Debt Dumpers - 2016

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thought I would do a quick update. I received my inheritance cheque today from the lawyer from my dad's estate. They paid out 80% of the estate to the 3 of us, 20% of the estate is being held back until next year - once taxes are filed and a notice to creditors is put in the paper (and any creditors that come out of the woodwork have been paid, but I don't think it's likely that there are any) then the remaining 20% will be paid out to us.

The cheque is enough to pay off our mortgage and still leave us a lump sum to invest/retirement etc. Plus the lump sum I'll receive next year. Kind of all over the map right now with my emotions.

We are meeting with a mortgage specialist from our bank next week to determine how/when to pay it off. I know the penalty is 3 months interest plus other fees. However, our mortgage is up for renewal in 4 1/2 months so we need to figure out if it's better to just wait until then. Once I have all the hard numbers written down then we can make a decision. After that we will meet with a financial advisor (one who is NOT associate with our bank) to discuss what we should do with the rest of the money + the money I'm getting next year. Plus the money we will have 'left over' each month from no longer have a mortgage payment.

You can see why my head is spinning! One thing I did do this morning though (which I had been planning to do all along) was to move our Alaska cruise from the 5 night in early August to a 7 night at the end of August 2017. Hey, I can't be completely responsible, right?

Wow! My head would be spinning too!
When we sailed Alaska it was the last week in August. We had incredible weather. Every day of the cruise, Christiaan our CD, would call it "unprecedented weather" . Not a drop of rain except once overnight which we slept through.
It's really an incredible trip.

 

[arlinar]

This week a colleague and friend of mine passed away from cancer at the age of 44 leaving behind her husband and two children. Talk about putting things into perspective. My husband and I have been running the what if scenarios through our minds all week long. On the one hand it makes me want to get every duck in a row in case of emergency, and on the other hand it makes me think live and enjoy today and stop stressing so much.

What an emotional week.

So sorry to hear this =(

Well finally got approved to move into my new place on Saturday. Finally!

Only have two collections on my transunion account now. Working on Exiprian as its causing the most problems. Starting to get pre approval letters from dealerships in my area and looking to refinance or trade in my crappy car soon.

 

[potterfanatic]

My student loan provider updated my PSLF payments now that they have my employment dates straight. 2 more payments, only 104 to go! But that's ok, I'm thankful for the program and just hopeful that it holds up.

Ah! I am in the process of dealing with this as well. They sold our loan and now I have to submit a bunch of new paperwork to get it back over to the right place. If all goes well, we have 59 payments to go. Good luck to you!

 

[Eureka]

Hey all, thought I would check in. First week of the new job kicked my butt. It's 48 miles away, so very long drives. I like the people and I think I'm going to like the job. By Friday I was starting to do some actual work and kind of even knew what I was doing for part of it.

As for the financial stuff, we're going to switch to my new health insurance plan. It will save us $2300 a year in premiums, although the Rx plan is not as good as what we currently have, and we will start having to pay copays again, but there's no in network deductible and 100% coverage for many kinds of tests. This is great news for me because I periodically need a MRI and lab work for my stomach issues.

Until the end of the year, I won't be bringing home much because we are maxing out on retirement to catch up from not putting in this summer, but that should help get us on track. I'm just happy to not have been out of work very long in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Ngwira]

Hey all, thought I would check in. First week of the new job kicked my butt. It's 48 miles away, so very long drives. I like the people and I think I'm going to like the job. By Friday I was starting to do some actual work and kind of even knew what I was doing for part of it.

As for the financial stuff, we're going to switch to my new health insurance plan. It will save us $2300 a year in premiums, although the Rx plan is not as good as what we currently have, and we will start having to pay copays again, but there's no in network deductible and 100% coverage for many kinds of tests. This is great news for me because I periodically need a MRI and lab work for my stomach issues.

Until the end of the year, I won't be bringing home much because we are maxing out on retirement to catch up from not putting in this summer, but that should help get us on track. I'm just happy to not have been out of work very long in the grand scheme of things.

So happy that you like the new job. I also have a long commute..50 miles one way but I don't find it too daunting. There is no traffic on my commute which makes a world of a difference. I used to work 12 miles away but traffic made the commute an hour. Now my commute is 50 miles but 55 minutes with no traffic. An hour commute is pretty much my upper limit, though. Anything over that would be too extreme.
I take that time to unwind..I listen to my favorite radio stations, sometimes audiobooks. I actually find it relaxing in the morning after the hustle and bustle of getting the kids ready and out the door.

Wow on the savings for the medical insurance. That's YUGE..lol..

I hope you continue to flourish at the new job.

 

[momtosam]

File this under live and learn.

Last year DH was laid off and it hit us hard. Guess who is out of work again this week? However, after the last time we've dumped some debt, DH has made some connections (he's working on the side for a friend this week) and we have a bit more in savings than before. We learned our lesson last year and are more prepared this time around. It's seems like this is going to be the "new normal" in his field. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not panicked...yet.

 

[Miss Whimsy]

oh that sucks @momtosam. I'm glad you feel more prepared for it this time.

 

[4Mickeys]

Some good news - I got approved for the interest free balance transfer card I applied for! So now all of my payments will come straight off what I owe without losing most of it to the interest portion! I am starting to feel more positive about getting out of credit card debt!

