Debt Dumpers 2021

[piglet1979]

The same thing is happening in Ohio. People are posting their houses on Facebook before they put it on the market and it is selling before ever being posted on the house buying websites. Also, no one can find rentals either. The house next to us has been a rental for about 3ish years. They had the same renters. The renters were told that they needed to leave by the end of the contract because they were going to sell the house. DH and I were kind of looking at sell our house and buying a new one but not right now. There is only about 4 houses in each city that we will move to. We are stuck to a 3 city limit because we don't want to move the kids out of the school district. 4 years until they are both graduated and we can look at other cities. We are just going to wait and save money for a new house and maybe even look into building what we want.

 

[jen7233]

The same thing is happening in Ohio. People are posting their houses on Facebook before they put it on the market and it is selling before ever being posted on the house buying websites. Also, no one can find rentals either. The house next to us has been a rental for about 3ish years. They had the same renters. The renters were told that they needed to leave by the end of the contract because they were going to sell the house. DH and I were kind of looking at sell our house and buying a new one but not right now. There is only about 4 houses in each city that we will move to. We are stuck to a 3 city limit because we don't want to move the kids out of the school district. 4 years until they are both graduated and we can look at other cities. We are just going to wait and save money for a new house and maybe even look into building what we want.

The housing market is certainly nutty in many places, it seems. It's complicated when one has to consider older kids' schooling as a factor also in the home purchase.

 

[DLgal]

The housing market is certainly nutty in many places, it seems. It's complicated when one has to consider older kids' schooling as a factor also in the home purchase.

This is us. We have a 9th and 11th grader who will both be doing the district's Adult Transition Program which is 4 MORE years after HS graduation, so we are tied to this district for the next 7 years at least. We absolutely will not leave this district before that. Makes it hard, because this city is priced so high BECAUSE of the good school district.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Well, after some careful consideration, an anxiety induced panic attack, and 3 pro/con lists, we've postponed our fall Disney trip to the spring instead. I hate that we aren't going for my birthday/anniversary/DD5's birthday and missing food and wine, but I really feel more comfortable with the new baby getting a few more months of immunity built up before we go. And also hoping a few more things will be open and available and *maybe* a mask policy change will happen by April. Currently looking at the first week of April, which I think falls right between the crazy spring break crowds and the crazy Easter crowds. It also will fall on DD4's birthday, which I'm all for because that poor girl has missed having a birthday party every year since she's been born and deserves a spoiled trip for her golden birthday.

 

[CaleCakes]

Ok so I know this is not the eat at home board but since we were talking about it I figured I'd circle back around and let you all know how my week of eating at home was...a complete bust! Well "complete" in the sense that most meals did not work out to please the crowd. Me and the kids aww 2 lunches out just to get out of of house. I really didn't save any money eating at home between Costco run, new meat market (we did get a family box with lots of variety for $100), a baby shower gift (mail gift cuz it's on zoom), and a sympathy arrangement for a friend who lost a loved one (golly are those pricey). I have no clue the plan for this week other than I know I am not on the planning committee.

 

[barkley]

I really didn't save any money eating at home between Costco run, new meat market (we did get a family box with lots of variety for $100), a baby shower gift (mail gift cuz it's on zoom), and a sympathy arrangement for a friend who lost a loved one (golly are those pricey). I have no clue the plan for this week other than I know I am not on the planning committee.

keep in mind that the gift and flower cost are not associated with how much was spent on food. also-was the costco and meat market stuff just for the one week or will it be spread out to cover several? if more than one week then that cost would be reduced as compared to it's total as well (i say this b/c i went to costco, walmart and trader joes this week and spent a nice sized chunk of money but it's stuff that will cover several months for a variety of food items).

 

[LeslieLou]

Unplanned Things I Am Considering:

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

I don’t know anything about Reunion BUT we bought a short term rental condo in a vacation area (Kiawah Island) closed in Feb. It wasn’t on our radar as we planned 2021- so,was slightly impulsive. I ran a lot of numbers with different assumptions to confirm if we wanted to move forward. We also get confident if the rental market busts we could cover all the costs reasonably comfortably.
How long you stay each year when you are not working on your rental determines the tax implications of vacay home vs investment.
Vacation markets and second homes are just as hot right now as the primary housing market, which will make shipping interesting! Good luck on whatever you decide

 

[LeslieLou]

I’m a bit late to the game but I love goals and lists so if y’all don’t mind I’m going to join in. My list has changed a bit from 1/1 to now.

2021 Financial goals

• Get emergency fund back up to 20k (add 10k. Used some for vacay home down payment...it was an emergency )
• Save 6k in IRA
• Max 401k
• Start hubs Cuda restoration savings of 5k
• Donate 2K to our family scholarship fund
• Save 2500 in kids 529
• Save 10k in our short term rental’s account (from rental income- remainder of income used for expenses)
• Save for and TAKE vacations!

