Debt Dumpers - 2018

So, I've been stalking the "I Love CC So Much" thread. First off, holy cow--info overload!

Secondly, does anyone on this board have experience with Plastiq? The idea is intriguing: earn rewards for paying with your CC with a small charge.

Mine would be my car payment ($383.62 currently, and $393.21 with Plastiq). I'm trying to noodle if it's worth it. I'd love to hear if someone on here has used the service.
We used it to pay off DHs car loan, the one we're selling to the inlaws. I've made a couple payments to my car loan also, and plan to going forward. You just want to make sure the value of the points you are earning outweigh your fee. Like my card earns 3x points on Plastiq that are worth at least 1.5 cents, so if I made a payment the same amount as yours I'd get points worth $17.69 for the $9.59 fee.

Feel free to jump in and ask any questions on that thread, we're friendly! The people there can help you decide!
 
So, I've been stalking the "I Love CC So Much" thread. First off, holy cow--info overload!

Secondly, does anyone on this board have experience with Plastiq? The idea is intriguing: earn rewards for paying with your CC with a small charge.

Mine would be my car payment ($383.62 currently, and $393.21 with Plastiq). I'm trying to noodle if it's worth it. I'd love to hear if someone on here has used the service.
The majority are using the Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) which is a small business card since everything on Plastiq is currently coding at 3x. Then those points are transferred typically to the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) which is a personal card with high annual fee where they are worth 1.5x. Others are using it to Minimum Spend Requirements (MSR) to obtain the sign-up bonus on credit cards. With using Plastiq to meet MSR so the bonus is basically being reduced by the Plastiq fee. Some people are ok with that since otherwise they would not might the MSR and you still coming out ahead just not as much.
 
Man, we got hit with hail last night, this time both cars. :sad2: My car got it last year too, wasn't that enough?

Oh no! We got hit tonight but luckily it was small hail so not much damage. North of us got hit with large hail - heard over 200 cars at a Lexus dealership were damaged. Yikes!
 
Oh no! We got hit tonight but luckily it was small hail so not much damage. North of us got hit with large hail - heard over 200 cars at a Lexus dealership were damaged. Yikes!
It's been crazy! I heard the tech center had baseball sized! We had pea sized tonight... better than the golf ball size from last night
 


Well we are back from our first wedding of the summer! This is the more expensive of the two since I was a Bridesmaid and it was too far for us to stay with my mom. We did get upgraded to a suite though! Food came out to less than I thought. We ate at the hotel(s) each morning and I was fed through wedding activities several times, and DH was treated to Applebee's one night by my mom (who came to the city where the wedding was to see us) while I was at rehearsal. However, we did forget our pack n play, so we had to spend $70 on a new one. It'll actually work out since we left it at my mom's and now don't have to lug ours up there! And all of the hotels have them available so we didn't have to worry there.

We did have a few unexpected expenses though. The bride decided on Hibachi for her bachelorette party a week before, so I yanked some cash out of my spending money for that. Then the bridal party decided to all get manicures and/ or pedicures the day before, so I paid $22 for a manicure with the extra coat to make it last longer, and that came out of my spending as well. Honestly though, I don't regret using my spending money on these activities at all. I was thrilled to be a part of her special day and had a blast being in the wedding. Plus, manicures and hibachi with girlfriends are the type of thing I so rarely do, especially since DS came along, so it really helped me refresh myself and get ready to move this weekend!
 
Finished the week with 16 hours of overtime. Combined with last week, I should have about 18.5 hours of ot on my check. I'm already signed up for 2 days a week for the next 3 weeks, so I can pretty much expect a solid 15-20 hours of ot for the next couple checks as well. I'm used to having 55 hours TOTAL for the two weeks, so having it all in one week is going to be amazing. I'll be able to catch up all our bills and do a grocery trip to fill our empty freezer and pantry!
 
Murphy hit last night. I walked into the house after work and it was hot. Which it shouldn't be, because we have central AC. Thermostat said 80 even though the unit was running. Luckily it was raining and had cooled down a little from earlier in the week so we turned it off, opened windows and called the HVAC company. First opening is Saturday afternoon, which actually works fine because we have a swim meet in the morning. But I was supposed to bring the van in for some service on Saturday since DS17 is going away next week and won't need it, and don't want to miss my window with the AC guy, and DH is going out of town for the weekend on Friday night for a family event. I would have gone with him if DS wasn't literally going away the night DH gets home. But OK, we'll figure all that out. I'm hot and cranky but can deal.

