Debt Dumpers 2021

[barkley]

This is us. We either go out or get takeout at least 3 sometimes 4 times a week (and I'm not talking "old mcdonalds" as my kids would say). One day last week I stopped at 4 places to please everyone's interest that night. It's actually getting a little out of hand and we spend easily $300-400 extra every week on dining out or take out on top of at least 2 trips to the market every week. We went through the whole let's make a menu board phase briefly but then it got vague like "Monday- chicken" that we just gave up. We often play the "what do you want for dinner game" until 4 or 5 in the afternoon which ends in out to eat so that too is annoying. I haven't really figured out the problem other than I work from home and it's hard to pull myself away to prep a meal that everyone will eat. It's an excuse of course- we just need to snap out of it.

are there repetitive favorites that your family wants with to-go food? are they things you could do some ahead time prep work and then have on hand to throw together (or depending on their ages-they could throw together)? when both dh and i were working/dealing with growing kiddos it seemed like everyone had their default to-go favorites-

ds-mexican food, so to this day i periodically cook up several pounds of ground beef, season it with taco seasoning and premeasure it into dollar store freezer containers. takes 1 minute from fully frozen to do about 8 ounces which makes for a couple of burritos (with tortillas, canned refried beans, salsa, nacho cheese sauce-microwaveable cups-all of which i always have on hand. he also makes nachos with them (i keep small cans of olives handy).

dd-italian. this is SO easy w/jarred sauce and pasta. i used to do the same meat cooking technique only using italian seasonings so she could have meat sauce if she wanted.

for chinese cravings we used to keep bags of trader joes entrees on hand-their orange chicken is really good as are their other offerings. they can cook up in the oven while a bag of their fried rice uses the microwave.

for pizza-we almost only do papa murphys on their $10.99 tuesday but we used to keep those individual bobolis on hand. with some jarred pizza sauce, shelf stable pepperoni and whatever veggies we happen to have on hand (or leftovers-bbq chicken works fine, busted up meatballs...).

we routinely over prepare amounts of some bbq-b/c we love it. if dh is doing pulled pork it's going to be many times more than we need. i freeze mutliple batches and then pull it out in the morning to pair w/canned bbq beans and a salad.

 

[Tygerlilly]

are there repetitive favorites that your family wants with to-go food? are they things you could do some ahead time prep work and then have on hand to throw together (or depending on their ages-they could throw together)? when both dh and i were working/dealing with growing kiddos it seemed like everyone had their default to-go favorites-

ds-mexican food, so to this day i periodically cook up several pounds of ground beef, season it with taco seasoning and premeasure it into dollar store freezer containers. takes 1 minute from fully frozen to do about 8 ounces which makes for a couple of burritos (with tortillas, canned refried beans, salsa, nacho cheese sauce-microwaveable cups-all of which i always have on hand. he also makes nachos with them (i keep small cans of olives handy).

dd-italian. this is SO easy w/jarred sauce and pasta. i used to do the same meat cooking technique only using italian seasonings so she could have meat sauce if she wanted.

for chinese cravings we used to keep bags of trader joes entrees on hand-their orange chicken is really good as are their other offerings. they can cook up in the oven while a bag of their fried rice uses the microwave.

for pizza-we almost only do papa murphys on their $10.99 tuesday but we used to keep those individual bobolis on hand. with some jarred pizza sauce, shelf stable pepperoni and whatever veggies we happen to have on hand (or leftovers-bbq chicken works fine, busted up meatballs...).

we routinely over prepare amounts of some bbq-b/c we love it. if dh is doing pulled pork it's going to be many times more than we need. i freeze mutliple batches and then pull it out in the morning to pair w/canned bbq beans and a salad.

I started doing this recently. I used to do it a lot, but with trying to get my sh** together before the new baby, and suddenly finding us MUCH more busy during the week, I do the meat prep one day a week and freeze in portions. I still have a container of taco meat in the freezer and 4 pre-made burritos up there too.

Also a huge fan of cooking a TON of bacon and freezing the cooked bacon to just pull out and heat and eat. (I hate cooking bacon so only doing it once a month is my #1 tip)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I usually don't work till 5pm and this week I have worked till 5 or later everyday and by the time I get home and my husband gets home we just haven't been feeling cooking. This is not helping my budget or my waistline!

