Debt Dumpers 2021

[pblack]

Hello everyone! I've went ahead and started this new thread for debt dumping in 2021. Please continue to post your 2020 recaps on the 2020 board, but as you're working on your goals for 2021 post them here!

If you're new to the debt dumping thread, welcome! We're a friendly bunch who encourage each other in their wins and losses. No negativity allowed here!

 

[pblack]

2021 Financial Goals:

• Save an additional $1000 towards emergency fund outside of my automatic transfers
• Increase retirement contributions for DH and myself
• Pay an additional $1000 towards our Highlander loan
• Figure out how to pay for roof replacement (~$20k)

I'm sure I will have other financial goals, but this is what I have for now.

2021 Personal/Home Goals:

• Create a more designated work space (since I think i'll be working from home for awhile longer)
• See my BFF in Texas 2 or more times
• Upgrade patio furniture
• Paint the inside of my house
• Get a new dishwasher and/or stove

I'm sure I'll have more of these too, but this is what comes to the top of my head.

 

[jen7233]

Thanks for starting 2021 thread.

At this point in time, 2021 financial goals:
-move savings from money market to contribute in Roth IRA in January
-save and set aside for Roth IRA 2022 January contribution
-save for future home down payment
-consolidate accounts by closing extra checking and savings accounts opened but not using, keep it simple goal

Personal goals:
-make visits in late summer with those haven't seen in long time
-develop regular fitness routine 4 x week capable of doing safely within physical limitations
-Reading goal 2 books per month

 

[ajanderson84]

Alright everyone, first time I am going to share some goals. It's a little tricky for 2021 at the moment, as my husband is active duty military and we are waiting to hear our orders for summer 2021. Maybe we get to stay 4 more years, maybe we have to move... who knows just yet... with that in mind:

2021 Financial Goals:

• Continue building house fund to 9k or so (3 months worth of house payments) Currently at 4,500
• Continue to build savings to 60k (6 months worth of savings) lllllooong way to go with this goal, currently about 3k
• Work on spending less, although we are in a high cost area (DC) I feel like our budget for Groceries and such is far too high
• Start an IRA (I am late to this retirement game). We have a long standing TSP for DH and I have a 401(k) but nothing else for retirement (I am 36, DH is 40)
• Start saving for Vacations, I would like to take them more often... I think maybe 4-6k may be needed to be saved.
• Save for potential move, if no move, use to improve current house
• Pay off 1 CC for Lowes: $600.00 - Complete by June 2021. I had to replace the dishwasher in Sept of 2020. The balance on the card is interest free for 12 months so I will just continue to pay $50/paycheck until it is paid off, roughly 6 more months. (Edited to add this, as I forgot about it earlier.)

2021 Personal Goals:

• Continue college classes for Bachelor's Degree (Using DH's GI bill for this)
• Maintain PMP certification
• Obtain additional IT related Certification (Perhaps Sec +)
• Lose Weight (total needed to lose is 102lbs, but I'd be happy if I lost 40)
• Learn to cook better... I mean I can cook, its just not very exciting... and I like food so if I can learn to make healthy exciting meals, all the better.
• If staying, paint upstairs of house, replace upstairs carpet either way, and perhaps paint kitchen cabinets. If not staying, finish outstanding small repairs and deep clean all the things to list the house.

Im sure this will change as I go but I think it's a good start

 

[crazycatstacy]

I'm in for another year and a hope that I do better next year! I told my friend yesterday that my goal for 2021 is not to be a broke fat a**! LOL

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Alright, I may tweak a few of these before the new year actually starts, but they will be mostly the same so I'll post now while I'm thinking about it!

2021 Financial Goals:

• Pay off $10,000 of credit card debt.
• Save $2000 toward emergency fund.
• Set up new Roth account for retirement.
• Save $2000 for Christmas 2021 fund
• Save $5000 for vacation fund

2021 Personal Goals:

• Eat healthier
• Exercise more
• Stress less

 

[DLgal]

In in! Thanks for starting the thread @pblack

2021 Financial Goals:

Save:

-$2000/month towards our military retirement goal of $75,000. Currently at $12,000. Deadline is September 2023, so we can definitely get there if we stay consistent with this one. This amount of savings is non negotiable. It goes in automatically every first of the month.

-$500 to 1000 per month towards "vacations", which also includes our Disneyland Annual Passes, whenever we start having to pay for those again. Hoping to take some trips in 2021, but also have a BIG one planned for summer 2022 to celebrate 2 major graduations in our family. Currently have $6000 in this account bucket.