A few hours later, about 10:30 pm I am waiting for DS to get home from work, and the home phone rings, it's DS. I immediately thought the van wouldn't start but he said he rear ended someone a couple miles away. Everyone is fine. Luckily it was a 22 year old kid who was cool with it so to speak, and not a "real" adult who was screaming at him. So I go over there and they're finishing up an accident report with the police. The officer said he is not writing up a ticket for anything, so not to worry about losing his license or anything (he's only had his license 4 months). There's some damage to the front of the van but I can't tell how bad in the dark, but it's not overheating and officer said it didn't look like it was leaking so safe to drive home. Once we're home by the light of the garage, I can see the hood is banged up and not sure it will open as it is (which I am not trying). I'm working from home tomorrow and DS doesn't work today or tomorrow so we can bring it in a day early (which will eliminate the AC conflict) and they can have it all week if they need to. I'll take him to and from work Saturday night because DH is leaving his car at the airport. We have liability only on this car so the damage is all on us. We also need them to check the AC which was leaking/not working last year and doesn't seem to be full strength now and to make the formerly power door manual because, like on the other side, the cable has snapped (basically remove the cable). Sigh. Didn't want to put a lot of money into this van anymore but now that he's working in the next town, he needs to be able to drive there.

Just when we're getting ahead or just on level ground, you know? The AC, the van...and also DS is having his wisdom teeth out in July which will be almost $1100 after insurance. And I'm exhausted today because once we got home it was after 11 but I couldn't sleep. I need a vacation.
 


Man, so sorry! I hate when that stuff happens in a pile--and it does, so often. My "pile" of new car, braces, new furnace, and new AC happened about two years ago. You will get through it, as you know. So glad that your son and the other person were not hurt.
 
Murphy hit last night. I walked into the house after work and it was hot. Which it shouldn't be, because we have central AC. Thermostat said 80 even though the unit was running. Luckily it was raining and had cooled down a little from earlier in the week so we turned it off, opened windows and called the HVAC company. First opening is Saturday afternoon, which actually works fine because we have a swim meet in the morning. But I was supposed to bring the van in for some service on Saturday since DS17 is going away next week and won't need it, and don't want to miss my window with the AC guy, and DH is going out of town for the weekend on Friday night for a family event. I would have gone with him if DS wasn't literally going away the night DH gets home. But OK, we'll figure all that out. I'm hot and cranky but can deal.

A few hours later, about 10:30 pm I am waiting for DS to get home from work, and the home phone rings, it's DS. I immediately thought the van wouldn't start but he said he rear ended someone a couple miles away. Everyone is fine. Luckily it was a 22 year old kid who was cool with it so to speak, and not a "real" adult who was screaming at him. So I go over there and they're finishing up an accident report with the police. The officer said he is not writing up a ticket for anything, so not to worry about losing his license or anything (he's only had his license 4 months). There's some damage to the front of the van but I can't tell how bad in the dark, but it's not overheating and officer said it didn't look like it was leaking so safe to drive home. Once we're home by the light of the garage, I can see the hood is banged up and not sure it will open as it is (which I am not trying). I'm working from home tomorrow and DS doesn't work today or tomorrow so we can bring it in a day early (which will eliminate the AC conflict) and they can have it all week if they need to. I'll take him to and from work Saturday night because DH is leaving his car at the airport. We have liability only on this car so the damage is all on us. We also need them to check the AC which was leaking/not working last year and doesn't seem to be full strength now and to make the formerly power door manual because, like on the other side, the cable has snapped (basically remove the cable). Sigh. Didn't want to put a lot of money into this van anymore but now that he's working in the next town, he needs to be able to drive there.

Just when we're getting ahead or just on level ground, you know? The AC, the van...and also DS is having his wisdom teeth out in July which will be almost $1100 after insurance. And I'm exhausted today because once we got home it was after 11 but I couldn't sleep. I need a vacation.
So sorry, Eureka. Hugs to you.
 
So sorry, Eureka. Hugs to you.
Thanks. I'm a little stressed out. DH doesn't want to put money into the van anymore and doesn't think it's safe to drive the way it is because there is a gap in the hood (how it's closed right now). So I will ask the mechanics to see if there's any damage under the hood and what they think about driving it (and not have them do the other things I was planning until we know). If it's safe, and it will open and close, we soldier on. If not, we discuss.