This is my life for the past 30+ years. Now, I get home drop dead exhausted. Seriously, if dh wasn't so willing to cook every night, I'd be having a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats for dinner and everyone else could fend for themselves.
I'd be lost without him.
The positive aspects is job security, decent pay and no holidays or weekends so I suck it up. Gotta take the bad with the good sometimes.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I started doing this recently. I used to do it a lot, but with trying to get my sh** together before the new baby, and suddenly finding us MUCH more busy during the week, I do the meat prep one day a week and freeze in portions. I still have a container of taco meat in the freezer and 4 pre-made burritos up there too.

Also a huge fan of cooking a TON of bacon and freezing the cooked bacon to just pull out and heat and eat. (I hate cooking bacon so only doing it once a month is my #1 tip)

I do this with making a big pot of meatballs & tomato sauce and freeze it in ziploc baggies. It makes a great homemade dinner on a weeknight without much effort. Dh somehow figured it out that if we take a Disney refillable popcorn bucket, stick a 1 gallon freezer bag in it, hold the bag over the rim of the bucket and use a ladle to start filling the bag/bucket, when it gets close to the top of the bucket, it's the perfect amount for 1 lb of pasta. Then seal up the bag and start another. We keep a plastic tray in the big freezer so the bags don't sink down through the rack and freeze onto it. We lay them flat so they defrost faster.
I only have to make the big pot once per month or so. It makes great leftovers for lunches too. Yum!

 

[CaleCakes]

are there repetitive favorites that your family wants with to-go food? are they things you could do some ahead time prep work and then have on hand to throw together (or depending on their ages-they could throw together)? when both dh and i were working/dealing with growing kiddos it seemed like everyone had their default to-go favorites-

ds-mexican food, so to this day i periodically cook up several pounds of ground beef, season it with taco seasoning and premeasure it into dollar store freezer containers. takes 1 minute from fully frozen to do about 8 ounces which makes for a couple of burritos (with tortillas, canned refried beans, salsa, nacho cheese sauce-microwaveable cups-all of which i always have on hand. he also makes nachos with them (i keep small cans of olives handy).

dd-italian. this is SO easy w/jarred sauce and pasta. i used to do the same meat cooking technique only using italian seasonings so she could have meat sauce if she wanted.

for chinese cravings we used to keep bags of trader joes entrees on hand-their orange chicken is really good as are their other offerings. they can cook up in the oven while a bag of their fried rice uses the microwave.

for pizza-we almost only do papa murphys on their $10.99 tuesday but we used to keep those individual bobolis on hand. with some jarred pizza sauce, shelf stable pepperoni and whatever veggies we happen to have on hand (or leftovers-bbq chicken works fine, busted up meatballs...).

we routinely over prepare amounts of some bbq-b/c we love it. if dh is doing pulled pork it's going to be many times more than we need. i freeze mutliple batches and then pull it out in the morning to pair w/canned bbq beans and a salad.

We smoke a big chicken or a brisket in the pellet smoker every few weeks that we use for different meals during that week. The chicken goes over better with the kids (they're 3 and 5) because it's so plain and I'll cube the white meat for their lunches for wraps or quesadillas. And my mom with make a red sauce with meatballs every few weeks. The meatballs will serve as the kids lunches also. Their go to meal is pasta they could eat it at every meal. Clearly I don't want them to only eat pasta, and I don't want to make them a separate meal all the time. And they're picky about sauce, has to be none or very little. My 5 year old is getting more adventurous. I tell him if mommy eats it it must be good so he will at least try stuff. He does much better with veggies also. The 3 year old she is very picky she will only eat cucumbers and green beans from a can. I know, she wouldn't eat it if I didn't give it to her but I figured something green is better than no green.

We're a party of 6- sandwich generation if you will- so several different likes and dislikes to please. There's the meat and potato people, the ones that want to eat healthier and limit starch and carbs, the one that like seafood and to use spices others don't. The ones that don't like crockpot or casserole meals. The list goes on and on but of course there are meals we all eat. So on top of not really having time to plan, prep, and cook meals for an entire week, takeout or out to eat wins a lot of times. And I don't do the grocery shopping usually so unless I make a very specific list, things are forgotten and the meal I had in mind doesn't come to be.

I have thought about those delivery services like hello fresh where all the ingredients come in the kit but I'm sure they can get expensive too. Has anyone tried those services?

