Debt Dumpers - 2013

[mum2simon]

My student loans add up to that of a small mortgage

Mine too I have a hard time thinking about it....we need to pay off our cc debt before we can even start to tackle the student loans....mine equal more than half our mortgage When I took them on, I really imagined myself working full-time to pay them back...never thought about those years I would need to be home with small children...

 

[AuroraRora]

Mine too I have a hard time thinking about it....we need to pay off our cc debt before we can even start to tackle the student loans....mine equal more than half our mortgage When I took them on, I really imagined myself working full-time to pay them back...never thought about those years I would need to be home with small children...

You can do it!! Mine are outrageous too, but the more you plow through it and watch the balance go down, the more it motivates you to keep going Have you ever heard of the Dave Ramsey plan, and snowballing? It seems a lot of people who use that are in the same position - took out the loans planning on two full-time incomes and then starting a family or some other major life change got in the way of it.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

Yep! Had babies and ended up a SAHM! NEVER thought that would happen! Student loans...they is what they is. I just pay it every month & pretend it was $$ I never had. If I think about it too much ill go crazy!

 

[aml3679]

So glad I found this thread. I usually look at the vacation forums only. My DH and I are going to take the next 3 years to try to pay off our credit card debt. We bought a new townhouse in 2008 and before that we had very little credit card debt. Sadly, we have put on credit card debt in the 5 figure range. We even placed everything on one card to pay it off and that is now our highest one.

Our 2 daughters got married, we had three grandchildren, went on a 25th anniversary vow renewal cruise, etc.

I am 52 and my husband 55. We need to start saving for retirement. It is hard when we are so much in debt. We both contribute to our work's 403B but we could save so much more if we didn't have over $1000 a month going towards debt alone.

We figured if we vacation at home, eat all of our meals at home (except for a very special occasion), rent red box movies, etc. and really buckle down that we can do it in 3 years.

Thanks for the support. It will be fun and liberating to report our progress.

 

[meggiebeth]

Do you feel comfortable going on vacation when you have debt? Our situation is a lot better, but we will still have debt when we go to WDW.

Every holiday we've had since I can remember we've borrowed a little but paid it back over several months after the trip. I just feel funny going away when we already have debt, and perhaps accumulating more when we go.

We will be able to pay it off after the trip, but I'm still not sure. Do you do things like this?

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[pianokey]

Our cat vet bills have now been paid in full and our cat seems to be doing fine, thank goodness.

So now we are back to our next debt on our snowball, paying off our new windows.

We do go on vacation even with debt. However, we do not add to the debt with it. If we can't pay cash, we don't go. Thankfully we have been blessed to be able to knock out a lot of debt and still vacation and do fun things.

I know Dave Ramsey says to not have any fun spending money until all debt is paid, but you only live once.

 

[ceemys]

Thank goodness summer is almost over. Between daycare and extra food, I have spent over $1,000 extra this summer. Glad to get back on track and keeping my money to myself! Last daycare check this Friday. I feel like I have been on a spiral this summer.

 

[pryncess527]

I know Dave Ramsey says to not have any fun spending money until all debt is paid, but you only live once.

I'm all about the snowball, but if you NEVER have any fun, it's more likely you'll just burn out. I think Dave means well and many people need his harsh approach, but just as many others benefit from a more moderate approach.

We are still doing well with our debt snowball. If things go according to plan over the next 2 weeks, we will have our CC totally paid off. That just leaves us with the HELOC that I want to get paid off before we can start turning our snowball towards a Disney vacation!!!!!

Our family did get slightly derailed however. I posted before that we lost our beagle of 12+ years this past June. It's been a sad and lonely house having only one dog, so this weekend we went to a beagle rescue adoption event with the intention of bringing home a male puppy (which we had budgeted for). However, my sneaky husband talked me into getting TWO puppies!!! (which we had NOT budgeted for!). We used some windfall from recent ebay sales to pay the adoption fee for the second puppy and we are prepared to handle the extra vet bills, so I think it was the right choice for our family. and YAY for PUPPIES!!!!!!!

Meet Huckleberry & Matilda

 

[peel]

Do you feel comfortable going on vacation when you have debt? Our situation is a lot better, but we will still have debt when we go to WDW.

