Debt Reducers

[alicenwonder99]

Hi everyone!

Glad to see so many other people ready to get rid of their debt!

The kids and I started talking about WDW last night. I know that's a bad sign...once we start talking about it, I start planning!! Even though I always make our trips cheap, I really should hold off on a Disney trip for at least 12 more months (or longer). It's going to be hard.

I need to call my cc company today and ask about lowering my interest rate.

Also, dh and I STILL don't know how much our 2008 raises are. My boss usually doesn't say anything, and you just have to wait until payday to find out. I don't expect more than 2-3%. So, I'll find out next week on the 30th.

I'm REALLY, REALLY hoping dh gets a huge raise. He says we can't count on it, so I'm not. But it would so nice if he got a nice increase. My dh has to have his review still. So, his raise will be retro. Who knows how long before his supervisor gets around to giving him his review.

I've also been following the "NO BUY" threads. Yesterday, I had to run to KMart for some stuff. They had socks on clearance for 60 cents. I thought I was doing good only picking up one pair. As I'm standing in line at the check-out, I looked at the ugly socks and thought I didn't need them, they were ugly, and I have a whole drawer full of socks. I put them down and didn't buy them. Who cares if they were only 60 cents! I really have to change my way of thinking. I used to be so frugal (dh says cheap), and I need to get back to that.

 

[alicenwonder99]

I thought I would just drop in and provide some positive encouragement!!

DW and I are debt free except for our house!!!

It is possible to do people!!! Just stay focused and positive.

We payed off both cars back in September when we sold our house. We have 1 credit card (Disney Visa) and charge stuff to that and turn right around after a couple of days and pay it off. We do this just so we can earn the disney reward dollars!

And if you have kids, you HAVE to learn the word NO!!

Good luck everyone with your endevours and I know that all of you will eventually be debt free!!

Great job being debt free!! Have you always been frugal (or careful), or did you have to change your ways?

About saying no to the kids: yesterday we were shopping and my dd9 was BEGGING for another webkinz. She already has 2, she's not deprived of anything, and she has around $30 at home. I was strong and told her no, but she could use her own money. She's very careful with her money, and she won't spend it friviously. My ds7 on the other hand...oh boy!!! He will think nothing of bringing his $10 into the arcade and spending it in 5 minutes.

I stopped giving the kids' allowances because ds7 isn't responsible enough with it. He loses it, he gives it to his friends, etc. I think I'll start up with dd9 again with the allowance, and maybe wait until ds7 is a little bit older.

 

[caa1277]

Great job being debt free!! Have you always been frugal (or careful), or did you have to change your ways?

About saying no to the kids: yesterday we were shopping and my dd9 was BEGGING for another webkinz. She already has 2, she's not deprived of anything, and she has around $30 at home. I was strong and told her no, but she could use her own money. She's very careful with her money, and she won't spend it friviously. My ds7 on the other hand...oh boy!!! He will think nothing of bringing his $10 into the arcade and spending it in 5 minutes.

I stopped giving the kids' allowances because ds7 isn't responsible enough with it. He loses it, he gives it to his friends, etc. I think I'll start up with dd9 again with the allowance, and maybe wait until ds7 is a little bit older.

I have been cheap since I got married and bought my own house. DW hates when I go shopping with her for anything because I always tell her to buy the "cheap stuff"!!

DW doesn't like my ways necessarily, but I always remind her of where "my ways" got us......DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!

Instead of just giving your kids an "allowance", make them "work" for the money. Start a chore list and a payment for each job. They do the job, they get paid. They don't do the job, they don't get paid. You wouldn't believe how much more responsible they will be!

 

[karinbelle]

Ok, I hope I got everyone.....I had a tough day today, looking at all the sales circulars. It has been so cold here lately that I keep feeling like I just want to go to the mall and go shopping just to get out of the house. Instead, I have been working on little projects around the house to keep my pennies in the bank, lol. I opened up a savings account for my son over the weekend, and so we have been talking about the importance of saving money (he is 4.) I feel kind of hypocritical telling him advice, because I am not doing too well in this department myself, but I am hoping to keep him from making the same money-management mistakes I have made.

