Debt Dumpers 2025

[royeheat]

Also talked about in Proverbs is Borrower is Slave to the Lender.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Also true. But I'm not turning this religious. Tithing is going to happen. It's part of the budget. When we are doing the budget, 10% comes off the top first and is budgeted for. That's all I'm going to be talking about that.

Now lets get back to budgeting, shopping, all that fun stuff.

What's everyone's Christmas meal and gift giving plans? And how are you already starting to prepare for that?

Also talked about in Proverbs is Borrower is Slave to the Lender.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Now lets get back to budgeting, shopping, all that fun stuff.

What's everyone's Christmas meal and gift giving plans? And how are you already starting to prepare for that?

We don't exchange gifts in our family. We focus on spending time together for the holiday and our Christmas meal. We get takeout from our favorite places on Christmas Eve (usually 2-3 different places) and for Christmas day we eat early in the day so we can graze throughout the day thereafter. We are mostly vegetarian so we will have a Quorn roast (like a turkey roast, but without meat) and lots of sides and desserts.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

That's so awesome. We don't do gifts at my family's house either. We buy gift cards (each person brings 1 and a snack) and we play games together. The winner of the game gets to pick the gift card of their choice. We do that whenever we get to go home. But in the last 3 years, since we mvoed to DFW, we haven't been able to go home for Christmas. So our plans have been a little different.

Now, DW and I go to church on Christas Eve then have a reservation at Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner afterward. We save our rewards from throughout the year as well as our birthday rewards and combine them, and last year we didn't have to pay a dime for our Christmas Eve dinner. Then on Christmas Day, we get up and cook lunch then lounge and watch Christmas movies or sports. And she and I don't exchange gifts. We buy as we need throughout the year.

We don't exchange gifts in our family. We focus on spending time together for the holiday and our Christmas meal. We get takeout from our favorite places on Christmas Eve (usually 2-3 different places) and for Christmas day we eat early in the day so we can graze throughout the day thereafter. We are mostly vegetarian so we will have a Quorn roast (like a turkey roast, but without meat) and lots of sides and desserts.

 

[piglet1979]

We only buy for our kids as well as my parents, my SIL (she is only a few years older then our kids) and then the grandparents. I also buy for our friends twins (3 years old) as we are like family with them. This is the first year that neither kids is living at home so things will be different.

Christmas eve I usually cook a whole Thanksgiving dinner for DH family. This year we are not doing this because DH will be on call for the holidays so not sure how this will look. Since my grandfather passed away in January and my Grandma is in an assisted living facility, we have decided to pick her up for breakfast (this is the only time I cook bacon gravy which my grandma taught me how to make and what we always had at her house) and also have the kids over then. Then we will go to my parents in the afternoon.

I have not started buying anything yet and really need to get moving on that. It is like pulling teeth to get a christmas list from an 18 and 19 year old (my kids). I have been asking for a few weeks now. DD I know I will get a lego set for. She just really got into them in June but other then that I am stumped on what to get both kids.

 

[Nettlelondon]

We don't have a big family, both my parents were only children so I have no cousins etc. DH is also from a small family - just him & his sister. He has a lot more cousins etc but we don't really see them. I have very little to do with my brother's family - not much before his death due to a messy divorce and even less now and we have no children ourselves.

Since DHs nephew was born 20 years ago we have spent Christmas as my sister-in-laws, but with my parents, her parents and her parents-in-law. At various points other friends & family have joined - the more the merrier - but the last few years have just been a small group with the passing of my dad & my mother-in-law.

Christmas Day is a huge meal about 3pm (with various nibbles & canapes before) and then about 8pm a large cheese collection appears. We tend to stay there so that once I have taken "The Olds" home I can have a drink and not need to drive. We split the cost of providing the food with SIL & her husband.

As to gifts, we tend to give cash to our nephew (usually in a way that requires work from him - one year I baked coins into salt dough. It took him hours to chip it out). For SIL & her husband we have an annual challenge - from a certain discount store, or thrifted for example. The last couple of years have been from auctions which has been great fun and led to some truly odd purchases. And there is a financial limit too.

Between DH & I there is normally a couple of books, a few other token things but they have to be surprises. No clothes, never anything for the house or something we need - some years it will be a very small spend, other years a lot more, it just depends on what we find/think of.

 

[DanceDisney23]

Small family here. Just DH, DD and I. MIL comes over on Christmas Day and we go to her house on Christmas Eve. We’re often joined by a family friend.

The adults exchange some small gifts. DD gets more, but she has a surprisingly small wish list for a 12 year old.

My parents live in Europe and don’t want any gifts. I always try to send them a flower arrangement or something small to brighten their day, though.