 

[Eureka]

You guys are making me hungry! We‘ve been taking out on Saturday nights since the pandemic hit. Now that DS18 has track meets on Tuesdays, we think we‘ll add grabbing something fast on those days until the season is over. DH can’t wait until we’re fully vaccinated to be able to go to restaurants again. I don’t feel comfortable doing it now. A few more weeks....

 

[4 Ears]

1 giant step backward
1 good step forward.
We purchased a new car Thursday but got a great 2.59% APR! Old car was a 2007 and certainly seen better days. They gave us $500 for a trade, I asked if that was the going scrap price? LOL
Made a $1,200. payment on my credit card. May not be able to pay it off next month now as the first car payment will be due.
Still feel we are strongly plugging away though on reducing debt over all.

 

[npatellye]

I have thought about those delivery services like hello fresh where all the ingredients come in the kit but I'm sure they can get expensive too. Has anyone tried those services?

We’ve tried a few of them when both of my kids were younger (they’re now 8 and almost 6). Blue Apron was the first we tried and it was expensive but also took a while to to prep and cook. Hello Fresh was okay but not always kid friendly. Sun Basket was great but didn’t have a lot of options for my fussy meat and potatoes eating husband. Gobble was my favorite because everything came chopped and whatnot but it was still more expensive than meal planning on my own.

 

[jen7233]

I have thought about those delivery services like hello fresh where all the ingredients come in the kit but I'm sure they can get expensive too. Has anyone tried those services?

Yes, we tried one of those meal kit delivery services when DH had some sort of deal with his Amex or Chase. It was just in the last year we tried it. Meals were pretty good, can't complain much on the ones he picked out. My thoughts were I could see how convenient it would be for a professional, busy, couple. For a family of four, however, it didn't seem very economical when I compared the cost of the service without the deal he got vs. what I could spend on groceries for meals at the store. Plus some meals I make at home have leftovers for DH to take to work so get a little extra out of it.

We purchased a new car Thursday but got a great 2.59% APR! Old car was a 2007 and certainly seen better days. They gave us $500 for a trade, I asked if that was the going scrap price? LOL
Made a $1,200. payment on my credit card. May not be able to pay it off next month now as the first car payment will be due.
Still feel we are strongly plugging away though on reducing debt over all.

What type of car did you get?

 

[4 Ears]

Yes, we tried one of those meal kit delivery services when DH had some sort of deal with his Amex or Chase. It was just in the last year we tried it. Meals were pretty good, can't complain much on the ones he picked out. My thoughts were I could see how convenient it would be for a professional, busy, couple. For a family of four, however, it didn't seem very economical when I compared the cost of the service without the deal he got vs. what I could spend on groceries for meals at the store. Plus some meals I make at home have leftovers for DH to take to work so get a little extra out of it.

What type of car did you get?

2015 Kia Soronto SX. New to us but gosh oh gee I am loving it! Insurance only went up $29. for the year. First time I (DH has it) have had a back up camera. It has the 3rd row seat which is wonderful for when the grands visit or vice versa.

 

[ciaoaloha31]

Mid April Update (Update current 2021 starting point)

2021 Financial Goals

68.3% Complete 13% Complete Payoff PayPal Credit Balance by end of July (0% interest through July)
30.6% Complete 4.9% Complete Payoff Balance of Amex Card by end of August (with 0% interest through August)
3/11 0/11 Make additional $100 monthly payment towards principal of SSR DVC Loan starting in February
2/11 0/11 Make additional $100 monthly payment towards principal of CCV DVC Loan starting in February
3/11 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 )

March 2027 Current Projected Payoff Date November 2027 Current Projected Payoff Date Payoff SSR DVC Loan by end of December
$8007.03/$10,000 $7001.78/$10,000 Grow Emergency Savings to $10,000

 

[ajanderson84]

