Debt Dumpers - 2017

[DisneyMandC]

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 mailed mine on the 31st and haven't heard anything. It won't show me where my refund is online for some reason.

 

[mousefansmom]

My intent is to clear the debt, rebuild the savings and have WORRY-FREE days. I also have a dream of going to Disney and NOT buying the cheapest thing on the menu whether I want it or not, LOL! I started a home based business to clear some debt faster (I am also a special ed teacher). It's been a lot of fun and is going well (earned a $10K bonus in less than 3 mos!!!! ^_^ ), so I am glad I discovered it. Glad to proclaim this year as the year our stress level WILL change!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Lord, I don't think I have ever met anyone as confused as the people that work at my student loan provider. I submitted my PSLF paperwork and got an email this morning that there was "incomplete information." For the second time in a row, they CANNOT comprehend that I worked for my local county for one year, moved to another job for nine months, and am now back working for my local county again. How hard is this to understand? Apparently impossible. I am having to get HR to send them a letter detailing the dates of my employment because they just don't get it. Now they have down that I've been working at the local county for the last two and a half years, effectively working two full-time jobs at one point.

GRRRR.

 

[mrsabbott]

Thank you for the input. We do trust the seller if the truck, but I hadn't considered the possibility of having him help find us another truck at a different time. I will discuss that with Hubs and see what he thinks. We still keep going back and forth about it. Granted, our return hasn't been deposited yet, so it's not like we have to figure it out today.

 

[dayvewc]

Thank you for the input. We do trust the seller if the truck, but I hadn't considered the possibility of having him help find us another truck at a different time. I will discuss that with Hubs and see what he thinks. We still keep going back and forth about it. Granted, our return hasn't been deposited yet, so it's not like we have to figure it out today.

Ya know, depending on how long you think the current truck will last and how good a friend the seller of the truck is .... you might talk to him and let him know that sometime in the next couple of years you are looking for a replacement vehicle. He might be willing to keep an eye open for you for one that he can fix up that will fit all of your needs (size, cost, condition, etc.) I know that cars are not dogs, but I have a friend that shows on the AKC circuit, and that's how I get all of my four legged children. I let her know when I'm interested in a new addition, and she lets me know when she finds one with a compatible personality that is inside my price range. Sometimes it's quicker than others. I had one dog in less than a month, but it's been a 2 year wait on the latest one.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

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.

Ah, I missed that. That changes things IMO.

@mrsabbott if you think your DH's truck will last another year without major repairs, then I'd wait and ask the friend to try to find another truck sometime next year.

 

[mom2t]

I would love to hit the President's Day sales tomorrow but I am passing. More money to pay down on my credit card.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Got paid today and my paycheck was really small. I work retail with varying hours so when we are slow, I don't get hours. BUT having the budget and planning for it ahead REALLY helped. It's starting to pick back up so it won't be long now before I'm back to normal.

We are going to start looking at houses and townhouses this weekend. We originally wanted to buy a home, but now we aren't sure if we will be living in this city long-term. Probably, but we just want to make sure DH doesn't have career opportunities elsewhere before we make a big investment and put down roots. So we are looking at rentals. What stress!

Finally, we'll have to pay the $340 for the genetic tests next week probably. We don't have to pay until we actually get the results, so that's good. Technically it was supposed to be $350 but I guess DH's insurance got him a $10 discount? I'll take it!

Also got a surprise check from Comcast this week for $6. It's a reimbursement for something when we cancelled with them awhile back for our internet, but I can't remember what.

Small victories!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Finally got a date for my tax return deposit. Now I can actually sit down with a real plan to get some of this crap paid off. Lol. Struggling with paying off some things vs putting the money towards some things we actually need. I really want to kick this debt and open up money in our monthly expenses, but I also want to get us the things we need sooner instead of later.

 

[Ngwira]

I mailed mine on the 31st and haven't heard anything. It won't show me where my refund is online for some reason.

Thanks. Finally got a date, this Thursday! We will be in you and Eureka's neck of the woods next weekend. Taking the family to Washington D.C to check out the Smithsonian museum of natural history.

 

[mom2t]

Filed federal electronically on the 9th, accepted and said would be in our account the 21st. Return in our account on the 17th. The fastest ever return. Still waiting on state, it has not been accepted yet. Our state usually takes 3-4 weeks longer. Putting it aside for a new lawn mower.

 

[hmack]

My weekly-ish check in and per usual, there's some good and some not so good. (I guess that's better than all bad, right?)

Good - I put $25 in the savings account - every bit helps. We also put some extra on our Best Buy credit card. DH and I are not always on the same page but we are both driven to pay off this card as quickly as possible.

Not so Good - someone came to our house from the town's water district and they are giving us 30 days to do work that will cost about $200 in parts plus a plumber. I did not see that coming at all. Also, I finally got another medical bill I've been waiting for. I'm starting to believe that we'll always paying medical bills in one form or another.

Splurge! - my favorite consignment store was having it's bi-annual clearance sale with everything an extra 60% off so I just had fun. I got a new tote bag, a wallet, necklace, earrings, shirt and two belts for a grand total of $16.00. I felt like I went wild and honestly other than the wallet I didn't need any of it - but in reality I spent under $20.00.

Have a good weekend!!

 

[dclpluto]

Last week I washed our cars probably been over 10 years since I washed the cars. Took them to the car wash all the time. Also last weekend I made ice tea. Ice tea is cheap at 2 dollars a gallon but it can really add up over time. Probably about a 50 dollar a month savings with them two things.

