Debt Dumpers 2021

[crazycatstacy]

@barkley- Yes we do live in the house already. I am SOOOOOO happy to not have to actually move!

 

[jen7233]

holiday shopping i am finding that so far of the online orders i've done (walmart, amazon and target) target is the CLEAR winner on shipping. we have an amazon fulfillment facility near us yet we are waiting so much longer for their items to arrive (weeks vs. days). walmart? they are using so many private vendors now that seem to just be taking orders, printing up shipping labels and charging cards-only to not ship for upwards of a month (if at all). i've had to be refunded on a number of never shown shipments (the shippers show they never received them). target on the other hand-did 7 separate orders during their 3 day sale this week (bundled by price to maximize value on buy 2/get 1 free) and i started getting shipment notices same day/deliveries in 2 days (i have 6 items out for delivery today). i'm going to try to get all my shopping done that i can before the end of this month (i have to hold out on video games cuz most will come through gamestop and their holiday return period is'nt in effect yet).

I haven't even ventured into thinking about presents. This year I didn't do a Christmas savings account either. I have noticed some things with Amazon, have had a few purchases non-holiday related refunded back as they couldn't fulfill. Target is great, although it's interesting how many different shipping packages I'll get for an order and they pretty consistently split up orders.

 

[pblack]

I started Christmas shopping about a week ago. Found some clearance nerf type guns for my friends son at sams club and then found the jewelry making kit I was looking for at costco for the same friends daughter. I also picked up a bag of Godiva chocolates on sale at costco for the gift bags I like to make my mail man and Alhambra delivery man.

ETA: I also brought up the idea of doing secret Santa with my husband's family instead of buying for everyone (all adults, the 1 child is excluded) and while hesitant they seem to be on board to give it a go.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

@barkley- Yes we do live in the house already. I am SOOOOOO happy to not have to actually move!

Also, how nice to be able to live in a house for a while before deciding to buy. Really gives a whole new meaning to taking time to "sleep on it."

 

[piglet1979]

ETA: I also brought up the idea of doing secret Santa with my husband's family instead of buying for everyone (all adults, the 1 child is excluded) and while hesitant they seem to be on board to give it a go.

We did this growing up with my cousins. There were 18 of us and that was a lot for each family. So each family choose a name for the number of kids they had. So there were 3 in my family so my mom picked 3 names. As we got older us kids did it ourselves. Now with just my immediate family, all the names go in a hat and we all pick names, including the kids. Each person gets one name. I buy the gifts for the 4 names we pick but I have the kids pick out the gift for the person they picked. We also put a price limit on the gifts. Usually like $15. This just saves everyone so much money. I am not sure what we will do this year as my sister is now divorced and doesn't have the money. We may only do the exchange with the kids and leave the adults out.

I haven't started shopping yet but I need to. I just need the kids to give me lists. They are 14 and 15 so it is getting harder to buy for them. I always get the clothes so I will get that done shortly and I will wait until black Friday to get the video games that I am sure will be on DS's list. I can usually get them about 50% off that day. DD is a bare to buy for. She doesn't even know what she wants.

 

[Nettlelondon]

With my husband's sister, her husband and son we have a limit of about £25 (so about $30 I suppose at the moment) but every year it comes with a challenge - so one year everything had to come from a fairly cheap store, another year from £1 shop (the equivalent of Dollar Tree), some years it has to be from AliExpress/Wish/Geek and other years from local thrift stores. We try to ensure that the things will be useful and the more parcels the better. All our birthdays are between October and January so it was really difficult thinking of two gifts so close together so we decided to concentrate on birthdays for "proper" presents and make Christmas more of a game.

It is great fun. It used to be just the adults but last year our nephew, who was 15 at the time, asked if he could join in. He got proper presents too - as well as the long standing tradition of the Christmas Stocking. There are traditional elements in the UK that need should be in every stocking (I don't know how it works in the US) - an orange, some nuts, some chocolate coins, a toy and some coal. We spend a lot of time ensuring all the elements are there but not in a format you would expect. For example the orange has been in the form of a tin of orange segments, the nuts were individually wrapped in candy wrappers so they weren't obvious and so on. It keeps me entertained for weeks trying to come up with this year's plan.

