Debt Dumpers - 2017

[Jen and Ashwin]

I had no idea you robbed the cradle! Lol. (Dh is almost 9 years older than I am, so I can't really talk about age differences)

Yeah, when we first met, I told him he was too young and that we were just at different places in our lives. I had recently graduated law school and he was still in undergrad. But he was very patient and persistent and eventually I gave him a chance. Best thing I ever did. And really, it makes sense to marry a younger man since women, on average, live longer than men.

 

[momtosam]

Well, a set back. My son overloaded the washer. I thought it could be repaired, until my husband was looking at the back and says there is a big rusted place that is just a time bomb waiting to happen.

Went to Lowes, and the ones we can afford don't have great reviews. Any recommendations?

My DH does this all the time and it makes me so mad. I know he is going to break our machine!

 

[mrsabbott]

Well.. things change. Not sure what to do, but I would like your opinion on what would be the best way to use our tax refund.

Back story: Hubs has a piece of crap truck that is old, falling apart, very high mileage, and needs work. It also only seats two and we have 4 kids. Not the greatest family vehicle. We feel fortunate that it has lasted this long and have talked about getting a newer vehicle for him. We keep putting it off because we don't want a car payment right now.

So, hubs has a coworker who has a truck for sale. He buys them for cheap, fixes them, then sells for a profit. Older model but newer and nicer than Hubs'. Less mileage, quad cab so it will fit the whole family. NADA lists it as being worth about $4700-$5000.. Coworker was going to try and get $4200 for it, but offered Hubs it for $3500. All work done to the truck will have a 1 year warranty.

We can use our tax money and Hubs can have a better, safer, more reliable truck with no car payment. But we will not be able to get my dishwasher or pay off any of our credit card debt.

If we don't buy the truck, we will get a dishwasher and pay debt that will free up almost $200 a month to start snowballing our debt payments. By next year, we could be in a position that we could get Hubs a newer truck but we don't know if we will come across a deal like this one or if his truck will last another year.

Right now, Hubs only drives less then 5 minutes to work. He could walk it if he really had to. When it's warm, he takes his motorcycle or my scooter. So he doesn't have a long commute.

Hubs and I are both on the fence about what the best choice to make would be. Thoughts?

 

[hmack]

mrsabbot - my humble opinion. If you have the money and you trust the person selling it, my vote would be to buy the truck.

assuming you have two vehicles - I like that you'd have a 'back-up' vehicle that will fit the whole family just in case.

 

[Dentam]

I would actually try to hold out on the truck and pay down debt instead - as long as you don't feel that it is in bad enough condition that it is unsafe to drive. And if all else fails, you could put that $200 toward a payment if needed, or check back with his coworker to get another vehicle that he's fixed up, since it seems that he does this frequently and will have others in the future. Or just walk to work for awhile if his truck does die before the year is up.

 

[colormegreen]

Well.. things change. Not sure what to do, but I would like your opinion on what would be the best way to use our tax refund.

Back story: Hubs has a piece of crap truck that is old, falling apart, very high mileage, and needs work. It also only seats two and we have 4 kids. Not the greatest family vehicle. We feel fortunate that it has lasted this long and have talked about getting a newer vehicle for him. We keep putting it off because we don't want a car payment right now.

So, hubs has a coworker who has a truck for sale. He buys them for cheap, fixes them, then sells for a profit. Older model but newer and nicer than Hubs'. Less mileage, quad cab so it will fit the whole family. NADA lists it as being worth about $4700-$5000.. Coworker was going to try and get $4200 for it, but offered Hubs it for $3500. All work done to the truck will have a 1 year warranty.

We can use our tax money and Hubs can have a better, safer, more reliable truck with no car payment. But we will not be able to get my dishwasher or pay off any of our credit card debt.

If we don't buy the truck, we will get a dishwasher and pay debt that will free up almost $200 a month to start snowballing our debt payments. By next year, we could be in a position that we could get Hubs a newer truck but we don't know if we will come across a deal like this one or if his truck will last another year.

