Debt Dumpers - 2019

Yeah, Target accepted the toy back and I got a refund. Didn’t have the receipt but it was purchased on my Red card so easy to find. There was a sign on the wall about refunds I read while waiting in line saying if it’s opened, etc refunds may not be given, but there was the word “may” so I was willing to try and prepared if they said no wouldn’t worry about it either way. I explained it broke in one try, and they refunded it. Not very exciting or debt worthy just mentioning since many may have kids opening presents this month and may have exhanges or refunds!
 
2019 goals:
  • Have DH's work contract renewed (not in our control; he is a gov't contractor and it's up for rebid this coming summer)
  • Send DS to college in August without completely breaking the bank. He's gotten some nice money from two schools already but hasn't heard if he's accepted to two more of his top choices, one of which does not give academic scholarships and is very expensive. No matter where he goes, we will most likely have to decrease our retirement savings but will put in at least enough (probably more) to get our matches.
  • Continue to not have CC debt. We were just saying the other day how this is the first holiday season in a long time where we have nothing on the CC.
 
Welcome!!! :cool1: Great job paying down so much already! We're planning a 2 week trip in 2020 also, but it's not until fall, so I'm not even going to start trying to save for that until January of 2020.

Thank you! Our trip in 2020 will be end of January/beginning of February so we will have to pay it off by the end of 2019 which is why I had to include it in these goals.
 
2019 financial goals are fairly simple:
-Fully fund ROTH IRA
-Start and aggressively fund a short term fund
-Stick to the budget

Personal, not even bothering this year! Last year one of my main goals was to visit all family, especially my mom and dad. I lost my father midway through the year, which I didn't talk about as there was a lot to process in my mind mixed feelings because it was a complicated relationship, and this was a place I didn't have to think about it when it seemed pretty much 24/7. But, I've come along way with grieving and feel more at peace with accepting.
 


Hello everyone!

I've been lurking these threads for ages, and I feel like now is the best time to join the Debt Dumping!

My Financial Goals for 2019:
  • Have $5000 in my savings account ($1000/$5000)
  • Have under $28,000 in student loans (currently just under $35,000)
  • Save $2,000 for vacation in November to California/Disneyland ($0/$2000)
Here's to a great 2019 everyone! :)
 
Hello everyone!

I've been lurking these threads for ages, and I feel like now is the best time to join the Debt Dumping!

My Financial Goals for 2019:
  • Have $5000 in my savings account ($1000/$5000)
  • Have under $28,000 in student loans (currently just under $35,000)
  • Save $2,000 for vacation in November to California/Disneyland ($0/$2000)
Here's to a great 2019 everyone! :)
Welcome! Glad you have decided to join us.
 
@Jen and Ashwin, you beat me to it. I saw someone asking and thought I'd start this one when I finished catching up on the posts.

Right about now, my only goals for 2019 are to manage to not lose my car and house. Since last summer, my health issues have drained every gain I thought I had made, and set me back even further than I was when I started. I just want to curl up in a ball, cry, and die.
Hope your health is able to return to better!

Hello to the new posters!
 


Hello everyone!

I've been lurking these threads for ages, and I feel like now is the best time to join the Debt Dumping!

My Financial Goals for 2019:
  • Have $5000 in my savings account ($1000/$5000)
  • Have under $28,000 in student loans (currently just under $35,000)
  • Save $2,000 for vacation in November to California/Disneyland ($0/$2000)
Here's to a great 2019 everyone! :)


Welcome to the group!!
 
Dave, I am so sorry. We are all here to listen and provide encouragement. Even when things seem bleak, it helps me to think of the reasons that keep me going each day and remember what I am working towards. I am wishing you better health and financial fortune in 2019.

You are quite correct. Everyone here has always been so helpful, supportive, and willing to listen. Reading and following along has been one of the few consistent bright spots for me the past several months. I have just been so overwhelmed, I hadn't wanted to post from the fear I'd come across as excessively whiny.

Dave, big hugs!!!

Big hugs and positive thoughts to you Dave!

Hope your health is able to return to better!

Thank you everyone for the kind wishes and positive thoughts. The last half of the year was just punch after punch after punch. For a while, it seemed like it would never end. I have finally begun to start turning things around a little bit (I hope), but there's still 3 weeks left so I'm kind of antsy waiting for the next kick while I'm still down.
 
Well I figure I can post my goals and update on my 2018 progress later this month.

