Debt Dumpers 2020

just as a reminder-i know some on this year's thread who get paid bi-weekly use those 3 paycheck months to throw at debt so check your 2020 payroll calendars b/c due to the leap year you may see 3 of those months vs. the normal 2:banana: i just ran the numbers for dd's last student loan and it look like it will be laid to rest due to this by 5/20 :cheer2:
 
When we had our roof done in 2006, there were a few areas where the wood had to be replaced completely, but the majority of it was okay. We had a complete tear off of the shingles (we’re only allowed two layers in Chicago-after that all shingles from prior roofing jobs must be completely removed) and a few small repairs to the wood underneath and our total was about $4,200.

Of course, YMMV depending on the size of your house and even the area of the country you are in. Definitely get 3-4 estimates as early as possible because contractors get very busy in the Spring. We found some companies would not even come out for an estimate because they were so busy.

Good advice, thanks! I believe it's also only 2 layers here in California.
 
Second blood draw yesterday and the HCG level more than doubled, so things are looking really good. I have the first ultrasound scheduled for January 2 and as long as everything looks good then I will be transferred from the fertility clinic to my OB after that. :D

I am working like crazy to finish a work deadline before we leave for WDW tomorrow. DH took DD for a playdate with DD's bestie at a local kids playscape so that I have some uninterrupted time. I am running laundry and typing like crazy, but I still have quite a bit of work to get done. I might have to pull an all-nighter, but I am really hoping not.
 
Second blood draw yesterday and the HCG level more than doubled, so things are looking really good. I have the first ultrasound scheduled for January 2 and as long as everything looks good then I will be transferred from the fertility clinic to my OB after that. :D

I am working like crazy to finish a work deadline before we leave for WDW tomorrow. DH took DD for a playdate with DD's bestie at a local kids playscape so that I have some uninterrupted time. I am running laundry and typing like crazy, but I still have quite a bit of work to get done. I might have to pull an all-nighter, but I am really hoping not.

And I just sent the 18-page report to my boss. Packing in the morning then off to the airport right after lunch.
 


DH put in for military retirement for 12/1/2020. It hasn't yet been approved, but should be. Our savings goal is meant to provide 6-9 months of cushion for living expenses (supplemented by his pension) in the event that DH doesn't find a job right away. This is my single largest stressor right now, as transitioning out of the military from overseas is challenging. He will return in July and begin outproceesing, but the timeline stresses me out.
I went through this in 2016, albeit not from overseas. I went into Terminal Leave at the end of March and moved the family in June. Our greatest stress was finding a home to move into. I never had a problem finding work. Places were actively looking for fresh hires from the military. I eventually settled on one and had that completed by May. I negotiated a higher rate of vacation time build-up! We then later moved and dealt with the one last PCS in early June. Getting things straight with the VA was next hurdle as everything that had been previously submitted needed to be re-done because it had been done badly.

Looking back it was a stressful time, but also one where I got to do more with my family and stop thinking military.
 
Hi everyone! 2019 was a pretty good year for me. I got a new job which has helped me mentally, physically, and financially. God is SO GOOD!

I discovered a fun way to save this weekend! One of my friends sent me some info on an event a local finance company was holding. It was at a local movie theater and if you went to a seminar they were doing you would get to see Frozen 2 for free and also get complimentary popcorn and drinks. We arrived at the time the event was supposed to start and got our seats for the movie. After it was over, we assumed we would have to listen to the seminar, but everyone got up and left! We apparently missed it or something. We have no idea, but we got to enjoy the movie and snacks for free! Definitely helped my budget for this month, since I was planning on seeing the movie anyway.
 


Finally ready to share my 2020 goals since I found out today that I will still be employed come January 1!! I feel like everything in my life has been on hold waiting for the phone call I got today to let me know I still have a job, so now I can finally get down to business...

1. Buy DH a car... immediately. His car is burning oil at an alarming rate so it needs to go ASAP. Plan is to pay cash for this new car. It’ll serious deplete our savings, but...
2. Beef savings back up. DH will get healthy stock payout and annual bonuses in the spring, so I’ll use those to replenish our savings after buying the car.
3. Pay DH’s student loan off. We have about $3900 left on it right now. We prefer to get bigger tax refunds so I’m hoping we can get a good amount from that to put towards the loan. If there’s anything left, we’ll probably just pull it from savings.
4. Get our house painted. Our house is ugly, for real, and I’m tired of looking at it. I got a quote for $2300 for painting our house and two sheds and am seriously considering doing it this year.
5. Up my retirement contributions. My 403(b) (government employee here) is maxed, but I also have a 457 plan that I’m only contributing $20 per paycheck too. I’d also like to up that to help get my student loan payment down further.

