Personal Finance Weekday Help Thread for the week of February 05, 2018 |
- Weekday Help Thread for the week of February 05, 2018
- How do you find the time for interviews when you work full time?
- My wife's mother is trying to claim her on taxes.
- 27y/o, married, no children, no debt, 30k sitting in the savings account. How to put take the most benefit of it?
- Lost $12,000 gambling in a week. Distressed, to put it lightly.
- A little older, a little wiser. Realizing less debt and more savings is a lot better than a new car. What is something in the $5-$7k range (that would be paid off on the spot) that is reliable enough to last for a few years.
- 30 years old, never filed taxes... What do I do?
- Single mom, can’t afford daycare, can’t afford to stay home.
- Is it worth it to contribute to a Roth IRA if I'm currently contributing to a Roth 401k? (Assuming overall contributions per month are the same)
- Confused about Roth IRA income limits
- Company charging me for Health Insurance Premiums after Leaving
- After filing my taxes I discovered I was marked for offset, I filed for consolidation is there any way I can get my return.
- Overwhelming Amount of Debt and Trying to Turn My Life Around, Feeling Disheartened
- $1000 in 1.35% apy, daily compound interest. How do you... math?
- Need advice on best options to remove PMI from mortgage...
- 19 years old, 10k saved. Best low risk investment to park my money?
- Received $10k for my infant's college fund - how to invest.
- If I am being claimed as a dependent on a tax return, am I still qualified to submit my own tax return?
- Wife misfiled taxes in 2015, now I owe $17000, Help
- Married early 30s with no savings, no emergency fund, and no retirement, but I have a plan. Am I crazy?
- SO has a job that doesn't want employees to get overtime, so she would clock out and work off the clock if needed. How do we stick it to the man?
- Is it a good idea to pay off my credit card before the billing cycle closes?
- I'm stuck with a vehicle I can't afford.
- Should I pay off my student loans or just sit on the money?
- Starting to save for retirement, no idea where to start
| Weekday Help Thread for the week of February 05, 2018 Posted: 05 Feb 2018 05:09 AM PST If you need help, please check the PF Wiki to see if your question might be answered there.While we never remove posts just because a question is answered in the wiki, this thread is a low-key place to ask any question no matter how "moronic" you think it might be. Make a top-level comment if you want to ask a question! Also, please don't downvote "moronic" questions! If you have not received your answer within 24 hours, you can feel free to start a discussion. A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! For past help threads, please search the Weekly Archive. [link] [comments]  |
| How do you find the time for interviews when you work full time? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 11:10 AM PST I started applying for a new job last Thursday and as of this morning, I have heard back from all but one (5) to set up an interview. I took a sick day yesterday to go to the first interview I set up and I just set up two for tomorrow. I can't take a vacation day on such short notice so I will have to call out sick tomorrow again, but I know that will look a bit suspicious to my employer as I called out sick Tuesday, came to work fine today, and then will be "sick" again tomorrow. I haven't even replied to the last two interviewers on when I am available and this is all stressing me out... How do you guys find the time to interview when working full time?? Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| My wife's mother is trying to claim her on taxes. Posted: 07 Feb 2018 05:32 PM PST My wife is currently a student. We were married in August of last year; she moved in with me December of last year. She worked a part-time job, I think to the tune of maybe $5,000 all year. Her W2 was mailed to her mother's house (where she used to live) and now her mother is refusing to give them to her and said she's claiming her as a dependent, which is taking a lot of money out of our pockets during a time where we're struggling because I'm the sole provider. Can her mother even legally refuse to give her her W2, and can she claim her if she files a joint return with me, her husband?? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:30 PM PST After working for a few years I managed to save some $, I am married with no children, we have everything we need, no debt, no need to upgrade anything or any big purchases planned, also not interested in luxury goods. I want to invest that money, wisely, nothing too ambitious, just something more intelligent that keeping it in the bank generating minimum interest. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Lost $12,000 gambling in a week. Distressed, to put it lightly. Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:03 AM PST Money values are in USD. 28 year old male. Gross income per year of 80k to 90k. Independent contractor. The past 7 days have been the worst of my financial life. Before this past week, I was only an occasional gambler. I'd buy 5 to 10 dollars in scratch off tickets every couple of months at convenience stores. Last week I discovered online casinos. I wish I never had. I started off with a mere 100 dollar deposit. Lost it. Then another 100. Lost it. Distressed about losing 200 dollars, I was determined to get it back. I threw down $500 on a deposit. I managed to hit a high on the roulette wheel of over $6,000. I thought the game was broken. How was I doing so well? Naturally, I lost all of that. I didn't think I could lose. I was wrong. $2,000+ in the hole later, and I am DESPERATELY chasing my losses, trying to get my money back by depositing more money into my casino accounts. This is no longer about fun or "striking it big," but about getting my money back. This has had DISASTROUS consequences. I have now maxed out a credit card of $6,000, in addition to thousands lost in my checking account. $10,000 to $12,000 later, and here I am, wondering what the hell happened. I have not told anybody about this. The shame and guilt is too great. I cannot believe I was so stupid. My financial situation: I have just $400 in my bank account. It was $2,400 this morning. It would have been $0 if the casinos didn't have weekly deposit limits. I have 2 checks for contract work coming in soon with a combined total of $12,200. This is enough money to last me 3 months, but here's the problem: All of this was meant for taxes for 2017. I didn't set any aside. I already owe the IRS $10k and am on an installment agreement with them. I have ~$24,000 in credit card debt, and $2,300 in available credit. Looking at 90% utilization. It was $18,000 before my gambling disaster. My father suggested paying $1,000/month on the highest interest card. This would eliminate all of my credit card debt in less than 30 months. Here's my plan:
Thoughts on my plan? Words of encouragement? Criticism? This all feels like a bad dream that I'm just waiting to wake up from. The only thing that comforts me is that I only lost 12k before I wised up. Some people have lost way more to gambling. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:39 PM PST Looking for a beater to get me from point A to point B safely and with little headache on long term maintenance. Any feedback from others who have personally gone this route in order to free up more money for debts and savings is welcome! [link] [comments]  |
| 30 years old, never filed taxes... What do I do? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:35 PM PST For one reason or another (zero guidance, negligence, disinterest, etc.) I have never filed my taxes. Even now, I am unsure of how exactly to go about doing this. I'm terrified to be fined or arrested. Thanks to this subreddit, my main goal for 2018 is to address my finances and debts. I haven't ever made more than $50k per year, most often it is somewhere between $25-35k. I am completely overwhelmed by these forms, deductions, laws, etc. and don't even know where to begin. I'm applying to colleges this year and know that I will need current tax info to qualify for financial aid. Not asking for hand holding or a handout. I know my starting point (financial illiteracy) and I know my end goal (financial solvency) and hope to find resources and tools for every little step in between. Thank you in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Single mom, can’t afford daycare, can’t afford to stay home. Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:48 PM PST Hi everyone, I have a daughter who is just under 1 year old and I live with my parents. I need to get out of here, there's not enough room for us, the house is disgusting and they have dogs that try and bite my daughter. I need some advice on what to do. Her dad works 8-5 and I don't trust him to watch her anyway, so that not an option. Daycare is $4 an hour and I only make about $7.50 an hour after taxes and I can only get about 10 hours a week at my current job. I don't really know what to do from here but I can't stay here. It's not healthy or safe. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:26 PM PST I'm working a temporary contracting job and I'm currently contributing to a Roth 401k (no company match) instead of a traditional, since I know my tax bracket will be higher next year and I'm taking advantage of post-tax contributions. I'm planning to roll this over into a Roth IRA once I leave in a few months and start a new job with a traditional 401k. Does it make any sense at all to contribute to an IRA on top of the 401k, since they're both Roth accounts? Secondary question: when I roll this over to an IRA, does that amount count towards contribution limits? [link] [comments]  |
| Confused about Roth IRA income limits Posted: 07 Feb 2018 05:49 PM PST I've been looking into various retirement accounts and how they work but i can't wrap my head around the Roth IRA. My wife gets 401k through work but i don't. Combined we made 110k this year, next year will be closer to 150k, and the year after that will be around 200k. We own a home valued around 200k Student loans of 40k No other debts Can someone help clarify at what point we would no longer be able to contribute to a Roth IRA if we started one? [link] [comments]  |
| Company charging me for Health Insurance Premiums after Leaving Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:02 PM PST I work in Texas if this matters. I just gave notice to my employer and have a new job that starts. This new job has full benefits on day 1. I do not need health insurance, but my old employer has stated that they will be billing me for my portion the health insurance premiums for the remainder of the month even though I will not be working here or need them. Is this legal? I cannot seem to find any info on this online. Let me know if I am missing any details [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:27 PM PST I am a 21 year old (f) Cancer Patient who has a disability. My student loan bills for one of my loans were being sent to the wrong address and I never realized that I was missing them. I had wrongly assumed that I was still in the grace period so I never bothered to wonder why I wasn't getting bills. I found this out earlier this week and this evening sent in the e-app to consolidate my loans with an IBR through FedLoan. The total amount that is due is 20,000 and I am unsure how much was in default but I'm assuming the worst. My tax return