2019 Financial Goals:
- Pay off remaining consumer debt and incur no new credit card debt
- Start tackling my student loans
- Save $2500 to relocate closer to work
- Increase Emergency fund to $5000
- Save $ for passport
- Pay cash for Disneyland weekend trip

2019 Personal Goals:
- Lose 40 lbs
- Go to gym or exercise outdoors regularly at least 3x a week
- Get involved and serve at church
- Plan a 2020 vacation
 
We did very well in 2017, especially considering we had a baby. We paid off all of our credit cards at the end of 2016, and did not accumulate a single cent of cc debt in 2017, so we've created new habits! In 2018 my plan is to:

1) Get DH's car paid off or close to it. My car is limping along and I know I'm going to need to replace it soon, and I don't want to have two car payments.
2) Continue our good habits with our credit cards. Keep charging everything and paying it off every month to earn rewards.
3) Get the remainder of our cruise in September paid for with some of our income tax return, and put the rest in savings.
4) Begin contributing to our house savings account (amount TBD) and get up to 7% in DH's retirement fund.
5) Me- get a part time job in the spring. Take half of these checks for emergency savings account and half for yearly vacation fund.
6) Pay off DH's phone by summer. Then we may trade in our phones for cheaper smartphones since neither of us use ours anywhere close to their potential.
7) As always, shop for Christmas/ Birthdays throughout the year with sales, coupons, and clearance. A huge portion of my family has December and January birthdays (including DS now!) so I really need to do this to be able to financially survive the holidays!
8) Get a deposit saved if we decide to book a bounce back offer on another cruise when we go in September. I want to make sure we have the cash in hand for the deposit ahead of time so we can make a decision without worrying about cost!

So, I'd been really hesitant to go back and look at my goals for 2018 because I was afraid we hadn't done well. I was *very* pleasantly surprised at all we did manage to accomplish, and also shocked to see some of the changes we have made in spending this year that ensured we won't have the same concerns going forward.

1) Car has about $3000 left and we've been doubling payments so I think it'll be done this spring or early summer. I'm considering this a win with moving and all the trips back to our hometown we did this year. We also sold my car when it blew in January and decided to become a single car family since I stay at home and even if I do go back to work, it'll always be opposite of DH so he can watch DS. This was 100% the best financial decision we made for ourselves this year.

2) Done! Kept up the good habits very well this year and once again we have not accrued any cc debt.

3) Done! And the next one is booked!

4) Half and half. House savings account is looking pretty sad ATM, but that's ok. 7% in DH's account is done and we're going for 8% next year.

5) This was the only point I 100% did not accomplish. I put in about 20 apps, never heard back, and just stopped applying. It got so tough in the second half of the year as weddings, our move, our cruise, and the holidays just kept slamming us back to back. DH and I have a plan to sit down and make a list of at least 50-75 openings I'm qualified for that I can do for weekend or evening work (or work from home). I miss being in the workforce and I'd love some part time work.

6) DONE! We paid it off in *January* and then traded in both of our iPhones for cheap Androids. We just didn't use our iPhones to their full capacity and it wasn't worth it for us anymore. No more phone payments which dropped our cell bill and made us both very happy!

7) DONE. Heck, I've already got DS's Easter basket mostly done and the next thing I have to worry about are May brithdays, lol. I've even got Mother's Day started for my mom! ETA: I've also significantly reduced how much I give. I just have to be realistic about what we can afford.

8) DONE! Used Disney Visa cc rewards for our deposit!


I want to sit down with DH a little closer to the end of the year to iron out our goals for 2019, so I'll come back with a list then, but I wanted to post my recap here to get the ball rolling and give myself (and anyone struggling or just starting their journey) encouragement for 2019!
 
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ETA: I've also significantly reduced how much I give. I just have to be realistic about what we can afford.

This has been my number one struggle with birthdays and holidays. I LOVE giving gifts. To the point where I'd skip paying something to over-give. I've learned to really tone it down some after the past 2 years Christmases where the girls got SO MUCH STUFF. We're now focusing on experiences instead of material things.
 
