Debt Dumpers - 2018

[belle032]

Helpful (hopefully!) hint: Unsubscribe from store emails. I realize I get sooooo many emails from various stores that are constantly advertising sales. I’ve gotten Bath & Body Works, Michaels, and Big Lots, among various others, just this morning. I don’t NEED anything, but of course, I looked through every sale. I’m not saying delete all your emails, but if there are some you don’t need, get rid of temptation!

Also, stay away from Amazon lightning deals. They’re my weakness!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Helpful (hopefully!) hint: Unsubscribe from store emails. I realize I get sooooo many emails from various stores that are constantly advertising sales. I’ve gotten Bath & Body Works, Michaels, and Big Lots, among various others, just this morning. I don’t NEED anything, but of course, I looked through every sale. I’m not saying delete all your emails, but if there are some you don’t need, get rid of temptation!

Also, stay away from Amazon lightning deals. They’re my weakness!

I use a unroll.me. It is a service that bundles all of the emails you choose into a once a day "roundup" of your emails. I find those advertisement emails much less tempting when I scroll through the roundup, probably because it just makes it all seem even more like junk mail. It also helps me save time because I don't have to constantly delete emails. And the more important emails that I want to see right away remain in my inbox, so I see them very quickly.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Our 3% cost of living increase should start on this next paycheck. Every little bit helps!

Both my DH’s company and the hospital I work for give their COL raises in July. I wish it was in January instead of July

I am now back to work for 3 days this week and then full time starting next week. Monday was the first day and shortly after I got into the office, I got a call from the daycare. DD was refusing the bottle and wouldn't eat. My heart dropped, but I stayed calm. I gave them some ideas to try to help her eat and stressed that they needed to feed her every two hours. In the end, she ate enough later in the day to make up for the bad feedings early on. I am hoping that today goes a bit better.

Budget wise, things seem to be going alright. I took my car in for scheduled service ($245), but the money for that was waiting in the auto maintenance fund. We have been spending a bit more on groceries this month, mostly because we restocked some bulk items. For the rest of the month, I am going to try to plan meals using things we mostly already have at home to keep the damage to a minimum.

I have overspent in the baby fund this month. We needed some items for daycare. And then I also went to Target this weekend to buy a second formula pitcher that I had seen on clearance. Well, when I was there, they had a ton more stuff on clearance. There was a toy that I had bought DD for Hanukkah which was almost $15 cheaper so I plan to return the other one. They also had a lightweight Chicco stroller marked down from $140 to $35. I had been watching Craigslist for this stroller because I thought it would be perfect for our Disney World trip in 2019. I never saw it for less than $80 on Craigslist and that wasn't even for one in very good condition. And they had a portable highchair caddy that attaches to the table for $20, so I bought that too, plus a few smaller items. I spent only $63 total and I should get another $15 back when I return that toy, so I feel like I got an amazing deal.

I was able to add quite a bit to my DVC contract fund so far this month. I had some big Swagbucks offers credit and redeemed for $75. I also sold an item on craigslist for $105 and got a class action lawsuit check for $25. We are now at $4,713 of our $10,000 goal.

And finally, I will be going to Disney World at the end of the month with my friend! We have our dining reservations and fast passes all booked! I snagged a breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest and I was able to get us spots at the DVC Moonlight Magic event at Magic Kingdom. I am super excited. Via Swagbucks, I should have enough money in Disney gift cards to cover my food and some souvenirs. I want to find something awesome to bring back for DD.

I always find adjusting back from maternity leave stressful for everyone. Glad to hear she rallied at the end of the day and did a good job with her bottles!

Target is my absolute downfall. I have to restrict myself from going sometimes and send my DH instead because I ALWAYS end up spending more than I plan. However, that is an awesome deal you scored on the stroller!!

That sounds like a perfect weekend trip! Enjoy!!

