Debt Dumpers 2024

[Nettlelondon]

We recently purchased a new car and I had to insure it in DH's name (remember we are in the UK so these things are a bit different). As it is in EV there were a lot of scare stories in the press at the time that EV insurance was so expensive no-one could afford it. DH had no recent insurance history as he had been a named driver on my policy so we knew it was going to be expensive.

The first company quoted me £5,000 / year. That felt like a lot. A few phone calls later and I got it with a very reputable company that I have dealt with for years. £1,500 - which felt a lot more budget friendly.

But it is an absolute nightmare.

Last year I had a bizarre accident. I was at home when someone knocked on the door and asked me to move my car as it was touching his. As I knew my car was not touching anyone else's when I parked it the day before I was rather surprised by this. It turned out that he was trying to turn in a tight space, had managed to basically get his car pinned on mine and couldn't move without damaging his car more. It was an interesting call with my insurance company when I tried explaining that one. Fortunately it was all fixed without any payment from me.

 

[CinderEmma94]

End of May update!

Financial:
1. Pay off card #1 (starting balance $11,600) Current balance: $4,215
2. Pay off card #2 (starting balance $6,500) Current balance: $4,975 (work reimbursement came through, back on track)
3. Grow emergency fund to $15,000 (currently at $7,460) Paused, debt is taking priority right now.

Personal:
1. 30 minute workout at least 5 days/week
Done! I finally had to break my months-long streak of working out every day because I got sick. It was just a cold, and I am fine now, but I listened to my body and rested when I needed to. I still got 5 days of workouts in that week, they were just slower walks than I typically do. I'm back to normal workouts now!

2. Read 100 books
200 books read so far this year

 

[goofytinkerbell]

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[goofytinkerbell]

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[goofytinkerbell]

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[dpswift]

Same for me. We grew up poor (though I didn't realize that at the time) so the messaging was always that you had to finish everything on your plate. It didn't matter if you were full, didn't like it, whatever. I was forced to eat it all because sometimes there just wasn't any more food, so nothing could be wasted. In the same frame of mind, it physically hurts me to get rid of items, because "I might need them someday" and might not be able to pay for them when that time comes. I could have a million dollars in the bank, but I don't think I'll ever shake that mindset.

Agree. My father kept every small appliance that we owned in case we needed it one day. The biggest mistakes they made was that they never taught me about money whatsoever

 

[dpswift]

Wow I thought mine was bad at $550 a month. It covers 4 drivers and 5 cars. 3 have collision.

DD bought a new car a 2021 RAV4 to replace her 2019 Cherokee. It drops our insurance to $516 a month. She and I both want to do defensive driver as well.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

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[Tygerlilly]

Agree. My father kept every small appliance that we owned in case we needed it one day. The biggest mistakes they made was that they never taught me about money whatsoever

Same!! Or Dad would strip things down to parts and keep anything that could be re-used. He learned to repair our vehicle because we couldn't afford a mechanic (no public transit or cabs, a car is actually a necessity), home repairs because we couldn't afford a contractor and so on. My parents also taught me nothing about money, because they didn't know anything to teach me. They had me very young, and have spent their whole lives using credit to survive.

Mine were the same way. Can't teach what you don't know, but my mom still blows thru money like nothing even tho she has no real income anymore.

And my dad, may he rest in peace, was the biggest hoarder ever. There's literally a crammed full garage, 2 storage units, and 3 bedrooms worth of stuff in their house that probably hasn't been touched in 10 years or more. He refused to go thru it and my mom is to lazy to go thru it.

My next plan is to start holding monthly yard sales and getting rid of things to maybe get her some kind of money back.

 

[Tygerlilly]

On a less stressful note, my weekend event went so much better than I thought it would! I took I think 47 sensory kits and only brought 12 home. I also handed out probably 100 business cards, mainly to teachers and daycare workers who said they'd be contacting me when school starts back up.

I also got several custom orders that I'm going to work on this week. My goal was to make back my $150 booth fee and I believe I came in at making around $400 total. I have to pay the state of Oklahoma sales tax out of it, but I didn't want to charge it at the event. I learned a lot over the weekend and got such good exposure that I'm so proud of myself. And I was already invited back to that event next year, plus 2 more that they host later this year!
(We won't talk about the amount I spent on food truck food every night when I was leaving for me and hubby or the beaded stuff from the vendor next to me.)

Here's a pic of my little set up.

 

[Nettlelondon]

On a less stressful note, my weekend event went so much better than I thought it would! I took I think 47 sensory kits and only brought 12 home. I also handed out probably 100 business cards, mainly to teachers and daycare workers who said they'd be contacting me when school starts back up.

I also got several custom orders that I'm going to work on this week. My goal was to make back my $150 booth fee and I believe I came in at making around $400 total. I have to pay the state of Oklahoma sales tax out of it, but I didn't want to charge it at the event. I learned a lot over the weekend and got such good exposure that I'm so proud of myself. And I was already invited back to that event next year, plus 2 more that they host later this year!
(We won't talk about the amount I spent on food truck food every night when I was leaving for me and hubby or the beaded stuff from the vendor next to me.)

Here's a pic of my little set up.

Well done, that is incredible. And bodes well for the future with the interest from teachers & daycare.

 

[dpswift]

And my dad, may he rest in peace, was the biggest hoarder ever. There's literally a crammed full garage, 2 storage units, and 3 bedrooms worth of stuff in their house that probably hasn't been touched in 10 years or more. He refused to go thru it and my mom is to lazy to go thru it.

