Personal Finance Weekday Help Thread for the week of April 30, 2018 |
- Weekday Help Thread for the week of April 30, 2018
- Dash Cams
- Been unemployed for 1.5 years, finally got a job, wondering how to pay off about $28k in debt
- If I am dying in 1 year, what should I do to prepare for my family
- I just received $45k after fees from a lawsuit. What advice would you give me for making this money grow or work for me?
- Help me pick 401(k) funds
- CPA says we owe a 10% penalty on withdrawing contributions from a Roth IRA?
- My mom has $0 Savings. I will be ultimately responsible for her retirement. question.
- Recipe for disaster? 25yo No Degree, $6500 in credit card debt, looking to go back to college
- $59,000/yr as an Independent Contractor. After expenses I net $47,000. Paid $9200 in Fed & State Taxes. Anything I can do to save on taxes?
- What are ways to make low amounts of passive income?
- I make an average of $700 a week and can’t seem to find any type of housing with the 30% rule of income.
- Is it possible to put 100k cash into a bank account without hassle?
- 40k in Student Loans....
- Auto loans
- Have you quit your job without having one lined up?
- I'm 20 years old. Is getting a dog financially stupid?
- Recently refinanced my house now I am receiving mortgage offers to my address addressed to a different person.
- CIT vs Ally for Savings Only?
- I have 30k in a savings account, little expenses and am 19. What should I be doing to increase my financial growth for my future?
- Why does it take 4-5 days for transactions to stop showing as pending and show as cleared on my bank statement in 2018?
- Making a combined ~$100k with my SO but supporting my mom, what should our next steps be?
- High Fees and online trading
| Weekday Help Thread for the week of April 30, 2018 Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:08 AM PDT 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]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 07:21 AM PDT After my wife telling me numerous stories of being ran off the road and close calls, I researched and ultimately purchased two $100 dash cams for both of our vehicles for a total of about $198 on Amazon . They came with a power adapter and a 16GB Micro SD card as a part of a limited time promotion. I installed both of them earlier this year by myself within a few hours by using barebones soldering skills and some common hand tools for a "stealth wiring" configuration. Recently, my wife was in an accident and our dash cam has definitively cleared us of all liability. The other party claimed that my wife was at fault and that her lights were not on. Her dash cam showed that not only was my wife's lights on prior to the impact, but the other party was shown clearly running a stop sign which my wife failed to mention in the police report due to her head injury. Needless to say, our $200 investment has already paid for itself. With all of that in mind, I highly recommend a dash cam in addition to adequate insurance coverage for added financial peace of mind. Too many car accidents end up in he said/she said nonsense with both parties' recollection being skewed in favor of their own benefit. Car accidents are already a pain. Do yourselves a favor and spend $100 and an afternoon installing one of these in your vehicle. Future you will inevitably thank you someday. EDIT: Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and asking questions. I'm glad I can help some of you out. With that said, I keep getting the same question frequently so here's a copy/paste of my response. Wheelwitness HD is the dash cam I own. Honestly, anything with an above average rating of 4 stars in the $100 range that isn't a recognized name brand is pretty much a rebrand of other cameras. If it has a generic name, I can guarantee you that they all use a handful of chipsets that can record at different settings depending on how capable it is. The only difference will be the physical appearance but guts will mostly be the same. As a rule of thumb, anything $100+ will probably be a solid cam. I recommend a function check monthly at a minimum. I aim to do it once a week. I found mine frozen and not recording one day. Just needed a hard reboot. [link] [comments]  |
| Been unemployed for 1.5 years, finally got a job, wondering how to pay off about $28k in debt Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:29 PM PDT Just got a job with a $60k salary, netting $3700/mo. Without being thrifty, I spend about $1700/mo which gives me about $2k to pay off this debt with. I've been pretty irresponsible with my credit cards so the rates are high. $18k is spread between two credit cards ($~11k visa citi and $~6k amex) and $10k is back rent (this one i can pay over time with no interest or problems). I also have an inherited IRA that could completely cover this debt, but I consider it a retirement account for myself and it would wipe out about half of it.. it's also all invested in stocks and doing pretty well, so I don't particularly want to sell it all. What's the best way to pay off the credit card debt? Are those consolidating things for real? [link] [comments]  |
