Debt Dumpers 2025

[afan]

My parents made homemade bread this past weekend. It was so, so good. So much better tasting than store bought. I know there's not much difference health wise becuase it's bread. But I'd be curious to know the price difference.

Homemade is so much better than store bought. It's not as processed and doesn't have crap in it.

With sales It's probably cheaper per loaf buy only if you both continue making bread to use up the ingredients and you eat the bread. Not a savings if the commitment isn't there.

French baguettes are often proved in the very cold conditions but for a long time - 48 hours is not uncommon

I would love to learn to bake these but I know I wouldn't commit to it as often as I should/would need to. It's on the list for someday so I can stop buying the serviceable rolls/bread at the store. Fresh baguettes is one of the few things I like/miss about Paris.

 

[pblack]

A tip for those that maybe struggle to see their accomplishments and how budgeting/discipline can really affect your life - keep a spreadsheet of your goals and then at the end of the year (or more often) update those goals to show how much you've accomplished. As i've been reworking my bills spreadsheet today and adding/deleting things I decided to add my 2025 goals/accomplishments to my goals tab and just reading back through my goals from 2019 (when I started keeping track and I believe joined this thread) until now....I realize we've actually accomplished quite a bit. 2019 and 2020 is when we really started buckling down on our CC debt and student loans and seeing how much we've paid off over the last 6 years is a big morale booster. Plus whenever you're feeling discouraged you can look back at those goals/accomplishments to see how far you've come.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Update: the bread wasn't a total fail, but it was definitely not a big win. Ah well, I can only improve from here.

In other news, the random things I threw together to make a stroganoff-type meal turned out amazing. So I'll take that win!

 

[firefly_ris]

Thanks for the thoughts all.

The main thing I was concerned about was if throwing a lump sum makes sense due to our interest rate vs what that is making in market accounts. I have a sum that is liquid, spread out across a number of different types of accounts but getting an average annual return of 14-16% in my brokerage, around 4% in HYSA and then some other assets. Our mortgage rate is 3.75%. So lowering the overall balance is very enticing to me, but then I'm also concerned about laying too much down and losing that cash liquidity.

So it might be a better idea instead of a large sum all at once, to just say in 2026 I will commit to X number of additional principal payments. This way I'm still making a small extra dent instead of having a massive amount of equity but less liquidity (and flexibility). Then after the kids are closer to done with college I can re-assess where the balance is down to at that point and consider a larger sum at that time.

 

[barkley]

A tip for those that maybe struggle to see their accomplishments and how budgeting/discipline can really affect your life - keep a spreadsheet of your goals and then at the end of the year (or more often) update those goals to show how much you've accomplished. As i've been reworking my bills spreadsheet today and adding/deleting things I decided to add my 2025 goals/accomplishments to my goals tab and just reading back through my goals from 2019 (when I started keeping track and I believe joined this thread) until now....I realize we've actually accomplished quite a bit. 2019 and 2020 is when we really started buckling down on our CC debt and student loans and seeing how much we've paid off over the last 6 years is a big morale booster. Plus whenever you're feeling discouraged you can look back at those goals/accomplishments to see how far you've come.

likewise keeping track over the years of certain payments to see with your own eyes how much certain costs have increased year to year through NO action/inaction on your own part can help you see how much come despite added expenses. in particular I keep track year to year of-

insurance premiums
utilities
property taxes.

all take a big chunk of change on a yearly basis and can negatively impact one's budget.

The main thing I was concerned about was if throwing a lump sum makes sense due to our interest rate vs what that is making in market accounts. I have a sum that is liquid, spread out across a number of different types of accounts but getting an average annual return of 14-16% in my brokerage, around 4% in HYSA and then some other assets. Our mortgage rate is 3.75%. So lowering the overall balance is very enticing to me, but then I'm also concerned about laying too much down and losing that cash liquidity.

So it might be a better idea instead of a large sum all at once, to just say in 2026 I will commit to X number of additional principal payments. This way I'm still making a small extra dent instead of having a massive amount of equity but less liquidity (and flexibility). Then after the kids are closer to done with college I can re-assess where the balance is down to at that point and consider a larger sum at that time.

I get you with wanting to retain some liquidity. I forgo earning higher interest on some of our savings just to keep it liquid/withdrawable without a penalty because I need to know that if an emergency hits I can get it paid for in a heartbeat. we were very glad in '24 to have that liquidity when 2 major systems for our house that totaled over $35K to replace both happened within months of each other. 2025 has largely been a rebuilding of that liquid fund but we also ended up having to buy a new car. I could have pulled from a non liquid fund but like you-our non liquid fund was/is paying more in interest than a new car loan was offered to us at. we ended up financing and paying the regular payment on the car (while rebuilding our liquid fund at the same time) with some large extra payments over the course of this year. thankfully it worked out where those extra payments enabled us to pay off last month.

you can run the numbers over and over but you have to make a decision that allows you to sleep at night.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It didn't help that I had literally nothing - had been living at home so just brought my clothes.

