Debt Dumpers 2022

[ruadisneyfan2]

In non job related news, my 6 year old broke her wrist (again) during my 5 year old's birthday party Sunday. Monday we went for x-rays at urgent care. Yesterday we saw the ortho and got it casted. I can't wait to start getting those bills in. We go back next week for follow up x-rays to make sure nothing has moved, but she has 4 weeks in the cast to look forward too. Poor girl is missing her entire soccer season. She's in good spirits though so I'll call it a win?

Aww, hope she's back to on the mend soon. Ds25 broke his wrists 3x so I know how you feel. In 1st grade, he actually said, "Good, now I don't have to play soccer!" after NEVER complaining once about going. Kids are so funny.
Try to look on the bright side: at least the cast will be off before summer. Unless they give her a waterproof cast, it's a pain for kids to have to miss out swimming/beach time, etc.
Not all orthos offer waterproof casts but ours did and it was great. He could submerge it all he wanted to and just towel dry and shake out the water that got trapped inside.

 

[crazycatstacy]

Well, my mom and her husband booked a house to go to Disney next February/March. Staying 11 nights! Unless I come into some money I am guessing my October/November trip next year will not be happening. Plugging along on everything else at this point.

Daughter was home for a week over Easter and we stayed on budget.

 

[npatellye]

I’m about to take on debt. My Explorer should be good to go on Saturday, I’m told. But I’m really thinking of trading it in for something new since it’s worth a ridiculous amount of money right now even with all of the miles in it; even accounting for a “serious” accident on every car calculator doesn’t seem to drop the trade in value by much. I just need to pick a vehicle that’s budget friendly (aka, we can manage it on one income without changing anything about our other habits/budget if something unexpected happens) but also reliable enough to get around the New England snow, slush, and ice. I’m hoping for some helpful responses on the thread I posted so I don’t need to test drive all of the cars I’m considering. I’d really like to have it down to 2 or 3, tops, and then just test drive those.

 

[fofinia]

Our budget buster this week was our sleep number bed died. We’ve had it for almost 8 years with zero issues, but I‘ve been ready for something different for a while now. This week, my husbands side of the bed went flat. The pump just ticked but did nothing. While fiddling with air hoses, my side of the bed went flat. I don’t know if our version is obsolete but I could only find used parts on eBay which I don’t trust. I took it as a sign to get something new. Our problem is that we take forever to make these decisions. So we agreed to a lower/mid cost “interim” mattress until we can decide on a longer term plan. It’s ordered and we are “patiently“ waiting for it to arrive. Meanwhile, he’s sleeping on the three inch topper on the caved in bed and I’m sleeping on the 20 year old mattress in the spare bedroom. It’s not been a good week for sleep.

I see you've all ready ordered a new bed. But we have a sleep number bed and we ordered a new pump and I hooked it up all by myself. It's listed now as $265 on Amazon. I got it back in 2018. So I'm not sure how much the price has gone up? But it has been a way better pump than the one that came with the bed originally. It's super quiet. you can't even hear it pumping. Of course it could be a different issue and I don't presume to know. But I know at one point our pump hoses pulled out of the mattress and air leaked out. Took me a while to figure out how to fix that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XQFMU5Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not sure how long your mattress is to deliver. But if it's a while you could get this and get pumped up again. I read a lot of the reviews and they were very helpful with instructions on how to install as well.
Good luck!

 

[StacyStrong]

I have done no debt dumping. The exact opposite.

I’m officially under contract on my first house! The inspection has already been done and the appraisal is Monday.

 

[pblack]

I have done no debt dumping. The exact opposite.

I’m officially under contract on my first house! The inspection has already been done and the appraisal is Monday.

Congratulations!!!

 

[npatellye]

I have done no debt dumping. The exact opposite.

I’m officially under contract on my first house! The inspection has already been done and the appraisal is Monday.

Congratulations!

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

OH gosh don't even try to debt dump anything for at least a year after you buy a house! That first year was me realizing how much stuff we needed. I still have an entire room that basically has nothing in it!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Follow up at the ortho today went well. Cast for 3 more weeks and then she's free! Just in time for her last soccer game.

I didn't get the job. I'm pretty bummed but I kinda knew deep down it was too good to be true. Oh well, I'll see what else is around.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

My husband is looking hard for a job after losing out on a promotion. It was one of those--everyone thought he had it. And then we heard the name of another person up for it. And everyone, EVERYONE knew that the interviews were just a sham and that person would get the job.

And that's what happened. So. Hard core job hunting at the moment for him and I know those feelings!

 

[Tygerlilly]

My husband is looking hard for a job after losing out on a promotion. It was one of those--everyone thought he had it. And then we heard the name of another person up for it. And everyone, EVERYONE knew that the interviews were just a sham and that person would get the job.

And that's what happened. So. Hard core job hunting at the moment for him and I know those feelings!

I feel that too. Been there, done that. Fingers crossed he gets many job offers and can pick the best one.

 

[StacyStrong]

OH gosh don't even try to debt dump anything for at least a year after you buy a house! That first year was me realizing how much stuff we needed. I still have an entire room that basically has nothing in it!

