Debt Dumpers 2021

[jen7233]

I am coming out of the woodworks with all this mortgage talk.. we are set to pay off our mortgage on Thursday! We are young (mid-late 30’s) and maybe it didn’t make the most financial sense as our interest rate was low, it brings so much peace of mind and freedom. My husband works in a volatile industry, so the thought that we now own our house completely should something ever happen to his income is a safety I am thankful to have. I am not telling anyone in my “real life” as I don’t want to sound braggy, but I knew my Dis friends would understand how happy this makes me !

Congratulations! That is pretty amazing for mid 30s so I'd feel free to brag

 

[Tygerlilly]

The state of Oklahoma makes me want to rip my hair out. They've now pushed back when their tax forms will be available TWICE. I just want to file my dang taxes so the information is updated whenever/if they decide to send another stimulus package.

Our cost of living raise at work is .35 cents an hour (we're not super happy with this considering how much money walmart has made in the last year, how much we've all been working, and how crummy actual work conditions have been). Our final quarterly bonus for the fiscal year is .88 cents per hour worked. Should work out to be around $400 or so each for both DH and myself. I *think* we'll see that on our next checks. March will also be a 3 paycheck month for us, so I'm thinking I'll be able to knock out one of our smaller loans by the end of the month. Fingers crossed there.

In non budget news:
Went to the doctor yesterday and got to see Peanut. Confirmed by ultrasound that it's a boy!! The girls are super excited to have a baby brother. And I'm pretty excited to experience being a boy mom.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Congrats Tygerlilly!!!!!!

Do you guys have any advice on good cards for balance transfer these days? The cc thread moves crazy fast so I thought I'd ask here to see what everyone is doing. We have some expenses from moving and now our washer is shot and we need a new dryer soon too so it looks like I'm buying a set. I don't have enough is savings to cover it all (probably about 5k total) and I'd rather not drain my savings anyway. I'm looking to put it all on my best card for cash back and then transfer the balance to something new so I can take my time paying it off. I saw a few options on Nerdwallet that look good but just wanted to get a second opinion/ advice here (Other than store credit cards for the washer and dryer- not opposed to the idea just want to explore my options). My Discover is giving my 9 months 0% which would be helpful and then I could move the balance again if I'm not done, but i want to explore other options. I've only done balance transfers once or twice in the past so any advice in general on the process would be awesome! DH and I both have excellent credit so we should (theoretically of course) be eligible for almost anything.

Other than that not much to report. Chipping away at DH's medical expenses and the move went well! Starting my new job next week!

 

[barkley]

Congrats Tygerlilly!!!!!!

Do you guys have any advice on good cards for balance transfer these days? The cc thread moves crazy fast so I thought I'd ask here to see what everyone is doing. We have some expenses from moving and now our washer is shot and we need a new dryer soon too so it looks like I'm buying a set. I don't have enough is savings to cover it all (probably about 5k total) and I'd rather not drain my savings anyway. I'm looking to put it all on my best card for cash back and then transfer the balance to something new so I can take my time paying it off. I saw a few options on Nerdwallet that look good but just wanted to get a second opinion/ advice here (Other than store credit cards for the washer and dryer- not opposed to the idea just want to explore my options). My Discover is giving my 9 months 0% which would be helpful and then I could move the balance again if I'm not done, but i want to explore other options. I've only done balance transfers once or twice in the past so any advice in general on the process would be awesome! DH and I both have excellent credit so we should (theoretically of course) be eligible for almost anything.

Other than that not much to report. Chipping away at DH's medical expenses and the move went well! Starting my new job next week!

it's not an offer for a balance transfer but if you haven't made the washer/dryer purchase yet-farmers visa (farmers as in farmers insurance-you don't have to be insured by them) offers 3% rewards and 12 months at 0% for new accounts. we use them exclusively for home improvements (repairs, upgrades, appliances-even furniture has qualified us at the 3% reward tier). i'm not into the airline reward stuff so i don't know how that works but they have an easy process to turn the rewards into a statement credit so we just apply whatever we get to the balance to effectively get a 3% discount on these types of purchases (we also use farmers for our insurance needs so since we pay for those w/this card we are able to reduce all of our insurance costs by 3% which is a nice yearly savings).

