Debt Dumpers 2022

[Disney.Dad15]

Just paid off my credit card balance and am now putting that payment toward my Disney trip in 2023. It's amazing how relieved I feel to have that monkey off my back. You don't realize how much stress debt puts on your mental health.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I tend to do out budgets YEARS in advance and they always depress me because things look SO GOOD on paper and then...well, it rarely turns out that way. We just cancelled a February cruise and I'm bummed about it. It makes sense to, I had thought that I had enough miles to cover the airfare but it turned out I didn't and considering we're going to Disney in December it just seems dumb to put MORE on the credit card when it's already pretty out of control. I think we're finally getting over our pandemic guilt spending on the kids. With that trip cancelled we don't have anything big that we need to be saving for so we can focus on getting the credit card down and then saving for other things like getting the deck down and building new stairs and, you know, college and stuff.

 

[Disney.Dad15]

I tend to do out budgets YEARS in advance and they always depress me because things look SO GOOD on paper and then...well, it rarely turns out that way. We just cancelled a February cruise and I'm bummed about it. It makes sense to, I had thought that I had enough miles to cover the airfare but it turned out I didn't and considering we're going to Disney in December it just seems dumb to put MORE on the credit card when it's already pretty out of control. I think we're finally getting over our pandemic guilt spending on the kids. With that trip cancelled we don't have anything big that we need to be saving for so we can focus on getting the credit card down and then saving for other things like getting the deck down and building new stairs and, you know, college and stuff.

I feel you on doing the budgets in advance. Maybe I'm just a bad budgeter, but I always feel like there is some unexpected expense that always eats into what I think I'm going to save.

 

[barkley]

I feel you on doing the budgets in advance. Maybe I'm just a bad budgeter, but I always feel like there is some unexpected expense that always eats into what I think I'm going to save.

life has a habit of getting in the way of saving at times. for our household this is why if it's at all possible while paying down debt-set a small amount aside whenever you can for what we refer to as our 'reserve fund'. for us it's not so much an 'emergency fund' but for it covers the odds and ends that come up unexpectedly (take car in for regular servicing and find out it needs a minor but unplanned for repair, go to the dentist for a cleaning and find out there's something to be attended to...). when debt is finally dumped-budget a small amount each month for that account. if you have a surplus over the dollar amount you are comfortable having on reserve at the end of the year-pay yourself a holiday bonus and move it into savings.

 

[pblack]

You know I don't think I'm going to post my normal update since honestly nothing has really changed since last month. Like others I've been thinking about my 2023 goals and I think I'm going to keep it pretty simple next year by just focusing on paying down/off my car loan as much as possible and then saving towards vacations. I'm really trying to get in a few good vacations next year and I feel like we're at a point with our finances that we can focus on just living and having fun. Most of the debt we have left is our home loan/home equity loan (both were 30 years and I'm not worried about aggressively paying them right now), our solar loan (also 30 year and not worried about aggressively paying at the moment), and then our highlander loan (which is the only one I'm going to truly focus on). While we've definitely had some great vacations over the last few years, even with the pandemic, there are still so many places I want to go and I feel like if I don't prioritize doing it it's never going to happen.

We will not be renewing our DL AP's in a few weeks since I do want to focus on doing other things and I don't really feel like we're getting our money's worth at the moment with Disney. Am I sad about it? Absolutely. But I'm tired of all the price increases, wait times, travel time (we're a 6-7 hour car ride away), etc. I briefly spoke with my DH about vacations for "next year" (i.e. his next 2 weeks of vacation) and I think we're going to try and do a long weekend in Mexico, a long weekend in Texas, possibly a 3-day cruise, and then for our biggie I'm looking at either WDW/Hawaii(Aulani)/Europe/Ireland/Etc. I'm pretty open on the big vacation at the moment depending on what kinds of deals I may find. Next week we leave on our 3-day cruise and I can't wait. My DH has a had a rough time at work lately and he's definitely looking forward to doing nothing for a few days.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Halloween! Tomorrow my house will look like Christmas.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You know I don't think I'm going to post my normal update since honestly nothing has really changed since last month. Like others I've been thinking about my 2023 goals and I think I'm going to keep it pretty simple next year by just focusing on paying down/off my car loan as much as possible and then saving towards vacations. I'm really trying to get in a few good vacations next year and I feel like we're at a point with our finances that we can focus on just living and having fun. Most of the debt we have left is our home loan/home equity loan (both were 30 years and I'm not worried about aggressively paying them right now), our solar loan (also 30 year and not worried about aggressively paying at the moment), and then our highlander loan (which is the only one I'm going to truly focus on). While we've definitely had some great vacations over the last few years, even with the pandemic, there are still so many places I want to go and I feel like if I don't prioritize doing it it's never going to happen.

