Debt Dumpers 2020

[DnA2010]

We also lucked out that dh bought a big pack of Clorox wipes in early March before they were hard to get.

Ohh the impossible item around here! Haven't managed to get any, just really wanted them for the car and for DH to wipe his work stuff like stethoscope, keys, phone etc after work (paramedic) but I managed to get alcohol on the last shop (we are just doing one shop every 2 weeks at costco) so will try making some, there seem to be lots of recipes online.

Please stay safe down there American friends, I just can't watch the updates anymore, what they are showing up here on the news- the protests, etc is just scary...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I’ve also been online shopping, or browsing, @StacyStrong. its a real problem when you have nothing else to do lol. What helps me sometimes is adding things to my cart and then just leaving it for A day or so. I can usually talk myself out of buying it if it’s something I don’t need lol.

I do this too. It relieves the impulsiveness for a while and by the next day I'm not usually drooling over it any more.
We are spending sooo much less than usual. We put everything on a cc except gas/electric, water, sewer, property taxes & mortgage. (Those either don't take a cc or charge a high fee to do so.) Our usual monthly bill is $2400-2900. I pay some each payday so I never carry a balance. Well, the statement cycle closes Saturday and our bill will be just over $1700. Anything else we might add to that would be a small grocery run or pizza. Little stuff.
It has NEVER been that low since I first found this thread in 2013 and began really looking at our bills.
I'm not complaining but it's amazing how much we spend that isn't necessary. Maybe it's not so much that it isn't necessary but maybe just related to working FT and having such little free time.

 

[jen7233]

Here are a few of my favorite pictures, including the only picture we managed to get of all 4 of us. The cake was *amazing*. Literally the best thing I've ever eaten.

hello back and looks like a lovely wedding event!

Honestly, this quarantine is killing me. I’m not going into debt and I’m still saving more than I was previously, but I swear that I CANNOT stop online shopping. New kitchen items are just calling to me. Plus I bought a Switch Lite and a couple games. I’m DYING for a new grill and have my eye on some that are sooo nice but probably too pricey for me to really justify lol.

ugh. I. Want. Everything.

I am shopping, too, but it hasn't been too terrible I think but could have been better, sure. DH has spent way more than me, he bought some workout equipment and a treadmill!! Mine has mostly been some Amazon books, a few school type supplies with kids home, and a few small kitchen items, containers for food etc. The "stuff" category.

I will say my clothing budget is way down this month, just $20. I do Everydollar, mainly as a platform for tracking spending categories and watching trends where more money is spent, vs. actually holding myself to it. This budget is really interesting this month for us. Zero on registrations (although it's usually pool registration time and summer sport/activity registration time), $0 on sports or activities, $0 on gas, $0 on DH's work luncheons when typically he has quite a few luncheons to pay for with others as that's the nature of his job, $0 on Easter (because I expected to be in WDW on Easter), $20 on clothes, $50 on restaurants (only because DH wanted to splurge on Cheesecake Factory slices for each of us and that was nearly $40 alone!)

 

[barkley]

for those that have or find the elusive clorox or other disinfecting wipes here's a hack we are using to extend our tiny supply-there's a bunch of the disinfecting liquid at the bottom of those containers when you take that last wipe out so consider getting a clean, empty spray bottle and pouring that liquid into it. i started doing this back in february and from 4 of the size costco sells i've reaped over half a large spray bottle of disinfectant.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

for those that have or find the elusive clorox or other disinfecting wipes here's a hack we are using to extend our tiny supply-there's a bunch of the disinfecting liquid at the bottom of those containers when you take that last wipe out so consider getting a clean, empty spray bottle and pouring that liquid into it. i started doing this back in february and from 4 of the size costco sells i've reaped over half a large spray bottle of disinfectant.

Great idea!
When I get near the bottom, I start squeezing them some to wring out the extra liquid. Once the wipes are gone I grab a paper towel (half sheets) and dip them in the container. I usually get 4 more “wipes” out of it. I like your way better. The paper towel wipes fall apart or leave little bits behind and most of the liquid is wasted.
I will look into getting another empty spray bottle. Thanks!

 

[Nettlelondon]

Our summer trips to various festivals around Europe (the joys of being in the UK and having a lot of friends in Belgium / Netherlands) mean that we won't be spending much on travel for the next little while. And the double whammy of that is if DH isn't on vacation he can work - double bubble: not spending and more coming in!

Most of the festival tickets are being converted to vouchers for either 2021 or 2022, and as we planned to go to those as well we know we will be fine (assuming the festivals go ahead - which I am pretty confident of). I am fortunate that I don't need the cash right now so am happy to leave the funds with the organisers in the hope that it makes it more likely they will be able to continue in the future.

