Debt Dumpers 2020

[barkley]

so i posted less than 2 hours ago that fixed home loans/refi's were under 3%-with the emergency rate cut the feds just announced i'm seeing credit union has dropped their rate to 2.625%

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

So sorry for crappy few weeks. I must say my heart lurched at beginning of your post. I am glad issues have only been monetary and that pregnancy and dd are doing well.

Yes, sorry to make you worry. Pregnancy and DD are both fine and I am so thankful. Sometimes it is hard to keep things in perspective, so thanks for that reminder.

The plumber just left and I will hopefully have hot water in an hour so that I can shower, run the dishwasher and do some laundry. Total, in the end, was $2600 and I was able to put it on my credit card, so at least I get to earn some credit card points for this large unexpected expense.

 

[barkley]

I haven't posted in what feels like forever. Things haven't been great over here.

We have canceled our April cruise to Italy, France, and Spain due to Covid-19. It just doesn't feel prudent to go while pregnant and given a potential risk of quarantine. Royal Caribbean is giving us a 25% cash refund, plus a 75% future cruise credit minus a $300 cancellation fee. I feel that is pretty fair given we were already past the final payment date and could have lost up to 75% of our money based on their cancellation policy. Airline and hotel in Barcelona would not offer any kind of refund or credit, so I have submitted an insurance claim through my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I had my OB write me a letter stating that I couldn't travel due to "secondary risk for pregnancy-related complications" which is a fancy way of saying that getting coronavirus would be bad without actually mentioning coronavirus because the insurance doesn't actually cover epidemic related losses. We will see how this all works out, but I'm not necessarily super hopeful that we will recoup that $2200 in costs.

And then on Sunday, I went to take a shower and there was no hot water, so I went down to the basement and saw that it was flooded in the mechanical room and had spread under the wall into the theatre room as well. I cleaned up the water as best as I could and called an emergency plumber. He came within 45 minutes and stopped the leaking for the most part. The drywall has completely dried now and he carpet is mostly dry, so I think there won't be any long term damage to the basement. He came yesterday to replace some pipes that looked corroded, but that didn't stop the leaking. Seems that the tank of our water heater cracked, so it must be replaced. He is coming back today. All total it is going to cost us $2500, which we will take from our emergency fund. I just want hot water so I can take a shower.

i'm so sorry! is there any chance it's still under warranty? most come with a minimum 5 year but some are as long as 9 years.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

i'm so sorry! is there any chance it's still under warranty? most come with a minimum 5 year but some are as long as 9 years.

It is original to the house, so 12 years old. Not covered under any warranty that I know.

 

[McMealue18]

February flew by! I can't even believe it is March.

DH and I have laid out a pretty solid plan to pay off all of our debts, pay moving expenses, and by Disneyland Annual passes. With the mix of a great tax return, moving stipend, selling our house, and a few months of us both working high paying jobs, we should be able to do all of that and put a little into our savings fund.

Right now our real issue is getting rid of his truck. It's our largest payment each month and he is very over it, but we can't seem to get what we were hoping to out of it! The hope was to pay off the loan and by a cheap car for him while we save up for a nicer used car. At this point, if the loan gets paid off I'll take it. haha

Work has been loony toons with Covid-19 issues. I work for a governmental healthcare organization, so things have not stopped moving and shuffling for the last two weeks! My bedtime is currently 9:00 o'clock just to compensate for how worn out my brain is at the end of the day.

I also recently started a 30 workout challenge that has been so encouraging for me! I'm in the worst shape of my life, so I definitely needed a push in the right direction.

Overall, on track financially and personally, which is a refreshing change of pace!

 

[crazycatstacy]

Landlord just called and apologized and the late response. He said they would love to renew the lease but were waiting to see what the rent change would be due to tax increase. Last year it went up $6. I know the HOA fee went up $25 a month so I'm expecting it to go up at least $25. I hate for it to go up but am relieved to know we can continue renting there. We love where we are and have no plans to move. We hope to buy the unit we are in but if not we will at least buy in our building

 

[DisneyMandC]

My car was towed to the Hyundai dealership today. They called me to let me know it should be looked at later this week. The woman told me that she had seen a number of engines replaced for free in my model car and that she would advocate for me to get a new engine. Who knows how far that will go, but I appreciated the sentiment. My regular mechanic told me he'd seen people have good luck with them, so we'll see.

