Debt Dumpers - 2015

[LilacBarries]

Paid off another cc! Now with our snow ball Evil 4 (aka Target visa) will be paid off in March and we will be credit card free! Unfortunately our snowball has to go to health insurance and not our student loans. Ill be happy to finally have health insurance (we got screwed over and aren't eligible for any of the subsidies) but that money would go a long ways to paying off our student loans.

Such is life I guess, at least the student loans have much much smaller and fixed interest compared to the cc's.

 

[LilacBarries]

We pay our mortgage twice a month. Our mortgage payments were an odd amount and I like even numbers lol so I upped our payments, not by a lot but just a bit and by doing this we shaved nearly 2 years off the amortization! woohoo!!

A kindred spirit! We don't have a mortgage but I do the same thing with other stuff, it drove my DH crazy when we were saving for our cruise.

 

[Ava]

Today I did something I've never done before - put all my credit cards on AutoPay. I've never felt comfortable doing that before, always afraid that I wouldn't have enough in my checking when the auto payment came out, but now that I track everything we buy in YNAB I KNOW that the money will be sitting in my checking account waiting to pay that bill! It's such a great feeling.

We're on track to have all the small CC balances from Dec spending paid by the end of this month, then I can start putting more money towards paying down our two larger balance CCs and into savings. I'm also itching to get our taxes done, just waiting on a couple more 1099s and then I can do them. I was going to use our refund for our one-month buffer, but I may use it to pay off the smaller of our CC debts instead. Then I can snowball that payment towards the larger one. We're doing okay so far budgeting my paychecks weekly, so while a buffer is the ultimate goal, it may make more sense for us to get rid of the CC debt first.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Today I did something I've never done before - put all my credit cards on AutoPay. I've never felt comfortable doing that before, always afraid that I wouldn't have enough in my checking when the auto payment came out, but now that I track everything we buy in YNAB I KNOW that the money will be sitting in my checking account waiting to pay that bill! It's such a great feeling.

We're on track to have all the small CC balances from Dec spending paid by the end of this month, then I can start putting more money towards paying down our two larger balance CCs and into savings. I'm also itching to get our taxes done, just waiting on a couple more 1099s and then I can do them. I was going to use our refund for our one-month buffer, but I may use it to pay off the smaller of our CC debts instead. Then I can snowball that payment towards the larger one. We're doing okay so far budgeting my paychecks weekly, so while a buffer is the ultimate goal, it may make more sense for us to get rid of the CC debt first.

Do they allow you to choose the exact date of the payment? If it's not a 0% cc, it's in your best interest (lol) to make the payment at the very beginning of the billing cycle. Since the monthly interest fee is usually based on the average daily balance, the more days that have the lower balance, the less the interest charge.
Also I would not recommend it for a mortgage. I tried in once several years ago. Our payment is due the 1st of each month. I'd schedule the payment for the day before our last paycheck of the month, typically that's the 24-27th, knowing it takes 2 days to come out of our bank account.
Well, when I let them auto-pay, they would wait until the 10th-12th. That's after the due date. When I called to tell them that's officially late I was told not to worry, there's a 15 day grace period.

So what!!! That's like 2 weeks later than if I were choosing a payment date. If I have the $ sitting ready in my bank account, and I can't do anything else with it, I'd like the credit being made to my mortgage acct ASAP. I'm sure they bilk millions of $ in extra interest from all the people paying their mortgage 2 weeks late every single month.

Sorry to go off but that whole auto-pay thing makes me cringe. My version of auto pay is that I have our mortgage & dh's truck payment scheduled online through the end of 2015. (On my choice of dates.) So unless one of us loses our jobs, or our paydays change, I don't have to keep scheduling payments every month or worry that I missed one.

 

[skeettafic]

Been using YNAB for about 3 weeks now and am loving it. We get paid every 2 weeks and by this time of the pay period (the weekend in between pays) we're usually talking about where to pull money from for gas for the week, groceries, etc but we currently have $1000 still in the checking account with a week to go until payday! Woot! Plus we put another $400 into savings to put ahead for next month.

Really trying to pay attention to all the categories and where our money is going this month so that next month I can really get focused on paying off debt. Didn't get a lot worked on this month because the kids and I were all really sick over the last month and had a ton of co-pay and prescription costs ($500! We had strep, flu, pink eye and bronchitis in this house over that time) BUT none of it was put on credit cards and I now have a category dedicated to saving up for some medical costs so that doesn't happen again!

DH applied yesterday for a job that would mean a move so that may derail some of the debt payment while we prep for that but we are waiting to see. The job would be an approximately $30,000 a year pay increase and a move back to where our families are so keeping our fingers crossed!

