Debt Dumpers - 2016

[DnA2010]

It's basically exactly what I expected we'd get back and we don't need it to pay anything off...so I guess I shouldn't complain but it's annoying that we have to wait until mid to late March to get our own money back!

I know, I know...first world problems. I'm grateful DH has a good job and that I am able to be a stay at home mom. Also, there are a lot of amazing things about being Canadian.

But, I'll be even more grateful when that money is in OUR bank account where it belongs!

Agreed! It's my money and I want it in my EF and for the overpayment I have planned on the mortgage dammit! I have no idea what kind of return we will be getting to be honest...

 

[DisneyMandC]

We still haven't had a chance to file our taxes yet either. I was already to hit send the other night when I realized that DH can't file his taxes online because the IRS has his birthday wrong!!! Therefore, he can't e-sign our joint taxes and we have to mail them! It's so frustrating, it's been an ongoing problem since his first job and he's been trying to get the IRS to get his birthday straight forever. Of course, getting the IRS to correct something like this is about as easy as you'd imagine!

 

[dayvewc]

Just got an email, my care credit bill is now $0.00, and they thanked me for my payment.

 

[gracie1]

Just got an email, my care credit bill is now $0.00, and they thanked me for my payment.

That's great! Those zero balance bills are the best and the best motivator!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Not really debt dumping, but I am so excited and just need to share. DH and I went to the USCIS office today for DH's green card interview. I was so nervous about it even though I didn't really have a reason to be. I stayed up late last night gathering even more evidence of our legitimate marriage and making sure I had absolutely everything that I could think we would need.

Well, we got to the interview and the USCIS agent was really nice. Not quite what I was excepting, I guess. He asked DH some of the form questions, he asked how we met and what we each do for a living, he asked why we got married in Wyoming and that was about it. He didn't ask to see a single original document like our birth certificates or marriage license. He didn't want to see any proof of our relationship. He didn't even ask any really personal or prying questions like all of the books warn you about. We were in there for less than 20 minutes and DH's green card was approved! It will arrive in the mail in 30 days! So much stress and weight lifted off my shoulders. And now we can actually go back to Canada to visit DH's family!

 

[Gena001]

I did it. Went just now and moved the payment date on the CareCredit account to today from 3/1, and also moved the $2000 payment on the 0% CC to today from 3/9. I changed the $2k payment, so that today's payment is just the extra, and on 3/9 it should draft the normal payment.

CONGRATULATIONS DAYVEWC!

I think my Federal is due to deposit tomorrow (Wednesday). I'll move it to another account, but I probably won't have time to pay the Capital One or the Am Ex until later in the day or the evening. I have a big day tomorrow:
* movers coming to work for a few tasks,
*I'm processing payroll for the monthly people
*I received a new computer at work late this afternoon so now I have to set up all my defaults again: default directories, outlook signatures, outlook message fonts....lots more stuff. At least IT copies over our programs for us.
*it's supposed to snow overnight, just enough to screw up the roads (and I'm rear wheel drive! )

Wish me luck!

 

[bcwife76]

The bank hold came off my death benefit insurance cheques at 9:01pm tonight (PST) - it's barely been half an hour and we have WIPED OUT our line of credit and any card that had a balance!!! DH is transferring some money over to his retirement fund as I type this and we are busy dividing up the rest between various savings accounts!!! Going to hold off making a lump sum prepayment to our mortgage until after our tax refund comes through, hoping to be able to put that in it too before the end of March

 

[mrsabbott]

I also just paid off our Care Credit card today!! It wasn't a high balance, but that is another $25 a month that I won't have to pay!! And it felt good to "hide" the card on my bill pay account!! My next card I want to pay off is my Kohl's card. I am going to pay it off when MY paycheck is deposited, which should be on Friday! It is only about $250.. but that is another $25 a month payment that we won't have to worry about again! After that, I will be tackling the Discover card, I think.. Either that or the AMEX.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Man, everyone has been knocking out this debt lately! Great job!

 

[mrsabbott]

So, I checked the status on our State refund and it finally has an update. It says it will be direct deposited within 10 days!!

 

[Kimberly1]

Got my refund today! Woohoo! Will sit down this afternoon and make payments. Exciting!

 

[NewRVLady]

You're not throwing money away, you are basically getting to buy your shares "on sale." You are essentially getting more shares for your money now and when the marketbgoes back up, you will make a much higher return. The BEST time to invest money is in a down market. That's how you make more money in the long run. Stopping your contributions now could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in 20-30 years.

