Starting DRamsey tomorrow and already budget busted

[rszdtrvl]

First of all, we are having issues with our neighbors leaving plates of food next to the fence. That is twice now. First time we asked them to move the food, their friend acted like a jerk. Last night was the second time, and I ended up moving a plate piled of food into a garbage bag and into our garbage at 1am. We have Beagles, and they are food scavengers. Our female went crazy over the food, and it took a lot of baby steps and food to get her far enough away from the fence so that I could pick her up without her nipping at me.

Plus it is getting to be summer, and the neighbor watches her grandkids. They like to stick their hands through the fence to pet the dogs. Again, our female dog is tempermental and has nipped the neighbor on the other side of us (neighbors with the grandkids have been warned).

So we are pricing privacy slats for the fence. $250 is the cheapest I see them (shipped) for 50 linear feet. But they will pay off themselves in the long run, if they prevent issues with the neighbors.

Our male dog has a muscle spasm. Has had it for a few days now. So since it has not gone away on its own, time for a vet visit for muscle relaxers/anti-inflammatories. Again, more $$$.

And we have 3 un-typical medical bills, totaling over $200 sitting in the bill box, needing to be paid.

Is this typical when staring the DR program? A bazillion budget buster things pop up? Our paydays are on the 10th and 25th, so we are starting the budget tomorrow.

Luckily, DH has overtime on his check, so we don't have to dip into our savings account. But we may need to cut back on our entertainment for the month or something due to the unexpected expenses.

Sigh.

 

[Princess Nancy]

YES YES YES!

This is exactly what you will learn to cope with at a Financial Peace course or Dave Ramsey program!

You actually sound WAAAAAY better off than many people who were in my class.

You will love his program!

 

[PrincessBelle09]

Yes, this is totally normal. Life is full of "Murphys" and this is a prime example of why Dave insists on getting that baby emergency fund before starting the debt snowball. Best of luck to you!!!

 

[AmongMadPeople]

First of all, what kind of people leave plates of food in their yard, anywhere!? I can commiserate, maybe not with the fence but with the dog expenses. We were just about to bump up our savings when one of our dogs came down with pancreatitis over Memorial Day Weekend (=emergency vet visit). She still isn't over it a week later, so today she'll be going to her 4th vet visit since the beginning of the month.

Hopefully once you get over these first few expensive weeks you'll make lots of financial progress!

 

[mistysue]

I was thinking the same thing.
Why are these people leaving plates of food in the yard?
Is this some sort of regional thing? That is so weird!

First of all, what kind of people leave plates of food in their yard, anywhere!?

 

[rszdtrvl]

Luckily, we can use checking acct #2 for the vet bill. There is just enough in that acct to cover what the bill should be (under $100). We got lucky, as there was only one appt available this week and it was for today at noon. They are completely booked up the whole rest of the week.

I have no idea why full plates of food are being left by the fence. DH thinks the person who left them is a relative (the same person who he asked if it could please be moved during their housewarming party), and the second plate was left there last night as a "you can't tell me what to do" gesture.

And luckily the medical bills should be covered by DH's overtime.

So all but the privacy slots are pretty much budgeted for, accounting DH's overtime money as extra cash. And those will probably be purchased with money we get from selling stuff on ebay. I have a bunch of collectible toys (My Little Pony) that I am seriously considering selling, to try to get our debt reduced. They don't make me as happy as having no credit card bills would. KWIM?

 

[bumbershoot]

Is this typical when staring the DR program?

YES.

... and this is a prime example of why Dave insists on getting that baby emergency fund before starting the debt snowball.

Absolutely. And on the llnoe.com boards, I've seen many people talk about all sorts of expenses, month after month, while setting up that baby emergency fund! When they finally get that 1K, they are so relieved.

Sounds like you have savings...if it's over 1K, I'd take the amount down to the 1K BEF...use that money for debt, give yourself a head start, and make yourselves so uncomfortable about having lower savings that you work like crazy to get the debt gone.

First of all, what kind of people leave plates of food in their yard, anywhere!?

Had the same thought!

And luckily the medical bills should be covered by DH's overtime.

So all but the privacy slots are pretty much budgeted for, accounting DH's overtime money as extra cash. And those will probably be purchased with money we get from selling stuff on ebay.

They don't make me as happy as having no credit card bills would. KWIM?

So that's not bad!

If you have any CDs and DVDs that you don't listen to or watch anymore, check out abundatrade.com and secondspin.com. abunda tends to pay a bit more, but secondspin reimburses partial shipping...so it can be a bit of a wash. Definitely check them out if you have any of those discs you want to get rid of. (they are FAST, too...the only slow part about selling CDs has been ME)

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Okay I have to ask this. Why on earth does it matter to you if your neighbor puts plates of food in their own yard? I don't know why they would but it seems irrelevant. You should be able to control your dogs and again- it is their yard so I would imagine that they can do as they please. As for the kids putting their hands through the fence, well, I agree that they shouldn't be doing that but as a pet owner it is your responsibility to make sure that the pets are safe and that they do not pose a risk to others. If they will nip a child I only hope you are vigilant about keeping them supervised/contained etc. I would think that the slats for the fence would have gone up immediately if you knew they were nippers.

