Debt Dumpers - 2019

[Ngwira]

Did a quick run of our taxes on credit karma. I’m still waiting for our mortgage interest statement but the standard deduction is more anyway so we won’t itemize. Looks like we owe less than $100 which is fine with me. I’ll take it. We always get a refund from the state.

 

[MEM]

To me, it's not just a matter of how much their electricity adds to your bill; it's more about letting others take advantage of your kindness. It's also about the fact that you're straining hard trying, but unable to make ends meet, and they're not doing anything to help you. This isn't how caring people treat someone. You may think this is sounding selfish but you really need to focus on yourself and what's good for YOU, and you only. If you want to be able to keep your house, pay for medicines, pay utilities & food, etc. you need to trim the fat from somewhere in your cost of living. I agree with pp about having a long sit-down with a fine-tooth comb of every expense you have and eliminate anything that is not an absolute basic need: food, water, heat, shelter, clothing, transportation and medicines.

I know it sounds sacrilegious but selling your DVC contracts would probably give you a good cushion to get you back on your feet. In the grand scheme of things, DVC is an optional, luxury item. Those annual dues are not cheap. It doesn't mean you can't ever go to a Disney park again. It simply means you would be shopping for discounts like the rest of us, without any commitment. Nothing wrong with that.

To own DVC and not be able to afford to buy necessary, life-saving medication? Which is more important? To me, this is your Mona Lisa.

Dave could consider renting his DVC points, if he doesn't already...

 

[Shughart]

Dave could consider renting his DVC points, if he doesn't already...

I think this is a good idea. Put those point to good use. Or if necessary sell the contract as mentioned. Why start a gofundme if there are assets that can be liquidated...

 

[MEM]

I kind of anticipate that one of several things will occur when/if I publish a campaign. I'm friends with several people from work on different social media platforms, so I expect it will get spread through the workplace pretty quickly. It's a small school district, less than 100 people. I figure that I will either face a crowd of disapproving people (including administration - which scares me. My contract actually contains a clause that includes personal fiscal accountability as grounds for dismissal) that I "didn't manage myself well", or I will be greeted by a crowd of people that will tell me that they didn't realize how bad things were. As much as I like my work family, I just really don't know them well enough to truly know how they will react.

I'm not entirely sure that the gofundme is completely appropriate. It's not like I'm exactly looking at a single one-time goal. I'm looking at needing to generate an ongoing monthly minimum for at least a year OR a large enough amount to just pay off the "big debts" (house and car) in a single lump sum. Off the top of my head, that would bring the total under my net income, but just barely.



Not sounding harsh or like an @$$ or anything at all.

We've had several come to Jesus meetings. You haven't missed any updates. He's doing a lot at this point for my mental, physical, and financial states. It's just all negative. The wedding had been being planned, but it is all but cancelled.
I am not willing to deal with this behavior any longer. Honestly, this is why I'm looking at something like the gofundme, I've given up on him ever actually getting a job. And yeah, he has been. That has been his relationship. He takes advantage, and I don't stand up for myself.



Yes on both accounts. The ex was a deadbeat. The fiance is a new guy. but also a deadbeat. Sad part is, the new guy is such a deadbeat I miss the ex. Wow, never EVER thought I'd utter THOSE words.

Dave, have you thought about posting your "Case Study" on the Mr. Money Mustache forum? Those folks are tough, and they will "face punch you" but they have excellent ideas and can be great motivators. Admittedly the goal of the forum is to help folks "FIRE" but many of the people posting are in deep debt they are trying to dig out of so they can start saving for retirement.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Arghhhh this is exactly what I mean

View attachment 378149

This must be a unique quirk to Colorado real estate law.

 

[dayvewc]

Dave, have you thought about posting your "Case Study" on the Mr. Money Mustache forum? Those folks are tough, and they will "face punch you" but they have excellent ideas and can be great motivators. Admittedly the goal of the forum is to help folks "FIRE" but many of the people posting are in deep debt they are trying to dig out of so they can start saving for retirement.

i don't know that I've heard of the Mr. Money Mustache forum. I'll have to go look it up.

 

[MEM]

i don't know that I've heard of the Mr. Money Mustache forum. I'll have to go look it up.

