Personal Finance My wife works for a startup that went public and her stocks are worth $300,000 we aren’t sure what to do with it |
- My wife works for a startup that went public and her stocks are worth $300,000 we aren’t sure what to do with it
- Giving up lattes and transferring that money every day ($5) towards my savings account
- I'm paying $325 in rent a month for a 1500 sq ft that sits on 2.5 acres and two garages. Should i still buy a house?
- Are there any books similar to Dave Ramsey’s?
- Time to find a new job?
- Cancer, Pension, Life Insurance, 401k
- How to talk to bank /gowenmental institutions regarding reservation on my bank accouny (EU)
- Best way to shield/invest a very large bonus?
- What it costs to have a baby in the US (Massachusetts)
- I want to close my Edward Jones account. What's the best firm to join and how can I avoid closing/transfer fees?
- Umbrella Insurance vs. maxing out regular policies
- Self-Employed and an utter financial disaster... haven't paid taxes in year... no idea what to do first
- Advice on my first credit card?
- Will medical bills going to collection ruin my credit score?
- Roth IRA Question
- Trying to consolidate debt, don’t qualify for a personal loan
- Thoughts on the Fidelity Cash Management Account?
- Parent PLUS, VA disability applications & forgiveness -- How would you proceed?
- Did you discuss saving's goals / personalfinance before marriage?
- Just been offered stock options in an underpaid job. Should I stay in the job?
- What is the true benefit to having a credit card that has an annual fee? I know they still have interest rates that are similar to regular ones and the rewards I’ve seen with AmEx aren’t any more appealing than others. I personally don’t see the benefit. But maybe I’m missing something..
- Disclosures from seller when buying a house?
- To what extent should I be using my credit card if another credit card I own offers a better cashback %?
| Posted: 09 May 2018 08:56 AM PDT My idea is, leave it alone, watch it grow hopefully. Her idea is, sell it, pay off our $80k in debt and use the rest to buy a house. We are usually scraping by, paying close to $3k per month on minimum debt/loan payments, we sometimes pay more but it's usually the minimum. (It's mostly student loans and one car payment of $400 per month) She started working for a startup tech company a few years ago and wasn't even aware of her stock option, it's just after they went public she got informed her stocks are over a quarter million. We are both shocked, pleasantly surprised, by this new money but we are both pretty clueless what the smart thing would be to do with it. Our annual income before taxes is close to $120,000 and we are both in our late 20's [link] [comments]  |
| Giving up lattes and transferring that money every day ($5) towards my savings account Posted: 08 May 2018 11:25 PM PDT Hey guys, so instead of buying a latte a day ($5), I'm thinking of saving that money and transferring it to my savings account. It's only $150/month or so, but that adds up over the course of a year. I buy my lattes on my credit card so I would just transfer cash from my checking account (that I would use to pay off my CC) to my online savings account. Does anyone else do something similar? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 06:22 PM PDT As you can probably tell from the title, i do like it here. But my friend swears buying is the only way to go. He thinks renting is just "throwing your money away" and while I do see some logic in that, I feel as though the $3900 I pay in rent a year would likely be used up in upkeep, property taxes, insurance, etc. The market value for the house I'm renting is likely in the 1200/mo range. (I'm renting in a family friend's house) seems to me like I have a pretty good setup for the time being. I'd much rather take my time getting a house and instead invest my would-be mortgage payments into the stock market now. But it seems like everyone in my age group is in a mad dash to buy a house. Any thoughts on this? [link] [comments]  |
| Are there any books similar to Dave Ramsey’s? Posted: 09 May 2018 05:24 PM PDT Okay so I like Ramsey's methods... but I just can't read his books. I read a few chapters of money makeover and cringed after every sentence. His tone is SO pompous and condescending. Furthermore, he needs an editor. I know there are resources online, but I learn more easily with traditional books. Can anyone recommend a... friendlier... author? The religious aspect is a bit much too. Edit; missed the suggested books on side bar. Got it! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 04:51 PM PDT So I'm currently in an odd position. I need to be a little vague as my industry is quite small, but I will try to provide as much detail as possible. I work in a technical support role flying around the country and sometimes out of the country to fix and install certain items. These items can be manufactured by a number of companies and I can and have worked on all of them. I am extremely knowledgeable in my field, I would even go so far as saying I'm the best in my position in the country. If you knew me personally, this is not something I would ever normally say, but at some point I have to value myself correctly. I've been doing this type of work for 15 years now. These items that I work on also have consumables. So starting 4 years ago I began working for a company whose sole business was selling these consumables. I brought a lot of knowledge to the company, so we were then able to start selling the items that used these consumables. I took a bit of a salary cut from my previous job to work here, but I knew and liked the owner. I was given a base salary plus commissions on every unit of consumable that was sold, this is not common for someone in a technical role. This was done because I told them during the interview what I was making previously and that I would like to be back there. Within 2 years I was back to my previous salary with the commisions and able to make more. Last year the company I worked for was acquired by another company. The paperwork I signed when being brought on board listed my salary as the same salary and also said that my commission structure would remain the same. For the first couple months that held true. Let's fast forward to now, I haven't received my commissions since January. My commissions made up around 1/4 of my pay, so this has hurt like hell. A few weeks ago one of the higher ups emailed everyone telling us that we were to receive new paperwork for Managment By Objectives bonus structures. I take it because of this, I'm losing my commissions. A colleague of mine that came from the old company called me up asking what I made last year, because my current boss had called him to ask that. I told him and he said I probably won't be receiving my new paperwork because it's way less than what I made last year. I didn't hear anything else until last week when my boss told me he was still working with management because the numbers didn't add up. I'm still waiting on finding out what the deal is. Also, the amount of travel has increased a ton. I've already requalified for Gold status on Delta, which used to take me until the 4th quarter with other companies. So at this point I'm probably going to hit Platinum, or maybe even Diamond. Why is it taking so long for them to sort this crap out? Commissions don't look like they are a protected thing, so I can't even go after them for wage theft. Do I wait it out and see what they offer? Or do I just find a new job now? [link] [comments]  |
| Cancer, Pension, Life Insurance, 401k Posted: 09 May 2018 03:27 PM PDT My (step)dad works for a defense contractor in Arizona. He has recently been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, and could survive 6 months with no treatment, or 3-4 years with treatment. No cure. My mom is complicated. There is a lot of backstory that really doesn't matter much, but, she has not handled money in a long time. Even what my dad gives her for spending money gets wiped out quickly on stupid stuff. She is an emotional spender. She is "retired" or "disabled" (depends on the day) and receives some type of social security. I don't think it is SSDI, though. My dad has been with this defense contractor for almost 35 years. He has a pension, a 401k, and a large life insurance policy through the employer. I recently sat down with him and glossed over finances, final wishes, etc. Pension - At first, I recommended retiring as soon as possible so that he could at least try to enjoy himself and get some benefit out of working so hard over the years. Then I spent time with my mother, and I think I get why he wants to keep working. It gives him purpose and keeps him out of the house. He thinks that they cannot afford to live on his pension. They would still need to pay health insurance for both parents. Mother turns 65 next year. 401K - He has a 401k loan out now, that will be paid off in September. It isn't a very big loan. Life Insurance - He has a life insurance policy through his employer that is worth over $500k in the event of his death. He thinks he still has to be working there. He thinks that he pays some money toward it out of each check. I told him he needs to find out if he can keep the policy if he retires. I guess I am looking for some guidance on this. My mother absolutely should not be given any type of lump sum payout when he dies. I don't know how any of this works, and I would like to guide my dad without it making my mother think I am "after their money." She has already made this comment when my dad gave me something from their house recently. [link] [comments]  |
