Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 29, 2017 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 29, 2017
- Heads up: Bank of America fails to pay $100 checking promo
- Inaccuracy in mortgage lender's escrow analysis leading to 26% jump in my mortgage payment
- Is this a good idea? Buy a duplex. Live in one side, rent out the other.
- Marcus (formerly GSBank) Savings now has 1.40% APY
- My mom got into my bank account and took $500. I can't work right now and it was a gift from my dad so I could pay my bills this month. What are my options?
- Won credit card dispute. Merchant put account in collections.
- Given a test I didn’t know about in the midst of about 15 other tests being run on me. Now I have a bill for $1800 to cover it because my insurance deemed it unnecessary.
- Should I turn my two car (detached) garage into an apartment? Pros and cons
- Is it a good idea to remove my parents from my bank account?
- I cashed out my stock options and now have $20,000 unexpected money
- My brother’s wife is having a baby today. Their health insurance starts in 3 days (Jan 1). Can he get coverage?
- How can I build my credit if no one will give me credit?
- Am I on the right track (31/M)
- First year of college, I want to start building my credit through a CC.
- European, leaving the US for good. Best way to cash out 401k? Critique my plan please.
- Just realized my health insurance deductible went from $500 to $4,000. And it's too late to change it.
- Should I sell my house so that I can finish university?
- Parents are all the way on the gold train, have bought about $3,000-6,000 in gold coins and jewelry so far. Should they keep those coins or sell immediately and go straight into an index fund?
- Sprint charging $300 to repair a phone when they only charged $75 before
- Has anyone ever used Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University?
- Is there any PF tracking software that allows the user to add a custom column?
- Roommate refuses to pay rent, Landlord can’t hold him personally liable and now we can’t afford rent. HELP
- Asset Allocation for 401k (USA)
- Wells Fargo used my Check for my mortgage to withdraw my morgage (758.77$) and someone elses mortgage (2030.49)
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 29, 2017 Posted: 29 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]  |
| Heads up: Bank of America fails to pay $100 checking promo Posted: 29 Dec 2017 09:51 AM PST https://promo.bankofamerica.com/multiproduct-oaa/ I've met all their qualifying guidelines. I've been trying for a week to get BOA to pay this promo. They have made up a variety of excuses like you need a promo code although the offer link does not provide one, etc. Avoid Bank of America if you can. I'll be closing my account shortly. Is there a way to file a complaint for false advertising? [link] [comments]  |
| Inaccuracy in mortgage lender's escrow analysis leading to 26% jump in my mortgage payment Posted: 29 Dec 2017 07:20 AM PST My current monthly mortgage is $715 (what it should be) and the lender is bumping that up to $903 starting new years day. This is all due to a simple clerical error - the mortgage lender has the wrong county tax amount in their escrow analysis for 2018. My tax bill came in for $915 but they estimated it would be $2100. (So this isn't a problem with me having a shortage in my escrow for 2017 - I have a healthy balance right now.) What's frustrating is I caught this and contacted them about the error on Nov 7th. They requested I fax them the tax bill, so I did that on Nov 10th. They have sat on this simple clerical error "reviewing" it since then, 50 days ago. Do I have any recourse? I was promised the review ticket would be completed by Dec 26th and they are still working on it. I have called in once every 1-2 weeks asking for updates and it's always "we have to take our time, we will be done by the 26th." Now it's "we just need a few more days." Yelling at them and talking to managers seems to do nothing because the customer service department is obviously a different department than those who handle taxes/escrow accounts. I've now conceded I'll be charged the incorrect amount on the first. At this point, is there anyway I can demand a refund "soon?" Or can they make me wait until 2019 and send me the escrow overfund then? Any further advice on how I can handle this? Thanks a bunch! [link] [comments]  |