Thanks, MamaBelleRN. It IS a strain on a marriage, even one that is 24 years strong. Every night or every other night, I update him on the pay off and bills, show him the spreadsheets (there are so many!), AND include him on the trip planning/payments. It's not that I'm a better person than anyone, but that I love him and he's my best friend. Should I ever make a facepalm mistake, I'd love a second chance.

In regards to the trip, and why some here were wondering about why I didn't cancel: we'd been planning this trip for years. We are going with a family member who owns DVC and had been contemplating buying more points. When he heard we were committing (last summer), he purchased that contract. He can afford to make the payments, but he'd bought it so soon solely based on having us stay in his DVC home. I felt an obligation to pay him for the points, since we'd committed. Yes, he could've rented them out. Yes, something catastrophic could've come up and we had to cancel...but it didn't. So this is me scraping by the spreadsheets to pay off the vacation. AND I know we will have an amazing time!

Spreadsheets...the new bane of my life. But, at least I have a running total now! (In case anyone wonders, I did try YNAB last year and didn't like it. Just wasn't my cup o' tea)

I had to remind myself when we were at our worst (and still do remind myself!) we are more than the sum of our finances and our financial mistakes. We all need second chances sometimes and to be given grace. Sounds like you will make it through to the other side and be stronger for it.

I don’t think you’ll ever regret taking your trip to WDW. It will be an amazing trip and worth all the effort and planning. This is one example of why I could never get fully on board with Dave Ramsey. Of COURSE it is crucial to pay off debt. However, I think there needs to be a balance. He seems so extreme in the sense he seems to promote not spending any money outside of absolute necessities and debt pay off. It so stringent, it leaves little room for joy. You have a plan to pay off your debt, you’re taking care of your trip, and you’re working hard. I say kick it up with Mickey and enjoy your time!! Happy planning

We have a spreadsheet, but we are NOT good about updating. I may give YNAB a whirl to see if it keeps us up to date with our spending more readily.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I just need to whine a minute, so feel free to skip my first world drama. Lol.

Why are weddings to blasted expensive? I'm trying to be smart with my taxes and pay off as much as I can, but at the same time, try and pay for our wedding. I'd love to be able to do a cheap wedding, but I know I won't be happy with that. I'm only doing this once and since I can't have it at Disney, I want the wedding I've been dreaming of here... Which is looking like $12000. So now, do I pay off a lot of debt? Do I put my full return towards the wedding and just keep trudging? Do 1/2 and 1/2? Why isn't there an easy answer to this? I need to go make a few million spreadsheets with all the scenarios.

 

[mommy2mrb]

I just need to whine a minute, so feel free to skip my first world drama. Lol.

Why are weddings to blasted expensive? I'm trying to be smart with my taxes and pay off as much as I can, but at the same time, try and pay for our wedding. I'd love to be able to do a cheap wedding, but I know I won't be happy with that. I'm only doing this once and since I can't have it at Disney, I want the wedding I've been dreaming of here... Which is looking like $12000. So now, do I pay off a lot of debt? Do I put my full return towards the wedding and just keep trudging? Do 1/2 and 1/2? Why isn't there an easy answer to this? I need to go make a few million spreadsheets with all the scenarios.

Just my 2 cents....

Prioritize!

Do you need all the bells and whistles for the wedding. Can you make some of your things? Borrow items? Flowers are crazy expensive. Go to a flower market, so much cheaper and do them yourself. Have good supportive people in your corner.

People will remember the food and fun. Have great photographer and video.

It’s a big day for you both...but just one day. Do you want to start your marriage with more debt?

 

[Ngwira]

Haven't posted in a while, but we are doing great budget wise. I was able to transfer $2,000 over to our savings account yesterday and tomorrow is payday. Monthly bills are paid so may transfer that over too.
Our water bill was double what is normally is so I'm having the plumber come out and check a toilet that is constantly running. Our gas bill was double too but it's not a surprise given the really cold December that we've had with negative windchills.

