Debt Dumpers - 2017

[PrincessKymm]

I saved myself $50 a month for 12 years by asking for a lower rate on my internet. It jumped from $70 a month to $90 and I called and asked for a competitor match and received $40 a month beating the competitor by $20 a month. The deal is good for 12 months so phew! That's a lot of money I can snowball with.

I have NOT been doing well. Work has been awful, my grandma is at the end of her days, my sister is really sick (no clue why, the docs are stumped) and a guy I was dating dumped me. I am ready for March to be over with!!!!!!! I've spent a lot of money that wasn't planned for this month. I feel like I need to redo my budget and adjust my cushion.

Because I was dumped I charged a small Disney trip. I am taking my son and my mom for 3 days to Coronado Springs next month. I swear this is my last trip for the year....ok I will work on believing that too, but I need to get away. I looked at going somewhere close by and nothing really floated my boat. Kalahari in Sandusky was $600 for the same 3 days and it was only $800 for Disney. Ummmm not a hard choice....I have a problem. I know you guys will understand!

I am working on getting my debt snowball back in order. I also need to plan for November/December better.

I finally found an apartment I like but can't decide if I should wait to move this November when my lease is up or wait for next November. If I do it this year I will be BROKE and very little debt will get paid off. If I wait a year I feel like I could pay cash for the move AND I will have debt paid off which will look more favorable on the application. It's really no difference in price and location. I would move to the next city over (which is literally 1 mile away) saving me $40 a month in local taxes, it's the same school for DS so no changes there, and I would save $60 a month in laundry costs since I'll have a washer and dryer in unit, really it's a wash since the rent is $100 a month more. Its way nicer, even has a fireplace for these chilly Cleveland winters.

 

[Dentam]

Add me to the list of those not doing great this month. I did pay off my smallest cc balance at the beginning of the month. Then it went downhill from there.

The place I took my car for oil changes informed me the last time I was there that the oil pan plug was stripped and they couldn't do my oil change. Then they claimed to have no record of me bringing my car to them for oil changes. Convenient since basically they are responsible for damaging the plug. This will teach me to keep all of my receipts in order. Now the service light is on and it is overdue for an oil change. Quote to fix the issue was for $900 if the oil pan needs to be replaced. Doesn't make sense to put that much into a car that isn't even worth that amount, but I am not in the position to buy a new car yet. I can afford a car payment, but I don't think I would be approved for a loan based on the amount of debt I still need to pay off and the amount I have to pay in rent to live in this city.

Sigh.

 

[disneyduonj]

Did you pay with cash? If not there has to be some record...check or credit card statements. And then I'd find a new mechanic since they obviously aren't very honest.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Add me to the list of those not doing great this month. I did pay off my smallest cc balance at the beginning of the month. Then it went downhill from there.

The place I took my car for oil changes informed me the last time I was there that the oil pan plug was stripped and they couldn't do my oil change. Then they claimed to have no record of me bringing my car to them for oil changes. Convenient since basically they are responsible for damaging the plug. This will teach me to keep all of my receipts in order. Now the service light is on and it is overdue for an oil change. Quote to fix the issue was for $900 if the oil pan needs to be replaced. Doesn't make sense to put that much into a car that isn't even worth that amount, but I am not in the position to buy a new car yet. I can afford a car payment, but I don't think I would be approved for a loan based on the amount of debt I still need to pay off and the amount I have to pay in rent to live in this city.

Sigh.

This happened to me and it was the driving motivation for replacing my 13 year old VW Jetta early. I was planning to get a new car 6-12 months later, but the idea of putting in $1000 towards an oil pan replacement was too much. I sold the car "as is" for $1000 instead, borrowed a car from my parents for a month and found a great deal on a VW Tiguan.

I was furious with the shop that stripped the bolt, but they didn't even tell me at the time and I found out from the dealership. The shop that stripped it wouldn't do anything and couldn't have cared less. So frustrating.

 

[Dentam]

This happened to me and it was the driving motivation for replacing my 13 year old VW Jetta early. I was planning to get a new car 6-12 months later, but the idea of putting in $1000 towards an oil pan replacement was too much. I sold the car "as is" for $1000 instead, borrowed a car from my parents for a month and found a great deal on a VW Tiguan.

I was furious with the shop that stripped the bolt, but they didn't even tell me at the time and I found out from the dealership. The shop that stripped it wouldn't do anything and couldn't have cared less. So frustrating.