Well, my parents arrived on Saturday and left yesterday. We celebrated Hanukkah and opened gifts on Saturday. This year DD could actually help rip at the wrapping paper and she was genuinely interested in her gifts. We got her a Little People daycare/preschool playset, an American Girl bitty baby doll, a sled and a balance bike. Her stocking had Ugg slippers, two Winnie the Pooh movies, a shirt, 4 pairs of socks and two Little People figurines. My parents got her a Little People farm playset and my sister got her a doll bed. My brother's gift hasn't arrived yet, but he got her a set of stacking blocks. Overall, I think we did a good job picking out nice items without going crazy and spending too much money. Lots of the gifts will be good for many years and that is always a big consideration for me.

I stuffed DH's stocking with bike socks, mountain bike gloves, Exit escape room game, a $25 iTunes gift card, Yellowbird hot sauce and a cookie decorating class at Sur La Table. Plus I got him Kingdomino too. I got my dad a wifi enabled thermometer for the outdoor kitchen in their new house in Texas. And after a lot of thought, I got my mom a new bathrobe. She is so hard to buy from, but I remembered over Thanksgiving that she told me she has had the same bathrobe for over 15 years. It was definitely looking a bit shabby. Thankfully, she loved it.

And I did splurge a bit on something for myself. The university has a big computer sale twice a year that includes some accessories. I decided to upgrade to the new Series 4 Apple watch. The new Series 4 watch includes afib detection, which is something I really value since I have afib. It was only $10 off regular price, but I get to pay for it over 12 months, 0% interest via payroll deduction. It comes out to something like $36 per month, which I can easily afford to take out of my monthly allowance. Plus I just sold my Series 3 watch for $250. I used my Series 3 watch a ton over the last year and really loved it. I always used a screen protector and so it was still in great shape.

And when my parents were here, we got a ton of stuff done. My dad helped us put the cover on our travel trailer. It wasn't super easy to figure out, but I think now that we have done it once, it won't be as hard next time. We cleaned out the entire basement, moving everything to the area that will remain as unfinished storage space. And we also cleaned up the garage so that we can finally start parking both cars inside again. My dad helped us install ceiling fans in both upstairs bedrooms. We also installed programmable solar timer switches on the light switches that control the outdoor porch and garage light sconces. And we installed a few more TP-Link wifi light switches. This help easily saved us hundreds and hundreds of dollars in electrician costs, so I am pretty grateful.

To say thanks, we ended up taking my parents out to dinner on Tuesday. It wasn't really in the planned budget, so I will have to shuffle some money around and find somewhere to take from to cover it.

And finally, the basement project has officially begun! The builder got the permits approved from the Township without any requests for changes to the architectural plans. I met with the builder on Tuesday. We paid the initial downpayment of $17k. I think that is the largest check that I have ever written in my life. It is all coming out of the HELOC, so I will have to figure out how much we should start making in monthly payments towards that. Though we can't do it right away, in a few months we should have enough money freed up to start making payments of at least $1000 a month, but eventually I would like it to be even more since our goal is to pay off the HELOC asap to reduce interest costs.
 
Well, my parents arrived on Saturday and left yesterday. We celebrated Hanukkah and opened gifts on Saturday. This year DD could actually help rip at the wrapping paper and she was genuinely interested in her gifts. We got her a Little People daycare/preschool playset, an American Girl bitty baby doll, a sled and a balance bike. Her stocking had Ugg slippers, two Winnie the Pooh movies, a shirt, 4 pairs of socks and two Little People figurines. My parents got her a Little People farm playset and my sister got her a doll bed. My brother's gift hasn't arrived yet, but he got her a set of stacking blocks. Overall, I think we did a good job picking out nice items without going crazy and spending too much money. Lots of the gifts will be good for many years and that is always a big consideration for me.

I stuffed DH's stocking with bike socks, mountain bike gloves, Exit escape room game, a $25 iTunes gift card, Yellowbird hot sauce and a cookie decorating class at Sur La Table. Plus I got him Kingdomino too. I got my dad a wifi enabled thermometer for the outdoor kitchen in their new house in Texas. And after a lot of thought, I got my mom a new bathrobe. She is so hard to buy from, but I remembered over Thanksgiving that she told me she has had the same bathrobe for over 15 years. It was definitely looking a bit shabby. Thankfully, she loved it.

And I did splurge a bit on something for myself. The university has a big computer sale twice a year that includes some accessories. I decided to upgrade to the new Series 4 Apple watch. The new Series 4 watch includes afib detection, which is something I really value since I have afib. It was only $10 off regular price, but I get to pay for it over 12 months, 0% interest via payroll deduction. It comes out to something like $36 per month, which I can easily afford to take out of my monthly allowance. Plus I just sold my Series 3 watch for $250. I used my Series 3 watch a ton over the last year and really loved it. I always used a screen protector and so it was still in great shape.

