Debt Dumpers - 2019

[stindall]

My surgery is on a care credit card, no interest until June. If I don’t pay it all off by then, the 25% interest from day one gets added to the balance. That is why every extra $$$ we have is going to it right now.

Yeah it was nice to have when I really needed it before we got insurance. I had a dental emergency and then we also used it for some vet bills. Unfortunately we passed that "no interest" grace period and it just adds up! I am keeping the card open but hopefully not using it. I hope yours gets paid off soon!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I need to vent. Our fabulous trip early this month? Family member who is DVC owner "gave" us the points earlier this year. He's now expecting payment. I'm so angry I could scream. We NEVER EVER would've stayed there for that cost. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS. Now, I need to budget in $3500 to repay it. Yes, you read that right. I'm not even civil to him at this point because he's pretending like we agreed to it. Stab me. Stab me now.


You've come to the right place! Feel free to ask for advice, rage against family members, or just to say "I've messed up." We are all here to help each other.

wow, that takes some brass ones. I would think if money was discussed, you both would remember it. How could people just make stuff up and act like it really happened? You would think they would have wanted their money back when they first booked, since that's when the points were deducted from his account. But of course, this would have given you ample time to back out. By sitting back and letting you take the trip, then asking for the money, it's too late to change your mind. If this were me, this person would be completely gone from my life.

Whatever you do, don't pay in cash or you might end up pulling that knife out of your back a 2nd time.

 

[barkley]

I’m going to dig up some one pot/pan recipes and some crockpot recipes. Maybe that will help!

yummly is your friend-you can enter the ingredients you have already on hand so it's further savings. there are lots of easy no fuss/mess to prepare dishes. taco soup and stuffed pepper soup are both really good. the lasagna soup mentioned above is great.

 

[FQLover]

"Whatever you do, don't pay in cash or you might end up pulling that knife out of your back a 2nd time. "

I didn't think of that! That is very good advice. Money order, certified check, photocopy endorsed check.....something.
smh, for sure.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I have horrible financial role models. My parents are huge "spend now, charge now, figure out payment later" type people. I grew up basically on the high poverty line, so I think now that my dad finally makes good money, they wemt extreme the other direction. I'm struggling hard to get us to a good place financially so I can teach my girls how to be better with money.

So, thanks everyone, for helping me be accountable and teaching me new things.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

"Whatever you do, don't pay in cash or you might end up pulling that knife out of your back a 2nd time. "

I didn't think of that! That is very good advice. Money order, certified check, photocopy endorsed check.....something.
smh, for sure.

Even a free personal check leaves a paper trail. I have issues trusting people, except my parents and dh, and stories like this further cement them.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Hi everyone! I'm new here.

Thank you ALL for such amazing advice! Just reading through this post has given me so much insight!

My goals for 2019 are to pay off at least half of my student loans and also tackle some medical expenses I've accrued.

I also have a trip to WDW planned at the end of February! I'm SO excited!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I was reading an article here on Debt,,Canadians are most likely going to be hit with rising interest rates in 2019.
One idea I like was:

" Have a dry January"
Many of us give up something in January. So extend that philosophy to your money by making and bringing your lunch, take public transit, and/or enjoy cozy nights at home. Even 30 days of living like this can save you a big chunk of change.

Article here:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/oth...-to-get-your-debt-on-track-in-2019/ar-BBRy6Hs

One which speaks of Credit Card Debt
https://globalnews.ca/news/3984078/credit-card-debt-help-canada/

I am expecting Food prices to go way up this year.


Hugs
Mel

This is a great philosophy. December is such a month of excess. I feel like I need to be wrung out a bit to get back to normal. Especially with snacking. There are snacks everywhere at home & work. It's crazy.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

CC4 actually has the lowest interest rate, but with the next lowest balance (I did manage to pay off CC2 yesterday), that is my next goal. I have read all about both of the snowball methods and phsycologically, I think tackling the smallest balance first will be best for me,

This is what worked for me. I know mathematically it's smarter to attack the highest interest rate bill first but as DR says, it's not about the math. If we were doing the math all along, we would never have gotten into debt in the first place. I used to throw a little extra at several bills and got nowhere and only became frustrated. Once I read about Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, I felt like I at least had a plan to follow. It was so simple. Not easy; but simple, as in not complicated. It was a very systematic approach and every week I knew exactly where every spare $ needed to go. If I had $5 leftover the day before payday, it went toward the bill I was paying off. The more the balance dropped, the more motivated I became. The more bills were paid off, the larger the snowball. Our snowball is currently around $2500/month. When I think that all used to go toward bills, all I can do is thank the crew here at Debt Dumpers for giving me direction when I had none.

In looking at your list, the ortho is the smallest bill. Are you paying interest on that at all? If so I'd attack that and get rid of it early. That's a good sized chunk you could apply to cc#4, in addition to the min. payment due.

I truly believe that paying things off one at a time vs. consolidation loans, re-negotiating, etc. really helped me adjust my spending habits that were causing the debt to pile up in the first place. There is no quick & easy fix, just grit & determination.

 

[stindall]

Ugh we just learned our rent is going up by $100! Frustrating but not entirely surprising, just more motivation to save and pay down debt instead of spending.

 

[MN_Andi]

3rd paycheck months are awesome for debt dumping if you don't use them in your ongoing month to month budgeting. dd's job is paid bi-weekly as well and it's the first time she's ever experienced this so when i helped her do her budget i showed her how she could get by on just budgeting w/ 2 paychecks per month and then throw those extra 2 each year at her student loans which will go a long way in paying them off much earlier.