was filed on Feb 2nd. Needless to say I don't make very much money, I am responsible completely for my disabled father and my little sister and I am expecting a return of about 3,700 which would cover our rent and expenses and allow me to continue cancer treatment. Is there anybody I can speak to or anything I can do from here to prevent my return being taken. I know that its down to my mistake and distractions that this has happened but If I have to come up with money or anything I will do it, if I don't get this refund me and my family are going to be on the streets by the end of March and I am terrified. The IBR repayment showed me as paying 0 dollars a month for 10 years. I'm not sure what other information may be relevant but this is certainly a financial hardship. From everything I can find online it says I should've received notice that they were going to flag my account for offset and give me 65 days to contest but I again never recieved this, and I don't know this is by fault of my own or not updating an address properly. When I contacted the number which allows you to find out if your taxes will be offset, I was told I had 1 debt, that it may be offset and I'm assuming in this context that may is as good as will. In my taxes I filed as Head of Household, and I did include my disability and I was eligible for the student credit as I am enrolled in community college. What can I do please help. Thanks for your time reading I am sorry for formatting or scattered thoughts I am just honestly in an incredible panic. [link] [comments]  |
| Overwhelming Amount of Debt and Trying to Turn My Life Around, Feeling Disheartened Posted: 07 Feb 2018 03:39 PM PST I got a credit card right out of college and immediately wracked up the debt with that after a bad break up led to me living beyond my means. Didn't take paying it off too seriously and so never made a huge amount of progress on it. Over the course of a year, I lost my job, got into a horrific accident without car insurance so I ended up getting a $22k bill for that, on top of a number of tickets. I fell behind on my credit card, my health insurance, and wasn't able to get started on making payments on the accident debt. Currently, because of all of this, I don't have a license, I feel like I'm living paycheck to paycheck and I know it's because I don't have a budget and I'm working with a company now to get my spending in check, but the debt still feels horribly overwhelming. I'm considering getting a personal loan through my bank to pay the accident and tickets. Does anybody have any advice on how to proceed? Overwhelmed doesn't begin to cover how I feel. Clerical stuff like this has always inexplicably terrified me, and I've reached a really low mental state because of how bad I've let everything get because I'm scared of... handling it. Not sure if anybody can help, but... I just need some support and knowledge. EDIT ON MY INFO: *INCOME: * $60,000 Yearly $1,800.10 Every other Friday $700 Once a month from side gig $1000 From a friend who crashed on my couch for a year and can now pay it forward starting March 1. $5300 Monthly total about starting March 1. MONTHLY COSTS WITH NEW BUDGET: $1580.00 Rent $86.00 Car Insurance (trying to get my license back, should be done on the 20th) $7.99 Hulu $110.00 Cell Phone $40 Internet $30-50 Utilities depending on if it's hot $200 Food $100 Recreation $10 Renter Insurance No Car Payment *SAVINGS: * $5,000 in my 401k but I'm not contributing currently and I'd like to flip it over to something else. *OWED: * $22,000 to Insurance Companies for the accident $11,000 to Credit Card Not sure about my fines for my tickets but that should be in the $1200 range based on calling about that today. I set a court date to contest some of the charges. $700 to Health Insurance QUESTION: I would like to consolidate this to one expense, should I get a personal loan to pay off the Insurance companies? Usually they allow you to pay much less if you pay up front. My thought process was that'd cut my debt. *ADDITIONAL NOTES * I was way overspending on food previously due to house guest I was spending way too much money on marijuana which will be my hardest thing to curtail. I own my car but I do not drive it (due to not having a license right now, but also because I don't need to much in my location). I'm willing to sell it. GOALS: Pay off debt Contribute to an alternative to a 401k Start an emergency fund Have a good travel fund [link] [comments]  |
| $1000 in 1.35% apy, daily compound interest. How do you... math? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:33 AM PST So I'm just starting an emergency fund in an ally savings account. Starting at $1000 with $50 added every two weeks. The apy is 1.35% and it has daily compounding interest. I have a few questions. What is compounding interest? If I just left $1000 in there without touching it, what would the total be with and without compounding interest? How would I calculate it it if I were to add different amounts to it? For instance, if I did $50 one paycheck, $60 more in two weeks, and maybe a little $200 bonus another day? Complete answers would be appreciated. Thank you guys! [link] [comments]  |
| Need advice on best options to remove PMI from mortgage... Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:25 PM PST I have just spoken with our mortgage company (Wells Fargo) to discuss options for removing PMI and the two most helpful options for removing PMI were to have an appraisal done for $550 or broker price opinion (BPO) for $200. They were unable to explain the difference between either option, only that most people choose the BPO. The reason we're now looking into this is because the house directly across the street just sold for $50,000 more than we paid for our house. We purchased in May 2016 and completed several updates (bathroom, kitchen, etc.) since then. The house across the street is 400 sq/ft. smaller but with similar updates. Another house sold about 6 months ago that's 600 sq/ft. smaller and has one less full bathroom for $15,000 more than our purchase price. Is one option preferred over the other? Does it matter? Why wouldn't everyone just pick the least expensive option? Any help/advice is much appreciated! -Pennsylvania [link] [comments]  |