It's good to know I'm not the only one. Yes, it is infuriating and I have learned a lesson. When I get a new vehicle I will keep every receipt - and I will not be taking it to a quick lube shop. My car is 16 years old with 160k miles. It could still have some good life in it if I had all of the repairs done but it's not even worth 1k. The guy I talked to when I got the estimate for the oil pan kind of laughed and basically said my car's not worth it. Problem is with the rents in Denver, it doesn't leave much room for debt payments before my debt to income ration is above 36 percent, which apparently is the magic number to be approved for a car loan. I would need to pay off more debt first to reach that number. It's a conundrum.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Add me to the list of those not doing great this month. I did pay off my smallest cc balance at the beginning of the month. Then it went downhill from there.

The place I took my car for oil changes informed me the last time I was there that the oil pan plug was stripped and they couldn't do my oil change. Then they claimed to have no record of me bringing my car to them for oil changes. Convenient since basically they are responsible for damaging the plug. This will teach me to keep all of my receipts in order. Now the service light is on and it is overdue for an oil change. Quote to fix the issue was for $900 if the oil pan needs to be replaced. Doesn't make sense to put that much into a car that isn't even worth that amount, but I am not in the position to buy a new car yet. I can afford a car payment, but I don't think I would be approved for a loan based on the amount of debt I still need to pay off and the amount I have to pay in rent to live in this city.

Sigh.

Wow, didn't know this was a thing (I'm a dummy with cars). DH is constantly trying to get me to go to one of the quick places, but I prefer to take it to my local mechanic I've used for years. He might be a couple dollars higher, but I trust him and know he won't screw me over when something big comes up.

Had to stop and get breakfast this morning. I always eat egg whites in the morning, usually while on my way to work (yes yes, I know, distracted driving). This morning I went to put the first bite in my mouth and one of the eggs was bad! I immediately spit it out and headed to the nearest Chick-Fil-A.

DH and I are headed to our horse show tomorrow. I'm planning to stop tonight and pick up some bread and lunch meat for sandwiches while we're down there, along with some waters. Horse shows usually have concession stands, but they're pricey.

I probably won't be on much over the next couple days between the horse show and a work conference early next week

 

[DisneyMandC]

Oh, speaking of cars, forgot to mention this fun little gem. I was outside working around the house this past weekend with DH. I happened to look at my license plate and saw that my tags need to be renewed next month. Then I looked at DH's. His tags expired. IN JANUARY. Neither of us ever noticed and we've never received anything from DMV on it! I immediately ran inside and went online to renew them. $10 late fee later... And of course, when you order them late you can't print out the little receipt to prove that you've ordered them and they just haven't arrived yet. Knock on wood, somehow DH has not been spotted by the police all this time, so hopefully he won't be between now and whenever the tags show up next week.

What's weird is that very same day, I got an e-mail from DMV telling me my tags need to be renewed soon. DH is not the type to overlook this sort of thing if he received a notice, so I'm convinced we just never heard anything from them on renewing. I know it's our responsibility, but still. Even the dentist sends me a postcard every six months!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

It's good to know I'm not the only one. Yes, it is infuriating and I have learned a lesson. When I get a new vehicle I will keep every receipt - and I will not be taking it to a quick lube shop. My car is 16 years old with 160k miles. It could still have some good life in it if I had all of the repairs done but it's not even worth 1k. The guy I talked to when I got the estimate for the oil pan kind of laughed and basically said my car's not worth it. Problem is with the rents in Denver, it doesn't leave much room for debt payments before my debt to income ration is above 36 percent, which apparently is the magic number to be approved for a car loan. I would need to pay off more debt first to reach that number. It's a conundrum.

I have also stopped going to quick lube shops. I just take my Tiguan to the dealer now for regular maintenance. And unlike my Jetta, the Tiguan only needs service every 10,000 miles. That means I take it in just about once per year, so overall it actually costs me less than my Jetta did. We bought the 5 year maintenance plan on DH's Golf Sportwagen and so we don't even have to worry about his costs until 2022!

 

[amalone1013]

It's good to know I'm not the only one. Yes, it is infuriating and I have learned a lesson. When I get a new vehicle I will keep every receipt - and I will not be taking it to a quick lube shop. My car is 16 years old with 160k miles. It could still have some good life in it if I had all of the repairs done but it's not even worth 1k. The guy I talked to when I got the estimate for the oil pan kind of laughed and basically said my car's not worth it. Problem is with the rents in Denver, it doesn't leave much room for debt payments before my debt to income ration is above 36 percent, which apparently is the magic number to be approved for a car loan. I would need to pay off more debt first to reach that number. It's a conundrum.