 

[gracie1]

Been using YNAB for about 3 weeks now and am loving it. We get paid every 2 weeks and by this time of the pay period (the weekend in between pays) we're usually talking about where to pull money from for gas for the week, groceries, etc but we currently have $1000 still in the checking account with a week to go until payday! Woot! Plus we put another $400 into savings to put ahead for next month.

Really trying to pay attention to all the categories and where our money is going this month so that next month I can really get focused on paying off debt. Didn't get a lot worked on this month because the kids and I were all really sick over the last month and had a ton of co-pay and prescription costs ($500! We had strep, flu, pink eye and bronchitis in this house over that time) BUT none of it was put on credit cards and I now have a category dedicated to saving up for some medical costs so that doesn't happen again!

DH applied yesterday for a job that would mean a move so that may derail some of the debt payment while we prep for that but we are waiting to see. The job would be an approximately $30,000 a year pay increase and a move back to where our families are so keeping our fingers crossed!

Wow, you guys were hit with all kinds of sickness! Hope everyone is better. That is great that you still have that much left over!! Good luck with your husband and the new job! That is a great increase in salary!!!

 

[gracie1]

Paid off another cc! Now with our snow ball Evil 4 (aka Target visa) will be paid off in March and we will be credit card free! Unfortunately our snowball has to go to health insurance and not our student loans. Ill be happy to finally have health insurance (we got screwed over and aren't eligible for any of the subsidies) but that money would go a long ways to paying off our student loans.

Such is life I guess, at least the student loans have much much smaller and fixed interest compared to the cc's.

Congrats on getting another cc paid off . March will be here before you know it and you will be doing the happy dance

 

[Ava]

Do they allow you to choose the exact date of the payment? If it's not a 0% cc, it's in your best interest (lol) to make the payment at the very beginning of the billing cycle.

The two that I'm carrying a balance on are at 0%, and the others are ones I use for everyday purchases and pay in full each month. They're all set to pay on the due date. I've had the 0% ones set that way for a while and never have had a problem with them being paid late. I have the AutoPay set up through the CCs website, not my bank, so whatever date I have it set for is counted as the payment date.

 

[bababear_50]

I am joining in,I overspent on Christmas this year (again).
I have talked to my family and next year we are going to do Christmas differently,instead of me doing all the stockings, 6 of them=$250.00 each
and leaving me to paying off that $1,500 for the next 6 months, we will pull names and I will buy one stocking.
YEAH!.
On top of christmas debt my youngest son just sent me a invitaion to his wedding ,July 1 2015. Destination wedding Mayan Riveria Mexico --Where is that faint smiley when you need it. I need more than 5 months to save for something like this ,never mind the Oh My God what am I going to wear ?,I need to diet,my hair needs highlighting,do I have a decent pair of shoes to wear?, etc etc etc.
Thanks for listening
Hugs Mel

 

[gracie1]

I am joining in,I overspent on Christmas this year (again).
I have talked to my family and next year we are going to do Christmas differently,instead of me doing all the stockings, 6 of them=$250.00 each
and leaving me to paying off that $1,500 for the next 6 months, we will pull names and I will buy one stocking.
YEAH!.
On top of christmas debt my youngest son just sent me a invitaion to his wedding ,July 1 2015. Destination wedding Mayan Riveria Mexico --Where is that faint smiley when you need it. I need more than 5 months to save for something like this ,never mind the Oh My God what am I going to wear ?,I need to diet,my hair needs highlighting,do I have a decent pair of shoes to wear?, etc etc etc.
Thanks for listening
Hugs Mel

Had your son been planning to get married? That's not much notice, especially for a destination wedding. Like you said - you need time to try to save and make all the arrangements!

 

[tellemarie]

We are in!! My husband brought credit card debt into our marriage and though we had paid a good chunk of it off, we had some issues that caused us to run the balances up again. Of course

We've started following the Dave Ramsey method and after a crazy financial intensive the other night we found that we could have our major debts (three credit cards and a loan) paid off by January 2016 as long as all our numbers check out!! We'll be starting Financial Peace Uni this Wednesday as well We definitely need to work on getting our budget to a $0 base, currently we just sort of budget using CalendarBudget. I know we can improve!

Once these are paid off we'll only have the car loan (which we hope to pay off shortly after that) and student debt and we'll be saving for a move to Orlando by the holidays of 2016

Looking forward to reading through the thread and everyone getting the debt dumped!!

 

[bababear_50]

Had your son been planning to get married? That's not much notice, especially for a destination wedding. Like you said - you need time to try to save and make all the arrangements!

