Debt Dumpers - 2017

[Eureka]

I just paid off one of our cars. Last payment supposed to be in January but I thought it would be nice to get it done this year. Now we only have one car payment again. I’m sure DH will have an idea for the money...529s or our nest egg (I’d rather use toward the credit card or imminent increase in car insurance when Ds gets his license but he likes to do the more long-range goals). But, yay!

 

[Ngwira]

I just paid off one of our cars. Last payment supposed to be in January but I thought it would be nice to get it done this year. Now we only have one car payment again. I’m sure DH will have an idea for the money...529s or our nest egg (I’d rather use toward the credit card or imminent increase in car insurance when Ds gets his license but he likes to do the more long-range goals). But, yay!

Awesome!!!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Woah, all caught up but everyone has been very busy!

Our rental income has come in early as they shut down over Christmas / New Years so Ive funded the last couple of gifts I need to pick up today, petrol for the driving we do for hours to visit everyone, a bit of spare fun money for having coffee out with friends as we are back in DH's hometown and groceries as even though MIL has Christmas covered, my kids have eaten her out of cereal as nd fruit inn one day... I have $50 of supermarket rewards saved for that though.

So for 2017 we should be finishing up the year with

• a fully funded emergency fund,
• one CC paid off entirely,
• our other card that hit $10k (mostly from our trip in March) down to $1800, goal to pay off by Feb
• Paid cash for all expenses to date for our trip next April
• Have not put any Christmas spending on credit

Goals for 2018 are

• Get ahead on car payments. We will need to replace our second car in the next couple of years and I'd like to have this one paid out first. Goal is in 18mths.
• Get one pay cycle (fortnight) ahead in all immediate/true expenses categories. I've had enough to budget into the next month a couple of times now but starting YNAB coming into the $$$ time of the year has been a challenge!
• Have cc debt paid in full by end of Feb
• Work out if I will owe tax for a second job I took marking test papers and out it aside over the next 6mths

 

[Dentam]

Doing really well here - looks like I will be able to put a bit extra toward dept dumping from my paycheck in two weeks if I stay on course. That'll be a good way to start 2018! Speaking of... I started a thread for next year, so once everyone has had a chance to post their year end wrap ups here, feel free to join us in the 2018 thread!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

I met two financial goals--paid my almost $4000 2107 property tax bill this week (early, had to be paid by January 31st) and have managed to add no new debt due to Christmas. Looking forward to paying off more debt, and not just treading water, in 2018!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

So DH got a promotion at work the day we got home from the hospital- it's a big one and I'm so proud of him. I'm glad to see the 2018 thread is up because this has me more determined than ever to get our last few debts paid off and get some savings started. This year we did really, really well. Kept ourselves out of credit card debt even with having a baby. 2018 is going to be a year of building savings for us. I'm headed over to the 2018 thread from here on out- hope to see you guys there!

 

[amalone1013]

Our last few things following my wrap up post for the year...

Took a 4 day trip down to Disney to see the holiday stuff. Had a great time. We had flight and hotel points and our APs, so our only OOP costs were food, fees, a Christmas gift we picked up down there, and MVMCP tickets. Was about $500 overall thanks to getting some free/discounted GCs.

We're finishing off the month with a road trip for my cousin's wedding. 8 hour drive, still need a gift. I did have an aunt and uncle send us a gift card for my very favorite fast food chain in my home state... There's a location at the midway point that I ALWAYS stop at when I visit... perhaps it was a hint? Anyways, dinner is covered on the way there. We'll be there over NYE and I know there will be eating out, but hopefully not too crazy. Going to crash with another cousin.

The day after I posted my wrap up... my coworker quit (another one!) So we came back from Disney on Tuesday, and I've been working 3am-3pm each day since... including today, but I get to go home around 8am. Going to need some coffee for our family Christmas Eve celebration. So lots of 12 hour days coming my way, since the department is still short... and my company is making cuts in salary/management positions starting in January. I'm safe, but we've got a lot of people at our location taking a retirement package they offered, and they don't plan to replace all of them - it could get interesting. I was going to decrease my 401k some so we could increase DH's plus open IRAs for both of us (was thinking get 401k match, max IRA, go back to 401k/HSA...) but might as well leave it at the max my company allows (25%) because I don't think I'll notice...

 

[Miss Whimsy]

YNAB informs me that in the year 2017 I increased my net work by almost 50%. That wasn't all getting rid of debt--I've been trying to up my savings because my job situation has been feeling a little shaky recently--but hot damn! That's the first time in my life I've ever moved that far in a positive direction!

 

[dayvewc]

My wrap up.

Year started bad. Too much debt and lots of emotional loss.

I made minimal improvement on debt.

Emotionally, the year has been a world class roller coaster.

Just let this year end already.

 

[bababear_50]

My wrap up.

