Debt Dumpers 2023

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Well things have been up and down.

I'm VERY glad I didn't put everything down on my house that I had for a down payment. It looks like my savings will be taking a big hit this year. Long story short, I negotiated for a furnace replacement when I bought my home. The seller (flippers) grabbed an old furnace from 1998 from one of their other properties and put it in. It "looked" new on the outside (no dents, rust, etc) so it didn't raise an eyebrow during final walkthrough. Well, February I came home to as gas leak. It has a cracked heat exchanger amongst several other dangerous flaws and was red tagged by the gas company. I ended up needing a new furnace, and did a package deal for an AC and hot water tank at the same time, plus some electrical work. $25k later.....


I'm considering attempting a lawsuit against the seller since this furnace was absolutely unsafe and could have killed us (also installed incorrectly). But... I don't know. I don't want to spend any more than I've already done. Some of these were planned upgrades (like the AC and electrical) but being as I was under the impression that the furnace had JUST been replaced I definitely wasn't planning on that. I was under the impression it was possibly refurbished, but definitely not busted and dangerous.

BUT I've been doing great otherwise both saving/ making money and budgeting it. I have about $700 worth of inventory for the 1st consignment sale of the year, and I'm definitely not close to done yet. . Granted, I'll only take home about 65- 70% of what sells after the sale runners take their portion, but that still should put me well on my way toward my trip savings (I'm hoping to make $1500 towards it through the 3 sales that will occur this year aside from any other sources of income).

Still planning on getting a seasonal job in October or so. That'll help too with still wanting to take a few trips. Plus, my ex and I agreed he will start paying the full amount of child support he should be paying come june, so that will help too.

Just discouraged by the furnace fiasco, I guess.

 

[Sheree]

Well things have been up and down.

I'm VERY glad I didn't put everything down on my house that I had for a down payment. It looks like my savings will be taking a big hit this year. Long story short, I negotiated for a furnace replacement when I bought my home. The seller (flippers) grabbed an old furnace from 1998 from one of their other properties and put it in. It "looked" new on the outside (no dents, rust, etc) so it didn't raise an eyebrow during final walkthrough. Well, February I came home to as gas leak. It has a cracked heat exchanger amongst several other dangerous flaws and was red tagged by the gas company. I ended up needing a new furnace, and did a package deal for an AC and hot water tank at the same time, plus some electrical work. $25k later.....


I'm considering attempting a lawsuit against the seller since this furnace was absolutely unsafe and could have killed us (also installed incorrectly). But... I don't know. I don't want to spend any more than I've already done. Some of these were planned upgrades (like the AC and electrical) but being as I was under the impression that the furnace had JUST been replaced I definitely wasn't planning on that. I was under the impression it was possibly refurbished, but definitely not busted and dangerous.

BUT I've been doing great otherwise both saving/ making money and budgeting it. I have about $700 worth of inventory for the 1st consignment sale of the year, and I'm definitely not close to done yet. . Granted, I'll only take home about 65- 70% of what sells after the sale runners take their portion, but that still should put me well on my way toward my trip savings (I'm hoping to make $1500 towards it through the 3 sales that will occur this year aside from any other sources of income).

Still planning on getting a seasonal job in October or so. That'll help too with still wanting to take a few trips. Plus, my ex and I agreed he will start paying the full amount of child support he should be paying come june, so that will help too.

Just discouraged by the furnace fiasco, I guess.

contact attorney who represented you at closing since they know about the negotiation. or title co who has an attorney

 

[afan]

contact attorney who represented you at closing since they know about the negotiation. or title co who has an attorney

And your realtor as they will have knowledge on what to do.

 

[DisneyHardin]

@fifthdimensiondweller Definitely contact your realtor about the furnace. There are specific things in place with real estate to deal with issues just like this. When we sold our last house, the buyers tried to "sue" us because they found a problem with the roof about 6 months after they moved in - their realtor contacted our realtor and it was going to go through a realtor arbitration instead of real court. They ended up dropping the case when their realtor realized they had waived their right to a home inspection and advised them that the arbitration would not side with them since they hadn't had an inspection.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Flying my nephew to spend two weeks at our house this summer. Ugh plane tickets are so expensive plus I have to pay the unaccompanied minor fee. I also am budgeting because I will have to buy him all new clothes when he is here (his parents don't send anything and even if they did it is always filthy and either too big or too small), get him a new eye exam (I kept telling them I thought he needed glasses and they ignored me. Last summer when I had him I got him an eye exam and glasses. His eyes are terrible!), and I will have to take him to the dentist (again, his parents are worthless).

