Debt Dumpers - 2017

[amalone1013]

Congratulations @Jen and Ashwin ! So exciting!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Congratulations @Jen and Ashwin !! I'm so happy for you!

Sorry I've been a little MIA. We just got back from Disney's Hilton Head resort for a short weekend to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and we stayed IN BUDGET! What an amazing feeling to be able to go on a trip and not be pinching pennies or frantically checking credit card balances. We also opened a new savings account with a much better interest rate to get started saving for our house. I'd love to double what's in there by the end of the year, but we will see!

 

[Eureka]

Update. The test results came back and my B-hCG level went from 34 to 143. It more than quadrupled! That means that everything seems to be progressing well. I will keep everyone updated periodically as things continue on their way. Feeling very happy and excited now!

Yay! I wish you a very uneventful 9 months

 

[mom2t]

Carefully watching every purchase I make - especially groceries this month. Determined to make an extra payment on my credit card - the last one I owe on. This is my goal each month for the next 6 months including our vacation month. Getting back on track to where I was last August.

 

[Ngwira]

Update. The test results came back and my B-hCG level went from 34 to 143. It more than quadrupled! That means that everything seems to be progressing well. I will keep everyone updated periodically as things continue on their way. Feeling very happy and excited now!

Congratulations. So happy for you!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Update. The test results came back and my B-hCG level went from 34 to 143. It more than quadrupled! That means that everything seems to be progressing well. I will keep everyone updated periodically as things continue on their way. Feeling very happy and excited now!

Fantastic! Was hoping to hear great news from you! Hoping everything goes smoothly and praying for your health!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Update. The test results came back and my B-hCG level went from 34 to 143. It more than quadrupled! That means that everything seems to be progressing well. I will keep everyone updated periodically as things continue on their way. Feeling very happy and excited now!

That's awesome Jen!!! Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you.


Ah, I remember those early days... The whole thing was so surreal; like I kept forgetting I was actually pregnant because I didn't feel any different. I so clearly remember looking in the mirror after a shower and wondering if this is the last time I'd see myself with flat abs and perky boobs again.
Sadly, it was.
Still I love my kids and wouldn't have it any other way.

Best wishes to you for good health for you and your baby.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Update. The test results came back and my B-hCG level went from 34 to 143. It more than quadrupled! That means that everything seems to be progressing well. I will keep everyone updated periodically as things continue on their way. Feeling very happy and excited now!

That is GREAT news!!!!

 

[Eureka]

That's awesome Jen!!! Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you.


Ah, I remember those early days... The whole thing was so surreal; like I kept forgetting I was actually pregnant because I didn't feel any different. I so clearly remember looking in the mirror after a shower and wondering if this is the last time I'd see myself with flat abs and perky boobs again.
Sadly, it was.
Still I love my kids and wouldn't have it any other way.

Best wishes to you for good health for you and your baby.

I felt that way for the first week after we found out (each time), and then the morning sickness started, LOL. I never actually got sick but felt awful for three months. I hope @Jen and Ashwin doesn't suffer too much.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I felt that way for the first week after we found out (each time), and then the morning sickness started, LOL. I never actually got sick but felt awful for three months. I hope @Jen and Ashwin doesn't suffer too much.

I haven't had any issues yet. A BFF said, just wait. Maybe I will be that unicorn that never has any morning sickness? But probably not.

 

[PrincessKymm]

I haven't had any issues yet. A BFF said, just wait. Maybe I will be that unicorn that never has any morning sickness? But probably not.

I really hope you are that unicorn! My morning sickness came during the 2nd trimester and at night with DS who is now 14. I also couldn't eat anything that had grain in it (no bread, pizza, pasta, etc) or else I had awful heartburn for days. I lived on Tums! My 2nd pregnancy (miscarriage) I had such awful morning sickness from what seemed like day 1, I could barely move and the only thing that helped was sucking on pickles, but lord help I swallow one...that never ended well.

I am so excited for you! I am looking forward to the updates!

 

[DisneyMandC]

I could barely move and the only thing that helped was sucking on pickles

It's so funny you say that because my mom said she had morning sickness throughout her entire pregnancy with me and the only thing that prevented it was if she ate a pickle immediately when she woke up in the morning. She said an old woman who did a lot of organic and herbal healing type stuff told her to do it and it worked.

Sorry to hear of your loss, by the way.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I was a unicorn!! So hoping the same for you! I was very nauseated the first 12 weeks but I think a lot of it was nerves. I was never really sick and I ate like crazy but only gained 45 pounds total. All my friends hated me..jokes on them by 2 year old doesn't sleep thru the night

 

[Imagineer5]

So far so good. 2017 has started off well - we have 4 goals for 2017 - paying off 3 debts and putting the remainder of the year's extras on another. So far, 2 debts were paid off as of Friday 2/3 and still on target to pay off my car by 2/28.

