Debt Dumpers - 2018

[Jen and Ashwin]

I'd love to know who you have for insurance! I think I pay $80/year for insurance on just my engagement ring...

I was thinking the same thing. We pay $150 to insurance my engagement ring. I never got around to adding the wedding bands, but I should probably do that.

 

[amalone1013]

Add me to the list curious about the ring insurance. I pay $55 a year with USAA on my ring, and need to add my band. And maybe DH's, though his was only around $350.

 

[DLgal]

We have USAA. Hmm...maybe we pay $10/month. I know our policy premium was a $10 add on, because I just looked at it, but now I'm wondering if that is per year.

Our total coverage amount was $4300 for 3 rings. It's probably too low, accounting for appraisal value (we went with a bit over our actual cost. I plan to have my rings and my husband's new ring reappraised as Platinum has increased in value 50% since we got our rings and mine would be much more expensive to replace than they originally cost. Plus, I got a new setting a few years ago. Either way, USAA gave us appraisal value plus sales tax, which will get us a similar ring from Blue Nile or Nathan Allen. The appraisal value was about 2x our actual cost when we purchased the ring, so I am very pleased with the outcome and ease of filling this claim.

Off to look at our insurance policy again...

 

[DLgal]

Just checked, our premium for VPP is $45/year through USAA.

My engagement ring wasn't super expensive. DH paid $1500. It's a .50 carat round diamond in a solitaire platinum setting. Nothing extravagant.

My wedding band was about $900 and DHs was $975.

 

[jackers]

My husband lost his band a few years ago at the beach. We never had insurance on it (plain gold band) but found the price of gold had gone up a lot over the years when we bought a new one!

My husband “lost” his going through airport security in Mexico on our honeymoon (he took it off and put it thru the bowl to be scanned and it wasn’t there on the other side.). It was a cheap $95 titanium one that we easily replaced but it was still a bummer to the end of our honeymoon. He tried to look at the bright side and hoped whoever “found” it used it well.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Question for those who are more tax savvy than myself-

From my understanding of the changes to the child tax credit, it is a dollar for dollar tax credit towards your tax bill. If you are within the income guidelines for 2017, you could receive a tax return from the child tax credit if your tax bill is $0. I know this will be the case for 2018 tax year when you file in 2019, but I couldn’t determine if this is the case for when we file this year.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just checked, our premium for VPP is $45/year through USAA.

My engagement ring wasn't super expensive. DH paid $1500. It's a .50 carat round diamond in a solitaire platinum setting. Nothing extravagant.

My wedding band was about $900 and DHs was $975.

Thanks for checking! Based on that and your ring specifications, it sounds like I'm probably paying about the right amount then. I don't have our bands on there because mine was $90 since I said I wanted the the smallest, plainest band they had on Blue Nile! DH just switched to a silicone band, so his would be a grand total of $20 to replace.

 

[DLgal]

Question for those who are more tax savvy than myself-

From my understanding of the changes to the child tax credit, it is a dollar for dollar tax credit towards your tax bill. If you are within the income guidelines for 2017, you could receive a tax return from the child tax credit if your tax bill is $0. I know this will be the case for 2018 tax year when you file in 2019, but I couldn’t determine if this is the case for when we file this year.

I believe this is what they call the Additional Child Tax Credit. You can file for that this year for last year's income. However, those are the returns that will be held, by law, until Feb 15. So, you will not receive your refund until late Feb at the earliest if you claim this credit.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Thank you! This is what I thought was the case, but one article I read seemed to indicate none of it would take effect until we file in 2019. We’ll probably file soon anyway and if we qualify, I would not mind waiting if it means we get a return vs owing! Thanks again for your help

I believe this is what they call the Additional Child Tax Credit. You can file for that this year for last year's income. However, those are the returns that will be held, by law, until Feb 15. So, you will not receive your refund until late Feb at the earliest if you claim this credit.

 

[belle032]

Hi everyone! I'd like to join in. I'm more of a lurker, but I've become much more budget conscious lately and really like to read through these threads!

Goals for this year are to pay off my credit cards! We just got married this past August and everything went on my credit cards to rack up points/cash back. When I realized how much I was paying on interest, I did a balance transfer to a Discover card but have to pay them off this year so I don't get hit hard with interest.

I also would like to pay off a chunk of my student loans. I got them under 10K, but I want to go at them hard this year.

We also have a smaller loan, about $1000 on our lawn mower which I plan on using our tax return to pay for. We've also cut cable and I will be switching car insurance providers next month for a $30 per month savings. I'd like to trade in my SUV for one with a lesser payment, but that is not top priority at the moment. If DH could get rid of his ridiculous $527 a month truck payment (for a lease! ), I'd be thrilled, but luckily it's up in August.

I have Dave Ramsey's book on hold at the library and I'm eager to read it. I'd also like to get a solid budget spreadsheet going. Thank you everyone for sharing advice, tips, tricks, and their stories...I learn a lot from ya'll!!