Every holiday we've had since I can remember we've borrowed a little but paid it back over several months after the trip. I just feel funny going away when we already have debt, and perhaps accumulating more when we go.

We will be able to pay it off after the trip, but I'm still not sure. Do you do things like this?

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I know I would never stick to any kind of plan if it was so harsh that it put off doing anything fun for as long as I owe money. This is why I'm liking YNAB so much. I can allocate a certain amount toward fun things every month, and then I won't feel guilty using it when the time comes because I've built it into my budget.

I appreciate that people can follow the DR plan and be happy knowing they'll be in the black sooner, but you NEVER know what is going to happen in life, and you only have one shot to create experiences and memories. If my whole life was spent waiting to be in the perfect financial position to do things that will be enriching and rewarding, I would feel I wasted precious time.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Thank goodness summer is almost over. Between daycare and extra food, I have spent over $1,000 extra this summer. Glad to get back on track and keeping my money to myself! Last daycare check this Friday. I feel like I have been on a spiral this summer.

I've kept track of my medical for my flex account. We've had several doctor visits. Plus dd's eye exam, glasses . Total of about $450 DD still has eye appt for her contacts so that will be added money. This summer has been no fun! We've stayed home more so atleast the creditcards arent charged up like previous summers. Not sure how much $$ on fastfood because I didnt cook much this summer with so much going on.

 

[Doodlebug939]

So glad I found this thread. I usually look at the vacation forums only. My DH and I are going to take the next 3 years to try to pay off our credit card debt. We bought a new townhouse in 2008 and before that we had very little credit card debt. Sadly, we have put on credit card debt in the 5 figure range. We even placed everything on one card to pay it off and that is now our highest one.

Our 2 daughters got married, we had three grandchildren, went on a 25th anniversary vow renewal cruise, etc.

I am 52 and my husband 55. We need to start saving for retirement. It is hard when we are so much in debt. We both contribute to our work's 403B but we could save so much more if we didn't have over $1000 a month going towards debt alone.

We figured if we vacation at home, eat all of our meals at home (except for a very special occasion), rent red box movies, etc. and really buckle down that we can do it in 3 years.

Thanks for the support. It will be fun and liberating to report our progress.

Life happens to all of us and before you know it the debt is high. We have all been there and some of us are still in the same boat as you. One good thing is that your life events have been great ones.

When I started at the beginning of the year I paid the minimums on all of my debt and then every penny I could on a smaller bill. Within a month or two I was able to pay off something really small but to me it was a huge mental boost. Then I snowballed that into the next payment. This method works out great for me but it really is what works best for you.

Some weekends I get so frustrated that we are stuck at home because I put an extra $50 on a bill but when the statement rolls around again I feel better. It is all about finding what works for you. Three years is a long time (I will be right there with you) so I would consider breaking it down to one month goals or 6 month goals to keep the motivation high.

Looking forward to getting to know you on the Debt Dumpers board.

 

[OhMari]

I'm all about the snowball, but if you NEVER have any fun, it's more likely you'll just burn out. I think Dave means well and many people need his harsh approach, but just as many others benefit from a more moderate approach.

We are still doing well with our debt snowball. If things go according to plan over the next 2 weeks, we will have our CC totally paid off. That just leaves us with the HELOC that I want to get paid off before we can start turning our snowball towards a Disney vacation!!!!!

Our family did get slightly derailed however. I posted before that we lost our beagle of 12+ years this past June. It's been a sad and lonely house having only one dog, so this weekend we went to a beagle rescue adoption event with the intention of bringing home a male puppy (which we had budgeted for). However, my sneaky husband talked me into getting TWO puppies!!! (which we had NOT budgeted for!). We used some windfall from recent ebay sales to pay the adoption fee for the second puppy and we are prepared to handle the extra vet bills, so I think it was the right choice for our family. and YAY for PUPPIES!!!!!!!

Meet Huckleberry & Matilda

Hello Hucleberry & Matilda.
I don't know if I could get another dog. My son keeps telling me to get another one, because our dog is so lonely. Our "George" will be 2 in September. Do the dogs really interact that much together?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

OMG, please help me convince DH to continue with the snowball method instead of tackling the higher interest rate/higher balance cards first.
the man is driving me nuts.

