Debt Dumpers - 2013

[vegasnative]

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.

Try not to get discouraged before you start attacking. You mentioned that all you can afford is $50 a week to put into your savings. That is pretty good. For now just pay the minimum on those cards. Stick that $50 a week into your savings. With you putting in weekly you will see it start to climb faster than you think. Then once the savings is at $1000 keep putting that $50 a week (plus the minimum monthly payment) towards whatever credit card you want to attack first.
Personally I think an $50 a week is more than a lot of people have. You would be doing yourself a big favor to not use the cards anymore, at all though. Otherwise you are just spinning your wheels.

I'm very conscious of where our money goes. I always have been. Even more so now with the price of gas and groceries like you said. I cut coupons for products we use. I make a weekly menu, then I write a grocery list, and try hard to stick to that list. I have found planning our menu for the week saves me money. I know what we will be eating and when, so there is no going out to eat. The price of gas is ridiculous and it is hurting everyone.

 

[piperdown]

Just wanted to provide some moral support to all of you guys. Six years ago, we had 25k+ in credit card debt, a mortgage we could barely make and two car payments.

We made some bad choices in our 20s and 30s, and have spent the last 5+ years learning to live within our means. We cut up the credit cards and didn’t use them for 4 years. It took 3 years to pay them off, and we went another year using cash/debit only to make sure we’d learned to budget. We finished paying for both cars and have until just recently, resisted the new car urge. Just last week, we traded in our 9-year old Subaru for something with much better gas mileage.

Today, we do use credit cards, but only for rewards. I’ve not paid a penny in interest in over 2 years, but have received several hundreds in rewards. I pay the credit cards off on a weekly basis, and I keep a detailed budget spreadsheet. Our savings, retirement, and DD’s college fund are all growing, and we can afford nice vacations every couple of years. I can’t explain the peace of mind we have, knowing we finally have financial security.

Keep going….you will get there!!

 

[jessicaerv]

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.

Here's wishing you happy buffet grazing!!

Sorry to hijack, folks. Back to budget related stuff...

We went last weekend to test drive cars. Our 11 year old Taurus is on its last legs, unfortunately. I really don't want a car payment, but its important to me to have a reliable vehicle, especially since I'm toting around a 3 year old.

So we went to the local Hyundai dealer because their cars are getting good reviews, they have great gas mileage, good warranties and I have friends, acquaintances and family members who love their Hyundais. We drove a Sonata, which was pretty nice, and starts at a decent price. But my DH was insistent we get the back-up camera. Wellllllll, the back-up camera is ONLY available on the highest model and ONLY if you purchase the luxury package on top of the car, so this nice, simple, modest purchase ran up to around $30000!!

Needless to say, we didn't buy. I now have to rethink our budget. Again.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

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.

Also with Target coupons you can stack Target coupons with manufacturers coupons.

 

[Disneefun]

Here's wishing you happy buffet grazing!!

Sorry to hijack, folks. Back to budget related stuff...

We went last weekend to test drive cars. Our 11 year old Taurus is on its last legs, unfortunately. I really don't want a car payment, but its important to me to have a reliable vehicle, especially since I'm toting around a 3 year old.

So we went to the local Hyundai dealer because their cars are getting good reviews, they have great gas mileage, good warranties and I have friends, acquaintances and family members who love their Hyundais. We drove a Sonata, which was pretty nice, and starts at a decent price. But my DH was insistent we get the back-up camera. Wellllllll, the back-up camera is ONLY available on the highest model and ONLY if you purchase the luxury package on top of the car, so this nice, simple, modest purchase ran up to around $30000!!

Needless to say, we didn't buy. I now have to rethink our budget. Again.

If you have to have the camera, get it installed after-market. There are plenty of choices out there and most are simple enough you can install them yourself. Even if you have to pay someone, it's going to be a lot cheaper than buying the luxury package, etc. on the car. Get the base car and get the camera after.

 

[xCourxCorex]

After thinking over some of the responses from a thread I posted a few weeks ago, I'm joining the debt dumping!
First, working on my smallest student loan (which also has the highest interest rate).. Once my April payment goes through, I should only owe about $675 on that one. Once that is paid off in full, I should also have my emergency fund up to $10k, and then the portion I was putting towards the small loan will just go to the other three student loans.
From there on, however I'll be working on whittling down my car loan! The minimum is $333, but I do $350 every month.. and after getting "caught up" on the small student loan and my savings, I'll add in anything that is left over once the other bills are paid for. Since I live at home I don't have too many expenses and can be aggressive with the repayment on the car. My goal is to have it wiped out entirely by March 2014 (or sooner if I can pull in extra income!) I just bought in November 2012, so it would save SO much in interest if I can pull this off

 

[gracie1]