| 19 years old, 10k saved. Best low risk investment to park my money? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:21 PM PST As the title says I am 19 years old and recently have accrued $10,000 in my savings account. Currently I am attending community college for nursing and I am on track to graduate debt free. Between my 2 part-time jobs I make around $700 a month, and have few necessary expenses. My mother is a bookkeeper and recommended I start a money market account with my bank (Provident). I like the idea of a nearly no risk investment but I would like to know what other options are on the table. Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Received $10k for my infant's college fund - how to invest. Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:53 PM PST I welcomed my first child into the world in December, and my Grandmother wrote us check for $10,000 for the baby's college fund. Most posts regarding college savings suggest opening a 529. I am concerned, however, with what will happen to these funds if my child chooses not to go to college. I considered opening a Roth IRA for the sole purpose of college savings but the contribution limits are prohibitive ($5,500/year). After searching through posts and wiki pages, I have had a hard time finding information regarding investment of college funds when dealing with a lump sum. Feel free to link to another post if you find one. Otherwise, any information that would help me weigh out my options would be helpful. Some other information about me: * In my late 20's * Live in Texas * Married - $90k income * Debt-free except house * I contribute to a 457 plan through my employer * I do not yet have an IRA for retirement but plan to set one up soon [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 07:11 PM PST I am being claimed as a dependent by my parents, but I've also been working part time for the past year, would it be advisable to submit my taxes or am I even able to? [link] [comments]  |
| Wife misfiled taxes in 2015, now I owe $17000, Help Posted: 07 Feb 2018 06:58 PM PST Not even sure where to start but the last 5 years have been pretty hectic and stressful. We.ve been married 15 years and my wife has always filed the taxes without me even looking at them. 2015 was a good year financially but somehow my wife didn't file a 1099 we received for nearly $50000. I logged into the IRS website to look at details of it and also noticed she didn't do a large 1099 from 2016 either, although I haven't heard anything about that. I can afford to pay the money back over a generous timeframe, but would I be best to contact a tax lawyer? or just contact the IRS and work out payments with them. Am I in danger of being arrested without any notice? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 02:37 PM PST I grew up poor as did my wife. We were both working minimum wage jobs and scraping by with nothing when we met three years ago. Since then we have support one another as we went back to the drawing board and carved out new careers with better wages. Much better, but that's also because we moved so my wife could start a new career that offers her twice what we once made and gives us great employer paid health insurance. We live in a city that is ridiculously expensive one of the most expensive in the country. Our combined take home income is now 5500-6000$ a month depending on how much extra work we're able to pick up on the weekends (we each work a few Saturdays a month when we're able). My wife's income grows $3/hr ever six months with scheduled promotions one of which is around the corner in March, so this helps dramatically. She's in a sort of training program that allows her to move up in wage regularly so long as she's keeping up with her hours and classes, which she does. Our rent is 1650$ without utilities, it's ridiculously expensive, but the best I could find here without having roommates a choiCe we made and now have to stick with for the next 9 months. We're three months into a 12 month lease. It's an incredibly tight housing market and we live in a neighborhood that is neither hip nor close so we could save, but I did find a place with a yard so we could store and work on a project I'm hoping will be our way out of this cycle. But more about that after I lay out what our bills look like. We have 30k in student loans we are chipping away at, our cars are both owned outright and unfortunately both necessary for our jobs, which require private transportation and full coverage insurance. We turned on our heat last month when it was 20 degrees here for several weeks and it cost 200$ to keep the house at 60 degrees not to mention our trash, electric, and internet. So, this month we turned it off. The house is 53 degrees, it feels freezing, but the bill is projected at 40$, so we are trying out being uncomfortable for a month or two to save several hundred dollars. Spring is around the corner. We owe 4500$ on our credit cards which we are trying to pay off quickly (it was 9k in December and I paid off 4500$ using our Christmas bonuses and the tiny bit I had saved). My wife's career will tether us to this city so moving elsewhere isn't an option. I feel stressed about how much it costs to try and stay here when we have no savings. Things keep coming up