 

[CaleCakes]

October check in-

° AMEX balance $8125 in January- Current Balance $377 almost there! I wanted this paid off in September so I am slightly behind. My goal is to make the last payment next week when DH gets paid.

° Start a Roth IRA for myself. Done a few months back. Not much change lately.

°Keep money in savings! Felt like I was going to dip in last month but didn't and I am super proud of myself.

°Purge the garage- work in progress- why do I even keep this on the list?

° Disney- Dreaming of going back. Used the last of my H2O shower gel tonight so that's a sign to book, right? lol

°Landscaping- Painting is done. Haven't added dirt or planters yet.

Other things on my mind:
- True confession time... I can't stay put. This past weekend DH and I took the kids to New England to visit family. It was a quick drop in and get out trip and I used Jet Blue points so that was "free". The only real expense was the rental car and boy do they have a nerve charging the price they do for a rental these days. We used Avis Budget through Costco and it was $1125 for 4 days rental. I did a double take because I requested a standard SUV and got a Mitsubishi Outlander which to me seemed rather small. It was also super dirty inside (DH used half a silo of Lysol wipes making it presentable), the tire pressure light was on all weekend, the vent slats in the backseat were broken, and of course it had a stale cigarette smell. Yes I could have complained but really I didn't want to waste any of the little time we had with family on the phone or in line at the airport waiting for another vehicle. So it is what it is. I put the rental on my Disney Chase card and already paid it off. I'm going to try to stay near home for the rest of the year
- I've read some posts about Christmas shopping. I haven't even thought about it yet. I go slightly overboard with Halloween goodie bags and I've made 125 so far for the community trunk or treat. I've also been getting my trunk ready for the party and helping with some of the other decorations. So as soon as we get past Halloween I can start thinking about Christmas.

 

[huggybuff]

We used Avis Budget through Costco and it was $1125 for 4 days rental.

What the what????

 

[CaleCakes]

What the what????

I know right, isn't it gross?! I justified the cost only because I didn't have to pay airfare, hotel, and most meals but if that weren't the case we wouldn't have gone.

 

[jen7233]

October check in-

° AMEX balance $8125 in January- Current Balance $377 almost there! I wanted this paid off in September so I am slightly behind. My goal is to make the last payment next week when DH gets paid.

° Start a Roth IRA for myself. Done a few months back. Not much change lately.

°Keep money in savings! Felt like I was going to dip in last month but didn't and I am super proud of myself.

°Purge the garage- work in progress- why do I even keep this on the list?

° Disney- Dreaming of going back. Used the last of my H2O shower gel tonight so that's a sign to book, right? lol

°Landscaping- Painting is done. Haven't added dirt or planters yet.

Other things on my mind:
- True confession time... I can't stay put. This past weekend DH and I took the kids to New England to visit family. It was a quick drop in and get out trip and I used Jet Blue points so that was "free". The only real expense was the rental car and boy do they have a nerve charging the price they do for a rental these days. We used Avis Budget through Costco and it was $1125 for 4 days rental. I did a double take because I requested a standard SUV and got a Mitsubishi Outlander which to me seemed rather small. It was also super dirty inside (DH used half a silo of Lysol wipes making it presentable), the tire pressure light was on all weekend, the vent slats in the backseat were broken, and of course it had a stale cigarette smell. Yes I could have complained but really I didn't want to waste any of the little time we had with family on the phone or in line at the airport waiting for another vehicle. So it is what it is. I put the rental on my Disney Chase card and already paid it off. I'm going to try to stay near home for the rest of the year
- I've read some posts about Christmas shopping. I haven't even thought about it yet. I go slightly overboard with Halloween goodie bags and I've made 125 so far for the community trunk or treat. I've also been getting my trunk ready for the party and helping with some of the other decorations. So as soon as we get past Halloween I can start thinking about Christmas.

