Debt Dumpers 2024

[Nettlelondon]

We recently purchased a new car and I had to insure it in DH's name (remember we are in the UK so these things are a bit different). As it is in EV there were a lot of scare stories in the press at the time that EV insurance was so expensive no-one could afford it. DH had no recent insurance history as he had been a named driver on my policy so we knew it was going to be expensive.

The first company quoted me £5,000 / year. That felt like a lot. A few phone calls later and I got it with a very reputable company that I have dealt with for years. £1,500 - which felt a lot more budget friendly.

But it is an absolute nightmare.

Last year I had a bizarre accident. I was at home when someone knocked on the door and asked me to move my car as it was touching his. As I knew my car was not touching anyone else's when I parked it the day before I was rather surprised by this. It turned out that he was trying to turn in a tight space, had managed to basically get his car pinned on mine and couldn't move without damaging his car more. It was an interesting call with my insurance company when I tried explaining that one. Fortunately it was all fixed without any payment from me.

 

[CinderEmma94]

End of May update!

Financial:
1. Pay off card #1 (starting balance $11,600) Current balance: $4,215
2. Pay off card #2 (starting balance $6,500) Current balance: $4,975 (work reimbursement came through, back on track)
3. Grow emergency fund to $15,000 (currently at $7,460) Paused, debt is taking priority right now.

Personal:
1. 30 minute workout at least 5 days/week
Done! I finally had to break my months-long streak of working out every day because I got sick. It was just a cold, and I am fine now, but I listened to my body and rested when I needed to. I still got 5 days of workouts in that week, they were just slower walks than I typically do. I'm back to normal workouts now!

2. Read 100 books
200 books read so far this year

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Have you inquired to your health insurance company as to what your copay would be?
I got both of my kids counseling for far lesser things. I found where to go based on a provider search on our insurance company’s website. I think our copay was like $15-30 per visit depending where they went.
Don’t wait and suffer needlessly. At least find out what out of pocket costs you might have before deciding it’s not affordable, rather than assuming.

My insurance doesn't cover it, so I'd be paying out the full amount

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Ever since having kids it's made me realize just how messed up my childhood was in many ways. In all honesty, it's definitely changed how I parent. The biggest one is not forcing my kids to "clean their plate". It's caused me so many issues with healthy eating habits as an adult and finally at 38, I learned it's okay to not finish the meal when you're full.

Same for me. We grew up poor (though I didn't realize that at the time) so the messaging was always that you had to finish everything on your plate. It didn't matter if you were full, didn't like it, whatever. I was forced to eat it all because sometimes there just wasn't any more food, so nothing could be wasted. In the same frame of mind, it physically hurts me to get rid of items, because "I might need them someday" and might not be able to pay for them when that time comes. I could have a million dollars in the bank, but I don't think I'll ever shake that mindset.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Sue for another update! This is all since the last time I posted., and the totals are with my updates included.

Financials:
1. Put an extra $2000 on my mortgage. $1450/$2000
+$300

2. Put $2000 in savings to help pay for yearly bills (comes out in November). $2115/$2000
+$700
Okay, so technically I made my goal, but a lot of this is coming right back out. I had a 3 pay month, so I socked away every dollar I could. However, I just had to put $1050 on my credit card last night, and I still have to pay out another $500-$600, so I'll have to take a large chunk of my savings out to cover this. Kind of expected, but I didn't realize it would be quite this much. Then I still have to find a way to pay for everything else.

I earned $50 selling things off, and $5 in gift cards since the last update

Other:
1. Clean out 500 items of junk. 328/500
+175
I had to make some time to actively work on this, but I have a ways to go
2. Make an "in case of death" folder (containing will, important info). 1/1 DONE
3. Get 60 minutes of exercise per week. 22/52
+3. I feel like I might have miscounted my weeks in my total, but so far I haven't missed a week.
4. Read at least 1 non fiction book related to professional development. DONE
5. Do 12 hours of skills development (example, take a course). 20.5/12 DONE
-Working on an online course. No time on that in the last few weeks. Technically done the goal, but not done the course
6. Find a new job! (carryover from previous year). 0/1
Lots of work on this one!
-Checked job sites, but didn't have any luck. Technical jobs are difficult to find in my area, unless you're willing to work contract or for peanuts (less than the living wage for the area).
-I had my final meeting with the government employment assistance people. We went through my resume and revamped it, and my caseworker gave me a ton of resources around applying, resume tips and so on. She also passed my new resume around a bit, so fingers crossed I get a bite that way. I still have some "homework" to do for this, but it's progress. I was getting pretty disheartened, so I needed to feel like I was doing something.
7. Finish some of the partially done craft projects I have (carryover from previous year). 1/2
-I worked a tiny bit on one project, but I just haven't had time.
8. Organize my "stuff". 6/10
-Went through some cabinets, +3
9. Do at least 1 home improvement project. 1/1 DONE

 

[dpswift]

Same for me. We grew up poor (though I didn't realize that at the time) so the messaging was always that you had to finish everything on your plate. It didn't matter if you were full, didn't like it, whatever. I was forced to eat it all because sometimes there just wasn't any more food, so nothing could be wasted. In the same frame of mind, it physically hurts me to get rid of items, because "I might need them someday" and might not be able to pay for them when that time comes. I could have a million dollars in the bank, but I don't think I'll ever shake that mindset.

Agree. My father kept every small appliance that we owned in case we needed it one day. The biggest mistakes they made was that they never taught me about money whatsoever

 

[dpswift]

Wow I thought mine was bad at $550 a month. It covers 4 drivers and 5 cars. 3 have collision.

DD bought a new car a 2021 RAV4 to replace her 2019 Cherokee. It drops our insurance to $516 a month. She and I both want to do defensive driver as well.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Agree. My father kept every small appliance that we owned in case we needed it one day. The biggest mistakes they made was that they never taught me about money whatsoever

Same!! Or Dad would strip things down to parts and keep anything that could be re-used. He learned to repair our vehicle because we couldn't afford a mechanic (no public transit or cabs, a car is actually a necessity), home repairs because we couldn't afford a contractor and so on. My parents also taught me nothing about money, because they didn't know anything to teach me. They had me very young, and have spent their whole lives using credit to survive.