Debt Dumpers - 2018

[jen7233]

Oct 8 is Columbus Day. When I was working federal we’d have off, but my kids’ school was still in session so it was day off without the kids. But, I think it would still be a high volume park day. I feel this year is flying by and we had so much happen, too. Here next thing I know we’ll be talking about Halloween at my house! We are already discussing Christmas because that requires some extra planning and costs more, lol.

 

[Eureka]

Seems like the Oct 13-18 would be better if it’s after her birthday then could spend time planning the birthday and Disney without being out of town.

On that same note how is April in Orlando, anyone been? We’re debating between Disneyland or World in April. I’ve only been in June, July and August and the latter two were so humid and so sticky hot and then the afternoon thunderstorms. Although warm rain is way better than cold rain! I still would go again in summer though despite the humidity.

We did April there once (spring break, Easter was late so it was toward the end of the month) and it was 90 degrees all week.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Hope everyone in the path of Florence is taking care. We did some hurricane prep yesterday since we're expected to get 15 inches of rain and approx 45 MPH winds. We should mostly be in good shape though. My mom (also my next door neighbor) has a whole home generator that runs her well pump so we're good on drinking water. We'll be closing our horses up in our barn like we did in Isabel 15 years ago and hoping for the best. I expect my work to close Friday, but I've already told them I'm not coming in regardless of whether we're open. The rain is going to be our biggest concern since we've had an extremely wet summer so the ground is already saturated.

Seems like the Oct 13-18 would be better if it’s after her birthday then could spend time planning the birthday and Disney without being out of town.

On that same note how is April in Orlando, anyone been? We’re debating between Disneyland or World in April. I’ve only been in June, July and August and the latter two were so humid and so sticky hot and then the afternoon thunderstorms. Although warm rain is way better than cold rain! I still would go again in summer though despite the humidity.

I went in mid April 2015. I thought it was very pleasant. I can only think of like two times during the eight days we were there when I thought to myself "I am really hot and want to sit in the AC immediately." I am from Virginia though, so I'm well versed in 100 degree weather with 70-80% humidity.

 

[FQLover]

Take care, @DisneyMandC . It sounds as though you have made good plans. How great that your mom is so close by and you can check on each other! Let us know later in the week how you are doing. I hope that everyone heeds the warning and makes plans to get away from the worst of it.

 

[pblack]

Hope everyone in the path of Florence is taking care. We did some hurricane prep yesterday since we're expected to get 15 inches of rain and approx 45 MPH winds. We should mostly be in good shape though. My mom (also my next door neighbor) has a whole home generator that runs her well pump so we're good on drinking water. We'll be closing our horses up in our barn like we did in Isabel 15 years ago and hoping for the best. I expect my work to close Friday, but I've already told them I'm not coming in regardless of whether we're open. The rain is going to be our biggest concern since we've had an extremely wet summer so the ground is already saturated.



I went in mid April 2015. I thought it was very pleasant. I can only think of like two times during the eight days we were there when I thought to myself "I am really hot and want to sit in the AC immediately." I am from Virginia though, so I'm well versed in 100 degree weather with 70-80% humidity.

Sending good thoughts and vibes your way! Hopefully it doesn't affect you too much.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Take care, @DisneyMandC . It sounds as though you have made good plans. How great that your mom is so close by and you can check on each other! Let us know later in the week how you are doing. I hope that everyone heeds the warning and makes plans to get away from the worst of it.

Sending good thoughts and vibes your way! Hopefully it doesn't affect you too much.

Thanks! Yeah I suspect we'll just go stay at my mom's house once things start looking bad. I need to be there to take care of our horses and last time we had a hurricane (Sandy), we had a door blow back and hit her in the face pretty hard, breaking her glasses. So I definitely don't want her out there doing anything alone. I live pretty fair out in the middle of nowhere so hopefully cell and internet signal holds up!

I'm currently reading my Facebook news feed and seeing friends near Topsail Beach, NC who are under mandatory evacuation but refusing to evacuate in order to stay with their horses. Pure insanity. They absolutely have the means and time (if they start now) to start moving their horses inland, but said they're going to stay there to ride it out. They moved to the area last year from a part of the country that doesn't experience hurricanes, so I think they're severely underestimating the strength with which they'll be hit.

 

[FQLover]

Gosh--I hope that they change their minds while there is still time for them to go--for their sake and for their helpless animals.

 

[jen7233]

We're inland quite a bit, but still on the Florence path for SC/NC/VA. I don't expect much impact, house should be fine not expecting anything and we are out of the very high wind zone anyway. Only things I could think of that could be problems would be flooding in some areas of the city and possibly power outages, maybe school closings. Our area has had a lot of rain though this summer.

 

[Dentam]

Hope everyone in the path of Florence stays safe! I also hope that people in areas of mandatory evacuations actually do evacuate rather then needing rescue efforts once the storm hits. Drives me crazy to hear about people who stubbornly stay in those situations and put others at risk when they need to be rescued.

