Personal Finance 30-Day Challenge #12: Get involved with charity! (December, 2017) |
- 30-Day Challenge #12: Get involved with charity! (December, 2017)
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 01, 2017
- Won a car, but we are blind
- I am a graduate student and a single mother. What should I do in the event that the tax bill does tax my tuition?
- Is putting all your money in a target fund all you need to do?
- I know you love your big tax refund, but here's why you don't claim 0 for withholding.
- Just got my first job offer! I just have a few questions.
- GOP Tax Bill - Should I wait to buy a house?
- Expedia/Orbitz sold my debt/dispute to debt collectors after admitting that I was not liable.
- Helped my parents buy a house in the past, but now if they sell it, do I have to pay taxes?
- FAFSA requires parental information but my father hasn’t filed taxes in roughly 10 years?
- Just started a new job two months ago, I believe I am getting fired soon, am I overreacting?
- I make over 50 thousand a year. I have 60 thousand in savings. I plan to buy a home around 250k in the South Puget sound area of Seattle Washington. My parents don't belive im financially able to buy and own a home.
- Need to get my wife out of her retirement annuity and into a mutual fund.
- I just realized i bought a 180,00 house with major foundation problems, do I have any options?
- Finally approaching student loans that I've neglected since 2014. After lurking, I have just a few questions about the best way to navigate my debt, rebuild my credit.
- Be careful using your debit card during this heavy shopping season - we had our bank card cloned...
- How are credit card limits determined?
- Back living with my dad. Ex bf always told me I couldn't get a job when I lived with him, because he'd lose his food stamps. Does this mean I can't get a job while I live with my dad?
- IRS letter states I have an unpaid balance of ~$1300 from Education Program Payments from my 2015 tax return. I was 17 in 2015.
- Investment advice for low-income?
- New Google Finance sucks... Alternatives?
- Need negotiating advice on buying a car with negative value on trade-in
- I'm FINALLY an adult - now what?
- Seeking financial independence at 17. Not in a very good situation and looking for possible options.
- How aggressively should I pay off my car loan ?
| 30-Day Challenge #12: Get involved with charity! (December, 2017) Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:09 AM PST 30-day challengesWe are pleased to continue our 30-day challenge series. Past challenges can be found here. This month's 30-day challenge is to Get involved with charity! As the end of the year approaches, there are many opportunities to extend oneself to be generous. The best advice is to "secure your own oxygen mask first" before helping others. The foundation of your generosity should be a solid financial footing for yourself. Until you have achieved this, you should be circumspect about monetary giving. Monetary donationsIf you have the means, consider monetary donations as these are the most efficient use of your charitable resources. Don't spend money to buy material goods that you intend to donate unless they are specifically requested by the charity itself. Cash donations allow for flexibility for the charity to get exactly what is needed at the right time in the right quantity at the right place to serve their mission. Make sure you are contributing to charities that are good stewards of your hard-earned dollars by checking Charity Navigator, Give Well, or another trusted source. If you do decide to donate cash, see if your employer matches contributions to extend the benefit. You may also consider donating to a charity that has assisted you or your loved ones in the past. Material donationsDecember is a great month in which to declutter your home, especially if you are participating in one of the many gift-giving holidays. Review your living space to determine what you can part with and how you can enjoy the reclaimed space. You can donate material goods to Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill industries, AmVets, and local options near you such as food pantries. Time donationsOf course with all the donations coming in at this time of year, many organizations will need volunteers to help with the influx. If you are unable to donate money or material goods, you can consider donating your time. You can use Volunteer Match or Catch a Fire to get you started. There may also be local soup kitchens, churches, schools, or other organizations that need assistance. Alternative donationsThere are other ways to be charitable if you don't have spare money, goods, or time. Here are some ideas:
TaxesWhen donating cash or goods in the US, qualified charitable contributions can reduce your tax bill so doing good may end up helping your wallet too. You can also consider advanced tax reduction strategies such as giving appreciated stock or bunching your donations to meet the itemization threshold. Receiving charityIf you are in need this year, please consider being the good-faith recipient of a charity's assistance. Challenge success criteriaYou've successfully completed this challenge once you've done one of the following things:
