Debt Dumpers - 2018

[DLgal]

Thanks. Is this only for officers?
Dh is curious.

Yes, officers only.

 

[amalone1013]

Finally did our taxes last night. Usually we do them pretty early because ours are still simple, but our withholding was off this year and we owed about $1500 in federal and $275 in state, so I don't think either of us were excited to get them done

The good news is, now that we have that taken care of, and we've already talked about how we want to allocate savings right now, and it's a new month, we can easily move on to our next plans/goals.

These include:

• Get those IRAs opened - just need to sit down and do it
• Pay off my car early - I'm 26mths into my 60mth 0% loan, we should easily be able to cut the remainder by a third to a half, depending on the next point... after we throw a chunk at it, I'd like to set a solid goal, like the end of the year or something.
• Figure out the truck idea for DH - he's been looking at them for 2+ years, and we were thinking of selling his car to his parents when the time came, as they have very old vehicles on their last legs... their vehicles have really taken nose dives over the last few weeks/months, so the timeline could move up here, making it more important to get my car paid off - I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off

Figure out our next move - literally! You may remember, we've been living with DH's parents. We can never repay them for how much it's helped us, and it's gone very well - that was a huge fear of mine moving in, that we wouldn't get along. We're coming up on 4 years of being here... we've got a chunk saved for a house down payment, but the market has been crazy and we've talked about moving states, so we need to figure out if that becomes a solid goal or not, and what we do until then... stay here, get an apartment, commit to this state and house shop... I love my in-laws, but I'm getting to the point where I'm really ready for our own space (for us and for all of the wedding gifts they got us On that note, is it crazy to pick up decent starter set of pots/pans that are on a good deal currently, using some wedding gift money, even though they might sit in the box for 6 more months?) and am ready to consider an apartment, though I also hate that idea... and even though that is also a crazy market, as @Dentam knows too well.

Hopefully this month will be more settled than the last for us to work this stuff out! We leave Wednesday for BILs wedding for 6 days - we've got cash set aside for the mini trip we're making it, and we are going to Vegas at the end of the month for the weekend to support DH's friend - flights, hotel, and some meals are covered, just need to set aside cash for the last of the food, cheap car rental, and any activities. We had credit card points for flights/hotel otherwise we wouldn't be doing this. We're also seeing Aladdin while it's in town, with tickets purchased months ago. Beyond that, just need to crack down on our eating out and start meal planning again!

 

[jen7233]

Finally did our taxes last night. Usually we do them pretty early because ours are still simple, but our withholding was off this year and we owed about $1500 in federal and $275 in state, so I don't think either of us were excited to get them done

The good news is, now that we have that taken care of, and we've already talked about how we want to allocate savings right now, and it's a new month, we can easily move on to our next plans/goals.

These include:

• Get those IRAs opened - just need to sit down and do it
• Pay off my car early - I'm 26mths into my 60mth 0% loan, we should easily be able to cut the remainder by a third to a half, depending on the next point... after we throw a chunk at it, I'd like to set a solid goal, like the end of the year or something.
• Figure out the truck idea for DH - he's been looking at them for 2+ years, and we were thinking of selling his car to his parents when the time came, as they have very old vehicles on their last legs... their vehicles have really taken nose dives over the last few weeks/months, so the timeline could move up here, making it more important to get my car paid off - I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off

Figure out our next move - literally! You may remember, we've been living with DH's parents. We can never repay them for how much it's helped us, and it's gone very well - that was a huge fear of mine moving in, that we wouldn't get along. We're coming up on 4 years of being here... we've got a chunk saved for a house down payment, but the market has been crazy and we've talked about moving states, so we need to figure out if that becomes a solid goal or not, and what we do until then... stay here, get an apartment, commit to this state and house shop... I love my in-laws, but I'm getting to the point where I'm really ready for our own space (for us and for all of the wedding gifts they got us On that note, is it crazy to pick up decent starter set of pots/pans that are on a good deal currently, using some wedding gift money, even though they might sit in the box for 6 more months?) and am ready to consider an apartment, though I also hate that idea... and even though that is also a crazy market, as @Dentam knows too well.

Hopefully this month will be more settled than the last for us to work this stuff out! We leave Wednesday for BILs wedding for 6 days - we've got cash set aside for the mini trip we're making it, and we are going to Vegas at the end of the month for the weekend to support DH's friend - flights, hotel, and some meals are covered, just need to set aside cash for the last of the food, cheap car rental, and any activities. We had credit card points for flights/hotel otherwise we wouldn't be doing this. We're also seeing Aladdin while it's in town, with tickets purchased months ago. Beyond that, just need to crack down on our eating out and start meal planning again!

