Debt Dumpers - 2015

[Tardisblue]

DW and I were on track to have everything (CC and cars) paid in full by May 2016, so a little over a year from now. We have paid down about 27% of our CC debt since November and have been staying focused, using envelopes, the whole deal. Found out last week about a major transition with the company we both work for so we've shifted from paying down CCs to stacking our emergency fund as quickly as possible over the next few months as we find out what's going to happen.

 

[dayvewc]

Chances are good our property taxes are triple also.
Teachers in our district generally earn 60-90k per year depending on their degree and years of experience. That $60/hr was 5 years ago for math. We'll see what the going rate is now for a science tutor.

Wow, I'm nearing the top end of my bracket (Bachelors +15, w/ 12 years in-class experience). That maxes out at just under $50k/year (starts at about $35k/year for my district, which is nice. State minimum starts at $29k/year). If I finished my masters, the max only increases to $55k/year. Maybe worth it, but another 18-24 months doing night classes on top of regular school day is not something I'm anxious to experience, again. And the pay differential for the years experience is currently less than the cost of tuition per year. It would wind up being a 2 year pay reduction, and then 3 years past that to catch-up.

Hi everyone!!!!! You are all just chuggin' along! Great work everyone! I just had to stop by and shout YAY!!!! I paid off my two cards with my bonus! I did charge some new clothes but have the money to pay that off right away. It saved me money to do it that way so I'll pay those off as well tomorrow. Sometimes a girl just needs a new dress! I will be working on paying down 2 another cards monthly and then paying all but one off with my next bonus in July.

Also, has anyone ever not felt secure in their job if they've been there a long time? I've been at my current place for more than 3 years and until yesterday never felt secure. I about lost it due to a rude coworker (he thinks he's funny but really he's just rude) and sent an email to my bosses. One of them, the VP, sat down with me and helped offer solutions and then told me I was important and valued. It felt nice! I did not get this picture during my annual review so I wasn't sure why he didn't say it then. No way does this impact my desire to save but now I don't feel like I'm drowning. Now I feel like if I save its to save to save, not to save my butt from a fire LOL. Not sure if that makes sense but thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Now I just need you to all smack me on the nose and tell me NO DISNEY this year. I keep trying to sneak a trip in!

Way to go!! And yes, every now and then we all just need something new. But since you bought the new dress ... NO DISNEY FOR YOU!!

DW and I were on track to have everything (CC and cars) paid in full by May 2016, so a little over a year from now. We have paid down about 27% of our CC debt since November and have been staying focused, using envelopes, the whole deal. Found out last week about a major transition with the company we both work for so we've shifted from paying down CCs to stacking our emergency fund as quickly as possible over the next few months as we find out what's going to happen.

Congratulations? Good job on getting the debt paid down, and hopefully the transition at work will not be too bad or disruptive. Look on the bright(ish) side. If everything goes well, then you'll have a built up emergency fund that you can either keep or use as major lump sum payment to CC's. And if it doesn't go well, you'll have a built up emergency fund to help prevent you from needing to charge up new debt.

 

[Angeejoe]

Doing well here... paying over the minimum on all of my cards each month (some by double or more) and waiting for the sale of my house to close in about six weeks. At that point I will pay two cards off in full and use the remainder of the proceeds for a downpayment on a used vehicle. Hope everyone else is doing well!

That is so awesome! Congratulations!

We are hanging in there. Back from our trip with no added debt. Yay!
Yesterday we got our termite treatment done and he did spot some structural damage in the crawlspace. It's not awful and dh is very handy so he can do the work but it will probably cost around $500 in materials. The exterminator is a friend of dh and said it's not urgent but should be done before the heat of summer makes it an even more uncomfortable job.

Ds14 needs a tutor for science in order to pass for the year. If he has to take it again next year in addition to biology, it would really be a struggle for him. If it's anything like ds18's math tutor back in 7th grade, they get around $60/hr. It's expensive but this would be $ well spent imho.
We are around 5 weeks away from paying off this next cc. Dh will have an extra shift of OT this week so that will help out dealing with these bumps in the road.

Just keep swimming!

That's great that your DH can fix the damages with only material expenses!