We usually have a big turkey dinner and DH makes his oven baked brisket as well. But since Thanksgiving was only a month before, I’m usually sick of turkey leftovers by Christmas.
I suggested trying beef Wellington this year but then found out it has mushrooms which DH and DD don’t like. So I’m thinking about making a beef tenderloin roast instead but I’m still undecided. I’d love to hear what kind of roast you all eat for Christmas dinner, if any.

 

[Tygerlilly]

We have 3 kiddos, so it's a little different for us. I've started to shop already, mostly smaller items, but there's progress at least. Trying to keep it down a little, so I've been more selective with what I buy. The oldest kiddo is getting less into toys and more into pre-teen things and with that comes a slightly higher price tag. Her birthday is next month so it's becoming a challenge to figure out what to buy her.

We've been trying to do more experience things instead of physical things. We have enough stuff, I'd rather go do something for what we would spend on nonsense.

For food, hubby usually works Christmas eve, so we don't do anything for that. Christmas day I make a ham, mashed potatoes, ham gravy, corn, and deviled eggs to eat around noon. Then we have a big "snack board" around dinner. Meays, cheeses, pickles, crackers, etc. It's just us and my mom here so we don't do much.

 

[Bellex917]

I've started my shopping, too. Every pay period I will spend a certain amount on gifts from October 1-mid December. I'm usually done by late November.

We host every holiday, so I also will soon start grabbing shelf stable ingredients for Thanksgiving and Christmas when they're on sale and put them away. I have a list of things that I keep my eye out for and set aside. I have about 15 people at each meal and I definitely cook for 30 lol.. so it's a big expense that I have to budget for.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Also talked about in Proverbs is Borrower is Slave to the Lender.

Dave Ramsey mentions this too. He helped me in so many ways. I used to watch his videos just to keep my motivation strong. I wasn't quite as gazelle intense as he suggested but still very motivated. I'd love to just shake his hand and thank him. Baby Steps breaks it down to make it easier.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I finally hit $1k for my emergency fund. So I've got some questions.

Right now, it's just sitting in a regular checking account at our current bank that we have access to on our mobile app. Should I just leave it there? It's just a checking account like our other 3 and doesn't bring in any interest. But there's also no fees or penalties should we need to draw from it in an emergency or should we need it to make ends meet at the end of the month. Or should I look into a HYSA or other savings account whether through my current bank or another bank?

My next question is this, should I just use the $1k to pay off my 2 CCs (about $800 total) then use the $60/month I would be paying on the CCs back into the savings account? It will take me about 12 months to build it back up to $1k, but I would have my CCs paid off (I wouldn't close them since it would help build my credit score). However, we'd be in trouble should something happen like a dishwasher going out, etc.

If you feel like you or your wife might be tempted to dip into this, (DR talks about this as well.) I would put it in an Ally.com savings account. Right now it's earning around 3.4% which is probably waaay more than your local bank and mine.
It will solve 2 issues: 1. It will resolve that feeling that it's not really "doing anything." 2. It will be linked to your primary bank account so it takes a couple days to transfer. That helps to make it accessible when you need it but less likely to use it for impusive spending. We're all human and sometimes we get weak. The key is learning from our mistakes and vowing to do better, to keep trying and to never give up. Just keep swimming...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Just in case anyone would like a refresher. No pressure.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/dav...VuJggX6HoiOFcur2jOTomCS1rfi2siqcaAvBIEALw_wcB

An oldie but a goodie and worked well for me.

 

[Bellex917]

Just in case anyone would like a refresher. No pressure.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/dav...VuJggX6HoiOFcur2jOTomCS1rfi2siqcaAvBIEALw_wcB

An oldie but a goodie and worked well for me.

I didn't follow DR fully when getting out of debt bc I wasn't willing to take my Efund down to 1k while we were getting out of debt. We didn't have a ton at the time, but we had two kids/a mortgage, and my husband is in tech, so we knew his job was always risky (and he has been laid off so we know we need it). We did the avalanche method bc we were fully locked in and didn't need the motivation, but even with all these strays and being Dave-ish, I still credit him for us being where we are. I listened to his podcasts and watched his show constantly for motivation. I truly think for most people he can be the real answer if they're willing to listen.

 

[Nettlelondon]

I didn't follow DR fully when getting out of debt bc I wasn't willing to take my Efund down to 1k while we were getting out of debt. We didn't have a ton at the time, but we had two kids/a mortgage, and my husband is in tech, so we knew his job was always risky (and he has been laid off so we know we need it). We did the avalanche method bc we were fully locked in and didn't need the motivation, but even with all these strays and being Dave-ish, I still credit him for us being where we are. I listened to his podcasts and watched his show constantly for motivation. I truly think for most people he can be the real answer if they're willing to listen.

