though? I need to count our windows. There's a guy that will come out and rescreen for like $50 a window. Maybe I can like. Pick one window in each room instead of doing them all? But right now we can't open our windows because all our screens are trash and it would be nice to be able to open one or two!
3. I'm gonna do that board and batten thing. I'm gonna do it! But maybe not until August
4. I will paint the dining room when we get back from vacation though.

 

[pblack]

does your dh seem to like the new job?

He does, thanks for asking! It's definitely been a good change for him mentally. He's been in a much better mood overall compared to his last job. I think he does still have some lingering doubts on if he did the right thing, but I'm hoping as time goes on he'll fully realize this was the best decision.

Maybe redo all the screens though? I need to count our windows. There's a guy that will come out and rescreen for like $50 a window. Maybe I can like. Pick one window in each room instead of doing them all? But right now we can't open our windows because all our screens are trash and it would be nice to be able to open one or two!

I've never done it myself, but I've heard rescreening a window isn't really that difficult if you have the right tool (and the tool is fairly inexpensive). Maybe try looking into DIYing it?

 

[Tygerlilly]

June was... a lot. Between the unexpected and kind of expensive trip to ND for my cousins funeral and just life in general, everything just got blown out.

I'm very ready for July to get back on track.

July goals:

DS 4th birthday trip. We changed around what we were doing and instead of a week in Branson we're going to Kansas City to Great Wolf Lodge for 2 nights. We got the hotel (with Waterpark), all 3 kids the bundle with the build a bear, breakfast buffet for 2 mornings, and $150 of dining credit. All in, it was right at $1,000. This is already paid.
I'll pack some snacks and grab a case of soda and juice boxes and water to keep in the room. We've discussed also stopping into the zoo on check out day before heading home. If we do that, it'll be about another $80.

Yard sale. I'm going to hold a fundraiser yard sale and purge all the things. DD8 has to raise 1,000 over the year for gymnastics competition fees, so I figure I'll set everything out and people can pay what they want. Maybe have her sell lemonade and cookies as well.

Meal plan and prep. I've fallen off the wagon here in June. I already have the first 2 weeks of July fairly well planned out. Trying to get my kids more involved with meal planning and then helping cook those meals.

Finish DD8s bedroom. Seriously, it's been almost a year since I started. I need to finish and get her and DS switched.

Beef order. We are on the list for a side of beef for August. I believe last year was around $1300. I'm figuring it will be similar this year. Need to make sure I have that ready to go when they call and say it's ready.

Christmas! Time to start my Christmas sinking fund. There's 25 weeks until Christmas. Need to start adding money so when I see a good deal I can buy it without impacting our normal budget.


I'm ready to kick July's butt and get back on track for the rest of the year.

 

[disney-inspired]

2025 Goals:
- Build up emergency fund again; I've been operating without one since I have very few fixed bills. I'd like to have that cushion again for future medical issues; I have an autoimmune disease so it's not a matter of if, but when.
- Be more intentional with paying off off my DVC loan
- Cash flow my Epic Universe/WDW vacation in August 2025. This is a two week vacation with the family, very excited about it!
- Save up to move from CA to TX: Not sure when I'll move but my sister and her family are moving early summer 2025. I'll start apt/condo hunting once they get settled so I know their general location. I'm being very particular as to what kind of place I want so won't be moving until I find the perfect place for me.

Have not been following up monthly but figured since we're halfway done, I probably should LOL
1. Nope, EF has been neglected for saving for moving costs
2. Refinanced my DVC loan, saving money on interest and it will be paid off in 4 years instead of 10 years; maybe faster if I go gazelle intense on it.
3. Have been cash flowing the trip for awhile now - I only need $175 to meet my goal!
4. Still saving - I submitted my application for an apt complex in Texas; Move in would be right after the big vacation. Excited! Currently have almost enough saved for the total move in cost; Will have that plus a good chunk extra before move in for basic furniture and a money cushion.