We will not be renewing our DL AP's in a few weeks since I do want to focus on doing other things and I don't really feel like we're getting our money's worth at the moment with Disney. Am I sad about it? Absolutely. But I'm tired of all the price increases, wait times, travel time (we're a 6-7 hour car ride away), etc. I briefly spoke with my DH about vacations for "next year" (i.e. his next 2 weeks of vacation) and I think we're going to try and do a long weekend in Mexico, a long weekend in Texas, possibly a 3-day cruise, and then for our biggie I'm looking at either WDW/Hawaii(Aulani)/Europe/Ireland/Etc. I'm pretty open on the big vacation at the moment depending on what kinds of deals I may find. Next week we leave on our 3-day cruise and I can't wait. My DH has a had a rough time at work lately and he's definitely looking forward to doing nothing for a few days.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Halloween! Tomorrow my house will look like Christmas.

Have a wonderful cruise! Sometimes we like to be busy on a cruise with lots of sightseeing. Other times I just want to veg and watch the ocean go by and see the sunset. It is so restful.

 

[FQLover]

@pblack Sounds like you have a good plan for 2023--paying off a loan and maximizing some fun and memory-making.

Please share some pics of your Christmas home decorating!

 

[pblack]

@pblack Sounds like you have a good plan for 2023--paying off a loan and maximizing some fun and memory-making.

Please share some pics of your Christmas home decorating!

No pics of Christmas yet, but i'll share some when I do. In the meantime here's our setup from last night.



We had our firepit going and movies playing on a TV I dragged outside. We got through Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus before we ran out of candy. I do a version of this set up every year, but this is the first time I've moved it to in front of the garage in order to have more space.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

No pics of Christmas yet, but i'll share some when I do. In the meantime here's our setup from last night.

View attachment 715495

We had our firepit going and movies playing on a TV I dragged outside. We got through Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus before we ran out of candy. I do a version of this set up every year, but this is the first time I've moved it to in front of the garage in order to have more space.

Wow, our house is the same layout with the garage in front of the house like that.
Looks great!

This was the first year since covid hit that we didn't sit outside with a table full of candy. Last year was really cold after the sun set and when the hot tea couldn't warm me up enough, I pulled out an electric blanket and extension cord for probably 5 more kids.

This year there were a lot of kids on the main road through our neighborhood but not many on our street. We have a lot of candy leftover.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Focusing on getting Christmas things ready. We are out of town at our daughter's Thanksgiving week so I ordered her and my son-in-law's gifts and am going to wrap them and take them with us. Did a grocery pick up for ingredients for holiday baking. Although prices went up, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Now my fingers are just crossed hoping all the items on my list are in stock!

 

[HuskyGal]

I’ve never wanted to look in this Debt Dumpers thread because I thought I’d always be in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I have some PTSD from the great recession. Well the cars have been paid off for the last few years. No credit card debt. Spouse and I both have student loans with very low rates and our mortgage. We have about 5-6 months of emergency fund.

With the waiver, I became eligible for the public service loan forgiveness program (student loans) plus some refund. That will be a big chunk that we won’t need to worry about anymore whenever it actually goes through. I also received a 30% raise. It will all go towards catching up on retirement and kids’ 529s. After that, it will go towards home improvement and maybe solar energy. It feels really… nice. The stars have aligned. Thanks for letting me share.

 

[barkley]

I’ve never wanted to look in this Debt Dumpers thread because I thought I’d always be in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I have some PTSD from the great recession. Well the cars have been paid off for the last few years. No credit card debt. Spouse and I both have student loans with very low rates and our mortgage. We have about 5-6 months of emergency fund.

