Debt Dumpers - 2019

[jen7233]

No major car repair thankfully from the kicked up debris on interstate that hit us. Did a realignment, repining of cover on undercarriage. $140. Now, hoping the rest of year stays car issue free.

 

[Newcastle]

So I'm working on a 'no buy' January and things are going well so far...mind you, it's only day 8 and I don't generally find it difficult to cut down on unnecessary spending in January after the big blowout over the holiday season . I am hoping to start off this year by really cutting back on my spending but I also don't think that it is realistic to think that I am going to be able to continue that trend (i.e. no buy) month after month. I was curious as to what you guys do to address spending 'wants' as opposed to 'needs'. Do you set a monthly allowance for yourself that you can spend on anything you like? Do you set aside money in your budget for different categories of 'wants' and then purchase items when the money has been saved up? It will obviously depend on the type of 'wants' and realistically, I'm probably looking at smaller day-to-day purchases like fast food, Target-type items for the house that really aren't needed, etc. I know there are probably other threads about this but I was hoping to get some insight from the folks who linger here. Thanks in advance for any input!!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Talked to a DJ service for the wedding. They also offer photography, video, and lighting packages so I thought I'd see what the costs were. Turns out I can save $800 by booking their package deal with DJ and Photographer instead of doing them through 2 separate businesses. I looked at the gallery and really like the pictures. Now I just need to get my taxes back (looking at you, government) so I can book them!

 

[MamaBelleRN]

OH NO! Sending prayers, pixie dust and hopes that you don't have a high deductible! Please update when you can. My 12yo just got her cast off her wrist last Thursday she only had it on 3 weeks. Any younger and the doctor said it would have been less. Kids are so resilient. I am going to be a worried Mama over here for you guys!!

Thank you! It is broken and a pretty significant break. The doc at urgent care thinks it may need a pin to be set. If I knew that, we probably would have gone to the ER because now we can’t see an orthopedic surgeon until tomorrow. If we had gone through ER, they probably would have paged the on-call orthopedic surgeon and we could have dealt with it in one fell swoop. My concern is he broke this same arm in the same spot in June and spent 11 weeks in cast. At five, that area should have healed well, but it looks (according to the urgent care doc) it was quite weak. Lots of ice, elevation and ibuprofen today!

And we do have a high deductible- $5k. We had scaled back our contributions from the max allowed to slightly less to focus on paying off our van. We still have a decent chunk on our HSA, but it looks like we will bump it back up since it’s not at $5k. Luckily, payment plans are always an option!

 

[DLgal]

Took husbands car in for a repair. the estimate was $300 and the total came in at $298. YAY for not being over the estimate or finding more issues. I was looing at my chase account on line (the Disney card is first up in the payoff plan) and noticed two charges for about $90 each from Amazon. Looked on my Amazon account and I didn't buy anything, checked my daughter's Amazon account and called her and she didn't buy anything either. Called Chase and initiated fraud alert. They refunded and are sending out new cards. Good thing this is the card we are focused on because it made me pay attention. Zero balance cards I pay attention to in order to make sure nothing weird gets added but cards with balances I'm not as focused on. Lesson learned.

Are you sure it wasn't the renewal fee for Amazon prime? Mine came in divided into 2 separate charges and I almost called fraud alert on it until I realized what it was.

 

[DLgal]

I know having a car payment is always a no-no in the debt freedom world, but all these car repair issues make me grateful I lease. I never have to buy tires or do any repairs. Yes, I pay $300/mo for infinity, but I like knowing I'll never have car issue...yes, there can be recalls and ****, but it's always covered. Oh and living in the Motor City, we just all lease, LOL. The BF can't get over our lease prices. He's hoping to drop his $450/mo truck payment for a $125/mo lease on a new truck when he gets here.

This is how I feel about renting a home, LOL. Works for us!

I am also considering leasing my next vehicle. My current car is a 2007 Honda CRV that is still well under 100k miles, but I am planning to pass that down to my son in 2 years when he is 17 (if he gets his license, that is). At that time, I don't want to buy another car since I barely drive (I maybe go 350 miles a month on average). I think a lease would work well for me since I have such low usage. I also do not appreciate repair costs and having to spend time with the car in the shop, so a lease seems ideal. I actually leased my very first car while I was a college student and it was a great decision.

