ners
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Post by ners on Mar 22, 2023 18:37:55 GMT -5
I am a big believer in doing what helps you sleep at night when it comes to finances.
I have been debating in my head about throwing some of my cash at my Helco. I finally decided to throw $500.00 at the Helco from my cash on hand.
New balance 56,838.94
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muffyinthered
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Post by muffyinthered on Mar 23, 2023 10:01:29 GMT -5
MuffyintheRed#2 3/23/2023 161,415.82 (06/22/2020 $175.394.16)
Amount paid -633.31
CU Savings - $25,669.99
Not a very good month. I have been saving to pay for our taxes the middle of next month.
I have a problem, I hope I can get some ideas on. Our Citi card is about $6,000 and we are paying a huge amount of interest on it. We have a Bank of America card that after next month will have 0. I have just gotten a BT offer. There is a 5% transfer fee but that is way lower than the 19% interest I am paying on it now. It shouldn't hurt our credit score too much since there is a high credit limit. Do you think it is worth taking the hit on a $300 transfer fee?
I am also very sad that we haven't gotten more people to come to this site. If people only knew how helpful this site is. Especially now with interest rates going up and people charging more to make ends meet like they used to.
Have a good month everyone.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Mar 23, 2023 14:02:39 GMT -5
MuffyintheRed#2 3/23/2023 161,415.82 (06/22/2020 $175.394.16) Amount paid -633.31 CU Savings - $25,669.99 Not a very good month. I have been saving to pay for our taxes the middle of next month. I have a problem, I hope I can get some ideas on. Our Citi card is about $6,000 and we are paying a huge amount of interest on it. We have a Bank of America card that after next month will have 0. I have just gotten a BT offer. There is a 5% transfer fee but that is way lower than the 19% interest I am paying on it now. It shouldn't hurt our credit score too much since there is a high credit limit. Do you think it is worth taking the hit on a $300 transfer fee? I am also very sad that we haven't gotten more people to come to this site. If people only knew how helpful this site is. Especially now with interest rates going up and people charging more to make ends meet like they used to. Have a good month everyone. With the Fed having just raised Prime again, I'd definitely do a BT 'cause your Citi % may go up, too.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Mar 23, 2023 15:23:28 GMT -5
I would never carry a balance on my Kohl's card, but the interest rate is now 30.24%. OMG!
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Mar 23, 2023 17:07:49 GMT -5
thank you for the reminder to pay the Kohl's bill that's sitting on my kitchen counter, for the deep fry pan I ordered online. yikes. I'll be a little surprised if I don't get a call from my Barclay's account after this week. Tuesday was $270, yesterday was $549, and today was $3100 at the vet. but, my little girl is home and resting, ALIVE. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if needed (but this particular blockage will not be a problem again....). I'll submit the big invoice to the insurance company another day, I'm not awake and functional enough to properly navigate that website tonight. the good news is they cover 90% of procedures and meds.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Mar 23, 2023 20:54:06 GMT -5
I would never carry a balance on my Kohl's card, but the interest rate is now 30.24%. OMG! The rates are eyebrow raising for sure! The card I did a BT to has a cash advance rate of 34.99%.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Mar 23, 2023 21:19:36 GMT -5
I decided to head back to school this summer. I have 17 months of my GI Bill left and it would be silly for them to go to waste, most especially the housing allowance I will receive when enrolled full time. Since that's going to be a big focus, I gave notice at the bank...that I'll be leaving at the end of April. I figure that will make it so that I retain a good relationship with the company if I decided to go back. Since there is a lot of overlap in some of the Associate Degrees at the community college, I'm going to pursue one in Accounting which will also satisfy 90% of the requirements for an Associate in Business Admin. Once those are both complete, I'll see how much of my GI Bill I have left and, possibly, pursue a third Associate. I'm looking forward to being in a classroom environment again.
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Mar 24, 2023 8:34:17 GMT -5
Shoutouts! chiver78 - Down is down, nice work! ners - Good for you, way to chip away! And you're over $40k paid off! muffyinthered - Good move with the balance transfer! Smileys Smileys Link
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Mar 24, 2023 8:36:38 GMT -5
Hey gang. I'm open to any ideas to help increase our numbers. I'll make more of an effort with the new twitter account I set up.