We still aren't spending much, well at least I'm not. Amazon / eBay purchases from "him upstairs in the office" do seem to arrive regularly. The joys of sitting on boring conference calls allows him to go for a bit of a web wander. But most of them have been pretty cheap.

There is one category that we have both completely overspent on - shoes. Both of us love shoes from a particular store and they are offering 50% off by mail order. So several pairs have arrived for both of us. The offer ends this weekend so I think there may be another quick look at the site before then. A lot of their shoes are a little silly (I have some gold ankle boots from them for example) but they are so pretty and well made that I just can't resist.

I am signed up with a number of online survey companies, normally I get 5 or 6 a week, mostly paying about 50p, so not the biggest money earner but for a few minutes not bad. Since lockdown started I have been getting 5 or 6 a day, mainly about Coronavirus related subjects so they are generating a bit more income.

 

[Shughart]

:iscreetly slides back into her chair as if she didn't vanish without a trace::

SO ::claps hands::

2020 goals
Financial
*Set aside $1000 each for each the kids 529 plans (deposit right away/or wait till market recovers, they have lost money so far this year)
*Make extra mortgage payment
*Pay off 15K in credit card debt (this one might be lofty but I half *almost half of it right now, but holding onto it jic DH's job situation changes before this ends*

Personal
Run 3 days a week Sun/Tues/Thurs
Lose 30 more lbs.

So, did I mention, I bought a house?
And I've lost 115 lbs?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

:iscreetly slides back into her chair as if she didn't vanish without a trace::

SO ::claps hands::

2020 goals
Financial
*Set aside $1000 each for each the kids 529 plans (deposit right away/or wait till market recovers, they have lost money so far this year)
*Make extra mortgage payment
*Pay off 15K in credit card debt (this one might be lofty but I half *almost half of it right now, but holding onto it jic DH's job situation changes before this ends*

Personal
Run 3 days a week Sun/Tues/Thurs
Lose 30 more lbs.

So, did I mention, I bought a house?
And I've lost 115 lbs?

Wow! 115lbs? and I was excited to lose 7!
Did you do it by running?

Congratulations on that and buying a home!


By the way, "waiting for the market to recover" before investing is like waiting for the shoes you want to buy to not be on sale anymore. You want to buy low, not buy high.
You only "lose" money if you sell low (as in withdraw from the fund). If you don't pull it out, just let it ride the waves, and it will go back up. No reason to not buy though!

 

[pblack]

Congratulations @Shughart and welcome back!

 

[WeatherLights]

:iscreetly slides back into her chair as if she didn't vanish without a trace::

SO ::claps hands::

2020 goals
Financial
*Set aside $1000 each for each the kids 529 plans (deposit right away/or wait till market recovers, they have lost money so far this year)
*Make extra mortgage payment
*Pay off 15K in credit card debt (this one might be lofty but I half *almost half of it right now, but holding onto it jic DH's job situation changes before this ends*

Personal
Run 3 days a week Sun/Tues/Thurs
Lose 30 more lbs.

So, did I mention, I bought a house?
And I've lost 115 lbs?

You lost 115 lbs and gained a house? That's great, congrats!

I went through my cc statements from the last few months and realized my spending each month in 2020 is basically twice what I was spending in 2019. A few reasons for that 1) stepdaughter related expenses 2) house related things seem to be failing this year at a rapid pace! 3) this one is the real kicker which just occurred to me today--I'm now shouldering 100% of the grocery expenses because my spouse and I no longer go to the store together and, thus, no longer trade off on who is paying! To be fair, I did designate myself to that role back in March, mostly because I think I'm more careful about the distancing and hygiene. As an aside, we have completely separate finances (except for joint ownership of the house), which I know is weird for some couples, but has worked great for us. Just curious, any other dual earning couples here that don't have joint accounts?

Today we had to have the electrician out and now I'm nearly $400 poorer. This was also my expense because my husband said he would do it himself and I said no way which means I get to pay for it The electrician and I both wore masks and stood 6 feet apart except for when I had to sign something. It was an overall odd interaction. Also, speaking of masks, I just dropped $50 on 8 washable cloth masks from a local company. I do think masks will be in our future for quite a while so I wanted to have several available for each of us.

Hope you are all healthy and still able to make some progress on your goals despite these difficult circumstances.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You lost 115 lbs and gained a house? That's great, congrats!