I agree that investments in kids education is always worth it

That's so cool with only 5 wks to have another card paid off!

Hi everyone!!!!! You are all just chuggin' along! Great work everyone! I just had to stop by and shout YAY!!!! I paid off my two cards with my bonus! I did charge some new clothes but have the money to pay that off right away. It saved me money to do it that way so I'll pay those off as well tomorrow. Sometimes a girl just needs a new dress! I will be working on paying down 2 another cards monthly and then paying all but one off with my next bonus in July.

Also, has anyone ever not felt secure in their job if they've been there a long time? I've been at my current place for more than 3 years and until yesterday never felt secure. I about lost it due to a rude coworker (he thinks he's funny but really he's just rude) and sent an email to my bosses. One of them, the VP, sat down with me and helped offer solutions and then told me I was important and valued. It felt nice! I did not get this picture during my annual review so I wasn't sure why he didn't say it then. No way does this impact my desire to save but now I don't feel like I'm drowning. Now I feel like if I save its to save to save, not to save my butt from a fire LOL. Not sure if that makes sense but thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Now I just need you to all smack me on the nose and tell me NO DISNEY this year. I keep trying to sneak a trip in!

I totally get that you need a little something special for yourself, especially after being so good & using your bonus on your debt!

DW and I were on track to have everything (CC and cars) paid in full by May 2016, so a little over a year from now. We have paid down about 27% of our CC debt since November and have been staying focused, using envelopes, the whole deal. Found out last week about a major transition with the company we both work for so we've shifted from paying down CCs to stacking our emergency fund as quickly as possible over the next few months as we find out what's going to happen.

Smart idea to pad the emergency fund, if you don't need it down the line then you can use it for debt! Great job in paying down 27%!

 

[Angeejoe]

Today was my dreaded tax day (I sent it yesterday)where I had to hit up the emergency fund to pay this unexpected bill, but at least I had it. Now I need to work on building it back up, so I pick up 6 extra shifts total over the next 3 wks & hope to put it all back in the emergency fund!

 

[Dentam]

Got my state refund check today - only a little over $100 but I'm putting it toward my highest interest rate cc.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow, I'm nearing the top end of my bracket (Bachelors +15, w/ 12 years in-class experience). That maxes out at just under $50k/year (starts at about $35k/year for my district, which is nice. State minimum starts at $29k/year). If I finished my masters, the max only increases to $55k/year. Maybe worth it, but another 18-24 months doing night classes on top of regular school day is not something I'm anxious to experience, again. And the pay differential for the years experience is currently less than the cost of tuition per year. It would wind up being a 2 year pay reduction, and then 3 years past that to catch-up.

Don't let the numbers discourage you. I'm sure it's proportional to COL in your area. Look at what NYC teachers make. It sounds ridonculous to the rest of the country but their housing costs are off the hook.

Dh & I looked into moving to FL back in the early 90's before we had kids. Salaries were half of ours at the time but then again houses & property taxes were too.

 

[Princesspolly0110]

Okay guys. Joining in. I'm 23 years old with far too much debt. I had to buy a car last month which has sent me into a panic but I'm trying to remember it's an investment. I have 4700 hundred dollars on one credit card, 2000 on another, 10k in student loan debt and 15,570 in car. Kinda needing some encouragement

 

[gracie1]

Okay guys. Joining in. I'm 23 years old with far too much debt. I had to buy a car last month which has sent me into a panic but I'm trying to remember it's an investment. I have 4700 hundred dollars on one credit card, 2000 on another, 10k in student loan debt and 15,570 in car. Kinda needing some encouragement

Glad you are joining our thread! Take some time and read back through our posts, as well as 2014 - you will get ideas and remember we are always here for support! Don't get discouraged - we have all been there when we have taken one step forward and then something happens and you take two steps behind. It makes us mad but we've all been there and we normally vent to each other.

 

[Princesspolly0110]

Glad you are joining our thread! Take some time and read back through our posts, as well as 2014 - you will get ideas and remember we are always here for support! Don't get discouraged - we have all been there when we have taken one step forward and then something happens and you take two steps behind. It makes us mad but we've all been there and we normally vent to each other.

