Debt Dumpers - 2016

[ruadisneyfan2]

The only place it would affect me is that I intentionally have excess held out on taxes to pay for my sorting break trips. I generally have to file by the first of March to get my refund in time.

On a different note, just got checked in to Disney Grand California Resort. Aaaahhhh my 4 days of Disney Land 60th celebration have begun! (And I have Disney GC I've been collecting through Target to pay for everything, so should not cost me a penny from here out. The San Diego portion of this trip was a different story)

Have a great time! I've always wanted to go to DL.

 

[Dentam]

Replaced the part on my car today. Engine started up fine afterward and no warning lights are on. I should know from driving it over the next couple of days if that fixed the issue I was having with accelerating.

 

[DnA2010]

So doing my end of month recap as all pay checks are in for the month- I have a spreadsheet where I have all of our estimated outgoings categorized, and then our pay (mine is the same as salary but DH's varies a lot based on how many hours pay he gets with the ambulance service), this month I added a forecast of where I estimated we would be at the end of the month which I did mid month, and now I just reconciled it and I was only off by a bit, which is great. I don't track the actual spends specifically, just look at the overalls. I have it forecasted through to the spring, so will be neat to see how it goes. All going well, we will do a spring vacation before I go back to work from maternity leave.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Alright guys, really gotta get back on the wagon this month. DH and I waaaaay overspent this past month. We had his bonus as a buffer, but I don't want to rely on that. Our eating out expenses were just out of control. DH mentioned they were high yesterday and said he wants to get better about eating out. I am going to try to help with cooking dinner some now that I'll be getting home from work earlier than him. Cooking is.... not my forte you might say (better make sure the homeowners insurance is paid up before turning the oven on! It's hard to say no to him when he says he wants to get take out instead of cook since he always cooks, so hopefully we can curb that if I help out.

 

[Ngwira]

Alright guys, really gotta get back on the wagon this month. DH and I waaaaay overspent this past month. We had his bonus as a buffer, but I don't want to rely on that. Our eating out expenses were just out of control. DH mentioned they were high yesterday and said he wants to get better about eating out. I am going to try to help with cooking dinner some now that I'll be getting home from work earlier than him. Cooking is.... not my forte you might say (better make sure the homeowners insurance is paid up before turning the oven on! It's hard to say no to him when he says he wants to get take out instead of cook since he always cooks, so hopefully we can curb that if I help out.

How is your new job coming along?

 

[DisneyMandC]

How is your new job coming along?

I start next Monday! Friday was my last day at my old job, and I took this week off so I am busy deep cleaning our house today! I'm really looking forward to it though. My former boss is very excited that I'll be working in the same building again, though not for him, so I'm excited to go see him and say hello next week too.

 

[amalone1013]

Looking through the end of month stuff... oops.

We did the trial month with YNAB and really liked it. Also I like the direct import, because my fiance doesn't always see how much everything adds up to - especially since we have separate finances but we put them all into one budget.

The downsides - he underestimated his gas, and our dining out went way over (though part of that is because my future in-laws, who we live with, are remodeling and we went a week with no kitchen sink; they are less into planning ahead for that than I am, so we were lazy and ate out). I had breakfast at Starbucks 4 mornings in a row ($30 usually it's a 2-3 times a month treat, and just a coffee, no food). Aaaaand I took a last minute roadtrip home for the long weekend, so some additional spending with friends/family and picking up things we can't get where we live and gas money.

The upside is we started budgeting June right before I left for the weekend, and after putting the same numbers from May (though gas definitely needs to change!), and doing the amounts the program said we needed for our goals (wedding/honeymoon/possibly house), we have $1700 left! So extra student loan payments, a little to Christmas and Emergency funds, and to cover what we overspent. Plus I've got about $200 in cash I'm depositing also. I also got my paystub today for this Friday, and even though it will be July money (last month's income thing), it was $600 more than planned due to overtime. We plan on our regular paycheck amounts, so overtime money can go to extra payments/annual expenses.

But hey, there's a working sink in the kitchen again so I am ready to get back to cooking!

 

[PrincessKymm]

I had to charge a $150 to my credit card. My back has been killing me recently and my friend gifted me a chiropractor visit and massage. It helped but it's not gone. I can still walk upright but it takes time to get upright each day (and yes I'm relatively young!). I think the culprit is my bed so instead of blowing my entire budget on a new bed I charged $150 mattress topper to see if it helps. Hopefully I won't need a whole new bed anytime soon but I'm afraid I might.

It just isn't stopping this year. On the good news front...only 4 more sleeps til Disney!

 

[bcwife76]

Well we are back from Maui and I'm catching up with this thread!!

