Debt Dumpers 2026

[barkley]

I never owed on my CA taxes and always got a return so it just means more money each paycheck - yay!

I'd do that if I wasn't very allergic to cats

I never owed California either but I still prefer not losing out on over 9% of earnings

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

when we left California it was SO NICE to hit that first year when we no longer had to do state income taxes, likewise it was a VERY pleasant surprise to see how much less expensive car registration was in the state we moved to.



I don't know if they do it for the puppies but the shelters around here have volunteer positions that work in 'kitten socialization'-it basicly means cuddling and playing with the kittens to make them more appealing for adoption.

This sounds like a dream job. Even if it's a volunteer position.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It was the solenoid valve. Dh stayed home today to take care of it. It's working great now, $360 later.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ds25 said he made $170 shoveling snow for neighbors. There's a lot of elderly people there who were original owners and they love him.
He's a softy for old folks. A storm knocked a big branch down at one of their homes about a month ago. After seeing that it still sat there a week later, he figured they might be having a hard time getting a tree care company to come, so he stopped by with a chain saw and cut it up small enough that it could just go to the curb.

 

[pblack]

*End of January Update*

2026 Financial Goals:

• Get home equity loan down to $15k (which means paying about $500 a month) - Paid $500 in January.
• Pay off my new wedding ring and treadmill purchase - needs to be done by April (Roughly $1800) - Currently owe $500, this will be paid off at the end of February.
• Add $4k to our emergency savings to hit 6 month goal (Will need to add $700 to my auto contributions to hit $4k) - Only added auto contributions so far.

2026 Personal Goals:

• Exercise - use the treadmill at least 20 times a month. (I'm hoping setting a monthly goal will work better for me than a weekly goal.) - I managed 23 days of working out in January (including today even though I haven't worked out yet, but plan too). This may end up being 24 if I get a workout in tomorrow also. While I haven't noticed numbers drop, since I don't believe in the scale, my clothes are fitting better.
• Donate monthly to my favorite cat charity/shelter (Aiming for $50-100/mo. This could technically be a financial goal also, but i'm choosing to put it as a personal goal.) - Donated $50 in January
• Replace patio cover - No movement on this yet, but I think I finally found a replacement and plan to purchase it before the end of the weekend as long as it's still on sale. I just wanna double check the measurements before I hit "purchase."
• Finish creating bar top out of old fence posts - No movement on this yet, but it's supposed to be nice this weekend and hoping to maybe take some steps towards finishing.
• Buy a grill gazebo - No movement on this yet. But we are considering a pergola/gazebo for our entire area instead of just for the grill(s), so we'll see what happens.
• Take weekend/long weekend trips to at least 3 new places (My DH has really crappy time off with this job he started, so i'm aiming for weekend getaways to keep my sanity.) - Currently have a weekend trip planned in February. Also working on planning a vacation (probably a cruise) for the end of the year.

All in all despite January being 13543563685 days long, it wasn't a terrible month for us. I'm still waiting on one W2 from my DHs previous job. We also think his deductions were somehow messed up with this new job (whether it was our fault or the companies I have no idea) and I do fear we may end up owing on our taxes this year, at least for our state taxes. But i'm not trying to borrow trouble until we actually know for certain. It is what it is at this point anyway and we're going to make sure to fix it for this year. I'm very pleased with my consistency on working out in January. I'm very much looking forward to the time change and warmer weather. With this hint of spring we have in the air with slightly warmer temps it really makes me want to finish up our outside projects.

I just got the comfrt airplane hoodie and a pair of straight leg sweatpants. super cozy and comfy, runs big

I was just looking at the airplane hoodie! I was thinking it could be nice to have for our travel plans later this year, but it was sold out online so I'll have to check back later to see if it's in stock again. Luckily I don't "need" it right away.

 

[DanceDisney23]

I almost placed an order with Comfrt, I think mainly because it's so cold outside and their hoodies and blankets do look so cozy. Has anyone ever had any of their products, and thoughts?

I gifted DH, DD and myself some comfrt hoodies for Christmas after some friends raved about them. We love them!!!

Mine keeps me warm on my morning dog walks in 2 degree weather (under my coat of course). I got the travel one and it has some great extra hidden zip up pockets. I would definitely recommend them.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Well, got our pipe fixed! We tried wrapping with that flex seal stuff, but that didn't work even a little bit. Lol. Finally figured out the coupling seal was basically disintegrated and that's where the leak was. So a trip to the local plumbing store, about 40 mins and $30 later, he switched it out and it's fixed! I'm super happy about that!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Well, in an effort to try and get out of debt and get on top of finances, I just created my first EveryDollar budget. I am going on a 4-week cycle since I get paid every 2 weeks. So much easier to keep track that way. I've been using a spreadsheet, and I'm accounting for every penny.