| If I am dying in 1 year, what should I do to prepare for my family Posted: 30 Apr 2018 05:49 AM PDT I have been sick for a while leaving me with low energy and enthusiasm. The doctor is still trying to figure out what is happening to me, but I think it is always a good thing to plan. I am a father of two young kids and my wife does not work. We have about $100k in the bank and stock market. We owe $300k on the mortgage. I have $900k of life insurance. We live in the US. While my two kids are citizens, my wife and I are not. Please let me know if you have any advice. Edits 1: Changed a few typos. Thank you very much for your comments. I really appreciate all the suggestions on my financial situation. I surely hope I will stick around; it's just my constant pain and unexplainable extreme fatigue motivate me to be more prepared. Like /u/tfsdoc said, it is an important issue and I did not find enough good resources. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:26 PM PDT |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:35 PM PDT I am 23 years old and am very lost with picking funds. Please Help https://imgur.com/a/cFYoZUt [link] [comments]  |
| CPA says we owe a 10% penalty on withdrawing contributions from a Roth IRA? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 01:20 PM PDT My husband set up a Roth IRA and contributed $5500/year for two years. Since the account is fairly new, earnings are negligible. We withdrew $10,000 to use as a down payment on our first home last year. From everything I can find online, we shouldn't have to pay a penalty on that amount even though the account was less than 5 years old because it was all contribution. We didn't withdraw any earnings at all, so it shouldn't matter how old the account was, right? Am I missing something? Since we used it for a first home, it seems to me we wouldn't have to pay a penalty even to withdraw earnings but in this case wasn't earnings anyway, it was all contribution. Our accountant said she didn't have time to send me her sources for coming up with the penalty when I asked because she was trying to file an extension for us and time was running out. We went ahead and paid our estimated taxes based on the 10% penalty but now she's working on our taxes for real and I want to make sure she gets it right. 10% of $10,000 is a lot of money. Please help - I don't want to keep questioning and doubting my accountant if I'm making an error and just can't see it. Thanks in advance. EDIT: It's like she saw this thread! I just got an email from her. Upon further research, she realized we do not owe the penalty and will be receiving a refund of that $1,000. I'm feeling pretty smug and a little annoyed - I knew we didn't owe that money and told her as much! We'll get the $1,000 back but who know how long it's going to take. I should have listened to my gut (and every resource on the internet, as well as the tax code) and not paid but it's intimidating when a professional is telling you something and time is short. Anyway, you were all right - thanks for your help! [link] [comments]  |
| My mom has $0 Savings. I will be ultimately responsible for her retirement. question. Posted: 30 Apr 2018 05:11 AM PDT I graduated college a year ago and am making about $70k/year.
My main question is, is it feasible for me to buy my mom an apartment with my financials? She is 50 years old and is currently paying $800 for a studio.. I am looking at an area that has condos from 60k-80k. (1/1). Would this be a smart move? I know she would be able to pay the mortgage on it instead of throwing $800 in rent.. I'm viewing it as a win-win because i'll have an asset in my name and when its payed off that will be a huge stress-reliever for me years down the road without worrying where she'll live.. Are there mortgages for that amount? Or does it have to be cash? Also, how would this change my tax situation? [link] [comments]  |
| Recipe for disaster? 25yo No Degree, $6500 in credit card debt, looking to go back to college Posted: 30 Apr 2018 02:44 PM PDT Hi all! Let me first state that for the past 7 years I saved every penny I had and stayed out of debt. (I'm still kicking myself that I should've went back to school) I jumped from job to job and worked in various ecommerce companies to get their products online. Last year I made the decision to try out selling for myself and jumped head first into the world of business. Let me say that it wasn't a very good decision as I quit my job, had no plan, and now have $6500 in credit card debt with no degree. The business I started hasn't seen much of a return on my investment and I decided to close my online store and get my life back together. I have so much experience in the ecommerce world, but every company I've come across just doesn't pay anything above $15/hr. I understand that I've put myself in this situation, but i'm trying to shift my life into the next gear. Since this business hasn't really worked out I started a job as a waiter at nights to get some income really flowing. I don't work very many nights, but I average about $300 per week. In the meantime, I'm applying for day