Debt Dumpers 2026

[DanceDisney23]

I agree-we are a minimum of 30 minutes drive from ANY grocery store, 60 to Walmart and stuff is still plenty cold/fully frozen. when we first started doing Walmart curbside pickup I hesitated to get any cold/frozen items but then I gave it a try and found that if I time it to do my pickup AFTER I do my in-store shopping the cold/frozen are colder than than if I had been walking around the store with them in my cart.

When I go to stores that are 30+ minutes away, I bring an insulated bag with me. In the warmer months, I put an ice pack in the bag. I never had any issues with bringing home frozen or refrigerated food.

 

[DisneyHardin]

How much of that is the value of the car vs the fees?

I'm not sure what the fees are - I don't think they are too much of the total though.

 

[Nettlelondon]

I am maxing out the value of my gym membership these days! I have done 5 classes in the last week, although one of them was a sound bath (so lie down on a yoga mat under a blanket and relax to lovely sounds).

Between two of the classes I have a 2 hours gap that I spend in the on site coffee shop drinking my free hot drink - that I get from the gym for visiting 3 times in a week.

The gym membership is half price thanks to my health insurance & comes with weekly rewards (including a free hot drink which I use when I take my mum grocery shopping) and monthly rewards of Amazon vouchers! Every little helps.

I know I could save money by not paying gym membership & exercising for free at home but I know myself and that just wouldn't happen. No free online YouTube watching is going to say "Nettle, I know you can do XYZ, stop slacking", or at least not at the point that I am slacking!

 

[Tygerlilly]

It’s very time consuming when your kids are in a competitive or travel sport.

Competitive gymnastics 3x a week from 4:30-6 and now softball has started 2x a week (for now) from 5:30-6:40. One of those days overlaps so we're literally going here and there from 4:30 to 6:40. The kids eat a snack around 3:30 and then dinner is around 7/7:30.
Can't wait for kiddo #3 to start with his sports.

 

[royeheat]

No to both. But thanks. I'm trying to make progress. It's a slow process. I want to get out of debt immediately. But I realize I didn't get into the mess overnight, so I'm not going to get out of it overnight either.

No to both. But thanks. I'm trying to make progress. It's a slow process. I want to get out of debt immediately. But I realize I didn't get into the mess overnight, so I'm not going to get out of it overnight either.

It took you “x” amount of years to get into debt so it will take you “x” amount and then some years to get out.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

That’s rough but if the kids want it bad enough they’ll find a way to get through it.
Our niece that got the gymnastics scholarship would train from 3pm -9pm after school, then do homework, and all day Saturdays.
Once, when she had a concussion and doctor orders were to rest, she begged her mom to take her to the gym, promising that she would only do some light stretching. When my SIL returned later to pick her up, she walked in to see her daughter doing a wild flip off the end of the balance beam. She couldn’t stand to stay away from it.

At least it kept her out of the 14 & pregnant crowd.

 

[DanceDisney23]

Competitive gymnastics 3x a week from 4:30-6 and now softball has started 2x a week (for now) from 5:30-6:40. One of those days overlaps so we're literally going here and there from 4:30 to 6:40. The kids eat a snack around 3:30 and then dinner is around 7/7:30.
Can't wait for kiddo #3 to start with his sports.

I’m glad I have an only child. I don’t know how people with multiple children do it. Kudos to you!

DH works rotating night shifts, so he is not always able to step in.

I’m typing this as I sit in the parking lot at dance after picking DD up from middle school track, with a brief stop at home to let the dog out and grab the dance bag.

 

[barkley]

Competitive gymnastics 3x a week from 4:30-6 and now softball has started 2x a week (for now) from 5:30-6:40. One of those days overlaps so we're literally going here and there from 4:30 to 6:40. The kids eat a snack around 3:30 and then dinner is around 7/7:30.
Can't wait for kiddo #3 to start with his sports.

crockpot-one of the greatest inventions ever. we lived by the crockpot and bread maker for many years (and lots of large batch cooking/freezing on the weekends). i'm just thankful my kid's activities were on schoolgrounds and they had a late bus that dropped off in fairly reasonable proximity to our house. kudos to those of you have have to run them hither and yon (esp. with current gas prices).

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

crockpot-one of the greatest inventions ever. we lived by the crockpot and bread maker for many years (and lots of large batch cooking/freezing on the weekends). i'm just thankful my kid's activities were on schoolgrounds and they had a late bus that dropped off in fairly reasonable proximity to our house. kudos to those of you have have to run them hither and yon (esp. with current gas prices).

Back when I was a sports editor, I'd have sports 4 out of the 5 nights during the week. And I'd work on Saturday at the office to catch up. I was working like 60 hours a week. It was crazy. And so it made it hard to figure out meals because most nights I wouldn't get done with sports until 9:30-10. And I wasn't going to eat beforehand because I had to be there at 6:30. So there were lots of late night bowls of cereal or drive throughs.

But now that we're on a more normal schedule, we can meal plan and such. We love using the crockpots on the weekends when we're home. Not big on leaving them on during the day when we're not there. And we do cook and put leftovers in the fridge, not the feezer and eat on the next day or 2 then toss out. Great way to make food last.