 

[imbatman]

I should post an update to keep myself held accountable! (snip) We have cut it down by about 50% already so that's a step in the right direction at least. We both want to lose weight so it gives us more reason to cook our own food to watch calories versus eating out with the higher calories that brings. We are doing DietBet to keep ourselves motivated to lose weight and joined a gym.

There is a free app: MyFitnessPal. Both my coworker and DH used it last year and were both successful at cutting back on eating out AND losing weight.

So I'm working on a 'no buy' January and things are going well so far...mind you, it's only day 8 and I don't generally find it difficult to cut down on unnecessary spending in January after the big blowout over the holiday season . I am hoping to start off this year by really cutting back on my spending but I also don't think that it is realistic to think that I am going to be able to continue that trend (i.e. no buy) month after month. I was curious as to what you guys do to address spending 'wants' as opposed to 'needs'. Do you set a monthly allowance for yourself that you can spend on anything you like? Do you set aside money in your budget for different categories of 'wants' and then purchase items when the money has been saved up? It will obviously depend on the type of 'wants' and realistically, I'm probably looking at smaller day-to-day purchases like fast food, Target-type items for the house that really aren't needed, etc. I know there are probably other threads about this but I was hoping to get some insight from the folks who linger here. Thanks in advance for any input!!

I can't and won't do a "no buy" month. I will fail and that will set me into a wrong frame of mind. I think everyone works a bit differently. My case in point is going on right now: I need a new storage bag for my artificial tree. I went to store it and the bag ripped. Now, I know I need a bag, but the sizes on Amazon are all wompus and the reviews just as all over the board. For two days, I've asked myself if it's a need or want (seriously, I could just wrap it in a sheet and store it that way). Since I keep reviewing it, I am going to go ahead and buy one.

I deal with needs/wants by walking away. If I come back to it and have a reason for it, I pull the trigger. That includes the awesome tissue sale at Target or buying a case of toilet paper. Will I use 240 million rolls of TP this month? No, but the price was good enough and one can never have enough. Honestly, you'll thank yourself for the TP in a zombie apocalypse.

Thank you! It is broken and a pretty significant break. The doc at urgent care thinks it may need a pin to be set. If I knew that, we probably would have gone to the ER because now we can’t see an orthopedic surgeon until tomorrow. If we had gone through ER, they probably would have paged the on-call orthopedic surgeon and we could have dealt with it in one fell swoop. My concern is he broke this same arm in the same spot in June and spent 11 weeks in cast. At five, that area should have healed well, but it looks (according to the urgent care doc) it was quite weak. Lots of ice, elevation and ibuprofen today!

And we do have a high deductible- $5k. We had scaled back our contributions from the max allowed to slightly less to focus on paying off our van. We still have a decent chunk on our HSA, but it looks like we will bump it back up since it’s not at $5k. Luckily, payment plans are always an option!

Poor kiddo! Hoping that you get an amazing surgeon.

Are you sure it wasn't the renewal fee for Amazon prime? Mine came in divided into 2 separate charges and I almost called fraud alert on it until I realized what it was.

THis. Happened to me last year and I nearly had a coronary until I dug into it.

 

[DLgal]

So, we just got some news that really stinks. DH is being sent overseas for a year this summer on unaccompanied orders. I have no idea how this is going to affect our finances, although since we can't go with him, he should get some additional allowances to help offset his living expenses (as well as get to live in military barracks). This was our worst case scenario, so ugh! He was trying to extend his time out here one more year so he can retire next year, but his request got denied. Sometimes I really hate our military life. I can't wait until he retires, because of this kind of nonsense. Tell me how it is easier/more efficient to separate a family than just keep him in the same job for a third year?

Anyway, just wanted to vent. I'll be fine, but it's going to be a challenge, especially now that our boys are nearing puberty and it's not exactly the best time for dad to be gone.