 

[DisneyMandC]

File this under live and learn.

Last year DH was laid off and it hit us hard. Guess who is out of work again this week? However, after the last time we've dumped some debt, DH has made some connections (he's working on the side for a friend this week) and we have a bit more in savings than before. We learned our lesson last year and are more prepared this time around. It's seems like this is going to be the "new normal" in his field. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not panicked...yet.

So sorry. Hope the good luck of finding new jobs that the other DISers here have had spreads to your husband.

 

[Ngwira]

File this under live and learn.

Last year DH was laid off and it hit us hard. Guess who is out of work again this week? However, after the last time we've dumped some debt, DH has made some connections (he's working on the side for a friend this week) and we have a bit more in savings than before. We learned our lesson last year and are more prepared this time around. It's seems like this is going to be the "new normal" in his field. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not panicked...yet.

Oh no. I hope DH's stint on unemployment is short lived. Thank God you learned from the last time and are smarter and wiser .

 

[BrerRabbit66]

Update on my vehicle situation. My jeep has been at a dealership in Ohio since Labor Day with a mechanical problem they were stumped on fixing. Fearing the worst I bought a certified used car believing my 2002 jeep was beyond repair. Yesterday the dealership called and said its fixed. After replacing the fuel injector fuses and the power train computer (3 times), they finally determined the alternator was causing a voltage surge that was damaging the other parts. Replaced the alternator, put in another new power train computer and fuel injector fuse and the jeep runs perfectly again. The shocking part....we arrived to pick it up and they handed me the keys and said "no charge, our apologies for the inconvenience." DH and I were stunned.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Update on my vehicle situation. My jeep has been at a dealership in Ohio since Labor Day with a mechanical problem they were stumped on fixing. Fearing the worst I bought a certified used car believing my 2002 jeep was beyond repair. Yesterday the dealership called and said its fixed. After replacing the fuel injector fuses and the power train computer (3 times), they finally determined the alternator was causing a voltage surge that was damaging the other parts. Replaced the alternator, put in another new power train computer and fuel injector fuse and the jeep runs perfectly again. The shocking part....we arrived to pick it up and they handed me the keys and said "no charge, our apologies for the inconvenience." DH and I were stunned.

Wow! That's awesome!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Update on my vehicle situation. My jeep has been at a dealership in Ohio since Labor Day with a mechanical problem they were stumped on fixing. Fearing the worst I bought a certified used car believing my 2002 jeep was beyond repair. Yesterday the dealership called and said its fixed. After replacing the fuel injector fuses and the power train computer (3 times), they finally determined the alternator was causing a voltage surge that was damaging the other parts. Replaced the alternator, put in another new power train computer and fuel injector fuse and the jeep runs perfectly again. The shocking part....we arrived to pick it up and they handed me the keys and said "no charge, our apologies for the inconvenience." DH and I were stunned.

That's freakin' AWESOME!!!!

 

[Dentam]

Update on my vehicle situation. My jeep has been at a dealership in Ohio since Labor Day with a mechanical problem they were stumped on fixing. Fearing the worst I bought a certified used car believing my 2002 jeep was beyond repair. Yesterday the dealership called and said its fixed. After replacing the fuel injector fuses and the power train computer (3 times), they finally determined the alternator was causing a voltage surge that was damaging the other parts. Replaced the alternator, put in another new power train computer and fuel injector fuse and the jeep runs perfectly again. The shocking part....we arrived to pick it up and they handed me the keys and said "no charge, our apologies for the inconvenience." DH and I were stunned.

Wow! I wish someone would fix my car for free! Mine now has a serious leak of engine coolant, along with the oil pan issue that I was told would cost 800-900 to repair. So, it will be at least 2k now to fix all of its issues. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and take on a car payment for a pre-owned vehicle.

I just listed my rowing machine on craigslist, so hoping that will sell for at least $700 which will be added to my downpayment. Just hoping I can get a loan since my debt to income ratio is still on the high side.

It's been a rough week here. Just found out that my coworker who was battling leukemia passed away last night. She got pneumonia after the second round of chemo and had no immune system to fight it. Still in shock.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow! I wish someone would fix my car for free! Mine now has a serious leak of engine coolant, along with the oil pan issue that I was told would cost 800-900 to repair. So, it will be at least 2k now to fix all of its issues. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and take on a car payment for a pre-owned vehicle.

I just listed my rowing machine on craigslist, so hoping that will sell for at least $700 which will be added to my downpayment. Just hoping I can get a loan since my debt to income ratio is still on the high side.

It's been a rough week here. Just found out that my coworker who was battling leukemia passed away last night. She got pneumonia after the second round of chemo and had no immune system to fight it. Still in shock.

That's awful. I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Eureka]

@Dentam so sorry to hear about your coworker

 

[BrerRabbit66]

@Dentam so sorry for your loss. Prayers and hugs for you, your co-workers and the family for the days ahead.

 

[Miss Whimsy]

oh wow, so sorry for your loss @Dentam

 

[Miss Whimsy]

yesterday I found out I'm getting promoted, which comes with a raise of *whispers so as not to jinx it* almost 10%

this is kind of mind-boggling. between that and possible moving in with the BF soon, thereby cutting my rent in half, the next year could be pretty life-changing in terms of my debtload.

 

[momtosam]

So sorry about your coworker. I definitely understand .