Denver rents are outrageous. It's the main reason we live with DF's parents now... I used to keep all of my car maintenance receipts with the owners manual, which is where I keep my insurance/registration, but now that I've got a car loan, I keep them with that paperwork - well, the few I have anyways...

I have also stopped going to quick lube shops. I just take my Tiguan to the dealer now for regular maintenance. And unlike my Jetta, the Tiguan only needs service every 10,000 miles. That means I take it in just about once per year, so overall it actually costs me less than my Jetta did. We bought the 5 year maintenance plan on DH's Golf Sportwagen and so we don't even have to worry about his costs until 2022!

My dad always took our family cars to those places, and some days you'd spend more time fighting with them then you would spend if you changed the oil yourself. If they were busy, your car was perfect - even when we knew something was wrong. If it was a slow day, you'd get a multi-page list of things you NEEDED to do, your vehicle is a Death Trap! So many times we would move a car the day after, and there would be spots from an oil leak... Like hmmm, the car has never leaked oil before, I'm sure it's not because you didn't tighten the bolt

I'm enjoying the included maintenance on my car right now with the dealership - though when I took it in in January, the guy kept trying to upsell me. If my tires need balanced after the first 10k miles (for an added cost, when I've had no symptoms), we will have bigger issues. It's winter, I do not need a fancy car wash. Especially when the main difference between my included maintenance and the one you are trying to upsell for $80, is that the car wash is slightly better than the one I'm already getting.

 

[Dentam]

Oh, speaking of cars, forgot to mention this fun little gem. I was outside working around the house this past weekend with DH. I happened to look at my license plate and saw that my tags need to be renewed next month. Then I looked at DH's. His tags expired. IN JANUARY. Neither of us ever noticed and we've never received anything from DMV on it! I immediately ran inside and went online to renew them. $10 late fee later... And of course, when you order them late you can't print out the little receipt to prove that you've ordered them and they just haven't arrived yet. Knock on wood, somehow DH has not been spotted by the police all this time, so hopefully he won't be between now and whenever the tags show up next week.

What's weird is that very same day, I got an e-mail from DMV telling me my tags need to be renewed soon. DH is not the type to overlook this sort of thing if he received a notice, so I'm convinced we just never heard anything from them on renewing. I know it's our responsibility, but still. Even the dentist sends me a postcard every six months!

My stickers expired in December one year and with all of the holiday stuff going on I didn't notice and never got anything from DMV. I only wish the late fee was just $10 - nope, not in Denver! They told me I didn't get the notice because I had changed my address with the state when I moved but not the county. I figured they were connected when I did it on their website but again, of course not. I had them update the address and also changed my renewal month to February so it doesn't fall over the holidays.

Checked my car this morning and topped off the oil - it has a small leak, which is probably a good thing given that the oil can't be changed. Also topped off the engine coolant and now need to replace the cap for that.

ETA: Went to an autoparts store on my lunch break and they did a free scan of my car with this device that shows any engine issues. Luckily, there were none and he thought the service light was on because the car needs an oil change. I told him the situation and he said I could try to replace the oil plug myself. He was impressed that I replaced the throttle position sensor myself a few months ago and said this would be easier than that - assuming I can get the old oil plug out. So, I bought the new plug for only $9.99 and will give that a shot this weekend! Also got a new cap for my radiator for $8.99.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Question for all you money savvy people related to accounts in collections.

I have a couple from a few years ago when I was young and stupid with money. I saw a thing on Facebook (doubt it's legit, but that's why I'm asking) saying if a creditor has sold your account to a collection agency, that you are actually no longer obligated to pay it and since they sold it, they no longer can report it to the credit bureau and it can be removed to improve your score.

Is this any kind of true? It would take a few bad things off mine and I sure could use that.

 

[amalone1013]

We're over on eating out this month, and about $80 in to next month's grocery budget... We still have the well water issue going on. It's frustrating, because today is exactly 4 weeks since it was noticed and it's still not fixed... but on the other, it's not our issue to fix and it's an expensive fix. The first quote for filters, which they aren't 100% sure is an option, was $7000... but a new well will be somewhere around $20,000. I don't blame DF's parents for getting multiple quotes, I'm just tired of eating out/frozen dinners/hauling laundry to someone's house/showering in slightly icky water and it's getting to me. The grocery budget is mainly over due to frozen meals... the small consolation being at least they cost less than going out to eat. I bought a salad mix to go with a frozen pasta dish the other day (and washed it with bottled water ) and kind of wanted to eat a big plate of just that. We also spent an unexpected $550 this month, covering a few things for his parents to help out - they won't know until they see their credit card bill, shhhh...