Good news is my husband's job has overtime available and he is currently signed up for one overtime shift a week. We just need to stay committed. I am going to try really hard to meal plan as eating out kills us.

 

[CaleCakes]

I didn't do a check in at the beginning of March,

1. Pay off car note- haven't been paying extra, in fact I paid even a few dollars less this month. I usually put $500 but only did the minimum of $485 this month- current balance $6150. Windshield is still cracked, idk know I am going to do with this vehicle. It's mostly parked and I only take it once or twice a week to do an errand. We could go down to 1 vehicle between DH and I.

2. Rebuild savings account- goal is to add $5000. No change, in fact going in the wrong direction.

3. Refrain from booking "big" trips- refrained from big and small trips. Just not in the cards right now.

4. Get to the "around the house" list- started on a few items. Putting stuff aside for a community yard sale next month, cleaned up the flower beds in the front yard. Baby steps.

5. Make photo albums- I've been very unmotivated. Not started.

6. Stay off YouTube shorts/tiktok- Nope- been wasting too much time on this one lately.

7. Get a new job- Note to future self: Don't quit your job until you have another one lined up. Yikes it's been rough trying to find a new job. I got really used to working from home and being flexible with my schedule that I haven't had much luck finding something compatible. I have been doing some independent contract stuff so at least I'll have some income next month, but it feels like a hustle. I've had to be a bit creative with spending and cutting back here and there. I have a few applications pending and I'll be starting another IC job in a few weeks. I need something steady though. The income stopped but the bills keep coming in. I am very thankful DH has been taking a few overtime shifts, and my parents have been paying for a bit more of the groceries where we usually split.

@EilonwyWanderer, I feel your pain with the dance recital stuff. DD5 did dance 2 years ago and I couldn't wait for it to be over because of the recital costs/commitments. Last year she didn't do it, but asked again for the 2022-2023 season, so we signed up again but at a different studio. Well, she has complained about going for the last few months (I don't blame her, the time is not convenient). I would have cancelled months ago but as you know once you're in class up to a certain point the recital costumes etc. are mandatory. 3 pair of shoes, studio specific leotard, 2 recital costumes, pictures, parent tickets to actually watch your child dance on stage after paying for the class for 9 months- it is a lot! Both DD5 and I can't wait for the May recital and just be done. She and DS7 also do gymnastics, which they love, and DS7 does jiujitsu which he loves. DD5 wants to try soccer. I enjoy having them in activities and don't mind the extra costs, but dance always seems to be the one where costs add up. We aren't doing camps this summer. If I don't get a "real job" by June we are going on a road trip for a few weeks with my parents.

That's about it for me. Not very exciting, just trying not stay afloat.

 

[pblack]

End of March Update:

2023 Financial Goals:

• Pay off our Highlander loan (Roughly $19500 at the start of the year) - I won't be making my payment until tomorrow, but as long as I wrote out my bills and stuff correctly I should be able to pay $1000 towards this tomorrow ($500 reg payment plus $500 extra). As of right now this loan is sitting at ~$13,500 so the payment will bring it down to ~$12,500. I'm also planning on paying ~$7000 towards this soon from the money we pulled out of DH's retirement account. This should (fingers crossed) be paid off by the end of the year if not sooner.
• Increase my contributions to my "other" savings accounts (pets/gifts/CC fees). - I haven't set up any automatic increases, but i've added money to these accounts over the last month.