I don't think it's crazy to pick up a few things for a new place. With experience in moving around, I know filling up a house costs money. We've moved quite a bit and it seems every time some furniture doesn't fit a room or need to replace things, and just very new place specific things need to be bought, i.e. blinds, curtains, washer/dryer, fridge, certain maintenance equipment.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Finally did our taxes last night. Usually we do them pretty early because ours are still simple, but our withholding was off this year and we owed about $1500 in federal and $275 in state, so I don't think either of us were excited to get them done

The good news is, now that we have that taken care of, and we've already talked about how we want to allocate savings right now, and it's a new month, we can easily move on to our next plans/goals.

These include:

• Get those IRAs opened - just need to sit down and do it
• Pay off my car early - I'm 26mths into my 60mth 0% loan, we should easily be able to cut the remainder by a third to a half, depending on the next point... after we throw a chunk at it, I'd like to set a solid goal, like the end of the year or something.
• Figure out the truck idea for DH - he's been looking at them for 2+ years, and we were thinking of selling his car to his parents when the time came, as they have very old vehicles on their last legs... their vehicles have really taken nose dives over the last few weeks/months, so the timeline could move up here, making it more important to get my car paid off - I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off

Figure out our next move - literally! You may remember, we've been living with DH's parents. We can never repay them for how much it's helped us, and it's gone very well - that was a huge fear of mine moving in, that we wouldn't get along. We're coming up on 4 years of being here... we've got a chunk saved for a house down payment, but the market has been crazy and we've talked about moving states, so we need to figure out if that becomes a solid goal or not, and what we do until then... stay here, get an apartment, commit to this state and house shop... I love my in-laws, but I'm getting to the point where I'm really ready for our own space (for us and for all of the wedding gifts they got us On that note, is it crazy to pick up decent starter set of pots/pans that are on a good deal currently, using some wedding gift money, even though they might sit in the box for 6 more months?) and am ready to consider an apartment, though I also hate that idea... and even though that is also a crazy market, as @Dentam knows too well.

Hopefully this month will be more settled than the last for us to work this stuff out! We leave Wednesday for BILs wedding for 6 days - we've got cash set aside for the mini trip we're making it, and we are going to Vegas at the end of the month for the weekend to support DH's friend - flights, hotel, and some meals are covered, just need to set aside cash for the last of the food, cheap car rental, and any activities. We had credit card points for flights/hotel otherwise we wouldn't be doing this. We're also seeing Aladdin while it's in town, with tickets purchased months ago. Beyond that, just need to crack down on our eating out and start meal planning again!

Definitely not crazy! DH and I lived with my mom for a while and we had a lot of stuff stored for our own house that we didn't unpack until we bought our house three months after getting married.

 

[Dentam]

@amalone1013 - I feel your pain on the moving and on the looking for a place to fit a normal person's budget here! Unless you're really tied to this area, I would look for somewhere more affordable to live. If I didn't love my job or could find a similar one in another state I would move.

 

[DLgal]

Update: My husband is going in with two other guys to host a wet down for all three of them (the other guys recently got promoted as well). The good news is that our portion of the bar tab will be 1/3 and they all know most of the same people so the guest list shouldn't be significantly larger. DH is going to find out how much they want to put in and he will put in the same. I guess the way it works, according to him, is they pre pay a set bar tab and the bartender will cut them off when they reach the limit. He is thinking the other guys will max out around $500 each so that's not too bad. Whew!

We bought our son a new bike this weekend too. He is almost 14 and has had the same bike since he was 8. It was time, especially since he joins me for 10-15 mile rides on our network of bike trails near our home on the weekends. All in it was $465 but he is so happy and his new bike is SO much more efficient than the old one. I might be able to get $30 or so from selling his old bike on FB marketplace. It's a Trek bike so has good resale value. This was going to be a summer purchase but the bike shop had a huge sale this weekend that knocked $50 off the price of the bike and they won't have another sale until after summer, so it was good timing. Leaves us a bit over our spending goal for the month but we're still doing fine.

 

[imbatman]

The bad news: my Equinox has had an engine chatter. It's happened three other times, right before oil changes. Took it to the mechanic, who referred me to the local Chevy dealership (I didn't buy from them because they are awful). They made me go through some testing for over 3k miles, and kept telling me nothing was wrong. And every time I went, they acted like they had no idea who I was or why I was there. I told gave them a copy of the special recall bulletin for excessive oil consumption. They didn't like a gal who knew what she was talking about.

The good news: Was so upset at the local dealership that I headed to the local oil shop for an oil change on Friday. The kid came back in saying that I had no oil in the car. Like, 3 quarts low!!! I drove to the dealership and they treated me horribly again, but said it'd take 20 mins to look. I called my coworker for a ride 30 mins later. And 3 HOURS later, I called them.

