Debt Dumpers - 2016

[4Mickeys]

Today I've achieved a new level of debt dumping. I am currently processing my very first at home hair dye job!!!! Eeeeeks!!!! I will let you know how it comes out.

The verdict is in...I like it! I'm also at an age where the grays are coming more frequently so this way I can touch up as needed.

Ha ha welcome to the club I have been doing home hair dye jobs for years now - occasionally and I mean really occasionally if I want extra highlights or something like that I treat myself - but I still look for a cheaper option for that too.

On another note I woke up this morning thinking about my multiple credit cards and so started researching a Credit Card with a Balance Transfer 0% period - Looks like Virgin have one for 18 months 0%, minimum $6k credit limit, with no annual fees but a 2% one off transfer fee on the 3 cards I would transfer that would be $126 approx. By the second payment I would have that back in savings in interest payments and then after that further savings to reduce the debt directly rather than losing $$$ to the bank and interest plus 2 of those cards have annual fees so that's about another $100 saving there. So as I planned to go hard at this until September the additional debt reduction works out at about $800 that would have gone to interest! Plus then I have more 0% interest time until June/July 2017 to continue to pay down any remaining balance (hope I've done my figures right - maths was never my strongest point guess that's partly why I'm here lol). I am going to wait until next week after I have paid off CC1 so that I look in a slightly better financial place when I apply. Fingers crossed I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Well I got paid this morning... and it's gone DH and I paid off our credit cards so we're starting the year without any CC debt! Mine was down to $380 after applying the $500 we got from DH's parents for Christmas and cashing out for a $120 statement credit with my points. DH's was still $1400 though. That one hurt a little bit. DH and I played around with YNAB a lot last night, and are enjoying it so far. I've also cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks for Paypal and am hoping to get that today or tomorrow to send towards my student loan. I'm so motivated to get rid of this debt, I just want it out of our lives!

 

[hollybearsmom]

Well I got paid this morning... and it's gone DH and I paid off our credit cards so we're starting the year without any CC debt! Mine was down to $380 after applying the $500 we got from DH's parents for Christmas and cashing out for a $120 statement credit with my points. DH's was still $1400 though. That one hurt a little bit. DH and I played around with YNAB a lot last night, and are enjoying it so far. I've also cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks for Paypal and am hoping to get that today or tomorrow to send towards my student loan. I'm so motivated to get rid of this debt, I just want it out of our lives!

Great way to start the New Year!

 

[momtosam]

I saw a new money saving challenge on Facebook today I'm going to try. On the first day of the year put $.01 in a jar, second day $.02, one hundredth day $1.00, 365th day $3.65. At the end of the year it's $667. A little easier to scrape together than the 52 week savings challenge.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I saw a new money saving challenge on Facebook today I'm going to try. On the first day of the year put $.01 in a jar, second day $.02, one hundredth day $1.00, 365th day $3.65. At the end of the year it's $667. A little easier to scrape together than the 52 week savings challenge.

I didn't follow this exactly but I did get some of my Christmas spending money from that...instead of $.01 one day $.02 the next etc I just tally up the total for the week and add that. Made it a little easier.

 

[gracie1]

Well I got paid this morning... and it's gone DH and I paid off our credit cards so we're starting the year without any CC debt! Mine was down to $380 after applying the $500 we got from DH's parents for Christmas and cashing out for a $120 statement credit with my points. DH's was still $1400 though. That one hurt a little bit. DH and I played around with YNAB a lot last night, and are enjoying it so far. I've also cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks for Paypal and am hoping to get that today or tomorrow to send towards my student loan. I'm so motivated to get rid of this debt, I just want it out of our lives!

Congrats!! That is an awesome way to start out the new year!!

 

[bababear_50]

Happy New Years everyone!!!
I am heading out in awhile to do some grocery shopping,I am going to try a new store and see if the prices work out cheaper. I also am going to shop weekly as we have been wasting alot of food.
Cheers to everyone trying to lower their debt!
Hugs Mel

 

[bababear_50]

Well I got paid this morning... and it's gone DH and I paid off our credit cards so we're starting the year without any CC debt! Mine was down to $380 after applying the $500 we got from DH's parents for Christmas and cashing out for a $120 statement credit with my points. DH's was still $1400 though. That one hurt a little bit. DH and I played around with YNAB a lot last night, and are enjoying it so far. I've also cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks for Paypal and am hoping to get that today or tomorrow to send towards my student loan. I'm so motivated to get rid of this debt, I just want it out of our lives!

Congrats Hon!
Hugs Mel

 

[dayvewc]

I saw a new money saving challenge on Facebook today I'm going to try. On the first day of the year put $.01 in a jar, second day $.02, one hundredth day $1.00, 365th day $3.65. At the end of the year it's $667. A little easier to scrape together than the 52 week savings challenge.

I didn't follow this exactly but I did get some of my Christmas spending money from that...instead of $.01 one day $.02 the next etc I just tally up the total for the week and add that. Made it a little easier.

I did the 52 (53) week saving challenge. I always say "53" because in a none-leap year, Jan 1 and Dec 31 are on the same day. (Leap year it is Jan 1 and Dec 30.) So there are actually 53 days that I deposited money. Though, in truth, I kind of cheated and started it the middle of February with lump deposit of all the back weeks. It worked out well for me. The hardest thing was remembering to go in each week and update the transfer amount from my one checking account to the "Vacation" account. (Yep, that is what I named it. I am using it to pay my annual maintenance fees for vacations).

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I am not sure I would be able to do the "penny a day" because I almost never carry any cash, so finding the pennies each day would be a problem for me. I do like the idea of doing the lump sum deposit every week, though. That does sound like it would be much easier to manage.

Good luck with it!! Either way!!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Well I got paid this morning... and it's gone DH and I paid off our credit cards so we're starting the year without any CC debt! Mine was down to $380 after applying the $500 we got from DH's parents for Christmas and cashing out for a $120 statement credit with my points. DH's was still $1400 though. That one hurt a little bit. DH and I played around with YNAB a lot last night, and are enjoying it so far. I've also cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks for Paypal and am hoping to get that today or tomorrow to send towards my student loan. I'm so motivated to get rid of this debt, I just want it out of our lives!

Feels fantastic, doesn't it? The debt paid off part...not the broke part. Great work! And I love your "get rid of it" mentality.

I saw a new money saving challenge on Facebook today I'm going to try. On the first day of the year put $.01 in a jar, second day $.02, one hundredth day $1.00, 365th day $3.65. At the end of the year it's $667. A little easier to scrape together than the 52 week savings challenge.

Hey! I love this idea. I'd never thought of something like this before. I have other goals, so I've not yet been able to do the 52 week challenge, but I may be able to pull something like this off. I think I'll play around with some numbers today to see what I can come up with. Thanks for the info!!

 

[Eureka]

Happy almost New Year all! We just got back from visiting family for a week and it was time to face the pile of mail that was waiting for me (and spend an un-godly $300 on groceries!!). The good news is I was able to get the half price promo for the newspaper. It's not showing up on my account online yet but I plan to look again next week and make sure it really went through.

The not-so-good news is the medical bills from my appendectomy have started rolling in. $1500 and counting. I called one billing dept because it looked very large, and she said some was applied to the deductible, which I could have sworn I had already met. The insurance company wasn't answering the phone so will have to call on Monday to double check about that. The other bill looked like the deductible had been met, so that's good news. I still haven't gotten bills for the surgeon or anesthesiologist (or, for that matter, some of the bills from an unrelated procedure I had the week before this surgery). So, after I get it all straightened out, I'll be calling about payment plans. Sigh.

The other good news is after a week of not cooking, I feel somewhat motivated and bought a ton of stuff to make some good meals. Making pizza for our NYE extravaganza (lol...just watching movies). And plan to get some chili going for the freezer sometime this weekend. Hope everyone has a safe holiday.

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

So bare with my math here but I did this on a spread sheet for the 365 day challenge (I'll do a post separate also of this same info) but if anyone is wanting to do the 365 day challenge mentioned above add $.01 on Day 1 and $1.00 on Day 100 etc. but only want to make a deposit every 4 weeks (roughly once a month) here is the weekly breakdown and 4 week (monthly) totals that would need to be deposited.

Week 1 0.28
Week 2 0.77
Week 3 1.26
Week 4 1.75
4.06

Week 5 2.24
Week 6 2.73
Week 7 3.22
Week 8 3.71
11.90

Week 9 4.20
Week 10 4.69
Week 11 5.18
Week 12 5.67
19.74

Week 13 6.16
Week 14 6.65
Week 15 7.14
Week 16 7.63
27.58

week 17 8.12
Week 18 8.61
Week 19 9.10
Week 20 9.59
35.42

Week 21 10.08
Week 22 10.57
Week 23 11.06
Week 24 11.55

Week 25 12.04
Week 26 12.53
Week 27 13.02
Week 28 13.51
51.10

Week 29 14.00
Week 30 14.49
Week 31 14.98
Week 32 15.47
58.94

Week 33 15.96
Week 34 16.45
Week 35 16.94
Week 36 17.43
66.78

Week 37 17.92
Week 38 18.41
Week 39 18.90
Week 40 19.39
74.62

Week 41 19.88
Week 42 20.37
Week 43 20.86
Week 44 21.35
82.46

Week 45 21.84
Week 46 22.33
Week 47 22.82
Week 48 23.31
90.30

Week 49 23.80
Week 50 24.29
Week 51 24.78
Week 52 28.92
101.79

 

[gracie1]

Happy almost New Year all! We just got back from visiting family for a week and it was time to face the pile of mail that was waiting for me (and spend an un-godly $300 on groceries!!). The good news is I was able to get the half price promo for the newspaper. It's not showing up on my account online yet but I plan to look again next week and make sure it really went through.

The not-so-good news is the medical bills from my appendectomy have started rolling in. $1500 and counting. I called one billing dept because it looked very large, and she said some was applied to the deductible, which I could have sworn I had already met. The insurance company wasn't answering the phone so will have to call on Monday to double check about that. The other bill looked like the deductible had been met, so that's good news. I still haven't gotten bills for the surgeon or anesthesiologist (or, for that matter, some of the bills from an unrelated procedure I had the week before this surgery). So, after I get it all straightened out, I'll be calling about payment plans. Sigh.

