Debt Dumpers - 2017

[Dentam]

My coworker and I were just talking about my trip to China last summer, and he made this comment about how he can't picture me there because I don't seem adventurous. He said it seems like I like to just stay home.... okay.... well, clearly he doesn't know me well at all for one thing, and second, he has more vacation time than practically anyone here and uses it all the time. And there's this thing called money - kinda comes in handy for traveling. If only he knew that even when I was young, I was pouring over travel magazines dreaming of where I would go when I grew up. I've been lucky to travel the bit that I have, but there are so many more places I want to go, and sometimes it feels like a lottery win is the only way I'll get to do it all.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling - that comment just kind of hurt today in more ways than one.

 

[Eureka]

So I didn't get Boma, but I did get an Ohana dinner reservation that I had been stalking for weeks. I also get to try Chef Art's Homecoming at Disney Springs. I heard it's awesome. Other ADR's are Via Napoli, Sci Fi, Narcoossees and California Grill.

Love Cali Grill and Narcoossees!

Dh and I leave on our 20th anniversary getaway to the beach tomorrow. I can't wait for some (non-budget busting) seafood. And teen-free time which is priceless.

 

[amalone1013]

2017 starting balances:
Student Loans - $12560 + $2075+ $12685 = $27,320
Car Loans - $22034 + $18100 = $40,134

Balances as of 2/8/17:
Student Loans - $10280 + $1052+ $9875 = $21,207 - $6113 change
Car Loans - $21584 + $17389 = $38,973 - $1161 change

Balances as of 3/15/17:
Student Loans - $9036 + $0 + $7685 = $16,721 - $10,599 change
Car Loans - $20685 + $17061 = $37,746 - $2388 change

Balances as of 4/5/17:
Student Loans - $6009 + $0 + $7702 = $13,694 - $13,626 change
Car Loans - $20685 + $17061 = $37,746 - $2388 change

Balances as of 5/15/17:
Student Loans - $5948 + $0 + $7505 = $13,453 - $13,867 change
Car Loans - $19785 + $16705 = $36,490 - $3644 change

Skipped June updates

Balances as of 7/4/17:
Student Loans - $3851 + $0 + $3550 = $7401 - $19,919 change
Car Loans - $19366 + $15994 = $35,360 - $4774 change

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

 

[AmyAnne]

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?x
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

That's really excellent - congrats!

I am debating (with myself, since DH says do whatever) whether to focus on paying off student loans or put extra towards our mortgage. If I put our extra funds toward the student loans, they could be paid off in about 10 months. (And 25 years ago, we had well over $150,000 between the two of us. I still say it was well worth it - we both have professional degrees, good salaries and as much job stability as I think can reasonably be expected today - but I'm not sure I want to calculate how much interest we have paid.)

From a strictly financial perspective, I should probably pay the extra toward the mortgage, since it is the higher interest rate (2.75% vs 2.25% - we did get lucky with the interest rates). On the other hand, I would love a few "paid in full" letters!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?x
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

That's amazing! Congratulations!! DH and I have about 75k. It's tough but we will probably do an aggressive payoff in 2018 and 2019 as well. I want them GONE and while we might not be able to get them completely gone in that time, if he could even cut them in half I'd be so happy!

 

[Ngwira]

Love Cali Grill and Narcoossees!

Dh and I leave on our 20th anniversary getaway to the beach tomorrow. I can't wait for some (non-budget busting) seafood. And teen-free time which is priceless.

Happy Anniversary!

 

[Ngwira]

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?x
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

Wow!!! So so jealous!!!

 

[amalone1013]

That's really excellent - congrats!

I am debating (with myself, since DH says do whatever) whether to focus on paying off student loans or put extra towards our mortgage. If I put our extra funds toward the student loans, they could be paid off in about 10 months. (And 25 years ago, we had well over $150,000 between the two of us. I still say it was well worth it - we both have professional degrees, good salaries and as much job stability as I think can reasonably be expected today - but I'm not sure I want to calculate how much interest we have paid.)

From a strictly financial perspective, I should probably pay the extra toward the mortgage, since it is the higher interest rate (2.75% vs 2.25% - we did get lucky with the interest rates). On the other hand, I would love a few "paid in full" letters!

We (or I, similar to you - I talk to DF and he gives thoughts, but always tells me to decided because I know more) debated car loans vs student loans... our student loan rates ranged from 3.15% to 6.8% and our cars are at 0% and 1.9%, so... It was hard to decide, because we got to where the interest on the last few loans wasn't going to add up to much even if we had gone back to minimum payments, but it technically made more sense. It's hard when the interest rates are so close!

That's amazing! Congratulations!! DH and I have about 75k. It's tough but we will probably do an aggressive payoff in 2018 and 2019 as well. I want them GONE and while we might not be able to get them completely gone in that time, if he could even cut them in half I'd be so happy!

