Personal Finance Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2018 Nominations |
- Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2018 Nominations
- A social engineer emptied my bank account today
- I inherited money, am I stuck with the broker who handles it now?
- I am a 30-year old who has 25k in credit card debt
- Salary negotiation when the offer is higher than expected?
- Personal Financial Spreadsheet
- Should I dispute a small transaction?
- Mid 30's, thinking about a career reboot. Is going back to school at my age financial suicide?
- Is there anything else I can do after $850 was stolen from my account?
- Feel like I'm caught in a loop
- How much is too much to have sitting in a savings account?
- Anxiety after buying something for yourself?
- what to do with life insurance?
- Getting my own HSA
- CC bills... help.
- My credit was pulled for a service they couldn't provide
- Investing for nephews.
- 17 year old trying to get a jump and needs some answers
- Considering switching financial advisor. Seeking advice on how to find a good advisor
- ATM Deposit issue?
- Maryland - Parent life insurance vs elder care costs and vehicle issues
- 35F, no emergency fund, no savings, no job, single no kids, no degree, $2K debt, how to get financially secure?
- Advice going from a W2 job to 1099 job
- Got in a car crash (not at fault), what do I do?
| Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2018 Nominations Posted: 23 Dec 2018 01:08 PM PST Welcome to /r/PersonalFinance!Reddit has begun its annual Best Of Awards campaign for 2018 and we here at /r/personalfinance are participating! Our moderation staff will have Reddit Coins to give away to the winners of the categories. We encourage everyone to participate in the nominations. Categories with number of top posts awarded:
Ground rules:
How will winners be announced?Winners will be announced in a follow-up post after all the votes are tallied. There will be five winners and two honorable mentions for each category; the winners will each receive Reddit Platinum, and the honorable mentions will each receive Reddit Gold. What if I have questions?Message the moderators with any questions. Thank you for helping make /r/personalfinance such a great subreddit in 2018! Good luck to all the nominees and we look forward to what's in store for us in 2019! [link] [comments]  |
| A social engineer emptied my bank account today Posted: 23 Dec 2018 05:42 PM PST Today someone was able use my wife's debit card number to spend almost all of the money in our checking account. This person called my wife spoofing NFCU's customer service line and got enough information to reset her account password and raise her debit card daily limit. I'm aware of what could have been done to prevent this. I've already handled all of the fallout from what happened. I'm making this post to remind everyone to never give information over the phone to someone that calls you. Even if you recognize the phone number. Edit: several people don't know what social engineering is. "Social engineering is an attack vector that relies heavily on human interaction and often involves manipulating people into breaking normal security procedures and best practices in order to gain access to systems, networks or physical locations, or for financial gain." [link] [comments]  |
| I inherited money, am I stuck with the broker who handles it now? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 02:49 AM PST My grandfather passed away recently and I am inheriting about 1 million dollars. I have reason to believe some of the money was mismanaged by a family member but I have no idea to what extent. The person who managed the account also passed away recently and the account was taken over by another broker in the same very large firm. They are willing to go over the account to check for discrepancies, however they are neither a fiduciary or fee-only, which I have read from this subreddit are important to have in a financial advisor. Should I transfer the money to my own account and look for a different financial planner? Should I stick with the person who can look into possible mishandling of the money now even though they aren't ideal? Would a different financial advisor at a different firm still be able to investigate? Can I hire them only for the amount of time it takes for them to look into the issue? They seem to be keen on being my financial advisor and help me come up with a plan to invest the money, but would this be akin to hiring them and owing them commission? [link] [comments]  |
| I am a 30-year old who has 25k in credit card debt Posted: 23 Dec 2018 01:42 PM PST I graduated with a master's in computer science in December of 2015 and never pursued a job in the career. I've been severely depressed and have accumulated the credit card debt ever since. I started ride sharing recently and it has helped me with rent, utilities, and groceries. I also started Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and have been making some progress. I want to start studying for interviews but I am riddled with anxiety and uncertainty. I feel like I am stuck and am desperate for any guidance I can get right now. Thanks. Edit: Unsure why I got downvoted. I could really use some help. I apologize if such posts are made dime a dozen. [link] [comments]  |