 

[Eureka]

We're supposed to be getting a ton of rain (like, inches) from Florence and we are supposed to travel Friday so I hope our flight is still on.
And because there is *always* something....our dryer stopped working last night. Won't turn on. Door closes, circuit breaker is fine. I'm working from home tomorrow and luckily there was an opening for a repair. So we'll see what happens. Can't remember how long we've had this dryer but I know we've bought one in the last 10 years or so.

 

[jen7233]

We're supposed to be getting a ton of rain (like, inches) from Florence and we are supposed to travel Friday so I hope our flight is still on.
And because there is *always* something....our dryer stopped working last night. Won't turn on. Door closes, circuit breaker is fine. I'm working from home tomorrow and luckily there was an opening for a repair. So we'll see what happens. Can't remember how long we've had this dryer but I know we've bought one in the last 10 years or so.

Good luck with that dryer! It is always something. I get the feeling often things just break in my hands lately seems things are breaking left and right. We had a washing machine that was awful from our landlord didn't wash right and made horrendous noise and added that to the 100 things that need fixing around here list so it would probably be at the bottom. Luckily we still had our washer and dryer in storage and didn't sell them, and swapped them out.

From the Weather Channel website:
According to the National Hurricane Center, rainfall totals of 15 to 20 inches, with isolated maximum amounts up to 30 inches, are possible in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and northern South Carolina through Saturday.

 

[imbatman]

Thanks! Yeah I suspect we'll just go stay at my mom's house once things start looking bad. I need to be there to take care of our horses and last time we had a hurricane (Sandy), we had a door blow back and hit her in the face pretty hard, breaking her glasses. So I definitely don't want her out there doing anything alone. I live pretty fair out in the middle of nowhere so hopefully cell and internet signal holds up!

I'm currently reading my Facebook news feed and seeing friends near Topsail Beach, NC who are under mandatory evacuation but refusing to evacuate in order to stay with their horses. Pure insanity. They absolutely have the means and time (if they start now) to start moving their horses inland, but said they're going to stay there to ride it out. They moved to the area last year from a part of the country that doesn't experience hurricanes, so I think they're severely underestimating the strength with which they'll be hit.

My mom is also my next door neighbor.

Those CA fires that nearly burned down Redding a month and a half ago? That's my stomping grounds. We evacuated our equine before the mandatory notices. And what made us just shake our heads were the people who didn't, and then expected others to transport their animals out. It was utter chaos and we didn't understand why they would wait.

Polishing off my budget snowball and worksheet before heading out Friday on my work WDW convention trip. I am sad Florence is headed north, but relieved we will have just "normal" Florida rain.

 

[Tygerlilly]

School funding drama had me in an absolute panic for a week. Total for classes was $1500ish. When the book store portion came through saying I had $700 to use on supplies and books, I kinda figured that meant that was leftover after the tuition was paid. Spent the $700 and when the disbursement came through to pay the tuition, suddenly my balance was $2100 and I was $600 short! Naturally, they won't talk money over the phone to you, so I finally got down there and the 2nd disbursement hadn't been processed until today. Now I'm back to having an extra $51 on my school account, which I plan to use to re-stock up on supplies right before spring semester.

Glad it's settled, but I was seriously confused why they gave me such a large book allowance if the full tuition hadn't been paid yet.


In other news, we decided early on that we weren't going to do big birthday parties for the girls. A small family thing with whoever was around family wise and then a little family outing (when they get older, they will be able to invite a friend or 2 along). Since we will be up at the in-laws the weekend before Piper's 3rd birthday, we are going to host a little bigger family thing there to celebrate her. So I need to budget in cupcakes, a few small decorations, and while I'm sure the family will all contribute a pot luck dinner (every family event has a pot luck! I love it!), I need to chip in on that as well. She's currently obsessed with Trolls and Minnie Mouse, so I need to decide which route to take.

 

[pblack]

School funding drama had me in an absolute panic for a week. Total for classes was $1500ish. When the book store portion came through saying I had $700 to use on supplies and books, I kinda figured that meant that was leftover after the tuition was paid. Spent the $700 and when the disbursement came through to pay the tuition, suddenly my balance was $2100 and I was $600 short! Naturally, they won't talk money over the phone to you, so I finally got down there and the 2nd disbursement hadn't been processed until today. Now I'm back to having an extra $51 on my school account, which I plan to use to re-stock up on supplies right before spring semester.

Glad it's settled, but I was seriously confused why they gave me such a large book allowance if the full tuition hadn't been paid yet.