 

[amalone1013]

I am coming out of the woodworks with all this mortgage talk.. we are set to pay off our mortgage on Thursday! We are young (mid-late 30’s) and maybe it didn’t make the most financial sense as our interest rate was low, it brings so much peace of mind and freedom. My husband works in a volatile industry, so the thought that we now own our house completely should something ever happen to his income is a safety I am thankful to have. I am not telling anyone in my “real life” as I don’t want to sound braggy, but I knew my Dis friends would understand how happy this makes me !

I think the fact that you're worried about sounding braggy means you're not trying to be braggy at all. Congrats, that's really exciting! We can all be plenty excited and happy for you I know when we've off-handedly mentioned that we paid our student loans off to real life people we pretty much got brushed off or got flack over it (except my grandpa, he was happy for us) but everyone here will help you celebrate your wins!!

 

[DLgal]

Congrats Tygerlilly!!!!!!

Do you guys have any advice on good cards for balance transfer these days? The cc thread moves crazy fast so I thought I'd ask here to see what everyone is doing. We have some expenses from moving and now our washer is shot and we need a new dryer soon too so it looks like I'm buying a set. I don't have enough is savings to cover it all (probably about 5k total) and I'd rather not drain my savings anyway. I'm looking to put it all on my best card for cash back and then transfer the balance to something new so I can take my time paying it off. I saw a few options on Nerdwallet that look good but just wanted to get a second opinion/ advice here (Other than store credit cards for the washer and dryer- not opposed to the idea just want to explore my options). My Discover is giving my 9 months 0% which would be helpful and then I could move the balance again if I'm not done, but i want to explore other options. I've only done balance transfers once or twice in the past so any advice in general on the process would be awesome! DH and I both have excellent credit so we should (theoretically of course) be eligible for almost anything.

Other than that not much to report. Chipping away at DH's medical expenses and the move went well! Starting my new job next week!

Last time I did a balance transfer, I opened up a Citi Double Cash card. It had a 0% balance transfer for up to 18 months at a 1% transfer fee. I chose that card specifically because I like the rewards structure for future large purchases (1x back when you buy, another 1x back when you pay). I use this for non categorized large purchases that I would otherwise only get 1% on (i.e. non travel, dining, grocery).

 

[jen7233]

In non budget news:
Went to the doctor yesterday and got to see Peanut. Confirmed by ultrasound that it's a boy!! The girls are super excited to have a baby brother. And I'm pretty excited to experience being a boy mom.

Congratulations! And on taxes, we haven't filed yet. Another to see what happens with it is the supposed enhanced or expanded child tax credit.

Do you guys have any advice on good cards for balance transfer these days?

When I'm looking I do the same, check out websites like you mentioned, or I'll get the occasional mailer in the mail and notice offers. If you think you can pay it in 9 months, I'd go with what you already have offered on the 9 month, 0%, if you need the washer dryer now. Then keep looking at card offers, it'll give you a little time, and at least have the washer and dryer problem solved in the short time.

If you have time to float, I'd look at the Chase cards like the Freedoms (although I don't know what they are offering right now, if they are offering balance transfers at 0% for xx months, Amex). See also what charges a card would charge you for a balance transfer before applying, so you aren't surprised with any extra fees. Check with your bank(s) also, I tend to see offers through mine most of the time, offers for a balance transfer, or 0% for xx months, sitting in my offers box or on the messages boxes when I log in the bank websites. Oh-and congrats on your new job!

 

[crazycatstacy]

Planning a 70th birthday party for my mother next month. I wanted to use cloth tablecloths and I wanted one cocktail table. I called a local rental place in my town and for 5 tablecloths (2 six foot long ones and 3 round ones) plus the cocktail table it was $109 which I think is rather ridiculous. I can buy the tablecloths off of Ebay for $35. I really wanted one tall table to put a bouquet of flowers on and a basket for cards but I might have to do without.

 

[pblack]

Planning a 70th birthday party for my mother next month. I wanted to use cloth tablecloths and I wanted one cocktail table. I called a local rental place in my town and for 5 tablecloths (2 six foot long ones and 3 round ones) plus the cocktail table it was $109 which I think is rather ridiculous. I can buy the tablecloths off of Ebay for $35. I really wanted one tall table to put a bouquet of flowers on and a basket for cards but I might have to do without.

If you're interested in purchasing a table Target has this as an option for $35: https://www.target.com/p/4-folding-...te-plastic-dev-group/-/A-15127167#lnk=sametab

 

[DLgal]

Congratulations! And on taxes, we haven't filed yet. Another to see what happens with it is the supposed enhanced or expanded child tax credit.