Even if they do replace the engine, I will still probably get rid of the car this year. We were thinking of buying me a new car next year anyways. From everything I've seen, it usually takes a couple months to get the total replacement done and in the meantime Hyundai will put you in a rental car or loaner vehicle. So I figure if it works out that they do replace it, maybe I can use that amount of time to really save to try to have my out of pocket financing as low as possible, or at least be able to pay it off as fast as possible. I told DH that since I really skimped when buying this car, I want my next car to really have all the features I want. And by that I mean like I want a Honda Civic with a sunroof, haha, so nothing too wild. If I'm going to have to take out a loan though, I'm going to get what I want.

 

[jen7233]

My car was towed to the Hyundai dealership today. They called me to let me know it should be looked at later this week. The woman told me that she had seen a number of engines replaced for free in my model car and that she would advocate for me to get a new engine. Who knows how far that will go, but I appreciated the sentiment. My regular mechanic told me he'd seen people have good luck with them, so we'll see.

Even if they do replace the engine, I will still probably get rid of the car this year. We were thinking of buying me a new car next year anyways. From everything I've seen, it usually takes a couple months to get the total replacement done and in the meantime Hyundai will put you in a rental car or loaner vehicle. So I figure if it works out that they do replace it, maybe I can use that amount of time to really save to try to have my out of pocket financing as low as possible, or at least be able to pay it off as fast as possible. I told DH that since I really skimped when buying this car, I want my next car to really have all the features I want. And by that I mean like I want a Honda Civic with a sunroof, haha, so nothing too wild. If I'm going to have to take out a loan though, I'm going to get what I want.

Good luck with your car! Great they'll give you a loaner vehicle if it needs work.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Got the results from the student loan company today. My monthly payment went down dramatically due to filing our taxes separately. Hallelujah! I don't think the new payment takes place until June or July but at least it is positive!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Got the results from the student loan company today. My monthly payment went down dramatically due to filing our taxes separately. Hallelujah! I don't think the new payment takes place until June or July but at least it is positive!

That's great! Just double check to make sure that you're still on the correct type payment plan (must be income-based). Sounds like you are considering it dropped, but I just always like to confirm that I've been placed on a qualifying PSLF plan.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Still swimming here.
We splurged a little here, funneling my snowball for a couple weeks. I found a great place for laser hair removal that is reasonably priced. I got the 1st of 6 treatments done for my underarms and bikini line (and then some). It was much easier than I expected. Looking forward to the next session.

Also the Sears store near us is closing so dh picked up a great snowblower for less than $600. This one is still pretty basic but nicer than our current one which is getting old and very well used so it doesn't owe us a dime. It's been repaired so many times but still works like a tank. We'll probably keep both until the old one dies. When it snows we clear our property and both of our elderly neighbors. Sometimes we do the neighbor across the street too if her dh is travelling for work. That's several hundred feet of sidewalk plus everyone has a 2-4 car driveway. This was a warm winter but not likely to stay that way every year. Eventually we'll have snow again.
Also I offered ds19 $20 per room to steam clean our carpets. We have a Bissell carpet cleaner and it's just amazing how clean and bright they look when it's done.

All of this is pushing back my savings for Panama Canal cruise $ which is due in late Oct. I should be done saving by the end of June. The cruise isn't until late Feb 2021 and by then I'm sure this corona virus will be history by then. We'll see.

I think for Christmas I'd like to get my full legs lasered. I would love to not have to shave. Ever. I should have done this years ago. A lot of my coworkers have done it and love it. Maybe dh wouldn't mind me starting it in early fall so it's mostly done before our cruise.

Hang in there and good luck to all of you dealing with car troubles. I hope it all works out well for you.

 

[Scoobie]

Looks like we are scrapping the trip to Seattle next week for Emerald City Comic Con. Usually the tickets are non-refundable, but Reed Pop announced they are giving refunds. Still haven't cancelled the con...... yet. Several artists and literary guests have cancelled, if any more do there won't be anyone to see. Sad we can't go, but the money refunded will more than pay for the generator we bought, lol. Emergency savings already paid back! And I had $1000 set aside for spending money, so we're ahead.

 

[3threebabies]

Still swimming here.
We splurged a little here, funneling my snowball for a couple weeks. I found a great place for laser hair removal that is reasonably priced. I got the 1st of 6 treatments done for my underarms and bikini line (and then some). It was much easier than I expected. Looking forward to the next session.