In other news, we decided early on that we weren't going to do big birthday parties for the girls. A small family thing with whoever was around family wise and then a little family outing (when they get older, they will be able to invite a friend or 2 along). Since we will be up at the in-laws the weekend before Piper's 3rd birthday, we are going to host a little bigger family thing there to celebrate her. So I need to budget in cupcakes, a few small decorations, and while I'm sure the family will all contribute a pot luck dinner (every family event has a pot luck! I love it!), I need to chip in on that as well. She's currently obsessed with Trolls and Minnie Mouse, so I need to decide which route to take.

Dollar Tree or 99 cent store should be your go to for party supplies. I'd think you should be able to find one of those 2 themes and if not you can easily turn pink and black (or red and black) party decorations into a minnie mouse theme.

 

[imbatman]

If you want cupcakes from a box mix that taste 100% better, use melted butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. use a blender for 2 whole minutes. Makes them light and fluffy. I get asked for my recipe all of the time!

I second @pblack for the Dollar Tree. If you go with red and black, you can use red sugar sprinkles to dress up white frosting (edit: or pink...I'm tired). Lotsa balloons--cheap and take up space. Plus, kids love it when you let them run around with them.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Dollar Tree or 99 cent store should be your go to for party supplies. I'd think you should be able to find one of those 2 themes and if not you can easily turn pink and black (or red and black) party decorations into a minnie mouse theme.

If you want cupcakes from a box mix that taste 100% better, use melted butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. use a blender for 2 whole minutes. Makes them light and fluffy. I get asked for my recipe all of the time!

I second @pblack for the Dollar Tree. If you go with red and black, you can use red sugar sprinkles to dress up white frosting (edit: or pink...I'm tired). Lotsa balloons--cheap and take up space. Plus, kids love it when you let them run around with them.

Definitely hitting up dollar tree for party stuff. It's absolutely my go to for that kind of stuff. Walmart also has a lot of solid colored things for .97 and I get my discount on it, which saves tax plus a tiny bit extra. We won't need much as it will be just his family that is up there and other than our 2, there's only 2 other kids. Might hit up Sam's for a small Trolls cake and 18 neon frosted cupcakes. Everyone can have a neon mouth! lol. Now I just have to hope they go easy on the presents. We have to fit everything back in the car to get home.

 

[Eureka]

Good luck with that dryer! It is always something. I get the feeling often things just break in my hands lately seems things are breaking left and right. We had a washing machine that was awful from our landlord didn't wash right and made horrendous noise and added that to the 100 things that need fixing around here list so it would probably be at the bottom. Luckily we still had our washer and dryer in storage and didn't sell them, and swapped them out.

From the Weather Channel website:
According to the National Hurricane Center, rainfall totals of 15 to 20 inches, with isolated maximum amounts up to 30 inches, are possible in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and northern South Carolina through Saturday.

I managed to get an appointment for today for the dryer. Hopefully the fix is quick, inexpensive and can be done today. And they have downgraded the amount of rain we are supposed to get in my area, so that’s good.

 

[crazycatstacy]

We are chugging along, slowly. DH is working overtime this week and should have about $400 on his next check. He is not really excited about the overtime but is happy about the extra money. I believe I have everything done for our daughter's wedding in November. All we have now is to pay for the reception but that doesn't get billed until right before and immediately after. We know how much it should be and are preparing. I'm ready for fall/winter weather. I feel like if I leave my house I spend money. Colder weather makes it feel okay to just stay home and hang out.

 

[Eureka]

I feel like if I leave my house I spend money.

You and me both. The other day I was really restless and DH said why don't I just go out and wander. I said then I'll spend money we should keep for other things. Finally I did though, and went to Christmas Tree Shop for a couple things I actually did need (and found a bunch of things I never knew I needed, lol). Luckily, their prices are such that two bags full of stuff was only $16. And to be fair, some of it was good deals on snacks that I usually buy elsewhere for more money, so I was stocking up.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Doing much better budget wise this month. I still don't like how much I've spent on eating out so far, but it's definitely not as bad as last month. I'm going to rein it in over the next couple weeks. My 96 year old grandma fell on Monday afternoon and my mom and I spent all night at the hospital with her. I got home at 4:30 AM yesterday morning and then got up at 6:30 AM as I had to go into work to drop some files off and pick up some work to do at home. I was too tired to even try to cobble a lunch together, so I picked up Chick Fil A. I slept well last night, but woke up feeling awful. I'm really hoping I didn't pick up a bug in the hospital, but I swear I feel like I'm coming down with the flu. I'm hoping I'm just overtired from the hospital visit and then being insanely busy at work. Anyways, I needed Starbucks this morning to get me through the day.

It looks like Florence will largely miss us this week/weekend. We were expecting it to hit pretty bad, but it looks like now we'll just get a couple inches of rain and some strong gusts. Regardless, it should keep us inside this weekend so no shopping for us. A horse show we volunteer at was canceled for this weekend, so that saves us the gas driving the two hours up there and money we would spend on food. It should be a pretty quiet rest of the month for us.