| Salary negotiation when the offer is higher than expected? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 12:17 PM PST I've been offered a position that would pay about double what I'm making now and is about 10k higher than I expected. That being said and based on everything I've read, I feel like I should still try for more. Any tips for a situation like this? I'll be speaking with the HR rep, rather than the hiring manager, and I suspect the institution will not be able to be flexible on things like time off. I'd like to ask if they are able to provide any support for relocation, as the new job is about 9 hours away from where I am now. ETA: Thank you everyone for your input! This is really my only second real job and I regret not negotiating for my current position. I did feel kind of uncomfortable with the idea of asking more for of what I do think is a generous offer. [link] [comments]  |
| Personal Financial Spreadsheet Posted: 23 Dec 2018 05:31 AM PST Hello r/personalfinance ! Around this time last year, a user posted a link here to a spreadsheet that they used for keeping track of their finances, so that other people could use it too. I downloaded it, and since then have made many, many changes. I'd like to share my updated version that I've been working on for the last year, and hopefully some of you can take benefit of all the improvements I've made. There's three main sheets; Main, Overview and Regular Expenses
Let me know if I need to explain anything else about it. Hopefully my example sheet should make things obvious on how to use it. And let me know what you think overall, or if you have any suggestions/code for it. LinksClean https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K2Goo3hibQdt_bbhN5KSzWGhjlZQDHs9mgW5IIjRMjM Example https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nuu6B5PfaPqYvkjuGuAdw2HbIKF2ZxNJ-PUjSycI4cI/ Additional Instructions:These sheets are not set up for leap years.
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| Should I dispute a small transaction? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 10:50 AM PST After reviewing my credit card purchases from December, I noticed a small $2.55 transaction from a yoga studio in my town. The transaction allegedly happened on the 10th of December and went through the credit card on the 12th. I do not remember making this transaction at all. This is the first time something like this has happened. I have researched them before, as I was interested in adding yoga to my workout routine, but that's as far as it goes. I've never stepped foot inside their establishment and I've never given them my credit card information for any reason. What should I do? Should I dispute this transaction with my credit card, or just let it go because it's such a small amount? Should I request a new credit card? EDIT: I forgot to add that my credit card is saying this transaction did NOT happen online, as it happened at a physical terminal. EDIT2: Thank you for all the replies and information. I called my credit card's number for fraud and.. they're closed on the weekend. No way for me to freeze/deactivate/stop my card until tomorrow when I give them a call when they are open. [link] [comments]  |
| Mid 30's, thinking about a career reboot. Is going back to school at my age financial suicide? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:13 AM PST Hello, r/personalfinance! This is my first post here, although I'm familiar with the sub. I'll include a summary of my personal info at the bottom along with a TLDR. I'm 36, Male, single, no dependents. I hold a BS in Biology along with an MBA (from small, public schools you've never heard of.) Currently, I'm strongly considering re-enrolling to get a BS/MS in computer science -- something that I've wanted to do for the past six years or so, but haven't had the time and means to do it. I know that the debt will bury me, completely. I have ~40K outstanding and the new degree will add another 25K. I know that the repercussions of taking on more debt will likely kill my retirement. However, I just want to work in a field that I enjoy. Today, I consider the MBA a mistake, I've held management positions in the past and found that I hate managing people. I'd much rather work with "things". As far as my work performance goes, I've had no problems earning good reviews and promotions. I've strongly considered going through a boot camp; however, I worry whether or not I could get a job at graduation since I don't come from a formal technical background (e.g., engineering, accounting, etc.) Also, the market seems to be flooded with boot camp grads these days. So, after looking through a lot of programs, most of what I see teaches web programming with scripting languages teaching students how to glue together various services/APIs. Personally, I'm interested