I hear you on rental cars. It is pricey, and some places have shortages, experiences vary on location. Last time I rented was last year visiting family, the Budget car rental line at the airport was huge, took so long. I have heard an issue DHs work does quite a bit of travel, had with obtaining rental a couple months ago having to go pick up further south.

I read an article today on the housing market on MSN "Baby Boomers are snatching houses out of the hands of Millenials", blaming them for having more cash to do deals, and not going to assisted living exacerbating the housing shortage. Wow.

 

[jen7233]

With those looking at Christmas toys for kids, check your Target Circle for a toy offer, $25 off $100, and $10 of $50, but expiring today and just noticed it on the app. Only have one grand to buy for as far as toys go, and don't know yet what to get so probably missing that offer.

My Chase cards (SW, CF and CFU, CSR) are offering 10% off at grocery store the Giant. Good deal to see for groceries, definitely using x 4 trips.

 

[DLgal]

With those looking at Christmas toys for kids, check your Target Circle for a toy offer, $25 off $100, and $10 of $50, but expiring today and just noticed it on the app. Only have one grand to buy for as far as toys go, and don't know yet what to get so probably missing that offer.

My Chase cards (SW, CF and CFU, CSR) are offering 10% off at grocery store the Giant. Good deal to see for groceries, definitely using x 4 trips.

Of course that offer excludes ALL the good toys and specifically, the $150 Hot Wheels Mario Kart track my son wants for Christmas. Read the fine print.

 

[barkley]

off topic-but a cautionary tale that might save someone on here from tragic results.

check with you financial institutions to find out how overdraft protection operates on your accounts. we had an issue with a wallet theft this past week and thankfully i got very paranoid and transferred to another unassociated account every penny save about $100 from the checking account associated with the debit card as well as the savings that served for overdraft protection b/c sure enough the thief made some charges. well..............imagine my surprise when the couple of dollars sitting in each of a few old savings accounts associated with that checking account were accessed by the credit union to do overdraft on the fraudulent debit charges (thankfully there was only about $10 sitting in them b/c dd just uses them periodically for odd saving purposes). found out when i went to the credit union that unless a person opts into single account only overdraft the over drafting process domino effects going from account to account. all our accounts/kid's accounts are now designated single account only overdraft now using savings accounts that hold less than $100.

CHECK YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION'S PRACTICES!!!! (thankfully since the pause on student loan payments my kid's savings account for that purpose had been sitting at less than $5 otherwise there could have been over a thousand the thief had access to).

 

[pblack]

A lot of banks also offer to opt out of overdraft protection. I have chase and I opted out of overdraft protection. So if I or, God forbid, someone tries to use my card and there's not enough money in the account it just gets declined. Im not concerned about it for myself since I rarely ever use my debit card, but its nice knowing if I lose it or it gets stolen it'll be declined if they go past whats in my account.

 

[RamblingMad]

I'm rethinking prepaying down my mortgage. Right now, I have a mortgage rate of 2.8%. Inflation is running 5% right now. If I prepay, I'm making a negative real return. Does it still make sense to prepay?

In the past inflation has been less than my mortgage payment, so every payment resulted in a real return.

Is debt now good with high inflation?

What do you guys think?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I'm rethinking prepaying down my mortgage. Right now, I have a mortgage rate of 2.8%. Inflation is running 5% right now. If I prepay, I'm making a negative real return. Does it still make sense to prepay?

In the past inflation has been less than my mortgage payment, so every payment resulted in a real return.

Is debt now good with high inflation?

What do you guys think?

Having a 100% paid off mortgage is worth the peace of mind for us. We have no regrets in paying off our mortgage early, no matter what the interest rate and/or inflation rate. YMMV

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I read an article today on the housing market on MSN "Baby Boomers are snatching houses out of the hands of Millenials", blaming them for having more cash to do deals, and not going to assisted living exacerbating the housing shortage. Wow.

I wish media would stop all this pitting one group against another like they're trying to stir up anger and resentment. People are already divided enough.
Older people will always have more discretionary cash available vs. younger folks with small children. This will always be regardless of the names assigned to each generation. In another 20 years they'll be saying how Millenials are snatching houses out of the hands of Gen Z.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm rethinking prepaying down my mortgage. Right now, I have a mortgage rate of 2.8%. Inflation is running 5% right now. If I prepay, I'm making a negative real return. Does it still make sense to prepay?

