Debt Dumpers 2023

[DisneyHardin]

i could NOT resist when a local credit union offered a 5 year cd at 5.25% so a good chunk is sitting there).

My mom was just telling me last week how CDs are doing well right now and she put some savings into them. I might have to look into buying one with some of our savings.

 

[Tygerlilly]

PREACH!

it is so much nicer to be able to do these projects/repairs by cash flowing them and not questioning yourself if you would'nt be better served to throw that cash at existing debt.

our bathroom project was last year-still loving it (gotta say-frameless shower doors are SO much easier to keep clean). this year, actualy today, our unplanned for but so glad for deck freshening and tweak was completed. it needed to get stripped and refinished and we thought it could wait another year but when we had to get a support beam repaired we asked the contractor what he would charge to do it and 'just for the heck of it' what would it cost to replace all the spindles with cables thinking we might do it next summer. price came in WAY lower than we anticipated (in large part to the cable supplies being priced at 60% off b/c the home improvement stores are trying to move out their summer stock). we bit the bullett and did it! opens the view up SO MUCH, deck looks like new. LOVE IT but we will also be working on building back up the 'emergency fund' (it normaly would have more in it but i could NOT resist when a local credit union offered a 5 year cd at 5.25% so a good chunk is sitting there).

happy fall one and all!

My mom was just telling me last week how CDs are doing well right now and she put some savings into them. I might have to look into buying one with some of our savings.

I was just looking at CDs also! I have a chunk of my dad's life insurance payout sitting in a savings account and I debated between stocks or a CD for a bunch of it. I believe my local bank is doing a 7 or 14 month at almost 5%. I feel like if I put a chunk in there and just keep redoing it I'll profit more than if I invested it.

 

[imbatman]

I’m back.

October 2023:

Keep credit cards paid off weekly - still doing good here!

Make double payments on car - decided to delay this until January so we could have a more lenient budget in WDW this year for our anniversary.

Start 401k - Good news! The new company changed their policy and this will be starting in November! They match 5%, so I’ll be maxing that out.

Savings account - I totally forgot about this. Doing it now.

Personal Goals:

Get the cut flower business to produce more - I think spring will be a beautiful time for me! Used my little investment money and purchased the bulbs I need and now am waiting to plant.

Start working out - LOLOLOLOL

Hard look at 2024 goal to move - Still a work in progress, but a long term plan to hash it out is best. Interesting development: we have friends needing a place and would commit to a year lease and then they are leaving the state when he retires. I’m trying to tell my mom and hubby it’s worth it. They are not convinced. A year of rental payments that would early pay off the house…

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I’m back.

October 2023:

Keep credit cards paid off weekly - still doing good here!

Make double payments on car - decided to delay this until January so we could have a more lenient budget in WDW this year for our anniversary.

Start 401k - Good news! The new company changed their policy and this will be starting in November! They match 5%, so I’ll be maxing that out.

Savings account - I totally forgot about this. Doing it now.

Personal Goals:

Get the cut flower business to produce more - I think spring will be a beautiful time for me! Used my little investment money and purchased the bulbs I need and now am waiting to plant.

Start working out - LOLOLOLOL

Hard look at 2024 goal to move - Still a work in progress, but a long term plan to hash it out is best. Interesting development: we have friends needing a place and would commit to a year lease and then they are leaving the state when he retires. I’m trying to tell my mom and hubby it’s worth it. They are not convinced. A year of rental payments that would early pay off the house…

Would they just rent a room?
Or your whole house?

 

[imbatman]

Would they just rent a room?
Or your whole house?

The whole house. They have three young kids. We’ve been friends for years and they’re in law enforcement, so it’s not shifty or anything bad. I keep telling my hubby that we’d be back here in a year…he’s not impressed. I’m looking at the numbers. We’d be nearly debt free in a year from now.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The whole house. They have three young kids. We’ve been friends for years and they’re in law enforcement, so it’s not shifty or anything bad. I keep telling my hubby that we’d be back here in a year…he’s not impressed. I’m looking at the numbers. We’d be nearly debt free in a year from now.

