Debt Dumpers - 2015

[usd2bmd]

We are in the process of paying off everything as well so I would like to jump in here too.

We have a lot of little things that we have been paying down and several are close to or have just been paid off. But we will need to replace my husbands car in the spring so not all of that "found money" will be able to put on other bills.

I have the debt reduction calculator that I am constantly tweaking and adjusting the payment amounts and we are hoping to have things paid off in a little over a year.

 

[pigletgirl]

I literally JUST made three payments to eliminate two medical bills and my ICR. I also have a loan that is outrageous - 12.99% that I will be paying off in the next day or two.

My BIGGEST problem is starting the snowball and not using this new "found" money for other stuff. Any suggestions? I could make great progress but get sidetracked in wanting to spend it....

Either put it in savings or put this money into other debt you have. Have you switched to an all cash system yet? Dave Ramsey talks about how when we use plastic instead of cash we tend to spend more. Makes total sense.

I'd also like to join. DH and I are doing Financial Peace with our church and it has been a life saver. We made some poor financial choices last year so we are wanting to have a new way we deal with money.

We don't have any credit card debt now, DH has about $8,000 in student loan debt (with an 8% interest rate...) and we have one car with a lien and we owe about $4,200 on it. We have about $12,200 in debt. I have thought about getting a part time job just to get this paid down so we can buy a house and move on with our lives. Debt feels like you are in prison!

 

[gracie1]

I'm so in! 2012 ended horribly for us (DH had surgery and 10 days later DS had a horrific car accident) This meant DH and I were both off work/hardly working for the first 3 months of 2013. We went through all our savings and had to live on credit cards for awhile. I picked up a part time retail job a few months ago and we now have ALL the medical bills paid off. Our goal this year is to tackle the credit card debt and build the savings back up so that I can quit the extra job!

I hope your son is doing ok - as well as your husband. Great job on getting all the medical bills paid!

 

[gracie1]

I am in. I will probably need emotional support after my debt support. I mentioned in the 2014 thread my dd is getting in married in April. Life does throws you curve balls-let's just say, the mother of the groom is just throwing them from Minnesota to Wisconsin. I love my dd-but wow are weddings expensive.

I work at a hotel which also has a wedding venue - wow is all I can say with the cost of a wedding!!!!

 

[Miss Whimsy]

Let's do this!!!

 

[maybebecca]

I'm ready for paying down debt in 2015! Should be able to halfway pay off DH student loans, and his car will be paid off by December next year. We have a WDW trip planned for our first wedding anniversary in May, but we have mostly saved what we need for that already so it shouldn't interfere with paying debt down.

 

[SirDuff]

I literally JUST made three payments to eliminate two medical bills and my ICR. I also have a loan that is outrageous - 12.99% that I will be paying off in the next day or two.

My BIGGEST problem is starting the snowball and not using this new "found" money for other stuff. Any suggestions? I could make great progress but get sidetracked in wanting to spend it....

I really like YNAB for this (though I'm sure other programs give the same effect). Every dollar has a pre-assigned job (assigned when I get it). So, even if I see that my bank account is $X, by looking at my YNAB budget I know that $Y is to put into my RRSP, $Z is for my TFSA, $W is for next year's vacation, and $Q is for my emergency fund, etc. This means that I only have $A to splurge on restaurant food or whatever, not all of $X to see as "found" money.

 

[ilovediznee]

Could the person who has the debt caluculator please tell me where to find it and could someone please tell me what YNAB means?

Thanks- Diane

 

[SirDuff]

Could the person who has the debt caluculator please tell me where to find it and could someone please tell me what YNAB means?

Thanks- Diane

YNAB - You Need A Budget (http://www.youneedabudget.com/). You can get a discount for being a DISer (hopefully someone can find the post that talks about it - I think you need to email the YNAB and tell them you are a DISer and they'll give you the discount).

