Personal Finance 99% of medical providers I see bill me more than my insurance EOB states I owe. |
- 99% of medical providers I see bill me more than my insurance EOB states I owe.
- Received a job offer in Germany (currently Pennsylvania based). Trying to figure out net financials and if it’s an overall good idea to move.
- Work classified me as independent contractor without telling me. I'm not sure what I can do about it.
- $75K in Salt Lake City or $110-120K in Los Angeles?
- Haven't paid my taxes in 10 years. I need help.
- Thank you r/personalfinance, with your advice I just went through with my first car purchase, and I'm still not broke.
- Dental Insurance
- Should I purchase "years of service" toward retirement?
- Looking to minimize monthly payments on car and auto insurance. Living practically paycheck to paycheck with no savings.
- Whole Life vs Term Life Insurance
- How to answer salary expectation question during face to face interview with HR?
- I have $10K worth of my company's stock purchased through ESPP. Should i use that to pay towards my student loans? I have a few questions about taxes.
- I think I Screwed Up - Traditional vs Roth IRA
- 2018 Tax Plan: Eliminated itemized deductions
- School took my state tax refund
- Trying to decide if I can afford to move out of boyfriends apartment
- Moving internationally: sell my car?
- Trouble figuring out credit score
- Avoiding lifestyle creep after college - advice please?
- Loans for Graduate School
- Tax refund
- Amending previous year tax return
- Help - Suddenly successful don't know what to do with the money / how to catch up on where we "should" be for retirement
- Optum Bank closed my HSA bank account without notice or my permission
| 99% of medical providers I see bill me more than my insurance EOB states I owe. Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:15 PM PST I have a PPO plan. I have a $50 deductible and owe 10% co-insurance when I see in-network providers. It's a student health insurance plan. However, despite this contract, nearly every provider I go to bills me more than what my insurance says I owe according to the explanation of benefits I get for each claim. About 5% of the time, the provider acknowledges the mistake and sends me a new bill with the corrected balance. But for all the others, they refuse to budge and threaten collections if I don't pay the full amount. Sometimes the provider will say, "this is a [insert random name] fee/surcharge etc. that insurance doesn't cover." Other times, the person that answers the call either doesn't understand medical billing at all or is pretending to not understand it to get me off the phone. I'm on the phone with my health insurance nearly every day. They've said they've done investigations, except all but one "investigation" has dragged out for several months with nothing to show for it. And each time I call up, they act like they've never heard of any of these investigations until I start reading off codes, dates, and people. Then they magically find it and act like it's the first time anyone has been made aware of it and say they'll call me up when they get an answer. And then they never do. Is there something I'm missing here? I've read similar complaints from people, but people seem to experience these things rarely - whereas in my situation, not having a medical billing headache is the rare exception. This also seems to be a problem with the providers near my university (small city in upstate New York) more so than where I grew up (suburb of NYC). [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:01 AM PST I've recently received a job offer in Germany. Given the complexity of tax differences and exchange rate differences I'm hoping someone who's been through the same can provide some insight. Current US - PA based job: $87,000 + 10% annual bonus potential 27 PTO days, 3% 401k match, benefits. In addition to PA state income tax, where I live I'm subject to a 2.1% local income tax. We own our home - Owe $214K, it's valued at $250. Property taxes are around $7k per year. We have 2 cars, 1 paid off, other with a $440 monthly payment (owe $22k, valued at $25k) Kids are in school - grades 11, 2, and pre school. They currently do no speak German. Wife does not either. The job offer is in the Frankfurt, Germany area, though my actual sphere of responsibility would cover from Köln down to include all of Switzerland. I speak the language relatively fluently. Job offer is at €92,000 + 48% annual bonus potential. Company car is provided with an unlimited use gas card (can be used for personal use). Car is taxed to personal income at 1%. 