Hi Hon
Yes I knew they got engaged last year but they haven't spoken about actually getting married until now. They have invited over 90 guests but realize that maybe 15-20 people will be able to go and they seem ok with that.
I will probably have to use my income tax return money which is normally used to buy my next years ticket to Disney and clear and credit card debt I am carrying. I am very happy for them and I guess Weddings don't happen all the time so I am going to try and be positive about everything.
On a positive note
They have entered a local radio show's contest which is offering a $39.000.00
Wedding/Honeymoon to a lucky couple here in Toronto Canada,the catch is 2 days notice for friends and family,and this is happening in just a few weeks. I so hope they win!
If they make it to the final 2 applicants they will be notified by Feb 6,2015.
So I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for them, am wishing for some pixie dust.

Ok off to budget some accesories, this gal has not worn a dress in years, and with my skin issues it has to be 100% cotton .

Hugs Mel

 

[gracie1]

Hi Hon
Yes I knew they got engaged last year but they haven't spoken about actually getting married until now. They have invited over 90 guests but realize that maybe 15-20 people will be able to go and they seem ok with that.
I will probably have to use my income tax return money which is normally used to buy my next years ticket to Disney and clear and credit card debt I am carrying. I am very happy for them and I guess Weddings don't happen all the time so I am going to try and be positive about everything.
On a positive note
They have entered a local radio show's contest which is offering a $39.000.00
Wedding/Honeymoon to a lucky couple here in Toronto Canada,the catch is 2 days notice for friends and family,and this is happening in just a few weeks. I so hope they win!
If they make it to the final 2 applicants they will be notified by Feb 6,2015.
So I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for them, am wishing for some pixie dust.

Ok off to budget some accesories, this gal has not worn a dress in years, and with my skin issues it has to be 100% cotton .

Hugs Mel

Wow, that would be awesome if they win! Sending tons of pixie dust your way
With the cost of having big weddings this is probably financially cheaper for them - plus you get a vacation out of it!! Are you wearing a mother of the bride gown? Or are they going more beach casual?

 

[bababear_50]

Wow, that would be awesome if they win! Sending tons of pixie dust your way
With the cost of having big weddings this is probably financially cheaper for them - plus you get a vacation out of it!! Are you wearing a mother of the bride gown? Or are they going more beach casual?

I think they are going more Beach Casual, however if they win the contest and get married here they would be going formal.
I am going with casual --I lost a great deal of skin due to an allergic reaction to antibiotics last summer and I still am healing, so comfort,soft and airy is my best friend, also something to cover certain areas of my skin would make me feel better.
Hugs
Mel

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I am joining in,I overspent on Christmas this year (again).
I have talked to my family and next year we are going to do Christmas differently,instead of me doing all the stockings, 6 of them=$250.00 each
and leaving me to paying off that $1,500 for the next 6 months, we will pull names and I will buy one stocking.
YEAH!.
On top of christmas debt my youngest son just sent me a invitaion to his wedding ,July 1 2015. Destination wedding Mayan Riveria Mexico --Where is that faint smiley when you need it. I need more than 5 months to save for something like this ,never mind the Oh My God what am I going to wear ?,I need to diet,my hair needs highlighting,do I have a decent pair of shoes to wear?, etc etc etc.
Thanks for listening
Hugs Mel

Congrats! That's awesome! Disney will always be there but the wedding is so much more special. As for getting a decent pair of shoes, the great part about a beach wedding is you can find some fancy flip flops and a sun dress and a nice hat and be good to go. My BIL/SIL got married on the beach in the Bahamas. She wore a wedding gown but no long train and went barefoot, as did the rest of the wedding party. Dh & I were on our own honeymoon and couldn't attend but I would have loved to go. They had great photos with the sun setting over the ocean behind them.

Formal weddings are just so outrageous anymore. I don't know how people can think of spending $50k+ for a wedding and can barely afford a home.
Here's that faint smiley if you still want him I think you'll be able to pick yourself up, start making a list of priorities, and start working on them.
For me, of all the things on your list, dieting would be the hardest.

As for Christmas, are you saying you would make one stocking and pick from a hat to see who gets it? That just feels unfair imho. Why not just spend much less than $250 each? That way everyone gets a gift and it's still affordable for you. My parents have been giving us $100 probably over 25 years now.(3 of us) Once each of us were married, our spouses got one too. At first I was a bit sad to not have a thoughtful gift to unwrap but once I moved out, I really appreciated it and almost knowing we can count on that helps us out a lot.
Dh is one of 6 so his parents spent much less, usually a $50-60 gift card to a restaurant for both of us.

I would hate to think any of our parents are going into debt to give us large Christmas gifts they couldn't afford.

 

[bababear_50]

Congrats! That's awesome! Disney will always be there but the wedding is so much more special. As for getting a decent pair of shoes, the great part about a beach wedding is you can find some fancy flip flops and a sun dress and a nice hat and be good to go. My BIL/SIL got married on the beach in the Bahamas. She wore a wedding gown but no long train and went barefoot, as did the rest of the wedding party. Dh & I were on our own honeymoon and couldn't attend but I would have loved to go. They had great photos with the sun setting over the ocean behind them.