Sounds like some awesome progress has been made by some and for those of you that feel you are struggling here is a big , just keep treading water and hopefully things improve. Sending love and good wishes to all that need it

@dayvewc can't wait to hear about your latest DL trip!!

As for us, well we grossly underestimated how much food would cost us in Hawaii. We knew it was going to be expensive, but since our last trip there was 14 years ago - holy hanna! We only had 1 breakfast out (to the tune of $58 plus tip!), two lunches ($40 and $85, eep!) and then two dinners out (Costco food court was awesome, for $20 we got dinner for the 4 of us and leftovers that were our lunch the next day!) and dinner on our last night - unfortunately we didn't look at the menu online, my dh saw that it was $$ and thought it would be reasonable. Ha! It was $170 before tip. SHHHHEEEET. So yeah, not looking forward to the Amazon visa coming in with those on it esp since we need to add about 30% due to the exchange rate right now. So no eating out here at home in the month of June, we've had more than our share of fun for the next few weeks lol

on the upside, we rented a mustang convertible through Costco (which was the best price) so we knew what that bill would be and budgeted accordingly and when we filled up (it was surprisingly good on gas, it also wasn't a GT/turbo model) we got it at Costco each time ($2.49/gallon vs $3.21/gallon everywhere else) and spent less than $70USD for the entire week, despite putting nearly 550 miles on the car.

 

[PrincessKymm]

Well we are back from Maui and I'm catching up with this thread!!

Sounds like some awesome progress has been made by some and for those of you that feel you are struggling here is a big , just keep treading water and hopefully things improve. Sending love and good wishes to all that need it

@dayvewc can't wait to hear about your latest DL trip!!

As for us, well we grossly underestimated how much food would cost us in Hawaii. We knew it was going to be expensive, but since our last trip there was 14 years ago - holy hanna! We only had 1 breakfast out (to the tune of $58 plus tip!), two lunches ($40 and $85, eep!) and then two dinners out (Costco food court was awesome, for $20 we got dinner for the 4 of us and leftovers that were our lunch the next day!) and dinner on our last night - unfortunately we didn't look at the menu online, my dh saw that it was $$ and thought it would be reasonable. Ha! It was $170 before tip. SHHHHEEEET. So yeah, not looking forward to the Amazon visa coming in with those on it esp since we need to add about 30% due to the exchange rate right now. So no eating out here at home in the month of June, we've had more than our share of fun for the next few weeks lol

on the upside, we rented a mustang convertible through Costco (which was the best price) so we knew what that bill would be and budgeted accordingly and when we filled up (it was surprisingly good on gas, it also wasn't a GT/turbo model) we got it at Costco each time ($2.49/gallon vs $3.21/gallon everywhere else) and spent less than $70USD for the entire week, despite putting nearly 550 miles on the car.

Oh Maui!!!!!! I loved Maui! Wasn't it just perfection?!? I mean aside from the cost of everything. I have friends that moved there and one said she saw cereal approaching $10 a box at the grocery store. Craziness! I couldn't imagine trying to feed DS on Maui full time. DS has a choice of disneyworld, Disneyland, or Maui/Ohau for his HS graduation trip. I'm secretly hoping he chooses Maui/Oahu so I can go back!!!

 

[bcwife76]

@PrincessKymm it's just heavenly there....the water....the sand......the atmosphere.....oh I loved it so much!

But expensive .....We bought one of those bagged cereals (similar to Sally's but I think it was Western Family?) and it was about $5 (which is what we pay here for the bigger bag) so that wasn't too bad. But we had to replenish toilet paper (don't get me started, that SHOULD have been included in the cost of our condo!!!) and we paid $4.38 for a 4 pack!!!! Milk was over $6/gallon! I bought milk on sale (that never happens here lol) and for a 2 litre carton I think we paid about $3.60. I ended up buying another carton half way through so we paid more in the end than the gallon jug but the fridge was small and a jug would not have fit. As it was when we went to Costco we bought one of their huge take and bake pizzas and had to cut it in half (as we weren't eating it the night we bought it) just to fit it in the fridge

I'm crossing my fingers we go back in 3 or 4 years, though we would probably stay either in a different part of Maui or try the Big Island this time. I hope you get to go back

 

[DnA2010]

Well we are back from Maui and I'm catching up with this thread!!

Sounds like some awesome progress has been made by some and for those of you that feel you are struggling here is a big , just keep treading water and hopefully things improve. Sending love and good wishes to all that need it

@dayvewc can't wait to hear about your latest DL trip!!