jobs and looking at applying for community college. College was always at the back of my mind, but now it's clear that if I don't go now that I'll be in my mid 30's by the time I'll get a degree. Personal Finances situation: I don't have any car payment (paid off), rent, insurance payments or phone bill (Taken care of by parents) I spend about $150 in gas every month, $150 in groceries, and stash about $200 every month in an emergency savings account. I've been paying off about $300 ($100 each) every month on credit cards and have stopped using them completely. Here's the current credit card situation: Credit Card 1: 1413.36 Balance with 24.49% purchase APR (3200 Limit) Credit Card 2: 2095.09 Balance with 23.74% purchase APR (2500 Limit) Credit Card 3: 3000.15 Balance with 0.00% introductory APR (3500 Limit) A day job is a necessity right now of all things, but is going to school the right decision on top of all this? Is this a recipe for disaster? Should I just join the military instead? lol TL;DR: No day job, night job pays about $300 per week night, need to pay $300 per month. Is going back to school a bad decision on top of all this? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 02:28 PM PDT Reading through some old threads it doesn't seem like forming an LLC or S-Corp. will help much. A friend recommended a Solo 401K through Vanguard which looks to be good, but I am trying to save for a home and am not sure if it makes sense to open one right now. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| What are ways to make low amounts of passive income? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 02:20 PM PDT I'm 20, work full time at a well paying job and have a kid, but I want to find more means of income, I have a computer that I want try bitcoin mining on, I'm looking for other ways I can make small amounts of money online, any little bit would help. I'm signing up for meta trader, my coworker does it and pays money to be in a group to get professional advice and it usually makes him like $10-$20 a week. Whenever I try to find anything about it online there's just videos of "how to make $1000 a week" but I'm just looking for something more realistic [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 08:19 AM PDT My partner and I have a combined of $1400 for housing, for rent and utilities. We can't seem to find anything close to our jobs. We have to live either in a bad area with high crime or live 25-30 mins away. We want to live closer to the city, near our jobs, and a good school for our daughter, walking distances to parks and stores. What should we comprise? Should I stretch my 30% rule? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it possible to put 100k cash into a bank account without hassle? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 03:49 AM PDT I give cash to my mother (70 y/o, retired, widow), who lives with my sister (58 y/o, single, working), every month for years. Recently, I discovered that they have saved 100k+ in cash stored in their bank's safety box. Edit: We are in the US. Edit2: Would they need to pay tax on this, their savings? Update1: Thank you everyone for your replies; they are tremendously helpful. I need to correct a typo: My mother is 76, not 70. This causes some confusions about our biological relationships. To add some background information on our situation: My mother barely speaks English. My sister speaks passable English. I opened a joint account for them twenty years ago when I went to college. They both had minimum wage jobs at the time. I started giving my mother $500 a month about twelve years ago to encourage her to retire. I also gave her $999.99 for her birthdays, Mother Days, Christmas(es?), and Lunar New Years. I have other sisters, but I spent a decade in college and another decade at airports and hotels, so I don't see them as often as I would liked. Recently, I overheard my sisters talking about my mom wanting to buy another house near her gym, so she can just walk there everyday. This was when I discovered they have a lot of money saved because my other sisters also gave her money for holidays. This is where we are at the moment. I will come over for dinner later and relay your advice. Thank you everyone. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 03:20 PM PDT This blows. I have been out of school for 5 years. Thats half a decade. They have not gone up....they have not gone down. I FINALLY found a good job making 40-50k a year. But man this crap sucks. Advice,thoughts or stories? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 07:50 PM PDT So I purchased a used car and the dealership offered financing for 4.24% and the local FCU offered 4.74%. The thing is the FCU had a promotion and they offered 3.19%, and I already have it financed through the dealership who chose a local bank. The finance manager at the dealership told me to wait about 3 months to build credit before going with the FCU at 3.19% but the FCU told me that it doesn't matter since it's a brand new loan I don't have to hold it for 3 months. The FCU told me that they can hold the loan at that percentage for 2 more weeks. If I chose to accept the loan for 3.19% would that actually lower my credit score? I don't care if it doesn't help I just want to know whether or not it'll lower it. This is the first time I've taken out a larger auto loan and without a cosigner so I would appreciate the advice. [link] [comments]  |