 

[Dentam]

Hi everyone! I'd like to join in. I'm more of a lurker, but I've become much more budget conscious lately and really like to read through these threads!

Goals for this year are to pay off my credit cards! We just got married this past August and everything went on my credit cards to rack up points/cash back. When I realized how much I was paying on interest, I did a balance transfer to a Discover card but have to pay them off this year so I don't get hit hard with interest.

I also would like to pay off a chunk of my student loans. I got them under 10K, but I want to go at them hard this year.

We also have a smaller loan, about $1000 on our lawn mower which I plan on using our tax return to pay for. We've also cut cable and I will be switching car insurance providers next month for a $30 per month savings. I'd like to trade in my SUV for one with a lesser payment, but that is not top priority at the moment. If DH could get rid of his ridiculous $527 a month truck payment (for a lease! ), I'd be thrilled, but luckily it's up in August.

I have Dave Ramsey's book on hold at the library and I'm eager to read it. I'd also like to get a solid budget spreadsheet going. Thank you everyone for sharing advice, tips, tricks, and their stories...I learn a lot from ya'll!!

Sounds like you have a good plan in place! That truck lease will be a huge expense off your shoulders - wow!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Question for those who are more tax savvy than myself-

From my understanding of the changes to the child tax credit, it is a dollar for dollar tax credit towards your tax bill. If you are within the income guidelines for 2017, you could receive a tax return from the child tax credit if your tax bill is $0. I know this will be the case for 2018 tax year when you file in 2019, but I couldn’t determine if this is the case for when we file this year.

The child tax credit will begin depositing on 2/27. I just got mine filed last week and it hasn't changed from last year. I'm not sure how old your kiddo is, but if they're under 6 months at the end of the year, you really don't qualify for it. My oldest was born in November and since she didn't live with me for more tha half the year, I didn't qualify for the whole amount. However, this year my April baby was good to go, so I got the full credit for both kids.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

The child tax credit will begin depositing on 2/27. I just got mine filed last week and it hasn't changed from last year. I'm not sure how old your kiddo is, but if they're under 6 months at the end of the year, you really don't qualify for it. My oldest was born in November and since she didn't live with me for more tha half the year, I didn't qualify for the whole amount. However, this year my April baby was good to go, so I got the full credit for both kids.

There does seem to be a number or stipulations to qualify for the full amount. Our youngest is nine and a half months old, so I think all of our kiddos will qualify for the child tax credit. Neither my husband nor I have received our W2s nor are they available electronically yet. We owed state taxes last year which were just covered by our federal return. It would be great to get a little something back this year!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes, I don’t think a FSA would work well for me! We seem to go in fits and spurts of high medical care costs and low costs. With my luck, my FSA would likely have a low balance when I needed it and a high balance at the end of the year I like the fact a HSA is a ‘safe’ investment as it does roll over. They also start to invest for you once you get to a certain level, so you can make a little extra on your investment. Technically, to fully fund we’d have to put $260/paycheck to meet the federal max. I don’t want to bump it up right now, but we may just keep it where we have it. We still have couple months of zero interest on the current cards. We may be able to pay them off between our tax return, any overtime my DH gets, extra shifts I work, and my DH’s annual bonus before interest kicks in. I don’t really plan on any of that money as none of it is guaranteed. We did Dave Ramsey for a bit which is why I was concerned about the HSA investment, but in the end I think Dave is a bit too extreme for me. Thanks for the perspective, Jen!

An FSA is fully funded on Jan 1st of the year you opt in so you don't have to wait for funds to accumulate in order to use it. As long as the date of service is during the plan year, you can use the FSA cc card to pay it. So if Jan 5 you receive a bill for the dental copay with date of service Dec 1 of the previous year, you can't pay that with the card.

The first time I tried it, I estimated low around $800, worried I wouldn't have enough expenses and we plowed through it by May. Then our kids went into braces so that took over the full amount ($2500 per employee) next 2 years. What was great about that was that both of our kids ended up needing braces at the same time (My older ds had straight teeth until around 10th grade.) and we held off a few months until after Jan 1st so we could use the FSA card for the $1500 down payment per child. (Dh signed up at his work too so we had immediate access to $5000.) and the remaining $1000 on each card paid the monthly payments, automatically right to the card, interest free and income tax free. This was completely independent of the medical plan we chose. I don't know if one can do both FSA and HSA.

I work in a hospital that offers very low OOP insurance. Most copays are $25-45 for Blue Cross Personal Choice (no referrals) and there's only a deductible for hospitalization if we go to a hospital outside our network. They do offer an HSA plan but it's very high deductible and seems like it would be great if I was young, single, & healthy and rarely use medical insurance, otherwise I'd be paying a lot OOP. So I either have to take the high OOP plan to use an HSA and pray that some funds will be left to rollover, or go with the high coverage/low OOP plan and FSA the rest.

