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.

 

[CGB]

- 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.

I love my garden every summer. However, I'm a big old cheapskate so I always try to do it as cheaply as I can. If you're going to need seeds, you should check Dollar Tree now. They have seed packets for .50 cents a pack. The seeds are good ones and from the exact same companies you'd find at Home Depot or Lowes (they even use the exact same photos for the packaging.) The Dollar Tree packs will have fewer seeds in them, but honestly, that's not a bad thing if you're gardening in raised beds. I'm in planting zone 6, so I'll be starting some celery and onion seeds this weekend.

 

[CGB]

I thought I'd share our current budgeting challenge/goal. I will be retiring early at the end of this school year. For the last six years, our monthly "living" budget has been based only on my income. DH's pensions go into savings which I want to keep doing for savings and large expenditures (taxes, insurance, trips, or car/house maintenance.) Switching to living off one-income was how we paid off the mortgage/car loans before he retired five years ago.

My pension will be about half of my current monthly paycheck (and I can't draw SS for years.) So, I set a goal to see if we could stick to a reduced monthly budget equivalent to my upcoming pension amount. This gives me about 7-8 months to adapt and adjust it as needed. Our budget starts/ends on the 20th of each month since that's when I'm paid.

So far.... we stayed on track with only spending 50% for January's budget!!! I went back to tracking all of our spending each week. February is already harder thanks to the rise in utilities from the weather. I think I'm going to do some extra meal-planning to cut down what we'll need on the last couple of trips to Sams/Aldi and see where I can save ahead of time. I like to stock up with loss leaders at the other grocery stores, so I'll need to factor that in as well.

(Also, I'm not forgetting medical costs. DH is retired military so we're very fortunate to have affordable health/dental insurance.)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I will be retiring early at the end of this school year.

That's exciting news!

 

[barkley]

I thought I'd share our current budgeting challenge/goal. I will be retiring early at the end of this school year. For the last six years, our monthly "living" budget has been based only on my income. DH's pensions go into savings which I want to keep doing for savings and large expenditures (taxes, insurance, trips, or car/house maintenance.) Switching to living off one-income was how we paid off the mortgage/car loans before he retired five years ago.

My pension will be about half of my current monthly paycheck (and I can't draw SS for years.) So, I set a goal to see if we could stick to a reduced monthly budget equivalent to my upcoming pension amount. This gives me about 7-8 months to adapt and adjust it as needed. Our budget starts/ends on the 20th of each month since that's when I'm paid.

So far.... we stayed on track with only spending 50% for January's budget!!! I went back to tracking all of our spending each week. February is already harder thanks to the rise in utilities from the weather. I think I'm going to do some extra meal-planning to cut down what we'll need on the last couple of trips to Sams/Aldi and see where I can save ahead of time. I like to stock up with loss leaders at the other grocery stores, so I'll need to factor that in as well.

(Also, I'm not forgetting medical costs. DH is retired military so we're very fortunate to have affordable health/dental insurance.)

that's an excellent way to prepare for retirement budgeting.

you are already tracking every expenditure so it might be helpful to look at the end of each month to see exactly what you spent on anything remotely related to your job (if there's a potluck and you took something, some small supply, contribution to a shower/bday gift...) and figure you won't have those expenses going forward (I was surprised how the even very occasional-maybe 5x a year potluck/2x a month grabbing 'covenience' food to put in my lunch added up when I looked at it being eliminated in retirement). will you see savings in gasoline? that will add up. will you be drastically reducing mileage on your vehicle? not only will that save wear and tear but if you will be below a certain yearly average (you can check with your insurer to find out what their number is) you might qualify for a discount.

last but not least....think about taxes. prior to retirement I had an opportunity for a period of time to voluntarily reduce my work hours (savings effort on the part of my then government employer vs. doing layoffs) and I was AMAZED at how it impacted our taxes. we were in a state that had income (and other excessive payroll) taxes and despite what I anticipated would be an almost 50% reduction in pay I ended up with far more in my pocket due to reducing our household's overall tax rate.

honestly, I was amazed at savings in retirement I did'nt anticipate. retirement board said 'you qualify for x percentage of your final pay' but didn't think to mention-no more union dues being pulled, being exempted from certain payroll taxes...it all adds up. I thought utilities would go through the roof being home all day but maintaining a temp vs. dropping or raising the temp in the cold/hot months resulted in savings (and I know some places do variable rates depending on time of day-so if you're home and can do laundry and such during the lower demand/lower rate times it's a savings as well).

CONGRATS on your planned retirement!!!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

that's an excellent way to prepare for retirement budgeting.

you are already tracking every expenditure so it might be helpful to look at the end of each month to see exactly what you spent on anything remotely related to your job (if there's a potluck and you took something, some small supply, contribution to a shower/bday gift...) and figure you won't have those expenses going forward (I was surprised how the even very occasional-maybe 5x a year potluck/2x a month grabbing 'covenience' food to put in my lunch added up when I looked at it being eliminated in retirement). will you see savings in gasoline? that will add up. will you be drastically reducing mileage on your vehicle? not only will that save wear and tear but if you will be below a certain yearly average (you can check with your insurer to find out what their number is) you might qualify for a discount.

I wish I could look forward to a huge drop in expenses after I retire (still 6+/- years away).
We almost never buy convenience foods and we must be weird at work because we never have potlucks. We brought in food for showers more often back in my 20s. Most coworkers are close in age to me so showers are rare and I drive less than 3 miles each way to the train. My train is less than $90 per month. Scrubs are cheap. $150 worth will last around 2 years. It's a step up from wearing pajamas.

 

[barkley]

I wish I could look forward to a huge drop in expenses after I retire (still 6+/- years away).
We almost never buy convenience foods and we must be weird at work because we never have potlucks. We brought in food for showers more often back in my 20s. Most coworkers are close in age to me so showers are rare and I drive less than 3 miles each way to the train. My train is less than $90 per month. Scrubs are cheap. $150 worth will last around 2 years. It's a step up from wearing pajamas.

that's fantastic! we had a constant stream of new-hires, mostly younger so someone was constantly pregnant and then around the time I left it seemed like 'grandma showers' were becoming a thing

 

[Tygerlilly]

I just saw someone in a Facebook group I'm in try and do an extreme low cost food month. By day 29 she was at $26 spent. While I don't expect to ever hit that level of commitment, I'm inspired to see just how low I can get groceries this month.

So I'm going to keep a log of what I spend and what I made each day this month and will share probably around the 14th and then at the end of the month. I'm fascinated to see just how low I can get it.

 

[afan]

I just saw someone in a Facebook group I'm in try and do an extreme low cost food month. By day 29 she was at $26 spent. While I don't expect to ever hit that level of commitment, I'm inspired to see just how low I can get groceries this month.

So I'm going to keep a log of what I spend and what I made each day this month and will share probably around the 14th and then at the end of the month. I'm fascinated to see just how low I can get it.

How much is that relying on a stocked pantry vs only eating what you buy? I can't imagine how that works without a stocked pantry.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I just saw someone in a Facebook group I'm in try and do an extreme low cost food month. By day 29 she was at $26 spent. While I don't expect to ever hit that level of commitment, I'm inspired to see just how low I can get groceries this month.

So I'm going to keep a log of what I spend and what I made each day this month and will share probably around the 14th and then at the end of the month. I'm fascinated to see just how low I can get it.

Interesting. I guess it's possible if your freezer and pantry are both well stocked going into the month. If not, and you have to buy groceries all month, seems too hard to do. You can't buy 2-3 days worth of groceries for that amount, lol.