That is precisely the plan for my extra paychecks, just straight to my student loans. That is also the main reason that I picked up my second job, to just pay them off even quicker. I want to be debt free from my car and my student loans before I'm 30, my car will be paid off early next year, so I just need to throw as much money towards my loans so I can go back into debt for a mortgage

 

[Karl66]

A question for the group. I saw that a PP listed their mortgage as a debt. I have always considered my mortgage a living expense. Just wondering how other catagorize their mortgages? I also want to wish everyone the best in achieving their goals in 2019.

 

[Newcastle]

A question for the group. I saw that a PP listed their mortgage as a debt. I have always considered my mortgage a living expense. Just wondering how other catagorize their mortgages? I also want to wish everyone the best in achieving their goals in 2019.

I think that most financial planning type people would classify mortgage as a debt. That is a bit scary for me as my mortgage is still quite high at this phase of my life. I think I tell myself that it's not a debt per se so that I don't become completely overwhelmed and give up .

As a side note, I quietly lurked on the Debt Dumpers thread all last year but really want to try to get a better handle on my finances and my spending so I'm hoping to actually contribute to this thread during 2019. Good luck to everyone with their financial goals in 2019!!!

ETA to add: I am very curious as to what your tag line means Karl66 .

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

A question for the group. I saw that a PP listed their mortgage as a debt. I have always considered my mortgage a living expense. Just wondering how other catagorize their mortgages? I also want to wish everyone the best in achieving their goals in 2019.

I've given this a good bit of thought. We currently rent and are savings for a house down payment, but I think my attitude towards my mortgage will be this: It's not a debt until it's my only debt. In other words, if you have cc debt or student loans or medical bills or a car payment I'd only count those as debt, since if I was renting I'd be paying rent anyways. But when all my other debt was gone then I'd start attacking my mortgage, because the thought of living without a housing payment is just too tempting : )

 

[ID_Dismom]

Hi all!! I'd love to join in

Hoping 2019 will be a big year for us. We realized in 2017 we were living well beyond our means and needed to take control. We started with a mid 5 figure amount of student loan debt, two car payments, credit cards and very little in savings. We hit things very hard, and got lucky on DH's job front with bonuses, so we're down to sub $10,000 on the student loan, no credit cards, a healthier savings and one car that will be paid off this year. Plan is to go into 2020 with only our mortgage, giving us money to start attacking that while increasing retirement savings.

Goals for 2019: Pay off the last of the student loan--shooting for April
Pay off the last of DH's new car (we upgraded his vehicle this year and took out a small loan)--late fall
Pay for our June Disney trip in cash before leaving
Increase savings to a solid 6-9 months of living expenses based on current monthly budget

We also have a few home improvement projects planned this spring, which will hopefully finish off our home for awhile!

Good luck to everyone on your goals! Excited to follow along!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Legally and when calculating your net worth it’s a debt. DR doesn’t recommend including the balance in Baby Step 2 because it didn’t simply result from spending more than you earn.

Baby Steps:

1. Save $1000 emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt using the snowball method.
3. Save 3-6 months of expenses for emergencies.
4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement funds.
5. Save for your children’s college fund.
6. Pay off your home early.
7. Build wealth and give.

 

[Karl66]

I've given this a good bit of thought. We currently rent and are savings for a house down payment, but I think my attitude towards my mortgage will be this: It's not a debt until it's my only debt. In other words, if you have cc debt or student loans or medical bills or a car payment I'd only count those as debt, since if I was renting I'd be paying rent anyways. But when all my other debt was gone then I'd start attacking my mortgage, because the thought of living without a housing payment is just too tempting : )

I've often thought of trying to pay off the mortgage early and probably should add some to the payment to be applied directly to principle however I also like adding to savings each month too. I know what the right thing to do is, I just need to do it. Maybe this year?

 

[Karl66]

I think that most financial planning type people would classify mortgage as a debt. That is a bit scary for me as my mortgage is still quite high at this phase of my life. I think I tell myself that it's not a debt per se so that I don't become completely overwhelmed and give up .

As a side note, I quietly lurked on the Debt Dumpers thread all last year but really want to try to get a better handle on my finances and my spending so I'm hoping to actually contribute to this thread during 2019. Good luck to everyone with their financial goals in 2019!!!

ETA to add: I am very curious as to what your tag line means Karl66 .

Tag line is a quote from Walt Disney after making 3 Three Little Pigs cartoons. The last two weren't as successful as the first one. Meaning he had to keep things new and fresh to keep people coming to see his work. You can't top pigs with pigs.

 

[Newcastle]

Tag line is a quote from Walt Disney after making 3 Three Little Pigs cartoons. The last two weren't as successful as the first one. Meaning he had to keep things new and fresh to keep people coming to see his work. You can't top pigs with pigs.

Ah ha!! That is funny...thanks for the explanation .

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've given this a good bit of thought. We currently rent and are savings for a house down payment, but I think my attitude towards my mortgage will be this: It's not a debt until it's my only debt. In other words, if you have cc debt or student loans or medical bills or a car payment I'd only count those as debt, since if I was renting I'd be paying rent anyways. But when all my other debt was gone then I'd start attacking my mortgage, because the thought of living without a housing payment is just too tempting : )

This is how I feel about it as well. I would be paying for some form of housing no matter whether I owned or rented, and even when the house is paid off I'll still be paying property taxes!