Debt Dumpers 2026

[Tygerlilly]

First time poster. My goals for this year are to begin to focus on paying off my mortgage debt about 300,000 and start saving for 2026.

Welcome!!

 

[Cfabar1]

Verizon owns Visible... Uses the same network.... $30 a line...

if you're a 1 or 2 line account, it isn't even a question. Switch today....

 

[barkley]

scored a good deal on target online tonight-was price comparing a few items I needed to restock my pantry with and found an offer to me for 15% one online or in-store purchase which was stackable with a sale that was ending tonight for $10 off a $50 grocery purchase. not bad-got $61.47 down to $42.25 so it ended up less per item than I could do on either Amazon or Walmart.

 

[focusondisney]

Edit…wrong thread.

 

[Nettlelondon]

I needed to replace 3 tyres on my car last month. Yesterday went to the car and one of them was flat. Managed to inflate it to get to the ferry home, needed to inflate it again when we got off the ferry to get home and again this morning to take it to the tyre place to get it fixed. Thankfully it could be repaired and the cost was covered by the insurance policy I took out when the tyres were replaced saving about £250.

The main reason I was happy though is that our tyres are unusual so would have had to be ordered in, which would have likely meant we wouldn't have had a car tomorrow. Tomorrow involves taking FIL for some blood tests and to do that without a car would have taken considerably longer and cost a lot more so a double saving by getting it fixed today.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I needed to replace 3 tyres on my car last month. Yesterday went to the car and one of them was flat. Managed to inflate it to get to the ferry home, needed to inflate it again when we got off the ferry to get home and again this morning to take it to the tyre place to get it fixed. Thankfully it could be repaired and the cost was covered by the insurance policy I took out when the tyres were replaced saving about £250.

The main reason I was happy though is that our tyres are unusual so would have had to be ordered in, which would have likely meant we wouldn't have had a car tomorrow. Tomorrow involves taking FIL for some blood tests and to do that without a car would have taken considerably longer and cost a lot more so a double saving by getting it fixed today.

Glad you were able to repair your tires, but are you saying repairs would've cost $250? That's more than the tire itself. I had a nail in mine not long ago, and they fixed it for nothing. That's crazy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Glad you were able to repair your tires, but are you saying repairs would've cost $250? That's more than the tire itself. I had a nail in mine not long ago, and they fixed it for nothing. That's crazy.

A nail in the tire and whether it can be fixed, fixed well or know a patch will fail is heavily dependent on where the nail ends up. Only one of the times that we got a nail in the tire could it be patched to any sort of reliability.

Also the person used pounds so my guess is they are in the UK (london perhaps given their username), pricing, availability/type of tire, rules, etc may vary.

 

[mmbrad02]

Has anyone used Spectrum for their cell phone service? I have a chance to cut my cell phone bill down significantly (currently pay $125/month for 1 line). I am currently with Verizon, and I owe $177 to pay the phone off. I'm paying $22/month for the phone until the phone is paid off. However, I've sold enough stuff from around the house and of my sports cards this week to pay that $177 off. That would then drop my bill to $100/month, and I would own the phone.

Just chiming in to echo what others have said - this is definitely an area you can save money on. Our bill with AT&T is $180.45 for three lines and all three have device payments also. (Not suggesting that is budget smart, but it's where we are right now And for a little encouragement, we had been AT&T for life until about 5 years ago, when our service at home greatly deteriorated so we switched to Verizon. We found Verizon to be expensive and when our phones were paid off and AT&T improved their service in our area, we switched back. I said all that to say - the switches were not hard at all. Sometimes the longest relationships are the hardest to break off but ultimately sometimes you just have to do it because most of these companies truly do not reward longevity and you have to look out for yourself.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Just chiming in to echo what others have said - this is definitely an area you can save money on. Our bill with AT&T is $180.45 for three lines and all three have device payments also. (Not suggesting that is budget smart, but it's where we are right now And for a little encouragement, we had been AT&T for life until about 5 years ago, when our service at home greatly deteriorated so we switched to Verizon. We found Verizon to be expensive and when our phones were paid off and AT&T improved their service in our area, we switched back. I said all that to say - the switches were not hard at all. Sometimes the longest relationships are the hardest to break off but ultimately sometimes you just have to do it because most of these companies truly do not reward longevity and you have to look out for yourself.

