Debt Dumpers - 2018

[amalone1013]

I'm wondering how people budget their income when they make a significant amount of it off commission or overtime pay?

Last year was easy as we just threw everything extra at our student loans, and we had almost non-existent living expenses. But as we look at moving out and budgeting for rent/morgage, utilities, etc I'm not sure how to plan. A third of our take home last year was from OT and commission. I don't really like the idea of budgeting off that, as what if we have less OT/commission in a month? But going off our base pay asa monthly budget makes things look a little tight for extra goals like savings or vacation. When commission checks come they're random and larger, and my OT is all over the place - for 2018 I'll start off with 40-55 OT hrs a paycheck, but at some point should settle to 16 OT hrs or less a paycheck.

So I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation, and how they handle that?

I'm wondering about basing other goals on a percentage basis, so when extra money comes in it is allotted like X% goes to Emergency fund, X% to debt payoff, X% to vacation... etc.

 

[mommy2mrb]

I'm wondering how people budget their income when they make a significant amount of it off commission or overtime pay?

Last year was easy as we just threw everything extra at our student loans, and we had almost non-existent living expenses. But as we look at moving out and budgeting for rent/morgage, utilities, etc I'm not sure how to plan. A third of our take home last year was from OT and commission. I don't really like the idea of budgeting off that, as what if we have less OT/commission in a month? But going off our base pay asa monthly budget makes things look a little tight for extra goals like savings or vacation. When commission checks come they're random and larger, and my OT is all over the place - for 2018 I'll start off with 40-55 OT hrs a paycheck, but at some point should settle to 16 OT hrs or less a paycheck.

So I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation, and how they handle that?

I'm wondering about basing other goals on a percentage basis, so when extra money comes in it is allotted like X% goes to Emergency fund, X% to debt payoff, X% to vacation... etc.

You should budget for whatever your “true” paychecks are.

Any commission/bonus/OT use for extra savings/pay debt on top of what you have already budgeted from regular pay checks.

 

[amalone1013]

You should budget for whatever your “true” paychecks are.

Any commission/bonus/OT use for extra savings/pay debt on top of what you have already budgeted from regular pay checks.

We'll definitely set it off our true paychecks (2x a month, those three month checks are also a bonus ).

I was just hoping to pick some brains on how others handle it, like do they have a set amount they send towards each goal, or go on a month by month basis. When DH gets a commission, it can be up to a couple thousand dollars that shows up at once.

 

[mommy2mrb]

We'll definitely set it off our true paychecks (2x a month, those three month checks are also a bonus ).

I was just hoping to pick some brains on how others handle it, like do they have a set amount they send towards each goal, or go on a month by month basis. When DH gets a commission, it can be up to a couple thousand dollars that shows up at once.

I figure out percentage for each catagory for any extra found $$ which would usually be

20% each for long term savings, CC debt, mortgage/car debt, trips, emergency fund.

Good luck!

 

[pblack]

Just wanted to jump in and say hope everyone had a great christmas! I'll be working on my goals and budget in the next few days and will post when i have it!

 

[potterfanatic]

I'll also be joining again this year. I didn't do as well as I hoped last year, but I recently read a Dave Ramsey book, and I'm all about tackling my debt this year. My goals will be:

- Pay for all groceries and local shopping with cash in order to keep on budget.
- Make an extra $50 a month to put towards debt.
- Pay off cc#1 by July
- Pay off cc #2 by December

 

[tarheel618]

I'll also be joining again this year. I didn't do as well as I hoped last year, but I recently read a Dave Ramsey book, and I'm all about tackling my debt this year. My goals will be:

- Pay for all groceries and local shopping with cash in order to keep on budget.
- Make an extra $50 a month to put towards debt.
- Pay off cc#1 by July
- Pay off cc #2 by December

Try swagbucks for this goal. It takes some time but this is doable. You can cash out to paypal and then transfer to your bank account.

 

[potterfanatic]

Try swagbucks for this goal.

