WOW!!! You all have been busy these last few days! I have lots of replies to do!
Congratulations on paying off debt! That's fabulous! I'm trying to get brave enough to tackle our debt situation. It just seems so impossible. It's awful. Truly awful..... *Sigh*
Sounds like you definitely had a heavy day at Target!
Have a great day!
Thanks! I am really having fun with this and enjoying watching the numbers go down - it's very empowering!
Have you read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover yet??? I highly recommend it! HIGHLY!!! He really has a great system for making debt pay off attainable, and less daunting!
Yah - that was an extremely rough Target day!
Thanks - same to you!
Sounds like you got a lot of exercise at Target Yesterday. I'm glad to hear you survived your shift.
I hope you have a great night out for dinner with Josh celebrating Valentine's day.
How great that you are able to pay extra on your debt. It must feel great to know that you soon has payed off 2 of your vehicles. It's always nice to get rid of some debt.
It was a nice geocaching event last night. The couple from England was a really nice couple and we had a great time together. I think we ended up being 20 people at the event.
On our way home I showed them one of my geocaches. It was black dark outside by the time we were done at the event in town so we didn't bother to look for many geocaches.
Today I had to go to the mall and buy food. So I decided to practice driving my electrical wheelchair again. I still haven't got more tape on the floor of the car so it was a little difficult to get the chair out of the car. I will get more tape on the floor this weekend. So when I go to the store again on Monday or Tuesday it should be easier to get the electrical wheelchair out of the car.
Yes - I definitely got my exercise in at Target on Wednesday! It was crazy!
We did have a nice dinner out to celebrate Valentine's... We just walked down to our local bar/restaurant - as that was about how much ambition we both had. LOL It's easy.
We are very excited to have a lot paid off in just a matter of weeks - it will be great!
It does sound like you had a wonderful time at the geo cache event! I am glad that the couple from England was nice.
Hopefully you are able to get the rest of the tape in your car this weekend to make future shopping trips easier.
I remember buying that book. I don't know where it went. It was on the Financial Peace reading list. I paid final bill on one medical debt. I have one more of those. My final payment to orthodontist is next month. Making small dents, I guess.
Have a great day!
I need to pick it up again - I set it down last weekend and picked up my other book instead. I don't normally have 2 books going at once, as my brain tends to get confused... However - I don't usually have an issue doing one fiction and one non-fiction book... Kinda hard to confuse those in my brain. LOL
Congrats!!! You are making AWESOME progress!!!
Proud of you!!!
Thanks! Same to you!
Congratulations on making progress on your debt!!! It is such a wonderful thing to be debt free. DH and I have lived that way our entire married life. We are so glad that we were able to start out without debt and kept it that way. He had an ROTC scholarship in college and lived at home. I went to a community college for 2 years then University and lived at home. This allowed us to not have any college debt. The military paycheck allowed us to live frugally and my paycheck allowed us to save so we could buy used vehicles with cash. This allowed us to save so that later in life we could afford to pay cash for our vehicles. We keep our vehicles for at least 10 years, which allows up to save up for the next one. We have a mortgage on our home, but that is the only debt we have and we pay extra each month on our loan to pay it off early.
So far our kids are debt free also. DS1 had a full scholarship with ROTC. DS2 is living at home and going to community college with some Veteran's benefits. So we have been able to help them start their adult lives debt free. Unfortunately it is so easy to fall into the debt cycle. Most people don't understand just how much they pay monthly in interest which makes it so hard to pay off debt!
I have a good friend who I've tried to help out with budgeting, but they just insist on spending on things that DH and I see as luxuries (buying a new car vs a used car and replacing it every time it's paid off, eating out on a regular basis, etc) and so they just stay in debt. So I'm always so impressed when people can actually budget and find the way to get out of debt! You sound like you are close!!! So yes, Disney can be in your near future and still be debt free!!! Way to go!
That is awesome! I do wish that we had made smarter $$ decisions while we were younger... We just did what "everyone" else does - or so we thought. We are learning though - and better late than never!
Thankfully - there are a many things that we did right over the years - so our situation is, by no means, dire... We just need to buckle down and take care of business.