Now, I'm getting the engine replaced next week. Free. Borrowing MIL's car for the week (she has 3), so it's really free.

 

[DisneyMandC]

The bad news: my Equinox has had an engine chatter. It's happened three other times, right before oil changes. Took it to the mechanic, who referred me to the local Chevy dealership (I didn't buy from them because they are awful). They made me go through some testing for over 3k miles, and kept telling me nothing was wrong. And every time I went, they acted like they had no idea who I was or why I was there. I told gave them a copy of the special recall bulletin for excessive oil consumption. They didn't like a gal who knew what she was talking about.

The good news: Was so upset at the local dealership that I headed to the local oil shop for an oil change on Friday. The kid came back in saying that I had no oil in the car. Like, 3 quarts low!!! I drove to the dealership and they treated me horribly again, but said it'd take 20 mins to look. I called my coworker for a ride 30 mins later. And 3 HOURS later, I called them.

Now, I'm getting the engine replaced next week. Free. Borrowing MIL's car for the week (she has 3), so it's really free.

I'm interested to hear more about this... my mom also has an Equinox and it burns oil terribly. Is there something specific I need to look up or tell her about for the recall?

Edit: should have said oil, not fuel.

 

[Eureka]

Update: My husband is going in with two other guys to host a wet down for all three of them.

What is a wet down?

 

[DLgal]

What is a wet down?

I explained it in an earlier post. It's a Navy/Marine Corps tradition among officers that when you pin on a new rank (get promoted), you host a party, usually at a bar, where you pay the bar tab for everyone who comes. You are supposed to spend the amount of your monthly raise, which for officers is typically in the neighborhood of $1000.

 

[piccolopat]

Figure out our next move - literally! You may remember, we've been living with DH's parents. We can never repay them for how much it's helped us, and it's gone very well - that was a huge fear of mine moving in, that we wouldn't get along. We're coming up on 4 years of being here... we've got a chunk saved for a house down payment, but the market has been crazy and we've talked about moving states, so we need to figure out if that becomes a solid goal or not, and what we do until then... stay here, get an apartment, commit to this state and house shop... I love my in-laws, but I'm getting to the point where I'm really ready for our own space (for us and for all of the wedding gifts they got us On that note, is it crazy to pick up decent starter set of pots/pans that are on a good deal currently, using some wedding gift money, even though they might sit in the box for 6 more months?) and am ready to consider an apartment, though I also hate that idea... and even though that is also a crazy market, as @Dentam knows too well. !

Before you start buying anything, I would first decide if I were moving out of state. If so, the less you have to move, the better to keep moving costs down. You can always buy that set of pots and pans when you know where you will be living.

 

[imbatman]

What is a wet down?

https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/lingo/wet-down
wet down

To serve drinks in honor of one's promotion.

 

[amalone1013]

I don't think it's crazy to pick up a few things for a new place. With experience in moving around, I know filling up a house costs money. We've moved quite a bit and it seems every time some furniture doesn't fit a room or need to replace things, and just very new place specific things need to be bought, i.e. blinds, curtains, washer/dryer, fridge, certain maintenance equipment.

We don't have any bigitems yet, and knowing how they can add up makes me want to pick up the small things when they're on sale

Definitely not crazy! DH and I lived with my mom for a while and we had a lot of stuff stored for our own house that we didn't unpack until we bought our house three months after getting married.

I have about everything but pots and plans stored for a kitchen. When I moved in with them we were clearing out the family home to rent, and my college age sister had zero interest in the very nice kitchen things my mom had, so I got everything. AnD then we got a few wedding gifts. I love getting things slowly as there are deals...

@amalone1013 - I feel your pain on the moving and on the looking for a place to fit a normal person's budget here! Unless you're really tied to this area, I would look for somewhere more affordable to live. If I didn't love my job or could find a similar one in another state I would move.

Yeah... I like it here okay, but I hate the traffic... and I hate the idea of moving farther out to afford something, just to drive longer to a bad area for work (I go from North Thornton to I25/I70 area). DH is more tied, he's from here and his family is here, including 3 grandparents. But he was the first to bring up moving. For me, my dad and sister are west metro area, but we don't get along. My mom passed away a few years ago, and my grandfather splits his time between two other estates (snowbird). And I didn't grow up here, I grew up in the midwest, so I feel a bit more nomadic

Before you start buying anything, I would first decide if I were moving out of state. If so, the less you have to move, the better to keep moving costs down. You can always buy that set of pots and pans when you know where you will be living.