2021 Personal Goals

• Build mud room lockers
• Give gratitude daily
• Install kitchen backsplash
• Garden and pick all my strawberries and blueberries so they don’t go to the birds (or insects
• Read more
• Get settled in my new job such that I can work reasonable hours by the holidays

We are on track to achieve most goals by August. I just have to make sure I choose to save vs spend on some sparkly project or wish list item!

 

[LeslieLou]

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.

not that long ago this was us. It was painful to realize how much money was going to restaurants. It was also painful to change habits and be more prepared.

we don’t do make ahead that often anymore but I used to do a bunch of freezer meals like baked ziti, sherpherds pie or chicken pot pie, homemade soups. We make these still but don’t usually make ahead. We typically do 2 nights per week as leftovers. We make pizza once per week or buy aldi take and bake pizza. We do a meatless meal whether homemade Mac and cheese or egg muffins or waffles and fruit once a week or so too. Hamburgers grill up fast so we do that in a pinch.

I will usually get 2 types of meat out of the freezer and in to the fridge on Sunday to get me started for the week.
we were going out 3-4x/week and now go out less than 1x/week. It’s big money!

 

[crazycatstacy]

My husband's sisters decided since they didn't do anything for their mother's birthday last year they wanted to do something this year. We are renting a cabin for the weekend (in July) in an area about 30 miles from us. Each sibling (there are 3) has to pay $520 for the rental and then food as well. Little more than I thought it was worth but oh well.

We budget 2x per month and in July my husband gets a "free" check. We were going to use it to buy a new couch. Decided to take money out of savings to buy the couch now and then repay it in July with that check. We don't get the new couch till September so I am glad we ordered now!

Plugging along on everything else. We have cash flowed everything and haven't used credit in a month. that shouldn't be a big deal but it is for us!

 

[piglet1979]

not that long ago this was us. It was painful to realize how much money was going to restaurants. It was also painful to change habits and be more prepared.

we don’t do make ahead that often anymore but I used to do a bunch of freezer meals like baked ziti, sherpherds pie or chicken pot pie, homemade soups. We make these still but don’t usually make ahead. We typically do 2 nights per week as leftovers. We make pizza once per week or buy aldi take and bake pizza. We do a meatless meal whether homemade Mac and cheese or egg muffins or waffles and fruit once a week or so too. Hamburgers grill up fast so we do that in a pinch.

I will usually get 2 types of meat out of the freezer and in to the fridge on Sunday to get me started for the week.
we were going out 3-4x/week and now go out less than 1x/week. It’s big money!

We were the same. Since the pandemic we only get food maybe once a month. We didn't feel comfortable eating food we didn't make at the start are the pandemic. This helped a lot in the switch over. We have tried before to not go out as much and always failed at it. Now that the schedule is getting busy I need to remind myself not to go out. The big test will be when I am back in the office. I work in a building that has like a mall type food court. I ate lunch out several times a week. I go back one day a week starting in May. I just think of the amount of money we have been able to save by not going out.

We don't prep food ahead of time but we do make a dinner list. We cook about every other day or every 2 days and the other days are left overs.

 

[imbatman]

April is an extra paycheck month for me! I'm going to shovel half to savings and half to the car payment. I feel so responsible typing that out.

 

[imbatman]

Hey all! Just me popping in with a little encouragement when you have a terrible, no-good, rotten thing happen. I used to eat or buy my way through it. It never helped much.

Get out and take a walk, even if you have to wear a raincoat. Send a card to someone in the mail when you're blue, and know they will appreciate it. If you need to spend money, make a donation to help change a life (seriously, have you watched the videos of people seeing color for the first time?!), because a new whatever-it-is won't ease the pain.

When your heart is heavy, sometimes it's one moment to the next. Even when it's hard on you, hang onto the little pieces that give you joy. Look at your own debt finish line, even if it's through the tears, and stay strong on your path.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

back when i first started driving the only credit cards commonly used at gas stations was that station's issued card (arco, shell...). no such thing as debit cards for several years to come. the attendant came out to the car, pumped your gas and you paid in cash (more often than not among the younger drivers it's wasn't 'fill it up' but rather 'give me x number of dollars worth' .

Here in NJ, we still have attendants pump our gas. It's some obsolete law from way back, similar to back when elevators each had an operator inside because the average citizen couldn't be expected to safely complete that task. Well, now we just don't want to ever have to do it ourselves. On a cold rainy day I can wait in my warm cozy car and I don't have to get the stink of gasoline on my hands. It's also a typical job for teenagers. Ds20 used to work at the same gas station that my brother worked at in the 80s.
I believe it's only NJ and OR that have these laws.