Right now, Hubs only drives less then 5 minutes to work. He could walk it if he really had to. When it's warm, he takes his motorcycle or my scooter. So he doesn't have a long commute.

Hubs and I are both on the fence about what the best choice to make would be. Thoughts?

Is your truck still running? I don't know if they do it in all states, but the DMV here in California(or at least in L.A county), if your car is still running they'll give you something for your car. I know my sister got a good amount of money for her clunker. The only requirement is it has to turn on and get there on its own.

 

[momtosam]

Who do you trust for your FICO score? I was looking at different places today (now that so many banks and cc's offer it for free) and I was shocked to find almost a 100 point difference depending on who I looked at!

 

[Dentam]

Who do you trust for your FICO score? I was looking at different places today (now that so many banks and cc's offer it for free) and I was shocked to find almost a 100 point difference depending on who I looked at!

Yep - there are two different scoring systems used now (FICO score and Vantage Score). Mine are about 100 points apart as well.

 

[momtosam]

Good grief! So which should you focus on?

 

[Dentam]

Good grief! So which should you focus on?

I have no idea - it's hard to know which one will be used by whoever you're applying for credit with. I'm just focusing on trying to raise my score overall.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Good grief! So which should you focus on?

Though the scores are different, they should also attach a qualifying label to your score, such as excellent, good, fair, poor, etc. as well as a range for each category (i.e. 761 - 850 is Excellent). This should help you to understand and compare between each score.

And if you are going to be looking at getting a large loan, such as car or home, you might want to order an actual FICO score direct from FICO to ensure that you know exactly what the lenders will see before you go to apply.

Credit reports can be a pretty good tool for raising your credit. I had a single missed payment on an Old Navy card that happened many years before (when I was studying abroad for school). Before I applied for my home loan, I took the information from the credit report and wrote a letter asking them to remove the late payment record from my credit report. I cited that I had been a long time customer and had no other records of late payments. To my surprise, it worked and since that was the only negative on my report, my score went up quite a bit.

 

[Dentam]

Though the scores are different, they should also attach a qualifying label to your score, such as excellent, good, fair, poor, etc. as well as a range for each category (i.e. 761 - 850 is Excellent). This should help you to understand and compare between each score.

Mine was labeled as poor with Vantage Score and Average with Fico.

My question is how do you know lenders will be looking at the Fico score? I ordered my score and it came back as the higher one. I don't think many are using Vantage thankfully - never had my score labeled as poor before this.

 

[Eureka]

Keurig may be dying. DH said it's making noises and he only got a half cup of coffee out of it this morning. We have a Bed, Bath and Beyond GC with $96 on it. With a 20% coupon, it may be exactly how much we need except for tax. Toaster oven is also dying but we can get that probably cheaper at Target. DS16 brought home the form for AP tests, $100 each and this year he's taking two (but if he does well enough, we can get reimbursed, I think not until fall though). Kids' yearbooks are on sale. Taking my car in for oil change and tire rotation tomorrow and won't be surprised if they tell me brakes need doing (we did either front or back last time, can't remember which, and they said the others may need doing soon). Why do I feel like we are bleeding money all of a sudden?! On the bright side, DH and I carpooled today because we're going out after work to a concert -- with complimentary pre-concert reception and valet parking -- for which I got free tickets through work. So we saved wear and tear, gas and EZ Pass on my car today, and I have Monday off so that will be another day of savings.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Mine was labeled as poor with Vantage Score and Average with Fico.

My question is how do you know lenders will be looking at the Fico score? I ordered my score and it came back as the higher one. I don't think many are using Vantage thankfully - never had my score labeled as poor before this.

FICO score is still the industry standard, generally. You can ask lenders what score they use when assessing your application. I am not sure if they will tell you or not, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. I feel like by law they should be required to disclose the system they are using. And though you have different labels with each, you should be able to compare the weight they give to certain aspects, such as late payments or debt to available credit ratio, etc. This will help you understand why one is better than the other and will help you identify places to make improvements.