Today, I set up a spreadsheet of all my payments for the next 4 years to show all my debt snowball, and how it will decrease my payments. I thought if I have something I can look at all the time, it will help keep me on track!

Good for you! I also have the problem of just wanting to go to the mall. There's a million little things to do at the house - closets to clean, projects to start or finish, photos to organize, etc. - that I can do to keep myself interested. I just love to shop and a bargain makes my day (I'm talkin' the 75% off bargains - Just got DS a sweatshirt and sweat pants, myself a fleece top, DD a zip up hoodie, two shirts and two pair of socks for $21.XX at Old Navy - used a $20 GC DH brought home from a Christmas promotion.

Tell me, DH bought me a jacket like one he has and loves, but I don't think it fits me right. It was expensive (over $100). Should I return it, or just let it sit in the closet? He says take it back, but I feel like I should keep it because he picked it out. If I buy him something he doesn't like, he just puts it in the closet forever.

 

[minnie1928]

minnie1928: I think it is great that you are thinking ahead with all of the changes that are coming up for your family. I am sure you will have enough stress to deal with during relocating, so having some money in the bank beforehand to cover those "unexpecteds" will hopefully help alleviate some of that for you. Btw, I grew up in York, PA!! I graduated from Central York, and most of my family is still there. Where are you moving to?

We live in York Township, I grew up in Dover. We are tentatively looking at the Orange County area of New York, about an hour west of NYC I think. It's gonna be a real change for us, the only time we leave York is to go to WDW!

 

[tinaluis]

We are SOOO in on this! DH and I have taken the aggressive step of almost doubling our mortgage payment so we can pay off our house in 3.8 years. We don't get a tax deduction on the interest anymore and having the payment drives me nuts. We went through a lean spell recently and I kept thinking how much easier life would be if we didn't have the mortgage. I vowed then that we'd continue to live lean (even when our situation improved) until the mortgage was gone. Hopefully I'll be reporting back in October, 2011 that our mortgage is paid off!!!!

This thread is very encouraging!

 

[Deffenm]

DH and I are on a mission to become debt free this year (other then house). My SUV is scheduled to be paid for in Sept. DH SUV is already paid for. His truck is actually over 10 years old so we are going to buy a used car for me with our tax return and he is going to use my SUV. So we will have no car payments this year. My SUV hogs a lot of gas and since DH is a SAHD he is getting the big beast and I am going drive a small economical car.

I have already paid off 2 of DH's doctor bills from his ACL/Meniscus surgery. I only have 1 left to go. After that is paid off we will work on our one credit card, and then my student loan.

I love hearing about people who have been able to get out of debt.

 

[mommyof3grlz]

We too are trying to get out of debt. This thread is very inspiring.

 

[alicenwonder99]

Well, bad news & good news.

Bad news: I called my cc company and the "best" they could do was 23.99%!!! I told them that was crazy. I think I'll start looking through those intro offers I get in the mail and do a balance transfer.

Good news: I called the gas company and complained about my high gas bill last month of $400. The woman said it definitely didn't seem right. I usually keep our thermostat set at 62 during the day, and 58 at night. Since the high gas bill last month, I've been setting the thermostat at 58-60 during the day, and even lower at night. Anyway, she is sending someone out this week to check our meter. Our winter bill is usually under $200 a month.

 

[Robert 31320]

We're in! We won't be debt-free this year but it will be drastically REDUCED!!! By the end of 2009 we'll be there!

 

[dkostel]

I'm so in. I'll at least be credit card debt free this year. I was starting in Nov but then was hit with almost $10K between vet bills and a new furnace/ac. ARGHH. But even so the CC debt will be gone in 08. Then car in early 09. Want to buy DVC as well.

 

[jwann]

We are in!
Car loan
Mortgage
That's what we got to pay off.
Thus - no Disney Trip this year
My boys are already noticing that we aren't going out to eat.
When we are debt free, I'm going to quit my part time job!

 

[roselark]

I am so in! My goal is to pay off all the credit cards this year. I am starting with the highest interest cards first and working my way down. I will be able to pay off at least 2 and possibly a third with a combination of our tax return and yearly bonuses. Then the monthly amount I have budgeted for those will be moved to the next card on the list until that one is paid off...and on down the line.