We have been paying extra on DH's car payment so a payment isn't actually due until June but of course we'll keep making payments to get it paid off quicker. I have also been making extra payments on our solar loan as well and we are getting a $500 check from them for our purchase and a $4800 tax refund due to the solar rebate.

We leave for 5 nights in Las Vegas/Utah the first week of February and I've been putting away money for that. We just need money for food and gas.

Other than that, chugging along. I'll do our taxes when we get back from vacation and hopefully we will be getting a nice refund due to our solar rebate.

 

[Ngwira]

I just need to whine a minute, so feel free to skip my first world drama. Lol.

Why are weddings to blasted expensive? I'm trying to be smart with my taxes and pay off as much as I can, but at the same time, try and pay for our wedding. I'd love to be able to do a cheap wedding, but I know I won't be happy with that. I'm only doing this once and since I can't have it at Disney, I want the wedding I've been dreaming of here... Which is looking like $12000. So now, do I pay off a lot of debt? Do I put my full return towards the wedding and just keep trudging? Do 1/2 and 1/2? Why isn't there an easy answer to this? I need to go make a few million spreadsheets with all the scenarios.

As someone who had all the bells and whistles at her wedding, if I could do it over again, we'd go to the courthouse. We've been married for 13 years, and what really matters most, is the marriage. We aren't even in contact with a majority of the people who attended our wedding in 2005.

I do understand why you'd want the big wedding though since you only get to do it once. Like a PP said, spend on what's important to you (food, flowers, venue, dress) and go budget on what's not. That way you have a happy medium. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[pblack]

As someone who had all the bells and whistles at her wedding, if I could do it over again we'd go to the courthouse. We've been married for 13 years, and what really matters is the marriage. We aren't even in contact with a majority of the people who attended our wedding in 2005.

I do understand why you'd want the big wedding though since you only get to do it once. Like a PP said, spend on what's important to you (food, flowers, venue, dress) and go budget on what's not. That way you have a happy medium. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I didn't have all the bells and whistles, but i second the idea that if we did it over again it'd be a much smaller more intimate wedding. We only had about 100 people or so, but by the time everything was said and done, I wish we would have went with our first idea of 20-30 down on the beach and just going to a restaurant after. Definitely look at what's important to you and go from there. The wedding day itself will go by in the blink of an eye, and to be completely honest I don't remember most of the reception and who all was there. (Wasn't drinking, it was just a complete whirlwind.)

 

[Dentam]

Both my DH’s company and the hospital I work for give their COL raises in July. I wish it was in January instead of July

This is the first job I've had that gives annual cost of living raises - and we get a Christmas bonus to boot so I feel spoiled now, lol. Though we could get paid more given the cost of living here.

 

[amalone1013]

I'm anxiously awaiting my W2. I like to get taxes over with ASAP, though each year I seem to have more things that take longer to come... Last time I had tried to calculate an approximate tax bill I was getting that we'd owe $2k, but DH got his W2 on Monday and the amount of tax paid was higher than I estimated, so maybe we will be in our normal, under $1k refund. I think I'm most anxious about my W2 though - our second to last paystub of 2017 was wrong, so I'm worried that will delay mine OR they'll give incorrect ones and send corrected ones later. What happened was, our paychecks were correct but the year to date columns did not have anything added to them from that pay period Our last paychecks and stubs were correct as in it added the last check data, but it's still missing the previous one. Apparently this only happened at our location so our payroll person had to open a case with the corporate people, and they just keep extending their deadline on it a week

I'm also waiting to see how they rule in my case for our first paycheck of the year. We had Dec 25th and 26th as holidays, but came in a 3am on the 27th. Our days run 7am-7am, so the 3am-7am on the 27th is still the 26th for our purposes, and we get doubletime for holiday pay. But they system processed mine incorrectly and paid me doubletime for all 12 hours I worked that day, instead of just the 4 hours. So I might lose a little in my next check, which isn't the end of the world as I wasn't expecting it anyway (obviously ) but payroll says often they say it's processed correctly and leave it. Also another moment because we all know it's wrong, but we're not going to fight them over it.

