Debt Dumpers 2025

[huggybuff]

Happy early Thanksgiving day, debt dumpers.
I volunteered to cover my team for our company's wellness week (week between Christmas and New Years) so I'll be getting paid twice for those days (not double time, just 2x standard pay). That paired with my annual bonus should help put a nice dent into my cc debt.

I just moved over my CC debt to an existing card to get the zero interest until October 2026. Plan to go hard and get it cleared as soon as possible. I messed up and overextended myself during my move and that's on me.
Thankfully, one area I've improved on is eating out. Since moving in, I have bought food a handful of times. Still trying to find a rhythm for meal planning as I hate doing it.

Happy Thanksgiving! Moving is such a tempting time to go all out and buy new things. Out with the old, in with the new! You'll pay it off in no time. You've got this!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Thank you for the reassurance. I know folks are trying to help. And I appreciate it, and I'm learning from it and using it. We've changed tons just this year. And it's helped. As far as the electric, they send the bill on the 15th, it's due on the first and it disconnects on the 15th. So they won't let you get more than 2 weeks behind. We use TXU. It's a lot different from where we moved from when we had SWEPCO. They would allow you to miss a payment then if you missed the next month's payment, they cut you. Then you owed 3 months plus a reconnect fee plus an addition down payment. It really sucked, and it kept us on track. But we're going to get everything back on track that we haven't already gotten on track. As I said, I'm learning and using the help most folks are giving.

You're assuming that everyone is dealing with late fees every month. The posters here are not (lurkers, maybe, I couldn't say). Most of the posters here have been trying to help you, some, over and over again. I have to say, it feels like they're hitting a brick wall. What you are describing as 'piling on' is yet another attempt to help you get out of the hole that you're drowning in.

You said you pay your power, internet and etc.(whatever else that is!) before it disconnects. I guarantee you're at least 2 months behind on the power. When I was closer to your financial state, I too used to put things off. (The crazy thing is that I had enough money to pay. ADHD, man!) When my gas eventually did disconnect, I was behind 3 months. I was behind on electricity as well and it never turned off - they kept extending the grace period and adding on fees. My point is that it shouldn't be normal to be on a payment schedule where you're making your (late) payments just on the verge of disconnection of services. The payment schedule you should aspire to where utilities are concerned is to be paid up IN FULL once you receive the bill, either in the mail or online. You should have enough in your account to pay the bill immediately or already have the amount accounted for out of your next paycheck, meaning BEFORE the due date comes. Do you pay your bills online or send checks? It's so much easier to keep tabs on all of your accounts online and set payments to be made on your next payday, if necessary.

Again, everyone here wants you to succeed. The problem is that we seem to be more worried about your financial situation most of the time than you are. I don't get a sense of true urgency from your posts and I think that is very frustrating to most of us here. Have you ever thought about being screened for depression? I know from years of personal experience that depression dulls the senses and feelings. Just a thought. You need some type of knock to the head (metaphorically speaking) out of your complacence before some painful consequences of your financial mess befall you.

 

[royeheat]

Correct. I have a 3 check month (knock on wood) coming up. We should have about $800 extra in December, so I plan on using that to pay an extra car payment, an extra payment on my bank loan and an extra payment on my internet. That will use up all $800, but it will get us caught back up. Then I plan on using the extra check in January to push my EF to where I want it to be.

As far as Christmas, DW and I don't get presents for each other. We just buy as we need throughout the year. We usually take a trip to Disney for the holidays. But I think we're going to eat a nice dinner somewhere or go stay at a nice hotel by the airport instead.

We just have to buy for my in-laws Christmas (DW wants to buy 3 gifts each for 4 people but we might be getting out of that as they're not getting along. We bought Christmas presents last year that we never exchanged, so we might can just give those if they amend the relations as they're still in the bag with tags on them). So not much. We take gift cards to my parents, and we play games. Then the winners get their choice of gift card. We're not blessed with big families. DW's dad is an only child, and I only have one sibling.

Question to ask yourself (no need to reply): Why are you going to a nice dinner or nice hotel by the airport when you are behind on your bills?
Why do you feel it is hard to say no to others but yes to more debt?