I came to work today totally dreading it. My goal this week way to pay off my hotel room for our trip in May (debt or not, everyone deserves a break!) with tips and one of my so so amazing clients GAVE ME THE MONEY TO PAY OFF OUR ROOM! It almost makes me tear up thinking how generous people are who want to make our lives easier. It is a total blessing.

 

[Angeejoe]

Okay guys. Joining in. I'm 23 years old with far too much debt. I had to buy a car last month which has sent me into a panic but I'm trying to remember it's an investment. I have 4700 hundred dollars on one credit card, 2000 on another, 10k in student loan debt and 15,570 in car. Kinda needing some encouragement

Welcome aboard! I find reading this thread keeps me motivated. Everyone here's doing such a great job, it inspires me.

Speaking of a little extra, last month my boss sent me to a day conference, it was 291 miles round trip. I asked my boss after & I was entitled to mileage. I got a $167 check in the mail today!

 

[LilacBarries]

Haven't been on here in a while ( since the boards got updated and the app no longer loads on my iPad) so I'll have to go back and see what's new around here.

Just popping on to say we are officially credit card debt free! Unfortunately a week before we were set to pay off the last one we found out we have a costly repair on our 11 year old car. Oh Murphy's. We've decided to save up over the next few months for something cheap we can buy in cash. I'm going down to part time in the fall so I van go back to school for my teaching credential so we have a pretty strict timeline and upcoming expenses (we determined not to take out anymore student loans). Surprisingly this isn't stressing me out as much as I thought, I guess having better control and understanding of our finances helps a lot.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Haven't been on here in a while ( since the boards got updated and the app no longer loads on my iPad) so I'll have to go back and see what's new around here.

Just popping on to say we are officially credit card debt free! Unfortunately a week before we were set to pay off the last one we found out we have a costly repair on our 11 year old car. Oh Murphy's. We've decided to save up over the next few months for something cheap we can buy in cash. I'm going down to part time in the fall so I van go back to school for my teaching credential so we have a pretty strict timeline and upcoming expenses (we determined not to take out anymore student loans). Surprisingly this isn't stressing me out as much as I thought, I guess having better control and understanding of our finances helps a lot.

That's awesome! Congratulations. I'm so looking forward to the day I can say this as well.

Okay guys. Joining in. I'm 23 years old with far too much debt. I had to buy a car last month which has sent me into a panic but I'm trying to remember it's an investment. I have 4700 hundred dollars on one credit card, 2000 on another, 10k in student loan debt and 15,570 in car. Kinda needing some encouragement

Welcome!
This thread (and ones for the past 2 years along with reading about snowballing debt) have been a huge inspiration to me. Instead of avoiding it, I'm confronting it all and kicking butt. I'm paying off my 9th cc at this time.
With a strong will, it can be done!

 

[gracie1]

I came to work today totally dreading it. My goal this week way to pay off my hotel room for our trip in May (debt or not, everyone deserves a break!) with tips and one of my so so amazing clients GAVE ME THE MONEY TO PAY OFF OUR ROOM! It almost makes me tear up thinking how generous people are who want to make our lives easier. It is a total blessing.

Wow, that was nice! What kind of work do you do?

 

[gracie1]

Haven't been on here in a while ( since the boards got updated and the app no longer loads on my iPad) so I'll have to go back and see what's new around here.

Just popping on to say we are officially credit card debt free! Unfortunately a week before we were set to pay off the last one we found out we have a costly repair on our 11 year old car. Oh Murphy's. We've decided to save up over the next few months for something cheap we can buy in cash. I'm going down to part time in the fall so I van go back to school for my teaching credential so we have a pretty strict timeline and upcoming expenses (we determined not to take out anymore student loans). Surprisingly this isn't stressing me out as much as I thought, I guess having better control and understanding of our finances helps a lot.

That is fantastic!! Don't you just love Murphy . He always pops up at the worst times! It is funny how once you get control and understanding of the finances that you don't freak out when something unexpected hits - you just roll with it and readjust the budget

 

[dtr_angel]

Hey guys, I'm mostly a lurker but wanted to pop in and get some opinions on something.