That s definitely the first bit of the puzzle. If I left my job now I'd lose the employer match in my 401k because I'm not vested, if I stay 6 more months it amounts to around $10k. 6 more months with the inlaws just sounds very long right now, no matter how great they've been, tho that's probably the most logical option.. at least we have no furniture or big items to move, but good point as the little ones add up too

 

[jen7233]

We don't have any bigitems yet, and knowing how they can add up makes me want to pick up the small things when they're on sale

It’s hard to decide if you plan on moving out of state, then maybe not, but I suppose those could be some of the things you bring with you in the car. You could get a starter set type thing. I give you credit and glad your in laws are awesome, DH and I would go nuts within a week, but I think it’s because we’re old (well pushing 50 in a minute or two) and stuck in our ways and expectations. Which is possibly a bad thing However, we’re also in the need for new furniture but I’m delaying buying anything until we settle down permanently. We have at least a good move or two left with DHs job if we decide to, and I hesitate to buy anything else thinking the movers will mess it up, or more likely it won’t fit in the next place.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

$10k to stay put for 6 mos is a no brainer to me. It will take half that to look around and find what you want, longer to relocate. That time will fly.

 

[Dentam]

Yeah... I like it here okay, but I hate the traffic... and I hate the idea of moving farther out to afford something, just to drive longer to a bad area for work (I go from North Thornton to I25/I70 area). DH is more tied, he's from here and his family is here, including 3 grandparents. But he was the first to bring up moving. For me, my dad and sister are west metro area, but we don't get along. My mom passed away a few years ago, and my grandfather splits his time between two other estates (snowbird). And I didn't grow up here, I grew up in the midwest, so I feel a bit more nomadic

Ugh, I hear you on the traffic. I grew up with farmland all around me, so my coping mechanism for even living here has been to be very close to work. I was really stressed about trying to find a new place to rent that wouldn't require me to have a long commute, because I would not be able to handle it. I'm so glad I found something only five minutes from work. My old car would have also protested the commute! And from what I gathered from a month of looking at rentals all over the area online is that the cost doesn't really go down much the further out you go, unless you go really far.

That s definitely the first bit of the puzzle. If I left my job now I'd lose the employer match in my 401k because I'm not vested, if I stay 6 more months it amounts to around $10k. 6 more months with the inlaws just sounds very long right now, no matter how great they've been, tho that's probably the most logical option.. at least we have no furniture or big items to move, but good point as the little ones add up too

I would definitely stay 6 more months if you can. That's a good chunk of money!

 

[jen7233]

Today is one of those days, I feel like throwing in the towel to line item budgeting and spending my time doing it, just to have things constantly shift or to manually shift money from one category to another to cover things. I feel almost like having three checking accounts one for fixed costs (rent, insurance, etc.), one for flexible, one for spending, auto-deduct the monthly investment out, and just calling it a day. I'm venting, tomorrow will be a new day.

 

[Eureka]

I explained it in an earlier post. It's a Navy/Marine Corps tradition among officers that when you pin on a new rank (get promoted), you host a party, usually at a bar, where you pay the bar tab for everyone who comes. You are supposed to spend the amount of your monthly raise, which for officers is typically in the neighborhood of $1000.

Sorry, must have missed your previous post.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Oh man, Murphy is hitting full force The other week my SIL spent the night. In the AM she left her nightguard in her purse on the ground. Our puppy took it out of her purse and chewed it to BITS. The original quote for a replacement was $750! It ended up being only $100 since they still had her impressions, but it was all super frustrating.

Now, our garage door broke. I assumed we could just repair it. However, since it’s original to the house (so 29 years old) they said they bearings are worn out, the springs snapped, and all the hardware needs to be replaced. They can do that for $1,100 or replace the whole door, hardware and motor for $1,800- $2,300 Because of it’s age, we are leaning towards a total replacement. We can cash flow the cost, but that means $0 towards debt dumping this month. Maybe May will be our month?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Today is one of those days, I feel like throwing in the towel to line item budgeting and spending my time doing it, just to have things constantly shift or to manually shift money from one category to another to cover things. I feel almost like having three checking accounts one for fixed costs (rent, insurance, etc.), one for flexible, one for spending, auto-deduct the monthly investment out, and just calling it a day. I'm venting, tomorrow will be a new day.

If it helps, get more accounts. This is why I love my Capital One 360 so much. They allow up to 30 (IIRC) savings accounts along with a checking account under one log in so it really helps me to keep things organized.
I don’t even know how I was doing it all those years with 1 checking and 1 savings and everything all jumbled together.
Having the right tools makes doing the job so much easier.
While you’re at it, you might look for a checking account that is offering a bonus. I find that really helps push my snowball along or even just pay an unexpected bill without having to touch my emergency fund.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/
I just did the Bank of America offer for $100 and currently doing Memory Bank for $100 and Chase $300. Since I do them also in dh’s name it’s double. Easy $1000!