in how services like databases, web servers and networks (e.g., IPFS) are designed and built. I want to understand how everything works "under the hood." The theory behind it all is exciting to me. So, should I just shelve this stuff and stick to a job I may not care for and learn software on the side? Or, just say "screw it" and see where grad school leads me? I've read that there is a severe undersupply of computer science grads compared to open positions. TLDR; A 36-year-old single guy with no dependents has a BS in Bio and an MBA (both from crap schools) is thinking of heading back to college (a good university this time) to study computer science on the BS and MS levels. Current debt is ~46K. Worried that a boot camp won't lead to a stable job under the current market. Is going back this late in life financial suicide? Will the MS help me land a job at my age? Estimated cost of BSCS: ~25K Estimated cost of MSCS: ~20-40K Thank you all for your time! [link] [comments]  |
| Is there anything else I can do after $850 was stolen from my account? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 12:13 PM PST Last Thursday (the 20th) I got a text from Chase saying my accounts were under .65 cents. This definitely wasn't right, so I logged into my account and saw that someone had gotten in and transferred all the money out of both my savings accounts, into my checking, and then used Zelle to transfer the money to themselves. They used my dad's name (I use Zelle to transfer phone bill money to him, so that's how they got the name—maybe to not seem suspicious?) but the email was definitely not his. I called Chase immediately and reported the fraud. They suspended my account and said they'd send a letter for me to sign and confirm the fraud. I then went to a Chase bank, closed my account, and opened a new one. Now I'm just waiting for the thing in the mail, but I really jittery. Because of my nerves, I forgot to ask when I'd get my money back. And I feel like I should do more than just sitting here waiting. Is there anything else I should do? Any idea when I'd get my money back? Anything I'm forgetting? [link] [comments]  |
| Feel like I'm caught in a loop Posted: 23 Dec 2018 11:08 AM PST It feels like my credit has been stuck at 635-641 for a couple of years at this point. When I review Credit Karma or Credit Wise, it says that my history is good (I had some late student loan payments a few years ago, but they've since dropped off), I have no items in collections, I have 13+ years of credit history, but because my credit was bad previously, I've only got a single Capital One card with a limit of $450 which hasn't increased at all. My score seems to fluctuate the <10 points based on when it captured my utilization vs when I pay down my card. I have 0 trouble paying it. What the heck do I do to get my credit score into anything reasonable? Do I need another card? A loan? Sacrifice a chicken? [link] [comments]  |
| How much is too much to have sitting in a savings account? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:11 AM PST I am 21 years old and have about $15,000 sitting in a savings account. Is this too much? What would be a better place to store this so it generates more of a profit for me from a better return? [link] [comments]  |
| Anxiety after buying something for yourself? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 06:08 PM PST For the last few years I've been laser focused on hitting personal finance independence. Learned tons of mistakes from my teens and lower 20s. I'm now literally an FI poster boy and have all the boxes checked in terms of reaching my goals. Over the past few years in addition to normal bills my only real extra spends were a few meals out, a wedding I attended and gifts for others for special occasions. Long story short I bought an iPad for sale for $229 (the lowest price since release for 2018 model) and impulsively the same week (last week) I bought an Xbox One S w/ Forza for $199 (a $100 less than normal). I've told myself for years I didn't need either of these products, but I saw the deals and figured why not. Now both products are here in their boxes and I haven't opened them yet. Thinking of returning (1) and or both. Does this happen to any of you guys? It's almost PTSD of when I was younger and would buy things for no reason over and over again and not use them. My friends say I'll love both and get a ton of use of them. Then the other part of me just thinks I was fine before, why not just save the ~$400 since material items do not increase happiness? I also sometimes get this same feeling of anxiety even buying a small item (overpriced lunch) or expensive parking etc. For the last few years I've prided myself on being frugal, simple, and not wasting and feel like I've had a mini relapse. Thanks for listening to my first world problem rant, not looking for sympathy (as I'm fortunate to be able to buy things that I need + the extras that I want), just curious if anyone else has similar feelings. [link] [comments]  |
| what to do with life insurance? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 11:25 AM PST My 30 year old daughter lost her husband last month in a car accident, leaving their 3 kids (11, 10 and 5) and she's 5 months pregnant. Needless to say it's been horrible. She indicated he has about half a mill in life insurance. Assuming this is true, advice on what to do with it? To clarify, this is my former foster child, but I consider and refer to her as my daughter. Unfortunately she has other relatives who don't have her financial best interests (her brother stole her identity a few year ago) so I'm worried about someone sucking her dry. I also worry about her blowing it. When I lost my boyfriend 15 years ago I spent some money on stupid things because I wasn't in my right mind, so I get the impulse. She's also waiting on the death certificate and that could take several more weeks, but until then she's living off her meager paycheck and the 5k I gave her. I'm guessing she'll also get SS for the kids? Her husband made around, I would guess, 30-35k/year and her job probably brings in another 18-20k. Her job doesn't have health insurance but I'm thinking she and the kids will qualify for Medicare, at least while she's pregnant. She lives in a low COL area (Wichita) so her bills are pretty low. The kids are in private school but I've been paying for that. She indicated her husband's car insurance will pay 17k for his totaled vehicle and plans to pay off her car with that, but again, she has to wait for the death certificate. Another issue is she's been reluctant to talk about all this and I don't want to push her, but I also don't want her to do something she'll regret later, financially speaking. She's never liked to discuss financial issues with me because she's lousy with money and I've lectured her about her extravagant ways, but it would be another tragedy if she loses a nest egg. Any advice would be appreciated. I have no idea how to invest money other than maxing out my 401k and IRA and letting it sit there. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 05:49 PM PST Before getting married I had an HDHP insurance plan and employer sponsored HSA. My contribution was deducted before tax per paycheck and deposited in my employer sponsored HSA account. I'm married now and joined a different company. I have got HDHP insurance through my wife's employer (Employee + Spouse Medical Insurance). I'm trying to get HSA on my own and wanted to double check if I'm doing anything wrong.
Step 1: Find an HSA provider for eg: fidelity Step 2: Contribute after tax salary every month in 2019 (for 2018 make a giant deposit from my saving account up to the HSA limit) Step 3: During tax filing get credit for HSA and receive a tax refund(I think this is the key difference compared to when I had the employer sponsored HSA. My contributions were made before tax) Step 4: Close old HSA. (Balance is already zero). [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 07:10 PM PST We have a substantial amount of cc debt. My wife is fully employed and I own a small business, it's doing ok. We have 2 leases, a house and a ton of cc bills we are paying. I'd like to get a home equity loan on my house, currently over $100k available. However, we went to the bank and were not approved because I am a small business owner. Is there a way to get a loan to pay off the cc's at a lower interest? There has to be a way to tap into my equity?? Will I be doomed forever as a small business owner? Please help. [link] [comments]  |
| My credit was pulled for a service they couldn't provide Posted: 23 Dec 2018 09:49 AM PST I have been living in a rural area for a few years, with no access to reliable internet. I try to check availability every day so I can get internet service. Finally, the internet providers website said internet was availble and I signed up. My credit was ran, no deposit needed, received a work order and all. Awesome I'm finally going to have internet! Nope. The next day I get a call from the company saying they cannot provide service because there is not enough bandwidth. That's usually the message I see whenever I check availability, but the website finally let me sign up for service. Let it be known this is the 2nd time said company has pulled my credit, and told me there is no way they can provide service. This is not related to my credit whatsoever, this is the company incorrectly saying internet is available when it is not. Do I have any type of action I can take? This company has now damaged my credit on 2 separate occasions. I don't want to reapply for services since they will pull AGAIN. Does anyone have any ideas or info? Thank you so much! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 06:32 PM PST Long time reader, first time poster - I'd like to start investing some money for my nephews. Preferably I'd like to do so in a way that wouldn't effect financial aid for them in the future. I'll likely only be investing $40-50 a year for each nephew so we're not talking about a ton of money here. Ideally I'd just like to buy fractional shares of something like VTI until they're 18+.
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| 17 year old trying to get a jump and needs some answers Posted: 23 Dec 2018 06:14 PM PST I'm currently a 17 year old working part time in a minimum wage job. Although I am planning on going to a university next year, I just want to get started and start putting in some money into retirement funds and investing into (from what I heard a lot of) growth mutual funds, Roth IRA, 401k. I know that I'm only 17 and not considered an adult yet but I want to get started once i turn 18 which is in a couple months. So can someone tell me how I can do this? Is it just as simple as going into a bank and requesting it? [link] [comments]  |
| Considering switching financial advisor. Seeking advice on how to find a good advisor Posted: 23 Dec 2018 04:07 PM PST I am currently being advised by Merril Lynch with goals of helping me partially finance medical school and for retirement. I am currently 33. Is merril lynch a good company to stay with or should I move my assets elsewhere? If so, what should I be looking for in a good advisor? I'm very new to this [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 07:42 PM PST I usually deposit my cash in the PNC ATM every Sunday night after I get paid and my money is always instantly in my account. Tonight I deposited cash and checks and I have the deposit receipts in my email but my account is still the same before the deposit and I have no pending deposit. I'm not sure what happened [link] [comments]  |
| Maryland - Parent life insurance vs elder care costs and vehicle issues Posted: 23 Dec 2018 03:06 PM PST A friend came to me for advice, but I have no idea what to do. Her mother is waiting to be placed in an adult foster care situation in Maryland. Mom is elderly and suffering from dementia. Unfortunately, mom is far enough along that daughter can't get power over her affairs because mom isn't of sound mind to sign, but daughter is doing the best she can. Mom has social security income but that is it. Once placed in care, mom's social security payment will be taken by the state to pay for everything, and is given about $100/month for spending.
To me, this not only seems shady as shit, but it is literally only a win for the funeral director. Everyone is happy with the pre-paid arrangements and they don't need any extras. Is there any other way to either save the policy so the daughter can inherit it (she is the sole beneficiary) when mom passes, or if they cash it out, keep the $4000 without the state taking it? Both mom and daughter are in section 8 housing and to call them poor is an understatement. They could use that money. I told her not to do anything at this point, so she hasn't.
They have tried talking to the local aging commission, but they were given no advice or help with these situations. I have almost no experience with any of this so help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2018 06:51 PM PST I'm in a difficult financial situation and am looking for advice on how to fix things. My monthly expenses are as follows:
Monthly income:
Debt:
Savings:
I have no credit cards. I would like to build a 6-month emergency fund so that I can work full-time on building a team-building/communication training practice--I am a conservatory-trained actor and would like to apply my skills in the corporate world. I have no family who can offer me lodging or financial support. What should I immediately do to take care of my most urgent financial needs (rent and DMV registration fees), and get started on a path to building my emergency fund? For anyone who might tell me to get a full-time job and save up the emergency fund that way...I'm suffering from depression and anxiety disorder that make it hard to feel confident about getting a full-time job that would offer a steady paycheck. I don't have a college degree. I have been self-employed most of my adult life, any jobs that I've had have been offered directly to me, and I'm having trouble believing that I can get a job that involves submitting a resume and going through the interview process. Also, even if I do start the job search process, I still have the immediate problem of rent and DMV fees. I can't get a physically demanding job (e.g. warehouse, retail, or UPS work) because of an autoimmune disorder that my doctor can't identify, which is causing joint inflammation that causes pain while driving or lifting things. I've been through the local unemployment office (I live in Marin County, in the SF Bay Area), and they could only find me $15/hour jobs, which I would still have to go though the applying and hiring process for, and according to my calculations I will need at least $20/hour to meet my expenses and build a 6-month emergency fund after 1 year's work. They said that as far as direct financial assistance, they could only give me $100/week, and I would only be eligible for that if I lose my sales rep job. I want to work, but my physical and mental health issues have made it difficult to stay on track with the job search process. If I had better support around this process, I would be happy to get a job that would give me financial security. I have the skills, drive, and existing client base to make money as a communications/presentation coach, but I think I need a financial cushion to make sure I can successfully launch my business. All in all, I'm in a very tough spot financially. How can I get myself out of this hole? [link] [comments]  |
| Advice going from a W2 job to 1099 job Posted: 23 Dec 2018 11:15 AM PST I am currently employed as a Systems Analyst for a rather large company, but I am considering going into consulting. What should I keep in mind if I move from a W@ job to a 1099 job and would I need a personal accountant? [link] [comments]  |
| Got in a car crash (not at fault), what do I do? Posted: 23 Dec 2018 02:52 PM PST I got in a bad car crash Saturday when someone pulled out in front of me and I slammed into them head on. Had a witness tell the cops it was the other persons fault. I'm 19 and have a credit score of 730. My car wasn't that good the insurance is going to give me like 2-3 grand for it. Will the bank let me get my own loan? My mother cannot help me cosign a loan either because she has another person on a co-sign atm. Not really sure what to do. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
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