Debt Dumpers 2025

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Thanks. But it would just be on the side. I'd still have insurance and SS from my full time job. But thank you for the heads up. Same thing happens with my baseball cards. I think I'm going to hit the threshold this year to where I have to pay taxes.

@WDW_fan_in_TX , as a Uber or Lyft driver you would be an independent contractor. You will be responsible for paying all self-employment taxes on your earnings. That means Medicare and Social Security taxes as well as income taxes on your earnings. It's not as easy as saying I'll do 10 rides a day and everything I make is mine to keep. You need to be deciplined enough to set aside those tax monies to pay them when they are due.

Typically, self employed people estimate income and pay their taxes every quarter. And they pay the full amount for Soc. Sec and Medicare. When you are an employee, your employer pays half and you pay half. I comes right out of your paycheck, so you never see it.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying a side gig. I just want to make you aware that you will need to be very careful and not spend money that needs to go toward paying those taxes. Uncle Sam will want his share and he will go after you for it (with penalties and interest)

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Thanks. But it would just be on the side. I'd still have insurance and SS from my full time job. But thank you for the heads up. Same thing happens with my baseball cards. I think I'm going to hit the threshold this year to where I have to pay taxes.

It doesn't matter that this would be a side hustle. The SS taxes that come out of your paycheck at your full-time job don't cover what you owe when you make money as an independent contractor on the side.

 

[Tygerlilly]

It's all progress.

I figured it's the end of the year and I won't rack up toooo much in taxes I'll need to cover over the next 6 weeks. I can give it a try and if it seems to be not worth it, I simply would not continue after the new year.

I am really hesitant to try to drive for uBer/Lyft cause you hear so many stories of drivers getting assaulted and killed. I feel if I just do airport pickups, that'll cut down on that as well as cut down on drunk idiots being in my car.

I've used Uber/Lyft an absurd amount of times while traveling, primarily in Vegas, and have never heard of anyone actually being assaulted or killed. Not saying it never happens, but it's definitely not a common occurrence. I have more concern being assaulted walking out of walmart than I do being in an Uber. Lol.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

For those of you looking to switch internet companies, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go with Frontier. I never even hooked up the equipment. Never even took it out of the box. They took $30 out of my bank account on Nov. 10, I called that day and they said they'd refund. That was 10 days ago and no refund. Today I get an email I've got another bill due. So I call, and I've been on the phone an hour. They told me they put that $30 as a bill credit (remind you I'm not a customer) when they told me I'd be getting a refund on the card. Now they're telling me I owe a $50 restock fee. I'm trying to explain I shouldn't have to pay that fee since I never even hooked up the equipment. This whole experience has been the worse experience as a customer with any utility ever. That was after the delivery man threw the product on my front porch at 8:30 a.m. on a Friday. I didn't get it until after working until 5. I called to cancel when I get home, and they close at 5. Called back on Monday, and they said I had they don't prorate their service. I said I never had their service. Been a big, bad back and forth. So don't ever, EVER go with Frontier. Period. Rant over.

 

[FreeTime]

For those of you looking to switch internet companies, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go with Frontier. I never even hooked up the equipment. Never even took it out of the box. They took $30 out of my bank account on Nov. 10, I called that day and they said they'd refund. That was 10 days ago and no refund. Today I get an email I've got another bill due. So I call, and I've been on the phone an hour. They told me they put that $30 as a bill credit (remind you I'm not a customer) when they told me I'd be getting a refund on the card. Now they're telling me I owe a $50 restock fee. I'm trying to explain I shouldn't have to pay that fee since I never even hooked up the equipment. This whole experience has been the worse experience as a customer with any utility ever. That was after the delivery man threw the product on my front porch at 8:30 a.m. on a Friday. I didn't get it until after working until 5. I called to cancel when I get home, and they close at 5. Called back on Monday, and they said I had they don't prorate their service. I said I never had their service. Been a big, bad back and forth. So don't ever, EVER go with Frontier. Period. Rant over.

I’m confused. It sounds like you signed up for the service and then changed your mind after the scheduled start date. What you explained seems normal for me for a subscription based service. Restocking fees are normal. Not all offer prorating. You signed up. You have to pay for the commitment period.

 

[Tygerlilly]

For those of you looking to switch internet companies, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go with Frontier. I never even hooked up the equipment. Never even took it out of the box. They took $30 out of my bank account on Nov. 10, I called that day and they said they'd refund. That was 10 days ago and no refund. Today I get an email I've got another bill due. So I call, and I've been on the phone an hour. They told me they put that $30 as a bill credit (remind you I'm not a customer) when they told me I'd be getting a refund on the card. Now they're telling me I owe a $50 restock fee. I'm trying to explain I shouldn't have to pay that fee since I never even hooked up the equipment. This whole experience has been the worse experience as a customer with any utility ever. That was after the delivery man threw the product on my front porch at 8:30 a.m. on a Friday. I didn't get it until after working until 5. I called to cancel when I get home, and they close at 5. Called back on Monday, and they said I had they don't prorate their service. I said I never had their service. Been a big, bad back and forth. So don't ever, EVER go with Frontier. Period. Rant over.