Again I would offer advice but 100s of people have already done so AND are giving up on you. My husband and I live comfortably now as we made sacrifices and lived uncomfortably earlier in our lives before we met. This meant working 2 jobs 6 days a week for 4 years as I only started making $1300 a month teaching 29 years ago. I cannot imagine working 2 jobs now that I am in my 50s.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Not really sure, honestly. I guess I feel i need to since I don't give DW a Christmas in the way of presents, I canceled the Disney trip and her parents have stopped communicating with her. Other than that, I don't really know why we would. Also, if I don't, I might end up in divorce court in January.

Question to ask yourself (no need to reply): Why are you going to a nice dinner or nice hotel by the airport when you are behind on your bills?
Why do you feel it is hard to say no to there’s but yes to more debt?

Again I would offer advice but 100s of people have already done so AND are giving up on you. My husband and I live comfortably now as we made sacrifices and lived uncomfortably earlier in our lives before we met. This meant working 2 jobs 6 days a week for 4 years as I only started making $1300 a month teaching 29 years ago. I cannot imagine working 2 jobs now that I am in my 50s.

 

[Tygerlilly]

You need some type of knock to the head (metaphorically speaking) out of your complacence before some painful consequences of your financial mess befall you.

You know, I actually think a lot of the advice everyone is giving is sticking in his head. The problem is that he's fighting against someone who constantly is against everything he's trying to do. More than anything they need therapy together and maybe also separate. There's nothing wrong with getting an outside opinion or to have a 3rd party to speak to about literally anything.

 

[barkley]

In this case, you might want to call and see if they will change your payment date. It can't hurt to ask!

a call is also an opportunity to check with each vendor what one's status is on payments-

is my status current (am I currently paying for what I accrued in the last billing period)? or am I in arrears and paying past due amounts? with some utilities if you've been around for a couple of years and had paid a deposit you can ask if they would be willing to apply the deposit to any arrears so you can get to a place of being current.

 

[princesscinderella]

Not really sure, honestly. I guess I feel i need to since I don't give DW a Christmas in the way of presents, I canceled the Disney trip and her parents have stopped communicating with her. Other than that, I don't really know why we would. Also, if I don't, I might end up in divorce court in January.

May I suggest a Honey-Do coupon book that you make for your wife that she can redeem for you to do chores around the house that maybe would normally fall on her? Examples - Spa night - you give her a massage, date night at home where you cook a fancier than normal dinner, Dishwasher for the week, Car Wash, Ladies Choice - she can ask for anything that doesn't cost anything but your manual labor, etc.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Funny story somewhat related to late payments. Our water bill comes every 3 months. Years ago my husband wrote a check and mailed it to the water company. Mind you, thus is a guy who is never late, and pays in full every time.

Well, water company sends a turn off notice and they're turning it off in just a few days. Why? They got it on time. The check was cashed and cleared. So why? Because he wrote the check for 1 cent less than the owed amount. ONE STINKING PENNY AND THEY THREATENED TO TURN OFF THE WATER! I had to pay the penny, plus late charges. I hate the water company with a passion to this day.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Got up this morning and did a few more trips. My total (assuming nobody messes with tips) for the 2 days is right about $300. I really want to go out Friday and deliver all the black Friday madness, but I don't think I'll have enough gas to do that. Need to make sure I have enough to get to the other job on Saturday morning. If I'm super lucky maybe I'll get some winnings from my freeplay Saturday morning so I can do some extra trips Saturday evening. Supposedly it's going to be crummy weather so maybe people will tip nice to not get out in it. This is honestly kind of addicting, but better to be addicted to doing something to make money instead of spending it. Lol.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

That's crazy that it was over a single penny. Looks like the would've called. But I guess they'd rather cut it off and make you pay even more money than do the right thing and give you a courtesy call. Glad it was fixed, though. We got a warning letter from the water company because someone complained about some tree limbs in our alley (we live in neighborhood where the parking is behind and down an alley. The entire alley had trees hanging down, but the gave us warning. Got another because someone reported our grass was too high in the alley. Lol. About 8 months ago, DW got into it with our neighbor because they took our trash can and swapped out our brand new one for their nasty smelling one. Since then, we've gotten 2 warnings from the city.

