Debt Dumpers 2023

[jackers]

Our issue isn’t eating out…. It’s ordering in. Oy. So have to get that under control this next year.

 

[jen7233]

Good luck in all the new financial goals this year. I expect my 2023 financial picture to be a little more expensive than 2022.

For 2023, I don't have a specific savings amount goal or debt reduction goal number that some have, mainly I just need to get familiar with my new financial picture and not create any new debt from owning a house, don't take out any HELOCs or put large ticket items on credit cards for the house that we can't afford especially with the savings accounts down from moving expenses. My DH will also drop retirement late at the end of this coming year also from active duty, so once he does that he'll be looking for another career although much shorter timespan to last into a second retirement. I have a lot of personal goals that have nothing to do with money.

I do have one goal that's an exact dollar amount, maxing Roth IRA $7500 each. I just increased my TSP to 10% that will kick in for 2023.

 

[megveg]

hey everyone I've been popping in/out of this thread for years and have added this to my watch list to keep me accountable to get back on the wagon for staying on budget.

I was debt free in 2019 and now at the end of 2022 I am back in debt but planned debt. I just got LASIK eye surgery which I've been wanting/planning for since 2019. I have a few credit cards I've been flipping between to rack up miles and points to help pay my recurring monthly expenses and get those on autopay.

I was a little bit irresponsible with some job switches and getting a business started but I am here to keep eyes on the road to a better spot

My goals in 2023:
-Pay off Lasik surgery - it's on interest free payments till Jan 2024
-Bring my car to sellable/trade in ready with repairs while saving for next vehicle.
-Pay off my degree as I'm taking the courses/exams I need to pass
-Have my newly form(ing) business cover its own expenses as I work toward profitable
-Pay off my April 2023 weekend WDW trip for AK's bday, im hoping Tron is open because after 2023, im going to be focusing on other destinations

This post will help me keep tabs/benchmarks and I'm excited to be here and to see progress for myself and for everyone else here

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm still trying to process, and I won't 100% believe it til it happens, but my mom's Christmas present to us is giving us all the money we need to pay off our debt, plus several months of rent out of part of my dads life insurance policy. She said dad wouldn't have wanted to see us struggle.

I'm going to set my yearly budget and goals as if this *won't* happen and then will reassess if/when it does.

 

[crazycatstacy]

I am in for 2023 and hopeful I can be smart. We leave for Disney world in 60 days. Then we want to fly our nephew to stay with us for two weeks in July. We actually are going to fly him to Chicago so our daughter can pick him up and we will meet them in Wisconsin where she lives so we can all spend a week hanging out. I turn 50 in November 2023 and would like to do something and we booked a Disney cruise for February 2024, so we need to get our ducks in a row.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Y'all. The money transfer is processing. And it's for more than I was expecting. I may see it tomorrow or just after the new year, depends on how fast the banks process. We're going to be going into 2023 with no debt except our new van we just bought. I'm shaking. So now I can make real plans for next year.

2023 goals
Financial
1) Vegas in April (0/2000)
• We were supposed to do this trip a couple years ago, but we found out we were having our 1.5 year old on our last trip and have had to postpone. We're flying in late Thursday and home late Sunday. Rooms are comped other than resort fees, so expenses are just food and spending money. We're meeting up with one of our favorite YouTube slot channels and Hubby is VERY excited for this one.
2) Disney/Universal in November (0/12,000)
• This might fluctuate depending on if my step son and his family can make it. We're going with a homeschool group, so tickets are fairly inexpensive for 6 day tickets. There will be 10 of us who need them if they can all go. If everyone can make it, we'll rent a house for 2 weeks, otherwise we'll stay on site. Also planning on adding the universal tickets they offer. Most meals will be at the house, so that will help cost wise.
3) House down payment (0/5000)
• Once my mom gets moved to PA we will start looking for a house in IN. We're debating between renting or just buying and selling once we find our preferred property. This will be our forever home so I'm fine with finding something smaller/cheaper while we secure land and build what we want or the perfect country home becomes available.
4) Max 401k and HSA contributions.
5) Have 3 months of savings and live "one month ahead".