As for us, well we grossly underestimated how much food would cost us in Hawaii. We knew it was going to be expensive, but since our last trip there was 14 years ago - holy hanna! We only had 1 breakfast out (to the tune of $58 plus tip!), two lunches ($40 and $85, eep!) and then two dinners out (Costco food court was awesome, for $20 we got dinner for the 4 of us and leftovers that were our lunch the next day!) and dinner on our last night - unfortunately we didn't look at the menu online, my dh saw that it was $$ and thought it would be reasonable. Ha! It was $170 before tip. SHHHHEEEET. So yeah, not looking forward to the Amazon visa coming in with those on it esp since we need to add about 30% due to the exchange rate right now. So no eating out here at home in the month of June, we've had more than our share of fun for the next few weeks lol

on the upside, we rented a mustang convertible through Costco (which was the best price) so we knew what that bill would be and budgeted accordingly and when we filled up (it was surprisingly good on gas, it also wasn't a GT/turbo model) we got it at Costco each time ($2.49/gallon vs $3.21/gallon everywhere else) and spent less than $70USD for the entire week, despite putting nearly 550 miles on the car.

Gawwd the exchange is just killer. Before our next trip (whenever that is) I need to get organized with that Amazon visa- that's the one that doesn't charge extra for the exchange etc right?
We got a mustang on our first trip to the Big Island on our honeymoon- it was fun but after that we went with a car again as being a short **** I just didn't fit in that car well.

You should really try the Big Island- it's awesome when you are ready, I can tell you all about it. We want to try another island but we just love the BI so much!

 

[bcwife76]

@DnA2010 Yes the Amazon Visa is the one that doesn't charge the 2.5% fee. I've only had the card just over a year, wish I'd gotten it ages ago!
I think DH is 'done' with Maui - we've done everything he wanted to and despite me saying we should try going back there in a few years and staying in Kihei, he doesn't want to go back so I think the big Island is where we would head next! I've been to Oahu 3 times (him once) so unless we try Aulani at some point, we really want to try a different island I think.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

well we got carried away in May big time and we have come to realize we are spending way to much from savings about $2500 gone since Feb (yikes) but that has paid off the care credit account and helped keep us afloat but some it has been really wasteful spending.

DH got paid today and me tomorrow so now it's time for the cash envelopes to come out. I told him we have to live very frugally for a few months until we can get our savings back in shape. I went a bought a little over a week's worth of groceries for $80 on Saturday I didn't buy any meat since I had plenty at home to work with and that price includes breakfast/lunch/dinner for 2 adults 1 toddler about 7 days a week though we do eat out and that is another thing I am strictly budgeting.

DH wanted to go to huddle house for waffles on Monday I found some coupons and we all ate for $12 + $3 tip in cash that I had left over from the grocery budget. Score!

We have $600 in our vacation 2017 fund and I get 3 checks this month so hopefully about $300 can be added to it but we are also trying to get serious about saving for that and Christmas/DD birthday (she's a Dec baby)

Thanks for letting me come and ramble it helps get my mind straight!

 

[Eureka]

Well, after 2.5 years back to work full time, I got let go today. So did my boss and several other people. Strictly financial, they said, and I believe them. We had a round of layoffs a couple years ago and I was nervous for a bit after that bc one of my teammates who did the same thing I did was let go back then. The company is a start up and on shaky financial ground. I will get two weeks severance (one week for every year) and can file for unemployment.

DH makes more than I did/do, but we were putting a lot into the kids' 529s and retirement and then just using part of my salary for bills. We do have a nest egg we've always said was for illness or job loss but I still don't want to use it unless we have to. We have areas in which we can cut back if we need to...that will really depend on how long I'm out of work. Which will depend on what we want to do about that since school is out in two weeks. The boys are teens but still need to get places and we have a vacation planned that we aren't going to cancel. We've already paid for a lot of stuff toward it.

But I worry. And feel sick. And even though they said it has nothing to do with my performance, which was great, it still feels awful. We are going away this weekend so there is not much I can do right now anyway. But now my mind will be on overtime.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

Well, after 2.5 years back to work full time, I got let go today. So did my boss and several other people. Strictly financial, they said, and I believe them. We had a round of layoffs a couple years ago and I was nervous for a bit after that bc one of my teammates who did the same thing I did was let go back then. The company is a start up and on shaky financial ground. I will get two weeks severance (one week for every year) and can file for unemployment.

DH makes more than I did/do, but we were putting a lot into the kids' 529s and retirement and then just using part of my salary for bills. We do have a nest egg we've always said was for illness or job loss but I still don't want to use it unless we have to. We have areas in which we can cut back if we need to...that will really depend on how long I'm out of work. Which will depend on what we want to do about that since school is out in two weeks. The boys are teens but still need to get places and we have a vacation planned that we aren't going to cancel. We've already paid for a lot of stuff toward it.

But I worry. And feel sick. And even though they said it has nothing to do with my performance, which was great, it still feels awful. We are going away this weekend so there is not much I can do right now anyway. But now my mind will be on overtime.