Just last week we were talking about how two of our three cars are getting up there in years and mileage and if we can just get through next summer, after which point DS17 will be starting college, then we can think about getting DH a new car and then next fall DS15 will be able to drive his old car. Or if not quite then, then we get a new one and DS17 uses his old one next summer. But now I'm wondering if it's time to just do it. It would mean two car payments again, which would mean some rearranging but we've done it before and could do it again. I wish this was happening not when DH will be away, because next week I am at a conference (local but still long hours) and although we have time to figure it out because DS won't need the car, it still is a big decision.
 
Thanks. I'm a little stressed out. DH doesn't want to put money into the van anymore and doesn't think it's safe to drive the way it is because there is a gap in the hood (how it's closed right now). So I will ask the mechanics to see if there's any damage under the hood and what they think about driving it (and not have them do the other things I was planning until we know). If it's safe, and it will open and close, we soldier on. If not, we discuss.

Just last week we were talking about how two of our three cars are getting up there in years and mileage and if we can just get through next summer, after which point DS17 will be starting college, then we can think about getting DH a new car and then next fall DS15 will be able to drive his old car. Or if not quite then, then we get a new one and DS17 uses his old one next summer. But now I'm wondering if it's time to just do it. It would mean two car payments again, which would mean some rearranging but we've done it before and could do it again. I wish this was happening not when DH will be away, because next week I am at a conference (local but still long hours) and although we have time to figure it out because DS won't need the car, it still is a big decision.
I hope that you and Dh come to the correct decision. I'm sure everything will work out. Big hugs and glad DS is ok.
 
Calculated the damage for our short 4 day trip to the world. We actually came in $150 under budget for food. I did our fastpasses this morning and scored both Toy Story fastpasses, Avatar FOP and 7DMT!! I had to shift things around a bit but overall am very happy with what we have. I have about two months to save for our August trip where we will be spending 8 days eating at WDW, so not cheap. I'm working on a few bank account bonuses to supplement our budget. Waiting for a $150 and $500 binus to post soon.
 
So sorry to hear of all your car troubles @Eureka! I know how you feel. Yesterday my serpentine belt snapped, luckily DH and DFIL were able to fix it themselves and it only cost about $60. Add that to the $160 we just spent replacing my alternator a week or so ago. Yesterday before I found out it was the serpentine belt I thought that my power steering went out in my car and I was pretty much just getting ready to go car shopping this weekend. My car is 12 years old, I've had it for 11 of those years. I really didn't want another car payment right this second, so i'm glad it was something that was easily fixed. (Not saying that it wouldn't be an "easy" fix to replace the power steering, it would have just been more than I would have wanted to deal with.) I think i've just come to the point with my car that these things are going to keep happening due to age/miles, but if it would just hold up for another year or so i'd be pleased.
 
Thanks. I'm a little stressed out. DH doesn't want to put money into the van anymore and doesn't think it's safe to drive the way it is because there is a gap in the hood (how it's closed right now). So I will ask the mechanics to see if there's any damage under the hood and what they think about driving it (and not have them do the other things I was planning until we know). If it's safe, and it will open and close, we soldier on. If not, we discuss.

Just last week we were talking about how two of our three cars are getting up there in years and mileage and if we can just get through next summer, after which point DS17 will be starting college, then we can think about getting DH a new car and then next fall DS15 will be able to drive his old car. Or if not quite then, then we get a new one and DS17 uses his old one next summer. But now I'm wondering if it's time to just do it. It would mean two car payments again, which would mean some rearranging but we've done it before and could do it again. I wish this was happening not when DH will be away, because next week I am at a conference (local but still long hours) and although we have time to figure it out because DS won't need the car, it still is a big decision.

Eureka,
Not sure if this idea will fit your situation, but would a brief rental help until you can figure it all out? I recently went thru this—car broke down AGAIN and it was making me crazy to share with and get DD16 everywhere she needed to be, but I just did not know if I was ready to take the plunge to buy a new one. I had so hoped this one would make it one more year. So, while waiting for the tow truck, I decided I was getting a rental for a week to (a) get to work the next morning and (b) give me a week without a lot of pressure to have time to decide what I really wanted to do—fix it again or buy a new one. I parked the car in the drive way and got a rental for $184 for the week, and felt it was the best money I could spend for the peace of mind to have room to make an unhurried decision, shop around, see what kind of interest rate I might get from the credit union, etc. I did end up buying a new car at the end of the week.
 