The other good news is after a week of not cooking, I feel somewhat motivated and bought a ton of stuff to make some good meals. Making pizza for our NYE extravaganza (lol...just watching movies). And plan to get some chili going for the freezer sometime this weekend. Hope everyone has a safe holiday.

When I had my gallbladder out I was shocked when the bills came in - mainly because it was my first ever surgery so I was clueless that there was a bill from the hospital, anesthesiologist, the dr etc. I thought it was just one lump bill, lol! Hope you had a good stay with your family. The plus side with the medical bills is their interest free!

 

[gracie1]

So bare with my math here but I did this on a spread sheet for the 365 day challenge (I'll do a post separate also of this same info) but if anyone is wanting to do the 365 day challenge mentioned above add $.01 on Day 1 and $1.00 on Day 100 etc. but only want to make a deposit every 4 weeks (roughly once a month) here is the weekly breakdown and 4 week (monthly) totals that would need to be deposited.

Week 1 0.28
Week 2 0.77
Week 3 1.26
Week 4 1.75
4.06

Week 5 2.24
Week 6 2.73
Week 7 3.22
Week 8 3.71
11.90

Week 9 4.20
Week 10 4.69
Week 11 5.18
Week 12 5.67
19.74

Week 13 6.16
Week 14 6.65
Week 15 7.14
Week 16 7.63
27.58

week 17 8.12
Week 18 8.61
Week 19 9.10
Week 20 9.59
35.42

Week 21 10.08
Week 22 10.57
Week 23 11.06
Week 24 11.55

Week 25 12.04
Week 26 12.53
Week 27 13.02
Week 28 13.51
51.10

Week 29 14.00
Week 30 14.49
Week 31 14.98
Week 32 15.47
58.94

Week 33 15.96
Week 34 16.45
Week 35 16.94
Week 36 17.43
66.78

Week 37 17.92
Week 38 18.41
Week 39 18.90
Week 40 19.39
74.62

Week 41 19.88
Week 42 20.37
Week 43 20.86
Week 44 21.35
82.46

Week 45 21.84
Week 46 22.33
Week 47 22.82
Week 48 23.31
90.30

Week 49 23.80
Week 50 24.29
Week 51 24.78
Week 52 28.92
101.79

This looks great! I may have to try this one out and use it specifically for Christmas!

 

[bcwife76]

I saw a new money saving challenge on Facebook today I'm going to try. On the first day of the year put $.01 in a jar, second day $.02, one hundredth day $1.00, 365th day $3.65. At the end of the year it's $667. A little easier to scrape together than the 52 week savings challenge.

I love this idea and will try it for 2016. For the past 3 years we did the other 52 week challenge - in 2013 we did REALLY well, in 2014 not quite as well and in 2015....well not well at all! So at least this one is easier lol Not as much money but honestly I think more money than we managed to put in our jar using the other method for 2015.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I like nice round numbers. So while the six hundred and whatevermuch bucks at the end of the year is great, I decided to go a different way. Because I'm annoying like that.

I decided that $1000 was a nicer, rounder number to pull together over the course of a year. And I figured $20 a week would achieve that nicely. Or $3 a day. Yeah, I like $3 a day.

So that's what I'm going to aim for. I don't know what I want to do with that money yet. And I still haven't figured out where to put it (I have 3 savings accounts as well as the checking account or I could do the cash in a jar) but I'll worry about that tomorrow.

I don't know if I can even do this...I have my money allocated to the last dollar pretty tightly in 2016, but I say GO BIG OR GO HOME!!

So, I'll give this a shot!

 

[NinaBella]

I couldn't do the jar challenge for any amount. It's rare that I have cash or loose change. So you if you don't have cash or loose change it makes it a lot more difficult. Then when you have kids, change in a jar is something mine would take for the ice cream truck, or something similar. I am going for just transferring a specific amount from checking to savings each paycheck.

 

[ariel1025]

Going into the New Year with some good news. My husband found out he got the max % of raise they were offering this year AND they had already input it into the paycheck he received today (should have been tomorrow, but they paid a day ahead since it's a holiday tomorrow). It comes out to $100.25 more than previous. Our goal is to live on the old income as that's what we input into our budget for the year and utilize the extra income as snowball

Wishing everyone a very safe and happy New Year!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Great to hear all of these positive comments!
We are still swimming along here. I'm counting down; only 6 more weeks until dh's truck is paid off.
Of course that's assuming all goes according to plan which we all know would be simply dreamy. Speaking of dreamy, it's 11:25 pm and I don't think I'll be able to stay awake until midnight. I don't even know why I try to push myself to do it. It's not like I get a prize at the stroke of midnight for torturing myself.

So I'll raise my glass (of decaf tea) and toast to everyone.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, safe & prosperous New Year!

 

[hollybearsmom]

I can't keep cash in a jar because I spend it, no my kids! But usually on them. I need to open a savings account but my credit is so poor, no one will give me one, and I'm unemployed. Anyone know an online bank that might work with me on small deposits?