He does not see that I'm trying to make sure we have enough money to cover the $833 a month for the kids tuition. If I tackle the higher interest stuff first, I would need to throw several hundred extra dollars a month on them to get the balance down. I don't have that flexibility yet.

 

[AuroraRora]

Pianokey, so glad to hear your kitty is doing fine again, that must be such a huge relief!! And pryncess, OMG what cute pups!! I wish I had time for a dog, they are just too sweet!!

Snowballing is something that really helps me - I started the Dave Ramsey plan around April-ish and I've paid about $12k towards loans that previous to that, had just been maintaining the same high balance due to me paying the minimums and a tiny amount of that going to the principle but most of it just covering interest. I follow the DR plan pretty religiously but I didn't have too much to give up in the first place because I don't have kids, expensive hobbies etc - I can definitely see how it could be hard to justify missing out on things when you have children and don't want to miss out on great experiences with them. If I only paid the minimums on my student loans, it could take another 25+ years to pay them off, but if I live a super frugal life I could pay them off in as little as 3 years, so for me it's worth it to skip great experiences now, so I can be debt-free by 30 and THEN enjoy life with my kids. I do have some treats, but it's little things like a frappucino or a movie, instead of major things.

The only thing I've been cutting back on but not skipping is my Disney vacations for this year. Before I started the DR plan I'd already bought an AP on a March trip and had a trip booked for May with plans to go in October. For me, I'm ok with the compromise of staying value, eating breakfast in the room etc, but being able to still go. I don't have much family and going to WDW is my version of going home to visit the family or whatever (but we're not renewing the AP's when they run out, thanks to our debt boooo)

I'm so grateful for this thread and that we can all support each other - it seems like so often, debt is just ignored and not talked about and there's no-one else in my life I can really discuss this with

 

[pryncess527]

Hello Hucleberry & Matilda.
I don't know if I could get another dog. My son keeps telling me to get another one, because our dog is so lonely. Our "George" will be 2 in September. Do the dogs really interact that much together?

Yes!!!

Especially as puppies. This is the first time we've gotten two puppies at the same time, and I must say while it's more to keep an eye on, it does create less work in some other ways. They do a great job of wearing each other out.

Now, since you already have one dog, adding a second one to the pack is a bit different. That's how we did it last time -- we got Annabelle in 2000 as a puppy and then a year later got Doc (also as a puppy). Doc is the dog we just lost to cancer. I'd say it took Annabelle a solid year to warm up to him, so they didn't play at all the first year. After that though, they became good friends and would have fun wrestling. I think she came to really appreciate having another dog at home with her when we were at work.

She does NOT care for the new puppies, but I'm sure just like she warmed up to Doc over time, she'll warm up to the new ones.

 

[jenny105]

The wheels on my debt dumping train have fallen off over the past couple months. Too many things crept up that had to be paid for and my debt has gone up. I finally have a little breathing room with an extra check coming in August (it falls so we get paid 3 times during the month) so I need to get back on track!

 

[Doodlebug939]

Pianokey, so glad to hear your kitty is doing fine again, that must be such a huge relief!! And pryncess, OMG what cute pups!! I wish I had time for a dog, they are just too sweet!!

Snowballing is something that really helps me - I started the Dave Ramsey plan around April-ish and I've paid about $12k towards loans that previous to that, had just been maintaining the same high balance due to me paying the minimums and a tiny amount of that going to the principle but most of it just covering interest. I follow the DR plan pretty religiously but I didn't have too much to give up in the first place because I don't have kids, expensive hobbies etc - I can definitely see how it could be hard to justify missing out on things when you have children and don't want to miss out on great experiences with them. If I only paid the minimums on my student loans, it could take another 25+ years to pay them off, but if I live a super frugal life I could pay them off in as little as 3 years, so for me it's worth it to skip great experiences now, so I can be debt-free by 30 and THEN enjoy life with my kids. I do have some treats, but it's little things like a frappucino or a movie, instead of major things.

