Debt Dumpers - 2019

[imbatman]

Did you already go on this trip? If so, honest question...why are you paying him anything? If the agreement was that the points were a gift, and he didn't discuss a payment with you prior to the trip, I wouldn't give him one cent. If you are going to cut ties anyway, why do it after paying him? Cut ties now and give him nothing. If you haven't taken the trip yet and it's too late to rebook a hotel, I understand why you need to pay him.

Yes, we went the first week of December. And I'll pay it because I posted a simplified version of the story. Come to find out that his "gave" us the points without asking the other person on his DVC contract (his half-sister, who I adore and went on the trip with us). She can't simply absorb the cost of the points and he hasn't even paid her for his half of the contract lately (another LONG story, but I'm helping her figure out a legal and nice way to approach that). So, while I technically "owe" him the money, I'll be paying her. Through PayPal. Because it's the right thing to do and I feel the obligation to her. She's been nothing but kind and I was the one who asked to make sure she'd been paid.

Let's just say: she and I were both financially shafted. I have my portion to repay her. She has money (other than the DVC contract) that she loaned him. We are both hurt, but working with one another to move forward and away from him.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yeah, it’s more of a “she has braces for 12 months-you pay for 12 months” no financing, no discount for paying ahead kind of deal. It’s honestly the least of my worries since I built it into my FSA. I pay it and then put in the reimbursement and get it back 24 hours later (only thing making it easier would be if they had debit cards, but they don’t). Having this done will really only help a year from now when my FSA contributions from my paycheck drop and my paychecks go up.

Gotcha. We did this with our orthodontist as well but they also offered Care Credit that charged interest that required no down payment. Their interest rate was pretty high so I thought if that was your situation it would be best to get rid of it.

 

[disney-inspired]

Alright, I think I've narrowed down my goals for 2019. Stealing @imbatman template:

1. CC #1: $129.33
2. CC #2: $275.00
3. CC #3: $982.67 (some charges posted late)
4. Car Loan: $981.87

Total: $2,368.87 (Jan 1st 2019)
(Starting debt Jan 2018: $17,571)

Update and it's only 1/02

1. CC #1: $129.33
2. CC #2: $275.00 (zero interest until July 2019)
3. CC #3: $320.00
4. Car Loan: $981.87

Total: $1,576.87

 

[StacyStrong]

2019 Goals:

• Pay off my car loan - $986 left!!!!! It'll be paid by March. I save like a dollar in interest if I pay it early lol.
• Add at least an additional $2k to my emergency fund (likely more because I'll probably throw at least half of my tax return to it)
• Add 1.2k to my Christmas fund by year end
• Up my 401k to 8%. I am currently at 7% (employer match). I'll increase with my annual raise.
• Increase my HSA saving contributions
• Add 1k my vacation fund
• Pay off remaining consumer debt (less than 4k)

My savings accounts already have auto-transfers set up to meet all my goals. Once my car is paid off, the car payment will be going to consumer debt. That should be paid off in October. Other than that, I just plan on continuing all the student loan payments I am making. I'll reassess in 2020 if I want to up those payments or put the additional funds to savings.

ETA: I turn 30 this month and going into my 30s consumer debt free will be such a huge load off! But blech, 30...

 

[jackers]

Can I just say how much I hated 2018 for it's dastardly results on my 401K? Came out of the year with a LOWER balance than what I went into it with despite a 14% contribution and 6% company match.

 

[jen7233]

2019 Goals:

• Pay off my car loan - $986 left!!!!! It'll be paid by March. I save like a dollar in interest if I pay it early lol.
• Add at least an additional $2k to my emergency fund (likely more because I'll probably throw at least half of my tax return to it)
• Add 1.2k to my Christmas fund by year end
• Up my 401k to 8%. I am currently at 7% (employer match). I'll increase with my annual raise.
• Increase my HSA saving contributions
• Add 1k my vacation fund
• Pay off remaining consumer debt (less than 4k)

My savings accounts already have auto-transfers set up to meet all my goals. Once my car is paid off, the car payment will be going to consumer debt. That should be paid off in October. Other than that, I just plan on continuing all the student loan payments I am making. I'll reassess in 2020 if I want to up those payments or put the additional funds to savings.