The proposed enhanced child tax credit is for tax year 2021, not 2020. If it is passed, payments will begin in July for people who opt for payments rather than the credit applied at tax time in 2022.

 

[TarraLee]

Planning a 70th birthday party for my mother next month. I wanted to use cloth tablecloths and I wanted one cocktail table. I called a local rental place in my town and for 5 tablecloths (2 six foot long ones and 3 round ones) plus the cocktail table it was $109 which I think is rather ridiculous. I can buy the tablecloths off of Ebay for $35. I really wanted one tall table to put a bouquet of flowers on and a basket for cards but I might have to do without.

try putting a box or stool on a regular height table, but under your tablecloth. Then put flowers on top, and your centerpiece will have height. I do this a lot when making buffet or retail displays, etc., to create different heights. Might need an extra table cloth, pool or bunch it around base to create flow if you need. Just a thought to get height without needing a tall table.

 

[barkley]

Planning a 70th birthday party for my mother next month. I wanted to use cloth tablecloths and I wanted one cocktail table. I called a local rental place in my town and for 5 tablecloths (2 six foot long ones and 3 round ones) plus the cocktail table it was $109 which I think is rather ridiculous. I can buy the tablecloths off of Ebay for $35. I really wanted one tall table to put a bouquet of flowers on and a basket for cards but I might have to do without.

you might check out some of the bargain tablecloth places on-line. i did this when dd graduated high school. i just did a quick search and there's a site called linentablecloth.com that's got good prices to start w/but depending on your color scheme you can get some phenomenal deals in their 'bargain' section-rounds for less than $4 (bigger sizes as well), and longs for less than $5 or $6.

 

[crazycatstacy]

you might check out some of the bargain tablecloth places on-line. i did this when dd graduated high school. i just did a quick search and there's a site called linentablecloth.com that's got good prices to start w/but depending on your color scheme you can get some phenomenal deals in their 'bargain' section-rounds for less than $4 (bigger sizes as well), and longs for less than $5 or $6.

Thank you! I looked and got everything I needed for cheap!!!

 

[imbatman]

Limping in on this Friday for some cheering up. Just when the end is in sight, my car took an expensive face palm. It has 160k miles. My mechanic (who is a wonderful guy we've used for over 10 years) said he's seeing if it's worth fixing, but he's not confident.

I don't want a new/new to me car! I don't want car payments! I was so close!!!

 

[DnA2010]

All this mortgage talk is interesting to me. I've never had one. We are perpetual renters. We rent for about half of what a mortgage would cost us and we are happy with that. It allows us to invest more money over a longer period of time. I can't even imagine living in a home for longer than 10 years though. We move every 5 years or so. I like being able to choose a different house type as our needs change and we are a military family so we have never been able to put down "roots."

Like the others have said, just depends on where you are...our mortgage is around $2,500/month (includes over 4K of city taxes spread into the payments) but getting a rental alike to our house for that would be impossible- you'd be paying at least 50% more, if you could even find a rental...rental availability where I am is like 0%....we bought current house for around 400K 7 years ago, but it would sell around 625-650K if we were to list...we are hoping to be able to buy in-law's farm which is 5 min away someday...

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Oh no @imbatman, I hope the car is fixable.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

Limping in on this Friday for some cheering up. Just when the end is in sight, my car took an expensive face palm. It has 160k miles. My mechanic (who is a wonderful guy we've used for over 10 years) said he's seeing if it's worth fixing, but he's not confident.

I don't want a new/new to me car! I don't want car payments! I was so close!!!

Hope they can fix it! I'm so sorry!

 

[jen7233]

The proposed enhanced child tax credit is for tax year 2021, not 2020. If it is passed, payments will begin in July for people who opt for payments rather than the credit applied at tax time in 2022.

I thought I heard something about it possibly retroactive to the 2020 tax year and an option on a lump sum or spread out over the year, listening on some tax information update channels, and a quick article, but didn't look too far into it. Well, it'll be tossed around for a bit. Interesting if something does pass, seems to be two proposals floating, the Family Security Act and the American Family Act.