And when my parents were here, we got a ton of stuff done. My dad helped us put the cover on our travel trailer. It wasn't super easy to figure out, but I think now that we have done it once, it won't be as hard next time. We cleaned out the entire basement, moving everything to the area that will remain as unfinished storage space. And we also cleaned up the garage so that we can finally start parking both cars inside again. My dad helped us install ceiling fans in both upstairs bedrooms. We also installed programmable solar timer switches on the light switches that control the outdoor porch and garage light sconces. And we installed a few more TP-Link wifi light switches. This help easily saved us hundreds and hundreds of dollars in electrician costs, so I am pretty grateful.

To say thanks, we ended up taking my parents out to dinner on Tuesday. It wasn't really in the planned budget, so I will have to shuffle some money around and find somewhere to take from to cover it.

And finally, the basement project has officially begun! The builder got the permits approved from the Township without any requests for changes to the architectural plans. I met with the builder on Tuesday. We paid the initial downpayment of $17k. I think that is the largest check that I have ever written in my life. It is all coming out of the HELOC, so I will have to figure out how much we should start making in monthly payments towards that. Though we can't do it right away, in a few months we should have enough money freed up to start making payments of at least $1000 a month, but eventually I would like it to be even more since our goal is to pay off the HELOC asap to reduce interest costs.
I love the Little People toys. Congrats on the basement project beginning! You're very fortunate to have your parents come, and be such a help! That's a blessing. When do they estimate to be complete?

I'm 75% done with Christmas, thankfully. I want to sit back and enjoy the rest of the season with no worries of mailing packages or cards.

Does anyone have a good app or suggestion for someone in their 20's for a free bill reminder, needed to help with avoiding overdraft charges for not having the necessary funds when automatic payments come due. I suggested already working a paycheck or two ahead and planning for the upcoming month. But, with this age, a suggestion for something digital they can do on a smartphone that's free?
 
DH found out that he got a raise this morning. Not sure of the exact difference since I haven't seen his pay stub yet, but it equated to about $80 more on his paycheck today. So I figured i'd get a jump start at tackling my 2019 goals and upped his retirement funds by 2%. Plan on saving $25-50 more every month now with that raise as well.
 
I love the Little People toys. Congrats on the basement project beginning! You're very fortunate to have your parents come, and be such a help! That's a blessing. When do they estimate to be complete?

DD really loves the Little People toys. My mom get her the house playset for her birthday and I was surprised at how interactive she was with it. She would move the people around the rooms, even laying them down on the beds. I have little comparison to other 12 month olds, but I was pretty impressed at the time. She now has 3 playsets (house, farm, preschool) plus some extra figures and the mail truck. She can spend hours just moving the figures around the buildings or putting the mail in the mail truck. And honestly, I love playing with them with her more than some of her other things.

And my parents are always so wonderfully helpful. Beyond just helping with those things, my dad also bought us some items for our basement project, including a vanity light and vent fan with heater. I am super blessed to have such great parents.

The basement project will take around 2 months barring any unforeseen issues, but maybe a bit longer due to the holidays. We will see how everything goes. We already need to address a few very minor water leaks, but the builder said it should be about $250-$300, so not insane. I am hoping that is the only unplanned expense.
 
My husband and I just had our financial health end of the year sit down tonight and we both felt pretty good about our goals for 2019, so I guess I'll join in!

  • Pay off $11,400 in credit card debt (all being transferred to a 12 months no interest CC, in the first 90 days of opening to save money).
  • Once balances are paid off, stop using high interest cards and shift our regular spending to new (paid off) card and pay off each month.
  • Use the money we were using to make a dent on balances to buy our tickets/spending money for our 12/19 Disney trip.
  • Head to Disney a year from now with no credit card debt and with our whole trip paid in advance.

We're looking to buy our first home in 2020, so getting rid of our credit card debt is important to me. My daughter will also in 12/19 start phase 2 of orthodontics and this will run us at least 5k+. Once we have completed monthly payments for that, more long term goals include upping my husband's 401k contributions, paying more towards his student loans, and trying to squeak out some college money for our kids.
 
My husband and I just had our financial health end of the year sit down tonight and we both felt pretty good about our goals for 2019, so I guess I'll join in!