Also the Sears store near us is closing so dh picked up a great snowblower for less than $600. This one is still pretty basic but nicer than our current one which is getting old and very well used so it doesn't owe us a dime. It's been repaired so many times but still works like a tank. We'll probably keep both until the old one dies. When it snows we clear our property and both of our elderly neighbors. Sometimes we do the neighbor across the street too if her dh is travelling for work. That's several hundred feet of sidewalk plus everyone has a 2-4 car driveway. This was a warm winter but not likely to stay that way every year. Eventually we'll have snow again.
Also I offered ds19 $20 per room to steam clean our carpets. We have a Bissell carpet cleaner and it's just amazing how clean and bright they look when it's done.

All of this is pushing back my savings for Panama Canal cruise $ which is due in late Oct. I should be done saving by the end of June. The cruise isn't until late Feb 2021 and by then I'm sure this corona virus will be history by then. We'll see.

I think for Christmas I'd like to get my full legs lasered. I would love to not have to shave. Ever. I should have done this years ago. A lot of my coworkers have done it and love it. Maybe dh wouldn't mind me starting it in early fall so it's mostly done before our cruise.

Hang in there and good luck to all of you dealing with car troubles. I hope it all works out well for you.

So jealous of the laser hair removal. I hope you keep us updated about how well it works. I have thought about it several times, but it has just never worked out. We are probably moving someplace a lot warmer this summer, so my lazy leg shave status won’t work as well next winter It may be something I need to budget for.

Not to make light or upset anyone, but I do sometimes miss my “chemo” shave. Chemo is crap, so you kind of deserve at least one benefit. Other than the obvious, of course. No shaving and no allergies were definitely the only good side effects. And they were some pretty good side effects for this hairy allergy ridden body.

 

[Beachmom0317]

We got our federal tax return yesterday. I really wanted to splurge and buy a new purse and DH wanted some fishing gear, but we decided to transfer the funds to our snowball before we could change our minds lol. We owe $5,900 on our DVC loan (current debt we’re tackling), and we were able to pay it down to a balance of $3,300 with the return. We’re so close! I think before summer comes we’ll have it paid off and can then tackle DH’s balance on his truck, around $16k. I’m super sad we’re taking 2020 off of Disney but small victories make it hurt a lot less.

over the last few weeks we managed to pay our DVC loan in full! It was a pretty aggressive month to pay it down...DH worked a lot of OT And I sold a bunch of stuff on Poshmark. Moving on to DH’s truck now, which has a balance of 15k.

 

[Beachmom0317]

February flew by! I can't even believe it is March.

DH and I have laid out a pretty solid plan to pay off all of our debts, pay moving expenses, and by Disneyland Annual passes. With the mix of a great tax return, moving stipend, selling our house, and a few months of us both working high paying jobs, we should be able to do all of that and put a little into our savings fund.

Right now our real issue is getting rid of his truck. It's our largest payment each month and he is very over it, but we can't seem to get what we were hoping to out of it! The hope was to pay off the loan and by a cheap car for him while we save up for a nicer used car. At this point, if the loan gets paid off I'll take it. haha

Work has been loony toons with Covid-19 issues. I work for a governmental healthcare organization, so things have not stopped moving and shuffling for the last two weeks! My bedtime is currently 9:00 o'clock just to compensate for how worn out my brain is at the end of the day.

I also recently started a 30 workout challenge that has been so encouraging for me! I'm in the worst shape of my life, so I definitely needed a push in the right direction.

Overall, on track financially and personally, which is a refreshing change of pace!

This is pretty much how we ended up dealing with DH’s truck. He bought it in 2016 new and hardly drives it since he has a work vehicle he uses during the week for work only. Usually we hop in my car with the kids on weekends since it has all their favorite books, toys and the stroller in it. We decided to just pay off the truck and keep it since we saw we would be taking a huge hit if we resold it

 

[pblack]

over the last few weeks we managed to pay our DVC loan in full! It was a pretty aggressive month to pay it down...DH worked a lot of OT And I sold a bunch of stuff on Poshmark. Moving on to DH’s truck now, which has a balance of 15k.

Banana dance for you!

 

[imbatman]

Just canceled that surprise trip with DH for his birthday. He actually asked to cancel it and either roll the money toward WDW or a trip to Boise. He's trying to talk me into retiring there...