On top of that, I downloaded and started a book called Total Money Makeover. I started reading it last night, and i got through the introduction and 1-1/2 chapters before falling asleep. I'm so into that book now. Really trying to straighten things out going forward. I'm ready to be out of debt.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

End of January update.

Financial
- Stop the late fees!
All bills are paid up to date and no more late fees. I did see a late fee on my bank loan yesterday, but I knew it was paid up to date. So, I emailed my bank lady. She said it was a mistake by the bank because of the way they applied the payment, and they reversed it. It was only $11, so it wouldn't have been a big deal had I not said anything. But all bills are up to date and there's no late fees.
- Keep adding to my newly created Fidelity retirement plan!
I stopped the auto transfers for now until I can get my $1k EF set up.
- Building our EF to $2k!
Moved another $25 over last paycheck. And going to move another $25 over this weekend as well.
- Set up sinking funds!
Haven't started this.

Personal
- Continue to meal plan!
Meal planned for 2 weeks before the big snowstorm hit, and we didn't have to go to Walmart for 10 days. I went today because we ran out of sugar, milk and eggs. But I will set up my next 2 week meal plan this weekend. Going to try and wait until about Wednesday to go to Walmart so we can make only 1 trip between paychecks.
- Eat out less!
WE STAYED UNDER BUDGET ON THIS ITEM!!!! We averaged over $782/month last year, so we dropped the budget to $400/month to start this year. We spent $392 on eating out. I know we can't cut completely. But we're trying to trim it down to one breakfast and one lunch per week then Sunday after church with friends.
- Step, step, step!
Hit 6,700 steps Wednesday. Walked 17 minutes (1 mile) on four different days this week. All inside to Youtube videos due to snow/ice outside. Trying to get to 5 miles per week.
- Attend more card shows and buy to flip.
Bought a few cards at my last show ($40 worth of cards). Have only sold a couple. There's a show tomorrow too, but I'm not sure I'm going. Just kind of burned out on cards. For the month of January, I attended 2 shows and went to 2 card stores. I bought $151 worth of cards and have made $345.25, so a profit of $191.25.
- Read the Bible completely through!
Still off the train on this one, but I've been trying to pray nightly before I go to sleep.

Home
- Purge items not used!
Sold off my golf clubs last week, as well as a card game I was given a few years ago. Also sold a label maker and tape I no longer needed. We also donated 6 blankets to one of DW's coworkers before the snow/ice hit last week. So that brings the total number of items sold/donated from the house to 32 (counting the set of clubs as 1 item). We're supposed to meet someone tomorrow to sell a sound bar and subwoofer we no longer use and also supposed to meet someone to sell 15 of DW's shirts she no longer wears.
- Get the green thumb going!
Too early for this. Won't start until April. But I've been watching YT videos about building a raised garden.
- Just do what we can!
Everything above.

 

[barkley]

- Get the green thumb going!
Too early for this. Won't start until April. But I've been watching YT videos about building a raised garden.

before you spend any money on this see if there's a local to you home gardeners group-they can be a wealth of information on what does/does not grow well in your region and hacks for getting the best harvest (like what you supplement your soil with at no cost-talking coffee grounds, egg shells and such that you would normally toss out). your local library may have a 'seed bank' which lets you have free seeds that you can start sprouting inside your home so you've got nice healthy little plants when the weather is kinder to them-give them a call.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

- Get the green thumb going!
Too early for this. Won't start until April. But I've been watching YT videos about building a raised garden.

Along with what the other poster said be aware that you may not save any money and you may end up spending more money. Quality of food is not the same as lower cost of food. I rarely know of anyone who actually does their own raised garden to save money, they often do it because they want to control more of what fruits, vegetables and herbs they consume are made with and want to at least try to be more contentious in an eco-friendly way but honestly most often it's purely a hobby one of which is often not normally for the budget friendly (at least after a while).

If you have any local farmers markets that could also be a place to get an idea of the effort and costs involved. Community gardens is also a track. There are a few raised gardens in my neighborhood including my neighbor they all get abandoned within a few years (my neighbor included lol). However, the ones that last as in they are kept up and you can see stuff growing are just flower type ones that end up looking like landscape but in a raised garden form.