I've become quite addicted to MMM "Case Studies" thread. Even if you never post, you will learn something and see a light at the end of the tunnel...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

i don't know that I've heard of the Mr. Money Mustache forum. I'll have to go look it up.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

His lifestyle is a little extreme for me but clearly it works for him.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Got my first paycheck today and they have me federal marital status as single and I'm married. I'll call and see what this means, but I guess I shouldn't deposit this until I get it figured out. Always something! Ugh.

 

[dina444444]

Got my first paycheck today and they have me federal marital status as single and I'm married. I'll call and see what this means, but I guess I shouldn't deposit this until I get it figured out. Always something! Ugh.

It just means your tax withholdings are being held at a higher rate.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It just means your tax withholdings are being held at a higher rate.

Exactly. I keep mine set at single with 0 dependents so they tax max out of each paycheck, even though I'm married with 2 kids.
Once we had our 2nd child I read somewhere about giving the government an interest-free loan, blah, blah, blah, it's better to have them take less out than get a huge refund. Well, we ended up owing a lot and didn't have it. Had to charge it to a cc which meant paying the extra dumb fee to be able to use a cc. Grrrrr... I switched it back to 0 and will never switch it again. Come tax time, it's just too unpredictable. I'd rather overpay and get a refund. It may not be the most financially savvy option but it works for us.

 

[dina444444]

Exactly. I keep mine set at single with 0 dependents so they tax max out of each paycheck, even though I'm married with 2 kids.
Once we had our 2nd child I read somewhere about giving the government an interest-free loan, blah, blah, blah, it's better to have them take less out than get a huge refund. Well, we ended up owing a lot and didn't have it. Had to charge it to a cc which meant paying the extra dumb fee to be able to use a cc. Grrrrr... I switched it back to 0 and will never switch it again. Come tax time, it's just too unpredictable. I'd rather overpay and get a refund. It may not be the most financially savvy option but it works for us.

It’s also good to withhold at a higher rate if you know your going to have 1099s etc. that you’ll need to report that will increase your tax liability.

 

[Birdie dog]

Hi all. It's almost the end of January and it's the end of my first month of my new year of spending more wisely. No "wants" were bought this month. I bought groceries, dog food etc, no "things" that weren't necessities. I mentioned in my first post that travel didn't count. I did pay for some travel this month and my first purchase was plane tickets to visit my two daughters. I had southwest points so I got two tickets from Charleston to Albany, NY for $170 round trip. My second purchase was paying off a Trafalgar tour I bought last year. I'd been paying regularly so I owned $800 for final payment ( the original trip was $5500).

One thing I'd been considering buying was an Instant Pot. I've reasoned with myself that my husband ( who loves stews and soups ) would enjoy the benefits of fresh options (or fresh frozen anyway ) and I could freeze meals for him and save money on groceries and lunches. I wasn't entirely sure that I'd use one so didn't jump on it. Today I was talking about them at work and a girl I work with said she got one for Christmas and hated it and I could have it. She's bringing it to me next week and I will give her some money for it- I'd feel bad just taking it when she could easily sell it on a mom swap.

In the next week or so I'll be making a hair appointment ( no way to get around that) and a birthday present for my best friend. That's all of the extras I'm planning on. I do need some new underclothes (seriously TMI, but I'm trying to stay accountable) and I have a Christmas GC to TJMaxx that I'll use, so no money spent from my pocket. I also need some new support socks - I'm a charge nurse in an ER and am on my feet 12 hours a day and my legs and feet hurt without them. I'm reading reviews and looking for good deals. I'll be buying 3-4 pairs and they should last a year.

Finally, something else I need to do is cut Starbucks. (Not a need for sure but since it's not a *thing* I didn't really consider it). I buy a coffee a few days a week to start my long day. I think I'm dropping down to once a week. I feel silly even thinking about it but it's lost money so I need to be accountable for that too. (The one coffee I had this weekend was bought for me by a doctor). Anyway, That's my monthly update.

Questions? Concerns? Any tips? I'm so seriously new to this that I'm trying to really account for everything and don't know that I know how.

 

[jen7233]

Questions? Concerns? Any tips? I'm so seriously new to this that I'm trying to really account for everything and don't know that I know how.

You had a good month of being diligent about expenses.

