Debt Dumpers 2025

[ruadisneyfan2]

I’m so excited. Ds24 finally had a home purchase offer accepted.
It’s adorable but the interior needs the ugly 70’s wallpaper removed.
Luckily, dh did that to our house when we bought it so he has a lot of experience there. The previous owner even wallpapered our ceilings.

Anyway, this is about the third or fourth house he has put offers on and was getting so discouraged thinking he’ll never get one.
He listens to DR podcasts just to prevent himself from ever getting into debt and absolutely wants a 15-year mortgage and still wants to pay it off early. I suggested getting a 30-year but paying extra to the principal as if it were a 15-year.
He says no way. Hoping he doesn’t get burned out but if he can close before summer, and pays on time, he’d be mortgage free before his 40th birthday.

 

[barkley]

I'm somewhat free-wheeling with my sourdough...no weighing or expensive dutch ovens.

we use a $30'ish pioneer woman one that we got ages ago at walmart-i can't believe the overpriced ones that are marketed for sourdough

It’s adorable but the interior needs the ugly 70’s wallpaper removed.

but mid century modern is so popular

The previous owner even wallpapered our ceilings.

oh my gosh-this week on the HGTV show 'the flip off' there was an entire discussion/debate on wallpapered cielings and if they were EVER appropriate.

 

[disney-inspired]

we use a $30'ish pioneer woman one that we got ages ago at walmart-i can't believe the overpriced ones that are marketed for sourdough



but mid century modern is so popular


oh my gosh-this week on the HGTV show 'the flip off' there was an entire discussion/debate on wallpapered cielings and if they were EVER appropriate.

70s is NOT midcentury modern hahaha

 

[barkley]

70s is NOT midcentury modern hahaha

I know but you can't tell that from all the decorating/home renovations shows on these days. it drives me nuts when they are putting up all the awful stuff that was popular in the 70's and calling it mid century-it was the stuff my mom and all her friends put ON TOP of the mid century decor

be interesting to see what wallpaper may lurk under the 70's stuff-in our first home it was like a walk back in time (80's era on the top/bargain bin 50's on the bottom-i don't think anyone thought to remove old wallpaper before applying new back then).

 

[disney-inspired]

I know but you can't tell that from all the decorating/home renovations shows on these days. it drives me nuts when they are putting up all the awful stuff that was popular in the 70's and calling it mid century-it was the stuff my mom and all her friends put ON TOP of the mid century decor

be interesting to see what wallpaper may lurk under the 70's stuff-in our first home it was like a walk back in time (80's era on the top/bargain bin 50's on the bottom-i don't think anyone thought to remove old wallpaper before applying new back then).

When we moved in our house as a kid (1997) the house was pure 70s, with awful wood paneling on ALL the walls in the den, built in planters in the living and SALOON swing doors that went into the kitchen.

Peak midcentury modern is the Incredibles - I LOVE all the decor.

 

[barkley]

When we moved in our house as a kid (1997) the house was pure 70s, with awful wood paneling on ALL the walls in the den, built in planters in the living and SALOON swing doors that went into the kitchen.

Peak midcentury modern is the Incredibles - I LOVE all the decor.

when we were house hunting back in '91 for our first home we walked through one that looked like it was made for 70's por* movies-DEEP burnt orange shag carpet, dark wood paneling, the gold flecked mirrored stick-on wall panels (primary bedroom had an entire wall of it ) and to top it off-what we nicknamed 'the org* pit' in the family room (a LARGE circular 2 foot lower drop down area in front of the harvest gold metal cone fireplace that had built in benches and was entirely carpeted). the only thing it was missing was those old hanging lamps that had cooking oil dripping down strings-





yeah-it was a quick pass on that place

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

 

[Bellex917]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

To me whether or not it is wise is really dependent on why her score is so low. From things you've said she doesn't seem to care much about financial literacy. Is she just going to be an authorized user, or are you giving her a card and hoping she uses it responsibly?

Both of your credit scores will improve as you pay down debt and make each payment on time. Being late is very detrimental to your score, and if you can get that fully on track and keep at that, your scores will both improve.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

I didn't think that consistent on-time payments do anything for authorized users but apparently it does.
Here is an article from Chase about it. If you scroll down all the way, there are additional articles about rebuilding credit that you might find helpful.
https://www.chase.com/personal/cred...authorized-users-on-credit-cards-build-credit

 

[barkley]

To me whether or not it is wise is really dependent on why her score is so low. From things you've said she doesn't seem to care much about financial literacy. Is she just going to be an authorized user, or are you giving her a card and hoping she uses it responsibly?

this would be my concern as well along with the potential for her actions to impact YOUR credit score. be it as an authorized user or giving someone else a card to use THEIR actions will impact YOUR score as much if not more than you paying the full monthly payment in full and timely will impact theirs. it's allot easier for a credit score to down vs. up so if she may be prone to add more debt making it more difficult to pay monthly in full or on time-YOUR score will suffer for it.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

I mean this nicely, but I absolutely would not add her. Not until she commits to the plan 100% AND shows she is on board for a few months.

A secured card isn't the worst. I had one when I stated out. You put how much you're approved for a limit on it and that's your available credit. You make the monthly payments and then at the end of the secured time they release the money back as available credit and potentially will move you to an unsecured card. It's not that bad and helps the credit score.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

A secured card isn't the worst. I had one when I stated out. You put how much you're approved for a limit on it and that's your available credit. You make the monthly payments and then at the end of the secured time they release the money back as available credit and potentially will move you to an unsecured card. It's not that bad and helps the credit score.