I feel like a lot of our previous racers would/need to come back, and would love to see some old names return. But if anyone has ideas, please act on them or let the group know!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Mar 24, 2023 10:27:19 GMT -5
I would never carry a balance on my Kohl's card, but the interest rate is now 30.24%. OMG! The rates are eyebrow raising for sure! The card I did a BT to has a cash advance rate of 34.99%. I am happy I am no longer in a position where I carry balances on my credit cards.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Mar 24, 2023 14:10:32 GMT -5
Hey gang. I'm open to any ideas to help increase our numbers. I'll make more of an effort with the new twitter account I set up. I feel like a lot of our previous racers would/need to come back, and would love to see some old names return. But if anyone has ideas, please act on them or let the group know! I mention our little group in different subs on reddit that are related to finances/debt. I also post on FB on occasion. We need something like an article in Reader's Digest or Good Housekeeping again.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Mar 28, 2023 15:05:35 GMT -5
whooo......my CC statement hit today. and, woof. baby girl definitely earned me an upcoming flight. thankfully, I had insured her as a puppy just based on the statistics about goldens and knee surgeries. last week's adventure has put her over the $20k mark on lifetime claims. anyway, the insurance claims have already been settled. I'm covered for 90% after a $500 deductible (per condition), except admin stuff, and the funds are in my checking account as of today. I made the payment today, and I think this month's savings transfer intended for the promo reset will be yanked for this card as well. whatever, she's alive and well, even if she's plotting my own death b/c she's on restricted movement and I just dumped a pile of cardboard and paper bags in the recycle bin.
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muffyinthered
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Joined: Dec 22, 2010 8:19:13 GMT -5
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Post by muffyinthered on Mar 29, 2023 10:25:05 GMT -5
whooo......my CC statement hit today. and, woof. baby girl definitely earned me an upcoming flight. thankfully, I had insured her as a puppy just based on the statistics about goldens and knee surgeries. last week's adventure has put her over the $20k mark on lifetime claims. anyway, the insurance claims have already been settled. I'm covered for 90% after a $500 deductible (per condition), except admin stuff, and the funds are in my checking account as of today. I made the payment today, and I think this month's savings transfer intended for the promo reset will be yanked for this card as well. whatever, she's alive and well, even if she's plotting my own death b/c she's on restricted movement and I just dumped a pile of cardboard and paper bags in the recycle bin. Our puppies are like family. Our baby went through not eating for a few day because I bought the wrong food that she wasn't used to. She wouldn't eat and did a lot of throwing up (mostly outside!) but we went and bought the right stuff and she is fine now. I hope your puppy get better soon.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Mar 31, 2023 13:39:52 GMT -5
Just got my AmEx statement for this month. Thankfully, I was able to pay this balance off this month. Anyhoo, the interest rate reflects the increase from last week Prime increase. What was 12.9% last month is now 13.65% which means my Visa's 11.15% is likely going to be 11.9% when the cycle closes in two days. All the more reason to get that balance transferred over as much, and as soon, as I can. Looks like I misremembered my interest rates from earlier this summer. In any case, they're as follows: AmEx 12.9% ---> 13.65% Visa 11.9% ---> 12.65% What's most interesting is that there aren't any purchases that I look at and say "I shouldn't have gotten that." There are a couple one-off purchases so I know I don't/won't have to get them again but the amount I spent last month is, apparently, how much it costs to live my life: gas, groceries, gym, meds & vitamins, and doctor's appts with a few things in the misc category. I'm very glad I've reached the point that I'm paying these off each month. AmEx is now 14.4% Visa is now 13.4% And that's still considerably lower than so many other rates out there.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Mar 31, 2023 14:03:22 GMT -5
I feel you. my daily use card is 22.99% - but I do not carry a balance on it, period. it's an airline card that's getting me a ton of FF miles.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Apr 3, 2023 20:54:06 GMT -5
I am overdue for updating so here it is:
nidena: 4/3/2023 $20,883.48 (8/22/2007 $223,361.20 N453,503,NE648,NPT25)
An HVAC purchase will be added to the next update so that balance is definitely going up. The purchase will be on a financing of sorts. Might be a HELOC, HEL, or company financing. We'll see.