My tip if you haven't thought of it already, is to look ahead on the schedule for the year and think of things outside of the typical groceries, eating out, gas, etc. Is Valentine's Day celebrated? Need a new license, registrations due, etc.? Anything that needs to be replaced in the house, etc. and not just if you own, but things like new bedding, curtains, furniture, etc.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Hi all. It's almost the end of January and it's the end of my first month of my new year of spending more wisely. No "wants" were bought this month. I bought groceries, dog food etc, no "things" that weren't necessities. I mentioned in my first post that travel didn't count. I did pay for some travel this month and my first purchase was plane tickets to visit my two daughters. I had southwest points so I got two tickets from Charleston to Albany, NY for $170 round trip. My second purchase was paying off a Trafalgar tour I bought last year. I'd been paying regularly so I owned $800 for final payment ( the original trip was $5500).

One thing I'd been considering buying was an Instant Pot. I've reasoned with myself that my husband ( who loves stews and soups ) would enjoy the benefits of fresh options (or fresh frozen anyway ) and I could freeze meals for him and save money on groceries and lunches. I wasn't entirely sure that I'd use one so didn't jump on it. Today I was talking about them at work and a girl I work with said she got one for Christmas and hated it and I could have it. She's bringing it to me next week and I will give her some money for it- I'd feel bad just taking it when she could easily sell it on a mom swap.

In the next week or so I'll be making a hair appointment ( no way to get around that) and a birthday present for my best friend. That's all of the extras I'm planning on. I do need some new underclothes (seriously TMI, but I'm trying to stay accountable) and I have a Christmas GC to TJMaxx that I'll use, so no money spent from my pocket. I also need some new support socks - I'm a charge nurse in an ER and am on my feet 12 hours a day and my legs and feet hurt without them. I'm reading reviews and looking for good deals. I'll be buying 3-4 pairs and they should last a year.

Finally, something else I need to do is cut Starbucks. (Not a need for sure but since it's not a *thing* I didn't really consider it). I buy a coffee a few days a week to start my long day. I think I'm dropping down to once a week. I feel silly even thinking about it but it's lost money so I need to be accountable for that too. (The one coffee I had this weekend was bought for me by a doctor). Anyway, That's my monthly update.

Questions? Concerns? Any tips? I'm so seriously new to this that I'm trying to really account for everything and don't know that I know how.

Hi Birdie! Fellow RN here One of the best things I learned from this forum is to use YNAB (You Need a Budget) to help keep track of finances. This was a total game-changer for us. YNAB helps us stay accountable and get back on track when we fall off much more readily than we did in the past. It’s awesome!!

Speaking of getting back on track...
We’re working on rebuilding our one month buffer. It’s definitely not as fast as I would like, but I picked up a couple of shifts for time and a half and that should help. But, we probably won’t be fully buffered until April. We’ll get there though!

Curious to see what happens with our taxes. We’ll have to pay capital gains taxes on the sale of our rental property, so I have no idea what to expect!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

So we ended up needing to get a new garbage disposal from the kitchen sink leak - $450. There is mold growing in the cabinet beneath the sink and the plumber said it will keep growing and probably we need to replace that. We've talked about doing the whole kitchen before and while this might be a good opportunity, but with the shutdown, a rebid that we don't know the outcome to, and college looming, not sure if we'll do that now. We're starting with a mold specialist coming in next week ($69 diagnostic fee) to see exactly what needs to be done. We don't want mold/water damage going into the floor!

This week nobody got paid (I just mean it's an off week) and we actually spent less than I anticipated, unless there is something I am missing when I look at our bank app. I don't think there is, but whenever we have more money than I thought, I start to worry about what I've forgotten.

My birthday is coming up in about a month or so and I think I want to take an overnight trip, the four of us, to Colonial Williamsburg. It's been about 10 years since we went but now with one kid wanting to study politics and history and the other taking AP US History, they would love it even more than they did then. It's only a couple hours from us but they have winter ticket deals where we could get a three-day pass for not too much. We'd only use two days of it, but still would be fun.

