chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 14, 2023 13:51:50 GMT -5
so, I'm looking for the BofA posts and found this one when I picked a random page # to gauge time along the thread. this is from July 2019, right after the bank mess was cleared up. I removed the OP's screen name from the quote as I'm not sure they are still posting. but, what I bolded below is what I remember trying to say before I sold the previous house. I just need that break to get the ball rolling. and look now - I'm almost done with my race. k, back to looking for the bank mess posts. lol....
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 14, 2023 14:04:47 GMT -5
and, boo. I found a post from a couple weeks earlier that said I hadn't been updating in the thread since March - bank f-up was with my May mortgage payment. so, this thread doesn't have any of it. I would have been posting in the "what are you doing right now?" thread, and that one got rebooted well after 2019 when the first one got deleted by a now-former moderator by accident. so I guess I don't have a summary post to share. womp womp.
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 15, 2023 9:34:25 GMT -5
I'm trying to re-assess my money. While I did take $20K out of my 401K - because I could - and it took care of a lot of stuff for me, it's not something I can do all the time. I mean, I still need money to retire on!
And looking at my three remaining cards with the exorbitant interest, now that I've got some breathing room, they of course all want me to pay the minimum due, which would mean about 95% is interest and only 5% goes to the principal. If that.
But - I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for some time this past year, wondering from month to month how I was going to keep my head above water, and using Lyft (what little I was getting from it - it's been a bad year for Lyft, too) to keep food in the cat's bowl.
O'course, now I've paid off $1000/mo in payments, and I can finally breathe... I bought myself a new(er) car, increased my payments there by $200/mo, but... I'm actually breathing again. And while I'm not going to need to drive Lyft, anymore (and I really don't want to use my new car for sloppy people who leave their garbage in the back seat), I may need to continue for a bit just to put myself ahead.
And I do need to re-assess my minimum payments to everyone. They won't be the minimum payments the cards ask for, but - they still won't be large, anymore. The temptation is to move some cash out of my savings and pay something off, and maybe I might do that, but not now, not yet.
*sigh* This grown-up responsibility malarkey just kinda... sucks...
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 15, 2023 16:50:29 GMT -5
I'm trying to re-assess my money. While I did take $20K out of my 401K - because I could - and it took care of a lot of stuff for me, it's not something I can do all the time. I mean, I still need money to retire on!
And looking at my three remaining cards with the exorbitant interest, now that I've got some breathing room, they of course all want me to pay the minimum due, which would mean about 95% is interest and only 5% goes to the principal. If that.
But - I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for some time this past year, wondering from month to month how I was going to keep my head above water, and using Lyft (what little I was getting from it - it's been a bad year for Lyft, too) to keep food in the cat's bowl.
O'course, now I've paid off $1000/mo in payments, and I can finally breathe... I bought myself a new(er) car, increased my payments there by $200/mo, but... I'm actually breathing again. And while I'm not going to need to drive Lyft, anymore (and I really don't want to use my new car for sloppy people who leave their garbage in the back seat), I may need to continue for a bit just to put myself ahead.
And I do need to re-assess my minimum payments to everyone. They won't be the minimum payments the cards ask for, but - they still won't be large, anymore. The temptation is to move some cash out of my savings and pay something off, and maybe I might do that, but not now, not yet.
*sigh* This grown-up responsibility malarkey just kinda... sucks... With the balances and rates you shared in your last update, I would snowball the dickens out of Target. It looks like you have ~$2000 you could throw at them each month (which would include the $1200 like you paid in the last update). It'd be gone in just a few months. I suggest this mainly because your rates are all pretty much the same but that balance is quite a bit less than the next highest.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 15, 2023 16:54:14 GMT -5
what nidena said. I know some folks' heads will explode as I ask this question, but - are you in a position to seek out a card specifically for the purpose of consolidating balance transfers? I will admit that's how I got as deep as I did, but you are in a much different mindset than I was back when I was doing that. anyway, if you can do that, you'll lock in a promotional rate to let some of it sit while you tackle the rest in a snowball plan.
food for thought, anyway.