Whatever the case, the Visa and AmEx are getting paid off each month. I use the Visa 95% of the time but I didn't catch that the AmEx was saved to my Stitch Fix account so that'll get paid off this month. The BT balance is down to $4000 from the $5200 that was the initial balance in January.
Let me tell you: I do NOT recommend BMO as a bank to utilize.
When I schedule payments from my USAA checking to my USAA CCs, the amount is deducted first thing on the scheduled date and applied at the very same time. With BMO, I scheduled a payment from my checking account to my BMO CC (the BT balance) and, yeah, it came out of my checking account this morning but it's just showing PENDING--not actually POSTED--and even though it's showing as POSTED on my CC account, the balance isn't reflecting the payment. Quite frustrating when I'm trying to figure out what's left in the checking and what the accurate balance is on on the CC.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Apr 5, 2023 12:15:18 GMT -5
another quick fly-by. this month was a shit show, but my pup is still here. chiver78 4/5/23 $21,356.38 (5/9/20 $138,495.31)
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ners
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Post by ners on Apr 7, 2023 18:47:30 GMT -5
Race 2 Update
1025.41 (4/21/2018 $12,161.07 R172)
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Apr 10, 2023 9:45:57 GMT -5
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Apr 13, 2023 6:18:59 GMT -5
Hi guys! Long time no see! Been a few YEARS! And while things are radically different than they were 15 years ago... they haven't changed, I'm in debt again! E-gad. It's going to take me a minute to line it all up. No interest: Care Credit 500.00 Mattress Firm 860.00 Interest: Wayfair 1,089.07 ** Wayfair, btw, is scary interest, do NOT ever carry Wayfair debt! ** Citibank 3,264.94 Toyota 7,013.88 NCL - BofA 1,930.82 Lowe’s 17,467.17 Discover 17,776.04 Target 10,647.36 Home Depot 1,567.97 Trumark 18,621.13 Total 80,738.38 ** yep ** Not bad debt Mortgage 215,652.18
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lark1964
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Post by lark1964 on Apr 13, 2023 6:22:03 GMT -5
And so you know - last year, just one year (well, 14 months) ago, I had none of this debt!
Last year was MY year from hell:
Three car accidents A broken foot, sprained ankle, wrist, twisted shoulder, knee requires surgery (in May this year) Sold one house Bought a new one "as is" (I couldn't compete with anything else) Both my cats died Moved Spent over six months with contractors fixing the house (and use credit cards along with cash from the sale of my old house)
And - this is how I entered 2023...
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Apr 13, 2023 8:02:23 GMT -5
Lark - welcome back, sorry it's under unfortunate circumstances. You've taken one hard step listing it all out here. Now, what's the plan to tackle it? Care to lay out a full budget and see what the YM hive mind can do?
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Apr 15, 2023 13:01:00 GMT -5
And so you know - last year, just one year (well, 14 months) ago, I had none of this debt! Last year was MY year from hell: Three car accidents A broken foot, sprained ankle, wrist, twisted shoulder, knee requires surgery (in May this year) Sold one house Bought a new one "as is" (I couldn't compete with anything else) Both my cats died Moved Spent over six months with contractors fixing the house (and use credit cards along with cash from the sale of my old house) And - this is how I entered 2023... sounds like a very tough year hopefully the digging is done and you can start to climb out. and condolences on your cats
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Apr 19, 2023 8:13:52 GMT -5
lark1964- Welcome back. And yikes, that is a rough year!
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ners
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Post by ners on Apr 19, 2023 17:53:33 GMT -5
Update Race 1
56,308.51 (1/3/2011 $97,382.42 MPT5)
On track to hit stretch goal.