We've got one more Disney trip planned before our APs expire, and we leave next Friday. @Jen and Ashwin maybe we'll run into you and your friend We had extra credit card points to cover flights and hotel, and I've earned enough Disney GCs to pay for food/souvenirs. We also got $100 in Disney GCs for Christmas... people must think we like Disney or something Actual OOP costs should be around $200.

Our PTO accrual rates increased this year for the new-ish employees, so I will now earn 2 more days over the year. With all of this new found time off I decided to take off next Friday, otherwise I would have been stuck working 3am-3pm that day I've done that the majority of the days this year, and I'm over it already. But I don't see that ending until at least March because we need to get a new person in to train.

In more related to this thread news, we reworked our budget categories but haven't allocated savings goals/extra payments yet. Haven't set official goals for the year yet either. We are slacking. But we did spend the whole weekend cleaning and organizing and finding things to get rid of, which was good. We also got a good inventory going of what items we have (like kitchenware) for when we move out.

@Tygerlilly I'll just echo other posters and say spend on what's important. Don't be afraid to skip something completely if it doesn't matter to you - if you don't care why even do something cheap for it? I planned a 160+ person $25k+ wedding, slashed it for a 160+ person $15k budget completely DIY wedding, and ended up spending just under $14k on a 20 person destination wedding. I'm here if you want to pick my brain on anything I'm definitely glad we went with the 20 person wedding.

@Dentam if I remember right your COL is about the same as mine, and definitely not keeping up with our location!

 

[Ngwira]

This is the first job I've had that gives annual cost of living raises - and we get a Christmas bonus to boot so I feel spoiled now, lol. Though we could get paid more given the cost of living here.

We have unions at my job so when they get a raise, management does too. They are currently in contract negotiations so who knows? Even if no raises, I am blessed in that DH got a raise last July, we don't pay ANYTHING for our health insurance through DH's job and our shelter costs (mortgage, taxes, utilities) is 20% of our monthly income, so that helps a lot.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Don't compromise the marriage for the wedding.

Which is a slightly melodramatic way of echoing the comments around it being just one day.

There are often ways to keep costs under control with a bit of creative thinking and without spending months hand knitting bunting (unless that is your hobby). In the UK, and I suspect it is much the same everywhere else, as soon as the word wedding comes into the mix the price for things goes up and up. Where possible try to find a non-wedding version of something - often almost identical versions can be found.

Make use of willing volunteers, but while ensuring you don't exhaust their goodwill by asking others to spend months hand knitting bunting (even if it is their hobby). When you think of adding something into the planning ask yourself if it is core or extra. For every extra ask yourself why you are adding it - is it because So and So had it, it is declared to be the latest thing for weddings or because you really want it.

And finally, bear in mind the essence of Coco Chanel "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off".

Above all remember on the day to smile and enjoy it, it will be over WAY too quickly.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

@amalone1013 We will be at AK on Saturday, MK on Sunday, Epcot on Monday and HS on Tuesday. Also, if you plan to be at MK on Sunday, there is a DVC Moonlight Magic event starting at 9pm. I am allowed to bring up to 4 guests, I think. If you are interested, I could see if I could add two more to my reservation. We would have to meet up to check in.

 

[Dentam]

@Dentam if I remember right your COL is about the same as mine, and definitely not keeping up with our location!

Yes, I am in Denver and it is not cheap here. I am very lucky to pay way under the going rate for my rent and I have landlords who never raise it until a new person moves in, so I'm planning to stay here as long as I can! Other expenses do keep going up year after year though, like car insurance due to the spring hail storm, Xcel energy bills - mine was $25 higher this past month than it was the month before, etc, etc.

 

[Ngwira]

@amalone1013 We will be at AK on Saturday, MK on Sunday, Epcot on Monday and HS on Tuesday. Also, if you plan to be at MK on Sunday, there is a DVC Moonlight Magic event starting at 9pm. I am allowed to bring up to 4 guests, I think. If you are interested, I could see if I could add two more to my reservation. We would have to meet up to check in.