| How to talk to bank /gowenmental institutions regarding reservation on my bank accouny (EU) Posted: 09 May 2018 03:36 PM PDT Gotta make calls and figure out why on earth I got reserved huge amount by collectors on a bank account I am not using for a year. Long story short - I moved to another country so, I did not used my Lithuanian bank card and account because I have active account here where I am now. Former account had enough money to cover monthly account administration fees (it is 0,7 to 1,4€ a month). Today I connected to my e-banking system to confirm tax declaration and decided to take a look how much money I have left to cover administration fees and saw this amazing amount of 1810€ reserved by collectors. Which suppose to go to some governmental institution. That knocked me out. I am not living in Lithuania for 1.5 years and I have declared a country leave as soon as I moved oud. I payed all the taxes and tax return related fees, all phone bills and such. Also had more than enough money to maintain my bank account on these basic fees for a nex couple of years. How likely it is a mistake and that amount is pending on me by accident? I never received any letter to my registered address in LT (my parents live there and, oh boy, we talk everyday and they are always reporting me my mail ) about late payments, no emails about it (as usually Södra and VMI does)4, just withdrawal till amount got to 0 and then that reserved amount. It was done last month BTW. (since I only keep account and don't use it, I don't check it). How to ask questions and what exactly to ask to push people to explain the situation as it costs me money to call to another country, plus people are not eager to explain things, they prefer you sending to talk to someone else? On top I am too anxious and I want to keep it calm cool and straight forward. Thanks. EDIT: sorry for typos - posting from mobile while enormously anxious [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to shield/invest a very large bonus? Posted: 09 May 2018 04:14 PM PDT I work as an independent contractor for a medical devices distributor. The owner just recently acquired full control of another company in a lawsuit that cost nearly a half million in legal fees. He is shuttering the business, as it hasn't been operational in some time anyway. For my assistance during this time with the defunct company, he has promised a bonus dependant on what he manages to get for the defunct company's assets. It will be between 15k as a minimum and 50k if he gets a significant sum. Currently, given the offers for the company assets relative to the legal expenses, I'm expecting the much lower end, but he's holding out hope that the company's intellectual property might prove to be extremely valuable. He has asked me to consider how I'd like it disbursed, and intends to claim it as a business expense. What is the best way to shield this from taxes, and are there investment vehicles that would be best suited to that? Aside from some more traditional investments, I have a Roth IRA, so any contribution to that would already have been taxed anyway. As a contractor, a 401k is of course not an option. I have no debt to worry about interest for. Though he wants to claim it as a business expense, if his offer ends up being the minimum, I'm considering seeing if he'd be open to just gifting 14k (as I understand, the maximum non taxable amount) and calling it even if no other good options are available, but I find that unlikely. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| What it costs to have a baby in the US (Massachusetts) Posted: 09 May 2018 08:27 AM PDT Ltl;ftp: I read the rules, but apologies for any potential mistakes. We had a baby in March of this year. I was crunching these numbers for my personal satisfaction, but I thought this sub might appreciate the data and visual. Some context: Health insurance We have a high deductible HSA plan by Cigna through my employer. I had an individual plan until our daughter's birth, at which point it was converted into a family plan to cover her and my husband. This is why if you look at the numbers, you'll see that the individual deductible was met and then a new deductible comes into play. All of the following are annual numbers:
As a side note, we do not actually use our HSA to pay medical bills because we save enough to afford them out of pocket. We save up the tax-free HSA dollars and convert them into retirement investment. Relevant pregnancy / birth circumstances This was a pretty uneventful pregnancy and vaginal delivery. The following things happened and cost money that are either non-standard, complications, or optional services:
Also, baby ended up with a staph infection about 2 weeks after we were discharged and had to go into the Children's Hospital ER. I'm not including those costs in the chart or pregnancy totals, but they are at the bottom of the spreadsheet in case you're curious. We will actually hit our full $6,000 out-of-pocket max for 2018 because of this adventure. Thankfully, that's exactly what we budgeted for (assuming SOMETHING would hit the fan), so it's all good. And now I'm off to get every imaginable medical service I never knew I needed / wanted because everything is free after this point. Summary It cost us about $3,000 in medical bills to give birth to a healthy baby girl. We feel like we got a pretty good deal. However, the American healthcare system is a little nutty. So the amount that was initially billed to us was ~$46,000, which Cigna negotiated down to ~$24,000, of which they then paid ~21,000. The only thing I'm curious