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 16, 2023 10:08:16 GMT -5
nidena , chiver78 - I appreciate the support, but...
"But - I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for some time this past year, wondering from month to month how I was going to keep my head above water, and using Lyft (what little I was getting from it - it's been a bad year for Lyft, too) to keep food in the cat's bowl."
Remember also - I took $20K out of my 401K, that killed a lot of my messy debts. I didn't "free up" $2K, I gave myself a way to breathe, finally, something I haven't been able to do for a long time. I also have a $200 larger car payment than I had before.
Now, I would *love* to kill Target, I can't at this time. But it's a - pardon the pun - target. A minimum payment to them, for example is $284, I've scheduled $400/mo. And Discover wants $408, I'll pay $425, Lowe's wants $491, I'll pay $500. It's all manageable, now. And I'll check into new lower interest cards or possibly - and this is a scary thing to me, but it's possible - a HELOC, since I have now got considerable equity in the house, having updated it with the attic.
Which... has to be repaired. Ugh. Contractor coming to talk Saturday. Essh.
One more thing: I don't want to drive Lyft, anymore. That's major wear and tear on my car, and I happen to like my pretty new car, why would I abuse it so early in our relationship? Still, there are practical ways to manage it, I have determined that if I stick to driving people on my commute to and from work, that will basically give me "enough" every week to keep gas, tolls, basic repairs managed. And my experience over the years, commuters are more focused, less messy, less obnoxious. I'm in the office four days a week, so - that keeps me on the road, but not crazy anymore.
I have to review things. Period. It's not like it's something I can do in five minutes, I keep realizing, "Oh, I forgot this!" and so forth.
I don' wanna be a grown-up no more, Ma!
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Nov 16, 2023 10:39:39 GMT -5
One thing I've done to get out of credit card debt is to make my planned payments and prefund planned purchases on every payday.
So if I planned to pay 1k to the credit card that month, and had 500 dollars of food purchases for the month on the budget, I'd pay 750 to that card every payday, then the balance would go up as I bought 250 of food over the 2 weeks, then at the next payday, would pay 750 again.
It helped me by lowering the average daily balance a lot thus lower interest and more money going to principal. When I was doing this I would put everything I could on the credit card so that if I had a 100 expense coming up that I could use the card for, I'd pay that towards the card on payday and make my purchase whenever I would have done it, again lowering ADB and interest. I was surprised how much this helped me, but as chiver aluded to above - you have to be careful and make sure you aren't just digging a bigger hole.
I actually want to get back to doing that, but in a paid off status. So every payday I pay off everything I've charge on any card so it isn't building up, and I can recognize when a purchase is not going to work out for immediate payoff within the payperiod, and pull in on other purchases until it is. Meaning if I buy something larger and can't pay it out of current paycheck, will do so with the next and then always PIF before the due date.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 16, 2023 13:18:05 GMT -5
lark1964, Another small silver lining...the reduction to your utilities may not have hit just yet. You're no longer supporting two grown folx and five animals under the same roof. It's just one and one.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 16, 2023 13:46:27 GMT -5
I get where you're coming from, was just reminding you of another tool that you might be able to use to help. use that suggestion or not, you know what's best for you.
I just built my 2024 spreadsheet tab for cash flow planning, and updated all the various interest rates on the cards I still have open. and woof. prevailing rates are ugly! where I'm at now, I'm not carrying balances on anything that isn't a promotional rate. I have a move planned for March when one* resets, and I'm still just throwing money and bringing the balances down overall. my daily use card is just that - I rarely have more than $20 in cash on me, and it's usually less than that. it gets paid off every month before interest accrues, b/c the rate on this card is an absurd 25.24%. but I earn a ton of airline miles with it, so whatever. I'm not paying interest.
