Debt Dumpers - 2015

[gracie1]

Just checking in here. Wow this thread is popular! Happy to see so many new faces on here…..stick around and you will learn a lot!

So I made my first deposit for the backwards 52-week savings challenge. I went back and forth over whether or not to start this, as it’s another ‘layer’ of accounting for me to deal with and shouldn't I just make regular deposits into savings anyway? (Like I already do.) But so many people have said it’s an almost painless way to save additional money, so I am doing it! Also wanted to mention……in a previous post I said I was up to $70 per pay for automatic bi-weekly transfers into savings, but when I input my next one into Quicken I saw that I was actually only at $60. So to keep me to my word, I upped it to $70! Really, once you start, it is easy and you do not miss the money. And you love seeing your savings account balance grow. I remember the days before kids when our automatic savings amount was killer, meaning in the hundreds. Sigh.

And after much deliberation I got the SWA credit card and that will be used in place of our debit card. We use our debit card for almost everything and I am tired of not being rewarded every time we swipe. In the past we’ve had debit cards that earned American miles and then Hawaiian Air miles. But when we moved here I looked around for a rewards debit card from a bank and in researching it found that banks really do not offer that any more. So we will pay the annual fee but then get something that we feel is worth it in return for purchasing that we do anyway! This, again, adds a new ‘layer’ of accounting for me. I just plan to write all SW charges into the checkbook in red pen as if it were a debit transaction and then transfer the ‘red’ amount of money to pay the card every two weeks. I know there are a few threads out there regarding the SW cc offers and just wanted to mention that both DH and I received the 50,000 mile offer in the mail during December, so it is still out there for those with good credit.

Took down all the holiday decorations yesterday and wow does the house look bare. Today is my last day of the holiday time I took off so tomorrow everyone starts back to regular life with school and work. I’m a little sad, but we really did have a good time over break and I’ll just be happy for the time we had! Onward and upwards in 2015!

Just a note regarding the sw cc - and I have no idea if it works this way with sw but I know with my cc that I get rewards on that if I pay it before the cycle ends I don't get the rewards. So if I charge $1000 in the month and pay half of it before my billing cycle ends I only get rewards for the $500 on there. Just don't want you to miss out on any rewards!!

 

[AlohaNow]

Thanks for mentioning that gracie! That is bizarre. I've never seen a rewards card that works that way, but the devil is in the details.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Just a note regarding the sw cc - and I have no idea if it works this way with sw but I know with my cc that I get rewards on that if I pay it before the cycle ends I don't get the rewards. So if I charge $1000 in the month and pay half of it before my billing cycle ends I only get rewards for the $500 on there. Just don't want you to miss out on any rewards!!

Southwest gives you the rewards whether you pay in full or not and there's no extra bonus for paying in full. I used to not pay in full. I was bad with a lot of cards. We refinanced, took out some equity, and paid them off. I closed them except for the SW card which I now pay faithfully.

Just like having liposuction doesn't really teach you proper diet & exercise, I started getting bad again but now I'm doing it the right way before things get any worse. Learning to live within or below our means, paying it off a little at a time, and paying close attention to where our $ goes.
Not that you asked all that, I'm just kicking myself for so many years of stupidity. Some days I feel it more than others.

 

[gracie1]

Southwest gives you the rewards whether you pay in full or not and there's no extra bonus for paying in full. I used to not pay in full. I was bad with a lot of cards. We refinanced, took out some equity, and paid them off. I closed them except for the SW card which I now pay faithfully.

Just like having liposuction doesn't really teach you proper diet & exercise, I started getting bad again but now I'm doing it the right way before things get any worse. Learning to live within or below our means, paying it off a little at a time, and paying close attention to where our $ goes.
Not that you asked all that, I'm just kicking myself for so many years of stupidity. Some days I feel it more than others.

Trust me - you are not the only one kicking yourself!! I sit here and think of how much money could've been in savings vs the amount paid in interest but there's no need to kick yourself - you should be proud of what you have accomplished now! Your doing a great job .

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Trust me - you are not the only one kicking yourself!! I sit here and think of how much money could've been in savings vs the amount paid in interest but there's no need to kick yourself - you should be proud of what you have accomplished now! Your doing a great job .

Thanks!

