Debt Dumpers 2024

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We have not. I've wanted to, but my wife always shoots down the idea.

You are never going to get out of this cycle of debt and poverty if she doesn’t change her mindset and behaviors. Do you want to live like this forever?

 

[Nettlelondon]

We have not. I've wanted to, but my wife always shoots down the idea.

Maybe start small by reviewing your finances to make sure you can make the minimum payments you need to on time to avoid any late fees or other charges - and see if there is any extra you can put to those minimums. Generally paying the minimum means you can never really get ahead of things.

Taking little steps may help her feel more confident to look at the bigger picture eventually.

 

[piccolopat]

We have not. I've wanted to, but my wife always shoots down the idea.

You might need to take more drastic action if she won't listen. Cancel all but one credit card and put a freeze on your credit reports so no new loans or cards are opened. Tell her she has to pay anything she opens with money she earns from an extra job or two.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Regarding college: having put four through college with no loans for them or us (and a similar background to you--had kids young and didn't make enough to start saving until the oldest was in HS), be sure that you look into private colleges as well as public. I had always thought that our state U would be the most economical, but I was wrong, because private colleges offered my kids lots more scholarship money.

Yes, she goes to a small private HS and their guidance counselors take a very active role in helping them apply. They suggest ‘casting the net wide’ as many families have been surprised with where they receive the best offers. I’m really hoping our kids have a similar experience with no loans! It helps to hear other bigger families have been successful even with a late start on saving for college.

I know when the kids are teens our focus is on college, but if they have a job they are eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. This is an amazing start on their retirement because they will earn so little that it’s basically putting it away for retirement to grow their whole life and pay zero taxes on that money ever. You would have to open a custodial Roth IRA if they are under 18 but it’s easily done on E*Trade. You can never get those early investing years back. Here’s a screenshot from a calculator assuming they contributed $15,000 to a RothIRA before they turn 18 and then put in a modest $500 each year til they retire based on average returns in the market. I think it’s as big a gift to get them in the mindset of saving for retirement as early as possible while time is on their side as it is paying for college.

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This is great!! Thank you for doing the leg work! We do want her to open a Roth as early as possible. Hard to decide the balance between college savings and a Roth, but this is good encouragement to have her prioritize her own non-college savings as well. Once she has her first $1k, we will definitely look into this. My DH and I never had anyone teach us any financial planning/education. Through boards like this, Reddit and YNAB, I know we can help our kids start life with better financial footing.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my oldest received the largest number of single scholarships in their graduating class. it was not the highest dollar amount but many of the higher dollar recipients only received scholarships that were for only freshman year-while oldest's were renewable for all 4 years

it was crazy-the high school would send out monthly notices of local scholarships and oldest's classmates would pooh-pooh them b/c they were not of the high dollar that the websites they hunted down touted. they did'nt think about how the websites were showing state and national scholarships that had much stronger competition. my oldest had a decent but not phenominal gpa, did some but no spectacular extracurriculars. we did applications for everything and as a result ended up with enough by graduation to cover freshman year UNTIL the state university found out (had applied to, was accepted but had not yet done the paperwork to formally accept admission) at which time they offered matching scholarship funds that ended up with a surplus that would qualify to roll over and cover a chunk of sophmore year

the kicker came when one very small scholarship notified us near the end of freshman year to remember to submit renewal paperwork for the following year's funds that's when we learned that most if not all were renewable (not advertised on original applications, not made aware of until we contacted them individualy).

my oldest ended up with enough small scholarships that renewed to cover FAR more than the classmates who got far more initialy but were one time shots.

look to-

local groups
local service clubs
your utility companies, credit unions, labor unions (grandparent affiliations work as well), affiliations (family who are members of organizations like the elks, moose lodge, masons, shriners.....can make eligibility to apply)
alumni (did you go to a state college-within the same state it may make eligibility)




have any friends with one??? if so ask if you can give them some money so they can buy you costco giftcards. they sell them for as low as $10 each and allow a non member to buy whatever they want-and pay the difference in cash or a visa related card. oldest just went today-not a member so i buy $10 giftcards that allow, like today, -a $120 purchase absent membership. just flash the card at entry, and the only restriction is you can't use self check-out.

This is sooooo good to hear and VERY helpful!! While I may not be able to sign a check to pay for college, I am more than happy to help her do the leg work and hunt down any and every scholarship opportunity. Finding renewable scholarships would be absolutely AMAZING!! I don’t know if I would have thought to contact them towards the end of Freshman year and now I’ll be sure we keep a document to ensure we do!