It takes time. All the stuff you've been using at your parent's house was bought in a month so give yourself some mercy. Ds25 is going through the same thing. He left with nothing but his clothes.

Dh bought him some kitchen stuff at Good Will so he at least has some cups, bowls and plates. I bought him a set of pots & pans when I had a 40% off coupon at Kohls. Every few weeks I send him little things here and there. Some kitchen towels, BBQ utensils, a whisk, a crock pot.
Dh and my BIL (dh's brother) went there over the weekend to refinish his LR hardwood floors. BIL is a retired painter, has painted bridges and all kinds of stuff. He has experience refinishing gymnasium floors so he was a huge help.
The list is neverending but at least once this floor is cured, he can start getting furniture set up and have a place to sit down and relax at night. We're giving him our old LR sofa/loveseat/chair and ordered a new one for us.
The armrest where dh sits at night is kind of gross so I will be using the upholstery attachment from my carpet steam cleaner to clean it later this week.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks for the thoughts all.

The main thing I was concerned about was if throwing a lump sum makes sense due to our interest rate vs what that is making in market accounts. I have a sum that is liquid, spread out across a number of different types of accounts but getting an average annual return of 14-16% in my brokerage, around 4% in HYSA and then some other assets. Our mortgage rate is 3.75%. So lowering the overall balance is very enticing to me, but then I'm also concerned about laying too much down and losing that cash liquidity.

So it might be a better idea instead of a large sum all at once, to just say in 2026 I will commit to X number of additional principal payments. This way I'm still making a small extra dent instead of having a massive amount of equity but less liquidity (and flexibility). Then after the kids are closer to done with college I can re-assess where the balance is down to at that point and consider a larger sum at that time.

I think with kids in college, I'd be more inclined to invest it vs. paying down the mortgage. That is, unless you could paying it off completely in the next year, thus freeing up that payment money for better things.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Homemade is so much better than store bought. It's not as processed and doesn't have crap in it.

With sales It's probably cheaper per loaf buy only if you both continue making bread to use up the ingredients and you eat the bread. Not a savings if the commitment isn't there.



I would love to learn to bake these but I know I wouldn't commit to it as often as I should/would need to. It's on the list for someday so I can stop buying the serviceable rolls/bread at the store. Fresh baguettes is one of the few things I like/miss about Paris.

How long does homemade bread last? And can you freeze it? If so, how long in the freezer? We probably won't because we don't want to spend the money on a bread maker right now as we're trying to pay down debt. But it's a though.

 

[Tygerlilly]

How long does homemade bread last? And can you freeze it? If so, how long in the freezer? We probably won't because we don't want to spend the money on a bread maker right now as we're trying to pay down debt. But it's a though.

You don't need a bread maker. I mixed it and kneaded it by hand. A bread maker is just a nice perk if you plan to make it a lot.

It only will last a few days if you keep it in the fridge. Probably a couple months in the freezer.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Definitely don't need a bread maker - you can view kneading as an upper body workout. And a great stress reliever.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Thanks for the thoughts all.

The main thing I was concerned about was if throwing a lump sum makes sense due to our interest rate vs what that is making in market accounts. I have a sum that is liquid, spread out across a number of different types of accounts but getting an average annual return of 14-16% in my brokerage, around 4% in HYSA and then some other assets. Our mortgage rate is 3.75%. So lowering the overall balance is very enticing to me, but then I'm also concerned about laying too much down and losing that cash liquidity.

So it might be a better idea instead of a large sum all at once, to just say in 2026 I will commit to X number of additional principal payments. This way I'm still making a small extra dent instead of having a massive amount of equity but less liquidity (and flexibility). Then after the kids are closer to done with college I can re-assess where the balance is down to at that point and consider a larger sum at that time.

I agree that given those interest rates, and without any external factors that makes having no mortgage useful, I would make regular smaller overpayments from cashflow rather than utilising other funds.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Update: the bread wasn't a total fail, but it was definitely not a big win. Ah well, I can only improve from here.

In other news, the random things I threw together to make a stroganoff-type meal turned out amazing. So I'll take that win!

The joys of home cooking - always a school day

I was at an event the other day and someone had brought some cheesy nibbles along that were made with lots of cheese and potato chips. I had to change seats or I was going to consume the entire plate. And it was a large plate! I did get the recipe before I left. There is no way they would ever be made commercially but they were amazing.