I didn't read the saga, but over Christmas my disposal was leaking. I hopped on Amazon and ordered a new garbage disposal for $60. I watched some youtube videos (and the one posted on Amazon too), and 20 minutes later I had it all done! Now granted my dad did loosen it a little, but otherwise I did it all by myself I guess being a "shop" teacher pays off some days!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Got my first paycheck today and they have me federal marital status as single and I'm married. I'll call and see what this means, but I guess I shouldn't deposit this until I get it figured out. Always something! Ugh.

Usually you can adjust that any time but no reason to hold off depositing your check.

 

[KearneyFam02]

I'm a little late to the party (and new here!) I'm looking forward to following this thread to keep me motivated. I'm really tired of debt and not being able to do what we want with our money. Live and learn, right?!

Current debts

• My van
• Hubby's car
• Credit Union CC that we did a balance transfer to pay off our Disney Visa
• LOC
• Best Buy CC
• Lowe's CC

2019 Financial Goals

• Pay off Credit Union CC with tax refund
• Pay off Van by July
• Pay off Hubby's car by December
• Pay off Best Buy CC by November
• Save up to pay for Disney 12/19 trip so we don't have to add to our debt

2019 Personal Goals

• Lose 30 lbs (down 10 so far!!)
• Grow my business
• Be present more!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

@dayvewc I'm so sorry to hear about all of your difficulties lately. I'm really hoping things turn in your favor soon.

@dina444444 and @ruadisneyfan2 thank you! I've finally figured out how to get on my work portal so I'll update/ fix it today! Taxes/ withholdings are one financial area I'm still not savvy with AT ALL. Maybe I can make it a new year's resolution to figure out how the heck they work!

Other than that things are going good with the new job! I'll deposit that check today! DH and I have decided that as a general rule we won't acknowledge my checks at all- I'm direct depositing them into our high interest savings account and keeping them out of sight, out of mind so to speak. Hopefully they can just sit in savings and become an emergency fund, then keep going toward a house down payment fund (although that's a bit longer term- I want to be 100% sure we're staying in a city before we buy, which right now I'm not, see below). But still, I want to have the money ready when it's time to bit the bullet.

So DH has been looking at where he wants his career to go long term. He's thinking he'd like to start looking after we've had another baby, which won't be until at least next year (his current company offers 8 weeks paid parental leave for him when baby is born, so he definitely wants to wait until we've had another baby before he leaves) and very reasonable insurance. But he's been researching and seeing that he could likely make a lot more with another year or two's experience in his field. Our deal when we got engaged was that I'd be willing to move as much as his career required until our oldest child started school so that he could take advantage of any and every career opportunity that came his way, but I've been lucky so far in that he got promoted within his company. Definitely excited/ nervous about the prospect of moving again (we've moved 3 times since 2015, but one of those moves was just a local move to a bigger apartment). But luckily, that's probably at least 2 years off so right now I'm focusing on getting savings cushioned and everything. Nothing crazy to report other than that, and the only curve ball I've had lately *knock on wood* is a gift for a first communion that I'd forgotten about, but that won't be until may, so no big deal.


Please just let murphy stay away until we've gotten our feet under us this year!

 

[Birdie dog]

You had a good month of being diligent about expenses.

My tip if you haven't thought of it already, is to look ahead on the schedule for the year and think of things outside of the typical groceries, eating out, gas, etc. Is Valentine's Day celebrated? Need a new license, registrations due, etc.? Anything that needs to be replaced in the house, etc. and not just if you own, but things like new bedding, curtains, furniture, etc.

I'm not much of a Valentines person though I'll get something for my husband because even though I'll tell him not to, he'll buy something for me. At this time, my goal is simply to spend less and pay off the debt from the small fortune I spent on renovating the new house. I took on too much debt to spend the way I did in the past and the debt simply isn't going away. So, I'm cutting way back and being conscious of what I buy and if I need it (says the girl with 15 pairs of Tieks). I want fewer bills so I can continue to save ( I have a savings account, a Christmas Club that I've had forever, and a travel account) and travel. If I quit buying crap, my bills will get paid off sooner and I'll have a much better cash flow.

My only one worry with "outside the typical" is my air conditioner. I know it'll need to be replaced before the house is paid off (I'm set at 10 years this March) and we have two units and it'll be a fortune. I currently have about 1/2 the amount needed in savings so that will totally stress me out. I do have someone who comes and cleans and checks my unit once or twice a year to keep it ticking along and so far he says it'll hold a while longer.