This is where we are at too.

I get that. DS only worked 1 day a week during the fall. He played soccer are was in the marching band. He has been working at lot right now but will cut back again when tennis starts. You have a great plan to help her out with her busy schedule.

DD is the same. She won't be 18 until the end of August of 2025. She really wanted to graduate this year and I told her no. She would have still been 16 when college started plus staying givers her a year of college for free.

One thing to look for with taking a gap year, is that it may take her out of the running for some scholarships. A lot of scholarships you have to receive when you are a senior. Our scholarship is like that. We do allow students to take a gap year and not lose their scholarship but they forfeit that year. This means their 4th year they may be able to get the scholarship. Just keep a look out for this.

Yes. We see this all the time at work. DS applied to several and right off the bat got enough scholarships to put them at the same cost as state schools. This is just the merit scholarship but he may be eligible for more. With FAFSA being so late this year, we won't know for a bit longer.

That is awesome that the scholarships were renewable. We have a lot of students that they have their freshman year paid with the small local scholarships but they are 1 year awards. It makes the next 3 rough with finding funding.

These are great places to look. Our high school as all of the local scholarships go through them. There is one google form. The deadline was yesterday and as of Tuesday only had 37 submitted application. There are like 300+ seniors. I was shocked. They have been sending reminders at least once each week since the beginning of January if not more.

My work has a lot of the county local scholarships. Because I work here, my kids are not eligible. It is really a bummer. It knocks them out of so many.

It’s good to hear they allowed your son to work just one day/week. I’m hoping when she gets to the fall whatever job she finds allows this. My DD was definitely less inclined towards the idea of a gap year. While some pieces of it appeals to her, she also doesn’t want to be the one ‘left behind’ while other classmates go off to college. I hadn’t considered the other opportunity costs of losing potential scholarships. While time will tell, I have a feeling she’ll opt against a gap year.

Is she applying to Starbucks only for the tuition assistance? If so, is she aware that this benefit only applies to online degrees from Arizona State University? They cover 100% of tuition which is pretty amazing, but online education isn’t for everyone, neither is ASU.

Tuition assistance from an employer can be a great help in paying for college, but many employers have guardrails around that benefit, either through partnerships with specific schools or by limiting the benefit to specific majors that are aligned with the company’s industry. They also usually require a minimum number of hours worked per week which can be tough while in school full time, especially nursing school. Many of these benefit programs are designed with adult students in mind who are going to school part time. Research is definitely necessary.

Also, have you checked if your employer offers a scholarship for employees’ dependents?

I had just heard Starbucks offered some scholarships and she has a friend who works there. Good to know about their scholarship limitations. Online is not something she enjoys or would want to pursue.

My employer has an interesting program with a local community colllege for nursing. It’s definitely not something we’re writing off, but my DD is interested in the ‘college experience’. I think that experience can be wonderful and amazing, but only with the appropriate (IE: reasonable!) price tag. My employer only offers direct scholarships and tuition reimbursement for employees, not their dependents. And these come with a two year commitment. I utilized these when I was in nursing school, but it wasn’t easy to work part time and complete an accelerated nursing program. I’d rather my DD be at most PRN when in school, so if she does take a gap year to work at the hospital (which is already looking unlikely) she would no longer qualify for these programs. But, this conversation makes me think we should check my DH’s employer to see what opportunities they may have. I’m not at all familiar with their scholarship/tuition reimbursement programs.

 

[fofinia]

We have not. I've wanted to, but my wife always shoots down the idea.

Back when we started out on getting rid of debt, My husband wasn't onboard either. He didn't want to be told how to spend the money he earned. He didn't want to feel deprived. If he wanted to buy lunch out. He should be able to.

One of the things I did early on was to write out a "budget" It was from info I was reading here. If you don't know where your money is going you can't spend it well. I found a basic budget spreadsheet on Microsoft Works. Now it's on Microsoft Excel. And all I did was put our monthly bills on there. That way I could see exactly what we needed to earn each month to pay. I put in every item in the checkbook. Real estate taxes, life insurance etc. Things that got paid once a year I put the full amount down in the description but in the column for amount needed I did the total amount divided by 12. I didn't ask my husband to stop buying a coke at the convenience store. Or going to Dunkin. I actually made a line in the budget for it.

