Debt Dumpers 2023

[piccolopat]

Hmmm. They should be able to transfer the oil in your tank to big plastic barrels. That’s what my oil company did when my tank was leaking and had to replaced. Perhaps they don’t want to. My fear would be the leak gets worse and you’re left with big clean up costs. Very glad they’re replacing it though- as they should. Was it guaranteed for a certain number of years? I think my new one is guaranteed maybe 15 years.

I agree. My biggest concern would be the clean up costs. The oil company should also be responsible for cleaning up any contaminated soil. If they don't, it can cost you a lot later on.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

It's a small leak right now, about a drop or two a month from the bottom, so I'm not concerned that the bottom will give out tomorrow, but I am concerned that it would always be a concern. Especially since it is only 2 years old!

We're down to 1/4 a tank right now so it won't be long anyway. And then if we have a full tank as the weather warms up that'll probably last us until September or so.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

mid March update

The last month as been rough, to say the least. My FIL passed away rather suddenly towards the end of February. We had a chance to say goodbye, for which I am grateful.

I not focusing much on my goals, I am just trying to keep my head above water and not take on credit card debt during this time. This weekend will be the 4th time we are making a 5-6 hour round trip. That's a lot of extra money towards gas and food that we hadn't planned on. Throw in a $900 for furnace replacement (under home warranty), $600+ vet bill, a $500 car bill today, bi-yearly car insurance and it's been an expensive 3 weeks. Happy to have the emergency fund at this point right now.

My FIL having a trust has hit home how much I need to actually focus on getting one done. It has significantly helped make things as easy as possible in that regard. It also helps my BIL has been a rock star in navigating the way through this part.

As many said before, make the call, take the visit, send the card… whatever you can. It’s so easy to get lost in the day to day life and think you’ll have more time tomorrow. It’s never enough time.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Well, we made it back from Disney on budget but man everything seemed so expensive. Now we need to focus on paying off debt and saving. My nephew is going to come to visit this summer so we need to buy a plane ticket. Waiting for his mom to tell me the dates she prefers.

 

[pblack]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss @slightly_obsessed.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss @slightly_obsessed.

Thank you @pblack

 

[amalone1013]

I agree they are. I saw the Costco deal, thought about it, but I have so much going on right now no deal is good. At least it saved a bit for you!

We just did our master closet. We went all out with 4 poles I think DH spent about $10-$15 a piece on I was really indecisive on a closet kit, looking at what Home Depot had. I took so long I just relented to putting in the poles for clothes, as that's all he wanted up. One side we already had built in shelves. We had a blank slate in our closet to play with because we walled off another half closet next to it that used to open from the bathroom, and combined it into one instead.

DH powered through the closet this weekend so we need to get things back in. This was definitely not a required project but we had way too much hanging space and almost no shelves/ drawers. Closet stuff is overwhelming and so pricy though

 

[jen7233]

DH powered through the closet this weekend so we need to get things back in. This was definitely not a required project but we had way too much hanging space and almost no shelves/ drawers. Closet stuff is overwhelming and so pricy though

Success! It is nice when everything gets back where it should be.

Sorry for your loss @slightly_obsessed

 

[Gr8t Fan]

@slightly_obsessed so very sorry for your loss.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

This week was rough on the family, as a family member landed in the hospital. We're still not sure she's going to make it, or what shape she'll be in if she does come out, but there won't be a happy ending. It's just going to be a "how bad is the damage" kind of situation. The goals aren't top priority, but I did some work on them prior to this all happening, and I'll still poke away at them.

Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Some big expenses are coming up, so this could be a challenge to keep up.
2. Figure out a way to put some sort of extra on the mortgage, even if it's the $100 minimum - DONE!
3. Get some things I NEED to have (rims/tires for the car, items that need replacing at home, etc)
-Did some shopping around, but I can't buy anything until I pay my property tax.
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-I have a tiny auto-deposit going to an account that I'll clear out to pay my property taxes closer to the due date.