After thinking over some of the responses from a thread I posted a few weeks ago, I'm joining the debt dumping!
First, working on my smallest student loan (which also has the highest interest rate).. Once my April payment goes through, I should only owe about $675 on that one. Once that is paid off in full, I should also have my emergency fund up to $10k, and then the portion I was putting towards the small loan will just go to the other three student loans.
From there on, however I'll be working on whittling down my car loan! The minimum is $333, but I do $350 every month.. and after getting "caught up" on the small student loan and my savings, I'll add in anything that is left over once the other bills are paid for. Since I live at home I don't have too many expenses and can be aggressive with the repayment on the car. My goal is to have it wiped out entirely by March 2014 (or sooner if I can pull in extra income!) I just bought in November 2012, so it would save SO much in interest if I can pull this off

Way to go on your emergency fund!! I have mine built up to $9500 And I should have my taxes back and will pay off my last and final cc next Friday!! Yay!! And I am thinking of booking a 'budget' disney trip in December. It is on my bucket list .... I so want to see Disney decorated for Christmas. So I have been punching numbers around to see if it's atleast doable, and I really think it is! I still have to play with some numbers though.

 

[amyhschwartz]

Ok.. Starting late. I read the first 20 pages and am so motivated by all the good work!

 

[milwaukeemommy]

And I am thinking of booking a 'budget' disney trip in December. It is on my bucket list .... I so want to see Disney decorated for Christmas. So I have been punching numbers around to see if it's atleast doable, and I really think it is! I still have to play with some numbers though.

Oooooo I hope you can go. I hope *I* can go someday during Xmas. My friend has been with her family TWICE during Xmas, she says there is nothing like it!

 

[Malakaiii]

Pay Day!

- ALL bills paid
- Money put away for this month's mortgage (I keep it in a separate account until the 26th when it goes out)
- $500 put away for our impending property taxes (I estimate I'll need $1000 more by June - Note to self: Do this EARLIER next year!)
- $300 put against Visa debt
- $380 transferring from PayPal (I sold some items online), earmarked for our emergency savings fund

PHEW!

 

[fun4me]

We just sat down this evening to pay bills! We checked our accounts and one CC finally reads $0. . We also sent a nice chunk to our only Cc left and put some away in our savings.

I feel like we are so close to having the cc paid off. I hope within 4-6 months. It is hard to say exactly since DH's pay fluctuates but summer time is usually better for him so who knows it may be sooner. Then we we get to tackle our car payment.

 

[Shanan]

It is great to read others stories & know that DH & I are not alone in working to pay off debt. Yesterday we paid off Best Buy card. I just have 4 payments left until my car is paid off. Still have aways to go but I celebrate the accomplishments & start work on other things.

 

[beansmom]

we paid $5k on our citicard this morning...only $3800 to go before it is kicked to the curb.

 

[megsoro]

Came into a freelance job that paid $400. Managed to pay off two small credit cArds! Now to start paying down student loans while I'm still in college!

 

[gracie1]

Came into a freelance job that paid $400. Managed to pay off two small credit cArds! Now to start paying down student loans while I'm still in college!

Way to go on getting 2 cards paid off and getting ahead on the student loans

 

[gracie1]

Update!! I have officially paid off all my credit cards I am out of cc debt I am so happy!!!

As a reward to myself, I am looking at booking a trip to Disney at Christmas, more than likely it will be a solo trip but it has been on my bucket list for years, and this may be the year to do it!!

You all are doing such a great job on paying down your debt!!

Although I am officially out of cc debt, I still have my home equity loan and mortgage. I do plan on putting extra towards my home equity, since there is still 10 years left on it, but I also plan on celebrating with a trip!!

 

[fun4me]

Update!! I have officially paid off all my credit cards I am out of cc debt I am so happy!!!

As a reward to myself, I am looking at booking a trip to Disney at Christmas, more than likely it will be a solo trip but it has been on my bucket list for years, and this may be the year to do it!!

You all are doing such a great job on paying down your debt!!

Although I am officially out of cc debt, I still have my home equity loan and mortgage. I do plan on putting extra towards my home equity, since there is still 10 years left on it, but I also plan on celebrating with a trip!!

Yay! Congrats!.

 

[milwaukeemommy]

Congrats, Gracie!!! That is amazing!!!!

 

[leelee9878]

Update!! I have officially paid off all my credit cards I am out of cc debt I am so happy!!!

As a reward to myself, I am looking at booking a trip to Disney at Christmas, more than likely it will be a solo trip but it has been on my bucket list for years, and this may be the year to do it!!

You all are doing such a great job on paying down your debt!!

Although I am officially out of cc debt, I still have my home equity loan and mortgage. I do plan on putting extra towards my home equity, since there is still 10 years left on it, but I also plan on celebrating with a trip!!

Congrats! Can't wait until I can say the same.

 

[gracie1]

Thanks everyone!! You will all be able to say it!! This thread was a huge help for me. Even though I had my mind set to do it, this thread was definitely what kept me motivated!