I have been sticking to The Plan, even through Christmas, and paying a little extra too. I'm working on the larger balance cards because the 0% will eventually expire and I want to get rid of those before the expiration date. I've paid off 7 so far but they were all small bills, like $200-1100. Those are easy because each month or 2 you're crossing another one off the list and doing the Snoopy dance.
With the biggies it feels like moving mountains. It will happen, it just takes time.
When I tell dh I'm excited this bill will be paid off in mid May, he looks at me as if I just drank the Kool-Aid. He doesn't get it.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks! I have been sticking to The Plan, even through Christmas, and paying a little extra too. I'm working on the larger balance cards because the 0% will eventually expire and I want to get rid of those before the expiration date. I've paid off 7 so far but they were all small bills, like $200-1100. Those are easy because each month or 2 you're crossing another one off the list and doing the Snoopy dance. With the biggies it feels like moving mountains. It will happen, it just takes time. When I tell dh I'm excited this bill will be paid off in mid May, he looks at me as if I just drank the Kool-Aid. He doesn't get it.

Even the biggest mountain can be moved one pebble at a time.

 

[Deffenm]

Deffenm - I'm excited for you!

Thank you I am excited as well. DH is on board with the plan! The kids of course are not excited. My DD wanted to go to the movies and I told her sure she could go but she had to pay her own way. She decided it wasn't worth spending HER money.

I made some great progress. I cancelled the gym membership, have insurance review scheduled, used cash for groceries, started 52 week savings challenge, and started collected items for a spring garage sale.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thank you I am excited as well. DH is on board with the plan! The kids of course are not excited. My DD wanted to go to the movies and I told her sure she could go but she had to pay her own way. She decided it wasn't worth spending HER money.

I made some great progress. I cancelled the gym membership, have insurance review scheduled, used cash for groceries, started 52 week savings challenge, and started collected items for a spring garage sale.

I canceled my gym membership today too. I have a great treadmill at home and I have a few DVD's. I'm taking mine and DS18's membership (he can use the gym at college for free) plus the Safari book subscription DH changed and I'm tacking that onto my car payment. I want that thing gone so bad I can taste it.

And why is it that kids will spend our money without batting an eye but they will hoard their own?!?!?

 

[DisMom829]

I am joining on this thread! We have been doing the snowball method for the last year. I will admit it, we rocked it until June 2014 than fell completely off track. We jumped back on in Dec 2014, as reality has set in and we realized that DS will start HS in the fall of 2015. We only have 2 years until he starts driving. 4 years until college. YIKES!!! So to start 2015 on the right foot:

1) I increased the amount going into savings that is at a separate credit union from our normal one. We do not have a card on this savings account, have to physically drive across town to get the money out.
2). Need to pay off the remaining $2k in student loan debt from DH going back to school 2 years ago after he lost his job of 19 years.
3). We need to pay off 1 car loan this year. Currently have 2, both 0 interest. So haven't felt a dire need to pay one off, but changing that attitude.
4). I increased my 401k to max it out this year. Company matches up to 6%.
5). Need to make a significant contribution to the emergency fund. DD will need braces in the near future, i fear this year, will know more Feb 19th. cost of Ds's were $4900.
6). I will pay CASH for 2 week WDW vacation in June, huge family vacay. We are staying value resort this year (bargaining tool used to bribe kids, they wanted more time at the world, so value resort or no go). We are currently booked with the DxDP. I plan on canceling that, putting the cost of the DP in savings, from my math $4660. paying for meals with my DV card (card will have zero balance when we leave home). Pay off DV after first 7 days, use accumulated points for some meals, put remaining 7 days on my DV and pay of off when we get home with remaining DP costs put in savings. Also contemplating upgrading to PAP, getting TIW card to offset cost.

I need to edit #4). maxing 401k is not a realistic goal, as maxing out would be at $17,5K! After seeing what was left of my first paycheck of the new year, I was in great sticker shock. I changed my contribution to 9%. Company still matches up to 6%. I work at a chemical plant. My area is expected to enter into a major TA in April of 2015, lasting 3-4 months. Upon start of the TA, I will increase my contributions to my 401K.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Even the biggest mountain can be moved one pebble at a time.

The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.

I am joining on this thread! We have been doing the snowball method for the last year. I will admit it, we rocked it until June 2014 than fell completely off track. We jumped back on in Dec 2014, as reality has set in and we realized that DS will start HS in the fall of 2015. We only have 2 years until he starts driving. 4 years until college. YIKES!!! So to start 2015 on the right foot:

1) I increased the amount going into savings that is at a separate credit union from our normal one. We do not have a card on this savings account, have to physically drive across town to get the money out.
2). Need to pay off the remaining $2k in student loan debt from DH going back to school 2 years ago after he lost his job of 19 years.
3). We need to pay off 1 car loan this year. Currently have 2, both 0 interest. So haven't felt a dire need to pay one off, but changing that attitude.
4). I increased my 401k to max it out this year. Company matches up to 6%.
5). Need to make a significant contribution to the emergency fund. DD will need braces in the near future, i fear this year, will know more Feb 19th. cost of Ds's were $4900.
6). I will pay CASH for 2 week WDW vacation in June, huge family vacay. We are staying value resort this year (bargaining tool used to bribe kids, they wanted more time at the world, so value resort or no go). We are currently booked with the DxDP. I plan on canceling that, putting the cost of the DP in savings, from my math $4660. paying for meals with my DV card (card will have zero balance when we leave home). Pay off DV after first 7 days, use accumulated points for some meals, put remaining 7 days on my DV and pay of off when we get home with remaining DP costs put in savings. Also contemplating upgrading to PAP, getting TIW card to offset cost.

Will your DV statement close its billing cycle while on your trip? Isn't that the only way points are able to be transferred to a reward card?
I'm not questioning your logic but it would be awful to be in FL and counting on a lot of points that are not available until after you return home.

We had 2 kids go into braces the same day. Now, only one payment left out of 24. yay!! If you have access to a FSA at work, I'd highly recommend it. We had to put something like $1200 or $1500 as a down payment per child so since the FSA makes all funds available on Jan 1, we held off getting them from Nov til Jan so we didn't have to come up with all of that at once.
Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing dh's pay without the $96 deducted and my reduced to $45.

 

[DisMom829]

The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step. Will your DV statement close its billing cycle while on your trip? Isn't that the only way points are able to be transferred to a reward card? I'm not questioning your logic but it would be awful to be in FL and counting on a lot of points that are not available until after you return home. We had 2 kids go into braces the same day. Now, only one payment left out of 24. yay!! If you have access to a FSA at work, I'd highly recommend it. We had to put something like $1200 or $1500 as a down payment per child so since the FSA makes all funds available on Jan 1, we held off getting them from Nov til Jan so we didn't have to come up with all of that at once. Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing dh's pay without the $96 deducted and my reduced to $45.

Yes, my DV closes on our 6th day there. So hopefully points will post during our last 7 days there. And I've been making all my payments for this trip on my DV, banking the points.

I do have access to a FSA at work, but unfortunately our open enrollment date has come & gone. We are all on DH's health ins through his employment. He didn't sign up for his either. We're hoping to score the same luck with DD as we did with DS and have a very small out of pocket with DD's braces. DH's has great dental ins. We're just anxiously waiting....

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Bummer bump on the road today. DH was in an accident last night due to icy road conditions and his car had to be towed out of the ditch. We are awaiting insurance to estimate and determine if it is a total loss or not.

The good news is that we have Gap coverage on his vehicle, so if it is a loss then we will be out our deductible ($500) and the loan will be paid off in full. the bad news is that means losing $500 and also having to open a new loan.

I'm a little unfamiliar with how this all works, but I am a bit concerned with trying to get him a vehicle that they will think we are trying to take out 3 car loans (mine, his vehicle now, and the potential replacement if his vehicle is considered a loss). I'm afraid that, due to that, they may not approve us and we would have to wait a length of time without a car to figure it all out. Any insight or just well wishes would be appreciated.. how stressful!

 

[Docmom]

Bummer bump on the road today. DH was in an accident last night due to icy road conditions and his car had to be towed out of the ditch. We are awaiting insurance to estimate and determine if it is a total loss or not. The good news is that we have Gap coverage on his vehicle, so if it is a loss then we will be out our deductible ($500) and the loan will be paid off in full. the bad news is that means losing $500 and also having to open a new loan. I'm a little unfamiliar with how this all works, but I am a bit concerned with trying to get him a vehicle that they will think we are trying to take out 3 car loans (mine, his vehicle now, and the potential replacement if his vehicle is considered a loss). I'm afraid that, due to that, they may not approve us and we would have to wait a length of time without a car to figure it all out. Any insight or just well wishes would be appreciated.. how stressful!

Gosh, so sorry to hear that. Hope your DH is ok. Don't think that would be a huge issue but you might try calling your bank's loan department and ask them. Or if you're looking for a particular car call the dealer finance department. Good luck. Hopefully the insurance will make a quick decision. In the meantime, do you have rental coverage on your auto insurance? We were in an accident last May (rear ended) and our insurance paid for the rental car while ours was in the shop. That might give you a few days breathing room.

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Gosh, so sorry to hear that. Hope your DH is ok. Don't think that would be a huge issue but you might try calling your bank's loan department and ask them. Or if you're looking for a particular car call the dealer finance department. Good luck. Hopefully the insurance will make a quick decision. In the meantime, do you have rental coverage on your auto insurance? We were in an accident last May (rear ended) and our insurance paid for the rental car while ours was in the shop. That might give you a few days breathing room.