Year started bad. Too much debt and lots of emotional loss.

I made minimal improvement on debt.

Emotionally, the year has been a world class roller coaster.

Just let this year end already.

I am right there with yah!
My year wrap up....................................................
Loss of my brother.
Way too much credit card debt!
I am just not living within my means and planning for emergencies.
So many ups and downs!
I am ready to restart in 2018.

Merry Christmas Debt Dumper Friends.
Hugs Mel

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone!

Wrapping up the year with more debt paid down, but nothing paid off yet. Really need to crack down in the new year. A personal loan of about $2100 will be paid off approximately April/May depending on when we get back our tax returns. No new debt added though, so chugging along.

See you all in the 2018 thread!

 

[Tygerlilly]

In 2017 I managed to pay off our couch and our washer and dryer. And we now can go paycheck to 3 days before paycheck to having a little left over on paydays. Not a massive leap like some of you, but I'm so proud. Bring on 2018!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Overall, 2017 was a good year for us. We continued to pay all of our credit cards in full each month and didn't add any credit card debt. We saved $6,000 towards our emergency fund. We paid an extra $10,000 in principal towards our mortgage and we fully paid off my car. And I managed to save $4400 towards a future DVC contract with found money and swagbucks earnings.

 

[DnA2010]

Overall im happy with 2017- I was off on maternity till July 1, then DH was off on paternity till sept 7- we managed to continue to carry 0 balance on credit cards and didn’t need to get a loan of credit to get through with the money we had saved for baby leave. We’ve got half of the emergency fund, and a fund started for sept 2018 when our mortgage comes up for renewal - it will have sound 17 years left but our goal is to renew at 15 years.
We are also hoping a DL trip works out but will see as we are saving to finish our basement . Roll on 2018!

 

[arlinar]

Year wrap-up

Been extremely inactive due to life but now have time to catch up

2017 was bad financially. I lost my job due to not having transportation (my car I bought for cheap ended up dying. The car dealer I bought it from offered to take it back and it didn't ding against my credit)

My boyfriend lost his job for a month but was able to get another job making $40,000 more a year. We now have a lot more money to play with. We been catching up on credit card bills and other bills to help with the dings on our credit reports.

My goal is to close my Amazon card after tax season cause the APR is so high on it that it eats a chunk of the payment that I put towards it.

I also had surgery to get my tonsils out and my son had surgery two weeks later to get ear tubes in his ear. While my surgery was completly covered, we were stuck with a $2,000 bill as the Anesthesiologist that was there for my son was out of network for my insurance . I wish the surgery center would of scheduled his procedure to have someone there that was accepted by insurance.

Here's to finally starting a savings account next year.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Year wrap-up

Been extremely inactive due to life but now have time to catch up

2017 was bad financially. I lost my job due to not having transportation (my car I bought for cheap ended up dying. The car dealer I bought it from offered to take it back and it didn't ding against my credit)

My boyfriend lost his job for a month but was able to get another job making $40,000 more a year. We now have a lot more money to play with. We been catching up on credit card bills and other bills to help with the dings on our credit reports.

My goal is to close my Amazon card after tax season cause the APR is so high on it that it eats a chunk of the payment that I put towards it.

I also had surgery to get my tonsils out and my son had surgery two weeks later to get ear tubes in his ear. While my surgery was completly covered, we were stuck with a $2,000 bill as the Anesthesiologist that was there for my son was out of network for my insurance . I wish the surgery center would of scheduled his procedure to have someone there that was accepted by insurance.

Here's to finally starting a savings account next year.

Have you tried negotiating down the anesthesiologist bill? Since you aren’t married, based on your income alone, you might qualify for a reduced or forgiven medical bill.

It is tricky but you always have to ensure that all care providers are in network before the procedure is performed.

 

[amalone1013]

Is there an easy way to print the report for the year from YNAB?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Is there an easy way to print the report for the year from YNAB?

I don't think there is a way to print it out nicely.

 

[Ava]

My goal is to close my Amazon card after tax season cause the APR is so high on it that it eats a chunk of the payment that I put towards it.

I wouldn’t close the card if you can avoid it. Depending on the credit limit of that card, how much other credit you have, and how much debt, closing the card will raise your debt-to-income ratio which can negatively affect your credit score. Just put the card away so you can’t use it any more and pay it off.

You could also look into getting a card with a 0% balance transfer offer. You’ll probably pay a fee to transfer the balance, but it may save you money in the long run depending on how much the balance on your Amazon card is and how much interest you are paying each month (as long as you pay off the balance by the time the 0% offer ends). I’ve been there, good luck to you.

 

[amalone1013]

I don't think there is a way to print it out nicely.

Screenshots it is haha. Think it will be a good topic for our road trip this weekend. Time to review what we spent and our priorities going forward.