that make it feel impossible to get ahead, a big car repair that was necessary but over 1k, one month, a bout of pneumonia that had one of us hospitalized and the bills and loss of wages from that the next. It's just been blow after blow of bad luck and life that continue to wipe out any meager savings we accrue. Our bills 1600 rent ~150 utilities 100 cell phone bills 250 insurance 400 food 300 student loans 100 gas =2900 no frills cost of living 😠Last summer I bought an Airstream for 3k and have been fixing it up. I want us to live in it and save our money from housing by renting a little space in someone's back yard. I have a plan for what this can look like and it will cost us 500$ a month with all our utilities included. That will feel like a dream. But the trailer needs work, everything is rotten. We're doing it ourselves on the weekends and making progress, but that's where all my extra money is going. Fixing the frame, new insulation, electrical, plumbing. You name it, it needs it. But I figure 10k more and we will have a tiny house we can live in for dirt cheap for a few years and either sell it for a chunk to use as a down payment on a little house, or have a real safety net. Is this crazy? In one year of living in the Airstream we would have saved 18,000$ in rental costs alone not to mention the extra money each week we have outside our expenses. It would more than double what we could save otherwise and we are both keen on the idea of living like this in the short term (three years of full time trailer living max.). I feel overwhelmed that we have no savings, no retirement (both in our early 30s), we'd like to have kids but not until we're out of the woods, and it feels like we're behind. Is it reasonable to dump money into the trailer for this plan or am I crazy? Edit: Gross miscalculation is salary (just omitted one of us! Sorry) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:35 AM PST Details: My SO just became a LVN. This place is essentially a hospice care facility. All her peers would clock out after 8 hours so they wouldn't get overtime. There is even a sign in the break room that says, "No overtime. No exceptions." I don't want her to directly confront her boss in fear that her boss would simply reduce her hours. How could she legally go about dealing with this? Edit: Thank you for all the responses. I sent the link to this post to my SO. There's a lot of great advice from everyone. I can't say what the solution she will take from all the responses, but she certainly has a lot more information on the situation moving forward. [link] [comments]  |
| Is it a good idea to pay off my credit card before the billing cycle closes? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 04:24 PM PST So my card (BoA) lets me transfer money from my bank account to the card whenever. I also know how much I spent for the cycle. My question is if my closing date hasn't come yet, should I transfer the money to pay the credit card if I know I won't be buying anything else by that close date? Would that help my credit or would they see a balance of zero on the closing date and seem like I didn't spend anything on my card? Newbie here obviously. Not a big spender, but I'm still trying to build some history. I like to pay things off asap. [link] [comments]  |
| I'm stuck with a vehicle I can't afford. Posted: 07 Feb 2018 05:27 PM PST Long story short I bought a car while in the military in Alaska. I moved to California and the DMV wants to charge me the sales taxes on the vehicle and the late fees for the registration, about $4000. This is the first car I've bought and I didn't know about all these fees. I can afford the monthly payments on the vehicle and the insurance, but now it's sitting in my driveway untill I pay the taxes and fees. I would love to just pay all the fees and keep my car but I make a little more than minimum wage so it's not easy saving that money. At this point I just want to get rid of it. The kbb on the vehicle is $17000-$18500 and I owe $23000. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I pay off my student loans or just sit on the money? Posted: 07 Feb 2018 05:14 PM PST I am a single 25 year old with a job that pays about $110,000 a year. I currently have $4,000 in CD's with 10 months left, about $4,000 in three different stocks, and $17,000 in a high yield saving account at 1.5%. I have $13,000 in student loans left with interest rates between 5.5% and 5.9%. About $59 of interest accrues a month currently on my loans. I have no other debt. Should I use my cash savings to pay down most or all my student loans now or wait and sit on my savings and maybe pay my loans down at an accelerated rate? I have no plans to make any large purchase (car, house, extended vacation) for at least 8 months. But I'll probably get a standard-priced car sometime between 8-18 months from now. Any thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| Starting to save for retirement, no idea where to start Posted: 07 Feb 2018 01:17 PM PST I have 18k in savings, 14k student loan debt, paid off car, no other debt, credit score is 640, I make. 48k a year, after taxes my net monthly income is about is a bit over 3K. My apartment cost 1300 although my roommate and his GF give me about 900$ a month together. Aside rent, 200 for utilities including internet, water is free, 100 for my phone bill, 100 for car insurance. 100 for health insurance, 130 for groceries every month, don't go out much and don't spend money on many things except the occasional video game and art supplies so maybe about 30$ a month for those. I have no idea what I should do wig my 18k. Yes I can keep it in savings but I feel there are better options, I'm 31 btw [link] [comments]  |
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