-$100 to $500 per month into "emergency savings." No real goal on this one. This is money we dip into if we have an unexpected car repair or something that we can't just cash flow with our monthly income. We don't ever really have expensive home or medical emergencies, as renters and military. This bucket is around $350 right now.

-MAYBE pay off my husband's car loan. It will be done with in May 2022, but I have been thinking about paying it off using my husband's raises. He will get a raise in Jan and another in March, to the tune of an additional $600/month, so I could use that to pay the car off early. I could also use it to up my ROTH contributions, which is probably a smarter use of the funds. Still thinking about this one...

-Continue to be conscientious about our monthly spend. We have cut WAY back on eating out, but I've compensated by spending WAY more on groceries, so it's been a wash, mostly.

Personal Goals

1. Stop eating so many sweets. I have a serious problem. I want to lose weight and I haven't lost ANY this year. Haven't gained either, but I know that I am routinely eating 300-500 cal every day of straight junk that I simply need to stop doing. I have a massive sweet tooth. I just like ice cream and cookies and chocolate and sour candy and all the indulgent things. My health is absolutely perfect, and I don't have any concerns there. I just know I would look better 15 pounds lighter. It's a total vanity thing and I will own up to that. I'm going to try harder going forward.

2. Teach myself (and my son) how to be a pastry chef. I want to work my way through The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts, the textbook used by the French Culinary Institute. I bought it last year for my 16 year old autistic son who wants to be a pastry chef. He is a really good baker, and I want to prepare him for the future and possible schooling in this area. I also always wanted to be a pastry chef, so I'm gonna "homeschool it." I am already a good cook and baker, but I want to learn the true French way. Plus, the Hybrid school schedule is conducive to adding this in to my son's day as a "vocational skills" class of sorts. We shall see how this goes.

I know this goal flies in the face of the previous one, BUT I think I will make ONE recipe per week and that will be the only time I indulge in a treat.

3. Try and get in at least 6000 steps per day. This is easy on my workout days, but on my off days, I tend to sit around a lot. Need to stop being so sedentary.

 

[huggybuff]

Financially, 2020 has been like a ship that's beginning to turn around. Hoping to complete the full turn into an even more positive direction in 2021!

2021 Financial Goals:

• Continue to settle accounts through my debt settlement program. I would love to get all accounts settled (though not fully paid off) by the end of next year.
• Save $10,000 towards my summer or fall wedding.
• Start saving towards a family party (reception by another name) by the end of the year.
• Give my boyfriend more money towards the household expenses if needed. We're going to rebudget once we get a feel for the utility bills in the new house.
• Refinance my car loan if my credit score improves.

2021 Personal Goals:

• Lose weight so I can feel confident in my wedding dress.
• Start using my workout DVDs now that they're out of storage.
• Learn to let go of material possessions that I no longer need/use. Letting go is really hard for a person with OCD!

 

[imbatman]

I have to take a deep, honest breath and post my 2021 goals. My biggest is to be credit card debt free. And I can. I have it plotted out.

Financial

• CC 1 - $2198.01 (balance 12/9/20 - one more payment to come out in December). This is scheduled to be paid off by February 15th. I'm erring on the side of conservative payments.
• CC 2 - $6567.84 (balance 12/9/20 and 0%). This is scheduled for an August pay off. This is the one I want to knock out by May.
• Start deposits back into Roth no later than June.
• Savings to stay above $1000 at all times. Work to be at $3000 by the end of the year (minimum).
• Start a vacation fund for 2023 WDW trip ONLY after the credit cards are paid off

Personal

• Finish the second book manuscript
• Second bathroom painting update with leftover paint and create "frames" for the mirror
• Replace flooring in living room and hallway (already purchased and delayed by surgeries)
• Learn to be okay with my scars - give myself more grace
• Continue to purge unused household items

I am going to use this post to be accountable. At the beginning of 2020, I was too embarrassed to post my actual credit card debt. Now it's in my face. It's there for others to read and not be discouraged.

 

[Eureka]

2020 ending up being good for us in a financial sense. We paid cash for several home improvements/repairs, upgraded the boys' phones for Christmas and have paid for three semesters of college tuition without loans. 2021 goals will be more of the same. More work around the house - until we can travel, because that's typically where our discretionary spending goes, lol - DS17 will be starting college in the fall but we don't yet where or how much we'll have to pay, and still trying to sock as much as we can away for retirement while paying for all the college. DS turns 59.5 in a year, so we want to have options for accessing money/him retiring if his contract doesn't get renewed in 2024 and I would like to not have to work unless I want to after he retires (he's almost 9 years older than I am). We have car payments and a mortgage but that's all in terms of debt. Has taken years to get to this place.

