Debt Dumpers 2022

[Tygerlilly]

For those that have dealt with wills and all that stuff that death brings.

What type of person would I look for for help with getting all of this done? We don't have a lot together, 3 kids, our individual 401ks at work, but not much else and I don't think anything in both our names together. He has an adult son from his first marriage that should receive something, but I'm not sure he should be the one to make decisions if everything is given to him to dispurse to his siblings when they get older.

 

[comicguy]

For those that have dealt with wills and all that stuff that death brings.

What type of person would I look for for help with getting all of this done? We don't have a lot together, 3 kids, our individual 401ks at work, but not much else and I don't think anything in both our names together. He has an adult son from his first marriage that should receive something, but I'm not sure he should be the one to make decisions if everything is given to him to dispurse to his siblings when they get older.

Contact an Estate Attorney. Ours did the will, health care proxy, power of attorney's, etc.. all for one fee. It was easy, we met with him went over our situation, types of accounts, etc.. He drew up the documents, sent email copies that we both looked over, made one minor change. Once satisfied went into his office and signed the documents and it was done. Total time with both office visits and review of material about one hour. It was much easier than I thought it would be.

In all fairness we have the one child (he's an adult now) our house, and retirment/investment accounts and not anything too major to deal with.

One piece of advice I would give before going to see the attorney. Have a list of types of accounts that you have and as others have previously stated check who is listed as beneficiany on them and chnge them if desired. A goos estate attorney is worth a lot. The one we had he specializies in doing wills and real estate.

 

[DisneyMandC]

For those that have dealt with wills and all that stuff that death brings.

What type of person would I look for for help with getting all of this done? We don't have a lot together, 3 kids, our individual 401ks at work, but not much else and I don't think anything in both our names together. He has an adult son from his first marriage that should receive something, but I'm not sure he should be the one to make decisions if everything is given to him to dispurse to his siblings when they get older.

Contact an Estate Attorney. Ours did the will, health care proxy, power of attorney's, etc.. all for one fee. It was easy, we met with him went over our situation, types of accounts, etc.. He drew up the documents, sent email copies that we both looked over, made one minor change. Once satisfied went into his office and signed the documents and it was done. Total time with both office visits and review of material about one hour. It was much easier than I thought it would be.

In all fairness we have the one child (he's an adult now) our house, and retirment/investment accounts and not anything too major to deal with.

One piece of advice I would give before going to see the attorney. Have a list of types of accounts that you have and as others have previously stated check who is listed as beneficiany on them and chnge them if desired. A goos estate attorney is worth a lot. The one we had he specializies in doing wills and real estate.

This. An estate attorney will be able to handle all of that for you. Look for a small general practice law firm in your area and they should have an attorney to assist you. My attorney charges $900 for a package including a Will, power of attorney, and medical directive.

 

[afan]

For those that have dealt with wills and all that stuff that death brings.

What type of person would I look for for help with getting all of this done? We don't have a lot together, 3 kids, our individual 401ks at work, but not much else and I don't think anything in both our names together. He has an adult son from his first marriage that should receive something, but I'm not sure he should be the one to make decisions if everything is given to him to dispurse to his siblings when they get older.

It's not just about the money but who would take care of the kids if something where to happen to both of you. Which also changes what should happen with the money imo esp if there's not much and the kids are young. They'll need care for several years if something where to happen now pr the next few years with one not yet one.

This is why a will is something that should be evaluated through the years, not just if something major happens. If married it should also be done based on each of you leaving a spouse or both passing. Not unusual for everything to go to a surviving spouse and then to people when that spouse passes, if the spouse leaves it all as is.

It can all be simple but also as simple as it is quite complicated.

 

[barkley]

For those that have dealt with wills and all that stuff that death brings.

What type of person would I look for for help with getting all of this done? We don't have a lot together, 3 kids, our individual 401ks at work, but not much else and I don't think anything in both our names together. He has an adult son from his first marriage that should receive something, but I'm not sure he should be the one to make decisions if everything is given to him to dispurse to his siblings when they get older.

i will add to the great suggestions above-consider getting an estate attorney who also specializes in 'elder law'. i supervised public assistance units and saw far too many surviving spouses (and orphaned kids in the care of relatives) whose spouses/parents thought they had done everything right on their wills/trusts to protect their loved ones, only to have had lacking legal advice that didn't take into consideration that short or long term public assistance might be needed (for some-a 90 day stopgap until monies are available, for others to provide health insurance until new coverage can be obtained, for others to cover longer periods of time until social security survivors/pensions/other pay on death benefits can be applied for, processed, finally granted and paid...). the tragic situations involved just a missing sentence or two that protected the survivor's abilities to qualify but lacking it made them entirely ineligible. a good elder law attorney knows to build that qualifying language in just as a safeguard (and keeps up to date on the ever changing state and federal laws that govern the programs).