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| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 01, 2017 Posted: 01 Dec 2017 01:06 PM PST If you need help, please check the PF Wiki to see if your question might be answered there.This thread is for personal finance discussions, questions, and sharing your success stories:
A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! For past threads, please search the Weekly Archive. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 05:30 AM PST I'm about to claim a car that we cannot use. I know nothing about owning, driving, or selling a car. We plan too sell it. What steps do we need to take? The only person I know who can drive and help us is money hungry, so if like to not involve him, my finances dad. My family lives far away, but could probably ask. After that, I pls to use most of that money towards debt and the rest we need. Wyatt are your suggestions on steps to take? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 02:47 PM PST Hello PF. I don't know if this topic is appropriate, but I am a bit nervous as I am the sole provider for my son. I am paid $23k a year to teach/research. I take out nearly the entire $20k in student loans each year, and my tuition/health insurance is ~$50k for the year. I am not entirely sure how the math works out, but I feel as though with my inability to cut the costs that I currently shoulder, I don't think I could afford to continue. I was wondering if PF has any ideas or suggestions? I would like to plan ahead than be gobsmacked by something that I'm imagining to be detrimental to my small family's situation. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Is putting all your money in a target fund all you need to do? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:36 AM PST Im 26 and Opened up a Roth ira about week ago on Schwab and put the entire $5,500 into swyjx. I understand I need to diversify but does putting it all in a target fund solve the diversifying problem especially for a person who knows nothing about investing? [link] [comments]  |
| I know you love your big tax refund, but here's why you don't claim 0 for withholding. Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:04 AM PST Year after year I look forward to my tax refund - it mostly goes to savings but I'm able to buy some wants with it as well. I've read more and more into the "giving the gov't a free loan" if you claim 0 which didn't sit well with me. I decided to change my withholding to 1 for today's paycheck and received an extra $129 which means I'll be adding $258 a month to my take home. Which will now be invested as I upped my contributions to 401K. Giving this money to the gov't isn't worth it! Your tax refund isn't worth it - let's be honest you're probably blowing all that money within a month anyways :) If money's tight... this is a great way to add dollars (of course how much is all relative to your take home) and if you don't NEED the dollars it's a great way to invest more money. Happy Friday! [link] [comments]  |
| Just got my first job offer! I just have a few questions. Posted: 01 Dec 2017 05:04 PM PST I'm currently a masters student. I just got my first full time job offer! I've never had a full time job before so this is really exciting for me. It's also a huge relief to have a job lined up before preparing for exams that count for half my grade coming up. During the interview some 3 weeks ago they were explaining my benefits to me. They were talking about their 401k matching plan, that they match up to 6%, and then add 1% on top no matter how much I contribute. But then they said that I have to stay with the company for 5 years for it to vest or something, and if I leave before 5 years then I only get to keep 2% of the 6% they originally contributed? I honestly am not sure if that is how it works, it was hard to follow and I already asked them to clarify once and I didn't want to ask a second time. Is this normal? This job is pretty much only meant to be for 2-3 years. I don't think anyone in this position stays for more than that. Also, this is pretty much my second choice job. My first choice doesn't recruit until around march I think. I have a week to decide whether to take this job or not. What options do I have in terms of the job that doesn't recruit until march? Is it unethical to accept the job offer and then still interview for the other job? [link] [comments]  |
| GOP Tax Bill - Should I wait to buy a house? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 08:39 AM PST My wife and I are in the middle of a home search, and with it looking like the tax bill might actually pass, I'm questioning what makes the most sense. We just had a baby, so we are selling our studio apartment in NYC (about to go into contract, yay!), and are now looking for a house outside of the city - mostly in New Jersey. The property taxes on most of the homes we're looking at are around $18,000 per year. We are making enough on our apartment so that the mortgage on any house we can afford will be under the 500,000 threshold for interest deductions, but the 10,000 property tax cap is really going to sting. The housing markets around NYC are also insane right now, with move-in ready homes going in one weekend way above asking. If this bill passes, is the housing market going to dip? Are we buying at the height of the market? Anyone else currently struggling with this? [link] [comments]  |
