Debt Dumpers - 2017

[mrsabbott]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up? For example, Hubs wants spending cash each week. He does work long hours and, even though he takes his lunch, he still finds things he wants to purchase. So, I put it in the budget, even though I feel like some of that money would be better spent elsewhere. We have agreed on a lesser amount than he originally wanted, so it is an okay compromise. For me, I go and get my nails done every 2-3 weeks. That is about $40. It is something that I did NOT do for YEARS but always wanted to do. It was sort of my "I turned 40 and am going to start giving myself this one thing" gift.
Alternately, though, I have given up going out to eat, buying new clothes (or shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup or basically anything that is non-essential), going to the movies, etc.. I even trim and color my own hair at home! I just want to keep doing this ONE thing for myself because it makes me feel good. At the same time, I feel a little guilty about it. Sigh..

 

[Dentam]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up? For example, Hubs wants spending cash each week. He does work long hours and, even though he takes his lunch, he still finds things he wants to purchase. So, I put it in the budget, even though I feel like some of that money would be better spent elsewhere. We have agreed on a lesser amount than he originally wanted, so it is an okay compromise. For me, I go and get my nails done every 2-3 weeks. That is about $40. It is something that I did NOT do for YEARS but always wanted to do. It was sort of my "I turned 40 and am going to start giving myself this one thing" gift.
Alternately, though, I have given up going out to eat, buying new clothes (or shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup or basically anything that is non-essential), going to the movies, etc.. I even trim and color my own hair at home! I just want to keep doing this ONE thing for myself because it makes me feel good. At the same time, I feel a little guilty about it. Sigh..

In my opinion, if you make debt dumping a miserable experience and leave no room for treating yourself once in a while, it won't work. Just like dieting.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up? For example, Hubs wants spending cash each week. He does work long hours and, even though he takes his lunch, he still finds things he wants to purchase. So, I put it in the budget, even though I feel like some of that money would be better spent elsewhere. We have agreed on a lesser amount than he originally wanted, so it is an okay compromise. For me, I go and get my nails done every 2-3 weeks. That is about $40. It is something that I did NOT do for YEARS but always wanted to do. It was sort of my "I turned 40 and am going to start giving myself this one thing" gift.
Alternately, though, I have given up going out to eat, buying new clothes (or shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup or basically anything that is non-essential), going to the movies, etc.. I even trim and color my own hair at home! I just want to keep doing this ONE thing for myself because it makes me feel good. At the same time, I feel a little guilty about it. Sigh..

I think this is the strength of budgeting. You learn what you really want, what really makes you happy and you are able to budget for those expenses. For DH and I, we were very, very frugal for about a year while we eliminated all of our credit card debt. We put everything extra that we could towards the debt to eliminate it as fast as possible. But I love to eat at Chipotle once a week. I just don't get sick of it. I have been doing it for years, ever since I got out of college and started working. Besides this one meal per week, we very rarely eat out otherwise. And even though we were very frugal during that time (spending freeze on clothing, hobbies, most activities, etc.), we still got Chipotle once a week. We did find ways to make it more budget friendly. When they ran gift card deals, we took full advantage to save money. And instead of buying guacamole in store, we used Chipotle's own recipe to make the guac at home for 1/3 of the cost. I don't know if I could have made it through that year if we had cut out that little weekly splurge.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up? For example, Hubs wants spending cash each week. He does work long hours and, even though he takes his lunch, he still finds things he wants to purchase. So, I put it in the budget, even though I feel like some of that money would be better spent elsewhere. We have agreed on a lesser amount than he originally wanted, so it is an okay compromise. For me, I go and get my nails done every 2-3 weeks. That is about $40. It is something that I did NOT do for YEARS but always wanted to do. It was sort of my "I turned 40 and am going to start giving myself this one thing" gift.
Alternately, though, I have given up going out to eat, buying new clothes (or shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup or basically anything that is non-essential), going to the movies, etc.. I even trim and color my own hair at home! I just want to keep doing this ONE thing for myself because it makes me feel good. At the same time, I feel a little guilty about it. Sigh..