I'm already spinning when I try to figure out how we can maintain the savings and low spending while having to deal with all the unknown expenses that may come up. He doesn't know where he is going yet, but signs point strongly to Japan, and he has already talked about visiting Tokyo on his weekends...ugh...he is gonna want to buy so much stuff. I already told him Tokyo Disney is OFF LIMITS until I can fly out and join him, which will be more $$$, but how can I pass that up?

Anyway, our January is a bust, savings wise. We spent high in December and after paying those CC bills in full, there's nothing leftover. We might get to put aside $500 in February, and I am eyeing March as our first month where we can put back significant savings (goal is $3000/month for March onwards). We went to Vegas in December for DHs birthday and had a great time over 2 days. We spent about $600 out of pocket, mostly on some nice meals, a show, and a ring that DH bought me. We had our $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit take care of the majority of the hotel and some Uber rides, and we drove and only needed a tank and a half of gas total (DHs civic gets like 43mpg hwy). We took $500 in cash with us to gamble and we came back with $650, so score there! I've been using that cash instead of credit cards for the majority of our purchases since we came back.

My kids need to see the eye doctor and one will likely need new glasses, so I need to keep that in mind and try and fit it into our monthly spending. I have already told DH we are cracking down hard core on "wants" starting now. I just had to visit urgent care over the weekend and my son had to go to his pediatrician yesterday, so we will be out our deductibles once those bills arrive. I paid $60 of my $150 deductible upfront at the urgent care and they will bill me the rest. Our family deductible is $300/year, which I am super fortunate to have, so I'm not complaining, but with another specialist visit today for my other son, plus allergy shots weekly, we are definitely going to hit that deductible this month.

 

[imbatman]

So, we just got some news that really stinks. DH is being sent overseas for a year this summer on unaccompanied orders. I have no idea how this is going to affect our finances, although since we can't go with him, he should get some additional allowances to help offset his living expenses (as well as get to live in military barracks). This was our worst case scenario, so ugh! He was trying to extend his time out here one more year so he can retire next year, but his request got denied. Sometimes I really hate our military life. I can't wait until he retires, because of this kind of nonsense. Tell me how it is easier/more efficient to separate a family than just keep him in the same job for a third year?

Anyway, just wanted to vent. I'll be fine, but it's going to be a challenge, especially now that our boys are nearing puberty and it's not exactly the best time for dad to be gone.

I'm already spinning when I try to figure out how we can maintain the savings and low spending while having to deal with all the unknown expenses that may come up. He doesn't know where he is going yet, but signs point strongly to Japan, and he has already talked about visiting Tokyo on his weekends...ugh...he is gonna want to buy so much stuff. I already told him Tokyo Disney is OFF LIMITS until I can fly out and join him, which will be more $$$, but how can I pass that up?.

I'm sorry. I have a family member shipping out next week to a place that he/she cannot even tell us.

I just was at Yokota last year and it's a nice base! True, DL Tokyo is quite the drive (and the drivers are nuts!). Also, Tokyo DL is SO.MUCH.DIFFERENT than either WDW or DL. Be prepared for unusual food. Oh! Their Haunted Mansion has the other NBC set up! PotC is absolutely hilarious to listen to. Our dream is to go back, skip Tokyo DL in favor of traveling to the amazing historical sites that we didn't get to.

 

[DLgal]

I'm sorry. I have a family member shipping out next week to a place that he/she cannot even tell us.

I just was at Yokota last year and it's a nice base! True, DL Tokyo is quite the drive (and the drivers are nuts!). Also, Tokyo DL is SO.MUCH.DIFFERENT than either WDW or DL. Be prepared for unusual food. Oh! Their Haunted Mansion has the other NBC set up! PotC is absolutely hilarious to listen to. Our dream is to go back, skip Tokyo DL in favor of traveling to the amazing historical sites that we didn't get to.

He would likely end up in Okinawa, not Japan proper. He is already researching the cheap island hopper flights out of Oki...