| Expedia/Orbitz sold my debt/dispute to debt collectors after admitting that I was not liable. Posted: 01 Dec 2017 03:42 PM PST I was involuntarily bumped off a TAM international flight late 2015 and demanded to know my rights. My rights were not provided to me. I had to accept a hotel but wrote in the accepting compensation form that I was not accepting compensation vouchers and did not give up claims. After the flight, I wrote to the airline asking about my FTA rights and got no reply. After 15 business days to reply (their policy) had passed, I requested a charge-back from my credit card company and got no response or challenge from TAM. Fast forward 6 months, Expedia/Orbitz (booking agent) call back and ask me to pay. I forwarded them TAM's nonresponse and insisted I was not liable. They conceded in writing. I didn't even ask TAM to pay me what they were fully liable for, just didn't want to pay for the flight. Fast forward 12 months, Expedia/Orbitz sold my "debt" to a debt collection agency just as I am about to finance my first home. I just don't want this happening to someone else and it really hurts me to think how these things mess people up for life. SCREW THESE BUSINESS PRACTICES. GAWWHHHHHHHHH I've already written to the debt collector to them to justify the debt within the 30-day range and I have good records of everything written down. Thanks, REDDIT and sorry for the rant. But seriously, what can I do? This nonsense needs to end for everyone. How? [link] [comments]  |
| Helped my parents buy a house in the past, but now if they sell it, do I have to pay taxes? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 03:43 PM PST I cosigned a mortgage for my parents 7 years ago, and now they want to sell their house. I have since bought my own house about 3 years ago, and I have never made payments on their mortgage but my name is on the title because its on the loan. Does that mean that their house counts as a "second" home for me, meaning I have to pay taxes on "my portion" of the proceeds? Is there any way around this? Its not a rental property or anything its their primary home, and it was mine as well until 3 years ago when I bought my own [link] [comments]  |
| FAFSA requires parental information but my father hasn’t filed taxes in roughly 10 years? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:04 PM PST I live in Ohio and am currently applying for college. In order to complete the application for federal financial aid I need to input parental information to verify income. My birth mother refuses to supply me with the proper information and my father is a small business owner who hasn't filed taxes in 10 years. Will submitting his information lead to any legal issues for him or myself? If so, what other options if any do I have without using their information? [link] [comments]  |
| Just started a new job two months ago, I believe I am getting fired soon, am I overreacting? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:03 PM PST Currently at a new job for which I have had no specific training at this time. However, I have been double-checking with my immediate manager/other supervisors to make sure all my tasks are compliant and an efficient use of my time. So far, there hasn't been anything I have had trouble handling and I am encouraged to always double check if I'm not sure. This Monday, I submitted a new business/old business recap to my boss. I started doing this on my own so we could all be on the same page since I didn't have any formal frame of reference, my position is relatively new to the company and I only received log ins for the old contractors who took care of my duties on a PRN basis prior to my hire date. After reviewing my recap, my boss let me know that he thinks I have completed all the tasks necessary in my position (EHR/practice management compliance/optimization) and I would be retrained for administrative work so I could move to the revenue cycle department. I think I felt my heart physically clench. I just nodded and started wrapping up my current tasks then began training for the front desk the next day. All this week my boss has declined my meetings, has asked me to forward my email to him and told me to focus on learning FD duties and that he had nothing in particular to discuss with me. Today, I had several questions and texted him when he would be in the office (about 75% of our communication so far has been by text). He never replied but I ended up walking by his office on the way to the break room. He looked up, saw me and closed the door. At lunch time, he invited the team to lunch and everyone filed out the door without asking me to join. I was taking a call at that time but I finished just in time to hear one of the mid level managers say "we can take my care there are only 6 of us." I was the 7th person in the office today. I make about 45% more than a FD position, it is the lowest tier by far at the practice. It doesn't make sense that I need to know the FD process because rev cycle deals with production and EHR reports, not patient charts and scheduling. There is a local director of RC that oversees our books, the rest is outsourced. There is no immediate need in RC at this time. Since I have to constantly review and make sure