 

[crazycatstacy]

Redid the budget for this year. Upped some categories to try to counteract the rising costs of things. Discussed our vacation plans for the year and how we are funding those. We are headed to Jacksonville in June to see our nephew again and then will go to Wisconsin over Thanksgiving to see the daughter.

Hoping to stay on track financially and healthwise this year. I need to lose some weight and need to be moving more. Started back on weight watchers and am trying to walk and swim every day.

Have some things we would like to do to the house but most of them are inexpensive. A lot of them are just us cleaning stuff out and organizing.

 

[pblack]

Happy new year everyone!

Seeing as it's only the 3rd of the year, I don't have any updates on my 2022 goals as of yet. I wanted to try and get my gift/cat savings account going when we got paid over the weekend, but since we had spent a decent amount of money on holiday things that didn't happen. I ended up having to take a couple hundred dollars from our savings account to be able to pay everything off. I didn't want too, but I also wanted to get everything paid off. I'm pretty proud though that this is the first time I've needed to take any money out of our savings in the last couple years. Definitely going to try and be more mindful of our spending as the year goes on, even though I will try not to be too hard on myself when spending occurs. For example, I know we'll end up spending some money this weekend as we'll be visiting some friends for a belated Christmas/birthday celebration and I know we'll end up going out to eat. Next weekend we'll be doing a early family birthday celebration for my DH since his birthday is the 22nd and that's the day we leave on our cruise. And then speaking of the cruise, I'm sure there are some last minute things we'll end up needing. We also have our annual vet appointment this weekend. I think I need to keep in mind for next year all the things that we tend to have going on at the beginning of the year.

Super excited that in 3 weeks we'll finally be taking our long awaited cruise! (Fingers crossed that everything actually goes as planned.) Flights are all booked (paid with points for both flights), 1 night hotel room booked (with points), Disney springs dinner reservation made, rental car booked (on points), and I'm able to check in for our cruise this weekend. I think the only things I still need to do are figure out how we're getting to/from the airport, book our shuttle from the port to the airport, and book our excursion for Mahogany Bay (Roatan). I was really wanting to book Little French Key, but with the ever changing covid restrictions and ships being denied access to some ports, I'm wondering if it will be more beneficial to book something through Carnival. That way if we do miss the port I won't have to fight for a refund with an outside company.

Sending out pixie dust to everyone for a fabulous 2022!

 

[bababear_50]

I just found out we are going to Online Education for the next couple of weeks.
Time to bank the gas money into the savings account.

Hugs
Mel

 

[Tygerlilly]

Switching over to an a cash based budgeting system has been interesting so far. I keep forgetting I'm using only cash and then having to go deposit the money back to the bank.

I'm doing my first grocery trip today. I have $100 budgeted for this and made a meal plan. So we'll see how this goes. Lol.

 

[182tink]

First time post here. I followed this thread last year.

Financial goals for 2022:
1. pay off my Bank of America Credit Card
2. contribute to my Roth IRA
3. Fully fund sinking fund accounts for: emergency, medical, xmas, car maintenance and home down payment
4. spend less on material things. Use that money for experiences with family

Health/Mental goals for 2022:
1. lose 40 pounds
2. some form of exercise everyday
3. eating more meals at home
4. write something I am grateful for everyday

 

[huggybuff]

One thing I forgot to carry over from the 2021 thread as a goal for this year was to refinance my car. Pleased to say I applied again and was approved this time as my credit score has inched upward. I don't have the final numbers yet but hope to cut my monthly payment by at least $100.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Grocery shopping was basically a success! I went over by $4, but I underestimated the cost on a few items. I'm happy with it though. Came home and made Philly cheesesteaks for lunch instead of picking up fast food (which I usually do on grocery days). I even have some leftovers for tonight!



