Debt Dumpers 2021

[jen7233]

anyone going to benefit from the new stimulus plan's retro unemployment taxation changes? i'm just glad my dd hasn't done her return yet-i was going to help her do it this week but we'll have her wait a couple of weeks for new irs instructions (she only got a few weeks of uib but had them withhold the 10% so the change could result in a few hundred more to her refund ).

I don't but DD was unemployed for a lot last year worked in the service industry. She filed in Feb. I told her I think she'll have to file an amendment because she made 17k when unemployed, and the 10,200 is not taxable. Of course, she hasn't got her return yet either. Don't know what the amount was for non-taxable unemployment before the bill.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

anyone going to benefit from the new stimulus plan's retro unemployment taxation changes? i'm just glad my dd hasn't done her return yet-i was going to help her do it this week but we'll have her wait a couple of weeks for new irs instructions (she only got a few weeks of uib but had them withhold the 10% so the change could result in a few hundred more to her refund ).

Same with my middle DD. She did have taxes withheld so we're going to wait a bit on her taxes for the new instructions.

My oldest DD already filed her return, but hasn't received her refund yet, so she'll have to file an amended return at some point once everything is figured out.

 

[dreamer17555]

Going to need to file an amended return here for UE but I am happy to do so and even more thrilled stimulus is pending deposit on the 17th. I need major dental work, surgery co pays, and this should finish up the last little bit I owe in personal debt and on a small loan. So excited.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Stimulus is pending for the 17th here too. Tonight I'm going to write out my "wish list" of things to pay, purchase, or put money towards and then decide which way I want to tackle it.
First is going to be paying off the loans, credit cards, 6 months of car insurance, and kennel fees. Once that is done, it will open approximately $400 a month. Next will be booking my daughter's 4th birthday trip to Branson. Poor thing has had every single birthday party cancelled due to either flu or covid. She deserves a nice birthday trip for once. Then I'll tackle what else might need taken care of.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So, I got my new vehicle on Wednesday. I wound up choosing a 2018 Chevy Equinox AWD that has almost every option and feature, but was quite a bit less than the other options I looked at that were a year older, because it has more miles. It was used by the dealership as a loaner vehicle for about a year which is why it has more miles at 44K. I love it and am quite happy with my purchase.

I used part of the settlement on my totaled car for the down payment, part is saved for the road trip we are taking next month and the rest went to pay off the debt that was probably the least necessary from a financial standpoint, but the most from a mental standpoint. A couple of years ago we borrowed some money from my MIL and FIL for some vehicle expenses, and they encouraged us to take our time paying it back so we could get our debt under control. They do well financially (he is literally a rocket scientist and she is an accomplished artist), so it wasn't that they needed the money paid back now, but we still felt bad owing them money and it was taking a toll on both mine and my DH's mental health to think about it, so we paid them back yesterday. They were super appreciative, and we feel better knowing we wiped out some of our debt and unburdened ourselves mentally of owing family money.

Our stimulus payment is also saying it will be deposited on the 17th, and we mostly know what we are doing with that. We owe some on our taxes so ironically we will be using part of it to pay the IRS, part for some fun stuff and still trying to decide on the rest. Most likely debt, but have a couple of small things we might use part of it for too, still discussing that.

 

[jen7233]

Will just wait on see to talk to dd on the UE and her filing already done. A few articles on the UE are out on that issue. IRS was requested to automatically adjust returns rather than need to file amendment, and there will be more information to come on it in either case if they decide to automatically adjust, or for people it applies to on the UE to file an amendment.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I’m so excited! Between the stimulus, selling an old car, and budgeting, we are paying off 8 lines of revolving credit this month! Only 3 more to go!

 

[ciaoaloha31]

Mid March Update (Update Current 2021 starting point)

2021 Financial Goals

55.7% Complete 13% Complete Payoff PayPal Credit Balance by end of July (0% interest through July)
6.4% Complete 4.9% Complete Payoff Balance of Amex Card by end of August (with 0% interest through August)
2/11 0/11 Make additional $100 monthly payment towards principal of SSR DVC Loan starting in February
1/11 0/11 Make additional $100 monthly payment towards principal of CCV DVC Loan starting in February (Projected Payoff moved up 2 months to July 2026)
2/11 0/11 Save $200/month towards down payment of a new vehicle starting in February (current vehicle is fully paid off as of Dec 2020 and expect 2-3 more years out of it before needing a new one)

2021 Reach Financial Goals (Goals that are a bit of a stretch but trying for them anyway )

June 2027 Current Projected Payoff Date November 2027 Current Projected Payoff Date Payoff SSR DVC Loan by end of December
$7005.17/$10,000 $7001.78/$10,000 Grow Emergency Savings to $10,000 (Will most likely put most or all of my stimulus towards this as I have a pretty well laid out plan for the debt portion of my goals and things are tight budget wise at work. It is scheduled for deposit on 3/17 but will make a decision at the end of the month as to how I allocate it)

 

[imbatman]

Stimulus also showing for Wednesday too! We're all going to have a lucky day.

