Debt Dumpers 2021

[DisneyMandC]

Well, I just got an email from Turbo Tax. Apparently the snaffu with some of the payments was if you had fees deducted or used a 3rd party to file. H&R Block dealt with the issue immediately. TurboTax was saying "not our problem" originally and basically we were going to need to claim on taxes. NOW, turbo tax is coming back saying they are correcting the problem and we should start seeing deposits in the next couple days.

So fingers crossed it makes an appearance in the very near future.

That's weird. I used Turbo Tax and had no problems with either of my stimulus payments.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

That's weird. I used Turbo Tax and had no problems with either of my stimulus payments.

I used TurboTax as well. No problem with the first payment but nothing on the 2nd. I did have a kid in between. Maybe that is throwing it off since in 2019 I had no dependants and now I do? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[imbatman]

This is a very small step, and I'm almost embarassed about posting it. But I'm proud of it because I feel I accomplished something.

BANANA DANCE FOR YOU!!!!! (every payoff gets them!)

• Focus on one goal at a time - Before following the DR plan, I was trying to fund retirement, college savings, pay down the mtg, pay off consumer, etc....It was like playing whack-a-mole and left us frustrated that we were not making any progress. I TOTALLY agree here and echo the whack-a-mole seniment.
• Checking budget regularly - Honestly, I probably went overboard here but checking my bank accounts and my budget every day allowed me to stay on top of things and easier to meet goals. Overboard also helped me stay on top of, well, staying on top. I was obsessive about checking bank and CC accounts last year. It paid off.
• Contentment - Yes, I did have a little bit of the “keeping up with the Jones’s” during our early years. Over time, I’ve been able to appreciate the little things and feeling comfortable with our lifestyle while still enjoying splurges (budgeted) from time to time. Yup. I am learning to budget for vacations

​

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I love that you could follow DR. I can't be as exact, but I found a rhythm for me.​

I recently found this board and this thread in particular. This thread has kept me motivated to stay on track of my goals. The community has been wonderful with the way we lift each other up and keep each other accountable. No real progress to report on yet but it's more of an appreciation post for this thread and everyone in same boat! Ya'll are awesome! Keep it up!

I love it here.

 

[imbatman]

1/7/21 update

Financial

• CC 1 - $2198.01 (balance 12/9/20 - ALL DONE!
• CC 2 - $6567.84 (balance 12/9/20 and 0%). This is scheduled for an August pay off. This is the one I want to knock out by May.
• Start deposits back into Roth no later than June. - DONE! Received a raise and put the amount directly into an auto Roth deposit
• Savings to stay above $1000 at all times. Work to be at $3000 by the end of the year (minimum).
• Start a vacation fund for 2023 WDW trip ONLY after the credit cards are paid off
• Pay off DD2's braces - Forgot this on the first post, but DONE as of today!
• Save cash for Christmas out of town vacation - also forgot this, but it is...necessary (long, looooong story)

Personal

• Finish the second book manuscript
• Second bathroom painting update with leftover paint and create "frames" for the mirror
• Replace flooring in living room and hallway (already purchased and delayed by surgeries)
• Learn to be okay with my scars - give myself more grace
• Continue to purge unused household items

 

[DLgal]

I just went in and modified my husband's car payment so that it will be fully paid off in December instead of May 2022. It is an extra $168/month. I don't think it will really impact us.

 

[dina444444]

I used TurboTax as well. No problem with the first payment but nothing on the 2nd. I did have a kid in between. Maybe that is throwing it off since in 2019 I had no dependants and now I do? That's the only thing I can think of.

The issue was specifically affecting people who had used TurboTax or H&R Block use some of the refund to pay for the fees to file.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I hope that’s as bad as it gets for you. One of my high school classmates who’s a nurse got her second dose this week and 24 hrs later had a mild fever, chills, headache and something else, maybe body aches. She said the same thing as you but still I’m sure it doesn’t feel good. Unless something drastically changes with my health (hope nothing does), I’ll be in the last group of people to get it, probably next summer from what I’m hearing. So I like hearing about others’ experiences to know what to expect.

I chose a Friday for my 2nd dose. I plan to get all my laundry and housework done during the week so if I wake up feeling crappy, I won't feel guilty to just lay in bed all day.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is a very small step, and I'm almost embarassed about posting it. But I'm proud of it because I feel I accomplished something. So I'm sharing.

We moved into our house in Nov. 2016. In Feb. 2017, the outside AC unit went out. We had someone out, and they said they had been out in Sept. 2016 and told the then homeowner it needed to be replaced. The then homeowners said they were going to go on vacation and talk about replacing. Well, they never did replace it, and they never told us about it (we started the buying process in July, so we were into the buying process when it messed up).

We went to our small town bank and got a loan to get it fixed since we didn't have the money. Fast forward to March 2017 and the inside unit went out. So we went back to the back, they added onto our loan and we got the inside unit fixed as well.