ETA: I turn 30 this month and going into my 30s consumer debt free will be such a huge load off! But blech, 30...

Your car payment is so close to being done! I'm not excited about my car payment going into 2019 as it's my only debt now and I'm so tempted to snowball it, but I keep thinking my focus has to be on some other things and maybe end of 2020 I'll focus all attention on the car loan as the bulk of it will be down enough and that will be my 2021 goal. I just skipped over 2020, as I think next year I'm going to have a similar finance focus to this year, hoping this year will not bring anything strange but who knows, if I had a crystal ball for the beginning of 2018, I may have ran, lol! Ah, to be 30, I'll trade!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Can I just say how much I hated 2018 for it's dastardly results on my 401K? Came out of the year with a LOWER balance than what I went into it with despite a 14% contribution and 6% company match.

Ugh right? DH was just talking about this. So aggravating!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just submitted my annual recertification of my income for my student loans. Uggggh this process makes me so anxious. Even though the calculator says my payment should actually drop about $30, I'm always super worried they'll somehow screw it up and come back and say my monthly payment is now $800. Hopefully this gets turned around quickly and smoothly.

 

[crazycatstacy]

I am in for 2019 as well. We had great plans for 2018 but we lacked a lot of follow through. I could blame a lot on my daughter's wedding, but we had a lot of mindless spending as well. Two Disney trips this year and hoping to pay debt!

 

[imbatman]

Update and it's only 1/02

1. CC #1: $129.33

Just want to take a moment to encourage anyone who is just starting their journey to debt free with us on this board. There will be times you fail. There will be hiccups and unplanned expenses (hellooooo 2018 and the year of car repairs). But you can do it! We're not here to judge you. We LOVE it when each of us gets to have a banana dance or finds a way to have 0% interest on a CC transfer.

 

[ID_Dismom]

Oh my goodness, yes. I told DH to stop checking his 401k, it was getting painful!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well it's 2019...and this month the 0% ends on my BOA card. So I will need to apply for the Amex w/ the 0/0 offer. I've got $8500 on the card. I'm hoping Amex will give me a balance atleast high enough to transfer the full amount. If not I guess I transfer all that I can, and the remainder I transfer to a card and get hit with the 3% fee.

I view my CC debt as my only "real" debt. My mortgage (flying solo as a single mom) is about $300k. The ex and I took every penny out when we re-fied and moved from having 20 years left back to a 30 year loan. At the time the idea was to pay it at the 20 year payoff amount. But now I'm flying solo, so I am paying at the 30 year amount. Maybe someday I'll have extra I can send to it.

I know a few of you have said you've gone to cash only, or using your debit card....but I'm one of those people running the points game. I have about 8 cards I rotate through to meet spends/bonus offers/etc. I use those points to pay for vacations, flights, etc. I DO NOT carry a balance on them. The $8500 is the debt I got from the divorce and from when the ex was in charge of our finances and NOT good at playing the points game (he would carry a balance).

This will be the first year I'm 100% solo floating all my expenses on my own (got divorces in April), so I'm still new to learning how to budget and everything after 22 years (I let my CPA ex handle money...clearly a mistake). I went a bit over at Christmas, but I still have money in the bank and I'm able to pay my bills so I guess I did okay.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Not debt dumping, per se, but we're looking ahead to planning out our vacations for the year. We have the wedding and honeymoon planned for and a quick trip to Indiana to get everyone there fitted for their wedding attire. We're looking for a not terribly expensive (think $1000ish) 3 or 4 day vacation to take the family on. We really can't make any decisions! What are your favorite lower cost trips you've taken?