I hadn't heard of DR until I started reading some of the Disboards threads - he isn't really a thing in the UK but I have read some of his stuff since, and seen some of his videos in my Facebook feed.

As a Brit it always seems a bit odd when he brings up church - religion is really not something that is really talked about over here, but I have to say a lot of what he says seems really sensible. Getting rid of debt gives you so much peace of mind & greater freedom that everything else in life is so much better.

 

[Bellex917]

I hadn't heard of DR until I started reading some of the Disboards threads - he isn't really a thing in the UK but I have read some of his stuff since, and seen some of his videos in my Facebook feed.

As a Brit it always seems a bit odd when he brings up church - religion is really not something that is really talked about over here, but I have to say a lot of what he says seems really sensible. Getting rid of debt gives you so much peace of mind & greater freedom that everything else in life is so much better.

As someone who is not religious that's def part of his approach that doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't bother me bc it is his brand/his beliefs, but I do wish he'd leave politics out of it when he goes on weird rants lol.

 

[Nettlelondon]

As someone who is not religious that's def part of his approach that doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't bother me bc it is his brand/his beliefs, but I do wish he'd leave politics out of it when he goes on weird rants lol.

I have not come across any of his videos that bring up politics - clearly the Facebook algorithm is not putting those in my feed.

 

[barkley]

As someone who is not religious that's def part of his approach that doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't bother me bc it is his brand/his beliefs, but I do wish he'd leave politics out of it when he goes on weird rants lol.

i agree that the politics and religious aspects can get overwhelming-and I think the religious aspect can be an immediate turn-off to people who would otherwise benefit from some aspects of his program.

 

[disney-inspired]

Also true. But I'm not turning this religious. Tithing is going to happen. It's part of the budget. When we are doing the budget, 10% comes off the top first and is budgeted for. That's all I'm going to be talking about that.

Now lets get back to budgeting, shopping, all that fun stuff.

What's everyone's Christmas meal and gift giving plans? And how are you already starting to prepare for that?

We're jumping right into Christmas, no thanksgiving talk? Good, cuz Thanksgiving to me is pre-Christmas haha. We love Christmas in our family and I'm always eager to decorate right after Thanksgiving, like on Black Friday.

I'll be flying home for Christmas - free with credit card airline miles (saved me like $600!). Growing up we always had tamales for dinner and let me tell you, after 20 of those years I got pretty sick of tamales LOL. Now my mom is on the wagon that while we like tamales, it doesn't have to be our main meal. I'll probably get a honeybaked ham to bring to my grandma's house.

As far as gifts - I usually only buy for my immediate family (mom, dad, younger sister), my older sister & her family, my grand parents and the kids in my extended family cuz everyone else is an adult who can buy what they want. Sometimes I will do baked goods as gifts to the adults. I need to start budgeting for that and look for gift ideas. I told my sister I want to shop early and would prefer shopping in store than online b/c that feels more Christmassy to me.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm trying to do more handmade or consumable gifts this year too. Everyone has so much stuff. We don't need more things. The kids are all getting craft kits as one of their gifts. I'm going to make a big batch of cookie dough and freeze it for my mom in individual pieces so she can pull out 3 or 4 at a time to make for herself. Our neighbors are getting a gift basket with brownie and cookie mixes, and some crafts for the kids.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I was raised Episcopalian though my parents weren't very religious. Dh was raised Catholic. Neither of us are very religious now.
When DR mentions scripture or God, it doesn't bother me. He's not telling anyone that she should convert in order to learn his advice. If it were a Rabbi explaining the Baby Steps, and inserting some Judaism in there, I'd still be grateful for the advice.

As far as the advice itself, I didn't follow it 100%. When he says stop contributing to retirement, well to me that's crazy.
We didn't get rid of cable and I still took some vacations though we did scale way down there. He does admit that no one HAS to eliminate all of those things, but the more things you don't eliminate, the longer it will take to exit Baby Step 2. We could eliminate all of those things and we'd only be in that step very briefly or we could drag it out longer. I was intense, but not 100% gazelle intense.
I still credit his method to getting us out of debt. When I first started trying to get out of debt on my own, before I found this thread in 2013, I was throwing extra $ here and there at different credit cards and not getting anywhere and getting very frustrated.
By attacking the lowest one, knocking it out in a month and just seeing something say $0 balance, it was very motivating. I knew this sytem would finally get me out of debt as long as I was meticulous will applying our snowball to the next debt in line. It would have been easy to say,"Cool, that card's paid off now and that frees up another $40 to buy lunch once per week." Instead it's an effort to keep the snowball packed tight, growing with each debt you pay off and then once the debt is $0, apply that snowball to savings instead and watch it grow.