Surprisingly once my mother died my father met someone who was the complete opposite and got rid of almost too much stuff out of fear of losing her. Sometimes you need motivation

 

[Nettlelondon]

My mum grew up considerably less financially secure than I am (and than she now is) and struggles to shed some of her old habits. Indeed of late she has picked up some new ones.

Remember, I am in the UK where tea is taken very seriously. For some reason that I struggle to understand mum has taken to making one pot of tea in the morning. She has one cup then and fills two other cups, adding the milk, at the same time. Then - later in the day - when she wants another cup she puts one in the microwave to reheat.

This probably saves about the equivalent of 25c a day - at an absolute push - and she has more than enough cash saved to see her out in style (ignoring that she actually doesn't spend all her income every month by some margin). My husband was so astounded when he saw this he took £10 out of his wallet and gave it to her to encourage her to stop! And he doesn't even drink tea - just understands the importance of it being made correctly.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

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[Nettlelondon]

I wish you all kinds of luck with that. My parents place is solid full, and I fear that I'll be stuck dealing with it all after they're gone. I already have my own issues getting rid of "stuff", so I suspect it will be very difficult for me. I'm trying to work my way through "someday I might need this" before I wind up in the same situation as them. It's not only about the things, but the sense of security that they hold for some people.

FIL won't throw anything away. He can no longer really get upstairs but won't let anything that is upstairs be thrown away. This is mainly clothes that no longer fit him, and would require him to drop about 140lbs so that's not going to happen! We understand this is depression related but he is going to end up smothered by a pile of boxer shorts & socks! He grudgingly agrees we can clear some stuff out - and then takes everything back out of the bag so there is a shoebox sized collection left! And then nothing for 6 months.

My mother on the other hand is ditching things left, right & centre. And doesn't tell me until after it has been collected. I did a surprise visit a little while ago and just managed to stop her throwing away all the family photographs. After she saw how upset I was by that she agreed to calm things down and not junk anything that might have sentimental value for me. And she also agreed to not climb the rickety ladder in to the attic if I am not there which reduces what she can get rid of!

I can't decide which of them is more annoying!

 

[goofytinkerbell]

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[Nettlelondon]

Your FIL is a cautionary tale for me That's exactly what I'm worried about happening, but I'm the same way with clothing. I've had weight fluctuations and been stuck wearing things that don't fit because I had no money to get new items, so I'm terrified to get rid of any clothes. I'd like to think at that age I'd be willing to part with some of it though.

I wonder if your mother thinks she's doing you a favor, getting rid of things so you won't have to go through it when she's gone. I have friends clearing out their junk because they had to deal with what their parents left behind and they don't want to do that to their kids.

FIL is only changing size in one direction! He has poorly knees so he can't move about much and gains weight that way but because he gains weight his knees hurt more.

I think I have convinced mum that, whilst she thinks she is helping, she really isn't - clearing things out is, in my opinion, part of the grieving process. In some ways it helps that since my brother's death last year it will only be me doing the clearing so my opinion is more relevant on this. In reality I would have been doing the clearing anyway, just with long distance interference, with no practical assistance, from my brother.

 

[barkley]

I wonder if your mother thinks she's doing you a favor, getting rid of things so you won't have to go through it when she's gone. I have friends clearing out their junk because they had to deal with what their parents left behind and they don't want to do that to their kids.

i admit to doing this. after we had to clear out a family member's apartment and storage locker that was not hoarded but a disorganized mess such that we had to go through ever pile, every box....to find relevent paperwork i never wanted to put my kids through that. i ended up tossing and donating allot of stuff. on paperwork i boxed stuff that i thought i might want or need but are useless upon our deaths-but those are labled so they can just be taken to shred when our time comes. important paperwork is in a designated spot and labled. anything i thought/think my kids might want are in labled boxes/containers. they will be able to go through and identify the things they NEED and then the things they want.

 

[piglet1979]

We went through this with my grandma. She was a hoarder but she lived on a farm where they were no longer using one of the barns so that is where must of the stuff was. When they sold the property to a builder they just left most of it in that barn to be demolished and then taken away.

We moved so much growing up that my mom never really kept much. We never had a chance to accumulate things. I have a tendency to keep things and have a few boxes that have moved from one place to the next without being unpacked. They are currently in the attic.

DH's grandma is a hoarder of paper. She lived in her house for over 50 years and when we helped her move she had papers that we had to convince her to get rid of that were from the 80's or earlier. Stuff like canceled checks and bank statements and bills. She also kept every type of dish/tupperware that she had over the years. She got rid of a lot because we made her. She was going from a house to a small 2 bedroom apartment and had to get rid of stuff. She has managed to still have a bedroom full as well as a storage unit in the building full. When she feels up to it she has been going through more stuff because she doesn't like to see the clutter. It is weird she has a tendency to hoard but also has OCD.

 

[huggybuff]

It is weird she has a tendency to hoard but also has OCD.

Hoarding OCD is now a separate diagnosis from OG hoarding. This is totally me. Thankfully my husband won't let me give in to becoming the hoarder is was born to be, jk. Acquiring items to feel 'complete' also played into my spending issues in a big way. For example, I couldn't just have one eyeshadow color that I liked. I'd have to buy every color that the company I was fixated on at that moment would put out. Then it was purses, then shoes, etc.....it never ended. And the credit card bills mounted.