If you didn't sign up for the service how did you get equipment delivered to your address and they had your account info to charge it to begin with? Every service I've ever signed up for has a restock fee if you decide not to use the service. Even ATT has an equipment return fee. Is it bs to charge it? Yeah. But it's standard and written in the terms when you sign up.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Let me clarify. I did sign up for it. However, I did not activate it. I never took the equipment out of the box. That's what I meant to say.
The equipment was thrown on my porch at 8:30 a.m. with no notification or anything. I got home after 5, I decided I didn't want to go with Frontier. So I called to cancel. However, they were already closed. So I kept the equipment sealed in the box all weekend. On Monday, I carried it to work and also called them to cancel. I took it to the UPS Store at lunch that day and returned it. So I never activated the equipment.

I’m confused. It sounds like you signed up for the service and then changed your mind after the scheduled start date. What you explained seems normal for me for a subscription based service. Restocking fees are normal. Not all offer prorating. You signed up. You have to pay for the commitment period.

If you didn't sign up for the service how did you get equipment delivered to your address and they had your account info to charge it to begin with? Every service I've ever signed up for has a restock fee if you decide not to use the service. Even ATT has an equipment return fee. Is it bs to charge it? Yeah. But it's standard and written in the terms when you sign up.

 

[FreeTime]

Thanks for the clarity.

1) activation doesn’t matter. You signed up. You received the equipment. You changed your mind. The company did nothing wrong. From a business owner, this is one of the reasons owning a business it tough. It’s the constant being on the defensive because of consumers who want to blast you for following a practice that to set up, they agree to, but then they change their mind. You really should delete your comments. Someone who is looking for info on frontier could use your comments as a deciding factor. Comments that are not true concerning the company.

2) why are you signing up for cable instead of going lean with all of the advice given on this board? Including a recent conversation that you were in about this subject? Cancel all of your streaming! Cancel cable! Use the library for movies. Don’t watch TV. Use that time you now have to exercise and cook healthy.

3) how was your trip to WDW? Did you stay within your budget?

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

After 90 minutes, I finally talked to a manager who said I should've never been charged for the first month ($29.99) and should've never been charged a restock fee. So he waved that, and he's refunding my debit card for the $29.99. It's not cable. It's internet. We had been using Spectrum, but there's was $100/month. So I shopped around like everyone told me to. I found Frontier and signed up for it, and when I called Spectrum to cancel, they came down to $40/month. So we decided to stay with them. And, after the experience with Frontier, I'm super glad I did stay with Spectrum. We only have internet with them. I work from home sometimes, so I have to have internet for that. Plus, if we didn't have internet and no cable, what the heck would we do for TV, shows, movies, etc? Oh, and we can't exercise right now anyways. It's not daylight until 7, and I have to leave for work at 7:30. And I don't get home until 5:30, and it's dark. So can't go outside. But we do cook still. Love cooking. Went to Walmart yesterday because I needed a few items to cook for our pot luck at work (unlike DW's work, we each signed up to brought something, I brought 3 things).

Thanks for the clarity.

1) activation doesn’t matter. You signed up. You received the equipment. You changed your mind. The company did nothing wrong. From a business owner, this is one of the reasons owning a business it tough. It’s the constant being on the defensive because of consumers who want to blast you for following a practice that to set up, they agree to, but then they change their mind. You really should delete your comments. Someone who is looking for info on frontier could use your comments as a deciding factor. Comments that are not true concerning the company.

2) why are you signing up for cable instead of going lean with all of the advice given on this board? Including a recent conversation that you were in about this subject? Cancel all of your streaming! Cancel cable! Use the library for movies. Don’t watch TV. Use that time you now have to exercise and cook healthy.

3) how was your trip to WDW? Did you stay within your budget?

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I work from home sometimes, so I have to have internet for that. Plus, if we didn't have internet and no cable, what the heck would we do for TV, shows, movies, etc?

Umm, not everyone stays glued to TV and movies, especially when they can't afford it. They go outside, read books, have conversations with family.

We haven't paid for cable or home internet for years. We use an indoor antenna for free TV, and our basic cell phone plan includes an unlimited hotspot that we use for internet to homeschool, work, and stream (we only have Disney+). Yes, sometimes the connection is spotty and we get throttled, but it works.

Also, from our library, we can checkout a wifi device for free home internet for two weeks at a time. The waitlist is months long, but we recently tried it and will keep putting our name on the list.

Getting and staying out of debt often requires personal sacrifice and creative solutions. No TV show or sports event is worth financial chaos.