That is awesome that your kids are also debt free - I wish I could say the same about mine... However, Allison is working hard and really making progress on her's - I am very proud of her for that.
I am really proud of her for really taking this on and owning it - vs. just ignoring it and moving on with life... She hit pause on school, so she can settle up and then move forward when she is in a better position to do so. I do think she is approaching this smartly.
Sadly - because someone messed up Josh's military paperwork when he was deployed (A nightmare-ish situation then, and still today) none of us, including him, qualifies for any of his GI benefits - so even though we all should have it, none of us do. It's very frustrating... He has been told repeatedly that there is "nothing that can be done" - which I think it a bunch of hooey - but... Sigh. I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky that he even has his dd214, considering the mess of paperwork.
Yah - it's pretty crazy... We have ALWAYS lived our lives on a budget - I remember being Allison's age and writing out my budget every month on paper... I would never remember to pay my bills if I didn't have them written down. Then, about 10 years ago, we switched to budgeting in excel worksheet form - and that has made life so much easier for us... We switched a few accounts around and made one account to pay bills from - so everything was much less confusing. Recently - I was able to pull up our budget and also our spending accounts to find where all of our $$ was "leaking" from... Target... Starbucks... Chipotle... For me anyways... I cut myself off and "poof" - loads of $$ to be found. LOL It's not that we didn't have the $$ to spend - it's just that it's better off being redirected elsewhere.
I am trying hard not to share too much of our financial stuff here, as it is quite personal... Though we have a lot more debt than I would personally like to have - I don't want anyone to get the impression that we are reckless... We make a very good income and we just need to refocus our energy for a while.
I am of the firm belief that Disney will be back in my life and better for it.
The harder we work the quicker I will get to go back.
We are also working to clear up our debt. With retirement looming, we want to be debt-free. Wee were able to buy both of our cars used, and paid cash, so most of our debt is mortgage and those damn credit cards, but we are working on them.
I found out on Saturday that Kate & Chris will be moving to New York City soon. Chris got a wonderful job offer, but has to be in NYC rather than Baltimore. I am sad, but this is a great opportunity with lots of advancement opportunities, which he does not have in his current job. NYC is only about 4 hours away and both of my daughters will be there. Just not 1/2 hour away......
Work is picking up and I've got a number of other activities happening. I will be giving a presentation on floodplains to first-time homebuyers in March - before and after my knee surgery. I'm also going on a quilt retreat in April - so looking forward to that!
This is exactly our thought too - I really want to go into retirement debt free - including the house - and we can do that easily at this point, if we work hard at it now.
Good for you - I am proud of you guys!!! You've got this!
Exciting for them!!! Congratulations! I know it must be hard on you to have them further away, and knowing it's such a good opportunity must ease your mind a little bit. Sending you all lots of luck and hugs to mom! And hopefully - since the girls will be together, they will have each other to lean on when necessary?
You sound like you are super busy coming up!!! Sending you lots of good thoughts for these coming weeks - it's hard to believe that March is almost here!
Have a great weekend Tess!
I agree. I do get a little jealous of people that can take multiple trips a year or even go every weekend but I think I would get a little burnt out on it. To me, it makes it more special when we got every other year or so.
Congratulations on paying off on your debt! DH and I are trying to do the same, although we will have to get a new car soon. It's difficult not to just buy things on credit or take out a loan for something but we just remember how nice it is not to have that extra monthly payment on something.
Hope you and Josh had a lovely belated Valentine's Day!
Yah - last year was definitely an exception for me - I wouldn't have been able to do it if I wouldn't have worked extra hard to make it happen. I think I could go there a lot, if I lived there... but for me - it just doesn't make sense to take shorter trips, since the airfare is so expensive... the longer the trip, the better the value - though the longer I have to save. LOL I agree - I have so many friends that go all the time - my FB feed is FULL of trips, non-stop... And it's hard to watch - especially at times like this, when I know I won't be going back for a while... Though - at the same time, it will be all the more special when I do get to go back after a long break.
Thanks! Yes - I am so tired of the payments... It makes life difficult - we are very much looking forward to having them gone!
Thanks! We did! I hope you have a nice weekend!