there are never any violations of any kind, I have a good idea of the state of the company's finances and needs. I am worried that I am over reacting, especially about the lunch thing, it irks me that it even bothers me. I had a great relationship with my boss, we worked very closely, communicated effectively and he always answered my questions. But this week it is like he is ghosting me. It feels ridiculous to type these words, it is a job, not a fling. Just 20 minutes ago, he sent me a flurry of text messages asking for several updates and questions about processes, all things I have been wanting to discuss all week and that could have been addressed today during business hours. I will not be answering. Am I freaking out and being overly sensitive or is my gut instinct right and I'm about to get fired? I think my recaps and questions showed my boss that the old system of using contractors as needed was just fine and I was ultimately a redundant hire. But instead of being upfront and honest, I was transferred to a department where my pay grade does not match my output. Bottom line, it is far too expensive to have me scan charts all day and I have no desire to be in RC. I put my head down today and did my job, but I am ready to move on. I want to schedule a meeting for Monday and ask if my position is truly unnecessary but this has happened so fast and I stupidly agreed to be trained for FD that I don't want to seem like I'm the one not being a team player. And how the hell do I even explain this 2 month job on a resume anyway? TL;DR I think I reviewed myself out of a job and instead of being honest my boss is ghosting me. Maybe I'm just really annoying with all my questions. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:39 PM PST My parents are making it very difficult to consultant them for financial advice and financial planning. So I'm turning to a bunch of strangers for help I have two jobs. After taxes from my main job I take home $43,260 a year, and from the part time weekend job i take home $4,803 after taxes Using BECU's mortgage loan calculator they will give me a loan for around $245,000 (I haven't gone in and try to actually prequalify myself yet because I want to be fully employed for one year, which will be January. And i want a full years income statement from my main job, and a my part-time job of 5 years) BECU's 30 year fixed is 4.125% and my credit score is 760 (if it matters) When i do buy a home I plan to put in a down payment of 20% ($50,000) to avoid PMI. If we round that out to $1,250 a month then that's about $15,000 A year just for mortgage payments. Calculation of my utilities is a bit harder. I plan to buy a home with a gas line since a gas powered water heater, furnace, dryer would be easier on my power bill. I also plan to buy a smaller home so i wont have to heat so much. Also my water and sewage bill will account for just me since I'll be living alone. All togeather plus garbage I estimate an average of $400 a month. Car insurance phone and internet is about $200 a month Car gas, food for a month, and household needs (like toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste) for a month will probably be around $400 So added up my monthly expenses are about $1000 (This does not include house or car maintenance) This puts my yearly expenses at $12,000 plus $15,000 For my mortgage. $43,000 - $27,000 = gives me $16,000 left over for savings, maintenance, and entertainment. This however is all just calculations on paperwork. my parents still tell me I dont make enough and that I'm not accounting for everything. My dad keeps telling me my numbers are off and for every $100,000 the house cost I should expect to pay $1000 A month. He won't explain further when I ask him to go into details. My dad owns three homes and has three mortgages for investment reasons, so I feel he knows what he's talking about but its frustrating when he won't explain what expenses i haven't considered. I'm 27 and I know my father believes part of the reason why i cant live on my one is that I'm lazy (this it true. I was unemployed for at least 5 years). But i would like some unbiased help on planning things out financially. I believe I'll be ready to move out (live with my parents) by February, but if I'm not I can wait a few more years. Edit: No retirement savings. About $9000 in esop asset A $8800 auto loan debt at 3% [link] [comments]  |
| Need to get my wife out of her retirement annuity and into a mutual fund. Posted: 01 Dec 2017 07:10 AM PST Good morning r/personal finance, My wife (30) is a teacher in California. Before we met, she was talked into a fixed return (1.25%) annuity plan for retirement with American Fidelity. She has over $20k in there and made less than $300 return last year. I want to roll her over into a plan like a target date mutual fund, but curious if someone has more insight on this? Her 403b is pre tax, so if I rolled it into a traditional 401/403, I shouldn't have to pay a tax penalty correct? She pays into CalSters, and not social security. CalSters will cover about 50% of her retirement expense, so I want to maximize her returns for the remainder of her career. Her American Fidelity advisor is dodging me via email, so I want to roll over into another company, preferably vanguard or fidelity, both of which I have used and likes for their low expense ratios. Will I have to check with her employer to see if they support these companies? Are there other considerations I am missing or should consider? Thank you all in advance for your help! [link] [comments]  |
