Debt Reducers

[Enchanted_Mama]

I love this thread!

I think I posted a while back about our status, but I'll recap:

a few months ago, we rolled all of our various cc debt ($30k) into a HEL. I closed all of the cc accounts, except for one that I need to use from time to time for business travel. I am paying more than the minimum payment on that (usually about an extra $200), but it is going to take a loooong time to make a dent in it. I also have a 10 year student loan that will is on track to be paid off in 15 more months, and my husband has 2 student loans - one is interest free, and we still have three more years on it, and the other is low-interest, but won't be paid off for seven more years. I'm not too worried about either of these, though, as they are not huge amounts. For now, my more immediate goal is just to avoid accruing any other debt.

We are cash only these days. I have all the money set aside for our upcoming WDW trip, as well as a small emergency fund (about 6 weeks of living expenses) set aside. My car is old, and I had been considering taking on a car note for a newer one, but decided against it. It isn't on its last legs yet, so I think (hope) we can get another 1-2 years out of it. In the meantime, I'm trying to set aside cash for the next one, and we'll just buy a cheap, used one again.

My youngest dd has 3 more years of daycare, so that is a huge expense for us. Once she's through, it will free up quite a bit of money each month that can go towards debt reduction. Until then, we're in a bit of a holding pattern.

This thread inspires me to keep chugging away.

 

[8 Ears]

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been MIA Have not been able to pay down any debt per say in the last few weeks.

We have paid for all school clothes/supplies in cash though. Paid car insurance that I never seem to save very well for.

Oh, I also paid A LOT extra on both the vehicle payments this month.

As the weather has not been super around here this summer we also took a day and went to North Conway , NH and took a family friend. We went out to eat, went up Mt. Washington and bought a few school clothes.

Hopefully I will be back on track to paying more of our debt off.

Uh yes, forgot to mention I am no online like I wish as DH accidently took the weed whacker to hte phone line!!!

Have a good week all

 

[2manypets]

It's been a few months since I posted last and just an update...We're now about 28% paid off.

I've transfer two of the four car notes into a interest free cc for 18 months (Yes, no problem paying it off in time) That should save around $1000 on interest alone. The first CC we're paying off (interset free also for the next 6 months) should be done in October, then I'll pay off my DH's motorcycle, then the 18 month interest free CC, then my DH's work van. The van is covered by his company as an expense, but I'd like to pocket that money instead.

We should be debt free by at the latest October '09. WOO HOO. Then it'll be time to plan another Disney trip.

 

[mrsklamc]

It's been a few months since I posted last and just an update...We're now about 28% paid off.

I've transfer two of the four car notes into a interest free cc for 18 months (Yes, no problem paying it off in time) That should save around $1000 on interest alone. The first CC we're paying off (interset free also for the next 6 months) should be done in October, then I'll pay off my DH's motorcycle, then the 18 month interest free CC, then my DH's work van. The van is covered by his company as an expense, but I'd like to pocket that money instead.

We should be debt free by at the latest October '09. WOO HOO. Then it'll be time to plan another Disney trip.

Do you mind if I ask how you were able to do this? I didn't think you could transfer other kinds of debt to a cc.

 

[2manypets]

I told the CC company that they'd have to write a paper check for the car loans. It worked out fine and there was no transfer fees.

 

[tinaninea]

Another $211 on my little student loan brings it to $282!!! With 3 more paychecks ($70 each- Just a few hours a week for Mom doing payroll and finances) and my ChaCha money, I'll have no problem paying it off before Disney!

 

[udsweetpea]

Just added up total debt for the month like I usually do, and I paid off $711 in debt this month. Woo! I have a small medical bill I've been making payments on for a while, and it will be paid off next week. I can't wait to start the snowball and apply that payment towards the next bill!

 

[SpaceGirl]

I have seriously been working on my debt since January when I first read this thread, so far I have reduced my debt by $10,000.00.

I have my spread sheet that I track every purchase & payment on, along with a daily Zero Dollar Day Chart.

By trying to lower my debt I now have started trying to reduce all our expenses.