about and really have no way of finding out is how much my employer paid in premiums for all of this excitement. What's somewhat interesting is the difference between the billed amount and the amount that Cigna deemed reasonable, especially if you look at the genetic testing entry (Natera). Why do they bill $8,000??? When I researched this, I learned that if you call them and negotiate (without insurance), you will end up paying between $300 and $600. $651 is what was ultimately paid between us and Cigna. This way of doing things makes me a little batty. I will say in Cigna's defense though that everything was really smooth and we had zero problems with billing, claims, payments, or coverage. (This is not always the case, especially with Cigna, from what I hear). TL;DR Amount billed by providers: $46,000 Insurance paid: $21,000 We paid: $3,000 Happy to answer any questions. Ninja edit: formatting. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 04:15 PM PDT I have had an Edward Jones account for 13 years, and only use it to hold two stocks. I realized I have been getting fleeced because they charge a dividend reinvestment fee. I would like to move to a firm that doesn't charge that fee, but I don't know which is best. I would also like to know how to avoid any account termination fees from Edward Jones. All I'm looking to do is an in-kind transfer of two stocks. Is there a way to avoid fees? Could I avoid them if, for instance, I transferred the stocks but kept the account open? Or is there a firm that will foot the cost of these fees? Edward Jones is so secretive about what it charges I'm really worried about getting taken advantage of. [link] [comments]  |
| Umbrella Insurance vs. maxing out regular policies Posted: 09 May 2018 05:03 PM PDT Is there any difference between maxing out auto/home owners insurance and obtaining a separate umbrella insurance assuming the same limits are available? (Just as a mental exercise, as I think Umbrella policies start at 1M and auto insurance seems to cap out at around 500k). [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 01:46 PM PDT I'm an utter financial disaster and I write this with a lot of shame, guilt and anxiety, looking for suggestions on how to reform and fix my mistakes. My approach to finances can be described as reactive and avoidant, but this avoidance has reached a head and I realize that if I don't want to get arrested and F over my future self, I need to get my shit together, like NOW. I just don't know where to even begin because it's all so overwhelming. Details: I'm 29. Self employed. I haven't done my taxes since 2015 or 2016 (yep it's that bad-- I don't even know where I stand). I've previously done every schedule C myself but honestly, never fully did it ethically by the books (i.e. I flubbed a lot of numbers to make my bill payable every April, as I never did quarterlys or... planned). I used to be just a freelance musician and that was complicated enough, however as of this past year I also became an online Influencer and model and I'm currently bringing in revenue from tons of (inconsistent) streams, including: -1099 modeling gigs -1099 brand deals -Paypal payments from brands and companies for posts -w2s from companies -winnings from competitions -personal checks and cash from students -money from Patreon from patrons -money from selling stuff on Poshmark I have 30K in student loan debt (which is in default because I have avoided setting up the income driven repayment plan like a moron). I have another 5K left to pay off my car, and another oh… $11K in credit debt. Last time I checked my credit it was in the 500s, plummeting from being in the high 700s just a couple years ago. Because I'm self-employed I know I should operate with a business bank account and set aside a certain amount for quarterlys, but I never did this before simply because I was lazy, living beyond my means and treating taxes like they were optional... I was in my mid 20s, stupid, and figured "I have no assets, so who cares." My income has always been around 45-65K a year. What's changed? I'm about to turn 30. This isn't cute anymore. I'm also becoming more successful in my career with bigger financial opportunities on the horizon, and am I looking at beginning a family in 5 years. I want a savings. I want financial freedom and not anxiety that keeps me up at night. So, I know I need to budget, systematize filing, get a business bank account and use it, and hire an accountant, but I could use some advice on what steps to take first. I am currently broke, have no assets or savings, and am literally sitting on my floor in tears with a massive bin full of three years of documents to sort through first. I wish there was a CTL+ALT+DLT and a fresh start, but I know I'm going to have to pay for these choices. Thanks for any and all suggestions on what steps you'd take first and what I should look for in an accountant given my circumstances. [link] [comments]  |