Lucky duck! Wish I could be your guest

 

[belle032]

I just need to whine a minute, so feel free to skip my first world drama. Lol.

Why are weddings to blasted expensive? I'm trying to be smart with my taxes and pay off as much as I can, but at the same time, try and pay for our wedding. I'd love to be able to do a cheap wedding, but I know I won't be happy with that. I'm only doing this once and since I can't have it at Disney, I want the wedding I've been dreaming of here... Which is looking like $12000. So now, do I pay off a lot of debt? Do I put my full return towards the wedding and just keep trudging? Do 1/2 and 1/2? Why isn't there an easy answer to this? I need to go make a few million spreadsheets with all the scenarios.

Of course it is your wedding and you are allowed to do whatever you please for your day, but coming from someone who just got married in August, I second just about everything every other poster has said!

DH and I we’re looking at $15K minimum for a basic wedding. Heck even a tent in the backyard was costing us thousands. So we said screw it and went with a destination wedding. If I had to do it all again, it would be done the exact same way. Looking back, I can’t believe we ever even considered dropping that much money for our wedding.

However I completely understand that a destination wedding is not for everyone. With that being said, when you’re thinking you NEED those centerpieces or the extra special backlighting or the fancy place cards, think back to weddings you’ve been to. Do you remember any of those things? Probably not. And honestly, your guests won’t either. Heck I didn’t even remember what decor was at my own wedding ceremony until I saw it in photos!

In the end, do whatever is right for you as a couple, but don’t bankrupt yourself during the process. What comes after the wedding day is a thousand times more important than the day itself

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Ugh, this month has not been kind. Christmas went through on budget but we stayed extra long with the ILS as lots of friends were back in town and over spent a bit. Combined with coming home to entry pantry and fridge with the added bonus of this coming fortnight being the only one all year DH doesn't get paid. Have been dealing with it effectively by just not looking at the budget... only really spending on essentials but incoming does not equal outgoing this month

 

[Tygerlilly]

Thanks y'all. I put everything in my spreadsheet and it actually looks like I'm just under $10k at the moment with all my expenses estimated in. I'm actually doing this relatively cheap, doing my own flowers and centerpieces, we're catering in an awesome bbq buffet that's only $11/pp (the best price I've found by a long shot and it's sooo good!), and our photographer is a friend of ours from work so she's giving us a discount.

We wouldn't be adding to debt, we just wouldn't be getting rid of much (if any) debt until next year.

 

[amalone1013]

@amalone1013 We will be at AK on Saturday, MK on Sunday, Epcot on Monday and HS on Tuesday. Also, if you plan to be at MK on Sunday, there is a DVC Moonlight Magic event starting at 9pm. I am allowed to bring up to 4 guests, I think. If you are interested, I could see if I could add two more to my reservation. We would have to meet up to check in.

Oh wow! That's so nice of you to offer! I hate to impose, but that would be amazing... we've been considering doing the After Hours thing but weren't sure due to price.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Took DH's car in to the mechanic today for inspection and oil change... $450 later we have an oil change, inspection, new filters, and new front brakes. Oh well. Needs to be done and I know the mechanic is honest. I still need to get my oil changed and get my car aligned.

It stinks that it was unexpected but to look on the bright side, at least brakes are more like general maintenance, not really that a part is broken. Kind of like needing tires, things wear down.



I'm probably due for brakes in 6-12 mos or so but we'll most likely be trading it in by summer.
I'd love to give it to ds17 but it's a minivan that seats 7 and I'm afraid he would fill it with friends, which is against our new drivers rules (can only have 1 other person besides a parent). He is one to skip rules that he doesn't agree with
partly why he doesn't have a dl. Not to mention it would be on the expensive side for him to fill his tank compared to a small car. Still, it was well cared for, garage kept, only 55,000 miles at 12 yrs old and I'm the only owner. Oh well.