I'm not one for historical sites. I couldn't care less. That is the kind of stuff my husband will explore without me. I really just want to see Tokyo Disney Sea. It has been a bucket list of mine for many years now. I am prepared for weird food...that is why I'm not bringing my kids there. Honestly, they would literally starve. They are both autistic and have VERY limited palettes, and require all kinds of modifications on food when we go out, and I hear the Japanese culture doesn't indulge that kind of stuff at all. They will stay home with grandma so I can actually enjoy my trip without stress (although, I might starve too...I don't eat seafood at ALL, and I'm not a fan of many of the non seafood types of foods served, like curries and such). We are actually hoping that we can time my trip to next summer, when the Nintendo Land is open at Universal Japan! We definitely want to see that, but that opening date hasn't been made public yet.

 

[Eureka]

So, we just got some news that really stinks. DH is being sent overseas for a year this summer on unaccompanied orders. I have no idea how this is going to affect our finances, although since we can't go with him, he should get some additional allowances to help offset his living expenses (as well as get to live in military barracks). This was our worst case scenario, so ugh! He was trying to extend his time out here one more year so he can retire next year, but his request got denied. Sometimes I really hate our military life. I can't wait until he retires, because of this kind of nonsense. Tell me how it is easier/more efficient to separate a family than just keep him in the same job for a third year?

Anyway, just wanted to vent. I'll be fine, but it's going to be a challenge, especially now that our boys are nearing puberty and it's not exactly the best time for dad to be gone.

I'm already spinning when I try to figure out how we can maintain the savings and low spending while having to deal with all the unknown expenses that may come up. He doesn't know where he is going yet, but signs point strongly to Japan, and he has already talked about visiting Tokyo on his weekends...ugh...he is gonna want to buy so much stuff. I already told him Tokyo Disney is OFF LIMITS until I can fly out and join him, which will be more $$$, but how can I pass that up?

Anyway, our January is a bust, savings wise. We spent high in December and after paying those CC bills in full, there's nothing leftover. We might get to put aside $500 in February, and I am eyeing March as our first month where we can put back significant savings (goal is $3000/month for March onwards). We went to Vegas in December for DHs birthday and had a great time over 2 days. We spent about $600 out of pocket, mostly on some nice meals, a show, and a ring that DH bought me. We had our $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit take care of the majority of the hotel and some Uber rides, and we drove and only needed a tank and a half of gas total (DHs civic gets like 43mpg hwy). We took $500 in cash with us to gamble and we came back with $650, so score there! I've been using that cash instead of credit cards for the majority of our purchases since we came back.

My kids need to see the eye doctor and one will likely need new glasses, so I need to keep that in mind and try and fit it into our monthly spending. I have already told DH we are cracking down hard core on "wants" starting now. I just had to visit urgent care over the weekend and my son had to go to his pediatrician yesterday, so we will be out our deductibles once those bills arrive. I paid $60 of my $150 deductible upfront at the urgent care and they will bill me the rest. Our family deductible is $300/year, which I am super fortunate to have, so I'm not complaining, but with another specialist visit today for my other son, plus allergy shots weekly, we are definitely going to hit that deductible this month.

I’m sorry to hear about his orders. Ready made vacation? Lol. I hear you with expenses. We bought a new washing machine, delivery guys said we needed a plumber to install bc of something that the plumber later said didn’t need to be done (and we trust him), one kid just got glasses, we need to find an electrician, and I had a medical test in Dec. for which we haven’t seen all the EOBs yet. It all never ends. I’m glad you had fun for DH’s birthday...don’t worry about that spending bc fun is needed, you know?

 

[imbatman]

Honestly, they would literally starve.

I did. So grateful I'd packed Clif and protein bars.

On the debt frontage, DH and I chatted a bit last night. He's still pulling in as much OT pay as he can get. He's happy, I'm happy, his bosses are happy--happy enough to give him a couple of gift cards a month. We use those for date nights. He's actually looking forward to being debt free as much as I am and can't believe we will be mortgage free in 2 1/2 years! Our plans are to keep building the baby savings (that we accidentally cleaned out in December with the double payment) and put any raises into our retirement. Any other monies will go towards a move that we'd like to make in a few years--to a different state. We thought about a DVC, but think we'd like to travel the world instead. We are dreaming big while paying off our foolish decisions.

 

[disney-inspired]

He would likely end up in Okinawa, not Japan proper. He is already researching the cheap island hopper flights out of Oki...