| Advice on my first credit card? Posted: 09 May 2018 07:34 PM PDT I've recently graduated college and have been working full time for the past few months, making ~70k. I'd like to apply for my first real credit card but I'm not sure which one to go with. So far I'm leaning towards a starter credit card like the Discover It. But I've also been using a secured credit card for the past 8 months to help build up credit. Should I go to my bank and see if they can upgrade it to a real one? Would this have better rewards than a starter credit card like the Discover It? Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| Will medical bills going to collection ruin my credit score? Posted: 09 May 2018 07:28 PM PDT My doctor (in the northeast USA) sent a small medical bill to a collection agency because I forgot to pay it. Upon receiving the snail mail notification from the collection agency, I immediately contacted my doctor's office to pay the bill, but they said it's out of their hands now and that I should pay the collection agency directly. Assuming I do this promptly, is there any damage to my credit score, or anything else I should know about? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 07:01 PM PDT I'm in high school at the moment and just opened a custodial Roth IRA. My parents are going to pay me through their business throughout the year but haven't started yet. However I already have 5500 saved, can I dump it into the Roth IRA now if I know I'll have at least that much payed to me or do I have to contribute to the Roth IRA as the earned income comes in throughout the year? I tried to make that as clear as possible but if you have questions please ask - thank you! Edit: the money I have now wasn't taxed but my future money will be reported as earned income to clarify [link] [comments]  |
| Trying to consolidate debt, don’t qualify for a personal loan Posted: 09 May 2018 02:05 PM PDT I have about 25k in credit card debt I'm trying to knock out across various cards. I've been good about not using any of them and strictly using my debit cards for spending. I started paying on them weekly (as I'm paid weekly) and it's helped me pay off one card that had a smaller balance. It felt great to pay it off and see my new spending habits pay off. I was checking my statements and on one card with a higher balance, I'm paying about $200 a month and $120 is in interest. I applied for a personal loan through my credit union to knock out the higher balanced cards, but they said I neeed a co-signer or collateral. I completely get why they want one or the other, but I have none. All I have is no late payments and steady income. I take home about 2200 Rent: 400 Phone: 50 Car: 250 Insurance: 144 Storage: 70 Pets: 40-50 Gas: 30-60 Groceries: 100-150 This is just about $1100. I have $120-$140 a week in minimum payments between my cards. I've been paying that and some extra to the lowest balanced card to pay it off. I wanted to do this to then put that minimum payment to the higher cards. I just don't know how to bury myself out of this debt hole without consolidating my debt. [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on the Fidelity Cash Management Account? Posted: 09 May 2018 01:13 PM PDT From my brief look at it, it looks like a great account. Does any have any other thoughts? (I'm currently with Ally). [link] [comments]  |
| Parent PLUS, VA disability applications & forgiveness -- How would you proceed? Posted: 09 May 2018 02:41 PM PDT So, I just wanted to put this out there and see what ya'll think. I have 70k in student loan debt. 50k is in my dad's name as a parent PLUS loan gaining 7.9% interest. (I know, I know. I was 19, had no idea what I was doing and neither did he.) I can refinance the loans at about ~5% in my own name (I have pretty good credit). However, my dad is also a veteran and believes the VA will approve him for 100% disability. There is a program for vets with 100% disability that forgives student loan debt. The VA takes 2 years on average (based on what I've read) to process disability applications and my dad seems to be dragging his feet a bit on getting his medical paperwork together (4 months counting I want to say). It makes me anxious because he hasn't been the most reliable guy. Since he has a substantial amount of student loans himself though, I think he is pretty likely to go forward with it. Currently, he is deferring payment on all loans. I pay 700/month against the loans each month anyway while I'm figuring out what to do since rejection is certainly possible. I could afford to throw another ~300 at it each month. I don't want to end up in a situation where I refinance the loan and then in two years, it would disappear entirely had I kept it under my dad's name. I'm finding it difficult without his support to ascertain the risk involved with putting off refinancing. We are not close and he doesn't seem to want to talk to me much about it beyond telling me that he plans on applying for this program. I am guessing there's probably no super clear cut answer on this but, I've been spinning my wheels on this a bit and I think it'd help to get others' perspectives. Maybe you have an idea of how to proceed I would not have considered. Thanks in advance for taking the time! [link] [comments]  |