The absolute BEST way to invest is to contribute monthly and never look at your balance. In the end, you will likely come out way ahead but the ups and downs can make you go crazy thinking you "lost" money. Look at your investment rate of return from when you started your contributions. Is it a + rate of return? If so, you haven't "lost" anything.

This I so true-we only look at quarterly statements
We retired a year ago debt free
Our big splurge is travel now- something we planned for a while to do

 

[gracie1]

The bank hold came off my death benefit insurance cheques at 9:01pm tonight (PST) - it's barely been half an hour and we have WIPED OUT our line of credit and any card that had a balance!!! DH is transferring some money over to his retirement fund as I type this and we are busy dividing up the rest between various savings accounts!!! Going to hold off making a lump sum prepayment to our mortgage until after our tax refund comes through, hoping to be able to put that in it too before the end of March

What an exciting day at your house!!!! Way to go!!

 

[gracie1]

Everyone is doing a fantastic job dumping debt this week! That's awesome!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

So I've been listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio on my way to get the boys from Fencing and while I don't really like him (his tone can be very condescending) it has helped to keep our finances in the front of my mind. I also try to visit the Gail Vaz-Oxlade site at least once a week. And I have a lot of her books on my iPad.

Last night I sat down and looked at his baby steps, and made some lists and goals. I wrote out our debt snowball, and also some cash envelopes ideas.
Next is to figure out a budget. This is the hardest part for me, I have no idea what dollar amount to assign each category and the thought of going through 6 months worth of credit statements and my bank statements is daunting but I'm going to take it 1 month at a time. Even if I get 3 months, I will have a rough idea on what we spend.

I also need suggestions on how to start cash envelopes. I can't pull all our money out of the bank because we do have some auto payments set up. But I'm not sure what categories and how much to put in each envelope.

In other news, we got our fed refund check, still waiting on the state. I paid a bunch of random bills, ordered some parts for DS19's truck, and tidied up some loose ends. Lowes is coming out to fix my dishwasher (should be under warranty), called to have our septic pumped (he will be here tomorrow), called to square away a hospital bill I paid and they keep trying to send to collections (thankfully I kept the confirmation number), and next I'm going to order the replacement shelf for my fridge (plastic part broke). and called my car insurance and they are sending me my deductible so I can get my car fixed, the insurance from the lady that hit me was dragging it's feet but I finally got them to accept fault.
Oh and the roof guy came out to give us a quote, still waiting on that number.

Shhhhh, don't tell the universe but I finally have some things coming together.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

For starters got a letter in informing us our car insurance went down $27 a month because DH just turned 25! WHOO! Even though it's not a lot it's a major win for us when we had been at the break even point every month. That extra is going to be pulled out and kept in a cash fund for fun things like eating out etc. That's my goal is to get a grip on that sorta thing.

Number 2: We are debating paying off my care credit balance of $500 instead of letting it go at the monthly 0% interest until Oct. I'm pretty ok with paying it off as it will free up another $70 a month that I will stick into savings. But I don't have great credit, would it hurt my credit by paying off in advance. I am not going to close the card just don't want it to negatively affect me.

 

[DisneyMandC]

So I've been listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio on my way to get the boys from Fencing and while I don't really like him (his tone can be very condescending) it has helped to keep our finances in the front of my mind. I also try to visit the Gail Vaz-Oxlade site at least once a week. And I have a lot of her books on my iPad.

Last night I sat down and looked at his baby steps, and made some lists and goals. I wrote out our debt snowball, and also some cash envelopes ideas.
Next is to figure out a budget. This is the hardest part for me, I have no idea what dollar amount to assign each category and the thought of going through 6 months worth of credit statements and my bank statements is daunting but I'm going to take it 1 month at a time. Even if I get 3 months, I will have a rough idea on what we spend.

I also need suggestions on how to start cash envelopes. I can't pull all our money out of the bank because we do have some auto payments set up. But I'm not sure what categories and how much to put in each envelope.

In other news, we got our fed refund check, still waiting on the state. I paid a bunch of random bills, ordered some parts for DS19's truck, and tidied up some loose ends. Lowes is coming out to fix my dishwasher (should be under warranty), called to have our septic pumped (he will be here tomorrow), called to square away a hospital bill I paid and they keep trying to send to collections (thankfully I kept the confirmation number), and next I'm going to order the replacement shelf for my fridge (plastic part broke). and called my car insurance and they are sending me my deductible so I can get my car fixed, the insurance from the lady that hit me was dragging it's feet but I finally got them to accept fault.
Oh and the roof guy came out to give us a quote, still waiting on that number.

