Debt Dumpers - 2016

[Miss Whimsy]

I just created a budget in YNAB. (snip) Hoping YNAB will make me more mindful.

I found YNAB lifechanging. I understand my money so much better now--I sometimes still struggle with having enough, but I know what it's all doing.

 

[bcwife76]

@gracie1 ugh, that's so frustrating!! Will you take it to another garage now or a different dealership location? Usually they WANT the money and the business so they find things!

 

[Ava]

I found YNAB lifechanging. I understand my money so much better now--I sometimes still struggle with having enough, but I know what it's all doing.

Another YNAB devotee here. I no longer struggle to "find" money to pay bills when they come due, and have all of my bills on autopay. We still don't have much extra to save, but we're in a much better place than we were a couple years ago.

 

[gracie1]

@gracie1 ugh, that's so frustrating!! Will you take it to another garage now or a different dealership location? Usually they WANT the money and the business so they find things!

I was surprised too! I will take it to another garage more than likely to get it repaired. I've never came out of the actual dele airship without them finding something though!

 

[DisneyMandC]

I'm on board with YNAB too. Now I know exactly where my money is going and how much I have left at the end of each month to put towards debt!

 

[dayvewc]

Deposited my insurance cheques today and the bank put a 5-business-day hold on them, bummer. So at 12:01am on Feb 24th I can start paying stuff off lol Since our HELOC payments are due on the 21st of each month this means I'll have to make a payment from our 'own' money lol just the minimum though

Well done everyone on so much progress lately!!!

I know that my bank will put a hold on deposited money occasionally, but they will still let me write checks against the deposit. I don't know exactly how it is done, but if I apply a draft against the deposit, they don't charge me an overdraft charge until/unless it doesn't clear. It might be worth double-checking on it - especially if you are making the HELOC payment to them.

 

[MinnieFanatic]

It's good to know YNAB works for others!! Once I figured out how to get my goals set up, I really like how it will let you know if you're on target or not as you progress. I love the new automatic info from your bank. I tried it for a little while last year but I got tired of typing in ALL my transactions. I like the new version much more.

 

[LisaSunshine]

That's a bummer on your irs return. I underestimated my income last year too so they deducted the additional out of my return. But I am glad I at least had coverage. Good luck on job hunting!!!

Thank you! It is a bit of a bummer, but you're right: having coverage is way more important.

Deposited my insurance cheques today and the bank put a 5-business-day hold on them, bummer. So at 12:01am on Feb 24th I can start paying stuff off lol Since our HELOC payments are due on the 21st of each month this means I'll have to make a payment from our 'own' money lol just the minimum though

Well done everyone on so much progress lately!!!

That's so exciting!! The anticipation must be killing you!

 

[Gena001]

Once the irs approves your refund they will give you a date. Mine was finally approved and it said that it should be direct deposit on the 18th.

So, judging by everyone else's experience, we filed last Friday, 2/12....I'm still waiting for the IRS to accept (just checked)...when would I receive our refund?

 

[Gena001]

Deposited my insurance cheques today and the bank put a 5-business-day hold on them, bummer. So at 12:01am on Feb 24th I can start paying stuff off lol Since our HELOC payments are due on the 21st of each month this means I'll have to make a payment from our 'own' money lol just the minimum though

Well done everyone on so much progress lately!!!

SO HAPPY YOU'VE REACHED THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! Best wishes!

 

[gracie1]

So, judging by everyone else's experience, we filed last Friday, 2/12....I'm still waiting for the IRS to accept (just checked)...when would I receive our refund?

I filed on 2/5 and it was accepted but not approved until 2/14 - it then put on there my return date of 2/18. Once it is approved it will give you the date

 

[DisneyMandC]

So as it turns out, DH and I have apparently been doing some accidental debt dumping for a while now! DH has one student loan that started at about $13,000. He began paying it before we combined our finances, and just had it set to autodraft the monthly payment of $208. He never really paid attention to it or checked up on it, and I just assumed $208 was his monthly payment since that's what he's always paid. Well, he went on the website and checked and it turns out he must have set it to pay extra when he initially set it up, because the monthly payment is actually $108! He's been paying an extra $100 on it every month! That is of course great news, and we are down to almost half the initial balance at this point. However, we've decided to take that $100 away from it and put it towards his car loan since we're focusing on paying that off before the end of the year. With that extra $100, plus what we already had extra to put towards it, it looks like we should hopefully have the car paid off by about September! Woohoo! We will then roll that payment and extra into his student loan

 

[Shmily1]

I am going to read all 54 pages, since now that we are seriously thinking about purchasing our home and extending the family within a year, I desperately need some tips on budget management.