I'm not one for historical sites. I couldn't care less. That is the kind of stuff my husband will explore without me. I really just want to see Tokyo Disney Sea. It has been a bucket list of mine for many years now. I am prepared for weird food...that is why I'm not bringing my kids there. Honestly, they would literally starve. They are both autistic and have VERY limited palettes, and require all kinds of modifications on food when we go out, and I hear the Japanese culture doesn't indulge that kind of stuff at all. They will stay home with grandma so I can actually enjoy my trip without stress (although, I might starve too...I don't eat seafood at ALL, and I'm not a fan of many of the non seafood types of foods served, like curries and such). We are actually hoping that we can time my trip to next summer, when the Nintendo Land is open at Universal Japan! We definitely want to see that, but that opening date hasn't been made public yet.

Sorry to hear about the new orders. My uncle is in the army and they are being moved (at this point) from Hawaii to Virginia so he can take an instructor position. This means he would have to be out there sometime in April and his family would follow after school is out. We were hoping to get him closer to us in CA but at least he's on the mainland. I'm already planning a visit to see them in the fall and then maybe take the train up to D.C.. I'm all about the historical sites!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Ha, unfortunately my student loans will never be paid off lol. I have a small mortgage's worth and am on the public service loan forgiveness program. I also don't get to deduct my student loan interest since my husband and I have to file our taxes separate due to my student loans. So my tax refund usually is very sad every year since I have to itemize and my only deduction is mortgage interest. The only reason I think I'll get a healthy refund this year is because I changed my withholding to zero out of fear of the new tax laws.

I changed our withholdings to 0 as well because I wasn't sure what to expect. I did a rough run through Turbo Tax and it is telling me that I will be owing taxes! Granted, not every single form is complete so there are a few small things that aren't accounted for, but it is likely that it won't jump into refund territory. The new tax law is very bad for us because we used to itemize and that combined with the personal exemption, we usually get a small refund. Without the personal exemption, we won't be able to get past the standard deduction of $24k so it seems we are screwed now.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I changed our withholdings to 0 as well because I wasn't sure what to expect. I did a rough run through Turbo Tax and it is telling me that I will be owing taxes! Granted, not every single form is complete so there are a few small things that aren't accounted for, but it is likely that it won't jump into refund territory. The new tax law is very bad for us because we used to itemize and that combined with the personal exemption, we usually get a small refund. Without the personal exemption, we won't be able to get past the standard deduction of $24k so it seems we are screwed now.

Boooo!! That really stinks. I ran mine through Turbo Tax a couple weeks ago and just with estimating my mortgage interest deduction, it looks like it will be around $1500. However, I got a couple bank account bonuses, plus Ally interest, and I won some money with my horse this year. So we'll see what it ends up being by the time it's all said and done. I'm hoping I'll still be around $1000.

 

[Tygerlilly]

My first banana dance of the year! Just made the final payment on DF's small personal loan!! Paid it off 2 months early!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Boooo!! That really stinks. I ran mine through Turbo Tax a couple weeks ago and just with estimating my mortgage interest deduction, it looks like it will be around $1500. However, I got a couple bank account bonuses, plus Ally interest, and I won some money with my horse this year. So we'll see what it ends up being by the time it's all said and done. I'm hoping I'll still be around $1000.

I do think that we will get a state refund, so I am hoping that between the two we might get a little bit back. I still haven't added in our bank bonuses though, like you so it might still end up in negative territory.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Well, we kind of ended December in the hole by about $330. About half is because we had both sets of parents visit and spent money taking everyone out to eat. And it is also due to some spending during some sales, though much of this was for wants and not needs. We have decided to cancel housekeeping for January, so that brings our deficient down to $210. I am not sure right now how we will make up the shortfall, but DH and I are going to discuss it during our budget meeting.

I got back yesterday from a 5 day trip with my bestie to celebrate her 40th birthday. Two nights in Miami and 3 nights on a cruise. I had a great time, but spent more than I was planning to spend. That probably means that I will have to borrow forward on my allowance, which isn't a huge deal as long as I am frugal for the rest of the month. I should be able to manage it since I don't have anything big planned and don't have any necessary expenses coming up.