Oh I hate to hear that! Regardless of the reason it still hurts when you think about it happening to you.
Hopefully you can work out a solution quickly that works best for your family.

Just try to relax if you can this weekend and enjoy your getaway. Maybe with a bit of budget trimming you can have the summer off with your kids and start fresh come fall!

 

[DisneyMandC]

So sorry, @Eureka , that really stinks Hoping you find something soon

 

[elphie101]

I realize 2016 is just about half over, but if you'd accept me I'd like to join! Where to start.....

DH is still paying down credit card debt from college - he pays enough down that it's manageable but I don't think he's ever had a zero balance. I got my first credit card a few months before our wedding a year and a half ago, and took advantage of 15 months interest-free to just pay down the minimum every month. And then we bought a house almost a year ago, and given that we had already planned a 16-night trip to Paris & London for summer 2016 (next month!) we just dumped a lot of the flights, etc on my card.......and now we've found ourselves as of a few months ago with three nearly-maxed out cards, paychecks just meeting the rest of the bills thanks to crazy interest (including my lovely student loans), and little room to save for spending funds for this trip we're locked into. It's become such a source of stress instead of what was supposed to be an incredible experience I am so grateful we've been able to make this trip at all, I don't want to sound like I'm crapping on our luckiness so to speak, but I just think we overshot our comfortable budget this time around. We also have some weddings on our horizon as well as two kittens we added to the family this year (along with all the wonderful bills that come with it).

We dumped our whole tax return on the lowest CC (Dave Ramsey style!) but we still have some ways to go. So my goals are as follows:

1) All available funds in June are going towards the trip, in a perfect world $1k as I'd like to pay for EVERYTHING overseas in cash
2) Pay off at least 2 out of 3 of our CCs by the end of the year (that would be about $5500 total), and start to work on card #3
3) Dedicate a small portion of our funds to a) home improvement and b) our 2017 vacation in the hopes we don't repeat this year's mistakes

It feels like we're in such a hole at the moment, and money creates such stress at home, but (just like weight loss ) I believe accountability creates results so I'm hoping that being here will help me/us kick some debt butt!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Well, update from the weekend.

I have used Mint for years to budget and that worked very well for me when I was single, but since getting married, budgeting seems to have gotten harder. And not really because of DH (he spends almost nothing), it is more to do with me. My budgeting discipline seems to have melted away since getting engaged. We had all of these big expenses for the wedding and honeymoon, that I just got so used to spending, spending, spending on decorations, dresses, gifts, travel, etc. But now that we are settled down, my spending still seems a bit out of whack and that is why the credit cards don't seem to dip even though I have been making some big payments towards them. I used to be much more frugal and I need to get back into those habits so that we are able to afford our longer term goals.

I want to get back to the point where I wasn't carrying any kind of balance. I just paid off what I had spent the month before and wasn't buying anything that I couldn't currently afford. Everything on the card is still at 0% for another 8 months, so my goal is to get the balance down to $0 by then so that I won't pay any interest before the promotional rate expires.

I know that this is possible, but I decided that to get really serious, I needed a new way to look at our money and budget. I had heard people talk about YNAB here before and decided to give it a try. I took 3 of the free classes and have another 2 scheduled tonight. I set up all of our accounts and filled in our budget for June. I like the way that it forces you to assign existing money to a category, rather than using anticipated funds. I can see how sticking with this will enable us to pay down the credit card debt and save for other necessary expenses over the next 6-8 months. Since I get paid once a month, right at the end of the month, this system seems like it will work well for us to plan out our spending over the entire month.

DH promised that he will also use the program and app to track our budget. Since DH doesn't have a job yet and I have lived on my own for many years before we got married, DH hasn't been super involved with the finances yet. I really would like him to play a bigger role in everything and help me stay accountable as well. That way, it feels more like teamwork and less like me calling all the shots and carrying all the stress.

 

[amalone1013]

It feels like we're in such a hole at the moment, and money creates such stress at home, but (just like weight loss ) I believe accountability creates results so I'm hoping that being here will help me/us kick some debt butt!

Accountability is half the battle in my opinion! DF and I have been working on tracking our spending since the beginning of the year... it's eye opening. I read a lot of financial blogs when my student loans started going into repayment, but he definitely did not realize how much things added up to throughout the month! We found a budget program we liked last month, and using it to budget/plan for goals (ie wedding) we each put $6k into student loans without worrying, and are going to put about $500 extra each towards them this week. Maybe a little more, even with large chunks going to other stuff. All because we wrote things down on paper (or the computer screen) to make it more concrete.

(also, accountability is why my friend and I try to check in on each other for working out, since we're not big fans of it )