If you have a trip booked before July, check if you qualify for the new discount. We're at Pop in April and I applied the discount and saved $135! Not a ton, but it covers one of the character meals I'm hoping to get.

 

[pblack]

Grocery shopping was basically a success! I went over by $4, but I underestimated the cost on a few items. I'm happy with it though. Came home and made Philly cheesesteaks for lunch instead of picking up fast food (which I usually do on grocery days). I even have some leftovers for tonight!



If you have a trip booked before July, check if you qualify for the new discount. We're at Pop in April and I applied the discount and saved $135! Not a ton, but it covers one of the character meals I'm hoping to get.

Going over by only $4 on your first trip out is a major win!

 

[pblack]

First time post here. I followed this thread last year.

Financial goals for 2022:
1. pay off my Bank of America Credit Card
2. contribute to my Roth IRA
3. Fully fund sinking fund accounts for: emergency, medical, xmas, car maintenance and home down payment
4. spend less on material things. Use that money for experiences with family

Health/Mental goals for 2022:
1. lose 40 pounds
2. some form of exercise everyday
3. eating more meals at home
4. write something I am grateful for everyday

 

[StacyStrong]

Since people are talking about Will, Estates, Powers of Attorney, etc…..for the love of all that’s holy, unless you’re extremely confident in reading legal documents, please do NOT just google a form, fill it out, and think you’re set.

I review estates, legal guardianships, and POAs for major companies for a living. I cannot tell you how many people fill the forms out incorrectly, get mad when they realize it doesn’t allow you to change a beneficiary (in some cases), or think they have a valid POA in place and learn it’s is invalid only after the principal is already incapacitated. These are legal documents that can seriously alter your estate. Please know and understand what you’re filling out.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I don't make this post to shame anyone here as it's extremely admirable that so many of you have on your goal list to make wills, but I just want to really encourage any of you with that goal to MAKE IT A PRIORITY.

I experienced multiple deaths in my family last year, including my dad, and played a role in handling the estate (to some extent) following each death because of my work as an attorney. I can't tell you the toll it takes on those left behind when your instructions are not clear and when people don't know where your assets are and what to do with them. In addition to your will, make sure you go through and check any retirement accounts, life insurance policies, etc., to see if your beneficiaries are correct. This is VITAL if you are in a situation where you are divorced, have children from a previous marriage, have recently gotten married, etc. These types of accounts do not pass through your will and the companies in charge of them will only pay out to your designated beneficiary. So if you named your second cousin once removed the beneficiary on your life insurance policy and then forgot to change it after you got married and had a couple kids... guess who's inheriting the money?

Also extremely important is telling people where important documents are, who the executor is, etc. It's all well and good if you have a will and put it in your safe deposit box for safekeeping... but it's not good if you die without telling anyone where the key to the safe deposit box is and who the executor of that will is so they can go get it out of the bank.

Just some food for thought. Like I said, not trying to shame anyone about this because it's great that so many of you are thinking about it.! Just please be sure to check everything you have in terms of beneficiaries and to get it done sooner rather than later. I didn't expect to lose my dad so early, but, unfortunately, accidents happen.

This is excellent advice. Thank you for sharing.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

Hello Everyone! I missed the last couple months on the old thread, but I hope everyone had a good holiday season and is doing well.

2021 Recap: Financially, I paid off our Discover credit card and DVC loan, as well as got our Emergency Fund to $10,000 and paid for vacations in cash (though my estimates were off on what we needed to spend). This years income will not be as great as last year, so I don't expect to make that much progress on my financial goals this year. Personal goals weren't as successful. Guess that's what happens when you don't come up with a specific plan