DH and I bought our house in 2009. The mortgage/taxes/insurance is super low but the house is small and old so we never planned on being here very long. We've been putting off some upgrades/repairs because of that. Last year we decided we actually were content with our house and decided to start putting some money into it to make it more 'ours'. We have a list of things we really want to do to the house to feel more settled. Most things are not needs but wants. We've done a few projects as we could cash flow them but at this rate it's going to take 10 years to have it all done and by then we might have moved!

We obviously don't have the ~$10k we need to just pay cash for it. I'm wondering if we should take on more debt and if we do, what is the best kind of loan to get for this type of project? I don't know that much about different types of loans. Looks like a personal loan is out as the interest rate is $$$.

We owe just over $6k on a car loan. It still has 2 years left on it but I'm ahead and it will be paid off this year. We also have DH's student loans. To be honest I'm not in a hot hurry to pay them off. The interest & payment is really low. We live on less than what DH makes and when I work it usually goes towards vacations (just one Disney trip for us in July this year so we can put extra towards home improvements) DH is going to engine school this year and will be making more money in the near future (but never be home whomp whomp whomp)

I know the best answer is to probably just do what we are doing - one set of windows/small project at a time, etc and not take on debt but I would just really love to have it all done.

 

[Dentam]

Maybe a home equity loan?

 

[gracie1]

Hey guys, I'm mostly a lurker but wanted to pop in and get some opinions on something.

DH and I bought our house in 2009. The mortgage/taxes/insurance is super low but the house is small and old so we never planned on being here very long. We've been putting off some upgrades/repairs because of that. Last year we decided we actually were content with our house and decided to start putting some money into it to make it more 'ours'. We have a list of things we really want to do to the house to feel more settled. Most things are not needs but wants. We've done a few projects as we could cash flow them but at this rate it's going to take 10 years to have it all done and by then we might have moved!

We obviously don't have the ~$10k we need to just pay cash for it. I'm wondering if we should take on more debt and if we do, what is the best kind of loan to get for this type of project? I don't know that much about different types of loans. Looks like a personal loan is out as the interest rate is $$$.

We owe just over $6k on a car loan. It still has 2 years left on it but I'm ahead and it will be paid off this year. We also have DH's student loans. To be honest I'm not in a hot hurry to pay them off. The interest & payment is really low. We live on less than what DH makes and when I work it usually goes towards vacations (just one Disney trip for us in July this year so we can put extra towards home improvements) DH is going to engine school this year and will be making more money in the near future (but never be home whomp whomp whomp)

I know the best answer is to probably just do what we are doing - one set of windows/small project at a time, etc and not take on debt but I would just really love to have it all done.

You should look into a home equity loan or line of credit. I did a home equity loan as well for home items.

 

[Princesspolly0110]

Wow, that was nice! What kind of work do you do?

I'm a hairstylist. This particular client and I have a personal relationship as well as a client/stylist one.

 

[bcwife76]

@dtr_angel I would also recommend a HELOC. When we bought our current house we had a personal line of credit (considered unsecured debt) and we switched it to a HELOC (considered secured debt) and we cut our interest rate in half from 7% to 3.5%. Make your house work for YOU, which it sounds like it is doing for you

 

[Eureka]

Hi all, it's been awhile. Life has been busy and it takes way longer than I'd like to catch up on my favorite websites. We are doing well. Last year we paid off our two credit cards and unfortunately, let them creep back up. We also had some expenses, like a bathroom repair that needed doing to the tune of $7k. Well, got that done and paid for without the plastic this winter. Then it was time to tackle the credit cards again. Just paid off the $1400 one today

Our next plan is to get the larger one paid off, and it will take while for a couple reasons. We are not getting a tax refund this year. We owed a bit in federal and will get a bit back from state, but we'll be netting less than $100, so it's nothing to speak of. We also have a couple car and home repairs that need doing. We both have some money going straight to savings each paycheck, so that's what we'll use for these expenses. It should be about a month's worth of savings. Then we can add to the snowball we'll have from paying the one card off to pay off the other. We always seem to have good intentions and get pretty far, only to end up putting stuff on the cards again. I'd like to think this is the last time. We'll see....DH is all about planning for the future, and we do have a good emergency fund etc, but he likes living well now too.