OMG, I have been so behind for MONTHS and am now finally caught up. We got a puppy in October, I started a new job with later hours and more of a commute in December, so I have been a mess since then!! I knew a puppy would be hard work but oh my! Plus we're dealing with possible dog allergies that we're trying to figure out
In any event, too much to even comment on but I have enjoyed following along with your trip report. I totally know what you mean about Disney food. In the past (and especially since our son went gluten free), we've done breakfast in the room, a light lunch and then tried a lot of signature restaurants for dinner. That seemed to work a little better on our bodies (not necessarily on our wallets though). But yeah, after 10 days I'd probably be glad to be home!! So glad Allison is on her way to figuring things out. And kudos to you and Josh for handling it well. I hate that young people have so much pressure to decide what they want to "be" when they haven't even lived yet!! Most adults I know don't know what they want to be when they grow up . Loved seeing all the growing up Disney pics. What great memories. If you don't scrapbook, you should consider at least two books, one for each girl of Disney memories. Your budget talk has been inspiring. I'm going to PM you a few questions, if you don't mind!
Keep up the daily or weekly updates, even though I fall behind, I still enjoy reading them and being inspired to eat better, work out and budget
No worries at all!
Hahaha!!! I remember the puppy days... They are SOOOO cute and SOOOO much work! Almost as bad as a baby - IMO, and in some scenarios - worse! LOL It takes so much time - and constant time - to train them properly.
Yah - Disney and food... Even though I love it - it's just so much after so long!
It's hard - and I know it's hard on her, because I know she has very high expectations for herself, and she doesn't want to disappoint anyone... However - I keep telling her, that this is HER life to live, not anyone else's... I don't know if that releases her from some of the pressure? Or if it creates more? Sometimes I think they just want us to TELL them what to do...
Regardless - she will go to college, I do know that... I think she just needs this time to sort out life and decide on her path. I was much the same way, when I was her age - and telling me to do something would get the well intentioned person nowhere. LOL
I wish I was talented enough to scrapbook... I've done it before and decided it wasn't a hobby for me... I am a perfectionist in the worst way, to the point where if my pages weren't perfect - I became very unbearable to be with... That, on top of the mess... Let's just say - I've had several friends scrapbook with me, and after the first few hours - they have all told me that they will NEVER scrapbook with me again. After a few instances like that - I've determined that a hobby should be fun and not stressful, and definitely shouldn't make me unbearable to be around... I gave it up. LOL Much to all of my friend's relief. LOL
I'll try to keep up with my updates for as long as I have the availability to... Not sure The Dis wants me doing a PTR for an unknown trip - which could be years out? LOL But we'll see...
Thanks for continuing to follow along! It's always nice to see you when you have a chance to stop by!
Sorry to see your trip coming to an end but it sounds like you plan to do a couple more updates - yay! You're making quick work of your debt! You seem like the kind of person that can do anything you set your mind to. I feel like my DH and I have always lived below our means and kept debt to a minimum - only our mortgage and 1 car payment at a time. I save up ahead of time for trips - it's so nice to not feel like you're doing something you shouldn't. I try to strike a balance between being a saver and spending on the things we enjoy. No fun to be frugal ALL of the time. It's wonderful to have so many Disney memories when our boys were young. Now I'm looking forward to taking our new grandson when he's older. Love seeing your "then" Disney photos!
Yes - it's always hard when our trips are over... Writing TRs though, really helps with the Disney Blues - so that makes life a bit easier to swallow!
I do have a few more updates up my sleeve... so, stay tuned!
Hahaha... I have a bit of a perfectionist personality - and many times in life, I am an "all or nothing" type person... This is something I've tried hard to get a handle on in recent years - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... I just keep trying though.
That is awesome! Good for you!
Thankfully - we have always paid cash for our trips too, so that makes it easier for me... Still though - there have been a few times where that $$ could have been better off put towards other things... That being said though - I wouldn't trade any of our trips or our memories - they are priceless to me, and I am glad I took that time to spend with my girls while they were still young, as I will never get that time back.
I feel like this is great timing to "take care of business" while there is a "lull" in life... One day - there will be grands here too, and I will want to have the extra $$ to spoil them like crazy!