And it's tax season again. DH does our taxes and I maintain all the other financial aspects and bills, just something we've always done. But I was thinking I need to make sure I can access his Turbo Tax account just in case I need to file in an emergency. Does anyone know if you file married filing jointly with Turbotax, can you set up your own login access and see the historical data? Similar to for example having a joint bank account-we each have to have our own login (that's how the bank wants it, anyway, for example I've called on some occasions when I'm logged in under my DHs out of habit, and they say sorry, I can't tell you anything, it's not your login - even though it's a joint account- but I get it, and so I've got two logins one each set up for all our joint accounts one his, one mine). Anyway, can you do something like that in Turbo Tax?

Limping in on this Friday for some cheering up. Just when the end is in sight, my car took an expensive face palm. It has 160k miles. My mechanic (who is a wonderful guy we've used for over 10 years) said he's seeing if it's worth fixing, but he's not confident.

I know that is frustrating.

 

[imbatman]

Calling all car buyers. First off, don't hate on me or belittle me for these questions. I've had a crap morning. I'm grumpy. I'm looking for helpful advice. I don't need someone trolling me today.

Car repairs are going to be around $3k. This is on a 2012 Chev. with nearly 160K miles.

Options: 1. Repair car. Obviously the cheaper route. But considering the age and wear on the engine, this may be the beginning.
2. Buy a used car. 2019 Honda Pilot with every bell and whistle. 20.5k miles $32k
3. Buy a new car. 2021 Toyota Rav4 hybrid with every bell and whistle. 0 miles. $38k
4. Buy a new car. 2021 Toyota Rav4 hybrid with half of the stuff. $32k

I'm looking for any advice. We've prequalified for 2.4% on a new car loan. 3.04% on used. Toyota is not running any financing specials on hybrids, unfortunately. We're looking to switch because we don't see gas prices dropping anytime soon. Also looking at AWD vehicles because I've been stranded in the last two snow storms. And I know our insurance will go up. I'm trying to brace for impact here.

I'm certainly not happy about increasing our debt. That said, because we've worked so hard, our credit scores are wonderful and our loan rates will be okay. We haven't bought a new car since 1997. I know the school of thought is that their depreciation is so crazy, but they also have 3 year warranties. The last used car we bought was on a whim, my 2012 Chevy. Great car, but we didn't think the financing through. This time, it's about being wise.

While we don't have to make the decision in the next hour or two, I'd like to try and gather some opinions and schools of thought. Just so disappointed. But, that said, I know I can still pay off the CC debt by Oct. at zero percent. Going to get my hustle on.

 

[DLgal]

Calling all car buyers. First off, don't hate on me or belittle me for these questions. I've had a crap morning. I'm grumpy. I'm looking for helpful advice. I don't need someone trolling me today.

Car repairs are going to be around $3k. This is on a 2012 Chev. with nearly 160K miles.

Options: 1. Repair car. Obviously the cheaper route. But considering the age and wear on the engine, this may be the beginning.
2. Buy a used car. 2019 Honda Pilot with every bell and whistle. 20.5k miles $32k
3. Buy a new car. 2021 Toyota Rav4 hybrid with every bell and whistle. 0 miles. $38k
4. Buy a new car. 2021 Toyota Rav4 hybrid with half of the stuff. $32k

I'm looking for any advice. We've prequalified for 2.4% on a new car loan. 3.04% on used. Toyota is not running any financing specials on hybrids, unfortunately. We're looking to switch because we don't see gas prices dropping anytime soon. Also looking at AWD vehicles because I've been stranded in the last two snow storms. And I know our insurance will go up. I'm trying to brace for impact here.

I'm certainly not happy about increasing our debt. That said, because we've worked so hard, our credit scores are wonderful and our loan rates will be okay. We haven't bought a new car since 1997. I know the school of thought is that their depreciation is so crazy, but they also have 3 year warranties. The last used car we bought was on a whim, my 2012 Chevy. Great car, but we didn't think the financing through. This time, it's about being wise.

While we don't have to make the decision in the next hour or two, I'd like to try and gather some opinions and schools of thought. Just so disappointed. But, that said, I know I can still pay off the CC debt by Oct. at zero percent. Going to get my hustle on.

Can't really offer advice, but your insurance will likely go DOWN if you purchase a newer model year car with safety features like Honda Sense (don't know what Toyota calls their suite of safety features). Our insurance went down dramatically when we replaced husbands 2009 with a 2017 Honda Civic with Honda Sense features. Like, $25/month less.