Then I made separate columns. For bills we had to pay but with the goal to get rid of. For each of the debts we had that we wanted to pay off. We had CC's and medical bills. One column showing how much the minimum payment was. Then later, after I got more skills with the spreadsheet, I added a column showing the decreasing balance if I paid more. This was all gradual. But like others have said watching debt go down and seeing how much I'm saving made it kinda fun.

We did have times we had to go super strict with spending. Instead of going out to eat or out for ice cream, we went to the grocery store and bought treats for dinner or dessert we wouldn't normally buy. Yes they were more expensive than what I kept on hand. But a lot cheaper than going out. But that daily stop for a coke or a bagel. I couldn't let myself get upset about it. I changed what I could.

And you know what? We did it. After snowballing and getting rid of some debts, my husband got on board. He would put himself on a budget. $40 for the week- cash. So I couldn't criticize, but he had some freedom. And now sometimes he's more into debt payoff than I am. We paid off our house this past year ( I haven't told anyone lol!) And a big reason is he would finish a job and say " I made $XXXX.00 on this job. I want to put it all to the mortgage." I kinda wanted to put it in savings. But he was fired up about having no mortgage.

This took a lot of time! We've been married 23 years. We had over $30,000 in debt when I first started. We paid off our home about 10 years early.

Sorry I've written you a novel. But start small, like others have said. Just write down everything you spend. If you don't know exactly. Then round up not down. Hopefully you can eventually get on the same page!! Good Luck! This board has helped me so much over the years.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Short answer: No. Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Haha, on a serious note, I agree. But she's 42, so it's probably too late to change her mind. And to be honest, if I try, it would probably lead to me being single.. We're trying so hard though. We've stopped eating out minus 1-2 meals per week. I think it's going to come down to me needing to get a 2nd job. That's what she's told me I need to do, anyways. Right now, I only work 8-5, so I have time in the evenings to work another job from like 5-10 or even 5-11 plus the weekends.

You are never going to get out of this cycle of debt and poverty if she doesn’t change her mindset and behaviors. Do you want to live like this forever?

 

[afan]

Short answer: No. Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Haha, on a serious note, I agree. But she's 42, so it's probably too late to change her mind. And to be honest, if I try, it would probably lead to me being single.. We're trying so hard though. We've stopped eating out minus 1-2 meals per week. I think it's going to come down to me needing to get a 2nd job. That's what she's told me I need to do, anyways. Right now, I only work 8-5, so I have time in the evenings to work another job from like 5-10 or even 5-11 plus the weekends.

One you're never to old to learn new stuff.

Two, do you have kids, does she have a 2nd job? Why do only you need another job.

And if there's no budgeting, adding more money won't help. If she's still ok with eating out, which neither of you should be that often each week, then why would you think she wouldn't just spend the extra money you make with this 2nd job and it not go to the debt.

No one here wants you to lose your relationship, but not getting it figured out could do the same as the resentment of only one of you taking this seriously. Does she expect to ever retire or work forever? I'm 45 and am planning for social security to not still be a thing and if it is, it's not enough to live on, it's not now and it won't be better in 20 years. Debt needs to be paid off so you all can save for an emergency and then save for retirement and then save for vacations etc.

Living paycheck to paycheck with huge cc debt isn't fun, most of us here have been there. But it's such a better feeling to not need to worry about that debt, to have an understanding of where the money goes, what my money can do for me etc.

Finance should be taught better, my parents didn't, school didn't, I learned by watching what my parents did and trial and error. But I learned, as others here have and am still learning because your age isn't a reason to stop learning or to not teach someone. I get it but you aren't helping yourself either by letting her ignore it.

If you do get a 2nd job and don't already have your own bank account, that would be my next step. I'd separate my money out and only put in a joint account for the shared expenses so she doesn't have access to it and you can control what it pays.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Be very wary of taking on all the heavy lifting to clear the debt (assuming you aren't the only person responsible for creating it). I have a friend who has twice ended up settling many thousands of £s of debt incurred by his partner - the first time with an inheritance and the second by selling his beloved (and hard worked for) sports car. He is approaching a point in his life where he should be looking towards retirement but instead he is about to start a whole new career because it will pay well and allow him to top up his pension savings to ensure they aren't completely broke in retirement. He has found himself effectively forced in to this by her threats to take their son & move back to her father's house several hours away if he didn't fix her debts. They aren't married so it would be relatively easy for her to prevent access.