The only thing I've been cutting back on but not skipping is my Disney vacations for this year. Before I started the DR plan I'd already bought an AP on a March trip and had a trip booked for May with plans to go in October. For me, I'm ok with the compromise of staying value, eating breakfast in the room etc, but being able to still go. I don't have much family and going to WDW is my version of going home to visit the family or whatever (but we're not renewing the AP's when they run out, thanks to our debt boooo)

I'm so grateful for this thread and that we can all support each other - it seems like so often, debt is just ignored and not talked about and there's no-one else in my life I can really discuss this with

I can totally understand the importance of balancing debt with Disney. If I had AP I would be using them as much as I could in the next year.

I had the same issue as you did. I used to just pay minimums and keep on trucking. I was never behind on anything so that was good but I was just not getting anywhere.

My student loan are something that I am tackling next year (hoping by next summer) and until then I keep on grooving out extra payments to the credit card. I have made such progress But I still have a long road ahead. Now I feel that I have the tools to move forward and have really learned from my mistakes.

Currently I am paying a little extra on my "focus card" On target to have it paid off by the end of August. (A little later than I was reaching for) But that is because I am buying some school clothes for the kids BUT paying cash which is a first. Normally I would put it on the card and pay it as the bills arrived. So I am getting somewhere not fast but I am getting there.

 

[AJ1983]

For whoever asked if two dogs really interact that much response is YES! I have 3 dogs, all from the same littler, acquired at 7 weeks, 7 months, and 10 months of age respectively.The difference between our first dog when he was alone versus when he was joined by his brothers is incredible. He is way less dependent on us because he has his brothers to play with. They hate to be separated AT all..heaven forbid if I have to take one to the vet and leave the others behind! Also, the cost of having two dogs is not much more than having one, because you can buy things like food and treats in bulk. Two dogs are also good if you are gone for the day, as we are from 9-5 M-F..makes us feel better knowing that he is not alone all day.

One thing to consider is can you afford potential vet costs for 2 dogs. So far, each of mine has managed to have a non-routine, semi-emergency procedure which has cost hundreds of dollars each (but they are worth it!)

 

[ilovediznee]

As some of you know, I work FT and also PT. Due to some changes at work I was able to quit my PT job and still meet all my bills with a little extra - YAHOO so I'm in week three of only working my FT job. THEN.....had to have a sleep study and just got diagnosed with Ostructive Sleep Apnea so I will have a $500 deductible and also a monthy fee for the CPAP and supplies - YUCK! And then we took DD to the orthodontist today for a consultation. Poor thing has way too many teeth, just like me, so she will have to have at least four out and then braces - about $5000 total but $4000 after insurance at a rate of about $160 per month. So now I just might have to go back to my PT job just to be able to pay for the sleep apnea stuff and the braces - YIKES!!!!!

 

[OhMari]

OMG, please help me convince DH to continue with the snowball method instead of tackling the higher interest rate/higher balance cards first.
the man is driving me nuts.

He does not see that I'm trying to make sure we have enough money to cover the $833 a month for the kids tuition. If I tackle the higher interest stuff first, I would need to throw several hundred extra dollars a month on them to get the balance down. I don't have that flexibility yet.

Does your dh read the DIS? Your dh is probably freaking out how much interest is being charged. Can you maybe switch that card to another card with free interest for a year? It would give you some breathing room at least.

Yes!!!

Especially as puppies. This is the first time we've gotten two puppies at the same time, and I must say while it's more to keep an eye on, it does create less work in some other ways. They do a great job of wearing each other out.

Now, since you already have one dog, adding a second one to the pack is a bit different. That's how we did it last time -- we got Annabelle in 2000 as a puppy and then a year later got Doc (also as a puppy). Doc is the dog we just lost to cancer. I'd say it took Annabelle a solid year to warm up to him, so they didn't play at all the first year. After that though, they became good friends and would have fun wrestling. I think she came to really appreciate having another dog at home with her when we were at work.

She does NOT care for the new puppies, but I'm sure just like she warmed up to Doc over time, she'll warm up to the new ones.

Hmm. Our little guy pretty much sleeps all day. When I get home at 3 he wants to play till 10 at nite because he sleeps all day. Maybe this would help if they played with each other during the day and not pass out waiting for everyone to come home. People love to tell me, they see my dog sleeping on the couch in the front window. My dh tells me I am raising a cat, because he likes sitting up there and looking out all day.