| Is this a good idea? Buy a duplex. Live in one side, rent out the other. Posted: 29 Dec 2017 06:33 AM PST A bit more about my situation. I'm a single parent, and usually work two jobs to make ends meet. I figure this can be a passive income source for me. I'm working on paying off debt first, and building up some emergency savings. If I can qualify for a home loan, my housing costs will be reduced, and if I have tenants, it will be reduced further. Of course there are additional costs with home ownership, But I want to know if this could work, or am I just dreaming? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Marcus (formerly GSBank) Savings now has 1.40% APY Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:35 AM PST More information: https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/high-yield-savings Also 2.50% 5-Yr CD: https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/high-yield-cds [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 05:54 PM PST My mom got access to my bank account a few months ago while I was sorting out some issues on my card via the phone. She took the phone mid conversation and walked away to talk with the representative. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized she had access to my account. My parents are divorced and my dad used to give me money to then give to her as we lived near one another. But since she had access to my account she started taking it from there and I let it go because it didn't seem to matter at the time. Occasionally my dad would just send her a check instead of giving it to me. I guess he forgot this month and when she saw an additional $500 in my account she just took it and then texted me that I need to ask my dad for Cash so I can pay my bills. Now she's harassing me saying that I am letting her alimony get in between us. But it was never her money to begin with... What are my options? Also I live in florida and I'm 21. [link] [comments]  |
| Won credit card dispute. Merchant put account in collections. Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:20 PM PST A merchant delivered the wrong item to us. We returned it to them, and they refused to credit the account. We have email documentation of all this. We disputed through the credit card and won the dispute. This was about 8 months ago, and we have not heard from the merchant since. We just checked credit report and saw that the merchant had placed the account in collections. What are our next steps to dispute this? It's confusing because we haven't been contacted from a collections agency or the merchant, so it isn't clear to me how to dispute the debt. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 11:52 AM PST The title basically explains it but I'll go into more detail here: I was 23 at the time of the tests, which were drawn last year. I have a history of cancer, and had had multiple unexplained instances of elevated white blood cell counts. One day I woke up with severe bruising up my entire right leg/torso (also unexplained) and was referred to a hematologist/oncologist. When I get to the hematologist, I wasn't even ever seen by the doctor himself. The nurse drew over 20 vials of blood, and i was told literally nothing about what they would be testing for. Then, I was sent home. About a week later I get a call that all the tests came back fine. About 3 or 4 weeks after that, I get a bill for $1860 for just one specific test my insurance was saying wasn't necessary. We've called the insurance company to try and fight it but they say the doctors office must've coded it wrong or something. The doctors office says they're not at fault. This has happened over and over for the past year. Today, I got my first notice from a collections agency. I guess I have 30 days to get this shit sorted out before it's on my credit report?? Any advice of what I can do about this?? How can it be legal that I would be responsible for this massive bill for 1 singular test without being notified in advance??? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I turn my two car (detached) garage into an apartment? Pros and cons Posted: 29 Dec 2017 01:18 PM PST Hi all, my wife and I purchased our first house in May of 2017. The house has a two car detached garage as well as a carport plus 2 car driveway. We don't use the garage so I want to put it to work. Any advice, pros and cons about converting the garage into a living space? I'm assuming that the permits and plumbing work are the most expensive. The garage already has electrical. I'm estimating $15k-$20k for the entire project, thoughts? The plan is to have the income from the rental help us with the mortgage and/or upgrades to our house (yard, windows, etc...) it makes perfect sense to embark in this investment but I'm sure there are factors I'm not considering yet. That's why I'm here.... thanks folks! [link] [comments]  |
| Is it a good idea to remove my parents from my bank account? Posted: 29 Dec 2017 07:49 PM PST So, I've had the same bank account when I was 13, and I'm 19 now. When I signed up for the account, I was told that my parents had to have access to it because I was a minor. Over the years, my dad has transferred money into my account. When I turned 18, I thought that my dad wasn't able to access my account anymore. Well, I found out this wasn't true because one night I got into an argument with my dad over me being able to pay for something, and my dad told me that he was aware that I didn't have a lot of money in my account. This is how I found out that my dad still looks at my account. My mom told him to stop looking at my stuff, and as far as I know neither of them have taken any money from me (I always check my bank statements) but is it a good idea to just remove them from my account, and if so, do I have to go to the bank in person or can I do it online? [link] [comments]  |