Personal
1) Continue with weight loss. I'm down 15lbs from October. I'd like to try for 10lbs a month for 4 months and see how I like how I'm feeling.
2) Read 1 book a month.
3) Make and keep a good cleaning schedule.
4) Decorate the house.
My post partum mental health wasn't good. I let a lot slip, fell into bad depression, almost lost my marriage... I've been doing much better the last few months and working out and eating better has really helped. Now I just need to do better about cleaning and maintaining the house and not letting it all fall on hubby.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

Does your town or city have an Everything's Free Facebook page? I get SO much use out of mine! I swear it helps me get rid of things because there are so many things I have that I don't use but I don't want to throw away.

...it also means you might take in more but try to limit yourself!

There is, but I've had some issues... I cleared out a bit of stuff last year. A lot of it wound up donated or passed along to other people, and I have a few things I need to post for sale (I need the money, but it's hard dealing with people). We also have a MAJOR issue with theft in my area lately, so it's not safe to leave things outside for someone to pick up.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

And hopefully my husband will finally get a new job that pays him more than an entry level wage when he's in his 40s. Fingers crossed!

I feel that one! I'm in the same boat. Companies are ridiculously cheap, and think labor should be free. I hope he finds something that pays him what he's worth

 

[slightly_obsessed]

Financial Goals for 2023

1. Emergency fund - back up to $10,000 and into a better interest earning account. I've had to dip in this a bit and will have to take a chunk to cover my husband's surgery from October.

2. Debt Focus - husband's student loan #1 is currently sitting at just under $3400. I'm hoping to pay this off by the end of the year and then will switch my focus to either his other student loan or my car loan. I haven't decided which one yet though - I go back and forth.

3. Vacation savings - our young man turns 11!!! this year so we are combining a HP Universal trip (offsite) with a Cruise that's been pushed back a couple times because of COVID. The our lodgings and cruise are taken care of but we still have things to pay for - airfare, car rental, and universal tickets are the big ones. Hopefully we'll be able to swing a few more throughout the year - we intend to take my father in law to Disney once Epcot renovations are done but he's been having some health issues, so I don't know what plans are for this.

4. Additional $5000 to either my IRA or our non retirement investment account before the end of the year. This is in addition to what we already invest retirement wise.

I'm going to leave it at this, it seems like enough for now.

Happy New Year's everyone!

 

[CinderEmma94]

I never posted on the 2022 thread but I followed along! I will be joining you all in 2023! My husband (our family’s sole income earner) just got a new job after being laid off in late Aug/early Sept and I am due with our 3rd child very very soon (like, could be at any time now). I don’t have any goals other than get our stuff back together at the moment. I’ll figure it out when I have a moment to think but just wanted to check in since I saw this thread!

Okay, baby has arrived (just before Christmas) and I don’t feel like I’m drowning so I’m ready to put together our 2023 goals!

1. Pay off the birth (projected to be around $2,000 total for me and baby looking at our EOBs and insurance coverage. Hospital portion has been sent to insurance, waiting on the doctor to submit her part to insurance but that bill was prepaid months ago so I’m not concerned about it).
2. Pay off two of our 3 credit cards (approx $13,000). We really racked up the debt during my husband’s unemployment period this year. We were so close to being consumer debt free before that and I’m looking forward to getting back there!
3. Start husband’s 403B (he works for a non-profit) and contribute to match (5% of our income).
4. Grow emergency savings to $13,000 by the end of 2023.

Personal goals:
1. Continue making moving my body a priority (4/7 days a week)
2. Read 12 books this year

Trying to keep it simple! Having 3 kids is so wonderful and challenging. The next year will hopefully be a year of settling into our routine and continuing homeschool and rest.

 

[princesscinderella]

I love following on this thread even though I don’t post much, we are very close to debt free but it looks like we might take on more debt in 2023 by buying a bigger house. We will keep our current one as a rental because property is getting harder to come by in our area as there’s no where left to build and if they do they go up not single family. It will be a investment and if we want to downsize down the road we can always sell the new home and move back to our current one.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Trying to keep it simple! Having 3 kids is so wonderful and challenging. The next year will hopefully be a year of settling into our routine and continuing homeschool and rest.