I am not trying to be a jerk but I am perplexed by the whole plate thing. Who cares what they do in their yard?
Good luck starting DR. I have read that many people here use it with great results.

 

[hffmnheidi]

I understand about the plate thing-it could draw vermin that you really don't want in your neighborhood, but it is their yard and they can do what they want in their yard. If you really want to know what you can and can not do, call your county zoning department and ask for your neighborhood/county regulations. They differ from county to county.

On the dogs, I would suggest you get a beware of dog sign immediately and warn their children enough times to be sufficient. If their children get hurt because of your dogs, you are completely responsible for medical bills because they are your pets and you know they nip and could possibly bite. Call your insurance agent and ask if you are unsure. Watch any episode of People's Court or Judge Judy and you'll see this is the dog owner's responsibility because the dog is already known to be aggressive/nip at people(by your own words here in your post). Perhaps a chain for your dogs that will keep them away from the fence. I think you are already doing a good thing by having a fence, but they don't always work.

 

[scribega]

Is this typical when staring the DR program? A bazillion budget buster things pop up? Our paydays are on the 10th and 25th, so we are starting the budget tomorrow.


Sigh.

Yes and no. Yes, things come up. But you have had things come up before. But when an issue like you mentioned came up you just used a credit card or money to quickly solve it without a second thought. Now with DRamsey you are actually THINKING about where your money goes and how you spend it. Big difference. The program works, good luck.

Have you signed up for the online community on DaveRamsey.com?

 

[palavra]

I think it is totally normal. We started Dr in January and had built up our emergency fund. In March i had to have emergency gallbladder surgery and half of our emergency fund went to bills. Then, in April we found out we had termite damage and spent another $750.00 on that. We are back to slowly building up our emergency fund again. We do not have a lot of debt, but we were tired of living with money worries all the time. Now, we have a workable budget and and getting the emergency fund in order. We also have a vacation budget that we will contribute to when we pay off our last credit card in 4 months.

 

[bumbershoot]

Okay I have to ask this. Why on earth does it matter to you if your neighbor puts plates of food in their own yard? I don't know why they would but it seems irrelevant.

Because it's driving her dogs crazy. The plates are just on the other side of the shared fence. Any dog would want to get at that food. Maybe a seriously trained German Shepherd, or my (now late) FIL's long late standard poodle who was a bit of a miracle, could handle it...but on the other side, we had two malamutes and someone tied up a GOAT to a tree a few yards on the other side of our fence...they knocked down the fence to get at the goat (and get they did) while my mom was at work and we were at school. Thank goodness this was in the 70s, and the goat owners just said "wow that was a stupid idea of ours, wasn't it?" and that was it. Animals are animals, and even a fully trained GS can't be 100% trusted, because you never know when their instincts will become too strong for their trained minds to control.

You can't put something up if you don't have the money for the something to go up...and it sounds like she only recently realized what would be happening with the kids.

In short, she's doing the things that need to be done!

 

[rszdtrvl]

Thanks bumpershoot. That is exactly it.

They are somewhat new neighbors, only recently started watching their grandchildren.

And yes, it should not matter where they put their food dish, but leaving one right next to a fence after we had already asked them to move a food dish from the exact area a day prior to is just rude, IMO. And we did explain that our dogs are trying to get at it. And we didn't want them snapping at the grandkids if they are near the food and put their arms through the fence.

They have been warned about our female dog - she has nipped (not bitten) before.

Good news is that the vet bill was only $80. Yay!!

I am hoping that once the privacy slats are up that they will take care of some of the issues (if not all of them).

 

[mrsklamc]

As for the kids putting their hands through the fence, well, I agree that they shouldn't be doing that but as a pet owner it is your responsibility to make sure that the pets are safe and that they do not pose a risk to others. If they will nip a child I only hope you are vigilant about keeping them supervised/contained etc. I would think that the slats for the fence would have gone up immediately if you knew they were nippers.

We don't know, from the post, that this isn't 'immediately.'

And it's just as much the responsibility of the neighbor to keep the kids from sticking their hands through the fence in the first place!

At any rate, it sounds like OP is taking care of it.

 

[fkj2]

Um, if I were you, I'd take some photos documenting the plates of food placed near the fence. Should the occasion arise where one of the smaller children get nipped, at least you'll have some proof that the dogs were enticed. In fact, try to take photos of someone putting the food there. There's no reason your dogs should be accused of being aggressive when, in reality, they're being provoked.

Plus, if you do want to put a stop to this, photos will be more convincing.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Thank you. I just found the whole situation odd.

 

[disneylove69]

Hate to be the one to tell you but I noticed that you are taking a vacation in a month. Dave would call that a big NO NO...... besides the vacation thing you will really love the Ramsey method.

 

[mrsklamc]

Not necessarily. You're allowed a percentage of the budget for entertainment. It's entirely possible GWL falls within that percentage.Or maybe she was gifted the trip. I have a friend whose parents pay for the entire family to go to a similar place once a year.