2023 Personal Goals:

• Travel more - We have lots of things planned for this year. We leave this weekend on our family cruise. 4th of July weekend we'll be in Texas (bought tickets, wallet is crying), we'll be going to Tahoe for a weekend in May with a bunch of friends, and we booked a cruise for October.
• Finish replacing the fence that needs to be replaced - Done.
• Live life and be happy - As always this is just a constant work in progress. My work outs kinda faltered in March. Between travel for work and lack of motivation, I just didn't work out as much as I wanted. My last post mentioned we were getting ready to see Gabriel Iglesias and that show was great. It was our first time seeing him in person (well I saw him once like 15 years ago), but he was amazing. He went super long on his set so we definitely got our moneys worth.

On the topic of being happy, my best friend is going to Disneyland next week while we're on our cruise and they don't fly home until the day we come back. So the plan is to meet up with them in Downtown Disney for a few hours before we make the drive home. I'm pretty excited to see them even though I wish we could spend more time with them.

With some of the money we pulled from DH's retirement funds we've extended our kitchen into our dining room. The "bar" portion is done (2- 30in cabinets on either side of our beverage fridge with a butcher block counter on top) and we've order a new smaller dining/island set that we'll get after vacation. I'm loving it so far and it's given us sooo much more storage. Like i'm seriously amazed how much of a difference just adding these 2 cabinets has made. I ordered a small metal utility cart/shelf for the space in between our actual kitchen cabinet and the addition and someone stole it off my front porch yesterday. I have Ring video showing someone stealing it. It wasn't a high dollar item, but i'm just annoyed that I can't claim it through Walmart until tomorrow and now I have to wait even longer for it to show up.

Some stuff has happened at work regarding telecommuting and I'm hopeful that i'll be able to work from home more than I currently do (2 days a week). This has been a constant battle ever since we went back after COVID. So hopefully i'll have some good news when I return from vacation.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to handle DH getting paid every other week instead of twice a month. It's really just thrown off my bill paying schedule lol. But I think what i'm doing this month may be the way I handle it going forward. Only time will tell. I think that's my update for the month. I hope everyone has a great April!

 

[CaleCakes]

I forgot to add to my update that our taxes were done a few weeks back. Took the accountant almost a month to get them done, I should just try to do them myself going forward. Anyway, our refund was way less than what we usually get. I know, I know, the goal isn't to get a refund, but we have been used to getting several thousand back a year so to not get it especially when we're down a paycheck was a bummer.

 

[barkley]

get him a new eye exam (I kept telling them I thought he needed glasses and they ignored me.

since your nephew lives in a different state than you it might be beneficial to check into costco for his eye test/glasses if you have one near you/there's one close to where he lives. we've found that their prices for those uninsured are the lowest and they are easy to order replacement glasses if need. you don't have to a member/nephew's parents don't have to be to order a replacement. i would give their optical a call to make sure a prescription would be honored from your state in your nephew's but from what you've described in the past-it may be the easiest set up just in case a replacement pair is needed in between his visits to you.

 

[CaleCakes]

@pblack - the nerve of porch pirates! Seriously, with a camera on them and everything. Just wow. Hopefully no issues with the next one.

 

[afan]

since your nephew lives in a different state than you it might be beneficial to check into costco for his eye test/glasses if you have one near you/there's one close to where he lives. we've found that their prices for those uninsured are the lowest and they are easy to order replacement glasses if need. you don't have to a member/nephew's parents don't have to be to order a replacement. i would give their optical a call to make sure a prescription would be honored from your state in your nephew's but from what you've described in the past-it may be the easiest set up just in case a replacement pair is needed in between his visits to you.

I see the eye dr at our costco, he's great. Rents the space from them so not associated and takes all credit cards. Reg eye exam is only $90 and that's seattle area. He's out of network for me so less is covered but I don't care.

I know within my state I can order contacts at any Costco since they all have my rx. Not sure if that crosses state lines.

 

[crazycatstacy]

since your nephew lives in a different state than you it might be beneficial to check into costco for his eye test/glasses if you have one near you/there's one close to where he lives. we've found that their prices for those uninsured are the lowest and they are easy to order replacement glasses if need. you don't have to a member/nephew's parents don't have to be to order a replacement. i would give their optical a call to make sure a prescription would be honored from your state in your nephew's but from what you've described in the past-it may be the easiest set up just in case a replacement pair is needed in between his visits to you.