You sound just like me! Had my 3rd in 2021. We also homeschool and I have to say, it's been a change with the new one added last year. Just remember to go with the flow!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Happy New Year everyone! Let's hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, and maybe some luck!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Happy New Year! I am here joining in with my finance goals. Our only debt left is my student loans, which are eligible for PSLF. But I still have some other things I'd like to accomplish, so hopefully you guys will keep me around

First off, my year is off to a rough start. My mom and I are both horseback riders and her horse had a freak accident and fell on her last week while she was riding. It broke her collar bone and a rib and she will need surgery on the collar bone (hopefully this week). With that being said...

1. My first goal is to not turn to convenience items when times get tought- fast food, take out, Starbucks to keep me going. I spent entirely too much on starbucks and eating out last year, and the reality is that the quality of these food items are no longer even worth the cost. I know that my mom is going to be essentially out of commission for the next 3 months and I will have to handle the bulk of caring for her and our farm, so I'm really going to focus on meal prepping and avoiding take out during this time.

2. Continue to invest, particularly so while the stock market is down. I feel like everyone is clambering over the fact that we're going into a recession in the first two quarters of 2023 (if you ask me, we've been in a recession since last summer, but I digress). We are fortunate to have relatively recession-proof jobs and I would like to put as much money into the down stock market as we can during this time. I don't have a specific number in mind yet, but I want to do more than the normal monthly amount we put in.

3. Maximize cashback/coupons/rebates. I used to be so great about utilizing cashback apps and different coupons, but have really fallen off the wagon in the last couple years. I want to get this going again and be consistent with it, particularly as it relates to groceries.

4. Lose weight- for real. I am showing my horse this year and I need to lose 15 pounds to fit into my show clothes. They're too expensive to buy new, bigger sizes (think several hundred dollars per item of clothing), so I literally have to lose the weight.

Good luck to everyone this year!

 

[barkley]

Happy New Year! I am here joining in with my finance goals. Our only debt left is my student loans, which are eligible for PSLF. But I still have some other things I'd like to accomplish, so hopefully you guys will keep me around

First off, my year is off to a rough start. My mom and I are both horseback riders and her horse had a freak accident and fell on her last week while she was riding. It broke her collar bone and a rib and she will need surgery on the collar bone (hopefully this week). With that being said...

1. My first goal is to not turn to convenience items when times get tought- fast food, take out, Starbucks to keep me going. I spent entirely too much on starbucks and eating out last year, and the reality is that the quality of these food items are no longer even worth the cost. I know that my mom is going to be essentially out of commission for the next 3 months and I will have to handle the bulk of caring for her and our farm, so I'm really going to focus on meal prepping and avoiding take out during this time.

2. Continue to invest, particularly so while the stock market is down. I feel like everyone is clambering over the fact that we're going into a recession in the first two quarters of 2023 (if you ask me, we've been in a recession since last summer, but I digress). We are fortunate to have relatively recession-proof jobs and I would like to put as much money into the down stock market as we can during this time. I don't have a specific number in mind yet, but I want to do more than the normal monthly amount we put in.

3. Maximize cashback/coupons/rebates. I used to be so great about utilizing cashback apps and different coupons, but have really fallen off the wagon in the last couple years. I want to get this going again and be consistent with it, particularly as it relates to groceries.

4. Lose weight- for real. I am showing my horse this year and I need to lose 15 pounds to fit into my show clothes. They're too expensive to buy new, bigger sizes (think several hundred dollars per item of clothing), so I literally have to lose the weight.

Good luck to everyone this year!

my regards to your mom-my sister in law had a similar accident a couple of years ago.

on the meal planning-i highly suggest the yummly website, super good and easy. i also like sites where i can just plug in the ingredients i have on hand and it figures out a recipe for me to do. one thing that's helped us allot on meal planning is to purposely over prepare certain meals and freeze some (love me my dollar store containers). i do a double batches of soups, stews, pot roast, enchilada meat-freeze half for days we've got plans or i'm just too tired to cook (long term covid effect these days). remember-crock pot is your friend, air fryer can be as well (and why did i not know until recently they make paper liners for them to minimize clean up???). if you want weight loss recipes (that anyone will enjoy eating) google search south beach diet-they have delicious stuff that also freezes up well.