General stuff:
1. Make a will. A marriage voids your existing will, a divorce does NOT. My Dad had a heart attack recently, so this is especially important to me now.
-I dug out the software and set it where I have to look at it every day, but it didn't get done. It's tax time, so I'm helping out a bunch of people with that.
2. Continue to clear out the crap. I need to go through my clothes and that sort of thing. I got a pile done in 2022, but it really wasn't enough.
-478 items gone this week. This is excellent progress
3. Look for a new job. The reason nothing has been getting done is because I'm burned out from my existing job and I'm being severely underpaid for the work I do.
-Looked around at the job sites and got discouraged. I signed up for an online course to improve my skills and make me more marketable
4. Get my passport.-DONE!
5. Knock some half-finished projects off the list. Everything from making a scarf to some jewelry. Lots of stuff has been started, but not finished. Enough already!
-Worked on 1 project, nothing completed
6. Get into better shape. I'd like to say 'lose weight', but I'd be happy to be able to run up my own steps without getting winded. The weight loss may or may not come, but it's not as important.
-Did 4 workouts. Every single one of them hurt
7. Spend more time with loved ones. I don't see friends/family much. I guess I really need to do #3 in order to facilitate this one.
-I met up with a couple family members while they were in town
8. Organize my stuff!
-I went through things in my mind, does that count?

 

[barkley]

4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-I have a tiny auto-deposit going to an account that I'll clear out to pay my property taxes closer to the due date.

i've found that the auto deposit into a designated account method works best for this too. every month i've got an amount that gets transferred to cover property taxes, insurances (home/auto/umbrella), pest and lawn service, sirius, propane tank fill...all the non monthly stuff). ideally at the end of each year i have a bit i can rollover that helps with increasing costs the following year but in the event i don't i up the transfer amount at bit in hopes of predicting the costs (we don't get our yearly property tax dollar amounts until a month prior to the first one being due ).

 

[pblack]

Sending good wishes to you and your family member @goofytinkerbell.

 

[Eureka]

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well. Work has been crazy and life has been busy. A couple weeks ago I went to NYC with my sister for my birthday - she had a work event one of the nights but the rest of the time we just “played” - ate all the food, went to the Strand Bookstore, which is awesome, saw an off Broadway show called Titanique which was hilarious, and just hung out. Wasn’t a cheap trip but worth it, we had so much fun. Otherwise, not much to report. One more tuition payment for this semester and then we can build up our savings again for a bit. We didn’t use the 529 this semester bc we wanted to save some for next year when DS22 will be in grad school and DS20 will be a junior. But all is well here. Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[Eureka]

Thinking of your family member @goofytinkerbell. My parents got covid last month and my mom was in the hospital for a week. Scary stuff.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

Thinking of you and your family @goofytinkerbell.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Well after we came back from the family trip with my side of the family my husband talked to his mom about his side going. She does not ever want to spend any money so that she can give more to him and his siblings when she passes. He told her they would rather have memories with her than money. She agreed and everyone is on board so we are back to Florida in December for a week. Staying off property because it is way cheaper with 15 people plus not everyone wants to do just Disney. we have 3 military people in our group so I am excited to get cheap tickets!!! My MIL is generously paying for everything. We will just be responsible for our own food and spending money. I am so excited!

 

[StacyStrong]

I keep meaning to come here with a plan for my money in 2023, but every time I have a handle on a plan, I blow it up (unnecessarily).

I’m now doing a June 4-10 Disney trip with a friend. An August 24-29 Disney trip with family. Annnnnnnd most recently it’s been decided I’m going to Ireland September 19-27.

I felt guilty about the Ireland trip (bc it’s two weeks after I get back from Disney) so I floated the idea to my boss yesterday fully prepared for her to be like “ehhhh” and she was like “why would you think I’d care. Go. Always go. I always tell my people to take all the time off available to them. If you need to take a day or two unpaid if you’re out of PTO, that’s fine, but always say yes to these trips”. She then preceded to put it on her calendar before I officially made the request. Haha.

To be fair, all my credit cards are paid off, I have no car debt, I’m contributing to retirement, and I won’t go into any new debt for any of these trips. It’s just delaying other savings goals. But, this is like the last year I can just do these things at the drop of a hat. After this year, my bf and I have been discussing family planning.

 

[disney-inspired]

I keep meaning to come here with a plan for my money in 2023, but every time I have a handle on a plan, I blow it up (unnecessarily).

I’m now doing a June 4-10 Disney trip with a friend. An August 24-29 Disney trip with family. Annnnnnnd most recently it’s been decided I’m going to Ireland September 19-27.

I felt guilty about the Ireland trip (bc it’s two weeks after I get back from Disney) so I floated the idea to my boss yesterday fully prepared for her to be like “ehhhh” and she was like “why would you think I’d care. Go. Always go. I always tell my people to take all the time off available to them. If you need to take a day or two unpaid if you’re out of PTO, that’s fine, but always say yes to these trips”. She then preceded to put it on her calendar before I officially made the request. Haha.