I definitely still do this as does my husband. We usually take a trip to the local used bookstore on or around payday and pick out a few new books, since we both love to read. Like above posters said, splurging is an essential part to a good budget in my opinion. If you completely withhold all fun from yourself you will only end up going on a "binge" and going crazy all at once (at least from my experience I know that's what I tend to do)

 

[Aurora_Australis]

DH is comic books. He's cut it down to one he gets ordered in each month. Still goes to the store and browses and chats and buys digital ones when he gets enough google survey credits.

Me, going to a coffee shop once a fortnight on my own and sitting reading with a cake and coffee.


***

I other news, dog's paw healed itself, as the vet hoped it would. Don't have to pay $400 to put him under and have it done anymore. And he's got his cone off now so my shins should have a few less bruises

 

[kleph]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up? For example, Hubs wants spending cash each week. He does work long hours and, even though he takes his lunch, he still finds things he wants to purchase. So, I put it in the budget, even though I feel like some of that money would be better spent elsewhere. We have agreed on a lesser amount than he originally wanted, so it is an okay compromise. For me, I go and get my nails done every 2-3 weeks. That is about $40. It is something that I did NOT do for YEARS but always wanted to do. It was sort of my "I turned 40 and am going to start giving myself this one thing" gift.
Alternately, though, I have given up going out to eat, buying new clothes (or shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup or basically anything that is non-essential), going to the movies, etc.. I even trim and color my own hair at home! I just want to keep doing this ONE thing for myself because it makes me feel good. At the same time, I feel a little guilty about it. Sigh..

a number of folks have contributed some anecdotal evidence of this but it turns out there is some real science behind it. we like to think of willpower as something constant
(that we happen to be lacking) but it seems it's more like a skill we develop. and, more importantly, we can overuse it if we are not careful. this story from 2010 in the new york times discusses this and the strategies for handling it. the body of evidence for this has only expanded since that story, so you won't have to search much harder on google to find more information on this if you are interested.

i've seen a lot of self help articles suggest being realistic about how much control you can place on yourself. this makes complete sense. it's important to build some "relief valves" that help you keep the key goals intact and on target. otherwise you risk just giving up completely and not taking advantage of the progress you've already made. and, more and more, there's scientific evidence to back that up.

 

[hmack]

...that day you're doing taxes and you realize how much you made this year and think, "where did it all go?"

and then you remember....

"debt".

and that's one of the big reasons I'm trying really hard to buckle down this year. I need to remember how this feels, so I can recall it year around. I know that I won't eliminate debt this year - it's too high - but 2017 HAS to be a year to try to knock it down.

 

[dayvewc]

My "splurge" is travel - specifically to Disney. I have the estimates for my trip costs (timeshare maintenance fees and taxes, ticket costs, gas, food, etc.) budgeted in to my plan. When I see something I would "really like to have" I just remind myself that I can get it, but it means I can't do as much on the next trip. That pretty well keeps me in line on the rest of my budget. (Books are my other weakness, but there is not a book store close to where I live - 90 miles minimum drive one way, as long as I avoid Amazon.com I am pretty good at succumbing to that temptation).

I other news, dog's paw healed itself, as the vet hoped it would. Don't have to pay $400 to put him under and have it done anymore. And he's got his cone off now so my shins should have a few less bruises

When my Rose was having an issue with skin mites, she would lick all the fur off her her paws and legs and side. I had to put her in a cone, but it just caused problems. I found an inflatable collar that served the same function as the cone, but was much more comfortable for all of us to have her wear it instead. I hope you don't have any future issues that need a cone of shame, but if you do you might want to check out the inflatable collar instead.