 

[disney-inspired]

Hi Everyone!
Happy 2023!

I can't really wrap my head around my goals right now. I volunteered to cover for my dept last week, along with a few other people, while the rest of the company was closed. Add the holidays and my dog keeping me up all night with barking and my brain is VERY mushy right now.

Commenting to add to my watch list for now and I'll be back later when I'm ready.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

my regards to your mom-my sister in law had a similar accident a couple of years ago.

on the meal planning-i highly suggest the yummly website, super good and easy. i also like sites where i can just plug in the ingredients i have on hand and it figures out a recipe for me to do. one thing that's helped us allot on meal planning is to purposely over prepare certain meals and freeze some (love me my dollar store containers). i do a double batches of soups, stews, pot roast, enchilada meat-freeze half for days we've got plans or i'm just too tired to cook (long term covid effect these days). remember-crock pot is your friend, air fryer can be as well (and why did i not know until recently they make paper liners for them to minimize clean up???). if you want weight loss recipes (that anyone will enjoy eating) google search south beach diet-they have delicious stuff that also freezes up well.

Not that I follow my own advice but I once lost a lot of weight and it was absolutely down to cooking a bunch of things on a Sunday and then having them for lunches/for reserve for the rest of the week. I think I used to do a tri-color pasta dish and take it for lunches and then do up some kind of low calorie bean lasagna thing that I could have to switch it up for lunch but also--and this was important--to already have in the fridge for nights when I just felt too lazy to cook. It kept me from eating out.

I should do that again!

 

[pblack]

I love making big batches of cooked ground turkey which I then either season for soup/spaghetti or tacos. Obviously this could also be done with ground beef, I just prefer using turkey. Once it's cooked and cooled I portion it out and freeze it. Then I can easily take it out and throw it in the microwave to defrost in just a few minutes.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I love making big batches of cooked ground turkey which I then either season for soup/spaghetti or tacos. Obviously this could also be done with ground beef, I just prefer using turkey. Once it's cooked and cooled I portion it out and freeze it. Then I can easily take it out and throw it in the microwave to defrost in just a few minutes.

I do this too!

 

[CaleCakes]

Hello all! Joining back in for 2023. I didn't post in 2022, but I read along all year. It was nice to read the success stories and quietly support those chipping away.

My goals for 2023 are few, but I think manageable. I may add some as the year ticks on. Here we go:

1. Pay off car note- I have $7565 left on what seems like a never ending car note. I'd like to pay that off in 12 months.

2. Rebuild savings account- We dipped into savings a bit in 2022 to fund some vacations, car repairs (to above said vehicle), and just spending where we probably didn't need to. My goal is to rebuild by $5000.

3. Refrain from booking "big" trips- I want to resist the urge to book an expensive vacation this year. In 2022 we cruised, we went to Disney, we took a few road trips. Although they were all amazing, this year I want to go smaller and not as elaborate. I'd like to keep any trip under $2000, and be less frequent so maybe 2 instead of every other month. We want to do Panama Canal so we think 2024 that will happen.

4. Get to the "around the house" list- We've had some stuff on the to do list for a few years now that just need to be done. Decluttering the garage remains an issue. I have what I think is a manageable list of smaller items like paint this or rearrange that that I should be able to accomplish.

5. Make photo albums- I had this on my list before but I still haven't gotten to it. I want to make an album for every year since the kids were born, starting in 2015. They'll have pictures and stories of how fast they grew up, places we visited, things we did, our big move. That sort of stuff. I have 12000 pictures on my phone plus who knows how many on the desktop I need to really get them organized and into books. Making the books will cost a little but I'll look for deals on shutterfly etc.

6. Stay off YouTube shorts/tictoc- The last few months I've found myself spending hours at night into the wee early morning watching ridiculous shorts on YouTube. Although they're slightly entertaining it really is a waste of time and I wasn't getting good sleep. It's only been 4 days but I haven't opened YouTube, and I've gotten to sleep by 10. So far I don't miss them, I'd like to keep it that way.

So these are my 2023 goals. I'm all in