Debt Dumpers - 2013

[Malakaiii]

Phew! New Visa has arrived and all of the fraudulent charges have been credited! I will start paying it of once we get our savings up to $1000. Not much further.

I just put an extra $200 into savings, with more headed that way in a few days. We're trying to keep some extra cash aside for our trip to Las Vegas in 2 weeks! Neither of us gamble so we won't be coming home with a landfall... or a huge debt.

 

[PrincessKymm]

What a jerk! I would take him to court even though it takes a while. At least you will get the ball rolling and maybe you can get his checks garnished.

I took out the big guns and called his mom last night. The courts take too long and she told me if have a payment by next week! Ill be back on track soon enough!

Great job everyone! This board is a great motivator and definitely keeps me going.

 

[jenny105]

Great job!! Is this a new promotion their running? If so, I wouldn't mind checking it out! Although I do love my current bank. I know sometimes all you have to do is open a new account and have your pay checks direct deposited. I would change that for a $150 bonus! As long as I can keep my current bank too.

I have two credit cards with Chase and got the offer via email. It came with a special code so I think you have to be invited. It's worth taking a look on their website though - maybe you'll find it there.

 

[beansmom]

since feb 11, we have paid off 7 cc, leaving only one with a balance...we will get that paid off within the next couple of weeks.

it is so nice to see zeros where balances used to live on my spreadsheet.

 

[milwaukeemommy]

Everyone is doing so well. I'm plugging away .... ever so slowly. Not doing nearly as well as everyone else. I actually started a debt blog right before New Year's - more to keep me honest than anything else. But I've met other debt bloggers & between them & you guys, I am so inspired. I created my very first budget for the month of March & well .... I was a bit off in a few categories .... but I will adjust & hopefully do better next month.

 

[gracie1]

since feb 11, we have paid off 7 cc, leaving only one with a balance...we will get that paid off within the next couple of weeks.

it is so nice to see zeros where balances used to live on my spreadsheet.

Wow! You are on a roll! Way to go! I am still plugging away at my one cc. I have a balance of $794 Once I get my state tax refund, it will be completely paid off. I have to call them again today, since it has been 6 weeks now

 

[gracie1]

Everyone is doing so well. I'm plugging away .... ever so slowly. Not doing nearly as well as everyone else. I actually started a debt blog right before New Year's - more to keep me honest than anything else. But I've met other debt bloggers & between them & you guys, I am so inspired. I created my very first budget for the month of March & well .... I was a bit off in a few categories .... but I will adjust & hopefully do better next month.

Way to go on creating your budget You will be able to adjust it little by little. The first step is creating the budget, and that will help you adjust spending for the months to come!

 

[leelee9878]

One of the things that I gave up for lent was using my credit card, I am happy to say I succeeded! There were times when I thought I was going to slip but I would just ask myself if I really needed the item and clearly I didn't need them.

 

[chip91]

Been reading through the entire thread all morning, longing to go back to my happy place, Disney..knowing I can't afford it at all! But it's my goal, so I have to start somewhere right! I know I can't pay off debts in 3 years, so my goal is 5...

The little things crept up on my family, and unfortunately, putting medical bills is how it started, then when times were tough things like groceries and gas we have 5 credit cards, with all of them being between 1500-3000 away from being maxed out..total debt I just added is 56500, makes me sick! All crdit card except 2k on my vehicle yet... I've resolved to stop using the cards, on paper it does not work, but I'm hoping that through the grace of God, I can keep a budget stick to it and no more credit card usage, if it's absolutely necessary then the new charge, gets paid off right away!!!

I have little to no savings, 500.00 in savings, so will work on that first, 50.00 a week is all I can afford.. After I get to 1000.00 will then work on attacking the car payment, get that gone and then the cards, 1 at a time.. Read throu Dave Ramsey, will try hard to follow his debt snowball... DH & I both work full time, and both have a 2nd jobs for a few months out of the year. Hoping when my youngest enters school full time, that daycare money will go towards debt (another year and half before full time school) when I did my taxes and I got the daycare total for tax write off 4850 in Day Care!!! Ugh

? for all of you budget gurus how do you do it with the price of gas increasing all the time and groceries seem to rise every time I go into the grocery store.. I coupon if can and price match at Wal Mart when can but I don't live in a big city so I have wal Mart and one grocery to choose from. The internet is our only "luxury" don't have cable TV, just your basic local channels.

Right now we can pay all of our bills (mortgage, cc's, gas, groceries,) but at the end of the checks it's all gone, I feel like I can't kick in any "extra" towards the debt, and I don't want to be in debt for the next 30 years. I want to kick the CC debt and then kick the mortgage to the curb!!! *25 years left on morgtage, making bi-weekly payments, to add 1/2 payment per year) Any advice would be great, any criticism keep to yourself, I know it's bad.

 

[gracie1]

Been reading through the entire thread all morning, longing to go back to my happy place, Disney..knowing I can't afford it at all! But it's my goal, so I have to start somewhere right! I know I can't pay off debts in 3 years, so my goal is 5...

The little things crept up on my family, and unfortunately, putting medical bills is how it started, then when times were tough things like groceries and gas we have 5 credit cards, with all of them being between 1500-3000 away from being maxed out..total debt I just added is 56500, makes me sick! All crdit card except 2k on my vehicle yet... I've resolved to stop using the cards, on paper it does not work, but I'm hoping that through the grace of God, I can keep a budget stick to it and no more credit card usage, if it's absolutely necessary then the new charge, gets paid off right away!!!

I have little to no savings, 500.00 in savings, so will work on that first, 50.00 a week is all I can afford.. After I get to 1000.00 will then work on attacking the car payment, get that gone and then the cards, 1 at a time.. Read throu Dave Ramsey, will try hard to follow his debt snowball... DH & I both work full time, and both have a 2nd jobs for a few months out of the year. Hoping when my youngest enters school full time, that daycare money will go towards debt (another year and half before full time school) when I did my taxes and I got the daycare total for tax write off 4850 in Day Care!!! Ugh

? for all of you budget gurus how do you do it with the price of gas increasing all the time and groceries seem to rise every time I go into the grocery store.. I coupon if can and price match at Wal Mart when can but I don't live in a big city so I have wal Mart and one grocery to choose from. The internet is our only "luxury" don't have cable TV, just your basic local channels.

Right now we can pay all of our bills (mortgage, cc's, gas, groceries,) but at the end of the checks it's all gone, I feel like I can't kick in any "extra" towards the debt, and I don't want to be in debt for the next 30 years. I want to kick the CC debt and then kick the mortgage to the curb!!! *25 years left on morgtage, making bi-weekly payments, to add 1/2 payment per year) Any advice would be great, any criticism keep to yourself, I know it's bad.

Part of me thinks that maybe doing a consolidation loan would work (depending on what your cc interest rates are). Also, another part of me thinks that maybe refinancing the house might help? Although if the price of housing dropped in your area, you may not have enough equity. Otherwise, I think if you make the budget like you want, and start snowballing the cc's then you will get there. You will start to feel good when you get 1 cc paid off. That's how I felt when I started. It actually made you feel like there was progress being made.
If you are getting a tax refund back (a $1k or more) then I suggest putting the $1k in your emergency fund, and using the rest to tackle the debt. Put a whole chunk onto one card (with the lowest balance). Then once that card is paid off, start using the money you paid on that and add to the next cc payment. It takes a little adjusting to, but once you start you will be on a roll

 

[jessicaerv]

Phew! New Visa has arrived and all of the fraudulent charges have been credited! I will start paying it of once we get our savings up to $1000. Not much further.

I just put an extra $200 into savings, with more headed that way in a few days. We're trying to keep some extra cash aside for our trip to Las Vegas in 2 weeks! Neither of us gamble so we won't be coming home with a landfall... or a huge debt.

OOOOOOO, Vegas! I'll be there about the same time you will be!! Fun! We don't gamble much, so we won't be spending that much at the tables/slots; most of the fun money we'll be bringing will go towards food. We plan on doing A LOT of walking on the Strip, hope the weather permits it.

 

[jessicaerv]

Any advice would be great, any criticism keep to yourself, I know it's bad.

I sure hope you don't receive any negative comments; we all find ourselves in similar circumstances or we wouldn't be on this thread!

for you!

 

[gjl]

Removed

 

[DLgal]

Making bi-weekly mortgage payments when you have that much unsecured debt is not a great idea.

Pay the minimum amount due each month on your mortgage. Put that extra towards the credit cards, and pay them off one at a time.

Also, unless your car loan's interest is higher than the credit cards, you should not be focusing on paying that off yet. Again, make the required payments on the car loan and put the rest towards credit cards.

 

[Malakaiii]

OOOOOOO, Vegas! I'll be there about the same time you will be!! Fun! We don't gamble much, so we won't be spending that much at the tables/slots; most of the fun money we'll be bringing will go towards food. We plan on doing A LOT of walking on the Strip, hope the weather permits it.

Oh yay! We'll be there April 13-16! Where are you staying? I was able to cash in a bunch of grocery store points for our flight & hotel package... saved us $500! We're staying at the Aria because we wanted to try something new and my husband likes high-techy stuff. In the past I've stayed at the Luxor (okay) and the Imperial Palace (awful!). We also got free tickets to see Beatles Love! I'm excited we've managed to do this trip on a budget so far. Hopefully we won't go crazy on food.

 

[jessicaerv]

Oh yay! We'll be there April 13-16! Where are you staying? I was able to cash in a bunch of grocery store points for our flight & hotel package... saved us $500! We're staying at the Aria because we wanted to try something new and my husband likes high-techy stuff. In the past I've stayed at the Luxor (okay) and the Imperial Palace (awful!). We also got free tickets to see Beatles Love! I'm excited we've managed to do this trip on a budget so far. Hopefully we won't go crazy on food.

OMG! We're going the EXACT SAME DATES!! We're staying at Vdara, so really close to you. Splurged on a City Corner Suite since we're celebrating our 16th anniversary. We used to live in Southern California and drive into Vegas a few times a year, but its been 8 years since I've been last, so I know quite a bit has changed. Typically we stayed at the Frontier which has since been demolished and is where the Trump property is now. Would our DH's think we're terribly odd if we arrange to meet up?

 

[Malakaiii]

OMG! We're going the EXACT SAME DATES!! We're staying at Vdara, so really close to you. Splurged on a City Corner Suite since we're celebrating our 16th anniversary. We used to live in Southern California and drive into Vegas a few times a year, but its been 8 years since I've been last, so I know quite a bit has changed. Typically we stayed at the Frontier which has since been demolished and is where the Trump property is now. Would our DH's think we're terribly odd if we arrange to meet up?

Same dates! What a coincidence! I also looked at Vdara... looks so nice! Let me know what you think.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've scheduled the stuffing out of this trip, so I don't think we have time for a meet up! Since our day-to-day always involves the needs of a toddler, I went a little hog wild in planning back to back fun activities for DH and I! We just had our 10th anniversary in October, and I turn 30 next week, so we have lots to celebrate... mostly with food since I'm 5 months pregnant.

 

[pianokey]

for all of you budget gurus how do you do it with the price of gas increasing all the time and groceries seem to rise every time I go into the grocery store.. I coupon if can and price match at Wal Mart when can but I don't live in a big city so I have wal Mart and one grocery to choose from. The internet is our only "luxury" don't have cable TV, just your basic local channels.

I don't know that I am budget guru, but here is something that has helped me. I use a meal planning service, which sets up a weekly menu and a shopping list. That way I can stick to the list at the grocery store and not just buy on impulse things we don't need. I don't coupon, as I found the hassle to not be worth it. But having a list really helps me, although it may not be for everyone. There are several online sites that provide this service for a small fee. Seems counter-intuitive to pay for something when you are trying to get out of debt, but it helps me stay on track and on budget to have someone else go through the hassle of meal planning. As for gas, I don't have any tips on that.

 

[blessedby3]

? for all of you budget gurus how do you do it with the price of gas increasing all the time and groceries seem to rise every time I go into the grocery store.. I coupon if can and price match at Wal Mart when can but I don't live in a big city so I have wal Mart and one grocery to choose from. The internet is our only "luxury" don't have cable TV, just your basic local channels.

I also make a menu out when DH gets paid and I shop for 2 weeks at a time. (DH gets pd every other week)
I make the menu, then write down ingredients I need on my list and stick to it. I shop at Walmart as well, and scan Kroger and Food Lion's ads and have Wmart price match the other stores prices if they are better. I definately coupon. I just cut them out on Sunday afternoon and use as many as match what is on my list.
I shop CVS for my toiletries and get stuff for much of nothing, if not free, with their Extra Care Bucks.
As far as gas, I try and do all my running on one day and stay home as much as possible the rest of the week. I carpool my dd to school, so I have to go out each afternoon to pick her up. If I find I need something, I do it on the way to get dd.

 

[Sagginit]

? for all of you budget gurus how do you do it with the price of gas increasing all the time and groceries seem to rise every time I go into the grocery store.. I coupon if can and price match at Wal Mart when can but I don't live in a big city so I have wal Mart and one grocery to choose from. The internet is our only "luxury" don't have cable TV, just your basic local channels.

believe it or not the best couponing i get is at target these days. they have some pretty good prices on basics in my area so i hit them up for toilettries and groceries by stacking coupons. i combine errands and since i use public transportation to get to work i sometimes use my car one a week which cuts down on gas so i truthfully only feel the pinch when im on vacation and travelling around state. i make it a point to go shopping in my pantry often to use up what i have and match it with items on sale so nothing goes to waste.

a belt in my car is making some noise so i have to take it in this week. that will put a dent in my budget this month (maybe i do have some $$ set aside for minor car repairs). i also now owe a christmas gift now, yes believe it or not i just saw a close relative for the first time since then and they actually brought my xmas gift. i thought we weren't exchanging this year so i didn't bring anything. i hope im able to stay on track with my student loan dumping. my goal of paying off a subloan might get pushed back until june if things keep up.