Debt Dumpers - 2018

[imbatman]

We (really it's me but I will be generous lol) do a budget for every two weeks. Husband gets paid last day of the month and 15th and I get paid 1st of the month and the 16th so we do two week budgets. We budget down to zero but then we WANT something and it gets charged. We do well if we have nothing on a credit card but the minute a dime is on it we consider it free reign. We sold our house and moved in March so we paid stuff off and have managed to keep all but one card paid off. The one card has stuff for our daughter's wedding and then just a bunch of random crap we felt we deserved or needed. Hopefully we can get on the same page this weekend.

We cannot work in a budget down to zero. Have tried more than once. The moment we blow it, everything goes to pot. So, we work with how we can roll and take the punches and wins. We do have a Discover we use for purchases now, to get the free rewards. Yes, it's not much, but we've had the card for nearly 20 years. And we've noticed the slight uptick on our credit reports, so we take it as a win.

 

[Jason_V]

^ Agreed. I can't do down to zero. I lay out everything to pay/invest and consider whatever is left "free" money. Sometimes that's $100...and I make due until the next check rolls around.

 

[crazycatstacy]

We cannot work in a budget down to zero. Have tried more than once. The moment we blow it, everything goes to pot. So, we work with how we can roll and take the punches and wins. We do have a Discover we use for purchases now, to get the free rewards. Yes, it's not much, but we've had the card for nearly 20 years. And we've noticed the slight uptick on our credit reports, so we take it as a win.

^ Agreed. I can't do down to zero. I lay out everything to pay/invest and consider whatever is left "free" money. Sometimes that's $100...and I make due until the next check rolls around.

Ok- so how do you it? We budget everything we have to pay and then x for groceries and x for gas and x for spending (really minimal amount for spending- just so we can have cash in our pockets for drinks or snacks if needed), then we put the rest towards whatever we have to pay (this would be our snowball). Should we make a goal- like this check pay x amount on the next credit card and then what's left after that could be free or what? I'm confused

 

[DLgal]

Ok- so how do you it? We budget everything we have to pay and then x for groceries and x for gas and x for spending (really minimal amount for spending- just so we can have cash in our pockets for drinks or snacks if needed), then we put the rest towards whatever we have to pay (this would be our snowball). Should we make a goal- like this check pay x amount on the next credit card and then what's left after that could be free or what? I'm confused

This is what I do. Works for me. I project out a month (our pay is consistent salary month to month). So, I have some bills due between the 1st and 15th and some due the 16th to 30th. So, we get paid the 1st and 15th. I do a spreadsheet for each pay period. We have two credit cards we use for everyday purchases, and one is due the first half of the month, the other is the second half of the month. So, I enter in the paycheck for the 1st and subtract all the recurring bills, as well as the CC payment (in full) that is due from the previous month. I carry over any leftover to the 15th (which is available for cash withdrawals if needed). On the 15th, I set up all the bill payments plus rent with that check and whatever was left over from the 1st check. If there is any significant left over, it goes to the debt we are trying to eliminate on the following months payment. Since I know how much we get every check, it is easy to know how much we CAN spend on our credit cards each month, and I just keep a running total that I update every few days to see how we are doing. As an example, I might say we can spend $3000 this month on our credit cards. That breaks down to $750/week. It's easy to adjust weekly spending if we are too high in the first week or two. It means cutting back the next couple weeks. If I have large purchases to make, it means lowering spending the rest of the month and cutting back on non essentials like eating out.

I don't budget for specific categories in our daily spending. That is far too restrictive and difficult to maintain, IMO.

 

[Jason_V]

My top line in the budget is Gross Pay. I then list all the deductions from that amount (ie. taxes, auto savings draft, 401k, HSA, etc.) to get to take home (checking account) amount. From there, it will depend on when the paycheck falls. The first check of the month is the bills check (electricity, cable, etc.) which then leaves me with X dollars. From those X dollars, I'll pay extra on the house or put money into an IRA. For the second check of the month (ie. the mortgage check), I take my take home minus the mortgage and auto draft Verizon bill. That still leaves me with a dollar amount for investing.

I'm going to try something new with the check I get on Friday: build in a certain % going right to an IRA every paycheck. Otherwise, other things tend to get the money and not the IRA.