This month I have been tracking my KWH on my electric meter daily measuring the amount of electric power use. My goal is to keep my electric bill down by using less kwh's, only treading water with these measures as the cost per kwh keeps going up.

I have been air drying my laundry instead of using my dryer, after the cloths are dry I place them in the dryer for 10 minutes with half a dryer sheet to fluff them and take the stiffness out.

I also have been turning my hot water heater off, I found that by turning it on a few hours at night we have plenty of hot water for dishes that are now hand washed plus showers rather we take them at night or first thing in the am. On washday my whites that I need hot water to make sure they stay white are washed first while the water is still hot. Then other clothes are washed in cold water. I have also been watching water usage choosing the correct water level for each load.

Last month before I made any changes I used 1,381 kwh total cost $165.14, last July I used 1,683 kwh total cost $158.36...so I used more last year and it cost less.

I still have a few days to go before my final reading for this month, I can't wait to see if I was able to really effect our bill and keep it lower.

 

[minnie1928]

I have seriously been working on my debt since January when I first read this thread, so far I have reduced my debt by $10,000.00.

I have my spread sheet that I track every purchase & payment on, along with a daily Zero Dollar Day Chart.

By trying to lower my debt I now have started trying to reduce all our expenses.

This month I have been tracking my KWH on my electric meter daily measuring the amount of electric power use. My goal is to keep my electric bill down by using less kwh's, only treading water with these measures as the cost per kwh keeps going up.

I have been air drying my laundry instead of using my dryer, after the cloths are dry I place them in the dryer for 10 minutes with half a dryer sheet to fluff them and take the stiffness out.

I also have been turning my hot water heater off, I found that by turning it on a few hours at night we have plenty of hot water for dishes that are now hand washed plus showers rather we take them at night or first thing in the am. On washday my whites that I need hot water to make sure they stay white are washed first while the water is still hot. Then other clothes are washed in cold water. I have also been watching water usage choosing the correct water level for each load.

Last month before I made any changes I used 1,381 kwh total cost $165.14, last July I used 1,683 kwh total cost $158.36...so I used more last year and it cost less.

I still have a few days to go before my final reading for this month, I can't wait to see if I was able to really effect our bill and keep it lower.

I just installed a low flow shower head that you might be interested in, it's called a Roadrunner made by a company called Evolve. It uses 1.59 gallons/minute instead of the normal 2.6. By reducing the amount of water used during the shower you also reduce the amount of water you need to heat. It cost $40 and according to the package it will save a family of 3 $240/year. I think the spray on it is really good too!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Kelly,

I'll check it out, I was just reading about this type of low flow shower head earlier today.

Thank You

 

[Kathi OD]

I have seriously been working on my debt since January when I first read this thread, so far I have reduced my debt by $10,000.00.

I have my spread sheet that I track every purchase & payment on, along with a daily Zero Dollar Day Chart.

By trying to lower my debt I now have started trying to reduce all our expenses.

This month I have been tracking my KWH on my electric meter daily measuring the amount of electric power use. My goal is to keep my electric bill down by using less kwh's, only treading water with these measures as the cost per kwh keeps going up.

I have been air drying my laundry instead of using my dryer, after the cloths are dry I place them in the dryer for 10 minutes with half a dryer sheet to fluff them and take the stiffness out.

I also have been turning my hot water heater off, I found that by turning it on a few hours at night we have plenty of hot water for dishes that are now hand washed plus showers rather we take them at night or first thing in the am. On washday my whites that I need hot water to make sure they stay white are washed first while the water is still hot. Then other clothes are washed in cold water. I have also been watching water usage choosing the correct water level for each load.

Last month before I made any changes I used 1,381 kwh total cost $165.14, last July I used 1,683 kwh total cost $158.36...so I used more last year and it cost less.

I still have a few days to go before my final reading for this month, I can't wait to see if I was able to really effect our bill and keep it lower.

Not to burst your bubble, but numerous studies have shown that using a dishwasher instead of handwashing dishes saves water. So if you pay for water, what you're saving in electric by not running the dishwasher, you might be spending on your water bill. Just something to look at.