 

[secretpantssam]

I'd like to join up! Last year my dad was very sick and the emotional toll got me pretty lazy with actually paying attention to what I've been spending. But when the new year came, I decided to become more focused on being thrifty and paying off my debt! I just paused a monthly wine club I'm a member of so I can save money (and probably end up drinking less which is good) and I plan on pausing my hulu when I'm done with one series we're catching up on. I also know I have a ton of food in my freezer and pantry so my plan this weekend is to make a full list and actually plan out meals and use my excess up before buying more food. I have about $6500 in credit card debt- two are smaller amounts on store cards from Christmas, about $1000 on Paypal Credit with 0% until May, and the rest is on my Disney Visa.

I saw you guys discussing 0% balance transfers on new cards and I was wondering if that's a good option or if opening a new line of credit is just trickier and may hurt my credit it the long run? I currently have good credit as I have high limits on many of my cards (and one I only use just once in a while with a 0 balance) and I always pay more than the minimum each month.

 

[Eureka]

Good news, DH (gov't contractor) just got word that they are now funded through 1/18. Tomorrow was going to be the last day, so I don't know what happened. But it's a relief.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I'd like to join up! Last year my dad was very sick and the emotional toll got me pretty lazy with actually paying attention to what I've been spending. But when the new year came, I decided to become more focused on being thrifty and paying off my debt! I just paused a monthly wine club I'm a member of so I can save money (and probably end up drinking less which is good) and I plan on pausing my hulu when I'm done with one series we're catching up on. I also know I have a ton of food in my freezer and pantry so my plan this weekend is to make a full list and actually plan out meals and use my excess up before buying more food. I have about $6500 in credit card debt- two are smaller amounts on store cards from Christmas, about $1000 on Paypal Credit with 0% until May, and the rest is on my Disney Visa.

I saw you guys discussing 0% balance transfers on new cards and I was wondering if that's a good option or if opening a new line of credit is just trickier and may hurt my credit it the long run? I currently have good credit as I have high limits on many of my cards (and one I only use just once in a while with a 0 balance) and I always pay more than the minimum each month.

I'm no expert but I play the CC game for rewards/points/travel. So I have opened 9 cards in the last 2 years. My score has only gone up...Some of the accounts I'll be closing as annual fees post, but most I have been keeping open as an easy way to earn points.

 

[Newcastle]

Well it's 2019...and this month the 0% ends on my BOA card. So I will need to apply for the Amex w/ the 0/0 offer. I've got $8500 on the card. I'm hoping Amex will give me a balance atleast high enough to transfer the full amount. If not I guess I transfer all that I can, and the remainder I transfer to a card and get hit with the 3% fee.

I view my CC debt as my only "real" debt. My mortgage (flying solo as a single mom) is about $300k. The ex and I took every penny out when we re-fied and moved from having 20 years left back to a 30 year loan. At the time the idea was to pay it at the 20 year payoff amount. But now I'm flying solo, so I am paying at the 30 year amount. Maybe someday I'll have extra I can send to it.

I know a few of you have said you've gone to cash only, or using your debit card....but I'm one of those people running the points game. I have about 8 cards I rotate through to meet spends/bonus offers/etc. I use those points to pay for vacations, flights, etc. I DO NOT carry a balance on them. The $8500 is the debt I got from the divorce and from when the ex was in charge of our finances and NOT good at playing the points game (he would carry a balance).

This will be the first year I'm 100% solo floating all my expenses on my own (got divorces in April), so I'm still new to learning how to budget and everything after 22 years (I let my CPA ex handle money...clearly a mistake). I went a bit over at Christmas, but I still have money in the bank and I'm able to pay my bills so I guess I did okay.