Aldis has been really helpful. Big big savings there. I didn't know how much money I was wasting not goino to Aldis.
At least another 50 dollars a month savings going to Aldis.

 

[mrsabbott]

We love Aldi's for saving on groceries!

Not dumping much debt, but I am trying hard to not accrue any more. My family gave the kids $$ to buy valentine candy, but they already had a lot of sweets. So I am using that money as our "fun money" this weekend.
They are showing Sing on post for free tomorrow. We will take candy and juice pouches, but will buy popcorn there. Not sure what else we will do, but we will stretch it as far as possible! I am always looking for free or cheap family activities!

Still waiting for the tax refund to post. I am leaning towards paying down debt but we will see..

 

[dayvewc]

Got started on my taxes today. Didn't realize it, but I am missing at least 3 forms before I can finish. They were all supposed to be mailed by January 31, so I don't know what happened. I'm tempted to just make up reasonable numbers based on what I have entered in my Quicken checkbook. But ... without those documents, and not having the info in front of me to track the mileage on my car(s) last year (since I had to change vehicles in the middle of the year) I'm at a roadblock for the moment. TurboTax is showing an estimate of $1600 federal and about $100 state refunds though. That's down from the past several years, but I also only worked half a year at my other second job, so I knew that would affect it some - just didn't think it would affect it by $1500 federal and $500 state!!!

 

[mrsabbott]

Got started on my taxes today. Didn't realize it, but I am missing at least 3 forms before I can finish. They were all supposed to be mailed by January 31, so I don't know what happened. I'm tempted to just make up reasonable numbers based on what I have entered in my Quicken checkbook. But ... without those documents, and not having the info in front of me to track the mileage on my car(s) last year (since I had to change vehicles in the middle of the year) I'm at a roadblock for the moment. TurboTax is showing an estimate of $1600 federal and about $100 state refunds though. That's down from the past several years, but I also only worked half a year at my other second job, so I knew that would affect it some - just didn't think it would affect it by $1500 federal and $500 state!!!

We are getting back less and have to pay state! I wasn't in school at all last year so I didn't get those deductions, plus I think Hubs' promotion bumped us into a higher tax bracket.

 

[Eureka]

Thanks. Finally got a date, this Thursday! We will be in you and Eureka's neck of the woods next weekend. Taking the family to Washington D.C to check out the Smithsonian museum of natural history.

Hope we have nice weather for you. It was high 60s here yesterday. Was in Georgetown Friday night and we had a drink at the place I mentioned, Thunder Burger .

 

[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.

Update: Keurig is still working intermittently, so we haven't gotten a new one yet and will see how it goes. My car did not need brakes done but needed a brake fluid flush but I had the money in my car repairs fund, so yay. Van (the old car we were saving for DS16) did not start yesterday, probably the battery bc we were dumb and haven't been driving it. Haven't tried jumping it yet and have to decide if it's worth dealing with or getting rid of. If it's just the battery, I think we should still keep it and just remember to drive it now and then. Not sure if that will be resolved today; DS13 has a futsal tournament this afternoon and evening. DH was working on the taxes yesterday but don't know what the verdict is yet. We were early for the concert Fri so got a drink and appetizer and talked finances. So romantic, lol. His raise starts next week so we put the 529s back to where they were last year before I was laid off. Next week I'll be making the last payment on two of our iPhones, so our phone bill will drop. Just made the last soccer payment too, so it should work out even with the new car payment and car insurance increase. Cross your fingers...bc we still have a small balance on a credit card and need to buy plane tickets for all four of us for a short weekend for a family event. There's always something....

 

[amalone1013]

Update: Keurig is still working intermittently, so we haven't gotten a new one yet and will see how it goes. My car did not need brakes done but needed a brake fluid flush but I had the money in my car repairs fund, so yay. Van (the old car we were saving for DS16) did not start yesterday, probably the battery bc we were dumb and haven't been driving it. Haven't tried jumping it yet and have to decide if it's worth dealing with or getting rid of. If it's just the battery, I think we should still keep it and just remember to drive it now and then. Not sure if that will be resolved today; DS13 has a futsal tournament this afternoon and evening. DH was working on the taxes yesterday but don't know what the verdict is yet. We were early for the concert Fri so got a drink and appetizer and talked finances. So romantic, lol. His raise starts next week so we put the 529s back to where they were last year before I was laid off. Next week I'll be making the last payment on two of our iPhones, so our phone bill will drop. Just made the last soccer payment too, so it should work out even with the new car payment and car insurance increase. Cross your fingers...bc we still have a small balance on a credit card and need to buy plane tickets for all four of us for a short weekend for a family event. There's always something....

What model of Keurig do you have? I have a Vue, and I had to clean the needle out several times from trying to use my own ground coffee with the refillable cups. It had gotten to where I had to do it every few weeks until I found a new model of refillable cup.

 

[DisneyMandC]

DH updated YNAB yesterday for his credit card. We are doing great on eating out this month! He did make a comment that he's spent a lot at his work cafeteria and wants to get it down. Honestly though, it's not enough for me to even say anything about it but if he wants to bring it down then that's great. His work subsidizes the cafeteria food so he can usually get a hot lunch for $3 or $4, and he certainly doesn't do it everyday.

I'm really looking forward to the unseasonably warm temperatures in our area over the next two weeks. We turned the heat off yesterday morning and opened the windows. I suspect we will be able to leave it off just about everyday for a while and just turn it on some at night. Since we currently have a credit on our electric account from a deposit last year, this will help us stretch it longer so we won't have a bill for a while!