He is doing ok today. We do not have the coverage, but we do have a discount. Right now it doesn't look like we will need to work it because we work opposite shifts, however we could if needed.

 

[roadtripper]

Does anyone here use Mint? Is there a way to hide a sub-account so it doesn't count it in your available funds? I use Capital One 360 for checking and savings and have a savings account there for each of my kids. Because they are set up as sub accounts under my main account, Mint includes them as part of my available cash, but I don't want them included. I've played around with it but can't find a way to hide them.

I like Yodlee Labs for that reason--you can hide accounts that you don't want to be included in your savings, etc. https://moneycenter.yodlee.com/ It can tally all your investments, etc as well. You can set up a budget, alerts, etc. It's also FREE!

 

[lehmaac]

I'm a little unfamiliar with how this all works, but I am a bit concerned with trying to get him a vehicle that they will think we are trying to take out 3 car loans (mine, his vehicle now, and the potential replacement if his vehicle is considered a loss). I'm afraid that, due to that, they may not approve us and we would have to wait a length of time without a car to figure it all out. Any insight or just well wishes would be appreciated.. how stressful!

Usually, cars are financed with secured debt (i.e. the bank takes a lien on the car title). This protects the bank/CU/credit company and is why you'll pay a lower rate on a car note than on your credit card. So as long as your credit is okay, you'll be fine. Also, assuming the car that was damaged had a lien on it, the lending institution will be the co-payee on any proceeds, so they know they're getting their $. If the car was worth less than you owed, that's where the gap insurance comes in.

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Usually, cars are financed with secured debt (i.e. the bank takes a lien on the car title). This protects the bank/CU/credit company and is why you'll pay a lower rate on a car note than on your credit card. So as long as your credit is okay, you'll be fine. Also, assuming the car that was damaged had a lien on it, the lending institution will be the co-payee on any proceeds, so they know they're getting their $. If the car was worth less than you owed, that's where the gap insurance comes in.

Thank you! This is really comforting to hear. We do have the car through our bank right now (their dealer services branch). I find out tomorrow if the car is a loss or repairable. The $500 deductible is in hand, but we'd probably only be able to swing 5-10% down on a new car right now. That might be where we get into a struggle, but the only option we have is to try.

 

[FrenchGirl]

I've really got the Disney bug again (went in 2012) so I'm going to hop on the debt dumping band wagon. I've GOT to pay these credit cards off so I can plan another trip!!! We are paying double the minimum (on two cards) each month at this point but, due to high interest, the amount is not going down fast enough for my liking. We have a child in private school (we get a hefty scholarship but, still, its a lot per month!) and will have a three month reprieve from paying the tuition (Feb, Mar, Apr) so will take that $$ and throw it at the credit cards instead.

I'd love to come up with some ways to make some extra money... yard sale, consignment, etsy/ ebay, etc.

 

[Deffenm]

Completed another survey today so earned $3 extra to put towards debt. The kids had a snow day the other day so took advantage and went around the neighboorhood shoverling driveways for money. They each made around $30 each. I was so proud of them.

I collect up a bunch of change and put in change jar. The kids are going through their rooms today to set aside stuff for the spring garage sale. It is so cold here today so they don't have school.

We had a plumbing issue yesterday and tried to fix ourselves but no such luck. I was dreading calling a plumber as that was not in the budget, however my DH has a friend who does plumbing work and he came over and only charged us $25. I was very happy with that. DH already had some cash on hand to cover the cost so it won't mess up my budget for the month.

I hope everyone is staying warm and on budget!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Bummer bump on the road today. DH was in an accident last night due to icy road conditions and his car had to be towed out of the ditch. We are awaiting insurance to estimate and determine if it is a total loss or not.

The good news is that we have Gap coverage on his vehicle, so if it is a loss then we will be out our deductible ($500) and the loan will be paid off in full. the bad news is that means losing $500 and also having to open a new loan.

I'm a little unfamiliar with how this all works, but I am a bit concerned with trying to get him a vehicle that they will think we are trying to take out 3 car loans (mine, his vehicle now, and the potential replacement if his vehicle is considered a loss). I'm afraid that, due to that, they may not approve us and we would have to wait a length of time without a car to figure it all out. Any insight or just well wishes would be appreciated.. how stressful!

The important thing to remember is that your dh is ok. Material things can be replaced. Budgets can be adjust. Good health is priceless and something $ can't buy. That is the biggest lesson I've learned working in a hospital/trauma center.