Shhhhh, don't tell the universe but I finally have some things coming together.

I don't have any suggestions about the cash envelopes, but as far as Dave Ramsey goes, have you read any of his books instead? I agree that I really don't like his show as I do think he can be very condescending. I still get that vibe a little from Total Money Makeover, but definitely not as bad. Plus I enjoyed reading the stories of real people paying down debt throughout. You may like that better.

 

[AlohaNow]

Hi guys! I haven’t been around here in a while. Boo-yah to all those paying stuff off with tax refunds. Our federal should be deposited tomorrow and I’m still deciding exactly how to divvy it up. A bit into savings, but most to our one credit card balance. DH started a better paying job in the fall, but it comes with no benefits. We decided to hit on the card balance until June, and then start regular contributions to his Roth. Then this little fire sale on Wall Street started and I was like, screw that! Let’s start buying you some shares! So we started small and will increase the regular amount when we are able.

 

[PrincessKymm]

I am WAY over budget this month. The good news tho is my "cushion" covered the majority of it. A very small amount added to a credit card but I think I'll reallocate some of next months "fun money" to help pay it off.

Not a ton to do at work today so I'm re-doing my March budget.

I'm a little mad at myself but I blame the car. Had I not needed a new transmission I wouldn't have any of these problems! I'm a little more worried about my trip to Disney now. No way I'm cancelling it because 1 it's paid for and 2 I've purchased the plane tickets!!!! Whoop! They are non refundable so we are going.

I need to figure out how to talk myself out of spending next month when the weather gets nice. I've lost a few pounds so I have a few more items of clothing to wear but it's so hard to pass up the shoes! I only ever needed one pair of shoes for work (basic black flats due to running around everywhere!) but now I need boots for outside (I park across the street to save money) and I can actually wear heels! Everyone here is very stylish and it's hard to not fall into it and want to look my best too.

DS was sick (double ear infection) so I had to take him to the minute clinic and they billed the insurance wrong so I have to fix that BUT no copay and his prescription was only $5! I have an FSA to cover his deductible so that's already paid for (I'll just charge it then pay off when I get the reimbursement!). I submitted the $5 for reimbursement so I'll just let that get absorbed into my checking account cushion since I already paid for it. I love my new insurance! So much cheaper than my old job and it actually covers stuff! Amazing.

 

[gracie1]

So I've been listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio on my way to get the boys from Fencing and while I don't really like him (his tone can be very condescending) it has helped to keep our finances in the front of my mind. I also try to visit the Gail Vaz-Oxlade site at least once a week. And I have a lot of her books on my iPad.

Last night I sat down and looked at his baby steps, and made some lists and goals. I wrote out our debt snowball, and also some cash envelopes ideas.
Next is to figure out a budget. This is the hardest part for me, I have no idea what dollar amount to assign each category and the thought of going through 6 months worth of credit statements and my bank statements is daunting but I'm going to take it 1 month at a time. Even if I get 3 months, I will have a rough idea on what we spend.

I also need suggestions on how to start cash envelopes. I can't pull all our money out of the bank because we do have some auto payments set up. But I'm not sure what categories and how much to put in each envelope.

In other news, we got our fed refund check, still waiting on the state. I paid a bunch of random bills, ordered some parts for DS19's truck, and tidied up some loose ends. Lowes is coming out to fix my dishwasher (should be under warranty), called to have our septic pumped (he will be here tomorrow), called to square away a hospital bill I paid and they keep trying to send to collections (thankfully I kept the confirmation number), and next I'm going to order the replacement shelf for my fridge (plastic part broke). and called my car insurance and they are sending me my deductible so I can get my car fixed, the insurance from the lady that hit me was dragging it's feet but I finally got them to accept fault.
Oh and the roof guy came out to give us a quote, still waiting on that number.

Shhhhh, don't tell the universe but I finally have some things coming together.

You could always figure out your budget for gas, food and dining - take out of your bank and use cash for that. This way your not clearing out your bank account. Or if your able you could keep it in the bank and continue using your debit card and have a sheet that has your budgeted amount - each receipt deduct from that budgeted amount and this way you don't have to take it out of the bank but your still deducting from the budgeted amount.