 

[imbatman]

I rescreened last summer! Super easy! Make sure to measure and buy the correct width and buy the screen roll or tool. Be careful removing the rubber that holds it in place. I did my whole house AND back slider for $70. And that’s because I messed up on one. ALSO: start on the windows that don’t show so that you can practice.

July will be pricey for me. Going in for a crown tomorrow after breaking a molar in half. Going to haggle them and see if they’ll give me a discount for my portion if I pay cash.

Buying a plane ticket for each girl to visit one another later this year. This is necessary as we are all still mourning and they miss one another. It’s just money. I can earn it back and still stay debt free in a couple of months.

Our house sale is stagnant, especially now. Seems like the entire market has slowed to a drip. I’m grateful we’re not in a place to have to sell.

One thing about losing my DH, it’s allowed me to have some practical and frank talks with my kids about finances. We don’t love money, but the freedom it brings. The oldest is having me help with a budget. The youngest has her own budget for a new career. They both know I’m not rolling in cash but are more upfront with needs and wants. It’s the hindsight that kicks our butts often.

 

[barkley]

Maybe have her sell lemonade and cookies as well.

consider getting flats of bottled water (I just paid $4.92 for 40 ct. at Walmart) and have the kiddos sell them (iced) for $1 each. if you want to up the game (and price) get knock off crystal light packets and upcharge an additional 50-75 cents more (target has their market pantry brand multi packs of 3 flavors of lemonade and they run about 17 cents each in a 30 pack). saves having to buy lemonade (or makings), cups, ice suitable for consumption (anything leftover does not spoil-will just be consumed over time by the household). we had neighbors who did this for yard sales with the kids pulling their wagon around to get more attention vs. being parked at a table (they sold allot of bottled water).

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I rescreened last summer! Super easy! Make sure to measure and buy the correct width and buy the screen roll or tool. Be careful removing the rubber that holds it in place. I did my whole house AND back slider for $70. And that’s because I messed up on one. ALSO: start on the windows that don’t show so that you can practice.

Send me details! I am NOT handy and I feel like in this ragtag house every single window is a different size. But I'm willing to try if it will save us a bunch of money. I think we have like 22 windows, not counting the sunroom. Which I leave to the yellow jackets this time of year since all the metal window frames in there are bent in ways I cannot fix without replacing.

 

[comicguy]

Here's my end of June update.
Terrible. We didn't do anything this month.
We didn't fall off the wagon, thankfully.
But we didn't really have much progress.

Personal
- Eating healthier: Didn't eat too well this weekend as my parents came to town, and we ate out every meal. Otherwise, we had been doing okay with not eating fried and eating more fruits and veggies.
- More Exercise: Too hot to walk. Been walking in place inside or doing some YT videos of at-home exercises with no equipment. Just something to get me sweating and my heart rate up. Still no support at home for this, so I have to do it on my own.
- Weight loss: Goal of 250 by July 27. Started at 278 on April 1.
Not even close. Still in the 260s. Only lost 2 pounds last month, from 264 to 262.

Financial
- Keep paying on/not using CC1: Still haven't used it this year. Been paying on it, but the amount only goes down about $10/month because of monthly fees ($8.25) and interest ($11). Very frustrating as it doesn't seem to be working.
- Eat Out Less: Goal was to get under $800. Didn't happen as we spent just over $840. But about $250 of that was this past weekend when my parents came to town, and they wanted to eat nice sit downs every meal.
- Sell, sell, sell: Not sure what I sold. Maybe a couple of hundred dollars' worth of baseball cards. Will bank all the money for Chicago. Also sold an extra set of golf clubs to my coworker for $100. Listed out a bunch of Disney stuff, chinaware and other stuff with no interest whatsoever.
- Save for Chicago: Chicago is this month! Can't wait.