After the first time she swore she would change her ways - she did, for the worse. His friends just hope she made more effort after the second round, but we aren't convinced.

 

[huggybuff]

Weekly update! Kind of a ho-hum week wrt finances - - - so party time! I haven't spent any money in the last 2 days - what is this world coming to?

Week 4

2024 Financial Goals

1. Pay off my credit cards and car loan in 2 years by using the debt avalanche. So my card with the highest interest rate turns out to be my Lane Bryant card. The balance is about $500. This will be paid off by March. No bills paid this week as I schedule mine to be paid every 2 weeks, depending on due date, and it's a non-pay day week.

2. Increase my monthly payments to my husband for household expenses by $800 a month beginning in May and open a joint checking account where we will each contribute monthly. We figured giving me until May to sock some extra cash into my checking would be a good idea since my personal loan is now paid off and that was sucking $1000 off the top of my paycheck once a month. Snoozed until May.

3. Set aside $285 per month from January-June to cover the cost of our hotel for our anniversary trip in July to Monterey. $285 into my HYSA (1/6)

4. Begin paying for our 2025 spring break cruise to Mexico in March. Payments will be $400 a month from March-December. Also set aside $50 per month during that time period to cover our upgrade package. Snoozed until March.

5. Continue using the YNAB app and website to track my money daily. I'm still tracking my money the old fashioned way with a register but I really like the budgeting aspect of YNAB and am getting more and more used to it. I managed to figure out the credit card interest and payments on YNAB on my own through Google and their help articles. Next I will tackle the reconciliation process on the app. (4/52)


2024 Personal Goals

1. Finish deep cleaning and organizing my kitchen. My husband is basically the Swedish Chef so he makes quite a mess when he cooks. I appreciate the fact that he does all of the cooking but it's a lot to keep on top of TBH. I need to do a better job and put in more effort. I will track this weekly. This week was...less productive. (2/52)

2. Once I feel like my kitchen is back under control I'll transition to organizing my clothes that are in boxes in our bedroom. I will tackle this at least one of the days of my weekend. Snoozed.

3. Reorganize and deep clean my bathroom. I have too much on the countertop and need to make use of the cabinets in a more organized manner. Snoozed.

4. By July I'd like to be at the point I can begin to tackle my boxes that are still unpacked in the garage. I had a storage unit for years and now they're just sitting untouched since we moved into the house 3 years ago. Snoozed.

5. In August I'd like to make my stepson's room into a workout room. He's a senior in high school this year and he'll be starting college next fall. He's only staying over 1 or 2 nights a week at most at this point since he lives with his mom so I don't feel I'll be booting him out or anything. I am at my highest weight ever and I honestly don't even know what that is since I'm scared to get on the scale. I can have all of the DVDs and online workouts in the world but they do no good if you don't use them. I think having a space set aside will really help me out. Snoozed.

6. Get my passport at some point this year to be ready for the cruise in 2025. This probably won't happen for at least a few months.

7. I came up with a new goal. Get back to baking on a weekly basis. This will begin when my kitchen is 'done'. JK, I know a kitchen is never truly caught up on. Snoozed until I cross #1 off of my list.

Is anyone watching the new True Detective? It's definitely worth a look!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Short answer: No. Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Haha, on a serious note, I agree. But she's 42, so it's probably too late to change her mind. And to be honest, if I try, it would probably lead to me being single.. We're trying so hard though. We've stopped eating out minus 1-2 meals per week. I think it's going to come down to me needing to get a 2nd job. That's what she's told me I need to do, anyways. Right now, I only work 8-5, so I have time in the evenings to work another job from like 5-10 or even 5-11 plus the weekends.

I'm 38 and just started getting serious with budgets and spending last year. And most seriously just this year. It's never too late to start.
I just don't want to see resentment in your future because you're doing what you can and working yourself to death to try and secure your financial future.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Another thing to watch out for is that the minimum payment for that loan may not pay the whole balance off before the end of the 0%. They do the same thing if you don't pay off the entire balance.

Yes!
That's why it's good to calculate how much needs to be paid monthly to make it gone before the promo ends. I have done a few of those before I found this thread and we were always careful to pay it back at least a month before the promo ends. I don't trust those crooked bast**ds to claim they didn't get the last payment. This was in the old days of mailing checks so they could either take their time applying a payment or just shred the check. This is mentioned in the Maxed Out video I posted a few posts back. At least now with making payments online, we have more control of when a payment will happen.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We have not. I've wanted to, but my wife always shoots down the idea.