We paid here and there on it, always staying within our time frame of needing to pay on it. I went up there on Monday and was going to make a payment. Our payments were only $102 a month (the loan was a little over $5k all together, so it was small) but I had some extra money from my second job (I cover football games for a local newspaper during the fall) and also had some Christmas money.

So I decided to pay my monthly amount of $102. I then asked what the balance was, and the lady told me $153. I was like I might as well pay it and close the loan. So I did! Again, it was only a $5k loan to start with, and I'm kind of embarrassed it took 4 years to pay off. But it's paid off! I'm so excited. I made a monthly budget (my first time ever doing a budget) the first day of January. I put $100 as my monthly payment in that budget. But I was able to take that line out on Monday. Again, I was (and am) so excited to finally pay off a loan, albeit a very small $5k loan.

This is great! That $102/month applied to another debt will help to pay it down much faster as well. It's a great feeling once you start seeing progress. Don't be so hard on yourself. The first thing we paid down was only $250 Sears credit card bill. So what? It's not the exact amount that matters. What matters is that you made the committment and already have made some progress. The more you pay attention to where your money goes and look for things you can cut out of the budget, the more you find it's really not that hard to give some things up knowing it's not forever. Or maybe it will be. Maybe after a while you won't even miss those things.

I see several posters have mentioned Dave Ramsey. We started following the program five years ago and it really worked well for us! Went from paycheck to paycheck, tons of debt to now only left with a mortgage and being able to fund retirement and college savings.

Thinking back to our time in BS2, three things stand out to me -

• Focus on one goal at a time - Before following the DR plan, I was trying to fund retirement, college savings, pay down the mtg, pay off consumer, etc....It was like playing whack-a-mole and left us frustrated that we were not making any progress.
• Checking budget regularly - Honestly, I probably went overboard here but checking my bank accounts and my budget every day allowed me to stay on top of things and easier to meet goals.
• Contentment - Yes, I did have a little bit of the “keeping up with the Jones’s” during our early years. Over time, I’ve been able to appreciate the little things and feeling comfortable with our lifestyle while still enjoying splurges (budgeted) from time to time.

It’s an intense program, but even if you only adopt a few principles, it can make a big difference.​

​

Best of luck to everyone in reaching their goals no matter how you get there! ​

I couldn't agree more. The whack a mole analogy is spot on. And you feel like a gerbil running on a wheel. I also went overboard checking on our accounts every day. I still do it every day, sometimes twice. I haven't decided if this is either keeping me on top of things or some kind of subconscious self-punishment so that I don't ever slip up again. Whatever it is, it's working.

Another thing, I swore I will never pay again is bank fees. I refuse to give them one stinkin' penny. As consumers, there is never a need to tolerate this nowadays. At the time I first joined this thread, we used TD Bank which had a policy back then if your balance would drop below $100 even just for one day, you got hit was a $15 fee. When I finally added it up, we were paying it probably 6-8x per year. Well, I became determined to always have a $200 cushion to make certain that would never happen again. I was very careful to not make any errors that would result in overdrafts. We later switched to a bank that doesn't have any minimum. There are plenty of online banks that offer this as well. Anyone regularly paying bank fees, or having to keep a high minimum balance, you could be putting that money toward your debts instead of letting the bank keep it.

Sheesh, when I think back, my very first checking account in the early 80s when I was 17 required $1000 minimum balance or you'd get hit with a fee. I worked 20 hrs per week at a dry cleaners struggling to keep that $1000 plus pay for college. Ridiculous. No wonder they're not in business any more. Greedy

 

[jen7233]

Another thing, I swore I will never pay again is bank fees. I refuse to give them one stinkin' penny. As consumers, there is never a need to tolerate this nowadays. At the time I first joined this thread, we used TD Bank which had a policy back then if your balance would drop below $100 even just for one day, you got hit was a $15 fee. When I finally added it up, we were paying it probably 6-8x per year. Well, I became determined to always have a $200 cushion to make certain that would never happen again. I was very careful to not make any errors that would result in overdrafts. We later switched to a bank that doesn't have any minimum. There are plenty of online banks that offer this as well. Anyone regularly paying bank fees, or having to keep a high minimum balance, you could be putting that money toward your debts instead of letting the bank keep it.

Same, it's one way to feel in control and empowered with money, bills, and the like. Our checking/savings I don't pay banking fees, unless it's something unforeseen, in which case I make a call and see if they'll waive the fee. Had something with Navy Fed, minor thing on an incident over a transaction on my son's account between PayPal and Navy Fed if I recall it was an overdraft that happened as something wasn't set up right, and Navy Fed reversed the charge for us.