Home/Projects
- Create an office space upstairs: Finished sorting boxes, registered for and filled a storage unit and got a desk this past weekend. It's a 100+ year old desk that belonged to my mom's great uncle that he built in grade school, probably around 1910. Got it in the room and all my computer/eBay stuff in place. Looking nice.
- Growing veggies: Too late this year. They didn't take. Will try again in March.

The important thing is your still working on it and NOT giving up! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

Sometimes life is one step forward and two steps back, but eventually the tides turn in your favor and that is a rewarding experiance! Time, energy, and paitance equals reward!

 

[Tygerlilly]

I just remembered to get all the kids signed up for the different summer reading programs. B&N gives them a free book when they turn their log in, Panda Express gets a free kids meal, Pizza Hut gets a pizza, and our library has prizes. We do a LOT of reading so I know we'll be able to fill it up and reap our rewards quickly.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I just sent my kids to middle school this morning. Ugh, supply shopping was a pain in the butt and I remembered why I stopped bringing them with me. Oh well, it's done for awhile anyway.

 

[focusondisney]

I just sent my kids to middle school this morning. Ugh, supply shopping was a pain in the butt and I remembered why I stopped bringing them with me. Oh well, it's done for awhile anyway.

Your school is in session? Do you have year round schools with quarterly breaks?

 

[LadybugsMum]

Your school is in session? Do you have year round schools with quarterly breaks?

Yes, and I love it. I'm going to be very sad when my kids are in high school and year round is no longer an option.

 

[grumpy28]

I just sent my kids to middle school this morning. Ugh, supply shopping was a pain in the butt and I remembered why I stopped bringing them with me. Oh well, it's done for awhile anyway.

I did too! I love year round. Next year one kid will be is HS and the other still in MS so we will be on 2 different schedules for 2 years. Not looking forward to that.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I did too! I love year round. Next year one kid will be is HS and the other still in MS so we will be on 2 different schedules for 2 years. Not looking forward to that.

This is when having twins is good as they'll always be on the same schedule.

 

[barkley]

caught the craziest (and best) sale today-have to share cuz it was unbelievable

regional grocery store did a '7's sale'-one day only, today, cuz it's 7/7/(25, 2+5= 7). with prices these days you would think stuff on sale was going for x dollars and .97 cents but nooooooooooo-they had stuff for 77 cents EACH. I got burger buns and hot dog buns for 77 cents a pack, hot dogs (decent brand name)....for 77 cents a package, but the best buy-resers salads in 1 pound containers....for 77 cents each. I maxed out each of the offers and ended up with 8 packs of buns, 6 packs of hot dogs, 3 containers of macaroni salad and 3 containers of potato salad for a grand total of $15.40

 

[Bellex917]

caught the craziest (and best) sale today-have to share cuz it was unbelievable

regional grocery store did a '7's sale'-one day only, today, cuz it's 7/7/(25, 2+5= 7). with prices these days you would think stuff on sale was going for x dollars and .97 cents but nooooooooooo-they had stuff for 77 cents EACH. I got burger buns and hot dog buns for 77 cents a pack, hot dogs (decent brand name)....for 77 cents a package, but the best buy-resers salads in 1 pound containers....for 77 cents each. I maxed out each of the offers and ended up with 8 packs of buns, 6 packs of hot dogs, 3 containers of macaroni salad and 3 containers of potato salad for a grand total of $15.40

I live for these types of deals LOL!

 

[DL1WDW2]

I like to grate up fresh carrots and slivers of celery, etc to add to those premade deli containers to improve.
The price of gas on WDW property jumped 30 cents overnight driving into work for night shift leaving in morn
Hope that was holiday but might be combo tariff/holiday
Hope it is better today
Did anybody else notice unusually high pricing ?
I need to stock up for hurricane supplies at BJs in Florida and have started using their gas but not happy with quality .
The best gas ever is QuikTrip that sponsors the Kansas City Royals Baseball Team . They guaranteed their gas quality .
I wish they could franchise in Florida .
I think they made a NO Compete agreement with 7/11 a long time ago.