Unfortunately, neither one of us have a Costco close by. Honestly it doesn't even matter with the way his parents are. Last year we were vacationing in Florida for a week with him (that's where he lives) and at the last minute his mom said he could fly home with us for two weeks. I had made an appt at Lenscrafters in Florida since we were there but they couldn't get his lenses back by the time we left Florida. So we had his prescription and frames from Lenscrafters and then took them to Walmart to get lenses. About six months after he had been home his mom texted me asking if I had gotten a protection plan on them because one of the ear pieces had come off. I told her that he would be on file and to take them to Walmart and they could fix it. I also went online and ordered a second pair of frames to have a back up and they never took him in to get it fixed. I took him earlier this month when I was in Florida.

 

[crazycatstacy]

@pblack When my husband switched from 2x per month to every other week it was an adjustment for sure. I get paid twice a month. what did was right down the date of every paycheck between the two of us and matched them up. That way I was able to make sure the dates lined up the way I wanted as far as money. So his "free" checks aren't necessarily the same months that there are actually extra weeks but the weeks that work for us. Hope this makes sense.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

your mortgage holder is letting you do that? i ask b/c we had done the traditional property taxes and homeowner's insurance payment bundled in to our mortgage for years but when we moved into our current home decided to independently pay our property taxes and insurance. our lender made us provide annual proof that our insurance was in force at some minimum levels they had established and the one time the proof got delayed we were issued a swift reminder in writing that failing to carry it constituted a breach of our loan which they could pursue under foreclosure.

I had no issues with them letting me cancel it, but I'm in Canada so maybe it's different here? My property taxes have never been in with the mortgage, but I can't see that mattering. I'm required to have property insurance (like auto insurance: coverage against fire, etc) as part of the mortgage terms, but they've never asked me for proof of that.

 

[barkley]

I had no issues with them letting me cancel it, but I'm in Canada so maybe it's different here? My property taxes have never been in with the mortgage, but I can't see that mattering. I'm required to have property insurance (like auto insurance: coverage against fire, etc) as part of the mortgage terms, but they've never asked me for proof of that.

it must be different here. with a traditional mortgage in the u.s. people's monthly payment includes a portion earmarked for their property taxes and homeowner's insurance. the mortgage holder pays those from an escrow account that holds the earmarked funds. on homeowner's insurance the lender will have a minimum amount of coverage the borrower has to carry to make sure that they (the lender) is covered if there's damage to their loan's collateral (home/physical property).

when a home is paid off here it's advised for the owner to get yet another type of insurance-an umbrella policy (often with a very high coverage level) in the event that they get into some situation (auto accident, someone injured on their property...) where the limits of those policies are exceeded and their paid off home becomes fair game for someone to go after.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

it must be different here. with a traditional mortgage in the u.s. people's monthly payment includes a portion earmarked for their property taxes and homeowner's insurance. the mortgage holder pays those from an escrow account that holds the earmarked funds. on homeowner's insurance the lender will have a minimum amount of coverage the borrower has to carry to make sure that they (the lender) is covered if there's damage to their loan's collateral (home/physical property).

when a home is paid off here it's advised for the owner to get yet another type of insurance-an umbrella policy (often with a very high coverage level) in the event that they get into some situation (auto accident, someone injured on their property...) where the limits of those policies are exceeded and their paid off home becomes fair game for someone to go after.

Most definitely different! Here homeowners insurance is it's own thing, like you pay separately for auto insurance. Nothing to do with your bank or mortgage, except that they usually require you to have a policy of some sort.

Mortgage insurance is something through the lender, where if you got in an accident and couldn't pay or something, then the lender would be paid. I already have insurance that would cover that sort of situation, so I didn't need theirs. But they didn't know that, and it's not required.

You used to be able to roll your property taxes in with the mortgage the same way (separate 'pool') but mine was never set up that way. The banks got out of that a year or so ago. At least, my bank did and my parents bank. They'd always paid a higher monthly payment that included a portion for the property tax, but the bank did away with that so now they have to manage and pay it on their own.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

In some days, this was a great week, but in others I was super lazy. Deadlines at work have been brutal, and I'm exhausted.

Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Still using them and paying them off before they start earning interest.
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)
-I can't buy anything until I pay my property tax. My appeal for that still hasn't been addressed.
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 also finally got all my tax papers. Once those are filed and I get my refund, I can redirect that money to my property taxes.

General stuff:
1. Make a will
-DONE. I already feel better about things!
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.
-4 items gone this week. A far cry from last week, but I've been busy.
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.
-Did a bit of networking
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 2 workouts
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.
-Met up with friends once this week
8. Organize my stuff!
-No progress

 

[jen7233]

Here it is April already! April Fool's Day tomorrow. I'll feel really foolish with a mortgage and a rent payment to make tomorrow. I have been working myself to the bone I feel like, if not working then I'm working on something around the house. Housework tends to fall behind lately since I'm doing full time plus overtime every week. I am not in feeling like doing any overtime this weekend, so I'll just enjoy the weekend and save my dread for logging in Monday morning. Always amazed my work inbox and my work emails seem to multiply over the weekend when you'd think people were off, but no, it's a phenomena in my line of work and employer of the mysterious weekend inbox increasing.

I've also picked up some debt with the oldest helping her get resettled after a bad situation. Hopefully no recurrence on the bad situation occurs. So, I have to look at how I'm tackling that credit card as it was complicated. I'm probably shopping for a 0% balance transfer card for 15 months. I'm down to two cards right now though, and both are Chase. One is CSR and the other is Freedom Unlimited. Plus we have a joint Freedom. We are working on a landscaping project at home that will probably last into early summer, since we have limited time to spend each weekend. I have to think about how exactly we are fixing our backyard as well here shortly. Projects around the house inside I'd love to do, but the only pressing one inside at the moment is if anything breaks, then have a list to go through.

Summer we have one trip planned for WDW, though I have to relook the reservation room rates.

 

[jackers]

2023 Financial Goals - MARCH UPDATE

• Car Payment – Pay off Cherokee. On Track for a June or July payoff.
• Mortgage: Reduce balance by 15% - I won’t start tackling this until mid-year, assuming all goes as planned with the car payoff. Those payments will then roll over to extra principle payments on the mortgage. Not started.
• Savings: Increase savings balance by at least 10% 0% - my savings progress took a small hit because I lent some money to DS26 (I know he wants to pay me back eventually, but I’m not expecting it). I have no concerns about building it back though.
• 401K: Max out contributions. On Track based on current contributions.
• Reduce year over year spending in discretionary budget by using a cash budget (includes things like Gifts, Clothing, Entertainment, Dining Out, etc). Doing great so far. When I compare first quarter of this year to the first quarter of last year, I have reduced my spending by 34%! So that feels good.

2023 Personal Goals

• Get a will drawn up (sigh - this has been a goal for 4 years running. Our youngest son turns 18 this year - so we will try and do this after his birthday) Not started.
• Vacation – DS17 is graduating this year and I am really hoping we can take him on a trip this summer before he starts “real life”. DH and I have a long weekend planned in Gatlinburg in May. No family trip planned at this point.
• Get healthier – make better food choices and exercise. I yo-yo with this so much. I’ll have a couple good weeks, a couple bad weeks, and the cycles continue. I’m so frustrated with myself and horrible will power. I’m really hoping for spring to show up permanently so I can get outside and walking more.

Nothing else to really report. DS17's car is going to need more work, so we'll see what comes of that. Thankfully our little family of 3 has 4 cars, so he has something else to drive to school and work in the interim.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Here it is April already! April Fool's Day tomorrow. I'll feel really foolish with a mortgage and a rent payment to make tomorrow. I have been working myself to the bone I feel like, if not working then I'm working on something around the house. Housework tends to fall behind lately since I'm doing full time plus overtime every week. I am not in feeling like doing any overtime this weekend, so I'll just enjoy the weekend and save my dread for logging in Monday morning. Always amazed my work inbox and my work emails seem to multiply over the weekend when you'd think people were off, but no, it's a phenomena in my line of work and employer of the mysterious weekend inbox increasing.

I know this feeling all too well. Working too much and never enough to pay the bills. Haven't had a raise in years, and expected to put in extra time for free. Exhausting, isn't it?

Hang in there. If not until it gets better, at least until you can find something better.