Wow that is cheap and money well spent. We painted our house ourselves around 5 yrs ago in shades not very far off from what we had before, just a little bit bolder this time. The time before that, ds22 was only 1.5 so it was due. It's just amazing what an improvement it is. When we needed a new roof, it still looked nice but nothing alters the overall appearance like a fresh coat of paint (well, 2).
You will be so happy you did.
:earseek::cloud9:
 
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Wow that is cheap and money well spent. We painted ours house ourselves around 5 yrs ago in shades not very far off from what we had before, just a little bit bolder this time. The time before that, ds22 was only 1.5 so it was due. It's just amazing what an improvement it is. When we needed a new roof, it still looked nice but nothing alters the overall appearance like a fresh coat of paint (well, 2).
You will be so happy you did.
:earseek::cloud9:

Good to know on the price! Yeah I would definitely never do it myself lol. I'm going to get some more quotes this spring and try to get it done.
 
Finally ready to share my 2020 goals since I found out today that I will still be employed come January 1!! I feel like everything in my life has been on hold waiting for the phone call I got today to let me know I still have a job, so now I can finally get down to business...

1. Buy DH a car... immediately. His car is burning oil at an alarming rate so it needs to go ASAP. Plan is to pay cash for this new car. It’ll serious deplete our savings, but...
2. Beef savings back up. DH will get healthy stock payout and annual bonuses in the spring, so I’ll use those to replenish our savings after buying the car.
3. Pay DH’s student loan off. We have about $3900 left on it right now. We prefer to get bigger tax refunds so I’m hoping we can get a good amount from that to put towards the loan. If there’s anything left, we’ll probably just pull it from savings.
4. Get our house painted. Our house is ugly, for real, and I’m tired of looking at it. I got a quote for $2300 for painting our house and two sheds and am seriously considering doing it this year.
5. Up my retirement contributions. My 403(b) (government employee here) is maxed, but I also have a 457 plan that I’m only contributing $20 per paycheck too. I’d also like to up that to help get my student loan payment down further.

Goal 1 is almost done! We went and test drove cars this weekend and really liked the Nissan Rogue. We are having a 2017 Nissan Rogue transferred to our nearby store and as long as everything is ok with it on the test drive, we'll be purchasing that. We were really happy with the price on it. I wasn't thrilled with how much they want to give us on DH's car, but there's not much I can do about that especially with the oil issue.
 
omg! ds19 and I say this all the time! btw, it's not just from years ago; they still say it! At least they did last Dec. at our last visit.
Yes, love that saying! I thought they altered it slightly, because at WDW last visit for some reason the saying was close to that but missed the hats and glasses part, I think they said keep your arms and legs in, or something of that nature. Lol.
Goal 1 is almost done! We went and test drove cars this weekend and really liked the Nissan Rogue. We are having a 2017 Nissan Rogue transferred to our nearby store and as long as everything is ok with it on the test drive, we'll be purchasing that. We were really happy with the price on it. I wasn't thrilled with how much they want to give us on DH's car, but there's not much I can do about that especially with the oil issue.
It looks like a nice car, hope it's a good test drive!
 
Goal 1 is almost done! We went and test drove cars this weekend and really liked the Nissan Rogue. We are having a 2017 Nissan Rogue transferred to our nearby store and as long as everything is ok with it on the test drive, we'll be purchasing that. We were really happy with the price on it. I wasn't thrilled with how much they want to give us on DH's car, but there's not much I can do about that especially with the oil issue.

Please have it inspected by a mechanic prior to purchasing. Nissan Rogues are infamous for having the CVT transmission fail early on, typically in less than 80,000 miles. It is worth the extra money to have an independent mechanic check it out. Then if they find anything wrong with it you can either walk away or negotiate the price based on the list of items the mechanic found. Fingers crossed it is a decent car for you.
 
DH and I have also been contemplating a new car purchase. Our original plan was to wait a bit longer (summer-ish) since my car is completely paid off, but i'm also just so over my car. I really want an SUV (preferably highlander), but those aren't in our price range at the moment. We currently have my paid off car and a camry on lease. Once the camry lease is up (I believe May 2021) we were going to purchase a commuter car for DH, but now we're considering purchasing a commuter car now and i'll take over the Camry until the lease is up. Once the lease is up we would then look into purchasing an SUV for me. I found a 2010 ford fusion hybrid for $10k with only 98k miles on it. We haven't seen it in person, but it looks like a nice car and would be perfect for a commuter car. Now the decision is do we take the plunge on it, or do we wait knowing that we also need to pay for a replacement roof in the next few months. Decisions, decisions.
 