The basement project is chugging along. The framing and plumbing is finished and electrical is underway. I ordered the bathroom vanity and countertop from Home Depot and saved $500 over buying the same items from a local kitchen design company. We haven't had anything huge crop up except that they need to add a small additional electrical panel box because we need dedicated circuits for both treadmills and the heater/vent fan in the bathroom, but cost will be about $150 more, so not crazy. DH and I have also picked out carpeting, but we can't purchase it until they finish with the drywall and get someone out to do measurements. There isn't too much more to do on my part now except to monitor progress and oversee the work. I go down nightly after the builder's leave to check everything out and make sure there aren't any issues.

And as I posted up above, taxes aren't looking too great. I was hoping to use any refund towards our trailer loan to knock that down a bit more, but it seems that might not happen. Still have to wait to get all of my documents and have the IRS issue some additional forms. Hoping that all happens in a reasonable amount of time so that we can file in Feb.

 

[dayvewc]

@dayvewc I'm sending prayers your way. Good luck in 2019. Do you have health insurance or any kind of financial aid that is helping you?

We've had to deal with several hospital bills in the past that we were able to get either cut down or get help with from some kind of grant.

I do have insurance. Or at least I pay for something that calls masquerades as insurance. Public school teacher group funded plan carefully formulated to avoid having to answer to the state insurance board. Mostly, it amounts to a case of "I pay them money so they don't have to pay the doctors money". I complain about it, but it could be worse. They negotiated the hospital bill down from $32,000 to $18,000. Which is about 9 months take-home salary, so doubtful I'll get it paid off anytime soon. Not to mention all the other doctor and specialist and medicines. Arrgghhhh.

*Breath*

I've been trying to apply for grants and waivers and anything I can think of. I just happen to fall in that broad "sorry, we can't help you" pool. Too old for child grants, not old enough for senior grants, not poor enough for poverty grants, too poor for banks. I'm just at wits end. Can we start 2015 over again?

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Do you set a monthly allowance for yourself that you can spend on anything you like?

Yes, this is exactly what we do. Since early 2017 DH and I have each gotten $75/ mo of "no questions asked" money. In other words, it is 100% our money and we can't comment on what the other person does with theirs. It's never happened yet, but the only time we'd not get it is in a dire emergency. This has helped us stave off so much of what I call "frantic" spending. Before having this, it sometimes felt like I had to "race" DH to the spending money every month. So if i wanted something I'd hurry up and buy it because who knew when I'd have the money to again? Now, I know exactly when I will: next budget cycle. it's really helped teach me about saving, too. We did a Disney cruise in Sept and starting in March i saved all or part of my $75 a month for the trip. I also forwent any major birthday or Christmas gifts that year and instead asked for Disney gift cards. Come the cruise, I had $250 in gift cards and almost $400 in cash to take that was 100% mine. I bought a Dooney bag and a spirit jersey and several other things and didn't bat an eye because I'd saved it all year. If we'd still had all of our money lumped together in a general spending category I couldn't have gotten even a third of what I got because everything would have felt like "ours" and I would have had to justify every purchase to DH.

the whole thing started because DH and I had an argument about computer parts. He's into building his own computer and is always wanting to update this part or that. To him, it's a need: he simply can't fathom having a computer that isn't running optimally, and that's totally understandable: PC gaming is one of his main hobbies and it sucks for him to spend $60 on a game and then not have it look as well as it could. But I, on the other hand, think a computer should be fixed/ upgraded only when it's not working anymore or not able to run current programs. If it can play YouTube/ netflix/hulu, access internet browsing, and has a word processor I'm happy. I didn't think we needed more RAM because the computer did everything I needed it to do. On the other hand, DH probably wouldn't have seen the point in paying $65 for the new in the Box steelbook of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts that arrived in the mail yesterday, and I was more than happy to spend almost all of my month's allowance getting it and cried with joy when I opened it. Each of us having our own money has taught us a lot about saving, and I'm a lot more careful with purchases knowing I have a finite amount that's "mine". There's a lot of things I realized I didn't actually want once I had to spend "my" money on them.