Ours is all accounted for. Bought the mattress. Paying of the CC. The rest to savings.

Looking at our snowball with the remaining debt: student loan, house, car. Going to alternate the extra payments per month (what I'd planned on spending on the CC) between savings to the car for 6 months. That'll build up the savings for any emergencies and tackle getting the car paid off in three years or less. House is still slated for just under 7. Student loan, too.

**Edit -- the deposit just hit our account as soon as I posted this

 

[DLgal]

Our stimulus isn't showing as pending in our bank account yet, but I used the IRS tool and it told me we would get it deposited on the 17th as well. I already set up a transfer to my Ally account for the full amount. We don't need to use it for anything.

 

[pblack]

Mid-March update:

• Save additional $1000 towards emergency fund outside of monthly transfers......This has been completed.
• Increase retirement contributions for DH and myself.......This has been completed.
• Pay $1000 extra towards Highlander loan.......Currently at $505/$1000
• Figure out how to pay for roof replacement......This is being put off for now. I'll start throwing some money in savings here and there for when we do end up replacing it.
• Kick out our roommate.....We've talked to him and given him until the end of May to find a new place.
• Exercise 4-5 times a week for 30-45 minutes.....Still doing pretty good with this. I didn't meet the 4-5 times last week since we went to Texas for a long weekend, but I plan on getting back to it this week.
• Finish the refinance on our house.....This is currently in the works. We should have jumped on it about a month ago when the rates were a little lower, but we're able to go down to 3% (from 3.6% I think) and knock out our PMI. This will bring our payment down by $150 which will then cover cable/internet when our roommate leaves.
• Purchase an electric fireplace insert and have it installed....I've paid the 50% deposit and we are tentatively on the install schedule for April 1st. This could change if they get it in earlier or if there is a delay in the shipping. This is being fully paid for by our tax return and a smidgen of savings.

We were unable to get tickets for A Touch of Disney (still so frustrated by this). But I think it was the next day when the governor announced theme parks could open as early as April 1st if they meet the requirements. So maybe there's a reason I couldn't get the festival tickets. I'm definitely going to try and get tickets to the park(s) when they reopen. I don't necessarily want to go opening weekend or anything, I just want to go lol. We also just finished our Texas trip where we spent a decent bit of money, but it was so worth it. We now have about a month until we go to Vegas for the weekend.

Like many of you our stimulus also says it'll be deposited on Wednesday. I still think we plan on taking care of a bunch of smaller house projects with the money. I have been debating trying to get the roof taken care of still, but I don't know. One of my co-workers told me to look into Tesla's solar roof and it's definitely an interesting concept. I just don't know enough about it to make a decision on it.

 

[StephMK]

Our stimulus isn't showing as pending in our bank account yet, but I used the IRS tool and it told me we would get it deposited on the 17th as well. I already set up a transfer to my Ally account for the full amount. We don't need to use it for anything.

Thank you! I forgot about the IRS tool. Ours is not showing pending in our bank but the tool says it will be deposited Wednesday. I've been playing with the numbers to see what makes the most sense.

 

[StacyStrong]

My stimulus is also showing for Wednesday. It's going toward my house downpayment savings.

 

[jen7233]

Don't know the rhyme or reason how the timeline is on receiving tax refunds or stimulus. Stimulus not yet I get the "You are eligible for the payment. Once we have your payment date, we will update this page." But, dd got the stimulus. Yet, she still hasn't got her tax refund back. But, our tax refund is showing to be processed already and we filed within the last two weeks. I wonder if her hold up on the tax refunds has something to do with the unemployment which now sounds like they'll administratively adjust. Will see.

 

[RamblingMad]

How many of you are saving your stimulus? I ask because I’m seeing hotel and airfare prices go through the roof.

I’m also seeing a lot of my friends buying new appliances. But anything for home improvement I’ve seen go up in price since COVID.

I do need to get a new laptop to replace my 5 year old one, so that’s on the list this year. I also want a new soundbar, but that might have to wait.

How are you guys thinking about your spending now? What deals are out there?

 

[ciaoaloha31]

Right now I leaning toward saving almost all of it. I needed dental work this month beyond what I had budgeted for. So I will probably take what I need to make up the difference in my dental bill and put the rest in emergency savings. I work in manufacturing and there's always the possibility of being furloughed. Plus I know money is tight for the owners, so I want to have savings in case I find myself unemployed and not worry about a possible backlog when filing for unemployment.