2021 Financial Goals:

• Continue building house fund to 9k or so (3 months worth of house payments) Currently at 4,500 This is now 5,800 I have made it to 6688
• Continue to build savings to 60k (6 months worth of savings) lllllooong way to go with this goal, currently about 3k. I've lost track of this, too many pots of money trying to keep track of. There's savings, but it'll have to wait until after vacation to figure out how much there is. This goal is all messed up because I changed how we were saving. I will have to reset this goal and try again.
• Work on spending less, although we are in a high cost area (DC) I feel like our budget for Groceries and such is far too high We did really good with this in Feb. We ate out significantly less but spent about the same on groceries. I'll take the win! We had a second month of success in spending less (Saved 400!), but we are also eating down the house for our trip next week.
• Start an IRA (I am late to this retirement game). We have a long standing TSP for DH and I have a 401(k) but nothing else for retirement (I am 36, DH is 40) I still haven't started this. Retirement me is going to be very angry with past me. I still haven't changed this. I need to put our retirement on the front burner soon.
• Start saving for Vacations, I would like to take them more often... I think maybe 4-6k may be needed to be saved. I now have 1,675 in gift cards and around $7500 for our vacation in April. Apparently we are going again in October too so gotta keep saving! I saved 8k in cash and 2,200 in Gift Cards (for food) for a family of 6 this trip. Will it be enough? Who knows? I'll start saving for October trip once we return.
• Save for potential move, if no move, use to improve current house. No Change here yet We didnt move, and I didnt save to move LOL... so I think this goal is out the window.
• Pay off 1 CC for Lowes: $600.00 - Complete by June 2021. I had to replace the dishwasher in Sept of 2020. The balance on the card is interest free for 12 months so I will just continue to pay $50/paycheck until it is paid off, roughly 6 more months. (Edited to add this, as I forgot about it earlier.) This is paid off now due to my annual bonus!

2021 Personal Goals:

• Continue college classes for Bachelor's Degree (Using DH's GI bill for this) Currently working on MidTerms I am working on Finals in two courses. I am signed up for two more in May and one in July!
• Maintain PMP certification I have already finished this for this year
• Obtain additional IT related Certification (Perhaps Sec +) I haven't had a moment to start on this yet. I may have strongly overestimated how much free time I have.
• Lose Weight (total needed to lose is 102lbs, but I'd be happy if I lost 40) I haven't moved in weight at all, which is crazy, but DH has lost 10lbs. We are still doing YouTube I am trying really hard to lose weight. Hubby lost 15, I gained 5. I see a doctor this week because what? Also, we are documenting with YouTube Videos
• Learn to cook better... I mean I can cook, its just not very exciting... and I like food so if I can learn to make healthy exciting meals, all the better. Homemade Queso is my new favorite thing! Homemade Queso is terrible for you. Its still good. We have done some pretty good stuff with Chicken lately.
• If staying, paint upstairs of house, replace upstairs carpet either way, and perhaps paint kitchen cabinets. If not staying, finish outstanding small repairs and deep clean all the things to list the house. I bought seeds! I bought starter peet! I have done nothing with these things! I am what's wrong with me! I planted the seeds, they bloomed. I bought a raised garden bed and stuck it outside. I am going to move the seedlings outside soon! I have plans to do some improvements to the upstairs, kitchen, and outside of the house.
• New Goal: Both 17 year old boys are joining the United States Coast Guard this year. One leaves in April, One is graduating High School in June and then leaving in August. I have not prepared to send them off into the world and need to figure this out asap! I think I am still in panic mode. How do you prepare for this? I think I will go to IKEA for one kid at a time and buy all the things. Also WalMart... and then the movers can take it and store it for them (apparently due to COVID they aren't allowed to come home after boot, they go straight to the first unit and the movers will come collect their things).

Unplanned Things I Managed Anyways:

• I had bought a Peloton Tread + in Feb. of 2020 with an interest free loan of $4550. I had intended to simply pay the monthly over the three years since it was completely interest free, but I actually paid it off with part of the stimulus. This saves me $117/mo
• I then bought a Pelton Bike + for $2,700 on the same interest free loan over three years. The new payment is $79/mo. I am going to pay the full $117 from the Tread instead and pay it down faster, and maybe pay it off early, because I don't like having debts, even interest free ones.
• I got myself an Electra Townie Bike, for outdoor riding. I really want to try to be more active this year. I bought it cash, so no debt.
• I upgraded our phones, but because there were other older phones that paid off our cell phone bill actually went down $80/mo and I got a new phone. I use the much higher quality cameras for our YouTube Channel so it's Win/Win.