| I just realized i bought a 180,00 house with major foundation problems, do I have any options? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:00 PM PST I bought the house with a rural development loan, if I stop payments will my credit ever recover? Do I have any options? I don't have 20,000 to throw down on a foundation fix. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 03:41 PM PST At 18 I enrolled in a state college in 2013 and took out 2 loans on my own behalf. I completed 2 semesters, returned to my home city, and never made a single payment towards either of these loans. I just checked my credit score on credit karma for the first time and the results (both calculated using VantageScore 3.0) were as follows: TRANSUNION: 527 EQUIFAX: 534 Yikes. Under accounts, it says I have zero active accounts, though I can dive deeper and see that I have four closed accounts, as follows: US DEPT OF EDUCATION - Closed February 4th, 2017 - $3,774 US DEPT OF EDUCATION - Closed February 4th, 2017 - $2,212 FEDLOAN SERVICING - Closed December 22nd, 2015 - $0.00 FEDLOAN SERVICING - Closed December 22nd, 2015 - $0.00 Now I can see that the total amount of debt I'm looking at is $5,986. Years of neglect and the anxiety that comes with looming financial unknowns made this number HUGE in my head so at this point, though I'm still kicking myself for the damage I've done to my credit score, I'm relieved. I'm dedicated to budgeting and taking care of my outstanding balances as swiftly as possible, but browsing here I've read about people successfully disputing these accounts. First of all, I'm provided with a phone number for the US Department of Education in Greenville TX but from what I've read contacting the creditor only restarts the process. I'm assuming that I should dispute the account before I contact them? If I'm ever to contact them? Second, on CreditKarma I can dispute for ownership or accuracy. Under each of these, there is a respective column of specifics that I'm supposed to pick from. Obviously these are my accounts and I haven't been following my finances so I wouldn't know what type of error to select from the list. If anyone has any inference here, that would be great. Now I'm not counting on these balances just being magically brought to zero. For what ever I'm left with... I'm at a loss. Who do I contact to negotiate monthly payment? There was a long period of time (2014-2015) where I didn't work or only worked for 1-2 months at a time, and in 2016 I made under $7,000. Can I use this to my advantage? I'm in Nebraska and my current income is about $1400 a month. I've tried to keep this specific to me and use the resources on the sub to find answers so as not to be repetitive. If these questions have been answered or you have a good resource for me, links are appreciative. [link] [comments]  |
| Be careful using your debit card during this heavy shopping season - we had our bank card cloned... Posted: 01 Dec 2017 11:24 AM PST Hopefully I'm posting this in an appropriate place. I am in the middle of dealing with someone "cloning" my wife's debit card and were successfully able to steal over $1000. The cloned card was used at a couple of ATMs and Walmart a few times. The fraudulent transactions were ultimately caught by the bank's fraud department. Based on what the bank told us, the thief was able to duplicate the card and assign a pin number to it, but it was the fake chip that alerted the bank. They were able to immediately know it wasn't their chip. Unfortunately, we have to wait until the transactions actually "post" before we can begin the claims process. Here's the point of this - the bank told us that it's always best to use your debit card as a credit card. When you use those card readers and enter your pin, those machines have the ability to store you pin number. Which is why you sometimes don't need to use your pin (for purchases under a set amount). The same is true at gas stations (which are notorious for fake card readers). Do you find it to be true that using your pin is riskier than running the card as "credit"? The bank also suggested that during the heavy shopping season (like xmas shopping) it's best to use your credit card. That way if someone is able to steal your money, it's not your liquid cash. I know that's risky since people (me included) have a tendency to spend a lot when using credit cards. Just be sure you can pay off the balance each month. We were also told that the bank, or Walmart, most likely will not go after these people. I'd love to be able to know who it is and how they got our card. Mentally retracing our steps within the past few weeks we do recall the debit card being gone an abnormally long time while paying for dinner one night. But, I'm sure it's most likely stolen from online purchases (again, bad idea to use your debit card for online purchases). Is there anything I can do other than get my money back from the bank? I want these people to be held accountable for what they did. Especially if they are stealing our money to buy Christmas gifts... Just be careful using your debit card during this heavy shopping season. [link] [comments]  |