Thanks! I'll look into it!

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Don't have too much debt thankfully. But I do have some saving goals and hopefully posting here will help me pay off things and save up:
-Pay off credit card by March (paycheck is delayed so this took a beating with Christmas)
-Start helping pay student loans
-Pay off Disney trip
-Buy a new laptop

Personal Goal:
-Get a new job

 

[Dentam]

Try swagbucks for this goal. It takes some time but this is doable. You can cash out to paypal and then transfer to your bank account.

I'm going to look into this too. I've heard of it before but have never tried it!

 

[Dentam]

I was able to throw an extra $350 toward cc debt for my first round of bill paying in 2018. Already set up the payment to go out 1/5, so I'm happy starting the year out on that note.

On a money going out note... my parents have a short trip to DL planned for mid-February. They own DVC now and were able to get 3 nights at the Grand Californian. Well, I checked airfare yesterday on a whim, and SW had a nonstop flight to LAX for $40 and a nonstop return flight for $70. So, I went ahead and booked the flight with the idea that if I change my mind about going, I can apply that amount toward my SW flight to Orlando for September. Now my sister is talking about joining the DL trip also, so I think I will go ahead and do it. We don't all get to see each other often since I live a few states away, and after being together at Christmas it was hard to think that we wouldn't see each other again until the summer. With the great airfare price and the room covered, I will just have to add park tickets and a bit of money for meals and I'll be set.

So - money saved and then spent I guess... lol.

 

[sarahrdh]

We have both changed jobs in the last 2 Years which caused us some financial strain. Things are looking up nicely but we racked up cc debt during this time.

So goals:

#1- pay off $3k cc by end of February.
#2- put tax return in savings and not touch it.
#3- Pay off cc#2 $5k by end of June.
#4- save another couple thousand into vacation fund for 2019

Cc’s will Be cancelled once paid off. We would be left with 1
American Express with a lower interest rate, has a $7k balance but 0% for awhile yet. I’m not hellbent on that one yet; we need these others to get out of lives first.

I think by the end of 2018 we will be looking pretty good. I’m excited for that again, and I hate to rush time but I want to get through this next year of frugality as quickly as possible. It will
Drive us both nuts but it has to be done and we know that. We were debt free a few years ago and it was nice. we just need to get back there again before the hole gets any deeper. We can do it. It’s just a lot of determination needed!!

 

[Dentam]

Cc’s will Be cancelled once paid off.

I would suggest keeping your cc's after they are paid off in order to make sure your credit score doesn't take a hit.

 

[sarahrdh]

I would suggest keeping your cc's after they are paid off in order to make sure your credit score doesn't take a hit.

Well that was our thought the first 2 times around with these particular cards....and then they get racked up and maxed out. Again. We just need to get rid of them and keep only the AmEx. We thought we could be good this time with them, but we can’t. Maxed out cards are worse than cancelling in the big picture. :/

 

[Dentam]

Well that was our thought the first 2 times around with these particular cards....and then they get racked up and maxed out. Again. We just need to get rid of them and keep only the AmEx. We thought we could be good this time with them, but we can’t. Maxed out cards are worse than cancelling in the big picture. :/

Try cutting the cards up but keeping the accounts open. I agree that maxed out cards are definitely worse!

 

[sarahrdh]

Try cutting the cards up but keeping the accounts open. I agree that maxed out cards are definitely worse!

I would consider that.... don’t know if my hubby would agree. Maybe. We’ll see once we get there! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[MamaCoop]

Joining in... We took a big hit in 2017 so we have a lot of work to do in 2018. We don't have a specific plan worked out yet hopefully we will this weekend.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years and a good start to their goals!!!

 

[DLgal]

Joining in for 2018. 2017 was a wash for us. We need to do better next year.

Goals:
Pay off CC debt currently $9650 and $4950. These are at 0% until Oct 2018 and Feb 2019 respectively.
Save at least $1500/month for military retirement transition in 2.5 years. This is our emergency savings to tide us over in case DH doesn't find a new job right away.
No new CC debt!

Also, I want to save up the money for our Disneyland Annual Pass renewals in August so we can buy them outright instead of using the monthly payment plan, which will lower our monthly expenses by $170/month. We will use whatever Disney and Chase Sapphire Rewards dollars we have accumulated up to that point (currently we have $320 towards the $2600 that the passes will cost).

As a general goal, spend no more than $2500/month on the credit card that we pay off monthly. This is our "everyday" card for groceries, gas, eating out, entertainment, etc. $600/week sounds like a lot, but we often spend that in about 3 days! Need to dial that back.

 

[imbatman]

Joining in. This is my anonymous account, although I'm a long-time DISer. Found out my spouse has charged several thousands of dollars in 2017 last night. I'm devastated, to say the least, because we were scheduled to be debt free in May. So, I'm posting here to try and encourage people who read this and feel embarrassed if they are in the same boat. It happens...even after more than 20 wonderful years of marriage. Yes, I cried myself to sleep. Yes, I cried typing this post, but I'm going to get through this. Here's the plan:

#1 - New CC debt $3472.98 -- According to my snowball chart, I'll have this paid off in June. But I'm going to throw anything I can at it to try and pay it off by April.
#2 - Main CC debt $18,509.99 -- Without a doubt, this hurts the most to post. We even have a WDW trip planned in December that I'm considering canceling, but I dread telling our kids. We've been planning it for 2 years. My goal for this one is to pay down, according to the snowball.

Those are my two goals. We have one car payment and a mortgage, too. If you need encouragement, if you want to cry, PM me (although I'm not sure if I can get PM's before 10 posts?). Want to rage? I get it. But I hope that by reading my soul-crushing debt, someone else can make a decision to move forward, one payment at a time.

 

[bababear_50]

Joining in. This is my anonymous account, although I'm a long-time DISer. Found out my spouse has charged several thousands of dollars in 2017 last night. I'm devastated, to say the least, because we were scheduled to be debt free in May. So, I'm posting here to try and encourage people who read this and feel embarrassed if they are in the same boat. It happens...even after more than 20 wonderful years of marriage. Yes, I cried myself to sleep. Yes, I cried typing this post, but I'm going to get through this. Here's the plan:

#1 - New CC debt $3472.98 -- According to my snowball chart, I'll have this paid off in June. But I'm going to throw anything I can at it to try and pay it off by April.
#2 - Main CC debt $18,509.99 -- Without a doubt, this hurts the most to post. We even have a WDW trip planned in December that I'm considering canceling, but I dread telling our kids. We've been planning it for 2 years. My goal for this one is to pay down, according to the snowball.

Those are my two goals. We have one car payment and a mortgage, too. If you need encouragement, if you want to cry, PM me (although I'm not sure if I can get PM's before 10 posts?). Want to rage? I get it. But I hope that by reading my soul-crushing debt, someone else can make a decision to move forward, one payment at a time.

Hi hon
YOU WILL make it through this!!
Not now but years ago--more than I can list here.........undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder in now Ex hubby. During his high (mania) it was charge and charge. Three kids and after 17 yrs of marriage nothing for the lawyers to argue over except who was going to pay their bill. I lost my home,car, best friend and just about everything including my self respect.
I had so many tears and there were days and nights when I could barely function,,but I did and dug my way out via family and friends.
I used to work at a fulltime job and a partime job just to survive. I did this for 15 years.
I never told the kids but hey kids know what they see and they are proud of their mama today for all she has accomplished,,,they all have College or University degrees (I can't tell you how proud I am of this) and we have a home again. It may not be the big giant house with gardens and pool,,, but it's ours.
There will be brighter days ahead because you now have faced a very dark time and are moving forward.
BIG HEALING HUGS are being sent your way!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~Healing Hugs~~~~~~~~~~
Hugs Mel