  • Pay off $11,400 in credit card debt (all being transferred to a 12 months no interest CC, in the first 90 days of opening to save money).
  • Once balances are paid off, stop using high interest cards and shift our regular spending to new (paid off) card and pay off each month.
  • Use the money we were using to make a dent on balances to buy our tickets/spending money for our 12/19 Disney trip.
  • Head to Disney a year from now with no credit card debt and with our whole trip paid in advance.

We're looking to buy our first home in 2020, so getting rid of our credit card debt is important to me. My daughter will also in 12/19 start phase 2 of orthodontics and this will run us at least 5k+. Once we have completed monthly payments for that, more long term goals include upping my husband's 401k contributions, paying more towards his student loans, and trying to squeak out some college money for our kids.
Welcome to the thread. Hope all the payoffs lead to a good paid off Disney trip! We face orthodontia here soon too looks like that’s in a year to two away.

I checked the website for our new year hotel trip and the price dropped, used the online chat and saved $75 on the price drop. Very happy to save even that. On the other hand, I randomly check SW airfare and points for our 2019 Disney trip to see if I can get points back, and that hasn’t dropped at all, only went up!
 
I have floated in and out of this thread for years, but I think it's time I join y'all and stick with it.

I'm kicking off 2019 in one income single mom mode (my divorce was final in April). I've been trying to keep the house and lifestyle the same for my kids, but doing this having lost $100k of the budget we once had.

So I guess my goals for 2019 are
  • pay down as much of the $8500 credit card debt as I can (my 1/2 of our debt gifted in the divorce). I have it on a 0% CC right now that ends in Jan 19, so I'll be moving it to another. Right now I pay $100/mo on it and would be getting another 15 mos 0%. But I'd like to have more gone if I can.
  • finish the process of getting the mortgage 100% in my name. The 60 day process was started Feb 2018 (we even paid our lawyer extra to rush a settlement agreement to get the process done before our divorce was final). Just as I was finally approved, they sold our mortgage!
  • Stop dragging my feet on filing the paperwork to get my student loan forgiven. Didn't realize as a teacher I could get it forgiven. I'm slacking as my balance is "only" like $2k, and I'm "only" paying $65/mo. But I guess that $65/mo could be moved to the $8500 I need to pay off.
  • figure out ways to save so I don't have to bank on my 3 paycheck months to "bail me out". Would be nice if the "bonus pay" could go into savings.
  • be more active at selling old clothes/toys/etc. I've made over $800 on poshmark, I need to stay consistent.
  • Not accrue any new debt

Personal Goals

  • gut my house. Getting to keep the house means I got to keep all the clutter and **** we need to purge.
  • keep off the 70lbs I've lost. I eat like **** now, but I'm still keeping the weight off
  • get into routines w/ the kids and the divorce. I have yet to go out with friends on my free weekends or do anything productive. Not because I'm sad, but tired and lazy, LOL.
  • get my BF to move here, LOL. He's in NC I'm in MI.
  • travel and keep running the CC points game. I'm playing the CC game to fly back and forth to NC. But I used points to take my kids last minute to Orlando last year at spring break and Myrtle Beach before school started.

Now I have a question for y'all. In the divorce I got $20k in savings. We had refi'd our house the year prior and took out all the equity. I have a $2k home depot CC that the 0% expires in April. The money to pay that off is in the $20k. My question is, IF I can't find a 0% card to transfer my $8500 to, does it make sense to pay off that debt vs not touch the savings and pay interest on the $8500. I'm now single income (teacher at that). I don't know how I'm floating the same lifestyle solo ($300k house, travel soccer and hockey, vacas) on just my income when we struggled on both of ours (but I was the spender, LOL). I've wanted to not touch the savings as I stand to lose a lot if something was to happen (lose my job, get sick, etc). While I'm PRETTY certain I could find another job and roughly at the same salary, there is always a chance I might not (I teach in a shortage area, with many unfilled spots in the area). My ex lost his job unexpectedly in Sept, but he's an accountant and managed to find something similar before his severance package ran out. While I could find another school, they aren't always hiring mid-year. So I've struggled with getting myself debt-free in the credit card area vs holding onto my savings. My credit score is high 700's, so I'm not worried about getting approved. More worried about finding an offer (I'm coming off the BOA that had $0 balance transfer fee and 0% for 15 mos. And looking at an Amex that is similar). WWYD and why?
 

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