Thanks! We had about $65k to begin with... and would have owed about $23k in interest on top of that. The nice thing for us was that I had 11 and he had 8 or so, so each time we paid one off our monthly payment dropped around $50. That was part of why we picked them over a car loan; originally we had a goal to pay off four total before the wedding because we knew we could commit to our extra payments for that long, and if we couldn't keep it up after we still would have taken $200 off our monthly payment. If we stopped on a car loan we'd be ahead, but the payment wouldn't change. Looking back, we could have knocked out a car loan but you never know right? Plus our car loan interest rates are lower than our student loans.

Wow!!! So so jealous!!!

I'll probably be in disbelief until the paid in full letters come

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

That is awesome! Very inspiring!
Keep up the good work!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

That's really excellent - congrats!

I am debating (with myself, since DH says do whatever) whether to focus on paying off student loans or put extra towards our mortgage. If I put our extra funds toward the student loans, they could be paid off in about 10 months. (And 25 years ago, we had well over $150,000 between the two of us. I still say it was well worth it - we both have professional degrees, good salaries and as much job stability as I think can reasonably be expected today - but I'm not sure I want to calculate how much interest we have paid.)

From a strictly financial perspective, I should probably pay the extra toward the mortgage, since it is the higher interest rate (2.75% vs 2.25% - we did get lucky with the interest rates). On the other hand, I would love a few "paid in full" letters!

Personally, I'd go for the the student loans first. 10 months will fly by and that will be extra you can throw at the mortgage. JMHO

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Balances as of 8/17/17:

Student Loans - $0 + $0 + $0 = $0 - $27,320 change from the beginning of the year
Car Loans - $18436 + $15768 = $34,204 - $5930 change from the beginning of the year


So.... it seems we have a new zero or two hanging out there... I usually check YNAB every day or two and make sure things are sorted correctly, and then we look at it together a couple times a month. I was checking it yesterday, and here's how our conversation went.

Me: Did you get a really big commission check?
DF: Idk
Me: Well, there's one in YNAB.
DF: *investigates* Yeah, it's from this job but the percentage seems higher than it should be...

Turns out, they had all his commissions for this job and all the next ones coming in at double what they should be. So that's fixed, but his boss said he deserves it and could keep this whole check. So we paid off our school loans today!

It's been about 16 months since we decided to pay them down aggressively; we paid off almost $54k and by my math we saved almost $11k in interest. We were on the 10 year repayment plan and they weren't supposed to be paid off until 12/2022 and 5/2024. Usually we stick with using last month's budget with YNAB, but since we had almost $2k for an extra payment for August waiting to be made, and the commission gave us plenty to pay the rest, we were too excited to wait. I might frame the paid in full letters

Congratulations! You guys have done an amazing job. Discipline really pays off because having no students loans is such an amazing feeling. I am so glad that DH and I focused on eliminating his student loans last year.

 

[AmyAnne]

Personally, I'd go for the the student loans first. 10 months will fly by and that will be extra you can throw at the mortgage. JMHO

This is my plan (just mailed an additional payment yesterday). I don't know why it bothers me (although only slightly) that paying off the student loans rather than paying down the mortgage might not be the optimal financial decision.

 

[wdwfan51]

If paying off the student loan in 10 months or so will give you more peace of mind that is what I would do. Then you can add the amount you were paying on the student loan into the principle of the mortgage. May not be the best idea but having one less bill overall would make me more comfortable. Good luck.

 

[dayvewc]

I'm of the same opinion. What may be "most optimal" may not be the "best for me" (or you). Being that close on the student loan, I'd go for it first and then the mortgage. I know a lot of the debt reduction plans say attack the highest interest, but many also target getting rid of the lowest balances. Sounds to me like you are doing the lower balance plan. I say the plan that works best for you is the "optimal financial decision".

In other news ... had a long talk this week with my roommate / ex S.O. Apparently, I was functioning with a misunderstanding about the inheritance he will get. It is NOT from a life insurance plan, which is what I thought, but instead his dad and step-mom had discussed how to divide their savings among all their kids. (Him and 3 step-siblings). According to what I was given to understand, his step-mom won't provide any inheritance until at least the first of November (just in case there are late bills), and her financial advisor suggests she not pay out any of the savings to ensure that she has enough to last the rest of her life. Can't really disagree with the advice, but it does kind of put a crimp in my plans for what I could pay off if she paid the inheritance.

I also managed to snag 2 deluxe studio rooms at Bay Lake Tower for spring break. 1 Theme Park View, and 1 Lake View. The 2 studios were fewer DVC points than a single 2-bedroom unit. So, I'm taking mom to WDW for spring break. Maybe this time she'll get to see the fireworks over MK. (When I took her and dad several years ago, it was between Christmas and New Years and was unseasonably cold, so we didn't stay for the show, and this summer at DisneyLand it was too windy the night we were there for the fireworks. Mom's about to decide that Disney doesn't actually have a fireworks show - it's all shared hallucinations among the guests!! lol) It is probably an excessive waste of money, but I'm considering ordering one of the in-room surprise welcome packages for her. I'll have to check and see what is available. Assuming mom is able to make the trip. She's been complaining of joint pain, and an 18-20 hour drive each way might be more than she feels capable of doing (even if we split it over 2 days). I'll just have to get her to commit by the end of January so if needed I can cancel the extra room and bank the points.