Wow that would tempt me too. Where would you live?

 

[disney-inspired]

Hard look at 2024 goal to move - Still a work in progress, but a long term plan to hash it out is best. Interesting development: we have friends needing a place and would commit to a year lease and then they are leaving the state when he retires. I’m trying to tell my mom and hubby it’s worth it. They are not convinced. A year of rental payments that would early pay off the house…

We are also looking to move in 2024. My sister is having her twins next month (kids 4 and 5) and they need more space and living in California is so ridiculously expensive that buying a house isn't feasible.
If my sister & her family moves, we're planning on going with them because we're close knit and living states away isn't it for us.

 

[barkley]

We are also looking to move in 2024. My sister is having her twins next month (kids 4 and 5) and they need more space and living in California is so ridiculously expensive that buying a house isn't feasible.
If my sister & her family moves, we're planning on going with them because we're close knit and living states away isn't it for us.

we escaped from california 16 years ago-never regreted it.

 

[disney-inspired]

we escaped from california 16 years ago-never regreted it.

It's going to be hard to leave. I was born and raised here and will miss the reasonable distance to the beach or mountains. Trying to find a new place to live feels like I'm going to a different country because even though it's gotten so messed up, there are certain things here that I don't think I can replicate in another state.

 

[DisneyMandC]

It's going to be hard to leave. I was born and raised here and will miss the reasonable distance to the beach or mountains. Trying to find a new place to live feels like I'm going to a different country because even though it's gotten so messed up, there are certain things here that I don't think I can replicate in another state.

In case you're interested in going totally cross-country... come to Virginia! Richmond is two hours to the beach, two hours to the mountains

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

In case you're interested in going totally cross-country... come to Virginia! Richmond is two hours to the beach, two hours to the mountains

We do love VA.
We don't live there but have vacationed there several times.

 

[pblack]

It's been an expensive week for me leading up to vacation. One of our garage door springs busted over the weekend so that cost us almost $500 (to replace both springs). Southwest's awesome sale that's going on today through Thursday got me. I booked a weekend trip to Cabo in January. I'm trying to book a resort, but Costco Travel is being difficult and doesn't want to take my money. So yeah, lots of things I didn't plan on spending money on before vacation lol.

 

[jen7233]

I've had an expensive year . My teens are expensive, I think they were cheaper when younger in elementary school. I'll instead settle for reading some good trip reports for now . Just got my homeowner's insurance renewal, that is going up $300 for the next policy period, but of course. Insurance in general got me bad this year, between having a teen driver and increases.

 

[slightly_obsessed]

I've had an expensive year . My teens are expensive, I think they were cheaper when younger in elementary school. I'll instead settle for reading some good trip reports for now . Just got my homeowner's insurance renewal, that is going up $300 for the next policy period, but of course. Insurance in general got me bad this year, between having a teen driver and increases.

I was just talking about this to a friend... I remember thinking how much cheaper it would be oncewe didn't need to buy diapers. I am not looking forward to the teenage food bill years!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I was just talking about this to a friend... I remember thinking how much cheaper it would be oncewe didn't need to buy diapers. I am not looking forward to the teenage food bill years!

Our boys are part shark. Non stop eating machines. Lol

 

[goofytinkerbell]

It's Friday, and I'm back again.

My family member in the hospital had to have emergency surgery the other day. Eight long hours, which is hard for an "old man". He's still with us, but he's not "well". Him pulling through that means he's tough, and he's doing his best to fight.

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)
-Nothing this week. My helper and transportation wasn't around as expected, and when I was without power I lost some things in the fridge that needed replacing, so money was reallocated.
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings.