To be fair, all my credit cards are paid off, I have no car debt, I’m contributing to retirement, and I won’t go into any new debt for any of these trips. It’s just delaying other savings goals. But, this is like the last year I can just do these things at the drop of a hat. After this year, my bf and I have been discussing family planning.

I'm with your boss on this - GO! Have fun!

 

[DLgal]

Finally breathing a sigh of relief over here. My husband received his official, written job offer yesterday! I feel so thankful for this opportunity through Hiring Our Heroes. It's truly a wonderful thing for our transitioning servicemembers. He would have never landed even an interview with this company, nevermind the job he got. He successfully negotiated the salary he wanted to get, even though it was $20,000 above the initial offer. He aimed high and they went for it! Know your worth everyone! Ask for what you deserve!

No change to our savings numbers, although we did find out he will be paid weekly, which will be an adjustment for me, accounting wise. His weekly amount should be steady, though, since he will be working a full 40 with no overtime or anything. As a contracted employee he is not authorized overtime, but expected to put in 40 hrs per week. It will be nice to have those months with "extra" paydays, though! He starts April 10, but will continue collecting his full active duty pay through June 1, so my plan for all those paychecks is just straight into the emergency fund.

I did decide to take my kids to WDW this summer. My oldest graduated last year and he asked for this trip as a graduation present, but we were very nervous about spending money on a big trip with so much uncertainty surrounding this transition, along with our savings not being where we wanted it to be, along with covid still being an issue. So, we postponed it and now I finally feel settled enough to go for it.

I used Disney Rewards points for our one night room deposit at the Beach Club (and I scored 40% off the room, which was awesome). I booked our flights yesterday after having watched them for several weeks. They were hovering around $700 per person, and yesterday went WAY down to $422 each, so I jumped on it! Flying out of my favorite airport, SNA, on Delta. Used up $300 in flight credit that I had since a cancelled trip in 2020. At checkout was presented with an offer of a $400 statement credit if I applied and got approved for the Amex Platinum Sky Miles credit card, and after reading about the perks, went ahead and applied and was approved. The card will give us free checked bags for our trip which will save us an additional $180. And my husband needs to apply for Precheck, so this card will also credit that fee. The card came with a 90,000 point bonus offer, which is worth about $630 in cash or close to $1300 when redeemed for travel, so that's amazing. I basically got our airfare for free! The annual fee of $250 will be waived the first year since DH is still active duty. Got in right under the wire on that one!

Now all I have to do is buy our tickets on base and keep an eye on rental car prices. I have an SUV booked for around $750 for 9 days, but hope that goes lower as we get closer. If not, it's all good. We will need the car regardless so it is what it is.

Still have about $250 left on our Disney Rewards card. May use that to buy our Magicband+ for the trip, so we can try them out at DL before we go.

 

[pblack]

I keep meaning to come here with a plan for my money in 2023, but every time I have a handle on a plan, I blow it up (unnecessarily).

I’m now doing a June 4-10 Disney trip with a friend. An August 24-29 Disney trip with family. Annnnnnnd most recently it’s been decided I’m going to Ireland September 19-27.

I felt guilty about the Ireland trip (bc it’s two weeks after I get back from Disney) so I floated the idea to my boss yesterday fully prepared for her to be like “ehhhh” and she was like “why would you think I’d care. Go. Always go. I always tell my people to take all the time off available to them. If you need to take a day or two unpaid if you’re out of PTO, that’s fine, but always say yes to these trips”. She then preceded to put it on her calendar before I officially made the request. Haha.

To be fair, all my credit cards are paid off, I have no car debt, I’m contributing to retirement, and I won’t go into any new debt for any of these trips. It’s just delaying other savings goals. But, this is like the last year I can just do these things at the drop of a hat. After this year, my bf and I have been discussing family planning.

I love your boss's response. I'm one of those people that always go back and forth between "#YOLO" and "I really should probably save this money." But even though I may hem and haw about it initially, I can easily say i've never regretted taking the trip. I'm all for making memories whenever possible especially since you can always make more money. You can't always take another trip.

I bought a white board type thing for my desk at work when I was forced back to the office and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. So i've been writing out an upcoming trips/events that i'm looking forward too so when I need a boost at work I can look at it and be like "oh yeah, I only have xx amount of days until ____." I just updated it the other day and was kind of amazed with the amount of things i've already planned for the rest of the year. 2 cruises, a trip to Texas, a trip to Tahoe, a seis de mayo party (since I don't want to have it on Friday night), a brewfest. I may be missing some stuff, but that's what i've got so far.