 

[amalone1013]

That is awesome! Very inspiring!
Keep up the good work!

Thank you!

Congratulations! You guys have done an amazing job. Discipline really pays off because having no students loans is such an amazing feeling. I am so glad that DH and I focused on eliminating his student loans last year.

Thanks! I'm so glad we did this too because I know it will help set us up better for the future. Even though our salaries will hopefully go up, I know our expenses will also! Not having another $800 a month in student loans will make a difference!

This is my plan (just mailed an additional payment yesterday). I don't know why it bothers me (although only slightly) that paying off the student loans rather than paying down the mortgage might not be the optimal financial decision.

I'm the same as you, I would also be the teeniest bit bothered it's not the optimal financial decision. But like others have said, it's really what is optimal for you! I'd end up paying down the loans too, as I imagine their balance is a bit lower than the mortgage. But anymore, who knows?

 

[AmyAnne]

If paying off the student loan in 10 months or so will give you more peace of mind that is what I would do. Then you can add the amount you were paying on the student loan into the principle of the mortgage. May not be the best idea but having one less bill overall would make me more comfortable. Good luck.

I'm of the same opinion. What may be "most optimal" may not be the "best for me" (or you). Being that close on the student loan, I'd go for it first and then the mortgage. I know a lot of the debt reduction plans say attack the highest interest, but many also target getting rid of the lowest balances. Sounds to me like you are doing the lower balance plan. I say the plan that works best for you is the "optimal financial decision".

I'm the same as you, I would also be the teeniest bit bothered it's not the optimal financial decision. But like others have said, it's really what is optimal for you! I'd end up paying down the loans too, as I imagine their balance is a bit lower than the mortgage. But anymore, who knows?

Thanks for the support. It really is just that I want something done. And the difference in interest rates isn't huge - although the difference in the balances is! We will have our mortgage for at least another 5 years. There also are some tax benefits to paying the extra toward the student loan (which we can't deduct the interest for) rather than the mortgage (which we can deduct the interest for) but I really have no idea how to quantify the difference.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Cruising along this month. I've actually been surprised at how low our spending has been even with being on vacation for a week. Our horse just finished up at a big show out west where he won enough money to pay his entry fees again. We will still have to pay the other expenses for our trainer, but that's just part of the deal and we're very happy with how he's done

One of my coworkers reminded me the other day that September is a three paycheck month. I'm looking forward to having the extra money to set aside for our biggest horse in October.

 

[DanielleDO]

I got my student loan paid-in-full notification last week. Felt amazing!! Now we keep working through the credit card debt...

Love seeing everyone's progress here. Such great motivation!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

DH's parents and brother came for the weekend. His brother lost a bunch of weight and needed new clothes, so we went to Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom Rack and Old Navy yesterday. All that shopping and running around was pretty tiring for me. They gave DH birthday money (his b-day was end of June, but they don't like to mail cash from Canada in his greeting card). He spent half on clothes and a laptop bag and banked the rest towards his new phone fund. They also gave us $300 as a baby shower gift, which was very nice. I told his mom that I would probably use the money after the baby showers with our registry completion discount, since it will save us another 20% on some of the big tickets items that I doubt anyone will buy us (stroller, car seat, extra car seat base). We took them out to breakfast at Bob Evans before they left this morning. They had never been there and enjoyed it a lot. We hadn't really budgeted for it, but I was able to move money around in YNAB to cover it without worry.

And last Monday I wanted to buy eclipse glasses, but could not find them locally. I could only find legit ones online from eclipseglasses dot com, but they had a 25 item minimum at $4 each plus $20 shipping (to get them here in time). I decided to take the risk and order them. I only needed 2 pairs and planned to sell the other 23. Well, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Once I posted on Facebook to my local friends, they were gone in a flash. I just charged the cost, $4.80, but everyone rounded up to $5 even though I tried to give them the change. The extra $0.20 from each pair meant that we basically got one of ours for free. Turned out to be a good risk. And now we get to take a break from work tomorrow and watch the eclipse. It will be 86% here in Michigan, not a total eclipse, but I am still looking forward to it.

 

[Eureka]

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks! We had a great time away. Lay on the beach and had some amazing dinners. Saw a local production of A Chorus Line that was very good. Hotel on the boardwalk was expensive and so were our dinners but besides that we did not spend much and I still have some of the cash I brought. My parents stayed with the kids and also gave us a $100 prepaid card that we used for one of the dinners. For once, I will say it doesn't matter what we spent...it was so worth it to have time together to reflect on the last 20 years (!! How can we be that old?) without worrying about anything else.