| I cashed out my stock options and now have $20,000 unexpected money Posted: 29 Dec 2017 10:15 AM PST I was laid off in October - really I was traded to another company. I do the same job but as a consultant instead of an employee. I knew I got stock options but I didn't really know what that meant until Merrill Lynch called and said they would expire soon. I decided to cash them out because I didn't really know what else to do with them and the deadline was coming up. They are sending me a check for $20,000. This is unexpected and like free money. When I was traded I was laid off one day and started work at the new company the next day so there was no lapse in my employment. I did get 4 weeks severance so I already have extra money than normal. Here is my question. What should I do with this money? My car is paid off but my husband's car has about $5000 left on it. I have about $11,000 in my checking and $5,500 in the savings. I save $600 a month and pay things like my son's private school tuition out of savings. I also had to pay for some expensive car repairs on my husband's car recently. I do have an E*TRADE account that I opened ~15 years ago and it has very little money in it and I don't do anything with it. I have student loans still but I'm not sure how much. I would guess less than $10,000. We have a mortgage on our house and would like to sell it but there are some things we would need to do like fix the boiler leak, redo the carpets and fix the downstairs floor along with paint. We try to keep the credit cards paid off but I'd say we are carrying about $3000-$4000 after Christmas. What is the best thing to do with this money? We are youngish (mid 30s) and we are doing good on our 401ks. I put in 10% and get a 4% match and my husband puts in 5% and gets a 7% match. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 11:29 AM PST |
| How can I build my credit if no one will give me credit? Posted: 29 Dec 2017 07:43 PM PST So my credit is in the low to mid 500s (CreditKarma score). I want to work on it, however despite being 24, I apparently have "insufficient history to have a credit score". That's the response I always get back from applications. I don't understand this. Even if that's the case, everyone has to start somewhere. I got declined for a secured card via capital one with a $200 deposit. Any advice for building my credit? FYI: I pay the rent and phone bill (in SOs name) and SO pays other bills (in her name). [link] [comments]  |
| Am I on the right track (31/M) Posted: 29 Dec 2017 12:09 PM PST I've been lurking for a while, this sub is amazing and i've been following a lot of the advice and guidelines. I feel like I have a good plan in place, but was hoping to get feedback just in case I'm missing something obvious: Employment: *$80k / year salary (operations / consumer electronics,) will likely be 6 figures within the next 2 years *Full Kaiser HMO coverage through work (thought about switching to High Deductible / HSA as I don't have any current health issues.) *No 401k through work (i've asked repeatedly to start one to no avail) Current Assets: *Debt free, pay CC bills in full each month *3 month emergency fund in BOA savings account *~20k in Roth IRA contributions (Vanguard target retirement), maxing at the beginning of each year. *~1k in Robinhood brokerage account, 3 fund plan split 60/30/10 VTI / VXUS / BND *Budget in good shape, planning on contributing at least 20% of monthly pre-tax salary towards investments each month. Credit Cards: *Credit score hovers right around ~800 *Chase Sapphire Reserve: for all dining / travel expenses *Chase Amazon Prime Rewards: for Amazon purchases *BOA Travel Rewards: for misc. purchases not covered by higher reward rates on other cards *BOA Better Balance Rewards: for $30 / quarter credit *AMEX Blue Cash Preferred: Groceries My current plan is to maximize savings and dump everything I can into the brokerage account after the Roth. Hope to possibly find a new job with a 401k, if anything I would expect a higher salary. I feel like I need to catch up, as I only recently started getting serious about retirement. Could early retirement work for me? [link] [comments]  |
| First year of college, I want to start building my credit through a CC. Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:07 PM PST I'm really new at this, my parents didn't teach me anything and school wasn't helpful either. I need advice on:
Also things like:
I have a rough idea of what they are, but not completely.(sad, I know) Thanks in advance if you help. <3 [link] [comments]  |
| European, leaving the US for good. Best way to cash out 401k? Critique my plan please. Posted: 29 Dec 2017 06:30 PM PST Hi, I've been working in the US for the past 6 years, but will be returning to my home country soon. I have a decent amount in my 401k, which I'd like to take with me. I'm not 59, so I know I will have to pay the 10% penalty, and I'm fine with that. I will have zero US income in 2018, as I'm leaving early in January. The 401k (after the 10% penalty) will be my only taxable income. I'm not a US citizen or permanent resident. If I'm understanding it correctly, I can:
Is this accurate? I'm perfectly ok paying the 10% penalty, and also paying any income tax due when i file my final US tax return in early 2019. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:23 PM PST I am devastated. I didn't think open enrollment applied to me because I'm already covered. In the past, my plans have changed a little every year but I've NEVER had something like this happen. Reading up on it now, I see that ACA rules / deadlines changed this year. I changed my deductible last years round this time. They said they sent me a notice but I didn't see it. Of course this happens right after I began fertility treatment. We're trying to start a family and now all medical treatments are gonna be cash pay until I hit $4,000. Not sure why I'm posting this here but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Devastated. Editing to add: I was not banking on having fertility treatments covered nor is that my main concern. I assumed I'd have to pay for it out of pocket anyway...but now I will have to pay for EVERYTHING out of pocket until I reach the $4,000 deductible. I have an autoimmune disease and see specialists for it. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I sell my house so that I can finish university? Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:50 PM PST Home details: ~$190k 2017 Tax assessed value Current situation: Late 20s, single, no kids. I am approximately halfway through my BsCS (Bachelor's of Computer Science). Long story short, I earn ~$12k/year at my job (Part time unskilled labor... even so, yes, I know that is minuscule). I also currently have one roommate/rent one room for ~$500/month. I have approximately $4k in 0% interest (for the next 12-ish months) debt. Car is paid off, frugal lifestyle. Credit is not bad, but not that good either. It dropped like a rock from 800+ to ~700 after divorce (womp, womp) and a medical bill went into collections because the letters were being sent to a non-existent address for months (still frustrated about that but /whining). My employer reimburses some tuition, and tuition/school fees approach $10k/year. Only ~$1.5k emergency fund currently (shit came up + some stupid tax). Maybe 2018 will be different, but I typically haven't qualified for financial aid except for interest bearing loans. FWIW, I don't have any kind of special attachment or sentiment associated with the property in question, and it's in fair/good condition, but not excellent. Regarding issues renting to people, I have had few to none the entire time I have done this. I am loosely, tentatively considering these two general options: Option A:Sell the house this year, use part of the equity to pay off the small debts I have. Put the remainder (or most of it) in a money market account or CD, depending on the details, and hold it there until I graduate. As needed, use these reserves to pay for school costs I cannot cover on my own to avoid accruing debt. Pros: Cons: Option B:Stay here, and rent all the rooms (raising monthly rental income to $1,500+) Pros: Cons: Thoughts? Opinions? What have I overlooked or not considered here? (Typos?) Thank you in advance for your help and feedback. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 04:27 PM PST This spending habit apparently started around 2004 when they bought their first gold coins, fueled by stories of their friends buying 10 or more 1 pound coins at once. Things would have gone alright had gold done what it usually does; they would have sold them after not gaining anything and done something useful with the money. Except it skyrocketed until 2012 and the value doubled/tripled, only serving to embolden them and make them want to buy more. All those friends who had 10 gold coins each didn't help either. Since then, gold has gone down 20-30% but they remain adamant that it's only a matter of time before it shoots up again. Just the other day they went out and bought a coin at just over $900. It doesn't seem like their interest in gold is rooted in theories of economic collapse or anything. I think it's more a cultural thing; they are from India where gold is highly valued in terms of marriage(dowry) and as an investment. Their "plan", so to say, is to sell all these coins in 20 years after they've appreciated, and/or "melt some of them" into jewelry for a wedding in the meantime. Should I tell them to just sell all those coins now and re-invest, or do they just have to keep them at this stage? [link] [comments]  |
| Sprint charging $300 to repair a phone when they only charged $75 before Posted: 29 Dec 2017 01:52 PM PST I'm in town visiting my mother and the family for the holidays, only to find that her phone needs to be repaired. Unfortunately, the situation is a bit stress inducing.