| Did you discuss saving's goals / personalfinance before marriage? Posted: 09 May 2018 04:06 AM PDT Hi, I am just wondering how many of you discussed with your other partner how would your financials looks like after marriage? It would be great to avoid disappointments where one person earns significantly more and is frugal, whilst the other person not only doesn't bring much to the pot, but likes luxury spendings, expensive cars holidays etc. Was it something that you've discussed before or perhaps it risen of the conflict during the marriage? EDIT: Thank you guys for your view on this. It was never a topic for us, since things worked OK out of the box. Except we never had chance to share our future financial goals. She is young, still studying and very new to the concept of FI / let's leave alone RE. I will probably introduce these topics gradually and see if we're on the similar page. I don't plan any big move yet, it's just the fact that we're going to build a house (me financing this project) that made me read a lot about finances in relationships, marriages, prenups, common goals. I am going to read your comments and learn. Much appreciated ! [link] [comments]  |
| Just been offered stock options in an underpaid job. Should I stay in the job? Posted: 09 May 2018 06:41 AM PDT A quick bit of background: I work in london. I'm a software engineer (Java back end) with 1 years proffesional experience I have a computer science degree, majoring in Artificial Inteligence. I am paid £30k. About £7.5k below standard market rate. I love my job but the money is too low for me. I have been offered £10k in stock divided over 3 years (£3333 a year). The company is valued at 3.2 million. I have been offered a job (not final) for around £37k a year. I have an interview on monday for another job at £45k. --------------------------- So I love my job, I work for a very small startup and other than a few bad days I love my work. My hours are very flexible, I like my collegues, and there is a lot of potential for proffesional development. Buuuut part of me wants a better paid job, I don't stuggle financially but I don't have enough to build savings, I'm living almost pay check to pay check with a comfortable life which I can easily stretch to save a few hundred each month (but I like the pub). I have been informally told I will be getting a pay rise in july but have not been given a number. My gut tells me, I'm under appreciated and under valued but I don't have the knowledge of experience to quantify why. I've never dealt with or learnt about the finacially implications of stock options so I don't really know how to consider this. So my question is, from a financial perspective, is the job worth it? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 12:07 PM PDT |
| Disclosures from seller when buying a house? Posted: 09 May 2018 04:21 PM PDT Hey everyone. I'm a first time home buyer and am currently in contract on a house. My inspection was yesterday. Because of how quickly the market is moving here we agreed to a contract for the home as is. After the inspection, it appears that the roof needs replaced in the next year or two. While I was reviewing some other stuff and waiting to hear back from my realtor, I looked a little more into the area. It turns out there have been a few major incidents on this street. Among other things, there have been a couple robberies and a homicide in the past several months (shame on me for not looking at this sooner). But the kicker is that the home I'm in contract on had two break ins in the past 3 months. I'm at a point where I can terminate the contract because of the roof (which was making me uneasy anyway), but this new info has helped me decide not to proceed. My question is then what all disclosures are mandated by sellers during this process? I received a residential disclosure form but didn't think until now to see about any crimes on the property. As I mentioned this is a new process for me and any advice is sincerely welcomed. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 May 2018 07:46 PM PDT I've got a DiscoverIT and Capital One QuickSilver Card. I've used Capital One's $150 cashback promotion and now I just get the 1.5% cashback on all purchases. For DiscoverIT, I get a 5% cashback on groceries(for this quarter) and 1% cashback on all other purchases, but since this is my first year, they do a cashback match, that 5% and 1% are essentially 10% and 2%. Does it even make sense for me to use my capital one card then? The only benefit I see to it, is that its credit limit is $500 more than that of my DiscoverIT's, which might enable me to commit to bigger purchases that DiscoverIT will not allow - yet. I also don't want to seem like I'm just leaving my card's use inactive, so should I just ensure a 5-10% credit utilization when the statement comes in and commit all my other purchases to using the Discover IT? I keep my credit utilization low <10% for both cards and pay off the balance in full. [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