I have convinced my DH to put off redoing the bathrooms until next year (even though they really need work) since it will be much easier to pay for if we don't have all the CC payments. Also, we really HAVE to stop eating out. It is amazing how fast the "I'm too tired to cook, lets just grab something on the way home" statements add to that bottom line.

 

[momtostitchandbuzz]

I just wrote an entire post here, but my internet cut out and I lost it all.
Anyways, Count me in on trying to reduce debt. My husband and I just recently decided to seriously start reducing our debt. We have a car loan, two school loans, and our mortgage. Our first goal is to pay off the car, and then snowball it from there. Anyways, as tough as it has been sacrificing this month, I am still so excited to get out of debt. This board is just helping to give me an extra boost to get through cutting back.

 

[Karenj2]

I'd like to join - we are going to be paying off our car this year, and we're actually working on trying to sell our house so we can move into a smaller house. (1 - we don't need the house size since we haven't had kids, and 2 - we could use a smaller mortgage since we're earning a lot less than we did 4 years ago.)

We don't have any CC balances, but I'd like to keep it that way. We'd also like to add to our 401(k)s, and create additional savings accounts so that we won't feel guilty when we spend money on "unecessary" things.

So, hopefully we can inspire each other!!

 

[Chris]

OK I'm joining in too! I won't be out of debt this year, or even next but eventually! This is a very inspirational thread, hopefully it will stay alive!!

 

[isyt]

I am not into decreasing but this years theme is increasing for us. As of Dec 31 I did pay off all the cc. I was thrilled and still dancing. We are now debt free(except mortgage). Now I need to increase college savings and ef. I did reduce our interest rate on the mortgage but increased the payment. That will take a while but I am focused. My in laws just asked to go to Disney with us in May and they are going to pay for the air, I am really excited about that since we were going to drive !!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I'm in as well. I started a modified DR plan myself this year. (I just can't bring myself to stop my 401K contributions). I got off to a rough start this month, when I received a letter from my mortgage lender that my escrow account has a negative balance (due to skyrocketing property taxes) and I now either owe them $375 or my monthly payment goes up $40. Ugh!

I am determined to knock out as much cc debt as possible this year, and then move on to my car. When I sat down to make a budget for myself I realized that my biggest problem is my transportation expenses. (My monthly train ticket, car payment, car insurance costs, and gas total more than my mortgage and condo fees). I've grudgingly started looking for a new job closer to my home so I can eliminate the pricey train ticket. I hate doing it though, and it's been depressing me a bit. I keep telling myself that being out of debt will make it all worth while.

My goal is to buy DVC at the end of all this. Not a huge contract, but a small one - resale- that will let me go to Disney every other year or so.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

It sounds like everyone is on the right track, and doing well! I was thinking maybe we could post some sort of a goal list somewhere so we could easily check and see where everyone is at? That way we can cheer and/or encourage each other as needed by looking at where they are on their goal list....I don't know if that is even possible to set up, but just a thought I had.


As for me, good news is, I haven't really spent anything the past couple days, but that will change tomorrow when our heating oil delivery comes....I don't even want to see that bill! The bad news is that the reason I haven't been spending anything is because I have been sick. I don't really know what it is yet, but my doctor seems to think it may be gallstones, so I have to go tomorrow morning to the hospital for an ultrasound. Of course all of this has to happen now- I have been on Clomid for 4 months because we are ttc #2, but that could be on hold depending on what is going on with me. ugh, I am in desperate need of sunshine and warm weather- being cooped up and not feeling well is making me depressed! Ok, pity party is officially over, and I must say that reading the stories of the people on this thread that have already been through the process of getting debt free is very inspirational! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I'm in!

I know there is no way we'll be debt free this year, but I'm hoping to put agood dent into it. I'm just looking to pay down the credit cards this year, and then move on to the car payment. The student loans are consolidated at 3.5%, so I'm not in a huge rush to get them paid off.

We just finished installing our woodstove, so that seems to be helping with the oil bill. I need to call about lowering our car and homeowners insurance, as well as lowering CC interest. I just started a new PT job, so I'm taking home an extra $80-100/wk.

You all have some great ideas! Hopefully some of them will rub off on me.

Jen