Do you need her permission? Not trying to be a home wrecker but it doesn't have to be fancy. Dh didn't help me make the one I've been using for 10+ years, nor did he have any input. If he wanted to, he would have told me. I just told him I'm paying down our debt and now I'm watching more closely where our money is going. He said good. He's been handing me his paycheck since 6 months after we started dating and that was 1992.

This is what works for me. YMMV. I list each incoming paycheck, whatever the typical amount is. Dh and I get paid biweekly on opposite weeks so every Thursday is payday. I color code each week to keep me organized: purple, orange, green, blue. So for Jan that would be the 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th.
Below that paycheck amount, I list all the bills that need to be paid with that check. So using this month for an example, for something that is due Feb 1st, that would be paid with the paycheck before that the 25th, (the blue week). If something is due Jan 15th, it gets paid using the 2nd pay of the month so that's the orange week, Jan 11 paycheck. I pay those bills when I get paid, not on their due date. It's ok to be a little early. Direct deposit hits Thursday morning, and payments were all scheduled in advance to occur right away. If your direct deposits are not reliable, like dh's employer, I schedule for the next day. My direct deposits are like clockwork so I actually schedule the payments for the day before payday. So the money goes in around 3 am and by noon, the bill money is removed. First things first. I also set money aside either weekly or biweekly in different savings accounts for bills that don't occur monthly such as car insurance, homeowners' insurance, property taxes, etc. We use Ally Bank (online) for that and I schedule those transfers as soon as I know the exact direct deposit amount. Whatever is leftover goes to the snowball goal.

If too many bills are due around the same time to be able to cover them all with one paycheck, then some of those need to get bumped to the week before. Then I allow at least $100 cushion in our checking account so it doesn't get down too close to $0. If it dips, it will be replenished with the next paycheck. When I was brand new at this debt snowball, I would have had to redirect the snowball away from debt paydown to car insurance, as if that was a new goal and I would also had to take from the snowball to restore any dips in the cushion. Then get right back in the saddle and return to paying down debt.

I have this gut feeling like she is hiding something or for some reason, doesn't want it all out in the open. This worries me a bit. Not wanting to talk about money/budgeting... Refusing to make a budget... These feel like red flags. JMHO. I hope I'm wrong.

I have nothing to hide from dh. When our debt was piling up he wasn't asking any questions about money but if he he had, I couldn't lie to him and would have had to show him all of our statements. When I finally added it all up due to my own disgust at the situation, and cried to him how I messed us all up. I felt so bad and thought he would flip out but he just calmly said, Don't worry; we'll get through this. Prior to that he had no interest in how I was handling things. I think if he did, it wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did.
He still has no interest. lol. I continue to update him on future snowball goals just to keep him in the loop.

 

[huggybuff]

I'm 38 and just started getting serious with budgets and spending last year. And most seriously just this year. It's never too late to start.
I just don't want to see resentment in your future because you're doing what you can and working yourself to death to try and secure your financial future.

To piggyback on this…it’s not too late for you @WDW_fan_in_TX . I’ll be 50 this year and I’m just finally getting my financial crap together. Don’t be me and wait this long!

I remember my bad old days of check cashing advances and the occasional pawnshop. I simply had no control over my spending. If it sounds like I have spending issues from my posts now, it’s nothing compared to my past life. I have come a long way. Perhaps your wife could be in the same boat? Is she a compulsive spender looking to fill in the holes of her life by buying happiness with vacations and meaningless possessions? She obviously doesn’t want to face the reality of how bad this situation really is and how it could irreparably harm your marriage in the future. I was only hurting myself when I was single but having a husband has forced me to be more accountable.

I know you’re invested enough now in improving your finances that you want to find a way to make this new financial journey with your wife or without her help. My fervent hope is that she gets on board and you can find your path together.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Short answer: No. Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Haha, on a serious note, I agree. But she's 42, so it's probably too late to change her mind. And to be honest, if I try, it would probably lead to me being single.. We're trying so hard though. We've stopped eating out minus 1-2 meals per week. I think it's going to come down to me needing to get a 2nd job. That's what she's told me I need to do, anyways. Right now, I only work 8-5, so I have time in the evenings to work another job from like 5-10 or even 5-11 plus the weekends.