I agree. What is so bad about a secured card? It's only temporary until credit improves and it only lets you spend what you can afford to part with. I would assume when one's credit score has increased to normal levels, the money put up in advance is returned to the cardholder but I don't know for sure.

If you go this route, I would definitely worry about this LAST. First I'd focus on Baby Steps 1 & 2 first: getting a decent EF and then pay down debt. Doing those 2 things will also raise credit scores. As others said, if your wife really isn't onboard with getting in better financial shape, she may just end up dragging you down further.

 

[Nettlelondon]

If you discover it will improve her score I would add her but not tell her/give her access to the card. That way there is no risk of her undoing your hard work but she gets to benefit which will help you both in the long run.

We sort of did this with my brother - had a card in his name that he didn't know about, we spent a little every month and settled it on time and slowly fixed his terrible credit. Ultimately it didn't work as he just ran up more debt elsewhere as soon as we stopped watching him like a hawk - even though he assured us he had taken on board the lessons.

 

[Nettlelondon]

FIL came home from hospital a little while ago with a care package (paid for by the hospital) to start off with. Enablement Carers were coming in 3 times a day to start off with which has now reduced to once a day.

I suspect they will stop in the next few days - someone is coming today to assess if he can use the shower safely and if he can I think that will be it.

He has agreed that he won't drive again so there are plans in place to sell his car.

He doesn't want to be reliant on anyone else so we are currently trying to sort him out with online grocery shopping but SIL will have access to his account to make sure he is not ordering 4 bottles of vodka and no vegetables.

SIL has an appointment with his GP tomorrow to sort out referrals to the frailty clinic (no idea what they will do - say yes, he is frail?), the memory clinic as he is clearly more challenged in this area than had been obvious (whilst in hospital he didnt have access to his notebooks that he uses to keep track of things) and the incontinence clinic to see if there are products that can make his life easier & more hygenic, particularly overnight. I don't envy her that conversation.

And then we just need to persuade him he needs a cleaner a couple of days a week, just to keep on top of things he finds difficult and maybe a gardener - by UK standards his garden is quite large. The problem is he sacked the last one for not doing things exactly how he would have done them, even though the outcome was the same, so that should be fun.

 

[firefly_ris]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

There are also debit cards that build credit such as Fizz, Extra or Sesame Cash but seems like some of them come with annual fees. But they can help build credit without spending money you don't have.

If you add her as an authorized user, that's fine, but personally I would not give her access to the card as it sounds like she's just not ready for that.

My parents did this -- when I was a teenager, they (unbeknownst to me) added me as an authorized user on one of their credit cards -- once I reached college and got my own card, I was already approved for a $23,500 credit limit.

 

[Nettlelondon]

There are also debit cards that build credit such as Fizz, Extra or Sesame Cash but seems like some of them come with annual fees. But they can help build credit without spending money you don't have.

If you add her as an authorized user, that's fine, but personally I would not give her access to the card as it sounds like she's just not ready for that.

My parents did this -- when I was a teenager, they (unbeknownst to me) added me as an authorized user on one of their credit cards -- once I reached college and got my own card, I was already approved for a $23,500 credit limit.

Not sure how credit limits work in the US compared to here, but that feels like a pretty high limit to me! They clearly did a good job of managing things.

 

[barkley]

I guess i'm a bit confused on the situation. is there a long term goal that improving the wife's credit score is vital for? is the goal to buy a home or other large purchase that will necessitate financing? if not then I would still hyper focus on debt repayment/emergency fund/savings. If it's a challenge to repay the debt already incurred then the opportunity for and availability of yet more avenues to 'buy now/pay later' seems unwise.

 

[princesscinderella]

I've been thinking about adding my wife as a user on one of my credit cards. Her credit is really bad, like sub 500. And I think this is a way to help her build it back up. Is that how it works? If I add her, will she be added automatically since she's my spouse? Or does she have to be approved? Just trying to help her build her score up, and I'm looking for ideas. She was going to do one of those secured credit cards, but I've talked her out of that. She didn't realize you request a limit of x, put that amount down then you have that much to spend. She thought if you requested a x limit, they gave it to you then you paid it back each month (like a regular card). So would it be wise to add her as a user on one of mine?

I think it’s ok to add her as an authorized user to help improve her credit score since you are working so hard to keep it paid in full every month. However I would not give her the card to actually use and run up charges on it that you can’t pay down. She would be an authorized user in the eyes of her credit bureau but not actually able to use the card.

 

[firefly_ris]

Not sure how credit limits work in the US compared to here, but that feels like a pretty high limit to me! They clearly did a good job of managing things.

I am not sure what a really high end is but I think it was good and helped me when starting out. Fortunately they also hammered into me good financial habits early on so I did not run out and start maxing out the card or taking out huge loans or anything like that!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

The goal is to get her credit score up. When we moved to DFW 2-1/2 years ago, we had so much trouble getting approved for a place to stay. We had enough money to pay 2 full years in a moment, but our credit scores were weak. So we never got approved. I'm trying to get my wife's score improved so we can get better rates (car payment mainly as our APR is kind of high at 26.5%) and also be able to find a place to stay should the need arise.

I can still focus on paying down debt with just putting her name on the CC account (and not giving her a card). I'm not worried her running up the bill. It's only a $300 limit, so I'd be able to pay it immediately if that were to happen. And she's smart enough to not do that.

I guess i'm a bit confused on the situation. is there a long term goal that improving the wife's credit score is vital for? is the goal to buy a home or other large purchase that will necessitate financing? if not then I would still hyper focus on debt repayment/emergency fund/savings. If it's a challenge to repay the debt already incurred then the opportunity for and availability of yet more avenues to 'buy now/pay later' seems unwise.