General stuff:
1. Make a will - DONE!
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.
-Nothing. That might be the first time that's happened this year.
-I did have a pile set aside to try and post to sell, and I took photos of most of it. Now I need to do a bit of research to see what some is worth and get the ads up.
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.
-Checked the email notifications and jobs sites every day. Nothing new to apply for this week.
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!
-Nothing at all
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.
-1 short walk, which is still an improvement over last week
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.
-Family came and stayed with me last weekend. I took them all over the city and kept them entertained. Hard on the budget, but we had a great time!
8. Organize my stuff!
Also nope

The tears at work have got to stop... But everyone is overworked, stressed, and it's making people snippy and short. I have vacation time built up that I didn't want to waste, but I can't even find a time when I can take it.

Unrelated to my update, I saw some others are making some great progress with their goals. Congrats!! It looks like you're all working hard to get where you want. It's encouraging to see people having some success

 

[Tygerlilly]

We got our ticket numbers for our homeschool trip and I added them to MDE and got several park days set already, bought our Memory Maker, and even managed to snag a couple ADRs for character meals. I'm super excited that I got Chef Mickey for my (almost) 8 year olds birthday dinner and got a mickey cake to go with it. She's going to be so excited, especially since we'll be on the road for her actual birthday. The kids still don't know where we're going. They only know we're going to a big house with a pool.

 

[barkley]

thought i would share some sales to save some $$$ for holiday shopping-

panera has gift cards at 20% off online thru 10/7.

kohls has several sales going BUT if you are searching for any adult sized bluey themed stuff (or kids for that matter) you might want to hop on there. my oldest is a BIG fan and i snagged a men's set of holiday themed pajamas for $34 (including tax). i have'nt found any adult sizes anywhere else for less than around $50, that's if you can even find them-they are missing out on a HUGE fan base by not producing more adult clothing.

 

[Tygerlilly]

thought i would share some sales to save some $$$ for holiday shopping-

panera has gift cards at 20% off online thru 10/7.

kohls has several sales going BUT if you are searching for any adult sized bluey themed stuff (or kids for that matter) you might want to hop on there. my oldest is a BIG fan and i snagged a men's set of holiday themed pajamas for $34 (including tax). i have'nt found any adult sizes anywhere else for less than around $50, that's if you can even find them-they are missing out on a HUGE fan base by not producing more adult clothing.

I love that show. My 2 year old is obsessed and I find myself relating to it so much. Lol

 

[goofytinkerbell]

This last week went off the rails.

The family member that was in the hospital passed away, and I had to travel for the wake and funeral. Now my father is in the same hospital with heart attack. They say it's minor, but I won't believe it until I see it. So I'll be travelling again later today.

Financially:
1. Keep the credit cards empty - DONE! Still using them and paying them off before they start earning interest.
-One of my yearly major bills came in this week, so the card will take a hit soon.
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)
-Nothing this week. I spent money travelling, and am going to have to do it again.
4. Get a savings plan going for the big stuff that comes due in one lump sum payment (insurance, property tax)
-No progress this week. I need to pay a fair bit for some #3 stuff, and need to determine how much that'll cost me before throwing money into savings. I also have several thousands of dollars of bills due in the next 2 months, and that's not even factoring in things like Christmas.

General stuff:
1. Make a will - DONE!
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.
-3 items gone this week. I learned some things didn't fit me while looking for funeral clothes.
-The "sell things online" plan got pushed off until things stabilize. I can't commit to meeting someone for a sale when I don't know where I'll be.
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.
-Checked the email notifications and jobs when I got the chance, but this has been largely put off due to the massive cluster that is my life
-Was talking to a family member in a similar job, who said they might be looking for people soon and will watch for something for me AND refer me when something is available. It could be 6-12 months, we'll see.
-Was talking to another contact who said they also may be hiring early next year, and told me to make sure my linkedin is up to date
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!
-I dug up a pattern for something I'd promised to make someone, but didn't have a chance to start it
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.
-2 workouts. I had a plan until everything came crashing down
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.
-Technically I saw a bunch of family (some I hadn't seen in years!) but visiting really wasn't the intention. Despite the circumstances, it was really nice to see them.
8. Organize my stuff!
Also nope

My job is not making things easier, but my boss has been really good about things. He lost his mother recently, so he understands.