I do not allocate certain $'s or %'s to different categories because I'm pretty good at keeping that kind of stuff in check when I'm in the store.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Doing the happy dance today! My Pell Grant came through and I was awarded about $3100 per semester! That's enough for a full course load, plus all my books and other fees! I'm so excited to go back to school and finally do something with my life (better late than never).
I also saw a flyer in the advisement building that the Kaiser Foundation (who partners with the University of Oklahoma, my #1 choice to go to finish my degree) is paying off all loans for graduates in early education (my major) as long as they work in an Oklahoma school for 4 years post graduation. They'll pay it off, in entirety! We had plans to move away from Oklahoma in the next few years, but this may be something we need to strongly consider weighing in. It would mean 4 additional years in Oklahoma on top of our current 4 year plan. We'd have to really decide on this fairly soon, because it would change a few nearish long term goals completely if we decided to stay.

 

[dayvewc]

Wonder how Dave is doing?

Thanks for asking. I'm still here.

Health update: I went to the pulmonologist, and (my understanding is) she still thinks I have COPD, but I was doing much better than she was expecting. She wants to do a few more tests, and get a CT scan before she writes the full diagnosis down, so currently I am listed as having severe asthma. Also went to cardiologist, and he is having me come back tomorrow for a chemical stress test. There is a history of family heart disease, so not completely unwarranted with everything else going on. Had an appointment with a sleep doctor this morning, and will go through a sleep lab sometime in the next couple of weeks and get set up with a CPAP.

Debt dumping: It's failing. Waiting for fiance to get his first check from the partial days he worked last week, and hopefully he will get more days / hours this week. Until he starts working full time, I can't do anything on the debt front.

Not much else to report. I am still improving, but where I felt about 10% when I went in the hospital 5 weeks ago, I'm still only feeling about 70% now. And teaching workshops start back Friday, so I'm going to have to do a lot more on a daily basis. Hoping I will be able to manage it.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks for asking. I'm still here.

Health update: I went to the pulmonologist, and (my understanding is) she still thinks I have COPD, but I was doing much better than she was expecting. She wants to do a few more tests, and get a CT scan before she writes the full diagnosis down, so currently I am listed as having severe asthma. Also went to cardiologist, and he is having me come back tomorrow for a chemical stress test. There is a history of family heart disease, so not completely unwarranted with everything else going on. Had an appointment with a sleep doctor this morning, and will go through a sleep lab sometime in the next couple of weeks and get set up with a CPAP.

Debt dumping: It's failing. Waiting for fiance to get his first check from the partial days he worked last week, and hopefully he will get more days / hours this week. Until he starts working full time, I can't do anything on the debt front.

Not much else to report. I am still improving, but where I felt about 10% when I went in the hospital 5 weeks ago, I'm still only feeling about 70% now. And teaching workshops start back Friday, so I'm going to have to do a lot more on a daily basis. Hoping I will be able to manage it.

Thanks for the update. Glad you’re feeling better.

 

[pblack]

Not much on the debt dumping front here. After having to pay for a bunch of unexpected stuff over the last month, we're really trying to crack down this month on paying off our debt. We're also trying to be more mindful of where/what we are spending our money on. But it doesn't help that Costco has a sale starting today on an air-fryer for $55...I may or may not have bought it. Granted I've been debating an air fryer for awhile since I really hate turning on the oven do fries and chicken strips, and I REALLY hate using the actual oil fryer. I felt like $55 was a good price for a 5 qt fryer and it has the added bonus that if I don't end up liking it I know I can take it back to Costco.

We leave on our cruise 3 weeks from Saturday and I am soooo ready to be on vacation. The weekend after we get back is Labor Day and we're flying out to Texas to visit my best friend. We have quite a few busy weekends coming up that will really test our willpower on not spending money on frivolous things.

 

[Tygerlilly]

@DisneyMandC, did you say you were coming to Tulsa next month or September? I tried to look back in the thread to find it, but that's a lot of pages to look through. Lol.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Not much else to report. I am still improving, but where I felt about 10% when I went in the hospital 5 weeks ago, I'm still only feeling about 70% now. And teaching workshops start back Friday, so I'm going to have to do a lot more on a daily basis. Hoping I will be able to manage it.

I really hope you're back up to 100% soon.

Got some more of my federal rebates back yesterday. Was hoping to do some debt dumping but just got a quote back from my mechanic and the work I need may cost $367 or $1017, depending on the part that needs replacing. So there goes those extra $$$!