It's April already?!?
We went on our Disney Trip! I was so warm the whole week (like 90ish degrees in the last week of March). Everyone had a great time, Rise of the Resistance broke down and we were escorted off the ride right at the end of the ride, so we got to go on it a second time that day. We have decided to go for the 50th anniversary (I share a birthday with WDW! October 1st!) but we will be there the driving up the 2nd to the 9th. Here are some updates:

2021 Financial Goals:

• Continue building house fund to 9k or so (3 months worth of house payments) Currently at 4,500 I have made it to 6688 We are now at 7558
• Continue to build savings to 60k (6 months worth of savings) lllllooong way to go with this goal, currently about 3k. I've lost track of this, too many pots of money trying to keep track of. There's savings, but it'll have to wait until after vacation to figure out how much there is. This goal is all messed up because I changed how we were saving. I will have to reset this goal and try again.
• Work on spending less, although we are in a high cost area (DC) I feel like our budget for Groceries and such is far too high We had a second month of success in spending less (Saved 400!), but we are also eating down the house for our trip next week. We are currently on track to spend our budgeted amount for groceries, so that's a win.
• Start an IRA (I am late to this retirement game). We have a long standing TSP for DH and I have a 401(k) but nothing else for retirement (I am 36, DH is 40) I still haven't changed this. I need to put our retirement on the front burner soon. Although I still haven't done this, I've started having the convo with my hubby about it. Do you just go to your bank to start this?
• Start saving for Vacations, I would like to take them more often... I think maybe 4-6k may be needed to be saved. I saved 8k in cash and 2,200 in Gift Cards (for food) for a family of 6 this trip. Will it be enough? Who knows? I'll start saving for October trip once we return. I have 5884 saved for the next trip, but 1500 is for my daughter who is going on a cross country road trip this summer.
• Save for potential move, if no move, use to improve current house. No Change here yet We didnt move, and I didnt save to move LOL... so I think this goal is out the window.
• Pay off 1 CC for Lowes: $600.00 - Complete by June 2021. I had to replace the dishwasher in Sept of 2020. The balance on the card is interest free for 12 months so I will just continue to pay $50/paycheck until it is paid off, roughly 6 more months. (Edited to add this, as I forgot about it earlier.) This is paid off now due to my annual bonus!

2021 Personal Goals:

• Continue college classes for Bachelor's Degree (Using DH's GI bill for this) I am working on Finals in two courses. I am signed up for two more in May and one in July! I aced the two classes I was in, the next ones start in May
• Maintain PMP certification I have already finished this for this year
• Obtain additional IT related Certification (Perhaps Sec +) I haven't had a moment to start on this yet. I may have strongly overestimated how much free time I have.
• Lose Weight (total needed to lose is 102lbs, but I'd be happy if I lost 40) I am trying really hard to lose weight. Hubby lost 15, I gained 5. I see a doctor this week because what? Also, we are documenting with YouTube Videos I went to the Doctor... they are concerned and running tests. I lost 1lb this week but am still up a lot. Vacation did not help this goal. Still making Youtube videos for accountability, and also doing 75Hard.
• Learn to cook better... I mean I can cook, its just not very exciting... and I like food so if I can learn to make healthy exciting meals, all the better. Homemade Queso is terrible for you. Its still good. We have done some pretty good stuff with Chicken lately. This week we are making (homemade) habachi shrimp and veggies, turkey burgers, steak fajitas (no tortillas), beef pot roast, and grilled chicken skewers.
• If staying, paint upstairs of house, replace upstairs carpet either way, and perhaps paint kitchen cabinets. If not staying, finish outstanding small repairs and deep clean all the things to list the house. I planted the seeds, they bloomed. I bought a raised garden bed and stuck it outside. I am going to move the seedlings outside soon! I have plans to do some improvements to the upstairs, kitchen, and outside of the house. The plants are outside and growing large. Inside I have some ideas on how to paint the kitchen cabinets.
• New Goal: Both 17 year old boys are joining the United States Coast Guard this year. One leaves in April, One is graduating High School in June and then leaving in August. I have not prepared to send them off into the world and need to figure this out asap! I think I am still in panic mode. How do you prepare for this? I think I will go to IKEA for one kid at a time and buy all the things. Also WalMart... and then the movers can take it and store it for them (apparently due to COVID they aren't allowed to come home after boot, they go straight to the first unit and the movers will come collect their things). I went to IKEA, I spent like 1000 on plates pans, bowls, etc for the boys. All the things I didnt know I wanted or needed when I started out. I hope they find it useful.