Thanks! I love sharing them!
Thanks for stopping by - have a great weekend!
Hey there! It's friday! Which means i refuse to work! LOL
I have everything that's needs to be done. except cleaning of my desk.. SO I NEED to catch up on the DIS!
I just adore your years throughout Disney. everything is just so so precious.
your trips are always something i have enjoyed reading them year to year!
Love ya my friend! Miss you tons and tons!
Hey Mo!!!
I really need to take some time to catch up on your PTR... It's been ages since I've even stopped by, and I feel like I am so far out of your loop!
Thanks - I just miss my girls being those ages, those memories are truly cherished!
Love you - miss you tons!!!
Good to see your plan to get some of your debt paid off. We've never really had credit card debts, but did have a home equity loan when we bought our cabin. That's when I went back to work to help pay it off after being a stay at home mom. I'm sure it will be a big relief to start paying off the rest. We did pay for half our kids college educations. Both our boys got scholarships that paid half. Our daughter went to a community college for 2 years so that helped. They all went to private colleges so kind of expensive, but by them paying half I think it made them more responsible. I think Allison's experience will be a good learning experience for her too.
Today is our last day in Florida. We did 4 parks in 1 day yesterday. I still can't believe we made it. I thought about taking the new express bus transportation between parks, but we decided to just take our car. It did waste some time, but also made for a lot more walking. We did take the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Epcot. It was fun though and we spent 2 or 3 hours in each park. I did get some neat passholder exclusive commemorative pins. I had asked if they had any special ones for the Art Festival like they did for Flower and Garden. They didn't but they had this set and with my 20% discount it was only $40 for 6 pins. Tonight we are going to Animal Kingdom to see Rivers of Light. I'm pretty excited about it.
We are tired of the rude people too. While watching Wishes we saw 2 men almost get in a fight over a spot. We had a young boy who tried to climb over me to climb up on a post . And there were more who just stepped on us when they tried to squeeze in. Why do people come last minute and think they have the right to butt right in. But we did see a really sweet incident too. A family was walking by and the dad all of a sudden knelt down on the ground. A family with 2 little girls dressed as Cinderella and had been to BBB were going by. He swept his hand to the side and told his son, "You always have to bow down for princesses." I don't think the little girls knew what was going on, but the parents appreciated it and so did we.
Thanks for sharing your story - I always love to hear how people do things differently.
It sounds like you have had a wonderful trip! it's so sad to hear that it's coming to an end already. I wish you a safe trip home! Enjoy RoL - I was so hoping it would be running while we were there in Oct - as there were rumors... Oh well - next trip - it will give me something to look forward to.
That is terrible! Grrrr... I honestly think it's just because there are soooo many people in the parks now - all of the time... I feel like they are always over capacity... Disney needs to find a way to disburse some of these people - more often than not, it's dangerous.
What a sweet story - it's so awesome to hear the little things like that - which is what dreams are made of. I am glad you were able to witness that little scene.
Again - safe travels!!!
Thank you for all your updates. I just kind of lurk around, but you talking about debt has really helped me buckle down on deciding what projects I am going forward with this year. We just finished building our house, so we have tons of stuff to get done, plus I need a new vehicle, and we want to go on vacation (to WDW duh). I don't have debt (except for our mortgage) so going back to a car payment hurts, but I think I have a handle on my monthly budget to know what I can spend in each category. I also use you to keep myself accountable to my working out
So you coach even if you don't know it.
That is awesome! I am glad to hear that my updates are spurring you on!
WTG!!! Glad to hear that you are figuring out your budget and how to handle some of these new situations! I highly recommend reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover - it's a great book!
Ahhh - my working out has still been dedicated, but I just cannot seem to shed the lbs I put on last year... 2 steps forward, and 2 back... One day I'll figure it out.
Most days - I feel like I am endlessly spinning my wheels, so knowing that I inspire people to continue to push on, really helps me stay accountable too!
Thanks for the words of confidence!
Have a great weekend!
Love the pics of your daughters and all the memories that go with it!
Excited for you that your next Disney trip will be when you are debt free I like to build up our savings a little bit more before making more debt payments too.
Accckkkkk! It's 60 degrees in Minnesota!!