I just downgraded my Alaska Air card with a $75 annual fee for a no annual fee BoA because I don't feel I got the value of the $75 fee last year, traveling and use of the card to offset or justify the cost just didn't happen as anticipated, and won't this coming year. I was going to cancel altogether, but just keeping a BoA relationship just in case travel ideas look a little different in another year or so. I'll reevaluate that choice in a year. I much prefer Southwest's air miles program over AA, much easier in my opinion than American Airlines affiliated Alaska Air miles.

 

[mom2rb]

Updates
I paid off DH’s car this morning. It will make for a lean January but is so worth it.
I did have my second surgery. I can barely walk and am in a lot of pain but hopefully can start being active again in a month or so. I will be one of the last people in my state eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine so that will be a summer goal. Now I am going to throw myself into the emergency fund.

2021 Financial Goals
Pay off DH’s car-we owe $3700
Stay credit card debt free
Get 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund

The biggest problem is that I was ready to kick the birds out of the nest, then COVID-19. Job market is tough for young people right now. One son started graduate school and did get a 50% scholarship so that helps. The other one is training for the National Team in gymnastics and working for a catering company part time.

Personal Goals
Get active. I just had surgery on one ankle and have the other ankle scheduled for the end of December. It will make recovery harder but with insurance deductibles it will save enough to pay for all of son’s tuition. No student loans at all. I hadn’t realized how inactive I had become because of the pain. I am looking forward to exercising again.
Take the Covid-19 vaccine. I am terrified of needles but I want to get back to seeing family and being safe. Knowing that I have to get 2 shots isn’t helping. I haven’t had a flu vaccine since they quit giving it up the nose. I read an article about a Covid vaccine up the nose too but it is not expected to be out for a while.

 

[pblack]

Updates
I paid off DH’s car this morning. It will make for a lean January but is so worth it.
I did have my second surgery. I can barely walk and am in a lot of pain but hopefully can start being active again in a month or so. I will be one of the last people in my state eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine so that will be a summer goal. Now I am going to throw myself into the emergency fund.

I hope you heal quickly!!

 

[slightly_obsessed]

Updates
I paid off DH’s car this morning. It will make for a lean January but is so worth it.
I did have my second surgery. I can barely walk and am in a lot of pain but hopefully can start being active again in a month or so. I will be one of the last people in my state eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine so that will be a summer goal. Now I am going to throw myself into the emergency fund.

Congrats on the car payoff! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

 

[imbatman]

I paid off DH’s car this morning.

Excellent! Give yourself grace to heal (speaking from experience!)

 

[Tygerlilly]

I paid off DH’s car this morning. It will make for a lean January but is so worth it.

Congrats on the pay off!! Take it easy and hope you heal quickly!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Finally, *FINALLY* got my stimulus today! Resisted the urge to go to Buy Buy Baby immediately to get the stuff we need for #3. Instead, paid all the bills that currently needed paid for the rest of the month. Basically, freed up our entire next pay checks.

I have enough left over and need to make a decision:
Pay off one of our small loans or get all the new flooring for the house so we can knock that out in the next couple weekends.
I'm leaning towards the floors, mainly because they need done before July and I'd rather get it done before I get any bigger and it becomes harder to get up and down from the floor.

 

[imbatman]

I'm leaning towards the floors, mainly because they need done before July and I'd rather get it done before I get any bigger and it becomes harder to get up and down from the floor.

I put in flooring in our current house when I was 6 months pregnant. There's a pic where my face says it all: NOPE.

 

[pblack]

I put in flooring in our current house when I was 6 months pregnant. There's a pic where my face says it all: NOPE.

Proof or it didn't happen

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We sold our condo and bought our current house while being overdue pregnant. Both settlements on the same day. So we had to move out of the condo the day before, put all our stuff in u-haul trucks overnight, stay at my parents’ house, complete settlement (hand over old keys, get new keys) and stay at my parents’ for another 3 weeks while all our families came over to help clean, tear down ugly old wallpaper and paint.
Then dh got laid off. We made our first mortgage payment with my disability and his unemployment funds. Crazy times. I thought my pelvis was gonna snap after going up and down the condo steps 50x.
What a breeze it was with baby #2. Set up the nursery again and bring him home.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I put in flooring in our current house when I was 6 months pregnant. There's a pic where my face says it all: NOPE.

Oh, I am definitely not looking forward to this. I'm only about 12 weeks, but I'm already feeling huge and exhausted. But I just want to get it DONE and not think about it the rest of the time we're in this house. It's going to make such a huge difference in the house compared to this God awful cheap carpet they put in.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Oh, I am definitely not looking forward to this. I'm only about 12 weeks, but I'm already feeling huge and exhausted. But I just want to get it DONE and not think about it the rest of the time we're in this house. It's going to make such a huge difference in the house compared to this God awful cheap carpet they put in.

I dont blame you for wanting it over with. It’s not easy getting projects done once you’re big and even harder with a newborn. If you plan to stay there a while, it’s worth it.