Eureka,
Not sure if this idea will fit your situation, but would a brief rental help until you can figure it all out? I recently went thru this—car broke down AGAIN and it was making me crazy to share with and get DD16 everywhere she needed to be, but I just did not know if I was ready to take the plunge to buy a new one. I had so hoped this one would make it one more year. So, while waiting for the tow truck, I decided I was getting a rental for a week to (a) get to work the next morning and (b) give me a week without a lot of pressure to have time to decide what I really wanted to do—fix it again or buy a new one. I parked the car in the drive way and got a rental for $184 for the week, and felt it was the best money I could spend for the peace of mind to have room to make an unhurried decision, shop around, see what kind of interest rate I might get from the credit union, etc. I did end up buying a new car at the end of the week.
Thanks for the suggestion, but since DS will be gone for a week, I'm hoping to resolve this one way or another while we don't need a third car. (Technically, we don't *need* a third car--but it's so much easier for him to drive himself and his brother places than our trying to rig our schedules to get home to do it).

The shop said they'll look at it either late this afternoon or tomorrow and see if they can "straighten out" the hood to open it (to make sure it will not get stuck open!) and see what's going on to determine whether or not it's safe. I really think if it's not safe to drive, we'll junk it and get a new car a little ahead of schedule. Then we'd have two reliable cars (and two payments, ugh!) and one reliable-for-now-yet-up-there-in-miles car that DS can use around town and not for a 100-mile round trip daily commute. We have excellent credit and should get a low-interest loan without a problem. DH knows pretty much what he wants (last new car was mine, it's his turn now) so it's just the question of finding it.
 
Little set back this week. Went looking for an emergency cash fund I kept in the safe. Needless to say, DH owned right up and said he'd taken it a long, long time ago. He had 16.8 hours of OT on this paycheck and is on course for nearly 24 for the next one, so we are dealing. It was only $700, but still, it was $700. So, I take a deep breath, put $300 into the safe instead of towards my AP in Sept. and move on. Moving on...moving forward.

I think I mentioned that my DH and I were given a trip to Tokyo later this year. Free airfare and lodging. We are taking cash from the sale of our trailer for our spending money. I'm trying to forego trinkets for myself, unless there's a fan I can't live without. Kids are getting one thing. I'm hoping to hoard the money (I know, I'm such a Scrooge!) to flip anything left over into our WDW vacation. Determined that absolutely NONE of the cash bumper I've built up in the checking account will pay for either trips. I'm to a point in my life where personal souvenirs mean less than the memories, most of the time.

I'm glad I can vent/type aloud here, where you guys/gals understand my train of thought.
 
Little set back this week. Went looking for an emergency cash fund I kept in the safe. Needless to say, DH owned right up and said he'd taken it a long, long time ago. He had 16.8 hours of OT on this paycheck and is on course for nearly 24 for the next one, so we are dealing. It was only $700, but still, it was $700. So, I take a deep breath, put $300 into the safe instead of towards my AP in Sept. and move on. Moving on...moving forward.

I think I mentioned that my DH and I were given a trip to Tokyo later this year. Free airfare and lodging. We are taking cash from the sale of our trailer for our spending money. I'm trying to forego trinkets for myself, unless there's a fan I can't live without. Kids are getting one thing. I'm hoping to hoard the money (I know, I'm such a Scrooge!) to flip anything left over into our WDW vacation. Determined that absolutely NONE of the cash bumper I've built up in the checking account will pay for either trips. I'm to a point in my life where personal souvenirs mean less than the memories, most of the time.

I'm glad I can vent/type aloud here, where you guys/gals understand my train of thought.

Bright side, at least he owned up to his mistake and is still on track with what he told you he was going to do.

I don't remember you mentioning a trip to Tokyo previously. That sounds amazing! Other bright side, it's Friday and the weekend. :)
 
Calculated the damage for our short 4 day trip to the world. We actually came in $150 under budget for food. I did our fastpasses this morning and scored both Toy Story fastpasses, Avatar FOP and 7DMT!! I had to shift things around a bit but overall am very happy with what we have. I have about two months to save for our August trip where we will be spending 8 days eating at WDW, so not cheap. I'm working on a few bank account bonuses to supplement our budget. Waiting for a $150 and $500 binus to post soon.

Dang, jackpot! Hope you played the lottery after that!!
 
Well, I haven't been successful with dumping any debt since moving, but that was pretty much expected with getting settled in and the expenses that come with that. I'm happy in my new place and the landlord has been very responsive with any issues that have come up, so that's nice. I'm looking forward to my sister visiting for July 4th week and then I have my trip to WDW during Labor Day week! Everything is paid for already for that trip and I have $100 in Disney gift cards to use toward food while I'm there. I get to make my fast passes very soon! Hope I'm as lucky as @Ngwira was with those!

Have a great weekend everyone!
 

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