2022 Financial Goals
1. Debt - Focusing on Student loan #1 - balance is $9490. I am on track to pay this off Nov 2023, which would be 6 years early, but hoping to shave some more time off this! (One more student loan and a car loan after this, all of which should hopefully be paid off by 7/2024).
2. Long Term Savings - Priced out the cost of replacing our windows, as well as part of our siding (masonite) and repainting the house. Extra $ will be split between goal 1 and this.
3. Budget Focus - Get food costs under control. I don't even know what we've been spending but it's too much. I need to do a better job of meal planning and intentionally buying only what we need. We have a full freezer and pantry to utilize, so I am going to do a pantry challenge for the rest of the month to jumpstart the process. I also think this will help with my health.
4. Cash for Vacation - Currently putting away towards a Bryce Canyon/Zion/Grand Canyon Trip in the summer. Goal: $4550.
5. Retirement Contributions - Continue 401k, 403b and monthly non retirement investment account contributions. I want to put a chunk of our tax refund in the investment account, as well as any extra if/when SS/401K/403B max out towards the end of the year.
6. Trust - really need to complete this. I dropped the ball and I know it needs to be a priority. We've met with an attorney, I just need to gather all the paperwork he needs.
7. Part time work/income - I think I am going to start substituting at my son's school but need to find out what I need to do to make that happen. The extra won't make up the difference from last year's income to this years, but it will be nice to have and get me back to working outside the house, something I haven't done in almost 12 years.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I am whittling away at making our plans for this year.

I want to be totally done with all "revolving" debt. I did really good last year totally paying everything off in full each month.
I also set up an allotment to go to a small savings account we are required to maintain that is tied to the mortgage. We were getting monthly dormancy fees, because it was sitting untouched.

This year my car will be paid off, the first month after it's paid in full, I am going to take that amount and put it toward and full deep interior cleaning. I am driving that car until the wheels fall off and I want to keep it in good condition until then. After that, that monthly amount is going to the very small amount of student loans I will have by the time I'm done with my degree.

Other than that, I again am going to aim to keep things more functional. I shared last year my Birthday card hack of always having some generic birthday cards on hand in the office drawer. I stuff them with $20 bill and now when my kids need to give a gift, they are already ready, with a set amount, no overspending, etc.

My biggest change I need to continue to work on is DH money habits. He's an impulse buyer, buy's things just "because they were on clearance...." So that paired with my goals in the De-Stash thread should give me plenty to work on this year. Last year, I also introduced a system I call the "Money Maid." She deposits cash into DH's wallet for all those little impulse buys, gas station stops/snacks and then I don't have to see all those little $5,$6,$7 impulse buys on the bank.

We are planning a big trip to Hawaii in June for our 20th Anniversary, so we have a pretty big expense to save us for. Hands down our biggest expense is food/eating out/take out with three kids under the roof. So we need to make improvements in that area as well and that will add to the savings very quickly. Wish me luck!

 

[Cynt]

Great goals for 2022! We got this. Let's do it!!!

Financial Goal 2022
- Mortgage: Reduce mortgage by 20%. The long term goal is to have the house paid off in 5 years.

- 2022 Vacations: Payoff our October 2022 cruise. We splurged and got a Jr. Suite for DH 50th bday.

- Cash roll home decorations since DH painted the interior of our home while he was unemployed. Saved us a ton of money. I want to take a few dollars each paycheck and purchase items...curtains, wall art, knick knacks, pillows, candle holders, vases, etc. I'm using Beyond Paint to paint the furniture we already have and it looks GREAT!!

- Kitchen Cabinets - Purchase beyond paint and start my biggest project painting our kitchen cabinets.

- Build 6 month bill money in savings account. Half way there.

- Increase 401K to 15%. I was at 10%. I just bit the bullet and did this Monday. I said to myself, "Self, stop talking about it and be about it." So I just changed it and logged off before I could change my mind. LOL!!

On a serious note, I was hesitant to do this because my initial thought was to use that 5% and open a ROTH IRA for my DH and I and start putting the 5% in there along with whatever he wants to put in there. So to all my financial advisors, should I invest the 5% of my income to my 401K or ROTH IRA with DH?

Personal Goal 2022
- Get this Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver under control.

- Lose Weight and develop better eating habits.

- Stay active in my Bible Study group

- Make use of the Elliptical machine we purchased during covid. We purchased it on Let Go so we didn't spend a ton on it. But we definitely need to use it more day to day.

- My word for the year MINDFUL. A lot of times I just do things without thinking about others or thinking I am thinking about others and I am not. So this year, I'm going to be intentional about being mindful of other people.

 

[jackers]

@Cynt, do you have a company match on either program? If so, I’d go for that one.

Also, for anyone trying to eat healthier, I was introduced to Whole 30 last year by my niece and highly recommend it. Its challenging, but for me, it is a great way to reset my eating habits. I‘ve restarted the program this week after getting off track over the holidays the past couple of months.