 

[DLgal]

How many of you are saving your stimulus? I ask because I’m seeing hotel and airfare prices go through the roof.

I’m also seeing a lot of my friends buying new appliances. But anything for home improvement I’ve seen go up in price since COVID.

I do need to get a new laptop to replace my 5 year old one, so that’s on the list this year. I also want a new soundbar, but that might have to wait.

How are you guys thinking about your spending now? What deals are out there?

We actually did buy a new soundbar. We got a slight deal because they offer a military discount online. But we bought it using just our regular income. I didn't have to dip into savings for it. We got the Bose 700 Soundbar and Subwoofer. Still waiting on the subwoofer to be delivered to set it up.

Our entire stimulus check is going towards our emergency savings goal.

We don't have travel planned until the summer, but it's a short weekend somewhat local trip, and we are driving. Already booked the hotel and didn't really get a deal there either. It was about $400/night for a 2 bedroom suite.

The kids do need new glasses, so we will be buying those soon, but again, not with stimulus money specifically.

 

[FQLover]

I love seeing how intentional everyone is being with their planned stimulus checks coming in! I have put my other two into particular savings buckets. That is what I have been planning with this one, too, although now that my DD20 is being included, I am putting hers in her savings account to go toward next year's college room and board expenses.

I was just going to plop my $1400 into savings. I am now thinking, "When do I ever plan on replacing my back door to my house and its storm door?" They are in terrible shape due to a variety of dogs over the years, both from me and the people who lived here before me who had two Great Danes and a third dog. They are scratched up, rusted, and my inner door panes were chewed through by my previous dog who had separation anxiety. They still work fine and I just usually don't notice how terrible they look, but really....

Anyone else get into such a savings mode that you are loathe to spend much...even with money that is meant to stimulate the economy? I have a million things wrong with my old house, and a HELOC sitting untouched because I just don't want to get into debt again. Yet, I will retire within a few short years and if I want to sell the house, this stuff is going to have to get done. I have enough money in my car "bucket" to pay off my car, but I just don't want to touch it. The car will be paid off next February if I just keep paying the note monthly.

Is this weird of me? Like once I got out of debt (other than two cars and mortgage), I don't want to spend any money anymore but, instead, build up my savings. House repairs are so expensive (not the back doors but re-plumbing, replacing floors, and other things I need to do) that I just stick my head in the sand and keep the purse strings closed. Now I am taking from savings to pay for a dental crown this week and in January I had to pay for an expensive surgery for my dog. But those are essential. I am definitely falling down on paying for house maintenance and repair.

Edited: I just counted up 11 months of car payments, and that number exceeds what I would spend to pay it off now by $300. So, that is dumb to not pay it off now, right? I could pay it off now, put the car payment amount back into the car bucket each month and by February have $300 more in there than I do now. So the smart thing to do is to pay it off now. Right?

 

[jen7233]

How many of you are saving your stimulus? I ask because I’m seeing hotel and airfare prices go through the roof.

I’m also seeing a lot of my friends buying new appliances. But anything for home improvement I’ve seen go up in price since COVID.

I do need to get a new laptop to replace my 5 year old one, so that’s on the list this year. I also want a new soundbar, but that might have to wait.

How are you guys thinking about your spending now? What deals are out there?

Not saving, spending. Has nothing to do with WDW trip planned, that money is already saved and air was on points used on SW. Then planning to use statement credit from the card to pay off some charges on dining. Despite whatever the point value is.

For WDW trip, the price and point value for the flights we have are up by much more than I got them for. But that can be seen other times with SW so not certain it's a direct correlation of prices going up. Though I wouldn't doubt prices are creeping. The flight to MCO became no longer available is sold out. Did get a promo to park at the airport leaving here vs Uber, potentially could be a lousy deal but the links says it's a sale! So, I went ahead and got the "sale" on airport parking. I wanted to rent a car from MCO, but not at the prices we were quoted for a week when it won't be used too much while there. Gas is up also. Bus around WDW it is! Hotel price, wasn't affected.

This stimulus when we get it is going towards the increased rent of the new place and stuff we want to get moving in to the new place, couch etc.

 

[barkley]

ours will go to things we had already been planning to do w/savings-the removal of the trees has already taken the bulk of it but today i'm getting a price on a project i've LONG wanted to do................customize my walk in closet. there is so much lost and unusable space in it, the higher hanging bars are at a height that they kill w/the arthritis in my shoulders, i'm tired of using 2 bookcases for shelving (and my oldest is dying to snag those bookcases for her apartment). it's something we've talked about for ages but just finally got around to getting a consultation and price bid.

l'll let you know what the sticker shock is later in the day.