As for personal goals, I have a milestone birthday coming and am halfway to losing the weight (about 15 lbs total) I want to lose by then. I was walking 3-4 times a week before it got cold, so will plan to go back to that when it warms up.

 

[belleelc77]

2021 Financial Goals:

• get my business created as an LLC and purchase first rental property - $35,500 for LLC set-up, down payment, and 6 months expenses
• ceiling repair - had an AC leak that caused some damage - getting estimates
• LR furniture - pet damage - $1000 max
• replace upstairs flooring - $1500
• increase emergency fund

2021 Personal Goals:

• lose COVID weight - 20 lbs
• get back to run/walk training plans regularly
• declutter as much as possible

 

[StacyStrong]

I am really really struggling with setting 2021 goals. So, I guess to finish off 2020, my goal is to get my life together. Make a plan. Sit and figure out what's possible and then try and stretch that a little further.

I will say that I am ending 2020 on, what I think is, a good note.

First of all, my nephew is 3 and my sister is a single low income earner. I decided to set up a 529 account for him for Christmas instead of getting him a gift. He has SO MANY toys and clothes and I just know his grandparents will spoil him like crazy anyway. My sister has already contributed to it as well. I need to decide if I want to contribute regularly myself or contribute on holidays/occasions. I don't need to decide immediately.

Then, I FINALLY made the decision to stop contributing to my company's traditional 401k plan. They also offer a Roth 401(k) and so I decided to change my contribution to the Roth. The employer match is the same, but my pay checks will be smaller because of the taxes. I did the math and I can afford the "pay cut" even with keeping the contribution the same. I'm embarrassed that I didn't do this way sooner. I now just have to decide if I want to roll over my traditional 401k and pay the taxes now, roll over only a portion, or just leave it entirely.

I guess my main financial goal of 2021 is to get smarter. There's a lot I still don't know about personal finances and things that I can be doing to better my situation.

I'll report back once I firm up some goals with hard numbers!

 

[jen7233]

On Roth IRA, I wrote January, but will not do a lump sum in January. Just want to see how things shake out a little after the first few weeks in January. Dollar cost average or several spread out larger contributions for us. Max Roth for us is 13k, file jointly.

 

[FQLover]

2021 Financial Goals
This is a different kind of year coming up. I may have to take a 17% salary cut for either the first half of the year or the second half. I might be able to skate by and not take it at all in 2021. I won't know the answer to that until the end of January and then, again, in early August. Worst case scenario is that I have to take a 17% cut for the entire year.

I have savings because I have been automatically allotting savings before even bill paying for several years now (slow to that game, definitely). But additionally, for about 13 months now, I have been making it a game to see how much more I can save by under-spending in my various budget categories and then re-distributing that savings among my Cap One 360 savings "buckets" at the end of the month. With a 17% salary cut, I will definitely not have that extra savings to play with, and I will probably not be able to save as much pre-bill paying as I have been, either. The only other area in which I can really cut back is groceries (there is definitely fluff there) and I will probably need to cut that down by 25% if I lose lots of my salary.

For those reasons, I am not going to pay off my car note (about 4K to go) this year. I have a second car note on the car I bought my DD19 in May (now just above 8K) I purposely got a 5 year, low monthly cost loan so that when she graduates from college she will have the last 2 years of it to pay for, at a very reasonable amount. I pay for the insurance, I paid for the down payment (2K) and she pays the annual license plate fee (quite big in my state) along with gas and oil changes. I am a believer in having some "skin in the game," particularly since I have been her only parent her whole life, and I do not have an especially high-paying job. I talk to her about fiances and budgeting regularly.

That only leaves my mortgage as a debt, and I have never paid extra into that. I intend to sell and downsize when I retire in 3-4 years.

So, saving remains my main plan for the coming year. My employer stopped retirement payments for 12 months, to be re-examined in June, '21. I have never put anything in, since they put in 10% and I have worked there for a very long time. I am still funding a vacation bucket, and my daughter and I look forward to Florida trips we can take when vaccines have been distributed. I have a HELOC all ready for definitely needed home repairs and improvements but just can't envision having that debt--so I am waiting a little longer to decide what to do.

