Debt Dumpers 2026

[EilonwyWanderer]

I'm alive! But so cold.

Financial

1. The 0 APR credit card was a bad idea! We didn't save any money--I guess except in what we saved in interest? Anyway, that promo ends on March 2nd and I'm going to pay it off on the 20th of this month. Yay, I guess.
2. That will leave us with the Big Credit Card which we've been doing a not so bad job of not spending a ton on! But it's still got a huge balance. I did out the math and while these things always look good on paper, I THINK we can ACTUALLY FOR REAL get this under control by next fall.
3. Stop eating out. Doing pretty good with this! Do we still eat out? Yes. But we do it a LOT less!

Health, Fitness & Self Care

1. Who has two thumbs and is on Zepbound? Me! I was on Wegovy but I had horrible, horrible side effects to the point where it was just not worth it. Took a break, gained back all the weight (boo) and now this one has a more painful shot, but slightly less side effects so we'll see. Already down 15 pounds since December and I have NOT been doing any exercise (we'll get to that).
2. Cook more at home. We're doing pretty well with this so long as we go to the grocery store on Sundays--going to the store is the real dealbreaker with this. But planning menus with the kids is pretty fun!
3. It is TOO COLD TO DO ANYTHING! There's no walking anywhere but inside since there's SO MUCH SNOW and we haven't been above freezing in like a month. So many ice dams.

Home/Projects

1. I painted the dining room! yay! I'm not sure I like it but promised my husband I wouldn't repaint it for at least a year.
2. Still need to do the board and batten thing, but I bought the wood! And the nailgun I'm afraid of! I'm working myself up to it.
3. Get a plumber for the leak under the sink. I cannot do this myself.
4. Replace/fix screens on the windows. I can probably do this myself. Maybe.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Going back to the topic of laundry for a moment, be sure to clean your dryer lint trap often (I clean mine after every load). Not only is a filled lint trap a fire hazard, it also reduces the efficiency of your dryer. Another consideration is that the lint is made up from clothing fibers - proof that laundry wears down what you're washing.

Also don't just clean out the lint trap in the front. Dh goes into the crawl space and cleans the entire set of ducts that lead outside. Believe me, it collects a lot of lint and I empty the trap after every load and sometimes vacuum it out. We have seen little fluffy bits of lint collect outside in the grass under the exhaust vent. When my brother saw this (he does HVAC) he said we need some type of divider because our dryer exhaust vent on the side of the house is right next to our AC unit and he showed us tiny bits of lint that was collecting on the condenser fins. Not good. So dh put up a mini piece of vinyl fence next to the AC unit to cut down on debris blowing into it. We hose it down in the spring.

Also if you're a lover of birds, toss the lint into your backyard in the spring. The birds will take it and incorperate into their nests. I'm sure their babies would love the soft, fluffy cotton from a load of towels.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I think the meal that goes the furthest for us is a whole chicken roast. Dh is quite content to pick the meat off the carcass (this just gags me for some reason). He chops up the leftover breast meat and we have Caesar wraps for lunch the next day. He also sets some aside to make chicken salad sandwiches and Chinese food. (I don't eat the Chinese food so I can't even tell you all the things he makes. I know it has a lot of sauces on it and the smell of them gags me.) The one thing for sure he makes is chicken fried rice. Thank God for dh. He can easily spend 45 more minutes in the kitchen after dinner and dishes are done, just chopping the meat and putting it all in ziploc bags. Some stays in the fridge and some goes to the freezer. He is so organized. I'd be lost without him.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Also don't just clean out the lint trap in the front. Dh goes into the crawl space and cleans the entire set of ducts that lead outside. Believe me, it collects a lot of lint and I empty the trap after every load and sometimes vacuum it out. We have seen little fluffy bits of lint collect outside in the grass under the exhaust vent

We've done it two ways, an attachment and using a leaf blower (with sucking power into a bag).

We have an attachment that is a brush attaching to a drill with a long tube. It works decently enough to get the duct work right at the dryer however like nearly every newer-ish 2-story home here the laundry is located on the 2nd story and the vent is out the roof. My husband is willing and able at this time to get on the roof (with fall protection gear as well and he has done it for installing gutter guards) but yeah for those who can't it is probably worth hiring out that service. I'm not sure but it's possible a gutter cleaning service may do something like that as an add-on and a duct cleaning company.

For homeowners that have it going out the side of their house a leaf blower can be a good option plus the attachment.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I will check into running stores. As long as they carry NIke, Under Armor or Adidas, I will look at them. That' what my DW likes me wearing. Might be cheaper than some place like Academy or the Nike outlet.

When it comes to shoes the brand is inconsequential, it's how well it's made and how well your feet and body do in it. Not every brand works for every person and over time you may need to switch to other types of shoes. Go diversify or commit to only buying the shoes when they are on a very very good sale.

My really old shoes when they got too bad became "mowing" shoes meant for when I mow the grass and I didn't care about grass stains but those eventually had to be tossed and new "really old shoes" replaced them.

 

[pblack]

I love watching Zach Coen's meal prep videos, ive never made any of his recipes though. My quick, easy, relatively inexpensive dinner is mashed potato bowls. Chicken tenders (or popcorn chicken), instant mashed potatoes, shredded cheese, corn, and gravy (for dh, not me) and bam, dinner is done. Usually takes less than 30 mins to put together and is what we're having tonight actually .