| How are credit card limits determined? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:09 PM PST Me and sister both have no credit history, same assets, no income. Both apply for same card and I get 500 dollar limit, she gets 1500? Very confused how all of this works. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 05:45 PM PST My dad is on disability and has 5 kids to take care of, not counting me and 1 of my other sisters. He's on food stamps, for good reason. He has a lot of people to take care of but he's unable to work. My plan was while living here, it was his idea I'll add, I get a job and eventually pay rent and at some point get my own place. I was just googling jobs and about to apply for one when I remembered what my bf said. Now I'm super unsure? Is it impossible to get a job while I love with my dad? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2017 10:32 AM PST A few months ago I received a notice by mail alerting me of an unpaid balance on my 2015 tax returns. I was 17 at the time of these filings. The return states that my SSN was used to receive ~$6500 from an education payment program based in Massachusetts. I was born there, but lived in Virginia in 2015. I submitted my response, which basically said, I never opened a plan with this company, and my relatives say they didn't either, and after calling the company they don't have my SSN on file at all. I had/have had a savings account with my college money in it (the money already existed, I never needed to open a college Investment plan). After calling the Investment Plan company, they said they don't have my SSN on file for any plans, but it's possible it was used as a beneficiary and suggested I call relatives to see if they may have used my SSN on a college Investment plan. Either way I never saw a cent of that $6500, and after submitting my response, I received the exact same "proposed change" by mail. Called the Plan company again... Still nothing in my name or SSN. The IRS says there's nothing internally they can do for me unless I get proof. What's happening here? Is there anything I can do to find out who may have opened the account? I don't have the money to pay $1300 out of nowhere. The Loan company has been no help at all. [link] [comments]  |
| Investment advice for low-income? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 07:12 PM PST Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice on how I should invest at my income, which I'll go into detail soon. I know it is recommended to start with 6mo of emergency fund to 401k matching to debts etc. I'm not sure what's necessary to share so I will share as much as I can: This is my current and expected financial situation. I am about to attend University of Alabama at Birmingham's online accounting program. It will cost roughly $10,000 per year from my understanding. I will be receiving an estimated $5500 in financial aid this year. I currently stay with my parents and work full time at a barbeque restaurant, at which I make about $400 a week. I only pay for my gas at the moment. I attended the University of Miami for 2 years on scholarship but I'm not worried about my loans from that because of my parents offered assistance with that for quite a while. Because of my transferring credits from Miami, I intend on finishing in about 2 years, including studying in the summer. Essentially, I intend on graduating and hopefully being married by the time I graduate and, based on connections through public accounting firms, I have a strong chance of making roughly $45,000 a year. Would recommend staying on the same track as this investment guide I mentioned at the top? Should I take a different route because of my financial situation? Any help would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| New Google Finance sucks... Alternatives? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 09:46 AM PST Well google rolled out its new Google Finance platform. IMO it sucks. It gets rid of many basic core features that are necessary for investment. It also got rid of the portfolio manager which was a great utility. What alternatives are out there? I want someone to just monitor my stocks and funds and see their growth over time. Similar to how the Google portfolio used to operate. [link] [comments]  |
| Need negotiating advice on buying a car with negative value on trade-in Posted: 01 Dec 2017 07:01 PM PST I'm expecting to add on another child to my family in late-April/early-May And I need to go from a sedan to a vehicle with 3-row seating. I'm not concerned about what vehicle I should purchase, I've only done surface research on that to this point. I don't plan on purchasing until closer to the due date. So neither current offers or models make a difference at the moment. I'm more concerned about the fact that my 'estimated value' of my current sedan is worth roughly 4000-5000 less than I owe on it. Going to a 3-row seating vehicle is necessary and can't be avoided (unless I give a kid up for adoption). This was unplanned (But a pleasant surprise) and as a result, it's not really in our budget to buy outright or even cover the trade-in gap. Are there any suggestions/tips for how to minimize the damage of this gap in negotiations? [link] [comments]  |
