Debt Dumpers - 2019

My husband and I are thinking of getting the Target card to take advantage of the free $40.00 gift card (not sure if this is even what you get??)--Can you apply on line and how do they send you the $40.00 credit? We just happened to see this offer in this week's circular. Thanks in advance
I applied online and was approved quickly. Still haven't received my card or credit, but I'm not sure if that's due to the influx of applications.
 
My husband and I are thinking of getting the Target card to take advantage of the free $40.00 gift card (not sure if this is even what you get??)--Can you apply on line and how do they send you the $40.00 credit? We just happened to see this offer in this week's circular. Thanks in advance

The details on Target's website states:
"Get a coupon for $40 off a qualifying purchase of more than $40 when you are approved for a debit or credit REDcard in-stores and Target.com between 7/14/19 – 7/27/19. The coupon will be mailed to approved cardholders with their REDcard and will be valid through August 31, 2019."
 
I went ahead and purchased school supplies despite saying I was going to wait. I did it all online this year, rather than fight the crowded aisles. However, I think the best way to save money is doing this strategically and early as sales circulars advertise as they come if one has patience for that or doesn't mind going for a cheaper brand of product. But, all done with supplies.

I did get a few random coupons for JC Penney 60% and Zappo $25 off, is anyone getting these?
 
My husband and I are thinking of getting the Target card to take advantage of the free $40.00 gift card (not sure if this is even what you get??)--Can you apply on line and how do they send you the $40.00 credit? We just happened to see this offer in this week's circular. Thanks in advance

If you are each wanting one you have to have different checking accounts (if you are getting the debit one). I have the Target Debit Card so my husband applied online to get one thinking we would get $40 for him but was denied. The denial letter said because that checking account is already associated with a red card.
 


My husband has been working a ton of overtime and I struggle between thinking "working all the overtime" and "don't work too much so you burn out". He works overnight shifts and I work day shifts so our time is limited and we have decided it is best for him to work overtime rather than me getting a job that interferes with our limited time. He called me this morning when he got off work and said he was figuring it out and if he works X amount of overtime it is X amount a month and if he works Y it is Y. He said he thinks he has figured out what works best for him to not get burned out but to get the most return. Excited to make some progress!


it is a balancing act but dang-overtime can sure go a long way towards paying down debt. my dd just got transferred from one department to another at work. she got a raise of $1.50 per hour which in and of itself is nice but the real benefit seems to be that the new department is MUCH more free handed with overtime (her old department rarely offered it). since she transferred the norm is 1/4-1/2 hour per shift. we ran the numbers and figured out that with every 5 hours of ot she will net enough to wipe out a full month of student loan payments-not a bad trade off.
 
Is it too late in the year to join in?! We decided just 2 months ago that we were ready to drop our debt. We are a 1 income family, my husband works full time and I keep our young children at home. I am a freelance writer and I do keep active in taking online surveys and the like, so I do bring in some extra money but not a lot.

So, in the past 8 weeks we've managed to pay down about 20% of our CC debt. We are on track to pay down another 10% by the end of August.

We've been able to manage this because hubby has been working a lot of extra hours. He enjoys it and plans to keep it up, but Sept will be a big expense month so we won't be able to put a large chunk on debt that month.

I am putting all of my money I make into our savings account to use at Christmas.

Overall, I'm excited to dump this debt!
 


I wish I had school supplies to buy. Oldest is in second year of community college and her books to rent this semester are $607!!!!!! :crazy2:
Yuck, college costs! I haven’t had to deal with that yet as my oldest adult child didn’t go to college but trade school. But boy she was expensive in general. Assuming my young ones go I’m sure I will be shocked at costs of college! It’s been my experience with my kids, that kids get more expensive, and things more complicated, as they get older!
 
I wish I had school supplies to buy. Oldest is in second year of community college and her books to rent this semester are $607!!!!!! :crazy2:
Not looking forward to seeing how much our first semester of books for DS is going to cost! I did pick up a bunch of supplies for him though, pencils and pens and pencil sharpener and notebooks and a stapler etc....stuff that he has at home and never even thinks about (that he wouldn't have at school unless I thought to buy them!!).
 
Is it too late in the year to join in?! We decided just 2 months ago that we were ready to drop our debt. We are a 1 income family, my husband works full time and I keep our young children at home. I am a freelance writer and I do keep active in taking online surveys and the like, so I do bring in some extra money but not a lot.

So, in the past 8 weeks we've managed to pay down about 20% of our CC debt. We are on track to pay down another 10% by the end of August.

We've been able to manage this because hubby has been working a lot of extra hours. He enjoys it and plans to keep it up, but Sept will be a big expense month so we won't be able to put a large chunk on debt that month.

I am putting all of my money I make into our savings account to use at Christmas.

Overall, I'm excited to dump this debt!


it's never too late to join in-welcome aboard!

awesome progress already-i do an occasional survey as well but i get reward points. i save them forever and then generally get a gift card for something like gamestop which i KNOW i will be doing christmas shopping at.
 
Well July has been a very mixed bag for me.
I continued examining expenses and trimmed a decent amount.
We just got back from a week in Fiji at Malolo Island Resort. Much needed wake up call as to just how much stress I was under career wise running 2 businesses and financial controller for a web store that I co-founded. My blood pressure was out of control and during the flight over I had a frightening episode where I felt like I was having a stroke.
I used the time to reexamine my life and I came home promising that I would put my health first.

First day back at work I could see evidence that I was about to be made redundant; first time ever and very emotional. So much to say but I guess the universe also had my back and recognised that I was never truly able to let this role go even though I had promised myself and family many times that I would.

I was paid out 3 months salary so I have a buffer. 75% of my income comes from our other 2 businesses so this is not a disaster but my biggest fear is financial instability so it rocked me.

I am now fully self employed and I feel free.
 
Much needed wake up call as to just how much stress I was under career wise running 2 businesses and financial controller for a web store that I co-founded. My blood pressure was out of control and during the flight over I had a frightening episode where I felt like I was having a stroke.
I used the time to reexamine my life and I came home promising that I would put my health first.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. i speak from experience on this-i failed to, ignoring/working through migraines, anxiety and even t.i.a.'s (mini strokes) until my body finally said NO MORE. entering my 40's i had 2 strokes w/in 6 months that took any choice of working or not out of my hands. fortunately i survived, i'm retired/ 'disabled' but far less disabled than many stroke survivors. do not ignore the signs your body is telling you.
 
I wish I had school supplies to buy. Oldest is in second year of community college and her books to rent this semester are $607!!!!!! :crazy2:
I have 2 adult kids, DS 27 is special needs and on disability, DS 24 is still working on college degrees (has AA), both still living at home. I'm a stay at home mom, DH is the breadwinner. We opened 529 plans (college savings) when they were little so that has been what we use to pay for it. DS 24 keeps changing his mind (we let him, esp. when he describes IT as "soul crushing") from zoology, to IT, to leatherwork, to blacksmith, back to zoology. Took most of the IT courses already, so that comes in handy for us (he built our computers and fixes all our devices when they go wonky, $$ saved), became a leather artisan, knows how to make a sword, and now back to zoology. Whew! And we still have almost enough in his 529 to pay for 2 1/2 more years. We also have a University extension here, so he can get his Uni degree without having to go away for college (so much cheaper!). Our goal is to be debt free (except house) before he runs out of 529 money so if he needs more time, we can pay OOP. DS 27 still has a huge amount in his 529, we could take our original investment out penalty free since he was disabled before 22 (his whole life, but legally) but we keep it there in case he ever wants to go back. He did go when he was 19 for 2 years, learned Japanese, got a few pre-req's done, but it became too much so he stopped. Since this has been going on so long, I have consistently been shocked with how much college costs have gone up year by year! I feel for you. So glad we can pay for their education so they won't be mired in student debt loans. Yay debt dumpers!!!
 
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. i speak from experience on this-i failed to, ignoring/working through migraines, anxiety and even t.i.a.'s (mini strokes) until my body finally said NO MORE. entering my 40's i had 2 strokes w/in 6 months that took any choice of working or not out of my hands. fortunately i survived, i'm retired/ 'disabled' but far less disabled than many stroke survivors. do not ignore the signs your body is telling you.