In the end we all have to do what works for us.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I’d look into scrapping it. I got $1100 for our 2006 Honda CR-V with a bad engine. Dealer wanted to give me $75. I went through peddle.com.

That is awesome!

 

[jen7233]

Hi everyone! I'd like to join in. I'm more of a lurker, but I've become much more budget conscious lately and really like to read through these threads!

Goals for this year are to pay off my credit cards! We just got married this past August and everything went on my credit cards to rack up points/cash back. When I realized how much I was paying on interest, I did a balance transfer to a Discover card but have to pay them off this year so I don't get hit hard with interest.

I also would like to pay off a chunk of my student loans. I got them under 10K, but I want to go at them hard this year.

We also have a smaller loan, about $1000 on our lawn mower which I plan on using our tax return to pay for. We've also cut cable and I will be switching car insurance providers next month for a $30 per month savings. I'd like to trade in my SUV for one with a lesser payment, but that is not top priority at the moment. If DH could get rid of his ridiculous $527 a month truck payment (for a lease! ), I'd be thrilled, but luckily it's up in August.

I have Dave Ramsey's book on hold at the library and I'm eager to read it. I'd also like to get a solid budget spreadsheet going. Thank you everyone for sharing advice, tips, tricks, and their stories...I learn a lot from ya'll!!

Hi! Rolling to a no or lower interest card is good. Yes, the $527 sounds high! The Dave Ramsey book is a good start. I don’t follow all the advice, I like having a credit card, but the advice can make you think to stay grounded and not overspend. A budget is a great tool! Welcome.

 

[belle032]

Hi! Rolling to a no or lower interest card is good. Yes, the $527 sounds high! The Dave Ramsey book is a good start. I don’t follow all the advice, I like having a credit card, but the advice can make you think to stay grounded and not overspend. A budget is a great tool! Welcome.

Thank you!

Yes it is high. Believe me I was NOT happy when he brought that one home. At the time he thought it was reasonable for brand new "limited edition" truck. Don't get me started on why he needed brand new and limited edition. Guy thing I guess? I understand that trucks are expensive no matter how you look at it, but that payment is ridiculous. And yes, he started to realize that too pretty soon after he signed on the dotted line. I think he learned his lesson and won't get himself into that situation again.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thank you!

Yes it is high. Believe me I was NOT happy when he brought that one home. At the time he thought it was reasonable for brand new "limited edition" truck. Don't get me started on why he needed brand new and limited edition. Guy thing I guess? I understand that trucks are expensive no matter how you look at it, but that payment is ridiculous. And yes, he started to realize that too pretty soon after he signed on the dotted line. I think he learned his lesson and won't get himself into that situation again.

Oh yes, men and their trucks! Part of our snowball was $498/mo for dh's truck and it wasn't even a special edition type. This is his 3rd truck in our 22+ yr marriage. I have to admit though, I have come to love having a truck. It's handy for carrying so many things and wonderful in the snow. If it has 4 wheel drive, they really do hold their value, at least Chevys do, and I imagine Ford & Dodge trucks do too.
I only leased a car once and it stressed me out knowing it's not really "my" car to keep and never kept a car so clean. lol Some people like the comfort of knowing their vehicle is always under warranty but it's not for me. My car will be 12 in July and it only has 55,000 miles on it but for once, we don't have a car payment at all and it feels great! Things are starting to crack/break so I don't know how much longer I'll keep it.

 

[jen7233]

Thank you!

Yes it is high. Believe me I was NOT happy when he brought that one home. At the time he thought it was reasonable for brand new "limited edition" truck. Don't get me started on why he needed brand new and limited edition. Guy thing I guess? I understand that trucks are expensive no matter how you look at it, but that payment is ridiculous. And yes, he started to realize that too pretty soon after he signed on the dotted line. I think he learned his lesson and won't get himself into that situation again.

Yes, it must be! My DH just had to get a new truck after his last was paid off, and the new Ford had more features, better towing. Sigh.

 

[belle032]

Oh yes, men and their trucks! Part of our snowball was $498/mo for dh's truck and it wasn't even a special edition type. This is his 3rd truck in our 22+ yr marriage. I have to admit though, I have come to love having a truck. It's handy for carrying so many things and wonderful in the snow. If it has 4 wheel drive, they really do hold their value, at least Chevys do, and I imagine Ford & Dodge trucks do too.
I only leased a car once and it stressed me out knowing it's not really "my" car to keep and never kept a car so clean. lol Some people like the comfort of knowing their vehicle is always under warranty but it's not for me. My car will be 12 in July and it only has 55,000 miles on it but for once, we don't have a car payment at all and it feels great! Things are starting to crack/break so I don't know how much longer I'll keep it.

Yes, it must be! My DH just had to get a new truck after his last was paid off, and the new Ford had more features, better towing. Sigh.

Yes thank god trucks keep their value and unfortunately we need to have one for his work, pull his race car hauler, trailers, etc. But considering they can run FOREVER, let's get something a little older with a few more miles for lots less money! Glad someone feels my pain!