We have been pre-qualified, but its so overwhelming to think how much (or how little) will end up in your pocket at the end of the month, especially since the bank/lending institution only takes into account things such as big time debt like car loans and credit cards. I hope this is the right thread for this :S

I for one, my credit card is almost completely paid off and my car is paid for. My DH doesn't owe much on his credit card either, but still is paying on his car loan. I am not in the States or Canada, so I know things work differently here but any tips would be nice. I tried to look into Dave Ramsay budgeting for a new home and that just made me feel so discouraged, because the difference between what we are projected in spending and what we are leftover with is quite small

Welcome! This group is amazing and so helpful. I would skip DR for a while if you are wanting to buy a home. He is mostly against buying a home from all I have read of his so I am sure that was discouraging. Your best bet is to make sure you are budgeting well. I am certainly not an expert (as you could tell by seeing my debt and rate! LOL) but I do think that YNAB is a great place to start for a good budget plan.

 

[Shmily1]

So as it turns out, DH and I have apparently been doing some accidental debt dumping for a while now! DH has one student loan that started at about $13,000. He began paying it before we combined our finances, and just had it set to autodraft the monthly payment of $208. He never really paid attention to it or checked up on it, and I just assumed $208 was his monthly payment since that's what he's always paid. Well, he went on the website and checked and it turns out he must have set it to pay extra when he initially set it up, because the monthly payment is actually $108! He's been paying an extra $100 on it every month! That is of course great news, and we are down to almost half the initial balance at this point. However, we've decided to take that $100 away from it and put it towards his car loan since we're focusing on paying that off before the end of the year. With that extra $100, plus what we already had extra to put towards it, it looks like we should hopefully have the car paid off by about September! Woohoo! We will then roll that payment and extra into his student loan

Wow! That was a great find for sure! I bet when he set it up he just hit the wrong key (with the 1 being right by the 2) and didn't realize it. Atleast it's been working!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Wow! That was a great find for sure! I bet when he set it up he just hit the wrong key (with the 1 being right by the 2) and didn't realize it. Atleast it's been working!

Yup! He can't remember if he intentionally set it to do that, or if it was just an oops. But it feels good to know we just had it going to it and never knew the difference between paying extra or not!

 

[KBOhio]

Joining in now. I have been following since the first of the year but finally created an account.
The husband and I are committed to paying down the debt. He's helping with the budget and that alone will make things easier. Previously, I was solely in charge of the finances and I had to be the one constantly saying "No" to everything.

 

[Marlyn]

What is YNOB?

I'm still plugging away, feel like I'm getting nowhere. I'm more committed to the debt pay down than DH is. Mist days I feel like I am scrimping, saving, doing without so I can pay more onto CC...then he comes home after having eaten out for lunch or whatever. Makes me want to scream!

Anyone else in a one sided debt situation?

 

[mrsabbott]

What is YNOB?

I'm still plugging away, feel like I'm getting nowhere. I'm more committed to the debt pay down than DH is. Mist days I feel like I am scrimping, saving, doing without so I can pay more onto CC...then he comes home after having eaten out for lunch or whatever. Makes me want to scream!

Anyone else in a one sided debt situation?

I feel your pain. My DH does the same, although he is getting a little better. So frustrating!!!

 

[Shmily1]

What is YNOB?

I'm still plugging away, feel like I'm getting nowhere. I'm more committed to the debt pay down than DH is. Mist days I feel like I am scrimping, saving, doing without so I can pay more onto CC...then he comes home after having eaten out for lunch or whatever. Makes me want to scream!

Anyone else in a one sided debt situation?

YNAB is You Need a Budget. It is budgeting software. The best part about it is that you can see where you are wasting money. There are only 2 of us home now and we were wasting over $1000 eating out each month. When I started using YNAB and saw that, it quickly came to an end. lol. It may be that something like that would bring to your DH's attention just what the money is going for and how he is wasting it while you are trying to save. Maybe do the free trial for the 34days and keep track of spending and show him what is happening.

 

[Marlyn]

YNAB is You Need a Budget. It is budgeting software. The best part about it is that you can see where you are wasting money. There are only 2 of us home now and we were wasting over $1000 eating out each month. When I started using YNAB and saw that, it quickly came to an end. lol. It may be that something like that would bring to your DH's attention just what the money is going for and how he is wasting it while you are trying to save. Maybe do the free trial for the 34days and keep track of spending and show him what is happening.

I've printed off copies of the visa. Highlighted the unnecessary expenses and totalled it. He usually says "wow, that's bad. I need to be careful" Then he carries on. Admittedly, he's not as bad as he used to be but we need to be really serious about this. We have 2 in university already and 1 starting in the fall.