 

[Dentam]

When my Rose was having an issue with skin mites, she would lick all the fur off her her paws and legs and side. I had to put her in a cone, but it just caused problems. I found an inflatable collar that served the same function as the cone, but was much more comfortable for all of us to have her wear it instead. I hope you don't have any future issues that need a cone of shame, but if you do you might want to check out the inflatable collar instead.

I have one of these for my dog also and it worked like a charm when she had her spay/gastropexy a little over a year ago.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

...that day you're doing taxes and you realize how much you made this year and think, "where did it all go?"

and then you remember....

"debt".

and that's one of the big reasons I'm trying really hard to buckle down this year. I need to remember how this feels, so I can recall it year around. I know that I won't eliminate debt this year - it's too high - but 2017 HAS to be a year to try to knock it down.

No, I look at all the taxes I pay and wonder where that all went.
Once, dh & I added up all of our property taxes, income taxes & estimated sales tax for 1 year. It's equivalent to some people's gross income.


If you ever have the urge to put yourself in a foul mood within minutes, that's the way to go.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Got my second W2 yesterday and DH and I filed our taxes. My return was pitiful, not at all what I'd hoped, but DH got a decent amount. Filing separate is a bummer, especially when it comes to student loan interest deductions, but we did ok overall. The best news is that I can now finally refile for my student loan payments to go down! According to the online estimator, my payment will drop form $815/mo to $311/mo. And my student loan provider now allows you to upload the forms online, which should make things go much faster. My payment is at the end of the month, so I'm wondering if they'll have to done by the time the February payment rolls around, but not holding my breath.

 

[disneyduonj]

Wow, that's a huge difference disneymandc

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Got my second W2 yesterday and DH and I filed our taxes. My return was pitiful, not at all what I'd hoped, but DH got a decent amount. Filing separate is a bummer, especially when it comes to student loan interest deductions, but we did ok overall. The best news is that I can now finally refile for my student loan payments to go down! According to the online estimator, my payment will drop form $815/mo to $311/mo. And my student loan provider now allows you to upload the forms online, which should make things go much faster. My payment is at the end of the month, so I'm wondering if they'll have to done by the time the February payment rolls around, but not holding my breath.

What is the benefit in filing "married, filing separately".

 

[mom2t]

Got my second W2 yesterday and DH and I filed our taxes. My return was pitiful, not at all what I'd hoped, but DH got a decent amount. Filing separate is a bummer, especially when it comes to student loan interest deductions, but we did ok overall. The best news is that I can now finally refile for my student loan payments to go down! According to the online estimator, my payment will drop form $815/mo to $311/mo. And my student loan provider now allows you to upload the forms online, which should make things go much faster. My payment is at the end of the month, so I'm wondering if they'll have to done by the time the February payment rolls around, but not holding my breath.

Best refund ever.

 

[mom2t]

Cannot wait to get our last 2 W2s so we can file. We had to pay last year. First time ever and it was unexpected. We made changes so hoping things are different this year.

I have been watching our finances closer this month. Unfortunately prescription meds went up 100 a month this year. Ready to pay down more debt on my credit card.

 

[AquaDame]

Do you guys have that one splurge that you aren't willing to give up?

Getting coffee every morning with my coworker. Except for this one wander away from my desk every morning I am tied to it - I bring my lunch and its basically a desk job. I come in earlier than everyone else (though there are a couple people who are supposed to be there at the same time they rarely show up that first hour... ask how I feel about that sometime) so getting to leave for those 10-15 minutes when they finally get there keeps me sane. It's not even about the coffee - just the camaraderie and fresh air. If she wasn't in meetings most of the day every day I wonder if I could con her into a stroll instead.. but its less than $2 a day most days so really I just suck it up as my one luxury.

Got my second W2 yesterday and DH and I filed our taxes. My return was pitiful, not at all what I'd hoped, but DH got a decent amount. Filing separate is a bummer, especially when it comes to student loan interest deductions, but we did ok overall. The best news is that I can now finally refile for my student loan payments to go down! According to the online estimator, my payment will drop form $815/mo to $311/mo. And my student loan provider now allows you to upload the forms online, which should make things go much faster. My payment is at the end of the month, so I'm wondering if they'll have to done by the time the February payment rolls around, but not holding my breath.