In the past inflation has been less than my mortgage payment, so every payment resulted in a real return.

Is debt now good with high inflation?

What do you guys think?

I could go on and on but I'll keep it short. I CAN'T WAIT until Nov 1 when, instead of paying another mortgage payment, we get to keep that money. That adds another almost $1300/month to our snowball goals. This brings our snowball up to around $3500/month, more for the months with 3 paychecks. And to think that was all going toward debt just 8 years ago... Never again.

Hammer down. It's amazing to see how fast it drops.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

A lot of banks also offer to opt out of overdraft protection. I have chase and I opted out of overdraft protection. So if I or, God forbid, someone tries to use my card and there's not enough money in the account it just gets declined. Im not concerned about it for myself since I rarely ever use my debit card, but its nice knowing if I lose it or it gets stolen it'll be declined if they go past whats in my account.

This is a good idea. I stopped carrying my debit card because I never use cash except as tips on vacation. I'm not a fan of debit cards. Dh still has his but it doesn't have overdraft protection. If I make an error, I can do an instant transfer from savings at the same bank but it wouldn't happen automatically.

 

[barkley]

Older people will always have more discretionary cash available vs. younger folks with small children. This will always be regardless of the names assigned to each generation. In another 20 years they'll be saying how Millenials are snatching houses out of the hands of Gen Z.

i wonder/worry about the issue of income with older people.

yes, at this point in time the numbers show that 'older' (read as 'boomers') have more discretionary income than other age groups but i look at my peers (i was born near the end of the boom-so many of us are just turning 60 this year) and their financial situations are DRASTICALLY different than senior populations that have preceded us. so many of my peers are nowhere near being mortgage free because they bought into the whole 'buy a house, buy a better house, buy the 'bestest' house' concept such that they are still fairly early into their most recent 30 year mortgages. combine that with their choice to fully fund their kid's college educational desires by either neglecting their own retirement savings or taking on parent plus loans and pre-retirement they are struggling to keep their heads above water. all of this being their own personal choices but they are now finding that when retirement comes (for most) they have lower incomes but continued long term debt, higher health care costs and all the same life sustaining expenses that everyone (young w/kids and old) need to survive-utilities, food, transportation...

it's telling that my state (washington) has looked at the current senior population's inability NOW to provide for themselves and is instituting a mandatory long term care employment tax to provide 'something' (terrible overall dollar amount benefit) for what they anticipate will be an increasing unmet financial issue for seniors.

it's scary-BEFORE the pandemic (february 2020) there was a study released that showed that debt among those americans 70 and older had grown 543% between 1999 and 2019 (those in their 60's by 471%). 1 in 5 bankruptcies was someone over 65 (a 5 fold increase in the last 2 1/2 decades). given the number of seniors that were getting by working in jobs that due to the pandemic either no longer exist or create too great a risk to their health i have to imagine the amount of debt in this group has skyrocketed

I'm rethinking prepaying down my mortgage. Right now, I have a mortgage rate of 2.8%. Inflation is running 5% right now. If I prepay, I'm making a negative real return. Does it still make sense to prepay?

i'll echo that there's no better feeling than owning your own home outright but i wouldn't (couldn't bring myself to) do it absent a healthy amount in accessible savings. it's great having that extra $$$$ each month, be it to knock out other debt/throw towards retirement/just enjoy BUT i've known a few too many who take all their accessible monies (the non retirement stuff that they won't get hit with a big penalty/tax bill for withdrawing), pay off their mortgage and then never entirely get around to replenishing that cash reserve and then something comes up-major appliance or house issue uncovered by insurance, major car repair or replacement, hours get cut at work...while not having that mortgage payment has relieved some of the stress, not having any reserve funds to cover yourself brings the only options being either taking on more credit card debt or a home equity loan (which really-it's just another version of a mortgage).

ymmv.