*I'm not racing this one, it's house projects.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Nov 16, 2023 14:14:29 GMT -5
I am able to pay off my credit cards every month for probably the last 2 or 3 years.
I make payments several times a month. If I was paying interest, that would help with how much interest rather than paying at the due date.
Always make more than the minimum payment if you are up against the maximum amount of credit. If not, the interest may put you over the limit and that's another fee.
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 16, 2023 14:39:41 GMT -5
lark1964 , Another small silver lining...the reduction to your utilities may not have hit just yet. You're no longer supporting two grown folx and five animals under the same roof. It's just one and one. Actually - my electricity and water are both in credit right now. I don't know what things are going to look like overall, but I expect probably half of what I was spending... I mean, she had me at $300/mo for electricity alone! But - it's fall, I haven't had heat running much, yet, no a/c running at all, and my water bill is half what the use was! Yeah. Very nice.
Her son has until the 24th to get the stuff off my patio, I'm wondering if he's going to show up or not right now. Maybe this weekend. Maybe next. Maybe never. Last hurdle. It's been nice not waking up to walk the dog. I like dogs. I do. Just - not permanently in my care...
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 17, 2023 13:01:10 GMT -5
OK. First things first: Lyft did me a lot of good, financially, it dug me out of a serious hole a few years back, and I was fine doing it - I don't mind driving, and it was often fun talking with people, driving them around, etc. It showed me the streets of Philadelphia I never knew, it took me to other places with which I was unfamiliar - not bad.
But it drove two cars into the ground for me. I don't want to do this with my new car. This past year has been tough, too, I was driving Lyft to keep my head above water, it hadn't been fun for a long time, now. In the morning on the way to work, in the evening on the way home: that's convenient and will likely be fun again.
Second, I was aiming to retire at the end of next year if possible. But - I took money out of my pension so that I could finally get my head out of the water and breathe. Everybody freaked out, how can I retire if I'm paying off my debts, etc. Well, I gotta ask you - how can I retire with the high interest credit cards still outstanding?
I'm going to take another $20K out of my 401K. That will be the last time. Actually - $16K after the taxes are taken. But that will be it. Understand, this isn't something I do lightly, it's not willy-nilly toss my cash around, it's logical and sensible: if I were to leave the cards with their high interest unpaid in the lump that I can do with this new deposit, it would take me nearly five years to pay them all off. And cost me about $8K in interest. This will whittle it down to approximately 18 months. And cost me maybe $3K in interest on the balances.
So after I apply this $16K, I'll have no debt from Target, I'm going to clobber $8K from Lowe's, and then, when the dust settles, I'm going to look at a HELOC in January (I should have a lovely credit score by then, and I think the CU will be itching to loan me the money!), and I'll be able to get a much better interest rate that will not have an expiration date on it, and whatever is left with Lowe's, whatever I have with Discover, they'll both be paid off by the HELOC.
The point being: I'll stop using my cards. Period. Or if I decide to go on a trip, I'll pay with the cards, but pay the cards off, yadda-yadda.
Something else, I make a great salary at my job, I can replenish my 401K in about two years. (Really, how pathetic is it that I make so much money and I'm so deep in debt?) So - bottom line, I won't retire end of next year, it will be when I turn 62, that's 2.5 years from now.
And I'll be able to breathe and enjoy not being buried in debt. And not worrying about debt. And - able to save money for projects in my house that is all mine! Mine! Mine! No more crazy people in my house! No more raccoons, either! Yay!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Nov 17, 2023 17:10:28 GMT -5
My HELOC has an end date when it has to be paid off. It's at zero so I don't know how that would work if I were to draw on it to pay for a new furnace or home repair.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 17, 2023 22:25:02 GMT -5
My HELOC has an end date when it has to be paid off. It's at zero so I don't know how that would work if I were to draw on it to pay for a new furnace or home repair. I'm pretty sure she means it won't have a PROMO rate on it that expires after just 12 or 15 or 18 months but will be for the life of the balance within the 10 years or so that it exists.
