Debt Dumpers 2026

[mmbrad02]

Thanks for all the warm welcome messages!

welcome! I feel a kinship with you via having experienced similar deck, hvac and ford escape issues over the last couple of years.

I hate this for you, it was definitely no fun! Well, I say "was" but while the car issues are almost 100% paid off, that pesky HELOC still has the HVAC lurking on it.

I'm excited to be more active in 2026.

 

[barkley]

Thanks for all the warm welcome messages!


I hate this for you, it was definitely no fun! Well, I say "was" but while the car issues are almost 100% paid off, that pesky HELOC still has the HVAC lurking on it.

I'm excited to be more active in 2026.

I was STUNNED at how much the HVAC cost-we never lived in either of our prior homes long enough to need to replace. we were just thankful that we were able to get it in and installed fairly quickly (about a month) b/c it went out in early november and we were already begining to see smatterings of snow on the ground. 2025 has been a year of paying off the new car (bronco) and rebuilding the emergency fund. I am hopeful 2026 will allow for further savings.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Hi everyone! I used to be somewhat active on here a few years ago, and I've lurked on the 2025 thread this year. Unfortunately my husband lost his job mid 2023 and was out of work for almost 2 years so our Debt Dumping came to a halt as I struggled to pay the bills with just my income and the side gigs he got along the way. Long story short, he has had a job again for a few months and we have gotten everything that got behind caught up so now we are going to start working on getting rid of our remaining debt and starting to save.

My first goal is to figure out exactly what all debt we have! I know the debtors, but I was barely making minimum payments and not paying attention to the total amount for a long time, so I'm working on that now so we can start to make a plan! I should have that done in the next week or two (lots of stuff going on this week!) and then I can make more specific goals!

 

[huggybuff]

Hi everyone! I used to be somewhat active on here a few years ago, and I've lurked on the 2025 thread this year. Unfortunately my husband lost his job mid 2023 and was out of work for almost 2 years so our Debt Dumping came to a halt as I struggled to pay the bills with just my income and the side gigs he got along the way. Long story short, he has had a job again for a few months and we have gotten everything that got behind caught up so now we are going to start working on getting rid of our remaining debt and starting to save.

My first goal is to figure out exactly what all debt we have! I know the debtors, but I was barely making minimum payments and not paying attention to the total amount for a long time, so I'm working on that now so we can start to make a plan! I should have that done in the next week or two (lots of stuff going on this week!) and then I can make more specific goals!

So happy you’re back and in a more stable position now. Finding out how much you actually owe is scary but you have to do it to make your plan going forward, as you know. Maybe take a shot before you delve into it one night soon. I kid!

 

[Tygerlilly]

I realized a substantial thing we will be paying towards in 2026 got left off the list. For our middle kiddo, she requested Disney for her 10th birthday. I'm going to book it when it opens and we will make payments towards it over the year. I plan to do a whole package with dining plan, which I know is controversial on if it saves money, but I'd prefer to have it all paid in advance if I can and not have to worry about a food budget once there. I'm 100% the type that will look at a menu and choose the cheaper option even tho I want and budgeted for the more expensive one and this will help me relax a little on that front.

I'm kind of expecting this to be in the $8,000 range, if not a little more. We will likely do 10 days on disney property and 4 at Universal. Just depends on if the homeschool tickets match up to our dates.

 

[AliceandPete]

Hi everybody! I have followed this thread for a long time and have finally worked up the nerve to join. I feel like I know most of you from reading along for so long.
So here’s a little about me. About 8 years ago we really got our stuff together and started to educate ourselves financially stop living without a plan. We took several years to pay off student loans and credit cards and all kinds of stupid. During that time we learned more about money and starting earning a bit more.
The result was a real turn around in spending and saving and goal setting. This October my husband was permanently laid off from his job. He was the main earner in our home so it was scary. But with unemployment and emergency savings we realized we could go down to our bare bones budget and we could manage at least a year, if not more. If this had happened 8 years ago we would have been immediately in trouble. The unemployment is less than half of what he was making.
So I guess for me it’s such a relief to have a modest emergency fund and be able to survive this.

It’s not stress free, the job market is really bad in his industry right now. He does have an interview this week though, so my fingers and toes are crossed.

We had about $3k on a credit card that we would have paid off the month he lost his job but we decided to hold off and keep the cash in savings until he’s working again. So we are paying that off asap. We have one car loan with $14,000 left as well.

That’s it for debt outside of the mortgage. We also want to save up the cash for our roof to be done in about a year which we estimate will be about 10k.

And finally, we had a family vacation planned for December 2026. I would need to save about 6k for that. As with everything else that is permanently on hold until the job situation is settled. If he is employed early in the year we will still go. If this drags on I will cancel.

So that’s us! We’re kind of just holding our breath right now . I’m really looking forward to participating in the thread and getting to know you all better. Hopefully 2026 is a great year for us all!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Welcome!!! Glad you've decided to join us!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Welcome and good luck to your husband on his interview!