Thank you for sharing this - I lurk on this thread from time to time - and although you were responding to someone else - your story has really spoken to me. I am trying really hard to listen to my body - about a year ago I started having aura migraines, I have long had anxiety that goes up and down but is mostly good at the moment, in November I had what they think was an aura migraine but haven't ruled out that it was a TIA. I am trying to make changes to my diet and physical exercise to improve my risk factors but my motivation goes up and down. I am sorry you had to retire due to the effects of your health - I will TRY HARDER.
 
- I will TRY HARDER.
Be kind to yourself as you try. Leave wiggle room for life, because things happen! Much respect and love, even though I don't know you, as start this.

I type this with a heavy heart because my dear MIL (and I love her so, so much) checked herself into mental health yesterday. She was recently diagnosed with liver disease, the meds make her nauseous, during her hip replacement surgery this summer, the dr. nicked her femoral nerve and she has to use a walker. I wish with every bone in my body, to be with her right now, to sit with her and read to her or do something like learn to knit together. That said, I am grateful she listened to her body and checked in before it got worse. I'm looking forward to hugging her and asking if she'd like to have bi-weekly dinners at our house with my parents (they all get along like peas in a pod).
 
I have 2 adult kids, DS 27 is special needs and on disability, DS 24 is still working on college degrees (has AA), both still living at home. I'm a stay at home mom, DH is the breadwinner. We opened 529 plans (college savings) when they were little so that has been what we use to pay for it. DS 24 keeps changing his mind (we let him, esp. when he describes IT as "soul crushing") from zoology, to IT, to leatherwork, to blacksmith, back to zoology. Took most of the IT courses already, so that comes in handy for us (he built our computers and fixes all our devices when they go wonky, $$ saved), became a leather artisan, knows how to make a sword, and now back to zoology. Whew! And we still have almost enough in his 529 to pay for 2 1/2 more years. We also have a University extension here, so he can get his Uni degree without having to go away for college (so much cheaper!). Our goal is to be debt free (except house) before he runs out of 529 money so if he needs more time, we can pay OOP. DS 27 still has a huge amount in his 529, we could take our original investment out penalty free since he was disabled before 22 (his whole life, but legally) but we keep it there in case he ever wants to go back. He did go when he was 19 for 2 years, learned Japanese, got a few pre-req's done, but it became too much so he stopped. Since this has been going on so long, I have consistently been shocked with how much college costs have gone up year by year! I feel for you. So glad we can pay for their education so they won't be mired in student debt loans. Yay debt dumpers!!!

Thanks for sharing your story. Our 2 sons are autistic and are 13 and 15 now and your life sounds very much like ours will in 10 years. We currently have about $35k in each of their 529s so I think whatever trade school or community college they go to (one won't even go to community college, I suspect), we should be covered. My oldest wants to be a pastry chef, and already runs his own home based baking business, but he is also the smart one who may end up taking classes towards an AA or certificate at the local CC. Good to know that we can withdraw the money penalty free if needed. We have been looking into Able accounts for them and didn't know how that would work if we wanted to use 529 money to fund it.
 
Got some motivation to pay off debt and build up savings- Got an email for passholder preview at Galaxy's Edge. I would like to be in a position to just go without a second thought when these things come up.
I broke down and booked....

No additional debt, but it'll slow savings a bit.

I should regret it, but I don't. Not sure what that says about my self control!
 
Ending the month on a tight, tight budget although I have managed to add $3,500 to our savings since the end of June. Unfortunately, I will not be able to add to savings again until September as I booked a quick MNSSHP and Food and Wine trip in October. Used miles for flights and got a kickin rate at the Swan so we're on property and can walk to Epcot and HS for SWGE. I did have to pay for tickets which is why the budget is so tight! Our AP's expired in June.

We have an upcoming one week vacation in August to Montreal and Quebec City. I need to budget for food. We also have some planned big expenses like car insurance renewal in August. Our electric bill was higher this month due to the heatwave we've had the last few weeks and when we had our gutters cleaned, the tech forgot to turn our solar panel system back on>:( So for two weeks we were not getting any solar energy!!

August is a three paycheck month so we should catch up!
 

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