 

[bubba]

Well, our first full month of full blown debt reduction plan is behind us ! I am so impressed with how well we did ! We stuck to the plan, noted down things we forgot in the initial budget and got it all hammered out. Also, I had a couple issues with payroll messing up my paycheques in August (Payroll dept not too reliable!). Even though they haven't fixed it yet and I am officially $500 short of where I should be, because we weren't blowing money where we shouldn't, we're ok ! We even managed to increase our debt repayment by $150 this month. We're using the envelope system for several expenses and, although it took a little time to remember to grab cash before heading to the gas station and to replace the change along with the receipt when you get back, it's working so well. We can't spend what isn't in the envelope. DH is on board as well which is making things so much easier on me.
Sorry for the babbling, but I just wanted to share my excitement !

 

[tinaninea]

bubba, you did great this month!

Well, I finally got $100 out of my ChaCha account and with some cash I had and a tiny paycheck (I mean tiny), I managed to pay $170 on the little student loan. That brings my balance to $113 and some change. The paycheck will be much better this week and I have $22.50 coming from a dress I sold. That should cover the final payment!!! So next Monday, I'll have this baby paid off!
Next up, DHs student loan. Balance due, $1971.37. I'm going to just pay the minimum plus $100 per month while I save for Christmas. I calculated it out at some point and I think my payoff goal on this one will be mid-January. It could be much sooner, but Santa charges a big fee for delivery.

 

[bubba]

TINANINEA - If you don't mind my asking, what is ChaCha ? I've seen this mentioned in other posts too. By the way , good for you for getting your student loan down to just $113 ! That must feel terrific !
Laurie

 

[dismom9761]

WE sold my DH's truck and payed off two credit cards. I have two more and we will be done.

 

[comicguy]

Well I had to charge 2000.00 last week for a Post Grad class to increase my certification so I can teach grades 5 and 6. The upside is I will move over on the pay scale starting in Jan but I now need to figure a way to pay off this new debt.

 

[Kathi OD]

Well I had to charge 2000.00 last week for a Post Grad class to increase my certification so I can teach grades 5 and 6. The upside is I will move over on the pay scale starting in Jan but I now need to figure a way to pay off this new debt.

Is it possible that your district will reimburse some of your tuition? Our district will reimburse us for grad classes up to what one class will cost at TCNJ. We can be reimbursed for one class each semester, plus a summer session class. Sometimes it doesn't fully cover the cost of the class, but it sure does help.

 

[tinaninea]

TINANINEA - If you don't mind my asking, what is ChaCha ? I've seen this mentioned in other posts too. By the way , good for you for getting your student loan down to just $113 ! That must feel terrific !
Laurie

There's a whole thread about ChaCha here on the budget board, and it might have a better explanation than me. ChaCha is a search engine (and I don't really know if I should say that because the searches you do are on Google). ChaCha guides recieve text messages online from cell users. The customer will ask a question and the guide is responsible for searching & answering it. It's a free service, and guides make .10-.20 per query. It's not much, but it adds up & I think it's fun and very interesting. I've actually learned a few things by doing it. As for the questions, almost anything goes, and you can bet you will get some really interesting ones.

 

[DisHokie]

i've been trying to "budget" since march when we bought our house.. but you all have inspired me to really get working.. now i just need to get my husband on board!

 

[SpaceGirl]

Not to burst your bubble, but numerous studies have shown that using a dishwasher instead of handwashing dishes saves water. So if you pay for water, what you're saving in electric by not running the dishwasher, you might be spending on your water bill. Just something to look at.

Thanks for the advice but with only two of us it would take a week to get a full load for the dishwasher. No bubbles burst because I managed to cut my water consumption in half... just recieved my bill Saturday.

The electric bill was even better I managed to use 1074 kwh for August, last year during the same time period we used 1622 kwh so that is 548 kwh less. (@ .12 per kwh I managed a potential savings of $65.76.)

I know it isn't much but every little bit helps toward the end result, which is to reduce my monthy expenses so I have more to pay on my debt.

Everyone keep up the good work.

I know reading all the small or large victories everyone post here helps to keep me motivated.