I have made some lines in YNAB for each of our school holiday periods when DH won't be working and am stashing money in those as he gets paid. I think I prefer that to budgeting it forward as then I can set a goal for each and keep track more easily.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

We're heading into a busy period again soon! Soon we leave for a wedding in our hometown 11 hours away. Other than a hotel stay halfway there and back, a little food and a gift for the wedding it shouldn't be too expensive of a trip since we're staying with my mom. i'm thinking we may take DS to the children's museum while we're up there one day but that won't be very much. I'm sure there's some kind of discount too I could find, just need to do some research.

Also, a very good friend of hours is going to be staying with us for 5-6 weeks next month. He's starting an advanced degree program in our city in late August, but his new roommates can't move into their new place until October when their current lease is up, so he's going to crash with us in the interim. DH is really excited because he'll be on his paid parental leave for almost his whole stay so they'll get to do a lot of hiking and video games and generally catching up. We're really happy to be able to help him out. He's always the first person to raise his hand anytime we need anything, and it's nice to be able to repay the favor. We told him not to worry about chipping in for anything- he's done a lot for us and will do a lot for us while he's here, it's more than enough.

It'll also help us on the debt dumping front because he'll watch our two cats while we're away for our Sept cruise, which saves us about $150 in petsitting fees. He's also a certified EMT and has promised to teach us both infant CPR which is obviously invaluable anyway, but I was getting ready to shell out and pay for a course someplace so I'm happy to be getting it one of one in my own home. DH and I both felt pretty confident in the course we took a few years ago in college but now that DS is starting finger foods I'm starting to worry about choking and want to brush up. Pray we never need it but better safe than sorry. He'll probably help DH assemble our new bedroom set and stuff too which will save both of our sanity!

All in all things are going ok here, just chugging along!

 

[Laurieannc]

i'm thinking we may take DS to the children's museum while we're up there one day but that won't be very much. I'm sure there's some kind of discount too I could find, just need to do some research.

[/QUOTE]

Just wanted to let you know that you should look into your local library for museum passes. Our local library offers free passes to many museums in our state--I live on Long Island and the passes are good for museums here and also in NYC. Hope you all have fun!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

i'm thinking we may take DS to the children's museum while we're up there one day but that won't be very much. I'm sure there's some kind of discount too I could find, just need to do some research.

Just wanted to let you know that you should look into your local library for museum passes. Our local library offers free passes to many museums in our state--I live on Long Island and the passes are good for museums here and also in NYC. Hope you all have fun![/QUOTE]


Thank you, I will! I was there the other day and actually think I saw something about passes!

 

[dwiz]

I've been reading these posts for a month about paying down debt and the struggles, and just curious, does anyone ever consider selling their $800 phone and $100+ a month service fees? That's a pretty easy way to get a huge chunk of money back.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

I've been reading these posts for a month about paying down debt and the struggles, and just curious, does anyone ever consider selling their $800 phone and $100+ a month service fees? That's a pretty easy way to get a huge chunk of money back.

you mean $100 phone bought outright 2 years ago and DH's 6 years ago? I'll hazard a guess that not too many of us have a flash new phone.

 

[dwiz]

you mean $100 phone bought outright 2 years ago and DH's 6 years ago? I'll hazard a guess that not too many of us have a flash new phone.

I think you might be the exception here. At least walking around disney, you'll see most people with iphones or the new lg. With all the budgets listed in this thread, the phone bill is missing from most of them. Also, many people don't know that the $1000 cost of an iphone x (or whatever new handset you get) is built into your monthly payment.

 

[Aurora_Australis]

Oh no, not among the general population but within this thread for sure.

 

[mmbrad02]

I've been reading these posts for a month about paying down debt and the struggles, and just curious, does anyone ever consider selling their $800 phone and $100+ a month service fees? That's a pretty easy way to get a huge chunk of money back.

I lurk on this particular thread more than I post, but we also use our phones to their grave. DH's employee pays for his so while it appears he is flashing a fancy phone, it's nothing that can/needs to be cut from our budget for the sake of using the money elsewhere. My phone is currently new, but we can afford it, and it's only new because we switched providers and I had to change phones. I did however sell my previous iPHone (which was long paid off) to Gazelle and put the money toward my current phone.

 

[Jason_V]

I've been reading these posts for a month about paying down debt and the struggles, and just curious, does anyone ever consider selling their $800 phone and $100+ a month service fees? That's a pretty easy way to get a huge chunk of money back.

Not the phone, no. But I did sell 500 movies last Thanksgiving for $500. I put the money into savings and was able to pay the deficiency in my mortgage escrow account (leading to a lower mortgage payment) and the car/house insurance for a year.