My dog has an expensive surgery coming up in January, and I have expensive dental work coming up around that same time. I keep saving in those buckets, too.

I am quite disciplined with spending, but it all gets a little overwhelming when I look at 2021. My industry has been hit hard with the pandemic, so I am grateful to still have my job and a good share of the benefits we get.

2021 Personal Goals
-Lose a lot of pounds
-Gain a lot of strength
-Lose a lot of clutter
-Get my poor to middlin' health under better control

 

[jackers]

Here’s to hoping 2021 is a better year…

2021 Financial Goals:
DH has a car payment that is an auto-deduction from his paycheck. (We keep our finances somewhat separate so I have not included this in any of the numbers I have previously posted here). He still has 4 years left on this loan, but I could help get it paid off by July. Previously I wasn’t in any rush on this one but his job is pretty physically demanding and it’s taking its toll on him. We’ve discussed the option of him quitting by the end of 2021 (when his 401K will be vested) and him finding something else to do as long as my job remains stable. It would be nice to not have the car payment should we choose to go down that route.

I will then start focusing on the mortgage in August so I can continue to chip away at that and meet my goal of being mortgage free by mid-2026. If all goes to plan, I should be able to double my payments for the year.

Max out 401K contributions.

Contribute $100/paycheck to my HSA – I have already signed up for this, so you could say I have already completed this.

Contribute $2,500 to DS15’s 529.

Grow savings by $5,000.

2021 Personal Goals:

Have a will drawn up – failed in 2020 to get this done so let’s see if I can do it in 2021. I recently discovered my company has this as one of our benefits so I may be able to do something quick and easy with our partner on this and knock it out.

I need to really focus on getting healthier – lose some weight and at least get back to regular walking and maybe work my way up to running again. It will be a long path, but quite honestly, I am not going to have any work clothes I will fit in whenever we are able to go back to the office and I have no desire to spend a lot of money on a new wardrobe so this is really a MUST.

Vacation plans – ???? I am really hoping we can do something.

 

[pblack]

Love seeing everyone's goals for the year! It's always so motivating!

Welcome to all of the new "faces" and welcome back to all of the old!

 

[dreamer17555]

Joining for the first time. This year I finally got serious about paying down the debt. I have paid down $8,500 this past year. More to go in 2021.


2021 Financial Goals:

• Pay off all credit card debt (current amount $5,900, interest free for next 16 months)
• Pay off small parent plus loan (current amount $2,500)
• Increase emergency fund by $2,000
• Pay off a few old debts of $600

This might be a bit difficult with unemployment due to covid but I was able to get down $8,500 so I will consider this a challenge. Credit card debt is first as it has been transferred to a zero APR card for the next 16 months. The rest I will debate the order going forward.

Basically trying to drop $9,000 worth of debt in a year and add $2,000 to savings.

 

[mom2rb]

2021 Financial Goals
Pay off DH’s car-we owe $3700
Stay credit card debt free
Get 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund

The biggest problem is that I was ready to kick the birds out of the nest, then COVID-19. Job market is tough for young people right now. One son started graduate school and did get a 50% scholarship so that helps. The other one is training for the National Team in gymnastics and working for a catering company part time.

Personal Goals
Get active. I just had surgery on one ankle and have the other ankle scheduled for the end of December. It will make recovery harder but with insurance deductibles it will save enough to pay for all of son’s tuition. No student loans at all. I hadn’t realized how inactive I had become because of the pain. I am looking forward to exercising again.
Take the Covid-19 vaccine. I am terrified of needles but I want to get back to seeing family and being safe. Knowing that I have to get 2 shots isn’t helping. I haven’t had a flu vaccine since they quit giving it up the nose. I read an article about a Covid vaccine up the nose too but it is not expected to be out for a while.

 

[FQLover]

@mom2rb Does it help to look away while you are getting the shots and just start talking about something? Or do they really cause you more pain than for the average person? Maybe the nurse could put a quick numbing solution on your arm, if so.

 

[mom2rb]

@mom2rb Does it help to look away while you are getting the shots and just start talking about something? Or do they really cause you more pain than for the average person? Maybe the nurse could put a quick numbing solution on your arm, if so.

My mom never vaccinated me or my brother. When we moved in with my grandmother, she had to take us every week until we were caught up. He and I both now have extreme anxiety about shots. We can’t even watch them on tv, we hide our eyes until our spouses tell us that it is over. I am going to ask for a numbing solution.