On the bright side, we should be done spending for the month because DF had to fly out of town for work this morning (he'll be back tonight, late) and I just found out that my coworker has decided to take off tomorrow and I have to stay late and cover. Insert me punching coworker here - I'm pretty easy going and will cover if I have no plans, because I might as well make a few extra bucks if I'd just be sitting on my butt... but when it's last minute couldn't you at least be courteous enough to either tell me ASAP or check that I don't have something going? This is a recurring thing with this guy, he could have told me yesterday when I saw him, instead I had to come in this morning and see it in my email


Even with our setbacks, due to DF's unexpected commission this month we should be paying off another loan next week!


I almost forgot, I got my teeny cost of living raise and it goes into effect on my next paycheck. 2.7%, plus I got an extra 0.3% for being such a good employee Every bit helps right?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Question for all you money savvy people related to accounts in collections.

I have a couple from a few years ago when I was young and stupid with money. I saw a thing on Facebook (doubt it's legit, but that's why I'm asking) saying if a creditor has sold your account to a collection agency, that you are actually no longer obligated to pay it and since they sold it, they no longer can report it to the credit bureau and it can be removed to improve your score.

Is this any kind of true? It would take a few bad things off mine and I sure could use that.

This is a little confusing, but basically if the debt gets sold, then it may appear twice (or more) on your credit report. Once from the original agency and again from the agency that purchased the debt. You are able to get it removed from the original creditor if it was sold. You can't get the current debt holder to remove the debt unless you work it out as part of a settlement agreement, basically negotiating with the collector to have the account removed from your credit report in exchange for payment.

Here is a sample letter for asking for a deletion for settling a debt:
https://www.thebalance.com/sample-pay-for-delete-letter-960563

 

[Tygerlilly]

This is a little confusing, but basically if the debt gets sold, then it may appear twice (or more) on your credit report. Once from the original agency and again from the agency that purchased the debt. You are able to get it removed from the original creditor if it was sold. You can't get the current debt holder to remove the debt unless you work it out as part of a settlement agreement, basically negotiating with the collector to have the account removed from your credit report in exchange for payment.

Here is a sample letter for asking for a deletion for settling a debt:
https://www.thebalance.com/sample-pay-for-delete-letter-960563

That makes sense. I'll have to pull my report and see if anything is on there more than once. Thank you!

 

[lorac4disney]

I'm late to the party, but I'm in. We just bought a new compact tractor for mowing and tilling gardens. Even though we financed it with zero interest, the payments are roughly $315 per month. My goal is to get my vehicle, house, DVC payments (less the monthly membership dues), and tractor paid off by the end of 2019. Any amount that I can work towards that goal will help tremendously.

So here's where I stand at this point.

Vehicle: Owe $11,375. Goal to pay $4260 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $7115 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
Tractor: Owe $17, 484. Goal to pay $2835 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $14,649 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
House: Owe $14, 525. Goal to pay $3015 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $11,510 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
DVC: Owe $8900. Goal to pay $1000 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $7900 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
CC: Owe $135. Paying off April 2017 and keeping a zero balance on it for emergencies.

Total: Owe $52,419. Paying $8495 on debts this year. Still owe $43,924 at the end of year.

Of course, I would love to pay these off earlier than what I currently have planned and I anticipate that I will be able to put a dent in what I owe well over the amount that I have planned. The house and DVC take main priority in getting paid off first. We are about to go on vacation in 3 weeks, but once that is over, every extra dime will be paid towards our debts. I hate that I can't pay it all off this year, but I will continue working on it so that I am completely debt free by the start of 2020.

In order to accomplish this, I will be cutting our expenses while also doing what I can to increase our income. Growing our own organic vegetables will help and I hope that we have enough this year to start bringing some to the farmer's market. Even if we don't, saving on our grocery bill will help since this is an area where I slacked off on in the past. I have cut out processed foods and am eating healthier so our food budget went way up due to that. I have quit smoking so I plan on using all of that money towards paying off debts too.

We plan on not taking a vacation in 2018 & 2019 in order to pay everything off in those years. Here's to buckling down and saving money.