I went through my cc statements from the last few months and realized my spending each month in 2020 is basically twice what I was spending in 2019. A few reasons for that 1) stepdaughter related expenses 2) house related things seem to be failing this year at a rapid pace! 3) this one is the real kicker which just occurred to me today--I'm now shouldering 100% of the grocery expenses because my spouse and I no longer go to the store together and, thus, no longer trade off on who is paying! To be fair, I did designate myself to that role back in March, mostly because I think I'm more careful about the distancing and hygiene. As an aside, we have completely separate finances (except for joint ownership of the house), which I know is weird for some couples, but has worked great for us. Just curious, any other dual earning couples here that don't have joint accounts?

Today we had to have the electrician out and now I'm nearly $400 poorer. This was also my expense because my husband said he would do it himself and I said no way which means I get to pay for it The electrician and I both wore masks and stood 6 feet apart except for when I had to sign something. It was an overall odd interaction. Also, speaking of masks, I just dropped $50 on 8 washable cloth masks from a local company. I do think masks will be in our future for quite a while so I wanted to have several available for each of us.

Hope you are all healthy and still able to make some progress on your goals despite these difficult circumstances.

I knew a couple that split everything 50/50 but for me it’s too much work. Well, I worked with her in the 90’s.
They were trying to sell their house. After a year they finally found a buyer. FHA says the roof needed replacing before settlement. She told me he didn’t save up his half of the roof replacement so they had to let that buyer go.
House went back on the market while he saved his half of the roof $. I dont know how it turned out; we changed jobs and I lost track of what division she worked in.
Seems like it opens the door to a lot of bickering. Do what works for you. There is no right or wrong way as long as you’re both in agreement.

I have 2 masks from work, dh and ds23 were given a few from their employers too.
Youtube has some videos how to make masks out of a tshirt without having to sew at all. I can also understand supporting local businesses.
I’m not very crafty but it looked pretty easy.
I will see if I can find it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

 

[imbatman]

In honor of saving money, I'll be trying this recipe this week: IT’S TIME FOR MICKEY BEIGNETS!!!!

 

[DisneyMandC]

In honor of saving money, I'll be trying this recipe this week: IT’S TIME FOR MICKEY BEIGNETS!!!!

DH made them this weekend and they're delicious! He did a brown sugar topping on some of them which is definitely my favorite.

 

[imbatman]

DH made them this weekend and they're delicious! He did a brown sugar topping on some of them which is definitely my favorite.

Did he alter the yeast? Seems like there is a discrepancy.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Did he alter the yeast? Seems like there is a discrepancy.

I don't think so, but I know he only made half of what the recipe calls for. I don't know if he followed this specific one or not.

 

[pblack]

Guys, I just paid $1.97/gallon for gas here in Sacramento!! This is the first time I've paid under $2/gal since I got my first car over 10 years ago. Today was a very exciting day for this Californian.

 

[dina444444]

Guys, I just paid $1.97/gallon for gas here in Sacramento!! This is the first time I've paid under $2/gal since I got my first car over 10 years ago. Today was a very exciting day for this Californian.

The last time I paid for gas at/under $2/gallon is Los Angeles was January 2009.

 

[cmrdgrs]

In honor of saving money, I'll be trying this recipe this week: IT’S TIME FOR MICKEY BEIGNETS!!!!

Oh. my. gosh! My family loves Mickey Beignets! But, for me, it's the sauces that really make them. Anyone know what the sauces are they serve them with (at Cafe Orleans in DL that's how they come)? One is some type of vanilla sauce and the other is some type of jam (I think)

 

[Shughart]

Wow! 115lbs? and I was excited to lose 7!
Did you do it by running?

Congratulations on that and buying a home!


By the way, "waiting for the market to recover" before investing is like waiting for the shoes you want to buy to not be on sale anymore. You want to buy low, not buy high.
You only "lose" money if you sell low (as in withdraw from the fund). If you don't pull it out, just let it ride the waves, and it will go back up. No reason to not buy though!

No, do you remember last year someone posted about weight watchers running a deal and a couple other people joined too? Well I've been going strong since 3/2019! I even joined the WW Instagram community and I post quite a lot of there, progress, food, etc. There's a lot of very helpful stuff there is anyone else is still on the program! The running is new actually, I need SOMETHING with my gym closed, I was getting tired of Walk at Home videos on youtube, I needed to be physically propelled forward (I was doing a treadmill before at the gym, I find the stress release cathartic, and I need it being stuck at home with a teen and tween lol). I'm not very good/fast yet, but I manage a 1.5 mile loop around my subdivision a couple times a week usually.

Congratulations @Shughart and welcome back!

Thank you!!