Funny story somewhat related to late payments. Our water bill comes every 3 months. Years ago my husband wrote a check and mailed it to the water company. Mind you, thus is a guy who is never late, and pays in full every time.

Well, water company sends a turn off notice and they're turning it off in just a few days. Why? They got it on time. The check was cashed and cleared. So why? Because he wrote the check for 1 cent less than the owed amount. ONE STINKING PENNY AND THEY THREATENED TO TURN OFF THE WATER! I had to pay the penny, plus late charges. I hate the water company with a passion to this day.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I like this. Is this something I can get on Amazon? Of course, she'd see I purchased it, but it'd still be nice. That said, I do most stuff already. The only thing does is clean the bathrooms and take out the trash (I'm a big time germophobe, and I won't do those 2 things) and she unloads the dishwasher (absolutely won't load it). But she's always talking about wanting to do a spa day at Disney. So getting her a spa thing might be good. Also, it might allow me to cook from time to time (she doesn't like me cooking and want to do all of it) So, I like the idea. I will start looking for a book idea. So thank you.

May I suggest a Honey-Do coupon book that you make for your wife that she can redeem for you to do chores around the house that maybe would normally fall on her? Examples - Spa night - you give her a massage, date night at home where you cook a fancier than normal dinner, Dishwasher for the week, Car Wash, Ladies Choice - she can ask for anything that doesn't cost anything but your manual labor, etc.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

That's a good idea. On my last car payment ($505), every single penny went to interest. Not a single penny went to principal. I was so mad. Why did I even pay if I'm only paying interest. Anyway, that payment's made and in the past. So nothing I can do about it now.

a call is also an opportunity to check with each vendor what one's status is on payments-

is my status current (am I currently paying for what I accrued in the last billing period)? or am I in arrears and paying past due amounts? with some utilities if you've been around for a couple of years and had paid a deposit you can ask if they would be willing to apply the deposit to any arrears so you can get to a place of being current.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I canceled the Disney trip

This is a bold-faced lie.

I’ve seen your trip posts and pictures, including your wife’s favorite souvenir.

You have told so many different stories to so many different people that you can no longer keep them straight.

Like others, I spent a lot of time running your numbers through calculators and giving you detailed advice, but I’m out. You are trolling and there are deeper issues going on here. I wish you well.

 

[focusondisney]

Just a heads up to check your late fees. I didn't think I was paying any late fees because I pay things before they're supposed to be disconnected (power, internet, etc). Nope. I'm paying $10 for a disconnect notice, a piece of paper they mail you. $10 for that? That's crazy. I'm paying $27 in late fees for electric, $9 in late fees for internet (I just thought I needed to pay it before it disconnected). I'm paying $12 for a late fee per month on my bank loan. That's $48 between just 3 of them and not counting the car loan. So just a heads up. Just because you pay before it disconnects (when it's due) doesn't mean you don't pay fees.

I hope one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned is to check your bills. All of the bill, not jusy the amount or due date. Every part of the bill. Every single bill. Every singe month.

It sounds like you really need someone to sit down with you, in person, to figure which bills need to come from which check. And help you with an actual budget. A actual budget will make sure a bill is paid p, in full, before the due date or late fees set in. There are free financial counseling services. I googled the Dallas Fort Worth area & several came up. Even just 1 or 2 sessions to help you make a real plan will be a good starting point.

Since you are a month behind on some bills…Forget the extra car loan payment or emergency fund payments with that extra check. Pay the current bills with it instead. Then keep the same amounts in your usual budget. But, those amounts would stay in your checking account to pay next months bill. So you’re getting ahead of the bill & won’t have late fees.

We lost the money.

As posters were trying to tell you, Disney room only reservations are fully refundable if cancelled before 8 days. Did you try to get a refund?

Not really sure, honestly. I guess I feel i need to since I don't give DW a Christmas in the way of presents, I canceled the Disney trip and her parents have stopped communicating with her. Other than that, I don't really know why we would. Also, if I don't, I might end up in divorce court in January.

This is not the first time you’ve mentioned your wife divorcing you over the financial situation. Last time you said it was just a joke. Nothing about your situation is funny, so it gives the impression there’s a bit of truth there. As a PP said, couples counseling seems to be in order. One partner intentionally sabotaging their financial well being, belittling the other for efforts to get healthy & being just plain selfish in all areas just isn’t a healthy, happy, loving marriage. And frankly, makes all the talk about church & Bible studying seem like a hypocritical waste of time.