Unplanned Things I Managed Anyways:

• I had bought a Peloton Tread + in Feb. of 2020 with an interest free loan of $4550. I had intended to simply pay the monthly over the three years since it was completely interest free, but I actually paid it off with part of the stimulus. This saves me $117/mo
• I then bought a Pelton Bike + for $2,700 on the same interest free loan over three years. The new payment is $79/mo. I am going to pay the full $117 from the Tread instead and pay it down faster, and maybe pay it off early, because I don't like having debts, even interest free ones. This arrived finally and we've begun the payment plan. Now to pay it down fast.
• I got myself an Electra Townie Bike, for outdoor riding. I really want to try to be more active this year. I bought it cash, so no debt.
• I upgraded our phones, but because there were other older phones that paid off our cell phone bill actually went down $80/mo and I got a new phone. I use the much higher quality cameras for our YouTube Channel so it's Win/Win.

Unplanned Things I Am Considering:

• I am considering buying a short term rental in Reunion Resort (Just a condo, nothing too crazy).... thoughts? Opinions?

 

[imbatman]

Although I still haven't done this, I've started having the convo with my hubby about it. Do you just go to your bank to start this?

I watched Dr. of Credit and got a Fidelity account online (Roth IRA) when they were doing matching bonuses. I put in $200 and they gave me $200 after 6 months. I then started depositing a weekly amount, but I still keep my eye on the website for any new bonuses.

** Edit to add link to Doctor of Credit brokerage bonus info

 

[Tygerlilly]

The girls outgrew their swingset we had (it was a little tykes plastic one). My dad got it off their neighbors 2.5 years ago for $40. I listed it on marketplace at 9:30 last night for $100 figuring someone would offer a little less and I'd be fine with that. Y'all, I had 27 messages about it within 15 mins. Maybe I should have listed a little higher? Adding the $100 to our Disney trip fund.
Going to spend the week listing more outgrown toys, a wagon, and some clothing to pad our vacation fund a little more.

We also have stock in our company stock purchase program. It's auto deducted from paychecks. We only do $25/check right now, but will contribute until the first check in October, so we're anticipating having a nice little chunk to take for spending money.

We did great with eating at home last week and my menu plan is made up for this week. Today I hardboiled 18 eggs and made egg salad and left some just whole to grab for lunches this week. I love egg salad and always forget how cheap and easy it is to make. Pro tip: dill mustard from Walmart is the best additive! It trumps regular mustard by a long shot.

 

[npatellye]

I saw a random Facebook article in claiming missing money and decided to check my state’s unclaimed property website. I was actually on there! There is something over $100 being held for me from way back in 2014-2015. I’m excited to see what it is and how much it is. This may be enough to cover my daughter’s surprised 6th birthday cake at BOG! That would be an amazing surprise because I nearly had a heart attack at the price GF quoted me for the original 6 inch cake (I downgraded it by a lot to get it down from the original $350 quote).

If you haven’t checked your state’s unclaimed list, you may be on it!

 

[DLgal]

I won $54 on a $1 lotto ticket! Yay!

But my landlord is going to raise our rent by $400/month. BOO!!!!!

No major changes to my finances. Spent some of our vacation fund and Disneyland fund money on a Grand Californian Hotel reservation for 4th of July weekend and almost $1200 on our first set of park hoppers to visit DL in May. We also bought some new display cases at IKEA to replace some older cheap bookshelves from Target. Those set us back almost $1000 with delivery, but they look SO much nicer!

 

[imbatman]

But my landlord is going to raise our rent by $400/month. BOO!!!!!

Holy guacamole! That's a ton.

 

[DLgal]

Holy guacamole! That's a ton.

It's a 12.5% increase. It is a lot. BUT it is still $100 per month under market value and in 6 years of living here, she has only raised it once by $50 after the first 3 years. The amount it is going up would be equivalent to a an annual increase of 2% since we moved in, so it's just happening all at once rather than it having happened incrementally all this time, so we are okay with it. Until we reach the point where we are paying more than it would cost to buy a home in this city, we are good. We are nowhere near that yet. Our monthly rent payment would buy us a $525k home around here, and at that price we wouldn't even get 2 bedrooms or more than 1000sq ft. So, until our rent goes north of $5k/month, we are better off renting. We've got $1300 to go to get there.

 

[imbatman]

Our monthly rent payment would buy us a $525k home around here

The inflated real estate market is crazy.

 

[DLgal]

The inflated real estate market is crazy.

Tell me about it. Homes that would have sold for $750k last year are going for $900-950k. We are waiting it out and will consider buying in a few years when prices come back down to Earth.