 

[Eureka]

Well ladies (and @dayvewc ), we've spent a lot of money lately and a bunch has gone on the credit cards. Prepaid for parking in NYC near our hotel. The show and concert tickets are on there too. We'll be getting a federal refund but not enough to pay it all off. We still need to do our state taxes, but we almost always either need to pay around $100 or get that much back. Today was DH's "extra" check and after I paid the mortgage, I had enough left to make a payment on each credit card. I'll still pay more for April when I usually would, but it was good to chip away a little more at them. Also paid April's cell phone bill, which is due end of next week but why not do it now. It was $60 less than it has been bc we paid off two phones last month. But our electric bill is going up by $30 starting this month...you know how it all goes. Feels like we're in a holding pattern. Sigh. I'm feeling a little motivated to do more cooking than I have lately...mainly to make sure I have lunch stuff ready, and maybe stash some cookies in the freezer for the kids to take in their lunches. I've been relying too much on expensive frozen meals (for me) and snacks (all of us) lately. It's just too hard to do it all when I get home after 7pm every night (DH cooks during the week but I get lunches together). The kids and DH did Chik Fil A last night but there has also been a lot of frozen pizza eaten lately.

On a happy note, we found out yesterday that DS14 is accepted at the high school that DS16 goes to for next year. It's not our zoned school and he got into the same specialized science program that his older brother is in. Brotherly bonding maybe? LOL. We are all very pleased with this news.

Have been extremely busy and tired this week so have not read much. How is everyone?

 

[disneyduonj]

I'm late to the party, but I'm in. We just bought a new compact tractor for mowing and tilling gardens. Even though we financed it with zero interest, the payments are roughly $315 per month. My goal is to get my vehicle, house, DVC payments (less the monthly membership dues), and tractor paid off by the end of 2019. Any amount that I can work towards that goal will help tremendously.

So here's where I stand at this point.

Vehicle: Owe $11,375. Goal to pay $4260 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $7115 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
Tractor: Owe $17, 484. Goal to pay $2835 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $14,649 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
House: Owe $14, 525. Goal to pay $3015 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $11,510 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
DVC: Owe $8900. Goal to pay $1000 on principle in remainder of 2017. Leaving $7900 to pay off in 2018 & 2019.
CC: Owe $135. Paying off April 2017 and keeping a zero balance on it for emergencies.

Total: Owe $52,419. Paying $8495 on debts this year. Still owe $43,924 at the end of year.
.

My math says over $11,000 paying debt this year if you stick to your goals!!!

 

[lorac4disney]

My math says over $11,000 paying debt this year if you stick to your goals!!!

You're right. I must have messed up badly while running the numbers. I was trying to calculate the figures while pulling them from their different sources. The phone rang, the UPS guy made a delivery, and I ran out of coffee, lol! I'm surprised that I even got as close as I did with all of that going on. I am hoping that I can double up on payments on the house and DVC. Actually, pay double the amount with the extra going straight to principle.

So running the numbers right this time:

Total: Currently owe $52,419. Paying $11,245 on debts for the remainder of this year. Leaving $41,174 in debts to pay off in 2018 & 2019.

 

[momtosam]

Not debt related in anyway, but hopefully this can be your smile for the day!

http://6abc.com/family/twin-toddlers-re-enact-scenes-from-frozen/1828340/

 

[momtosam]

I saved myself $50 a month for 12 years by asking for a lower rate on my internet. It jumped from $70 a month to $90 and I called and asked for a competitor match and received $40 a month beating the competitor by $20 a month. The deal is good for 12 months so phew! That's a lot of money I can snowball with.

I really should try to call and renegotiate our internet. We pay too much!

Oh, speaking of cars, forgot to mention this fun little gem. I was outside working around the house this past weekend with DH. I happened to look at my license plate and saw that my tags need to be renewed next month. Then I looked at DH's. His tags expired. IN JANUARY. Neither of us ever noticed and we've never received anything from DMV on it! I immediately ran inside and went online to renew them. $10 late fee later... And of course, when you order them late you can't print out the little receipt to prove that you've ordered them and they just haven't arrived yet. Knock on wood, somehow DH has not been spotted by the police all this time, so hopefully he won't be between now and whenever the tags show up next week.

What's weird is that very same day, I got an e-mail from DMV telling me my tags need to be renewed soon. DH is not the type to overlook this sort of thing if he received a notice, so I'm convinced we just never heard anything from them on renewing. I know it's our responsibility, but still. Even the dentist sends me a postcard every six months!

I once let my drivers license expire unknowingly. It was the secretary at my GYN office who pointed it out to me! I swear I never got a letter in the mail reminding me about. I can't rember if I ended up paying a fee or not.