 

[pblack]

Aliceandpete! I hope everything goes well with your husband's interview.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Good luck with your hubby's interview!!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I’ll join. My goal is simple - pay extra to the mortgage and car loan. No other debt for me. The mortgage is set to pay extra each month, because the escrow went down by $100 each month so I decided to pay the same amount and send $100 extra to principal. The car loan will require me to actually go in and make extra payments, so that will vary based on how much I have left over each month after saving and bills. I’m going to se a modest goal of $500 extra toward the loan for the year.

 

[pblack]

I’ll join. My goal is simple - pay extra to the mortgage and car loan. No other debt for me. The mortgage is set to pay extra each month, because the escrow went down by $100 each month so I decided to pay the same amount and send $100 extra to principal. The car loan will require me to actually go in and make extra payments, so that will vary based on how much I have left over each month after saving and bills. I’m going to se a modest goal of $500 extra toward the loan for the year.

 

[Cfabar1]

I realized a substantial thing we will be paying towards in 2026 got left off the list. For our middle kiddo, she requested Disney for her 10th birthday. I'm going to book it when it opens and we will make payments towards it over the year. I plan to do a whole package with dining plan, which I know is controversial on if it saves money, but I'd prefer to have it all paid in advance if I can and not have to worry about a food budget once there. I'm 100% the type that will look at a menu and choose the cheaper option even tho I want and budgeted for the more expensive one and this will help me relax a little on that front.

I'm kind of expecting this to be in the $8,000 range, if not a little more. We will likely do 10 days on disney property and 4 at Universal. Just depends on if the homeschool tickets match up to our dates.

I'm sure you know this already, but just keep in mind that with dining plan you still have to pay gratuity. I wish they would just throw the gratuity in, even if it made the plan more expensive, as it would make the experience feel more "inclusive, magical" etc.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm sure you know this already, but just keep in mind that with dining plan you still have to pay gratuity. I wish they would just throw the gratuity in, even if it made the plan more expensive, as it would make the experience feel more "inclusive, magical" etc.

Oh yes. We'd definitely budget in tips, extra snacks, and fun money, but both DH and I agree that having the "meal" portion paid for in advance is worth it to just order what we feel like. It also seems to hurt less when we get back and didn't have that big food expense for a 10 day trip. Lol.

 

[firefly_ris]

Hope everyone is hanging in there for the holidays. It's like death by a thousand paper cuts right now (Mom, I need an ugly sweater for Spirit week. Mom, here are raffle tickets we have to sell [but probably just buy them]. Mom, here are football squares to sell for 8th grade field trip. Did we remember a gift for Aunt Kelly? Did we remember to get stocking stuffers? Mom, I need something sparkly or light-up for spirit week. We need another grocery haul's worth of crap for cookie ingredients.) Cha-ching, cha-ching. I'm giving out wings.

 

[Nettlelondon]

We have been to so many events in the last few weeks that have required raffle prize donations that I have now run out of stock in the "box of possible raffle prizes" that lives in the dining room. Many of them are things we have won in other raffles! Fortunately I was able to get some wine on offer that will carry us over the remaining events for this year.

And trying to find something for my nephew's girlfriend for Christmas was proving a real challenge until SIL messaged saying that she had seen the girlfriend's make-up bag, and some new brushes would be a good gift. I popped online, found some and was able to combine various offers so that I got a set of brushes, cleaner for the brushes, an eyeshadow palette and free delivery for less than the base price of the brushes. Which made no sense to me at all - but I will make the effort of playing around with a webshop basket for that sort of saving!

 

[Tygerlilly]

I started doing a mystery shop type gig thing while I'm out and about doing deliveries (most take about 5 mins to complete). One of them was to go audit these candle/bath salts sets at the store and any that were "damaged" meaning the candle was facing backwards or had slipped in the package were considered damaged. I was supposed to buy them and then I get reimbursed. I am now the proud new owner of 8 sets of one scent and 4 sets of another. Lol. The refund is pending in my account already. They said feel free to use them yourself, as gifts, or donate.

 

[afan]

I started doing a mystery shop type gig thing while I'm out and about doing deliveries (most take about 5 mins to complete). One of them was to go audit these candle/bath salts sets at the store and any that were "damaged" meaning the candle was facing backwards or had slipped in the package were considered damaged. I was supposed to buy them and then I get reimbursed. I am now the proud new owner of 8 sets of one scent and 4 sets of another. Lol. The refund is pending in my account already. They said feel free to use them yourself, as gifts, or donate.

Great it's a legit company. I remember years ago looking into doing it and I couldn't find a legit place to do it with. One of the areas that always seemed useful for those paying to have it done but also scammy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm sure you know this already, but just keep in mind that with dining plan you still have to pay gratuity. I wish they would just throw the gratuity in, even if it made the plan more expensive, as it would make the experience feel more "inclusive, magical" etc.

Gratuity used to be a part of the DDP until 2008 or so

 

[Cfabar1]

Gratuity used to be a part of the DDP until 2008 or so

Yes, I don't know if it was cast members who wanted the change, or if Disney thought it would be a way to maximize even more revenue out of the dining plan.

my understanding is the dining plan has moved over the years from an terrific deal to an okay deal, to a not great deal, and now has gotten a little better because of the kids eat free dining offer.