| Have you quit your job without having one lined up? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 12:17 PM PDT I have worked in an office of an establishment run by a relative for almost 5 years now. The leadership is lacking and it affects me in different ways. I moved from another state and quit a great job to come work for this relative. I wish I could go into detail about why I'd risk so much, but this post would be way too long. I can say that I was initially told that a major part of my job would be data entry and running reports. I accepted because the hours would allow me to go back to school and finish my degree. Well, I came to find out, after moving and starting the job, that it wasn't data entry or reporting. The plan was for me to take the place of an administrative assistant and essentially be the assistant to my relative. That is a job I would not have taken because I would never want to work directly under a relative -- for obvious reasons. There was no training, goals were not set, and job duties were not given or explained. It was run kind of like , "who ever has time to do this task will do it." Then lay offs came and everyone was scrambling to take on duties of those who were laid off -- and not simply because tasks needed to be completed, but because they needed to look indispensable and not be next on the chopping block. Sometimes I'd be super busy because I would seek out things that needed to be done and then get hit with other duties from my relative. Other times I'd practically have nothing to do. The word nepotism has been thrown around and it's frustrating because I can't explain to anyone why I am in this position. I could never quit because when I tried, the relative would make promises about it getting better and throw on a guilt trip....like is done to anyone who tries to leave. Also, I have too many monthly financial obligations. Two car payments totaling around $900 Cell phone bill - $100 Car insurance - $170 My husband pays the mortgage and I put around $200 toward utilities. It's hard to find a job in my location where I'd make the same salary. But I can't take it anymore. My relative can be quite unprofessional. I don't like the way other employees are talked to. I don't like not having specific job duties. I don't like the negativity and stress that radiates off my relative anytime something, no matter how little, goes wrong within the business. This relative doesn't want me to quit and I think it's because they fear it reflecting poorly upon them. Like, "Wow, this person's relative won't even work there." I am only half way through college and have some savings. I think if I quit, I'd be okay for a month, but then I'd have to find something pretty quickly...hoping it will work with my class schedule as well. Any opinions, tips, advice? EDIT: Forgot to mention, I am in a contract until July 1st. I can't apply anywhere until my contract ends. I'm going to have to either sign on for another year or somehow have something lined up just before my contract ends. [link] [comments]  |
| I'm 20 years old. Is getting a dog financially stupid? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:00 PM PDT Hi there! As the title says, I'm 20 but going on 21. I'm still at University, but don't plan on getting a dog until mid-2019 (if at all!!) I've reached the final interview stage for a few different organisations for graduate roles, and I hope (although obviously it is not guaranteed!)) I'll be offered a position at one of these organisations, to commence in early 2019. The average annual wage I would be receiving is around AUD $60,000. I also plan on purchasing a small, 1 bedroom apartment next year. I'm very lucky in that my parents will contribute half towards the deposit, and I will be out of pocket for around AUD $20,000. I have almost AUD $10,000 in savings right now. I've approached big bank lenders here in Australia, and I've been told as long as the job I get is a full-time contract with no end-date, I will be able to secure a loan relatively easily. Also, my girlfriend will be moving in with me. We are in a committed and very stable relationship, we've been living together full time for almost 2 years now - so hopefully that won't be changing anytime soon! Her parents will pay for half of the utility bills and groceries, because she is a Medical student and won't be able to financially contribute for a while! I want a dog not just because they are cute (even though let's be real, hell yeah they are!). Also because Ive grown up with dogs my whole life, and having a dog around to hug and love is a major form of anxiety relief for me (I have pretty severe anxiety due to my Type 1 Diabetes!). For my girlfriend, she has a dog right now at home and loves him so much, and I want her not to be stressed either whilst studying. Bringing her dog with us is not an option. However, of course, dogs can be extremely expensive if they become unwell, so I'm unsure. So back to the question, is getting a dog financially stupid? Thanks :) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 06:29 PM PDT Recently I refinanced my house and closed about 10 - 20 days ago. I have now received two refinance offers with my address but addressed to a completely different persons name. The loan amount on these offers is almost same loan amount I ended up closing with, ±1000 dollars. I have only been living in my house for about 5 years and it is not the name of the previous owner. Are they any steps I should take to ensure that I am not a victim of some sort of Identity Theft? Thanks in advance for your time. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 04:44 PM PDT So I'm heavy in to financial research the last few months, and I have made a lot of good steps towards being more secure. I've switched from Wells Fargo to a local Credit Union (and oh man they are SO MUCH nicer), paid off and gotten rid of a couple of credit cards that were only hurting me (I know closing cards is generally bad, but they had annual fees and terrible terms), and managed to save up an emergency fund. Right now that fund is just in my CU with a decent rate but nothing over 1% like a lot of the big savers, and I'd like to make my next step moving part of my savings in to an account to earn a little more money while staying available if I need it. So my main question is, is there any reason not to go with CIT? I can't find any bad reviews online and don't see any bad press on here, but Ally has a way stronger marketing campaign so I see stuff for it everywhere. Again, this account will only be for high interest savings and: - CIT has a higher percent rate for now - Direct mobile deposit or free transfer from my CU - Compounds interest Daily (which from my research is better, but is this a misnomer?) - Lower minimum deposit (which mostly won't affect me but still). Any help, research, or things I haven't considered would be greatly appreciated, since I'm still not sure of all the things I'm supposed to be looking for. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 08:28 PM PDT Hello all, I am a 19 year old, I have about $30,000 in a saving account, I am located in the US and my expenses include car insurance, gas, food and entertainment related expenses as well as minimal living expenses. I am in college studying geology, I have zero school related expenses due to an assortment of grants and scholarships and have a seperate decently substantial fund from money I earned through high school if a situation arises. I paid my car off as well. I work for the county part-time and make about 20k a year gross. This pay allows me to cover my expenses and have money left over to put into the savings account (and whatever investment areas that I look into) as well as hobbies. They also match an IRA so I intend to maximize my contributions to the full amount. I'm not a complete novice in financial matters but am inexperienced in practice. I am wondering what I should be looking to do with this money, I'm not really looking at long-term, more so the next 5 years. Thank you for any advice or insight. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 12:54 PM PDT Getting tired of my bank. I will pay for something with my debit card on a Wed and then it will be pending until the next Tuesday... It wouldn't be a prob if the balance was right. Some times the balance keeps up, some times it doesn't. Then suddenly it pulls all my money at once. Why do banks do this? [link] [comments]  |
| Making a combined ~$100k with my SO but supporting my mom, what should our next steps be? Posted: 30 Apr 2018 09:22 AM PDT Hello, my SO and I (soon to be married) are currently living in the south Bay Area in his mother's house. Here are some details: - He's been at this temp job for a year (maybe convert to hire in a year?) and I just started this job 2 months ago (graduated last December).
I am wanting to move out, though in the near future. Yes, we are saving money living there for now, but this is not long term. I really want to live with my mom, too. My SO and I are just starting our lives and we have plans for kids (I'm wanting kids in 3-4 years). The Bay Area is crazy expensive though, and I'm wondering if mobile homes are worth an investment for the time being or we should take out a loan for a million dollar house? Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2018 05:52 PM PDT I'm just getting into online investing platforms like wealthsimple. Every platform says they have low fees, so 3 questions... 1) Why would anyone ever choose a high fee fund? Is there any advantage? (Not that I'm considering one, but it seems to be a common selling feature for obvious reasons so just wondering). 2) What actually is a low fee? Is there a threshold were people no longer consider it to be low or is it more relative to the amount being invested/traded? 3) What platforms do people recommend and why? [link] [comments]  |
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