| I'm FINALLY an adult - now what? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 06:58 PM PST Hi PF, I've been lurking for the past couple of weeks for inspiration, and am finally posting. Basically I would like your feedback and constructive criticism to help me get/stay on the right track. Background: I just turned 30. I have about $115k in student debt. Up until now I have been scraping by financially: no savings, no investments, no insurance, lots of depression. I started 2016 with my first salary job making $30k, but after loans and expenses, I was still losing money. In the fall, I moved back in with Mom, working remotely for the same company. In January 2017, we were bought up by a big company, and my pay went up to $33k. In May I got an adhoc increase to $36k. In July, the company asked me to move to the HQ in Maryland, and starting Sept 1, I make $63k. I feel a million times better than I did a year ago. For the first time, I'm not desperately poor, and can breathe just a little bit easier. But now I need your advice on where to focus my efforts next. My debts: $1500 @ 0% - me $2400 @ 5% - fed $7500 @ 0% - mom $53500 @ 4.69% - citizens $54600 @ 4.48% - citizens In 2017, I managed to build up an E-fund of $5k, but I had to borrow from this when I moved, for rent etc, so I owe myself about $1500 now. The $7500 is a school loan from Mom. My last federal loan is at $2400, payment is $54, but I round up to $100. I refinanced from Nelnet in 2015 for the first 50k loan, and I just refinanced in Oct from WF for the other. Both are with Citizens. Payments are $344 & $376, but I round both up to $400. I contribute 6%, company match is 6% to 401k. I have been since January, so the amount has changed several times. I selected a wide range of Vanguard funds all with .0X fee ratios. Insurance is about $95/mo. Budget: Take Home = $3400 900 - for loans 150 - mom loan 200 - food 25 - phone 25 - car insurance 70 - gas 850 - rent&utilities 200 - savings 200 - other expenses This leaves me with about $800 and change. I designate $700 of it as my "payoff money," to pay debt/save. I'm planning to first fill my E fund back to $5k, then mom, then fed loan. I have a $1k check waiting for me back home. In January I will cash out an annuity from Grandma worth about $5k, which I'll apply to the $7500. I'm expecting about $1k for tax refund. All together, the three small debts will be gone by May, or sooner. In 2018, I'm expecting at least a 3% salary increase, but my performance review was very positive, so possibly more. My company does bonuses, but I'm not certain about who gets them or how much. I'll leave it to be surprised. I'm planning to increase my 401k to 7%. Insurance premiums will stay the same. I have a 2007 Mazda, but the mechanic says it will cost 3000+ to fix everything, so I'm just going to run it into the ground. I need to set up a car fund for a DP, but there is metro access to work, so it's not an emergency, (albeit a big big want). I'm very okay with another working beater. How does my overall situation look to y'all? Can you see areas to improve? Once the three small loans are paid off in spring '18, how much extra should I be throwing at the big loans? Ideally, I want to pay it off as soon as possible, but I need to think about house and car DPs, possible family building money, etc. I would be happier with an E-fund closer to 10 or 15k. Should I put more into the 401k? Thanks for your advice and collective wisdom. [link] [comments]  |
| Seeking financial independence at 17. Not in a very good situation and looking for possible options. Posted: 01 Dec 2017 05:01 AM PST Hi Reddit, I'm currently in rehab and I'm trying to set a plan in place for when I have to leave. I realized now that returning home would be a horrible idea for me seeing as how my home environment is highly dysfunctional and my mother and step father drink/use quite frequently. Going back to my family would certainly lead to a relapse for me so I'm trying my hardest to figure out a decent plan for what I could do. I'm in 11th grade and I turn 18 in 10 months. I want to complete high school and get a diploma instead of just settling for a GED. I'm not sure what's exactly within my legal right to do but I can't risk going back to them. I'm considering possibly going to a halfway/sober home but not sure if they would accept a 17 year old. My parents might be willing to support me financially up to I turn 18 which I hope they don't back out of. Any and all advice is very much appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| How aggressively should I pay off my car loan ? Posted: 01 Dec 2017 04:09 PM PST 22 39k/year $106.92 minimum car payment $220 rent to parents $670 Car insurance every 6 months $900 checking $3,700 Savings Funding 401k at 6% company match Car loan has $3,973 to go Not too many expenses so I'm wondering if I should approach this loan aggressively and maybe try to get it out of the way in 2 years or less rather then the 4 I have it for. I'd like to move out Late 2018/Early 2019 so having it paid off or nearly paid off by then is rather appealing as expenses will certainly rise at that time. Any thoughts are appreciated! Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
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