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Nov 17, 2023 23:50:08 GMT -5
My HELOC has an end date when it has to be paid off. It's at zero so I don't know how that would work if I were to draw on it to pay for a new furnace or home repair. I'm pretty sure she means it won't have a PROMO rate on it that expires after just 12 or 15 or 18 months but will be for the life of the balance within the 10 years or so that it exists. HELOCs are variable rate. Mine was 3% a couple years ago, now it's 8.5%
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 18, 2023 11:21:36 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure she means it won't have a PROMO rate on it that expires after just 12 or 15 or 18 months but will be for the life of the balance within the 10 years or so that it exists. HELOCs are variable rate. Mine was 3% a couple years ago, now it's 8.5% That's still a hell of a lot of difference from going from 0% for 12 months to 26%. Also, some banks offer options where you can lock in an amount within the HELOC for a specific rate for the life of that balance.
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Nov 18, 2023 11:46:08 GMT -5
HELOCs are variable rate. Mine was 3% a couple years ago, now it's 8.5% That's still a hell of a lot of difference from going from 0% for 12 months to 26%. Also, some banks offer options where you can lock in an amount within the HELOC for a specific rate for the life of that balance. Calm down. I was just pointing out that they are variable and not fixed.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 18, 2023 11:53:19 GMT -5
That's still a hell of a lot of difference from going from 0% for 12 months to 26%. Also, some banks offer options where you can lock in an amount within the HELOC for a specific rate for the life of that balance. Calm down. I was just pointing out that they are variable and not fixed. Seriously? When has telling someone to "calm down" ever worked? Besides, I was backing a friend. Folx on here tend to get a little sanctimonious--"I would NEVER make that decision...I NEVER have to deal with that...I ALWAYS do XYZ"--and it gets really freaking annoying.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Nov 18, 2023 12:10:53 GMT -5
Is "folx" the same as "folks"?
When did the spelling change?
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Nov 18, 2023 12:11:34 GMT -5
Calm down. I was just pointing out that they are variable and not fixed. Seriously? When has telling someone to "calm down" ever worked? Besides, I was backing a friend. Folx on here tend to get a little sanctimonious--"I would NEVER make that decision...I NEVER have to deal with that...I ALWAYS do XYZ"--and it gets really freaking annoying. I wasn't responding to anyone but you and your comment that it would be a set rate for the life of the balance. I gave zero opinion on taking one out to pay off the cards.
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 18, 2023 13:24:36 GMT -5
y'know, sniping back and forth is what made me quit WIRR a few years back. And I took care of myself.
This past couple of years of my life has kind of sucked, money-wise, but I'm fixing things as best I can. But everyone needs to not attack. Nobody. And let me remind you: you're not here because you want to criticize everyone else, you're here because you were in debt, too.
So please stop getting angry, it serves no purpose.
Although it might chase me away, again.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 18, 2023 20:32:15 GMT -5
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 19, 2023 20:06:19 GMT -5
I was perusing my bank accounts this evening and noticed that the balance on my HELOC was higher than it was last week. When I clicked on the actual account, there's a transaction for "Advance Reversal" so I'm thinking I'll see funds back in my checking account this week. That is very good because I really didn't want the stress of having to "plead my case" about a payment they shouldn't have taken. Those funds will be going into the Savings account for when the next statement drops which, coincidentally, should be this week.
I'll make the Dec payment well ahead of time and will just do cash withdrawals from my primary bank to make cash payments to the HELOC so that I don't have to worry about long delays between xfer date and receipt date and payment date and post date.
In the meantime, I'll be focused on the poop-ton of hours I'll be putting in at the store and finishing up the last month of the current school term.