Goals 2020:

Get savings back on track. Most of my savings from last year went into buying a new home while I sold the other. Real estate is a horrible investment, but I can’t get the money out now.

Save $50k in my taxable investment account.

Get rid of PMI on my home by the end of Q1. Roll over my home sale proceeds and cover the difference.

Get fit enough to easily pass the minimum requirements for BUDs. I’m not going into the military, but it’s a pretty good gauge of fitness.
 
Please have it inspected by a mechanic prior to purchasing. Nissan Rogues are infamous for having the CVT transmission fail early on, typically in less than 80,000 miles. It is worth the extra money to have an independent mechanic check it out. Then if they find anything wrong with it you can either walk away or negotiate the price based on the list of items the mechanic found. Fingers crossed it is a decent car for you.

Thanks! Yeah I read about the CVT issues and talked to a couple people before we test drove. My brother has had Nissans for several years now and hasn’t had any problems with them, but I’m going to get my mechanic to check it out within the 7 day return window. We also get a significant discount on the additional car warranty so I’m probably going to buy the one that covers up to 125k miles. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of newer cars are moving to those transmissions. Even the new Honda CR-Vs, which is what I originally wanted to get, have them now too

We DIY everything except roofing & concrete.
Dh is very handy and I dont mind painting. I’m scared of heights so I don’t go up any higher than 6’ up a ladder.

Yeah we are the least handy people in existence. I always joke that we prefer to just support local businesses and get them to fix all the stuff around our house haha. I need to put a storm door on our back door and even that I’m not sure I can handle :rotfl2:
 
Please have it inspected by a mechanic prior to purchasing. Nissan Rogues are infamous for having the CVT transmission fail early on, typically in less than 80,000 miles. It is worth the extra money to have an independent mechanic check it out. Then if they find anything wrong with it you can either walk away or negotiate the price based on the list of items the mechanic found. Fingers crossed it is a decent car for you.
Thanks! Yeah I read about the CVT issues and talked to a couple people before we test drove. My brother has had Nissans for several years now and hasn’t had any problems with them, but I’m going to get my mechanic to check it out within the 7 day return window. We also get a significant discount on the additional car warranty so I’m probably going to buy the one that covers up to 125k miles. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of newer cars are moving to those transmissions. Even the new Honda CR-Vs, which is what I originally wanted to get, have them now too

Adding to the car talk--we are also looking to buy a car by the end of the year. I think the choice will come down to a Toyota RAV or a Mazda 5. Anyone have any thoughts?

I'm also curious about your 2017 model @DisneyMandC -- how many miles does it have? And do you know the history of who owned it (and maybe how they maintained it)? We had decided that a 2019 model would be worth the depreciation because we will own it for 10+ years (will trade in our 2006 Mazda) but I wouldn't mind a slightly used car that comes with a dealer warranty.
 
Buying a new car is tough. What’s nice about the new ones is Apple CarPlay. I use it every day. Much better than what comes standard. This is what kept me from buying used.
 
DH and I have also been contemplating a new car purchase. Our original plan was to wait a bit longer (summer-ish) since my car is completely paid off, but i'm also just so over my car. I really want an SUV (preferably highlander), but those aren't in our price range at the moment. We currently have my paid off car and a camry on lease. Once the camry lease is up (I believe May 2021) we were going to purchase a commuter car for DH, but now we're considering purchasing a commuter car now and i'll take over the Camry until the lease is up. Once the lease is up we would then look into purchasing an SUV for me. I found a 2010 ford fusion hybrid for $10k with only 98k miles on it. We haven't seen it in person, but it looks like a nice car and would be perfect for a commuter car. Now the decision is do we take the plunge on it, or do we wait knowing that we also need to pay for a replacement roof in the next few months. Decisions, decisions.
DH is parts director for Toyota/Lexus with previous Nissan and way back Ford experience. Be very careful of older hybrid from any make. The hybrid batteries do not last forever and are very expensive to replace. We have leased 3 Toyota hybrids. My husband would consider buying a new hybrid, but we get such good deals (pretty much equivalent of 0% interest) that it makes a lot more financial sense for us to lease. When he has considered used hybrids, it is usually just dealer certified used.

As an additional aside for the transmission discussion, they can be a crap shoot. My parents just had to replace theirs on a car with known transmission issues around 75000 miles. My father went nuts and was sure the dealer was cheating them. They bought car used from dealer 2 years ago and purchased extended warranty. Transmissions are generally not covered under any warranty. It didn’t help my father any, but my mother was satisfied with $5K expense. Especially when dh told her they just had a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser need a $12000 transmission at work. That is not a normal issue with Land Cruisers.
 

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