Any kind of help would be appreciated. Here are some things that could work to our advantage;
Basically, I'm just trying to see if we can get the phone fixed without paying the obnoxiously exorbitant fees that they're throwing at us. EDIT: Got in contact with Samsung, Sprint was wrong (or lied) about the warranty expiring, and they're repairing the phone for free. Thanks everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| Has anyone ever used Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University? Posted: 29 Dec 2017 11:42 AM PST I have about $32k in debt and am terrible at budgeting. My 2018 resolution is to really knock down my debt. According to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University calculator I can be debt free within two years which is a dream come true. However, it costs $129 for the plan. Has anyone ever used it or something comparable that is possibly cheaper/free? I don't know how to budget or control my impulse spending (obviously) and I need help! Please! [link] [comments]  |
| Is there any PF tracking software that allows the user to add a custom column? Posted: 29 Dec 2017 04:33 PM PST I want to be able to assign a priority to each transaction so I can create reports/charts based on needs/wants/follies. Categories alone aren't enough because you can have needs and wants in one category. Work clothes when my wardrobe is falling apart are a need. The cute shoes are a want. But I also want to be able to easily tally on what I spend on clothes as a whole. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 04:28 PM PST Moral of the story, 3 out of the 4 roommates moved across country after signing a lease, the roommate that didn't move has began to refuse to pay rent. Landlord can't hold him personally responsible because their corporate division looks at it as unit by unit basis. We are able to cover our portion on the first and we may potentially be able to cover the last portion on the 15th but only as a temporary measure, we definitely can't afford that. We can't get evicted because then we have to deal with legal fees we can't afford and everything else that comes with that. I don't know what to do, we could potentially find someone to take his place but that would take some time and we need rent for next month. Any advice on how to get the money from him would be great. [link] [comments]  |
| Asset Allocation for 401k (USA) Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:13 PM PST I am 25 years old and I make around $62k before taxes. Since I started working I have only contributed 6% to my 401K and my employer matches 25% of that 6% (If i understand correctly). I have never really logged in and looked at my 401k until recently and noticed that I have a certain distribution of assets on my 401k that I assume were just set up by default by Fidelity. Domestic Stocks - 53.52% Foreign Stock - 35.10% Bonds - 5.58% Short Term - 4.98% Other 0.83% I have looked up different "rules" based on age on how to diversify these assets. I am posting on this reddit to find those who can speak to this and provide valuable input or wisdom regarding how I need to be handling my 401k and making sure it is "going good". Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2017 08:09 PM PST I consider myself decent at personal finance and I love reading articles here that help me maintain my ability to manage my finances. I keep a ledger for any money, going in and out, of all my acounts because I have been afraid of ever overdrawing an account. Today I woke up and checked my accounts just like every other morning. Once I opened my Credit union checking account, I went into panick mode. I had written a check for my first mortgage payment of 758.77$ a couple days prior and it had gone through today, along woth another withdrawl of 2030.49$. After spending the morning on the phone with my bank and my mortgage lender, it was decided that Wells Fargo (the bank that my mortgage lender uses) used the account information at the bottom of my check to submit an ACH transfer for my mortgage and someone elses mortgage. Now my account is overdrawn big time. My lender seemed very worried about it and tried to help as much as they could, but they (the bank) say it will be a few business days before they can get it resolved. Luckily my bank has enough overdraft protection, especially considering that I have other checks going out for other payments (HOA, other utilities), but I still feel horrible that this even happened. What could I have done to keep this from happening? I assumed that a check can only be deposited ONCE for the amount on the check, but apparently that isn't the case. I would have set up an online transfer, but my lender sold our mortgage to another servicer and only required our first months mortgage. I thought a check would be easier. Any thoughts on this one? Feels horrible to have all the money taken out of your account. [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Personal Finance. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment