Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 23, 2018 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 23, 2018
- When heading into Black Friday sales, it's not a sale if you didn't plan to buy the item in the first place.
- It's a myth that a raise can cost you money in US Federal Income Taxes
- Start saving for next Christmas today
- Company plan puts a lump sum in 401k once year based on company performance instead of contribution matching. Is it worth contributing?
- 6 month emergency/savings, Roth IRA maxed, 10% in company 401K (with 5% matched), what to do with the rest?!!
- Pressure to get a nice car, why can’t I just drive my old shitbox like Jeff Bezos??
- Roommate stole bill money now they are threatening to cut our power off, any advice?
- How do I learn self control when it comes to money
- Should I hire a financial advisor for my mom?
- My mom is divorcing her cheating husband. She has no finance at all with nothing in her name. She is almost 70 and qualifies for Medicare in California. I can take care of her but worried about her insurance. She may need operation on her heat to replace a defective valve. Appreciate any advise
- Bankruptcy vs Consolidation?
- PayPal Denied Me For Credit
- Is investing and/or maxing out your 401k contribution a ‘good’ idea to do while you’re still in debt?
- Received Notice of Intention I
- Anything I should know before getting mortgage quotes?
- Always read the fine print. Storytime!
- I’m about to turn 18 and would like some advice regarding money.
- For those who love to check budgets
- What is the best way to handle low credit usage
- Father received 2 random phones in the mail
- I have been buying my sons stocks using a stockpile account with a child/custodian setup. Will that effect him when he goes to apply for financial aid for college?
- Do I need disability insurance at age 27?
- Unable to Get Loans as a 1099
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 23, 2018 Posted: 23 Nov 2018 01:05 PM PST If you need help, please check the PF Wiki to see if your question might be answered there.This thread is for personal finance discussions, questions, and sharing your success stories:
A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! For past threads, please search the Weekly Archive. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 09:42 AM PST Many people I see go into a store to buy one or two things, and come out with way more than they anticipated, with the excuse "oh I saved money! It was all on sale!". If you we're going to get the item anyway, yes you saved money, but if you didn't plan on it, you still spent money you didn't have to. EDIT: You could also set a budget, $150 for example. If you're going into a store, don't bring your card, only bring cash so you're not tempted to go over your limit. (Edit of an edit: Someone mentioned you could miss out on some rewards or promotions if you don't have your card, so I wonder what another way to limit yourself other than willpower would be?) EDIT 2: Thank you all so much for the support on this post, I tried replying to the comments at the start but it became overwhelming with the amount of comments coming in, thank you all for your input and advice to others! ANOTHER EDIT: Thank you kind one for the gold! My first ever <3 [link] [comments]  |
| It's a myth that a raise can cost you money in US Federal Income Taxes Posted: 23 Nov 2018 02:25 PM PST I've heard stories about people who got a raise only to find out that they were bringing home less money because of "taxes" on the additional income, and I've always been suspicious. It just didn't sound right. So I've done calculations to satisfy myself that, in fact, it can't happen as regards US federal income tax. My calculations and conclusions do not take any of the following into account:
I suppose one could lose income on a raise if some tax took a single percentage of all income, with the percentage set in income brackets; then if the raise put one over a threshold to a higher rate, the tax could increase such that the new total tax would be higher than the difference between the old salary and the new one. It would likely involve a small raise, the crossing of a threshold, and a big percentage increase due to crossing the threshold. But US Federal Taxes don't work like that. Marginal tax rate system The US Federal Income tax is a marginal one; I will explain that in a short way here, There are other explanations that are more extensive and possibly better elsewhere. The government sets 'tax brackets', the ones I have for the last tax year (2017) are: The "marginal" part means we pay 10% of our income up to $9500; for income between 9500 and 38750 we pay 12%, and so forth. So for an (adjusted) income of $50k, raw tax liability would be So this is an effective tax rate of 7160/50000 = 14%. So if someone gets a raise to, say, $55,000, they will get $5,000 per year additional income and pay 22% ($1100) on that additional $5,000. Since the tax burden on the existing income does not change, and one always pays (far) less than 100% of the additional money, it is not possible to lose overall income due to Federal Income Tax on the raise. I'm also not talking about withholding amounts, which are only vaguely related to the amount of tax that you will pay. I don't know what calculations are made to determine withholding, it might be interesting to see the effect a raise could have on those. I read a post fairly recently that said a person's employer stated that giving them a raise would cost them money. I would be interested in the details of any cases where this is true, but I'm convinced it cannot be from Federal Taxes. Do people know of other kinds of deductions or payments that can cause one to lose income because of a raise? [link] [comments]  |
| Start saving for next Christmas today Posted: 23 Nov 2018 11:44 AM PST I've seen a handful of posts about not spending outside of your means for the holidays and I want to share an easy tip to ensure you have a good chunk if not all of your holiday money saved. Every year I have open a 12month savings certificate. I set up a auto transfer of $30 twice a month and have the certificate come to maturity on Nov 1st. It doesn't earn a ton of interest, usually around .7-.9% but every year I have more than $720 deposited into my account. I transfer that money to a special checking account that I use only for holiday shopping. It takes a huge amount of stress off my shoulders and I would highly recommend it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 05:49 PM PST If they aren't matching a contribution, is it even worth me contributing? I'd like to always invest 10% of my wage towards my retirement, but maybe I should just be putting it in a personal retirement account instead. The company also offers a roth 401k which I think they never contribute to, would it be worth it to put it in that? This is my first 401k account, I don't have any other personal accounts. Edit: typo in title --> *once a year Edit: In addition, there's a vesting period so my percent vested will take a few years to grow to 100%. This is an hourly wage job that I'm not entirely sure if I'll be working here for just this holiday season or years into the future. In that case I'm getting even less from the company, so is it still worth contributing to the company's plan? Or just get my own personal account? Edit: okay, I think I just understood a concept that I was unclear on: an IRA is a personal investing account and a 401k is an employers investing account, correct? From what I'm gathering, based on my situation that doesn't include contribution matching, I should contribute solely to my IRA unless I'd be hitting my contribution limit, at which point I'd then max out my company 401k. Does that sound correct? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 12:14 PM PST I have an excess of $78K in savings (on top of my 6 months of emergency funds) and I am not exactly sure what to do with it or where to place it. I would like to capitalize on growth because I don't just want it sitting in my savings. I am a 28 year old (F) and I purchased my first home last year. I'm looking for advice on what to do with that excess savings. Edit 1: I should of included this at first, but I'm making 75K after taxes. [link] [comments]  |
| Pressure to get a nice car, why can’t I just drive my old shitbox like Jeff Bezos?? Posted: 23 Nov 2018 03:28 PM PST https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/why-amazons-jeff-bezos-drove-a-honda-after-he-was-a-billionaire.html I have a high income for my area, but I still can't justify driving a nice car. It's such a terrible expense. But I feel like people judge me and don't take me as seriously because of it. Dating is more difficult too. I'd rather wait to meet a girl who was also successful and smart with money. Then I have friends who lease luxury vehicles and everyone thinks they've "made it" even though they tell me that they're living paycheck to paycheck and aren't saving anything. I average $4,000/saving every month, and I want to maintain that or grow it. I could buy a G Wagon, but that would be insane! My goal is to become an angel investor after next year, and I'll need a good chunk of savings if I want to YOLO on startup companies. A friend of mine drives a Porsche despite making half of what I make. It's financial craziness!! Maybe a bumper sticker that says "Angel Investor" will do the trick? Or "/r/PersonalFinance"? A vanity plate for my shitbox that says "Rule501"? Or should I bite the bullet and at least get a newer (used) Accord or Camry? [link] [comments]  |
| Roommate stole bill money now they are threatening to cut our power off, any advice? Posted: 23 Nov 2018 01:33 PM PST Our Thanksgiving turned into a shit show when my wife and I discovered that our roommate, a former friend, had been keeping the money instead of paying the bill. He had left town and we discovered the notices yesterday. My wife works full time and is in nursing school fulltime. I work full time an hour away. Money is tight as hell so we took on a roommate in our extra bedroom, a friend of ours trying to get back on his feet. He was supposed to be helping us out but he has been taking the bill money and now were broke. We got a notice that says we have to pay $533 by the 30th or itll be cut off. We had a payment plan with them already that he apparently let lapse. We have no way to pay that and rent. Were in upstate NY and it's cold as hell. The bill is in my name and it's both gas and electric (yes, I know I'm a moron letting that happen). I tried calling them today but they're closed for the holiday. I get paid on the 1st but we have to pay rent as well the notice said itll get shut off on the 30th. We have $60 in our account. Never been in this situation before. Is there anything I can do? Can they shut our power off in the winter? Thank you Edit: yes, I am an idiot. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I learn self control when it comes to money Posted: 23 Nov 2018 12:35 PM PST I'm sort of young(16) and I usually have this impulse to just spend money when I comes my way and end up regretting purchases afterwards, I feel like I should try to stop this before I get my first job as I'm thinking of getting a part time one soon And tips or strategies would be awesome (Sorry if Flaired incorrectly or if this is the wrong sub) [link] [comments]  |
| Should I hire a financial advisor for my mom? Posted: 23 Nov 2018 06:57 PM PST I worry about my mom's finances. I'm pretty sure she has nothing saved for retirement. She tells me to not worry, but being financially saavy myself, I do. Should I hire her a financial advisor for a few education sessions? I don't know if she would take it seriously or not. I just know that she has absolutely no idea about how to handle money efficiently. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 01:37 PM PST Thank you. I appreciate any advise or resource that you think may help my mom with insurance and financial assistance. My mom is divorcing her cheating husband. She has no finance at all with nothing in her name. She is almost 70 and qualifies for Medicare in California. I can take care of her but worried about her insurance. She may need operation on her heat to replace a defective valve. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 06:20 PM PST Husband and I are trying to regain control of our finances and are still only able to pay minimums towards credit card debt. We owe close to $40,000 in credit card debt. We are in this position because there was a time we had to rely on them to put food on the table along with the bills. We both have better jobs now but we still live paycheck to paycheck. We are considering our options and have talked with a finance coach with the hope that we could regain our footing, and were trying to focus on smaller balances first for the trickle effect, but we aren't seeing any progress as we can barely pay the minimums let alone pay anything extra. We are in too deep. The $100+ minimums on a few of the cards are killing us. What are the benefits of consolidation vs bankruptcy? What kinds of effects do they have on credit scores? How will loan officers look at each down the road when we are stable and ready to buy our first home? We have tried to get a personal loan through the bank because one lump sum each month to the bank is cheaper than what we make in minimums each month however the bank we chose wouldn't even offer a counter. We are at a loss and are tired of being broke constantly. Are there any other options we aren't thinking of that could possible help us get out from under all this debt? Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 04:55 PM PST Hello all, first time poster here. I turned 18 this year and was denied from PayPal credit because;
What does this mean and how do I fix this? Do I not have a report because I just turned 18 this year and I don't have anything to show? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 07:56 AM PST I hear mixed opinions on this and I'm not sure how to proceed with my current financial standing... I'm 29(F) and have ~$25k in debt.... $8,200 on my car loan ($228/month @ 4%) And ~$17k in student loans (~3%, no payments due at this time as I'm still a student) $0 CC debt (other than small expenses, <$100 that I pay off monthly). My recurring expenses (bills) account for ~45% of ONE paycheck (I get paid biweekly). I match my company's 401k, which is 2% I'm currently still in school and will be able to complete my bachelors degree self-funded (tuition = ~$7k a year).... and the goal is to self fund my masters as well (~$10k per year) Currently, I am not investing, and have my money sitting in a savings account.... I have been told before that I shouldn't begin investing until I am completely out of debt (i.e. student loan and car loan paid off), but I have also heard that it's better TO invest so that your money can earn money.... I'm afraid that, since I will be self funding my own education (my goal is NO more student loans) and investing is long term, I wouldn't be able to use my money if some sort of major expense occurs... More info available upon request if needed! [link] [comments]  |
| Received Notice of Intention I Posted: 23 Nov 2018 06:49 PM PST Hello, Would appreciate some tips. Short story - my wife and I have debt we aren't immediately able to pay. Once I'm back to full time work we will be able to start paying it. (I'll be full time by next month) Most of our debt is assigned to CA's. I've read through the collection agency info on the sidebar and followed the steps. One of our CA's has verified our credit card debt and just sent a letter of intent to file litigation and incur court costs and legal fees. Just want to know the best steps from here. I don't want to write the wrong the thing back to them and end up screwing ourselves. Any help would be appreciated! And if I need to post this question somewhere else, please let me know! Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Anything I should know before getting mortgage quotes? Posted: 23 Nov 2018 02:57 PM PST I'm about to start shopping for mortgage quotes and wasn't sure if there were any tips/tricks I should be aware of? I've also heard that your credit gets hit each time they check your credit, but how hard does it get hit? I don't want to ruin my credit just by getting different quotes. [link] [comments]  |
| Always read the fine print. Storytime! Posted: 23 Nov 2018 02:54 PM PST Background: Anyways, I managed to get a terrible loan with an abysmal interest rate. Fast forward 1/2 a year, my credit score went from terrible to 'good' and was managing to put ~$50-100 aside every month (which was good, because I ended up needing new tires for my car). lo and behold I get an Email from the company I have the loan from "You qualify for a bigger loan!" (a fair bit bigger too) so I replied saying "instead of increasing my loan size, can I get a better interest rate?" and they said yes, %10 less interest, my monthly payments would go down from ~330 to ~300, but with the caveat that I did have to get a loan increase. nice thing is, they allow lump sum payments without any penalty. so, I said sure, after some double checking, they called me in to do some final signing. they had a list something like this: -You get 1500 to your account. -80 for security fee. that's all fine, next page: basically described the monthly payment: 220(payment) + 80(security) = 300 per month. now, please note, last time doe to me just starting my job + bad credit, the security fee was mandatory, but I saw a key word this time "optional" I pointed this out to the person helping me, and asked to remove it, They didn't even have a proper form for me to sign to remove it (they had a little picture of how terrible life would be if I lost my job) that they asked me to sign under. so, now I: save almost a 3rd off my monthly payment. and with the lower interest I owe them less overall after all my payments are done. so yeah, I'm happy =D p.s: loan default insurance is not necessarily a bad thing, but when the insurance payments are 1/3 of your regular payments, the negatives outweigh the benefits) p.p.s the numbers are not exact & I simplified a lot of things to make it easier to read (I hope) [link] [comments]  |
| I’m about to turn 18 and would like some advice regarding money. Posted: 23 Nov 2018 04:16 PM PST I'm 17 and my birthday is in January. My parents aren't necessarily impoverished, but I think that their spending habits aren't very healthy and I don't want to end up like them (not being able to pay bills because I lost a few hundred dollars on this check). Any advice that could help me? [link] [comments]  |
| For those who love to check budgets Posted: 23 Nov 2018 06:14 PM PST I'm helping a friend of mine who's unexpectedly about to be a single mom, getting away from an abusive husband. He controlled all of their finances, and badly, for their entire adult lives, so she's taking the right steps and admitting she's lost. I'm decent at this stuff, but I want to make sure my advice to her is objectively good, so any input is appreciated. The main question that I'll have is about the wisdom of suspending 401K or HSA contributions to pay off the credit card and/or create a cushion so that she's not constantly scrambling to time her bills to her paychecks, but first, the budget: Rent: $773 Liabilities: $2646 Her income is: Income: $2682 total So she has a surplus, right now of $36 per month. I consider that a good amount for accounting mistakes, etc. These are my thoughts about her budget: I'm considering advising her to suspend retirement contributions for three months to drum up $402 to get ahead of the credit card debt. I know she'll be walking away from free money, but I figure in the big picture of her life, getting this high-interest debt sorted is more important than a missing $804. On the other hand, there is a definite light in the tunnel with her oldest quitting daycare in the fall—maybe it makes more sense for her to just hold on, paying the minimum until the fall, and keep adding to retirement. Thoughts? I am also tempted to tell her to suspend one chunk of the HSA payments (the second chunk that isn't matched), but she has a genetic disorder and definitely will use that entire $3K deductible. Then again, she has all year to make the contribution. She could hypothetically suspend three months of $83 contributions to drum up $249, and this would help her not be at rock-bottom every time the bills came through. In the fall, when her daycare bills are halved, she can make up for lost time. Thoughts on that? Thanks so much. [link] [comments]  |
| What is the best way to handle low credit usage Posted: 23 Nov 2018 05:58 PM PST Hello! So I recently got on top of my credit usage, going from a stupid like 90%+ utilization to almost nothing. And that's where the problem is. I use Mint for budgeting and keeping track of my score. Recently I paid a monthly statement for one card, and as a result it reported that my utilization dropped from 1% to 0%, and my score dropped over 60 points as a result of paying this card off. Right now I started using a pretty decent card as my sole means of paying for things, and am planning on paying off the statement balance each statement. I started doing that in like late september or early october. But it looks like I'm supposed to have some credit utilization floating to not lose a bunch of points? I'm confused what the best solution is. I tried looking in the wiki, but everything said to do what I'm doing basically, but that lost me 60 points. TL;DR What should I be doing to maximize my score, at least when it comes to credit utilization. Do I just let some sit, and pay interest on that small amount? That looks like what the answer is, but I see answers on here saying that's crazy, and not to do that. [link] [comments]  |
| Father received 2 random phones in the mail Posted: 23 Nov 2018 05:23 PM PST I'm not exactly sure if this is the right place for this, but today my father received 2 T-Mobile iPhones in the mail addressed to him (even addressed to his name). Nobody in our family ordered the phones. We are not even customers of T-Mobile. My fear is that his credit has been compromised or his identity has been stolen. What measures should my father take? Also, why in the world would somebody stealing his identity send HIM phones? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 02:44 PM PST When I was younger, a coworker told me that she had been putting money in savings for her son since he was born. And when he went to apply for college, they said he had too much money. So they had to spend a bunch of it (on things for him for college) and then reapply. Can someone explain how this works or what's the best way to help my son get every opportunity he can for college? Is trying to prepare by savings a bad idea? [link] [comments]  |
| Do I need disability insurance at age 27? Posted: 23 Nov 2018 02:23 PM PST i have a white collar office job that occasionally has me lifting 20 pounds are so. I'm a healthy, white woman. The only health issues I really have are allergies and allergy-indused asthma. I exercise 2x to 3x a week usually 30 or 40 mins of cardio and 10 mins of weights. I also try to not to eat a lot of sugar and eat healthy. If it a good financial choice to get disability insurance and if so what kind? I'm single and have no dependents and I support myself and my sole source of income is my w-2 job. I make 45k a year at a local government job. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Nov 2018 12:21 PM PST I've been having a bizarre issue. I finished fellowship and have been working as a locums/part time physician making my income on a 1099, making about 240k(increased from 50k last year). My credit score is about 800. I am constantly getting denied for loans and I'm not sure how to go about this. I applied for a student loan refi from LendKey, was preapproved and now they're saying it looks like I've made 0$ this year despite sending in my payment invoices showing earnings > 20k. I showed my last 1040s on their request and was again denied since I haven't had my "business" for more than 2 years. Similar issues when trying to get a car loan. I'm not sure how to approach these problems. [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