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ners
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Post by ners on Nov 20, 2023 19:15:16 GMT -5
Update
52,123.55 (1/3/2011 $97,382.42 MPT5)
Another 544.00 paid off
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Nov 22, 2023 9:52:05 GMT -5
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muffyinthered
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Post by muffyinthered on Nov 22, 2023 10:18:22 GMT -5
MuffyintheRed #2 11/23/2023 157,696.28 (06/22/2020 $175.394.16)
Amount paid -$-847.85
CU Savings - $25,676.18
It was a good month. I paid off a Bank transfer on my Discover card which I am not racing, but more money to put on a card I am racing. There will be a couple of Christmas presents that will go on a charge but definitely not as much as usual!
Have a good Thanksgiving and don't go too wild with Black Friday sales!
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Nov 22, 2023 13:03:48 GMT -5
I was perusing my bank accounts this evening and noticed that the balance on my HELOC was higher than it was last week. When I clicked on the actual account, there's a transaction for "Advance Reversal" so I'm thinking I'll see funds back in my checking account this week. That is very good because I really didn't want the stress of having to "plead my case" about a payment they shouldn't have taken. Those funds will be going into the Savings account for when the next statement drops which, coincidentally, should be this week. I'll make the Dec payment well ahead of time and will just do cash withdrawals from my primary bank to make cash payments to the HELOC so that I don't have to worry about long delays between xfer date and receipt date and payment date and post date. In the meantime, I'll be focused on the poop-ton of hours I'll be putting in at the store and finishing up the last month of the current school term. Now it's showing as "Pending" in my checking account. I set up a transfer route at my primary bank. I had to call to add the external account. I'm curious to see how long the process takes for the transfer to be pushed out of my primary bank vs being pulled out by the secondary bank. I have the transfer set up for Dec 1st.
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 22, 2023 13:26:20 GMT -5
I've set up connections like this, nidena , what they usually involve is test transfers, it shouldn't take more than a day, but since we have a holiday tomorrow, it will probably be Friday. You'll be asked to confirm things like a 23 cent transfer, then a 52 cent, and then it will transfer back. Be aware that it might have a fee associated, depending on your bank connections, there is no fee between credit unions, but banks and bank shares, they have a tendency to charge between $2-3 per transaction.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Nov 25, 2023 15:51:32 GMT -5
student loan balance 99,713.18! basking while I can, at 17/day+ it will hop back over the 6 figure line soon! And it's back over 100K Current student loan balance is $100,020.86 Next paymet is in 10 days and as it continues to add 17/day until then.....it blows for sure! Will I go under 100k again just to see it surpass 100k by the time of my next payment in January? Watching it in minutiae is depressing, especially as I can't throw anything extra at it right now.... Meanwhile, I haven't gotten the data yet for my 2 expected RI project that were coming in "late Nov". This means I am not going to see payment from them until 2024, hoping that they do show up!! Was hoping they would come early this week and could finish them up quickly and bill for mid-late dec payment.....but it wasn't meant to be! Alas! Now I am now scrambling to figure out my cash flows for the rest of the year without this money, and it is going to be extremely non-triumphant! Of course - just when you want to spend some extra around the holidays, rather than trying to pinch every penny you got! Not just gifting, but sprucing up, etc. was always a good time for mini household splurges like new curtains, throws, etc....
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Nov 29, 2023 9:42:45 GMT -5
So........... this morning I have a big brown patch of grass where I'd had a tarp full of raccoon detritus... and it only cost me $250 for the junk people to drag the last of it away! Cheapcheapcheap!
Contractor coming this weekend to fix the damage upstairs, and... it's... done... done! Done! DONE!
Actually, amusingly: my security cameras captured not only the digging through boxes and bags, which were strewn all over my yard, they also recorded conversations. And they're considering suing me. I can't imagine for what. Although they know it will cost money for the attorney, and there's absolutely nothing they can sue me for, but... guess they're considering the possibility.
I mean, seriously, for what?
Whatever. The raccoon is gone, the raccoon babies have whatever they wanted, and... peace is mine!
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