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Minnesotagirl7
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Post by Minnesotagirl7 on Apr 21, 2023 7:15:24 GMT -5
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Apr 22, 2023 10:17:04 GMT -5
Last night, I typed up a couple paragraphs and then the power went out of the block. Ugh! Anyhoo...
I'm dialing back the debt paydown. I've gotten it to where I have only one CC that I use each month and the balance has been paid off (or BT'd) in full these past two months and I plan to continue that. However, I also want to be able to pay off the CC as I use it rather than on the 1st of each month so, rather than throwing the extra cash at the next debt, I'm going to hang on to it to have on hand to pay down the CC each day/week.
I did replace my HVAC this month. Part of the purchase was an attached humidifier, an air purifier, and some duct rerouting. Which means I have four installment debts with set payments.
Mortgage $105,849 2.75% (payoff Apr 2051) HRV $13,024 .99% (payoff Nov 2026) PL $3860 7.49% (payoff Jul 2025) HVAC $18770 11.49% (payoff Mar 2038)
I have no intention of taking the full 15 years to pay off the HVAC or for the PL to need another two full years to be paid off. Depending upon what my advisor says about class availability for the summer, I will be going back to school in either May or Aug. Enrolled full time, I will receive a $1700 housing stipend for my GI Bill and will use that towards my debt. Until then, I'll pay minimums towards all the installment debts, pay off the CC each month, and build up a bit of extra cash for monthly purchases. Once it does start, I'm going to snowball on the PL and get it gone. I know I'd save the most interest by paying towards the HVAC but I would like to have the PL gone.
I also have the 0% BT that I've gotten down to $3479 and will be paying just the minimum each month. It doesn't revert until Dec or Jan so I have a few months. My last day at the bank was yesterday. I still have a paycheck come Apr 28th and 28.75 hours of vacation to be paid for. I don't know if the Apr 28th paycheck will be my last or if I'll get another one after that. BMO does this weird thing where they pay you the full amount for the two weeks in the pay period but then make adjustments based on what was entered for your actual hours for the time period prior. So, like, Apr 14th, I got paid for Apr 1st-14th but they adjusted for the two weeks at the end of March.
In any case, I'm reminding myself to slow things down and not make decisions for my money six months from now. I'm just chilling until May 2nd when I meet with my advisor and reach the next decision point.
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muffyinthered
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Post by muffyinthered on Apr 24, 2023 9:42:40 GMT -5
MuffyintheRed#2 4/23/2023 162,414.93 (06/22/2020 $175.394.16)
Amount paid -+355.80
CU Savings - $25,668.40
Strange month. The increase in my total was due to a BT fee. I moved $6,000 from the Citi card to a B of A card and the increase was part of the fee. I will get another BT paid off either in May or June. I am planning to put $500 a month on the bank transfer to get it paid off or nearly paid off by the end of the 0%. I also am hoping to save $500 a month for awhile so I can pay the second half of my property tax the end of July.
So I had said we were thinking about going to NC to visit friends but we have postponed that for a while. I also need new tires before we go, so that is put on hold for awhile.
Spring has not come to Wisconsin yet, so fingers crossed the warmer weather comes soon.
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muffyinthered
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Post by muffyinthered on Apr 26, 2023 9:20:44 GMT -5
It is sort of sad that we don't have a lot of people on the board any more. Used to love coming and see how people were progressing, even if I wasn't doing much. It was motivation for me to get off my rump and work harder.
I am surprised that with the economy, there aren't more people getting into CC trouble.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Apr 26, 2023 10:37:38 GMT -5
It is sort of sad that we don't have a lot of people on the board any more. Used to love coming and see how people were progressing, even if I wasn't doing much. It was motivation for me to get off my rump and work harder. I am surprised that with the economy, there aren't more people getting into CC trouble. 10-15 years ago, there weren't as many resources or communities about debt. Now, there's hundreds of resources and dozens of communities, especially on places like reddit. I can guarantee people are still getting into debt, especially now that rates have gone up so high. I just made a post on FB, sharing where I started back in 2007 with a breakdown of my debts back then, in hopes that someone will identify with it and come join us.
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