I also love the frozen already cooked tyson teriyaki chicken filets from Sam's or costco. Decently priced and a quick easy meal to pair with rice and veggies. These days im all about quick and easy because I just don't have the motivation.

 

[mmbrad02]

Did you find the interest rates decently favorable for you? Not asking you to disclose the rate but just how you felt about it.

I was not particularly thrilled with our rate. We have excellent credit (over 800) and both work full time jobs. Our rate was 5.99% on a brand new vehicle. In August 2020 when we bought our Escape, it was used but under 20k miles and we were able to finance it for 0% interest through Ford.

 

[mmbrad02]

First off, good wishes for an easy surgery and easy recovery! Second, just wanted to chime in with it wouldn't hurt to have protein bars/shakes/jerky/other snacks on hand for your drive(s) to help curb spending and eating out. My dad suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) just over 2 years ago and I commuted every 3 days to visit him in the hospital for about 2 months. From my house to my parents house (to pick up my mom who doesn't drive) to the hospital was easily 2.5-3 hours one way. Unfortunately I couldn't do much about the gas spending, but I started buying protein bars, sometimes packing a cold lunch in a lunch box, and always have snacks on hand to help curb my spending eating out. That's not to say I didn't eat out as I did and would also sometimes treat my mom to lunch, but having snacks definitely helped out. I also really like having sunflower seeds (shells on) in my car to snack on on long travel days. One it keeps me awake and two it'll help curb my hunger if needed.

This is excellent advice! Today when I travel up (after work) I will have 1-2 drinks with me leftover from my day at work (I always pack several drinks in a day) and a few snacks. But after this initial trip (for the surgery) I need to pack an actual snack bag for both on the road and fo rmy parents house. Actually I should have done that for this one also, and had it at the hospital, but I did not. I thought at times actually walking to the cafeteria might break the monotony.

But I like the idea of not wasting time and money in gas stations!

 

[mmbrad02]

My dad's surgery was supposed to be today but was postponed till tomorrow. They had an in hospital patient they deemed more emergent. So he calls this afternoon to find out his arrival time for tomorrow. I am very thankful for my office job where it was easy to cancel today's PTO and request one for Thursday instead. Mentally I'm just at the "get this done already" stage. The waiting is exhausting, as much as I know the recovery will be also. Part of me gets a little worried about knowing he is off of Plavix and the preventative meds, in preparation for the surgery, and now it's postponed. But hopefully it occurs tomorrow without issue.

 

[Nettlelondon]

My dad's surgery was supposed to be today but was postponed till tomorrow. They had an in hospital patient they deemed more emergent. So he calls this afternoon to find out his arrival time for tomorrow. I am very thankful for my office job where it was easy to cancel today's PTO and request one for Thursday instead. Mentally I'm just at the "get this done already" stage. The waiting is exhausting, as much as I know the recovery will be also. Part of me gets a little worried about knowing he is off of Plavix and the preventative meds, in preparation for the surgery, and now it's postponed. But hopefully it occurs tomorrow without issue.

Fingers crossed it is tomorrow - the waiting / delay is so frustrating. You get mentally set and then it's all change.

 

[Nettlelondon]

One of my items sold on eBay, not for a huge amount but for more than I would have got if I had thrown it away so I just need to send it off now, but that is tomorrow's job as I have spent most of the time since Sunday with my mother who possibly had a TIA on Saturday afternoon or possibly just had a vertigo attack. Sunday was a day in the emergency department after paramedics determined that's what she needed, a head CT was fine and she was told she could go home but before we could leave she had another dizzy spell so she spent the night in the stroke ward.

Monday morning she rang to say she was ready for me to collect her to go home, I was 5 minutes away at that point so that was good. Took another 2 hours to actually get out of the place but at least she was home.

I came home Monday evening as I had an early appointment with the team monitoring me for the breast cancer trial and getting there on time from her home would have been almost impossible but I went back after my appointment. I am back there on tomorrow but have negotiated Thursday off - unless anything else happens. She is pretty much back to normal and doesn't need my supervision.

But it has all been fun - backwards & forwards, over priced drinks & sandwiches that taste awful!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was not particularly thrilled with our rate. We have excellent credit (over 800) and both work full time jobs. Our rate was 5.99% on a brand new vehicle. In August 2020 when we bought our Escape, it was used but under 20k miles and we were able to finance it for 0% interest through Ford.

Thanks for answering, that gives me an idea to keep in mind. We had hoped that in the 3 years of the lease the rates could adjust to be better, I need to keep a closer eye on this.

We had rotten luck as we had sorta already been looking for a car in spring of 2021 but the chip shortage made it impossible, so many cars were sold before they ever made it to our metro and a car that made it here was sold within an hour or two of coming off the truck/train, etc. So we held off and then several years later my husband's accident and then the rates were far too high for purchasing a car so we went with the 3 yr lease with the hope that the rates would get better by then.

 

[barkley]

I have spent most of the time since Sunday with my mother who possibly had a TIA on Saturday afternoon or possibly just had a vertigo attack. Sunday was a day in the emergency department after paramedics determined that's what she needed, a head CT was fine and she was told she could go home but before we could leave she had another dizzy spell so she spent the night in the stroke ward.

best wishes to your mom. I've had multiple TIAs and they are scary. it's good that her medical providers are taking it seriously. please make sure YOUR medical providers know about your mom's history (and if you have kids-their doctors know) b/c there are meds that should not be prescribed if there's any kind of family history (my son needed one of these meds and when his neurologist heard of my history he ordered an MRI on ds before prescribing).