We have 1 unplanned expense, taxes owed are $1k, but we can handle that without putting off our pay-off date of 12/31/2019 for everything but our first mortgage - that is my end-goal-date that I'm abiding by - if any unnecessary purchase or trip or whatnot causes us to move that date, I will do everything in my power to make that not happen!

My one unknown for this year: DH's car. We are expecting baby #3 in April. I drive an Expedition so we can fit her in there just fine (and have the infant bucket seat ready to go from DD's 1 & 2!) BUT DH drives an old BMW 330xi. We had toyed with purchasing a Minivan/ some other bigger vehicle. But a coworker mentioned fitting 3 car seats in his Civic so I did some research and I need to test out a Dioni Radian car seat in the middle seat of DH's car. IF we can fit 3-car-seats across, we'll need to buy 2 of those car seats ($500) - certainly cheaper than buying a new car BUT still $500...that is still up in the air but obviously we need to figure this out sooner rather than later.

Also an unknown that we have not included in the budget - a possible FY17 pay raise for me. I say possible, because I work for the government, and typically we discuss these "raises" (ie. 1-2% based on performance ratings plus a possible bonus of around $800) in October/November, but our whole base has been sequestered to not discuss these. Here we are in February with still nothing! If this does come in, it'll help boost that $$ towards debt, and if I get a bonus I can buy those car seats with it! But I'm trying not to include them in the "plan" haha.

 

[Shmily1]

I haven't had any issues yet. A BFF said, just wait. Maybe I will be that unicorn that never has any morning sickness? But probably not.

Congratulations! That's awesome news. I was a unicorn. Not one day was I ever sick with morning sickness. I was a little bit of a clumsy unicorn though and managed to fall down a few times though. LOL

 

[bcwife76]

Woohoo, congrats Jen!!!!!!!

 

[mrsabbott]

We are on our way back home from GWL. We had a FABULOUS time but I spent over the allotted amount I had set aside. We dove into our savings (about $80). This won't make or break us this month, but still..
Even with snacks and packing breakfast, I underestimated how hungry the kids would be so a large chunk was spent on food. But we also splurged at the arcade and on ice cream. And we may have stopped and ate "linner" on the way home. (That is a lunch/dinner combo.) And we might have gotten a huge dessert to share that was $10!

So, this little vacation cost us closer to $400 than the alloted $300 but I think it was worth it because we had a blast!

Now, it is back to the real world and pinching pennies..

 

[PrincessKymm]

Does anyone else go back to their paid off cards account and admire the $0 balance? Not that i'm weird or anything...certainly makes me feel better about having such a long way to go.

Need some advice-
My next card is $2500 and is currently just under maxed out and charges a high interest rate. (about $50 a month in interest). I've been paying the bills that I have auto charged to it plus the interest payment each month. Basically, treading water on this card.
My rewards card is sitting at $4300 at 0%. I don't think I can pay this off before that ends so I know I will have to pay the interest once that point is reached. Should I even attempt to pay this card off first?
My snowball is now $400-$500 a month since I paid off the other debts. (This does not include the braces payment since it's HSA reimbursed monthly)
Would it be better to alternate the payments or just attack one card?

 

[DisneyMandC]

Does anyone else go back to their paid off cards account and admire the $0 balance? Not that i'm weird or anything...certainly makes me feel better about having such a long way to go.

Need some advice-
My next card is $2500 and is currently just under maxed out and charges a high interest rate. (about $50 a month in interest). I've been paying the bills that I have auto charged to it plus the interest payment each month. Basically, treading water on this card.
My rewards card is sitting at $4300 at 0%. I don't think I can pay this off before that ends so I know I will have to pay the interest once that point is reached. Should I even attempt to pay this card off first?
My snowball is now $400-$500 a month since I paid off the other debts. (This does not include the braces payment since it's HSA reimbursed monthly)
Would it be better to alternate the payments or just attack one card?

The interest on the 0% card- is that calculated just on the balance you have left at the end of the 0% promotional period? I know sometimes things like store cards will calculate interest back to the full balance at the end of the promotional period instead of the remaining balance. If that's the case, I would get that one paid off ASAP.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

The interest on the 0% card- is that calculated just on the balance you have left at the end of the 0% promotional period? I know sometimes things like store cards will calculate interest back to the full balance at the end of the promotional period instead of the remaining balance. If that's the case, I would get that one paid off ASAP.

I agree. If the interest is calculated on the entire balance if it's not paid off by the end of the promotional period, there's no reason to try to pay it off earlier because they're going to charge the interest no matter what. Figure of what the terms were to help you decide.