Also, I'd like some opinions. Just run of the mill from you guys. Situation: I work for a company that is nationwide (U.S.), with 3 different pension funds, West Coast, Central, and East Coast. In a small and very buried article yesterday, I read that the Central fund will be insolvent by 2025 and the East Coast is failing. West is just peachy, and that's what I'm in. I have zero choice as to where my employer contributions are sent. I have a realistic fear that our fund will be "tapped" to help the others.

My request for opinions is this: after the CC's are paid off this year, we are set to pay off our house in 3 - 3.5 years instead of 6.5 years. With this knowledge about the pension funds, should we look at just paying the 6.5 years and shoveling the extra payments toward a retirement fund of our own choosing? Or pay off the mortgage first and then deal with it then?

 

[AmyAnne]

Just canceled that surprise trip with DH for his birthday. He actually asked to cancel it and either roll the money toward WDW or a trip to Boise. He's trying to talk me into retiring there...

Also, I'd like some opinions. Just run of the mill from you guys. Situation: I work for a company that is nationwide (U.S.), with 3 different pension funds, West Coast, Central, and East Coast. In a small and very buried article yesterday, I read that the Central fund will be insolvent by 2025 and the East Coast is failing. West is just peachy, and that's what I'm in. I have zero choice as to where my employer contributions are sent. I have a realistic fear that our fund will be "tapped" to help the others.

My request for opinions is this: after the CC's are paid off this year, we are set to pay off our house in 3 - 3.5 years instead of 6.5 years. With this knowledge about the pension funds, should we look at just paying the 6.5 years and shoveling the extra payments toward a retirement fund of our own choosing? Or pay off the mortgage first and then deal with it then?

I'll chime in on the last point because DH and I revisit this question every so often. Neither of us has/will have a pension, so that might change how you look at it, but for us, our mortgage interest rate is nowhere near the tax break we get for sending money to our 401(k)s. For us it's not really even about retirement savings at this point (we're 20 or so years from even thinking about retiring; I will add that we both like our jobs); it's about reducing our taxable income.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Still swimming here.
We splurged a little here, funneling my snowball for a couple weeks. I found a great place for laser hair removal that is reasonably priced. I got the 1st of 6 treatments done for my underarms and bikini line (and then some). It was much easier than I expected. Looking forward to the next session.

Also the Sears store near us is closing so dh picked up a great snowblower for less than $600. This one is still pretty basic but nicer than our current one which is getting old and very well used so it doesn't owe us a dime. It's been repaired so many times but still works like a tank. We'll probably keep both until the old one dies. When it snows we clear our property and both of our elderly neighbors. Sometimes we do the neighbor across the street too if her dh is travelling for work. That's several hundred feet of sidewalk plus everyone has a 2-4 car driveway. This was a warm winter but not likely to stay that way every year. Eventually we'll have snow again.
Also I offered ds19 $20 per room to steam clean our carpets. We have a Bissell carpet cleaner and it's just amazing how clean and bright they look when it's done.

All of this is pushing back my savings for Panama Canal cruise $ which is due in late Oct. I should be done saving by the end of June. The cruise isn't until late Feb 2021 and by then I'm sure this corona virus will be history by then. We'll see.

I think for Christmas I'd like to get my full legs lasered. I would love to not have to shave. Ever. I should have done this years ago. A lot of my coworkers have done it and love it. Maybe dh wouldn't mind me starting it in early fall so it's mostly done before our cruise.

Hang in there and good luck to all of you dealing with car troubles. I hope it all works out well for you.

I took advantage of an amazing offer for laser hair removal in July of last year, and I'm getting my legs, underarms and bikini all done. I am SO happy with the results! I always hated shaving, so not having to is wonderful! We have a cruise scheduled for this November and I wanted to be hair-free by then. I wanted to get it done for so many years and I wish I had done it sooner.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I took advantage of an amazing offer for laser hair removal in July of last year, and I'm getting my legs, underarms and bikini all done. I am SO happy with the results! I always hated shaving, so not having to is wonderful! We have a cruise scheduled for this November and I wanted to be hair-free by then. I wanted to get it done for so many years and I wish I had done it sooner.

I wonder if it is better than it used to be. I tried it in college and it didn't really do anything. It was also really expensive back then. Or maybe my skin tone just isn't great for it? I am a bit more olive-skinned, but do have very dark hair.