It sounds like you are on the right track! I took a huge financial hit when I got divorced and 8 years later, I'm still trying to right the ship so-to-speak. It's a little discouraging to have a $300K+ mortgage at this stage in my life but I am trying to take baby steps in paying it off biweekly as opposed to monthly which I believe shaves off about 4 years' worth of payments overall. Every little bit counts, right?

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

It sounds like you are on the right track! I took a huge financial hit when I got divorced and 8 years later, I'm still trying to right the ship so-to-speak. It's a little discouraging to have a $300K+ mortgage at this stage in my life but I am trying to take baby steps in paying it off biweekly as opposed to monthly which I believe shaves off about 4 years' worth of payments overall. Every little bit counts, right?

I have mine pulled on the first of the month. I don't think there is a way for me to pay it biweekly. Plus I've now moved all my bill due dates around so that one paycheck goes to the mortgage and the other goes to all my other bills. Not having that other income every other week (on my off weeks) makes "floating" payments harder.

 

[imbatman]

Not debt dumping, per se, but we're looking ahead to planning out our vacations for the year. We have the wedding and honeymoon planned for and a quick trip to Indiana to get everyone there fitted for their wedding attire. We're looking for a not terribly expensive (think $1000ish) 3 or 4 day vacation to take the family on. We really can't make any decisions! What are your favorite lower cost trips you've taken?

@Tygerlilly I think you'd have to provide more information, like where you live and how many people you are taking. Do you like to go do activities or want downtime? I love the beach in summer, for cheap vacations. But $1000 doesn't go far counting in gas, hotel, and meals. Especially meals, because who wants to cook on their vacation?

I'd like to join up! Last year my dad was very sick and the emotional toll got me pretty lazy with actually paying attention to what I've been spending. But when the new year came, I decided to become more focused on being thrifty and paying off my debt! I just paused a monthly wine club I'm a member of so I can save money (and probably end up drinking less which is good) and I plan on pausing my hulu when I'm done with one series we're catching up on. I also know I have a ton of food in my freezer and pantry so my plan this weekend is to make a full list and actually plan out meals and use my excess up before buying more food. I have about $6500 in credit card debt- two are smaller amounts on store cards from Christmas, about $1000 on Paypal Credit with 0% until May, and the rest is on my Disney Visa.

I saw you guys discussing 0% balance transfers on new cards and I was wondering if that's a good option or if opening a new line of credit is just trickier and may hurt my credit it the long run? I currently have good credit as I have high limits on many of my cards (and one I only use just once in a while with a 0 balance) and I always pay more than the minimum each month.

My credit score has NOT taken a hit after opening two 0% CC's. And as a bonus, I saved just over a grand in interest! Bank of America has a 0%, $0 transfer fee right now. You can transfer multiple card balances onto it. Not sure if store cards will transfer, so check on that. Even if you save a few hundred, you've put that much towards your debt!

In regards to your Disney Visa. I have one too. I had to take a long, hard look at it to see how the points/rewards added up versus other cards. Needless to say, My Disney card carries a zero balance now because its returns just didn't add up to anything, once I made it past the initial offering.

 

[Ngwira]

Not debt dumping, per se, but we're looking ahead to planning out our vacations for the year. We have the wedding and honeymoon planned for and a quick trip to Indiana to get everyone there fitted for their wedding attire. We're looking for a not terribly expensive (think $1000ish) 3 or 4 day vacation to take the family on. We really can't make any decisions! What are your favorite lower cost trips you've taken?

Canada. If you are on West Coast-Vancouver or Calgary (gorgeous mountain scenery), or East Coast (Toronto/Niagara Falls, Montreal). The US dollar is worth around $1.30 Canadian. Your money will stretch. We have two trips to Canada planned for this year and it was really inexpensive. We happen to be flying and it was around $700 RT total for airfare for a family of four to Toronto and slightly more for Montreal. Depending on where you live, you could also drive into Canada thus eliminating airfare.

Other budget trips depend on what your family is into. Do they like beaches, mountains, theme parks, national parks etc.. Also, when are you going?