With the waiver, I became eligible for the public service loan forgiveness program (student loans) plus some refund. That will be a big chunk that we won’t need to worry about anymore whenever it actually goes through. I also received a 30% raise. It will all go towards catching up on retirement and kids’ 529s. After that, it will go towards home improvement and maybe solar energy. It feels really… nice. The stars have aligned. Thanks for letting me share.

congratulations!!!

 

[HuskyGal]

congratulations!!!

Thank you so much.

 

[Carol_]

So…
Since I paid off the student loans, and I’m trying to increase my credit score from 809 to better than DH’s, I made a blunder. I asked for a credit increase on one of my cards with a low limit. It was immediately rejected by a computer and I was mailed a letter telling me to speak with a human to possibly obtain an increase. I called, got the increase, and my credit score dropped to 766!!!
So now I have to finance a Range Rover to get my score back up, right?

 

[afan]

So…
Since I paid off the student loans, and I’m trying to increase my credit score from 809 to better than DH’s, I made a blunder. I asked for a credit increase on one of my cards with a low limit. It was immediately rejected by a computer and I was mailed a letter telling me to speak with a human to possibly obtain an increase. I called, got the increase, and my credit score dropped to 766!!!
So now I have to finance a Range Rover to get my score back up, right?

766 is still good. I would call and find out the reason they rejected it, it's not because your score is 766. Pretty sure anything over 750 gets you the best rates etc.

I would also let it settle for a couple of months to see what it will come out at after paying your loans off. The history is still there so paying them off may be a temp hit or it's something else.

Not knowing what else is on your report it's hard to say what would help but again, no reason other than being competitive to get it higher. Check out credit karma and see what it shows since it breaks down what affects your score and what you've got for 2 of the 3 reports. Then in January see what it is and make a plan to increase it of you are still determined to do it.

 

[Jaymarkm]

2022 has been a rear end-kickin year on the debt front. In a good way, like I’m the kicker.

Sold 2 cars of our 3 we had equity in for ridiculous amounts during the “we will buy used cars for insane amounts period”—cashed out, paid debt, leased a 7-seat car we can easily afford for 3 years to wait out supply chain wackiness before buying something SUV/electric in 2025.

Did some other budget balancing stuff, lived cheaper, paid off other debt too and boom no debt except mortgage and
car payments. Taught extra classes like a maniac this summer to make it work. I did not enjoy teaching 3 different short-course classes during one 5 week period in July…but I was like take one for the team, gotta do it.

But best news this year on debt front comes from my oldest kiddo making National Merit semi finalist (and should make finalist)….if she makes finalist, free ride to college she loves through Master’s degree (Bama recruits academics like it’s football).

I’m a UGA alum but I’ll learn to love Bama hahaha.

With 2 more kids and chasing tenure and who knows how future/debt will play out, 2022 was a big W. (Now we just gotta be reasonable on upcoming Dec trip which is sooooo hard to dooooooooo)

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Yeah our last big spend on a year that definitely wasn't a win for us will be December's vacation. I've just decided to hell with it and with no big things planned for next year we just focus on getting our spending down and have one last hurrah.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Well, our final big purchase of the year will be here in about a week. I just became a minivan mom. We got a good deal on it for $500 down and $425 a month for a 2017 Dodge Caravan with under 80k miles. After months of trying to find an suv that would fit all 5 of us and all our crap and not pay $800/month, I gave up and conceded to minivan life for a couple years. With all out planned travel next year, it just made sense.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Well, our final big purchase of the year will be here in about a week. I just became a minivan mom. We got a good deal on it for $500 down and $425 a month for a 2017 Dodge Caravan with under 80k miles. After months of trying to find an suv that would fit all 5 of us and all our crap and not pay $800/month, I gave up and conceded to minivan life for a couple years. With all out planned travel next year, it just made sense.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a Toyota Sienna for 13 years. It had only 54k miles on it when I traded it in. I knew it had a lot of life left in it but was just way over driving a minivan. All that space was very practical to have so so many times.

 

[Eureka]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a Toyota Sienna for 13 years. It had only 54k miles on it when I traded it in. I knew it had a lot of life left in it but was just way over driving a minivan. All that space was very practical to have so so many times.

I was a minivan mom for many years. I loved my van. It was so convenient for not only travel, but all the soccer games, swim meets, etc. Now the boys are in college and I love my Rav.