Formal weddings are just so outrageous anymore. I don't know how people can think of spending $50k+ for a wedding and can barely afford a home.
Here's that faint smiley if you still want him I think you'll be able to pick yourself up, start making a list of priorities, and start working on them.
For me, of all the things on your list, dieting would be the hardest.

As for Christmas, are you saying you would make one stocking and pick from a hat to see who gets it? That just feels unfair imho. Why not just spend much less than $250 each? That way everyone gets a gift and it's still affordable for you. My parents have been giving us $100 probably over 25 years now.(3 of us) Once each of us were married, our spouses got one too. At first I was a bit sad to not have a thoughtful gift to unwrap but once I moved out, I really appreciated it and almost knowing we can count on that helps us out a lot.
Dh is one of 6 so his parents spent much less, usually a $50-60 gift card to a restaurant for both of us.

I would hate to think any of our parents are going into debt to give us large Christmas gifts they couldn't afford.

Hi Hon
Great ideas regarding Christmas,
I will give this some thought.
Today I stressed about getting a dress.
I am short ,,4 foot 11 inches and I am a 1x to a 2x.
I headed out to my local thrift shops and picked up two dresses in kind of a stress buy--total cost 15 dollars. Now neither of them looked special or made me feel pretty. I have not bought a dress in years (15-20) and never new,,money always was needed for my sons. I decided to stop by Laura clothing store as I heard they had larger sizes and a sale was going on.
OH MY GOSH I found the perfect NEW dress, the size is great, the colors are absolutely beautiful and wait -------- it was $185.00 marked down to $59.00
I felt so pretty in it,so I bought it. I can't wait to wear it.
With new shoes and a new purse should be able to do my mom of the groom wedding outfit for under $100.00.

Thanks for listening
Hugs Mel

 

[gracie1]

Hi Hon
Great ideas regarding Christmas,
I will give this some thought.
Today I stressed about getting a dress.
I am short ,,4 foot 11 inches and I am a 1x to a 2x.
I headed out to my local thrift shops and picked up two dresses in kind of a stress buy--total cost 15 dollars. Now neither of them looked special or made me feel pretty. I have not bought a dress in years (15-20) and never new,,money always was needed for my sons. I decided to stop by Laura clothing store as I heard they had larger sizes and a sale was going on.
OH MY GOSH I found the perfect NEW dress, the size is great, the colors are absolutely beautiful and wait -------- it was $185.00 marked down to $59.00
I felt so pretty in it,so I bought it. I can't wait to wear it.
With new shoes and a new purse should be able to do my mom of the groom wedding outfit for under $100.00.

Thanks for listening
Hugs Mel

Wow! You wasted no time that is an awesome deal you got!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow! You wasted no time that is an awesome deal you got!!!

I agree!

 

[Eureka]

Hi Hon Great ideas regarding Christmas, I will give this some thought. Today I stressed about getting a dress. I am short ,,4 foot 11 inches and I am a 1x to a 2x. I headed out to my local thrift shops and picked up two dresses in kind of a stress buy--total cost 15 dollars. Now neither of them looked special or made me feel pretty. I have not bought a dress in years (15-20) and never new,,money always was needed for my sons. I decided to stop by Laura clothing store as I heard they had larger sizes and a sale was going on. OH MY GOSH I found the perfect NEW dress, the size is great, the colors are absolutely beautiful and wait -------- it was $185.00 marked down to $59.00 I felt so pretty in it,so I bought it. I can't wait to wear it. With new shoes and a new purse should be able to do my mom of the groom wedding outfit for under $100.00. Thanks for listening Hugs Mel

Awesome! I love a sale on anything that you'll need to buy anyway. One less thing to stress about now

 

[hmack]

nothing like a blizzard day to catch up on this thread.

My goals haven't gotten too much closer, but January and February are historically tough months for us so it's way, way too in the year to give up.

Goals stay the same - $1,000 in savings and paying off the Jeep.

so:
Jeep balance at the beginning of 2015 was 5,375.36, is now 4,999.00 = $376.36 in progress
savings 21/1000 = 0.021% progress

We were all hit with a major case of Disneyitus and my teen was working magic on the Disney site to price out trips. It's so tempting, but I am determined not to cave until the Jeep is paid off.

Usually when it comes to paying for things like vacations, I get really excited about saving, cooking more at home and couponing and being creative with money (in a good way). But I don't usually feel that way when it comes to paying off debt. I am determined to find my savings mojo and apply that to paying off debt.

I need to visit this thread more often. Your energy, momentum and determination is catching!!

Oh, and I'm really considering adding a direct deposit to my savings account. Thank you to who ever suggested that. I'll probably start small, but after not putting anything in savings for over two years or so, I'm ok with starting small.