Whoa! That is insanely wonderful, congrats! I am not sure how the refile thing works...? It's too late for me to take advantage (only ~3K in student loans left thank goodness) but maybe someone else could?

Tax season makes me cringe... we did ours last week and should receive our refund by Feb 1st they said. I'm pretty sure its more than we have ever gotten back, and thats what weirds me out. After we were married we did what we thought was reasonable and changed our withholdings to married 1 if I remember correctly and owed for the first time ever. So then we put one of us to married 0 and kept the other at 1 and still owed, so then we went married 0 and now get big refunds. I know its not the right way to do it but I'm scared to change it again since I don't want to owe at the end of the year either. I just want to have a tiny refund or amount owed... not big chunks one way or the other! As nice as it will be to basically pay for Norway I'd have rather put the money to other things all year... :/

 

[AquaDame]

No, I look at all the taxes I pay and wonder where that all went.
Once, dh & I added up all of our property taxes, income taxes & estimated sales tax for 1 year. It's equivalent to some people's gross income.


If you ever have the urge to put yourself in a foul mood within minutes, that's the way to go.

Or, if your spouse makes more than you look at how much of your salary they just pay for taxes... I do try not to feel like I'm wasting my life at a desk and seeing how much his time is worth vs mine... ugh. I should have gone to engineering school...!

 

[DisneyMandC]

What is the benefit in filing "married, filing separately".

I am on an income based repayment plan that takes into account both mine and my husband's income. So with our combined income and filing our taxes jointly last year, my monthly payment is $815/mo. However, when you file separate, it only takes your income into account. That drops my payment to $311/mo (according to the estimator, at least). So the downside is we have to file separate, not as big of returns, and can't deduct student loan interest for either one of us or get the earned income tax credit. We looked to see if it would be worth it to file jointly but we'd have to get more than $6000 in our refund in order to make up for the cost difference in the payment each month. Our joint refund wasn't even close to that.

While it may seem counterintuitive to some to be excited about my payment going down on a "debt dumping" board, I am eligible for public service loan forgiveness with my work. I'll pay on my loans for ten years and then the balance will be forgiven. I'm getting ready to start year three of payments...

Whoa! That is insanely wonderful, congrats! I am not sure how the refile thing works...? It's too late for me to take advantage (only ~3K in student loans left thank goodness) but maybe someone else could?

I have to file an application with my student loan provider annually because I am on an income-based repayment plan. So once a year they ask for either my paycheck or tax returns to make sure I am paying the correct amount in payments. I also have to file paperwork proving that I am still working in a public service position in order to have my loans eventually forgiven. If you're on a standard repayment plan, I don't think you have to file anything. My husband is on a standard 10 year payment plan and I don't think he has to send in anything for it other than the payment!

 

[Dentam]

I just rearranged my spreadsheet so I will pay off my smallest cc's first. Otherwise, it was going to feel like I wasn't making progress. With this new tactic, I should have all but my two largest balances paid off by year's end.

Also ordering my credit report since I just noticed my score seems to have dropped substantially in the past month. I'm worried there is something on there that shouldn't be - i.e. identity theft, which has happened to me before.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I talked to my family and we agreed that since they are coming here to visit the first week of December, we will celebrate Christmas while they are here. I will save about $1,000 by not buying airfare to go home along with paying to board my dog this Christmas. Plus, I've signed up to work a half day that day (we have to have volunteers who work all holidays) so I will be getting holiday pay for that.

 

[Ngwira]

Car insurance renewal came today and it was $100 less than last time. 6 month premium was $665 instead of $775 which I paid in August. Keep in mind NJ has the highest car insurance in the country and this is for 2 vehicles with comprehensive coverage on my Camry. Thanks, Geico.