Awww - thanks!! I love sharing them here! Many of you have been reading my TRs for years - and have watched the girls grow up... So, I think many of you enjoy seeing those old pictures as much as I love sharing them!
Me too!!! It will be a relief to have the debt gone and to enjoy life again! I dunno - it's just easier for me to have a good chunk in savings - I sleep better, and I feel like it's a smart way to tackle life!
I know!!! Right??? It was a beautiful day yesterday - though I didn't get outside much to enjoy it. Hopefully today - I am wanting to go for a walk, since I didn't get much of a chance yesterday...
Have a great weekend!
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Gosh - replies took me a while this morning... It's all good though - I truly enjoy taking the time to catch up with all of you!
The remainder of my week went well... I worked all day in my sewing room on Thursday - I was able to get a lot accomplished and that always builds my confidence.
Josh and I went out for dinner to celebrate Valentine's day... We just walked down to the local bar/restaurant by our house - it's easy and that was about the extent of our energy that night... Josh has had some really tough and physically exhausting days at work recently, so this was just right for us. I had a nice salad - this restaurant makes all of their salad dressings home made - and they are delicious.
It was so nice just to get out and not have to cook.
Yesterday was a BIG day for V... She finally asked if she could go take her drivers license test. We didn't make an appointment - so, we just show up when the DMV opens and wait until they have time to squeeze us in. Thankfully I wasn't behind with my work - so I could afford to take a day off and just sit there...
And that's what we did... We arrived promptly at 7:45am (after an hour of practicing parallel parking in the school parking lot)...
I brought along my book, and dug in. It was a long day on a very uncomfortable bench!
While sitting there - there were a few moms I'd had the opportunity to chat with... One mom was telling me of her daughter (who took her test a few years ago in Feb), she was saying how you never know what the weather was going to be like for a drivers test this time of year... When her dd took the test - it was her FIRST time driving in snow!!! WHAT???? Seriously people???? I see it as my mission - when teaching my girls to drive - to put them in any possible situation that I can... It's blizzarding out??? Let's go for a drive! LOL Fourth of July weekend - lets drive the truck (with attached trailer) home from the lake! It is my responsibility to make sure my girls have the tools they need to be safe out there - and driving in the snow is one of them. I cannot believe there are people who live in areas that have snow 6 months out of the year, and parents LET them take a test before teaching them how to be safe. INSANITY! Rant over... Sorry...
Finally - at 12:15, they told us we could leave for a lunch break - since they were all going on lunch and wouldn't be taking any road tests during that time. We welcomed the break, as both of us were starving - we'd forgotten to eat breakfast.
I had a coupon for a bogo at Chipotle... So I treated V with the remainder of our dining out cash... It was nice to eat out.
We arrived back at the DMV at 12:45 - 15 min earlier than they told us to come back... We were hoping they would squeeze us in before their 1:00 arrived... and it worked! They called V back a few min after we got there...
She was very nervous because the gentleman administering the test was quite cranky... I told her when we were on lunch - if she got him, to try and be personable. LOL He hadn't passed anyone yet during the day...
V came back with a smile on her face! She passed and did great! I knew she would - she has had her permit for well over a year, and she is a good driver.
She took the car to work last night, for the first time by herself... It was so nice not to have to venture out at 9pm to get her... And the roads she has to drive to/from work are mostly back roads - so I know she is likely OK, and never too far from home if she needs us.
For the fun of it - a cute picture of SC for you all... He was such a cuddler last night.
We have no plans (again) this weekend... Staying close to home.
Both girls work.
Allison worked both jobs on Thursday - so she was gone from 4:30am to 8:30pm... Then yesterday, she left for work at 4:30am again, and worked until 2... Well, at 4, she got called in to cover a shift for a shift lead who was sick - so she did a closing shift too... And again, out the door at 4:30am this morning to open the store for the 3rd day in a row... She is getting some good hours in - though I am not sure how long she will be able to keep up this pace... I suspect she will come home tonight and go straight to bed.
I know I would have to after 3 days in a row of open to closes.
I plan to do a quick TR update shortly...
So, that's about all - I hope you all have a nice weekend... Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all!
D~