Luckily my only existing debt is student loans

Terrified of all the furnishing I’m going to have to do! Luckily I can do it slowly.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Follow up at the ortho today went well. Cast for 3 more weeks and then she's free! Just in time for her last soccer game.

I didn't get the job. I'm pretty bummed but I kinda knew deep down it was too good to be true. Oh well, I'll see what else is around.

 

[amalone1013]

OH gosh don't even try to debt dump anything for at least a year after you buy a house! That first year was me realizing how much stuff we needed. I still have an entire room that basically has nothing in it!

We joke that our only finished looking room was the guest room upstairs and we took that to be the nursery

 

[amalone1013]

Luckily my only existing debt is student loans

Terrified of all the furnishing I’m going to have to do! Luckily I can do it slowly.

We ended up with some good deals at furniture consignment stores. Definitely take it slow, no reason to rush! We ended up with most things consignment, thrifted (refinished a buffet to use as a TV stand), and hand me downs. We bought a couch and a new mattress and a ton of ikea billy bookcases which we hacked a bit to look nicer.

 

[comicguy]

My husband is looking hard for a job after losing out on a promotion. It was one of those--everyone thought he had it. And then we heard the name of another person up for it. And everyone, EVERYONE knew that the interviews were just a sham and that person would get the job.

And that's what happened. So. Hard core job hunting at the moment for him and I know those feelings!

Had the same thing happen when I wea trying to land my first teaching job. Mrs. X's nephew was hired, Mr Y's daughter "needed" a job, Ms Z's sister applied so they canceled the interviews and just did direct hire. All this to say, I feel the pain, stick it out and good things will come. It may take a bit of time but it will come and your husband (and you) will feel great at the end of this! I was able to land a job at a school I loved and developed strong relationships with my fellow teachers!

Coincedently all three of those peole in my example above were fired for incompetence before they could reach their tenure status.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Have you looked into Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps? It worked wonderfully for me. I’d like to just shake his hand and thank him. It has been life altering for me.
In 8 years we went from always being broke, spending more than we earned, racking up more debt every year, to paying off all our credit cards, home equity loan, car payments, and mortgage.
I am living proof it can be done.

@EilonwyWanderer
I agree. His book Total Money Makeover changed the way I handle money. I don't follow 100% of his principles, but I do live 100% debt-free since reading it.

We had the same experience. Took about 10 years, but we are completely debt and mortgage free.

I've been thinking about starting a thread for those looking to maintain their debt freedom. If anyone would be interested, let me know.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We had the same experience. Took about 10 years, but we are completely debt and mortgage free.

I've been thinking about starting a thread for those looking to maintain their debt freedom. If anyone would be interested, let me know.

It’s not really something I’m struggling with now.

At the moment, I’m saving with a goal of $30k for a truck for dh in case his current one can’t reasonably be fixed. Currently, it won’t pass inspection in September. The check engine light wont stay off for long, and our local Chevy dealer likes to guess what might fix it, with each guess costing us thousands. It’s still a good truck and would be expensive to replace. His coworkers that work in the truck shop (large industrial types) say they can fix it so we’ll see. I’d like to be ready to shop, just in case.

If they’re able to fix it, that fund will go toward remodeling our master bedroom and bath, finally getting new BR furniture. Once that is done, I plan to really increase my retirement contributions, probably another $500/week. The rest of our weekly savings will go toward beefing up our emergency fund.

From there, just coast the next ten years til retirement.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

It’s not really something I’m struggling with now.

At the moment, I’m saving with a goal of $30k for a truck for dh in case his current one can’t reasonably be fixed. Currently, it won’t pass inspection in September. The check engine light wont stay off for long, and our local Chevy dealer likes to guess what might fix it, with each guess costing us thousands. It’s still a good truck and would be expensive to replace. His coworkers that work in the truck shop (large industrial types) say they can fix it so we’ll see. I’d like to be ready to shop, just in case.

If they’re able to fix it, that fund will go toward remodeling our master bedroom and bath, finally getting new BR furniture. Once that is done, I plan to really increase my retirement contributions, probably another $500/week. The rest of our weekly savings will go toward beefing up our emergency fund.

From there, just coast the next ten years til retirement.

See, that can be useful information for someone to hear!

Even though we're debt free, it's still that push-and-pull of planning for future purchases to avoid going back into debt.

We also need to replace our car. The amount we saved won't necessarily cut it in today's market, so it's back to the drawing board for that one!

 

[afan]

See, that can be useful information for someone to hear!

Even though we're debt free, it's still that push-and-pull of planning for future purchases to avoid going back into debt.

We also need to replace our car. The amount we saved won't necessarily cut it in today's market, so it's back to the drawing board for that one!

I am mostly a lurker but I feel like a lot of what you're looking for is already here. Not everyone in this thread has debt or may just have a mortgage cause it's newer and then stuff they are saving for. You can see it in the updates. @amalone1013 is one I can think if in this situation. and @ruadisneyfan2 has shared their truck troubles as it's been ongoing with all the fixes. I also think @DLgal fits into the saving vs paying off debt cat. People here all help support whatever it is being done and ask/answer questions.