One is never too old to learn. I was 46 when I started here 10 years ago.
I agree with pp who said more money may not be the answer to your problems and to get your own checking account strictly for purposes of debt paydown. I'm not a fan of hiding income from a spouse.
According to DR, people with cc debt either have a spending problem, or an earning problem.
A budget would reveal which one it is. Do you both earn enough to pay your rent, food, utilities, basic living expenses?
Lack of control of unnecessary expenses would fall under spending problem.
If your money problems are due to not having control over where your money goes, getting a 2nd job will not solve your debt. You will simply have more money out of control.
Ask her what is she afraid of? Being debt free is a beautiful feeling. It frees up your money to do what you choose.

I think just getting all of your late fees under control will free up more money to pay down that loan shark loan. The more you can put toward it, the faster you'll pay it off. It will still take time & effort.

I hope you don't feel like we're all ganging up on you. It's just that money out of control is something we're all familiar with here and recognize. It's what brought us together here. In your situation, it's like you need Intensive Care. The only way out is changing your ways which is very uncomfortable for most adults.

 

[Bellex917]

Ok, so end of January update. We paid off $1,187 extra towards our debt, $12,490 left total. I also tracked every penny we spent on food (groceries and eating out) and we have a lot of work that can be done in the eating out category. Hoping to pay off an extra $2,000 in February and if we are more careful with our food spending it'll be possible.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ok, so end of January update. We paid off $1,187 extra towards our debt, $12,490 left total. I also tracked every penny we spent on food (groceries and eating out) and we have a lot of work that can be done in the eating out category. Hoping to pay off an extra $2,000 in February and if we are more careful with our food spending it'll be possible.

Great progress! Doing the math, even if you don't increase the amount for future months, that would all be gone in 11 months.

 

[bababear_50]

So Jan is going out with no new money added to the saving emergency account as we had some unexpected pet cat expenses. She went missing but is now home 5 days later ,,,, safe but had to be air lifted by a Arborist /Animal rescue team. She was 50 feet up in a tree hollow. We are lucky she survived as the temps here were very low... -20 - 30.
Rescue team cost $500.00 if we paid cash ,,, ( over $687.00 if paid by credit) But I adore her.

I will try to put aside a little extra next month but I have an upcoming trip for Universal near the end of Feb.
Everything is pre paid except spending money.



Just keep on swimming .

Hugs Mel

 

[Bellex917]

Great progress! Doing the math, even if you don't increase the amount for future months, that would all be gone in 11 months.

The goal was to have it gone in 2024, so that will be great. We also will get a decent tax refund and I'm putting most of it towards (minus what I use to pay for my kids camp over the summer).

 

[slightly_obsessed]

End of January check in.

Financial:

• Mortgage Extra Payments. Goal - $12,000 over the year. Check is written and I plan to drop it off at the bank tomorrow. $1470/$12,000
• Cash flow vacations..
  • RV trip to Arizona Goal - $2500?. I am still uncertain how much to budget, the biggest factor is going to be gas. $1100/2500
  • Hawaii. Done
  • Alaskan cruise in September? Still not booked.
  • Japan in 2025? $10,000? Not sure yet what my goal should be so this will likely change, I am in the very early stages of planning.
• Max out 401K/403B/IRAs for my husband and myself. Continue additional contributions we are making to our non retirement investment account. On track.

Personal:

• Complete - Word of the Year
  • Decided I need a journal of what I get done because while I know I finished lots of small projects, I can't remember what a lot of them were . I finished painting my sons room minus touchups that have to wait until paint cures. That was a big one.
  • February projects: Taxes, son's closet & nerf wall, cleaning up 2nd floor so it's usable for something other than storage, entertainment center transfer
• Mental health. Still doing well trying to make myself a priority.
• Continue working towards getting healthier. Feeling good about this. I decreased the amount of junk food/drinks I've been having, especially at night. I want to focus on adding more activity in February.

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you all have a good week

 

[slightly_obsessed]

So Jan is going out with no new money added to the saving emergency account as we had some unexpected pet cat expenses. She went missing but is now home 5 days later ,,,, safe but had to be air lifted by a Arborist /Animal rescue team. She was 50 feet up in a tree hollow. We are lucky she survived as the temps here were very low... -20 - 30.
Rescue team cost $500.00 if we paid cash ,,, ( over $687.00 if paid by credit) But I adore her.

I will try to put aside a little extra next month but I have an upcoming trip for Universal near the end of Feb.
Everything is pre paid except spending money.


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Just keep on swimming .

Hugs Mel

Oh my goodness! I'm glad you found her and she's safe!