I can remember back in the day, asking for $5 worth of gas and when I was really desperate, $2. Back then it got me a quarter tank so not as bad as you think. Also back then, gas station attendants would be carrying a big wad of cash and could make change for any bill a driver could give them. Kind of silly & naive to think they wouldn't get robbed every other day. Credit cards make that job much safer these days.

 

[LeslieLou]

Wow it’s been a month, but April is extra paycheck for me too so that’s something to look forward to!

Hope you all are well!

a friendly reminder to myself that the biggest influence of happiness is my attitude. I can affect my attitude by:
Journaling (3 mins- where you were what you were doing and why it made an impact in your day)
Gratitude (3 NEW ones every day)
Appreciation (send a text to someone sharing an appreciation foe them)
Meditation (breathe for 3 mins)
Exercising (just need 15 mins!)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Checking in...
We are ahead of schedule for paying back our savings the money that we borrowed to pay for the big truck repair bill. In 2 weeks from Friday, that will all be paid back and I can start working on our mortgage again.
I have off the week before Memorial Day weekend. I was considering a short visit to Siesta Key, FL for some beach time. I have the flights booked with SWA points and rental car booked but just haven't felt motivated enough to pull the trigger on our accomodations which are non-refundable. I've been so tired from work lately that packing for vacation just feels like more work. I have also considered a quickie weekend trip to WDW for a water park visit. We have lots of SWA points, the Companion Pass, and around 15 water park visits on our account/MB. Our only cost would be a 1 night hotel stay and food. It would require minimal packing and effort but still I'm just dragging my feet. The old pre-covid me would have been all over this chance. We love Typhoon Lagoon.
Some things we'd like to buy for our house (bedroom furniture, in-ground sprinkler system for our yard) I keep pushing further out to the future, saying we'll do it when our mortgage is paid off and we'll be able to save a lot more of income each month and save so much faster. If I keep putting other priorities ahead of paying off the mortgage, we'll never get to those things.

 

[RamblingMad]

April is an extra paycheck month for me! I'm going to shovel half to savings and half to the car payment. I feel so responsible typing that out.

I used mine to pay down my mortgage a little bit faster. I'm investing my tax refunds that finally came in.

 

[barkley]

Here in NJ, we still have attendants pump our gas. It's some obsolete law from way back, similar to back when elevators each had an operator inside because the average citizen couldn't be expected to safely complete that task. Well, now we just don't want to ever have to do it ourselves. On a cold rainy day I can wait in my warm cozy car and I don't have to get the stink of gasoline on my hands. It's also a typical job for teenagers. Ds20 used to work at the same gas station that my brother worked at in the 80s.
I believe it's only NJ and OR that have these laws.

we used to tease friends who were moving in droves to oregon from northern california in the 80's and 90's that they were just tired of pumping their own gas but i remember the initial 'pump your own and save a few pennies per gallon' marketing that was used to get consumers to at least try the new concept back in the day. heck, i'm old enough to remember my mom carefully plotting out her errands for the week around (1) the grocery ads, and (2) which gas station was offering the best promo deals. depending on if she was trying to fill out a set of glassware or towel set that a certain gas company was handing out w/ each fill up or trying to maximize her blue chip stamps w/ a fill up at the one that was doubling or tripling -it all factored into which station she went to.

 

[imbatman]

I believe it's only NJ and OR that have these laws.

Funny story: on a road trip to my sister's, we stopped at a gas station in southern Oregon. Waited for a few minutes for an attendant, but no one came. I went ahead and started to pump my gas. Lickety split, an older squatty fellow rounds the building. "I can issue you a citation for doing that!" I explained that I'd waited and need to get back on the road and that I didn't mind doing it. "I'm not washing your windows." I thanked him and drove away, dirty windshield and all.

 

[imbatman]

End of April check-in

Financial

• CC 1 - $2198.01 (balance 12/9/20 - one more payment to come out in December).
• CC 2 - $2119.84 (balance 3/22/21 and 0%). Stimulus will pay the balance 4/6/21. Just ran into transfer max between banks.
• Start deposits back into Roth no later than June.
• Savings to stay above $1000 at all times. Work to be at $3000 by the end of the year (minimum). - Broke $2k this week!
• Start a vacation fund for 2023 WDW trip ONLY after the credit cards are paid off - This is now a distant background "maybe"
• Addition: save $2000 for a Christmas trip to the coast. This was decided yesterday after a rather interesting Christmas. This may change due to some family circumstances...
• Car purchase = payments. Loan rate is only 2.7% - Making an extra payment in May

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 - happy to say that my scars don't even bug me!
• Continue to purge unused household items - I love doing this. It's become quite cathartic.
• Addition: learn to be professional with a coworker who is terrible to me. - Jesus give me strength because THIS is UGHHHHHH