 

[DanceDisney23]

After all I’ve read over the years, divorce court in January sounds like a blessing in disguise. Why did her parents stop talking to her?

 

[focusondisney]

Wonder why @ WDW_fan_in Tx suddenly changed his avatar?

 

[princesscinderella]

I like this. Is this something I can get on Amazon? Of course, she'd see I purchased it, but it'd still be nice. That said, I do most stuff already. The only thing does is clean the bathrooms and take out the trash (I'm a big time germophobe, and I won't do those 2 things) and she unloads the dishwasher (absolutely won't load it). But she's always talking about wanting to do a spa day at Disney. So getting her a spa thing might be good. Also, it might allow me to cook from time to time (she doesn't like me cooking and want to do all of it) So, I like the idea. I will start looking for a book idea. So thank you.

Here’s some more coupon ideas:
https://blog.personalizationmall.com/inspiration/ideas-for-love-coupons

This link has some templates so you can print them out and put it together. All you need is a printer, scissors and a stapler to make a cute book with some of these templates. No need to spend a lot of money on it and by DIYing it you are showing you took the time to make it special for her.
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/free-printable-love-coupons-1358215

You need to definitely offer to do the 2 things that you won’t do since you are a germaphobe to make it sincere. You are already stepping out of your comfort zone what’s a little more. The spa day I’m talking about is you giving her a massage not spending money to send her to one which is very $$. There are a lot of items in your kitchen that make great spa day treatments, olive oil is great for skin and as a massage oil. You can lookup recipes up different recipes on line for a homemade salt or sugar scrub too.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I just want to explain myself. I only said I canceled the trip so people would quit piling on. That's why I said I canceled. We would've lost our tickets, our room payment and our flight money. So it was easier to just go and not spend anything else hardly (except for food) over what we had already paid and were set to lose if we canceled. So it's out there. That's all I'm going to say about that and the trip to Disney.

I'm going to quit posting for a bit, let some things settle down and get some things figured out in my life, my DW's life and with our finances. I was already giving too much information out (not that any of it is false, except the Disney trip). But I don't need to be sharing my personal stuff with random strangers on a message board anyway. I just wanted to put all of that out there so that everyone knew what was going on and why I said what I did.

I only changed my profile pic so that no one else could stalk us on Facebook like that one user did. That's kind of scary honestly. And probably borderline illegal on this site. Like I said, I haven't said anything not true except for the Disney trip. But I need to fix some things. So I'm signing off for a bit. Hopefully when I come back, I have a lot less debt and lot more confidence and positivity.

Thank you everyone that has helped. Now I need to go help myself.

Oh, and to everyone on this board, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays. May your Thanksgiving and holidays be filled with family time, lots of good food and lots of fond memories.

 

[princesscinderella]

I just want to explain myself. I only said I canceled the trip so people would quit piling on. That's why I said I canceled. We would've lost our tickets, our room payment and our flight money. So it was easier to just go and not spend anything else hardly (except for food) over what we had already paid and were set to lose if we canceled. So it's out there. That's all I'm going to say about that and the trip to Disney.

I'm going to quit posting for a bit, let some things settle down and get some things figured out in my life, my DW's life and with our finances. I was already giving too much information out (not that any of it is false, except the Disney trip). But I don't need to be sharing my personal stuff with random strangers on a message board anyway. I just wanted to put all of that out there so that everyone knew what was going on and why I said what I did.

I only changed my profile pic so that no one else could stalk us on Facebook like that one user did. That's kind of scary honestly. And probably borderline illegal on this site. Like I said, I haven't said anything not true except for the Disney trip. But I need to fix some things. So I'm signing off for a bit. Hopefully when I come back, I have a lot less debt and lot more confidence and positivity.

Thank you everyone that has helped. Now I need to go help myself.

Oh, and to everyone on this board, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays. May your Thanksgiving and holidays be filled with family time, lots of good food and lots of fond memories.

Wish you the best of luck on getting your life in order. Keep reading financial articles and saving every penny you can.