Thanks. Yea, I think I'm going to pay off the phone then look at switching. I want to make sure, though, I switch to somewhere I can keep my number. I've had my same number for 25+ years now. I cringe at the though of changing my number.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Thanks. Yea, I think I'm going to pay off the phone then look at switching. I want to make sure, though, I switch to somewhere I can keep my number. I've had my same number for 25+ years now. I cringe at the though of changing my number.

I've had the same phone number for 23 years across 4 different carriers. No one requires you to change numbers anymore.

 

[firefly_ris]

we are debt averse as well so we did pay off the mortgage early. what we could help with on tuition (we wanted our kids to pay a portion and allot of that was paid via on campus jobs that helped get some work experience as well) we had ours do fed loans (not those awful parent plus) so no interest was accruing during years of attendance. we squirrelled away money and even at modest CD rate interest it grew so it went further. our share of cost was paid on the highest interest rate loans immediately upon graduation so any remaining balance on their part was at the lowest rates.

This is a good strategy and definitely something I'll discuss with my husband. I like the idea of putting the money into investment vehicles and waiting to pay out until the end of their college time. Or maybe a combination of both strategies. Something we need to figure out.

@WDW_fan_in_TX -- One of my kids has a cell phone plan at this point and for her I use Tello, it's $19/month for 10GB data, unlimited talk and text. There's also Mint, Helium and a few others out there that I haven't looked into in a while but could have better rates/plans than that. I buy older phones refurbished on Amazon. My personal phone is still a Samsung S10+ and have no plans to get rid of it until it actually breaks or something!

January; the gift that keeps on giving. Guess who is still having moisture and ventilation problems in the attic that we thought we solved a year ago? This chick. New ridge vents going in later this week in addition to a bunch of DIY work husband and I have been doing. Cha-ching.

Also, for those 1099-ers among us, January quarterly taxes are coming up on the 15th. Cha-ching again.

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

we are debt averse as well so we did pay off the mortgage early. what we could help with on tuition (we wanted our kids to pay a portion and allot of that was paid via on campus jobs that helped get some work experience as well) we had ours do fed loans (not those awful parent plus) so no interest was accruing during years of attendance. we squirrelled away money and even at modest CD rate interest it grew so it went further. our share of cost was paid on the highest interest rate loans immediately upon graduation so any remaining balance on their part was at the lowest rates.

We just had a meeting with our daughter’s school counselor and found out the state school she wants to get into is pretty competitive now. Back in the 90’s when I went to college it was considered a ‘safety’ school. Not so much anymore. She’s definitely in the top 10% of her class and her GPA even with high level classes is great, but she isn’t great on SATs. So while money isn’t a problem (she got an inheritance when her aunt & uncle passed), getting in may be.

There is the state’s other university system which she shouldn’t have trouble getting into. But even that one isn’t as bottom tier as it was back in my school days.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Glad you were able to repair your tires, but are you saying repairs would've cost $250? That's more than the tire itself. I had a nail in mine not long ago, and they fixed it for nothing. That's crazy.

No, a new tyre would have been £250.

Yes, I am in London, UK. And the tyres are unusual, we have an electric car - which inevitably means the tyres are difficult. Mind you I think every car we have ever had has required non-standard (i.e. not on the rack in every tyre place) tyres.

The tyre insurance means the tyre, and the repair, are covered for a year so if the repair fails it will just be back to them to fix/replace.

 

[princesscinderella]

We just had a meeting with our daughter’s school counselor and found out the state school she wants to get into is pretty competitive now. Back in the 90’s when I went to college it was considered a ‘safety’ school. Not so much anymore. She’s definitely in the top 10% of her class and her GPA even with high level classes is great, but she isn’t great on SATs. So while money isn’t a problem (she got an inheritance when her aunt & uncle passed), getting in may be.