 

[polishprincess]

Joining in!... Starting off the year with about $4500 in credit card debt and only $1500 in savings, to put into perspective, I live in south florida so my savings is enough to only cover 1 month rent ... I don't plan on losing my job but I need to increase my savings a ton this year just incase the economy takes a hit again!

 

[MAJPLO]

YNAB - You Need A Budget (http://www.youneedabudget.com/). You can get a discount for being a DISer (hopefully someone can find the post that talks about it - I think you need to email the YNAB and tell them you are a DISer and they'll give you the discount).

Really? Definitely interested in this discount if that's the case. I just posted around thanksgiving looking for a deal. This would be great

 

[SirDuff]

Really? Definitely interested in this discount if that's the case. I just posted around thanksgiving looking for a deal. This would be great

The DIS boards search didn't work, but going through Google did.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3245015

 

[JnKinVA]

It looks like YNAB is on sale at Steam for $44.95.

 

[EpiStitch]

I'm in for 2015, and I need to try to be more active on this board than I have been in 2014.

This past year, I finally paid off the first (and smallest with highest interest rate) of 4 student loans. I just made the final payment a week ago! In 2015, I would like to pay off the smallest remaining of the 3 loans, since they are all the same interest rate.

I also accumulated about $3000 in credit card bills due to added expenses. I would ideally like to pay this off before my February statement comes due since I have 0% interest until then. Otherwise, I would like to pay it off as soon as possible since the interest rate is obviously higher than my student loans, and I need to get my spending under better control for the future.

The DIS is the best!!!

 

[AlohaNow]

Woot woot! Ready to go for 2015! Thanks for starting the new thread. To keep me honest and on track, full disclosure here, we owe $7,588 to one single credit card.

DH's student loan will be paid off in September. We have never rushed payments on that because: A. the payment is less than $100 per month B. the interest rate is 2.25% and C. that interest is tax deductible.

My goal for 2015 is to increase income into the household and have all of that 'extra' go toward the debt. I have been working on that in 2014 as well, but it seems when I earn my 'extra money' it goes toward a new coat for a kid, recreation fees for a kid......these darn kids! I have my online sales and my mystery shopping for extra income and I must ramp it all up in 2015!

Note to newbies: full disclosure of debt amounts is not required - we know we are all working toward the same goal and support one another no matter how much or how little is owed! We are more about strategies to get it paid off, not the actual amounts owed. Debt is debt and we are here to slay it!

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[MAJPLO]

I'm supposed to get a stipend from work twice a year and the first half has always come in the November check. Now (I'm pretty sure thanks to our new union) it wasn't in that check so I'm hoping it will be in the December check. Which, idiotically, does not actually post until the second of the new year. That will definitely be going toward paying down a small credit card balance. Yay!

 

[tavettava]

I'm in. I just paid off the last of one of my credit cards (it had $5,000 on at the beginning of 2014.) My goal is to pay off the rest of our credit card debt which is about $3,000 by June. I have been working as many hours as I can the last couple of months.

 

[lvillotta1]

I am all in. I have $3000 in CC debt. A loan for $1000 and $3500 at a furniture store. I also need to max out my Roth IRA $5500 yearly. With my tax return I will fully fund my Roth for 2014. I am currently only working PT as a nurse and I also do some private duty on the side. I plan on picking up extra shifts at the hospital and doing an extra shift of private duty. Gosh life is just getting more expensive daily. UGH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SirDuff]

Note to newbies: full disclosure of debt amounts is not required - we know we are all working toward the same goal and support one another no matter how much or how little is owed! We are more about strategies to get it paid off, not the actual amounts owed. Debt is debt and we are here to slay it!

Absolutely. Frankly, even if one is debt free, this thread could be useful (strategies for paying off debt can be used to increase/start savings).

 

[gracie1]

I'm in. I just paid off the last of one of my credit cards (it had $5,000 on at the beginning of 2014.) My goal is to pay off the rest of our credit card debt which is about $3,000 by June. I have been working as many hours as I can the last couple of months.

Great job on getting your cc paid off!!