 

[Dentam]

FICO score is still the industry standard, generally. You can ask lenders what score they use when assessing your application. I am not sure if they will tell you or not, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. I feel like by law they should be required to disclose the system they are using. And though you have different labels with each, you should be able to compare the weight they give to certain aspects, such as late payments or debt to available credit ratio, etc. This will help you understand why one is better than the other and will help you identify places to make improvements.

Yes, I did get from each one that the fact that I don't have a good mix of debt is affecting my score. My score went down when I sold my house. No more mortgage payment, just cc debt. Also, my ratio of balances to limits is too high. I'm focusing on that and my score should be back in the good category by year's end. Luckily, my car is doing very well this year and I got new tires for it last month, so I don't think I will need to be applying for a loan anytime soon... knock on wood!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

QUOTE="mrsabbott, post: 57132697, member: 317681"]Well.. things change. Not sure what to do, but I would like your opinion on what would be the best way to use our tax refund.

Back story: Hubs has a piece of crap truck that is old, falling apart, very high mileage, and needs work. It also only seats two and we have 4 kids. Not the greatest family vehicle. We feel fortunate that it has lasted this long and have talked about getting a newer vehicle for him. We keep putting it off because we don't want a car payment right now.

So, hubs has a coworker who has a truck for sale. He buys them for cheap, fixes them, then sells for a profit. Older model but newer and nicer than Hubs'. Less mileage, quad cab so it will fit the whole family. NADA lists it as being worth about $4700-$5000.. Coworker was going to try and get $4200 for it, but offered Hubs it for $3500. All work done to the truck will have a 1 year warranty.

We can use our tax money and Hubs can have a better, safer, more reliable truck with no car payment. But we will not be able to get my dishwasher or pay off any of our credit card debt.

If we don't buy the truck, we will get a dishwasher and pay debt that will free up almost $200 a month to start snowballing our debt payments. By next year, we could be in a position that we could get Hubs a newer truck but we don't know if we will come across a deal like this one or if his truck will last another year.

Right now, Hubs only drives less then 5 minutes to work. He could walk it if he really had to. When it's warm, he takes his motorcycle or my scooter. So he doesn't have a long commute.

Hubs and I are both on the fence about what the best choice to make would be. Thoughts?[/QUOTE]

I agree with hmack - if you trust the person selling the truck, I'd buy it, and then try to sell his truck (even if it's only to a scrapyard, you should still get something for it). There will always be cars or trucks for sale, but being able to trust the seller when purchasing a used car is HUGE.

 

[Dentam]

I agree with hmack - if you trust the person selling the truck, I'd buy it, and then try to sell his truck (even if it's only to a scrapyard, you should still get something for it). There will always be cars or trucks for sale, but being able to trust the seller when purchasing a used car is HUGE.

My understanding was that the coworker fixes these trucks up and sells them on a regular basis. If not, then I'd agree that they should go ahead and buy the truck now.

 

[Ngwira]

Anyone who filed taxes recently get their refund status? I filed on 2/9/17 and it's still showing that my "refund is being processed". It's not approved yet. We took the standard deduction even though we have 2 kids, a house and student loans as that was more than our itemized deductions. In other words, no funny business or red flags. Maybe they are inundated?

 

[disneyduonj]

Anyone who filed taxes recently get their refund status? I filed on 2/9/17 and it's still showing that my "refund is being processed". It's not approved yet. We took the standard deduction even though we have 2 kids, a house and student loans as that was more than our itemized deductions. In other words, no funny business or red flags. Maybe they are inundated?

I filed weeks ago but since I claimed an adoption credit they wouldn't process it til February 15th. On the 16th it said it was still being processed but today it says approved and will be sent to my bank by the 22nd. Definitely fast once its processed.

 

[Ngwira]

I filed weeks ago but since I claimed an adoption credit they wouldn't process it til February 15th. On the 16th it said it was still being processed but today it says approved and will be sent to my bank by the 22nd. Definitely fast once its processed.

Thanks for the response. There's probably a backlog.