There is the state’s other university system which she shouldn’t have trouble getting into. But even that one isn’t as bottom tier as it was back in my school days.

All the colleges have become so competitive to get. UF in our state has become so hard to get into even national merit kids don’t get in.

A lot of schools went test optional during and after Covid but a lot of the schools are starting to request test scores again. It also depends on what major you want at a particular school. Some degree programs are extremely competitive (engineering) and others not as much (agriculture science).

My daughter doesn’t think she will get into the USC major she wants as it only takes 55 students into the program each year. I am tired of hearing how colleges take a holistic approach to the admissions process

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

All the colleges have become so competitive to get. UF in our state has become so hard to get into even national merit kids don’t get in.

A lot of schools went test optional during and after Covid but a lot of the schools are starting to request test scores again. It also depends on what major you want at a particular school. Some degree programs are extremely competitive (engineering) and others not as much (agriculture science).

My daughter doesn’t think she will get into the USC major she wants as it only takes 55 students into the program each year. I am tired of hearing how colleges take a holistic approach to the admissions process

She wants to go to UCONN for CS and it is pretty competitive there. So it’s not ideal that she struggles with the SATs. She is in calculus AB as a junior; she should be able to ace the math portion. She actually had wanted to forgo taking physics senior year but was told point blank that would hurt her chances of getting in too much.

 

[DanceDisney23]

She wants to go to UCONN for CS and it is pretty competitive there. So it’s not ideal that she struggles with the SATs. She is in calculus AB as a junior; she should be able to ace the math portion. She actually had wanted to forgo taking physics senior year but was told point blank that would hurt her chances of getting in too much.

UCONN would be in state for her? I know there are some New England public universities who match in state tuition for NE residents outside their state to attract more out of state students.

Although UCONN might be one of those, which wouldn’t help her…

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

UCONN would be in state for her? I know there are some New England public universities who match in state tuition for NE residents outside their state to attract more out of state students.

Although UCONN might be one of those, which wouldn’t help her…

Yes UCONN is in state. It’s commutable (40 mins) so no room and board. Anywhere out of state would require room & board.

 

[DanceDisney23]

Yes UCONN is in state. It’s commutable (40 mins) so no room and board. Anywhere out of state would require room & board.

Good luck to her! But I hope she applies to other schools too. It’s tricky putting all your eggs in one basket.

And she might be surprised to find out what some privates will pay in scholarships.

I’m in MA and my friend‘s daughter got into UCONN which was her dream school. She ended up at Syracuse because that was affordable with financial aid and she loved it after visiting.

 

[barkley]

My daughter doesn’t think she will get into the USC major she wants as it only takes 55 students into the program each year. I am tired of hearing how colleges take a holistic approach to the admissions process

do they at least get a guarantee that they will be retained year to year of the program? I ask b/c I had some friends get into some well respected performing arts degree programs but despite what grades you received it was up to the department if you were deemed 'worthy' enough to continue each subsequent year (lousy for those who didn't get accepted a subsequent year only to find out that a number of their credits were non transferrable to where they ended up to finish their degrees)

Yes UCONN is in state. It’s commutable (40 mins) so no room and board. Anywhere out of state would require room & board.

they will let a freshman commute that distance? that's great! when my oldest went to our local state school there was no freshman requirement to live on campus but then it changed. we have allot of commuter students (rural) and I remember a big kerfuffle with parents of incoming freshman complaining about the maximum distance the university would allow a freshman to commute from (in order to waive the living on campus requirement which is just a huge money grab on the university's part).

 

[Tygerlilly]

For all you who have kids heading to college soon, I stumbled across an Instagram account called Collegeinhighschool. Apparently there are a number of classes you can test out of at a lot of different colleges for $25 to take the class and if you're happy with the score it's $400 to solidify the grade within that school. I haven't looked toooo far into it because my oldest is just now 10, but it's definitely something I'm going to keep in the back of my mind since we considered dual enrollment type of situation in the next 6 years or so.