35 PTO days per year. Relocation Package, Housing assistance until we sell our home, 6 severance package + return package if I loose the job without cause (bankruptcy, downsizing, etc). I don't have a full grasp on how medical works in Germany or the tax system. I've done some research and it appears that the first $100k made as an expat is not taxed in the US. I know the tax rate in Germany is significantly higher. A few things I'm looking to figure out - what are the real Net #s likely to be in Germany? Is moving a family that doesn't speak a language (but are all willing to learn) a bad move? I know grocery and rental costs tend to be lower in Germany. The biggest COL difference is gas and that's covered via the unlimited use car/gas allowance. Any insights would be very helpful. EDIT: Thank to everyone who responded! A lot to digest here. We've already sat as a family and had initial discussions - there's excitement and apprehension all around. Will probably take a trip there with the family to expose them firsthand (wife and middle child have been, oldest has never been) and see how they feel afterwards. Thanks again everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 10:36 AM PST At work they gave me an option; be hired as an independent contractor or an employee. I told them I wanted to be categorized as an employee. They agreed. They did tell me that, because they are a small company that has never had employees besides on and off family members, they often just paid them cash. They would need a bit of time to file paper work and figure out the process to collect taxes from me. 2 weeks into it I asked if they had everything ready for the taxes to be taken out of my paycheck. They said they were just waiting for a form from the IRS and I would be good to go. I asked again the following week, they said the same thing. I left it at that. I had a suspicion that they never did anything about it. But we do get tips a lot of the time so I attribjted the "extra money as the tips showing up in my paycheck. This was all about 7months ago. Important note I filled a w4 before starting the job but about a day after starting they sent me another form to fill out. I recognized the form as an independent contractor tax form. I asked why they made me fill that out and they said it was a for their old accounting service. They only needed that to pay me for the first couple weeks until the w4 was good to go. I shouldn't worry about it. Fast forward to last month. I got a 1099 tax return form and found out I owe a significant amount of money. I got categorized as an independent contractor the whole time. I asked them about it. Here's what happened: I asked why I was categorized as an independent contractor. My boss said we agreed on it. I replied, "that was not what I remember." 100% of the time I would choose to have employee benefits over nothing. She said that she had switched to an accounting service that would handle paychecks and the only/easiest way was for everyone to be an independent contractor. I told her that I did not agree to that. I remember her saying it would be for only 2 weeks, a month tops, until the IRS sent her the documents she needed to make me a payable employee. I tried to give her wiggle room by saying that it was partly my fault for not asking as soon as I noticed something odd. She got defensive and tried to intimidate me with something irrelevant to the story. I'm not sure if a 2 weeks notice is necessary as I am not an employee. I feel like the whole thing has been sketchy and I want advice on how to handle the situation and how to go about deducting things from my taxes? [link] [comments]  |
| $75K in Salt Lake City or $110-120K in Los Angeles? Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:42 PM PST I'm graduating college this semester and have these both offers (LA offer not confirmed). I am normally a frugal person as I have a lot of debts to pay off, so I'll be saving a lot of money. $75K in SLC clearly has more purchasing power than $110K in LA, but I think I could save more per year working in LA. What do you guys think? [link] [comments]  |
| Haven't paid my taxes in 10 years. I need help. Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:22 PM PST 2008-2009 I worked in retail and then I went off to college. That was the last time I paid taxes. 2012 I had graduated college and started my "career" as a freelancer and I think out of nervousness of the taxes I thought I'd owe, that I didn't have (didn't plan ahead) I was to scared to file and then each year the fear got exceedingly worse. Each year between 2012 and until 2017 I've averaged an income of about $2,000-$3,000. Last year I made my first $20,000 and this year I'm on track to double it. Where do I stand? I've read that if you're a freelancer making less than $10,000 in a given year then you're not subject to taxes, but I don't know if that's true, if I meet all the qualifications for that, or if I'm misinterpreting what I've read. I know that if I have to pay taxes on all of those years it's going to wipe out half my savings that took a damn long time and a lot of work to attain. I don't know if I should just call up the IRS or find a tax preparer / accountant to talk to or help me. Looking to spend the least amount of money possible, but more importantly just get a handle on this fucking terrifying situation for once in my life before the government decides to freeze all my accounts and I end up homeless. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:44 AM PST I drove off the lot yesterday with a 2011 Honda Civic with 87,000 miles in excellent condition. Practically one owner. Practically no stains, wear and tear or anything. Car was completely serviced by the dealership before I bought it. The only flaw this thing had was a recall on the passenger airbag, but I can get that fixed at the Honda dealership for free. I found out I had no credit which upped the interest rate to 8%. However, I still got approved through my credit union to finance $5800 for the car, and I drove it off the lot yesterday. Thank you guys, I couldn't have done it without your advice. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 03:08 PM PST Hey, so I need to get my wisdom teeth out, and I don't have insurance. So, I'm currently looking at dental insurance plans, and I've come across Humana. Under one of the plans, it says that the annual plan maximum is $1,000, and under oral surgery, it says you pay 40% after deductible (which is just $50). So does that mean if the surgery is supposed to be $4,000 dollars, instead of covering $2400 (and me paying $1600), it would only cover $1,000 (and I'd be left with a 3,000 dollar bill)? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I purchase "years of service" toward retirement? Posted: 03 Feb 2019 10:17 AM PST I have a county government job in state that has mandatory retirement savings into the state retirement system. I've been employed there for about 5 years, but during that time I've spent a couple years on military leave. The time I was on ML I wasn't getting paid by the county job and therefore not contributing to the state system. Since I wasn't contributing to the state system, that time doesn't count as years served towards the required number of years to retire from the county job. There is an option to buy a year of service back at a cost of 16% of your highest fiscal salary. The retirement accounts appear to be managed decently and earned about 5% interest last year. In what scenario(s) would it be wise to buy these years of service for the time that I've been away? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:54 PM PST I'm a 20 year old male living in Kansas. I make about $1600 a month and practically half of it goes to my car. I pay a little over $400 for my car payment and $350 for my insurance. That's basically $800 just for my car. I also have $220 in mandatory bills (phone and a loan that I had to take out due to an emergency). I do not have to pay for living expenses. I needed a car for work and I ended up buying a brand new car back in November of 2018. My insurance was a lot cheaper in my previous state but my recent move to Kansas increased my insurance by a lot. I'm open to any advice. I already have the bare minimums in my insurance. Right now, I really just want the cheapest auto insurance possible just to meet the requirements. I only really drive to work which is 5 mins away. I'm also open to selling/trading my car but I know the value goes down as soon as it's driven off the lot so I really don't want to do that unless it'll really change my monthly finances. I know I made some poor financial decisions but this post isn't really for judging me on that. I already know the hole I put myself in. I have no family or close friends that are able to really help me out so seeking for a co-signer is definitely not an option. I'm 20 years old so there's probably still some things that I don't know about. I'm open to any discussion. [link] [comments]  |
| Whole Life vs Term Life Insurance Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:32 PM PST My husband (26) and myself (27) have two life insurance policies each that we signed up for at the advice of a financial advisor. We signed up for these policies when we had no children, didn't own a home, and we're saving over half of our income. We now have a baby, own a home, and make less money as I now work part time after the baby arrived. A "Whole Life Legacy 20" with a face amount of $213,913 each and we each pay $225/month. And a "Vantage Term 10" with a face amount of $500,000 each. I pay $18.72 and my husband pays $35.68. We recently had a baby, and the life insurance is a huge chunk of our budget right now. We've had a hell of a time even getting in touch with our financial advisor to discuss this. As I've been researching, it seems we would be better off increasing the term on our Term life and investing more instead of pouring $450/month into the whole Life policies. The policies are through MassMutual if that impacts things. I would love to hear some advice/opinions. We do have a pretty intensive budget that accounts for every dollar we spend, and it seems like those $450 could be better spent elsewhere, especially since we haven't been able to put as much into our personal savings since the baby arrived. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| How to answer salary expectation question during face to face interview with HR? Posted: 03 Feb 2019 02:29 PM PST I'm going to an on-site interview (last round). I will go through a series of interviews with different people, then I will have a 30 min interview with the HR, then another 30 min interview with the hiring manager at the end of the day. Based from glassdoor, the HR will probably ask me what my salary expectation is. Of course I would like to avoid answering the question, but since it will be a 30min face to face interview, what if the HR hard pressed me for a number? How do I answer salary expectation question after a series of interviews but before receiving an offer? I can't give them a high number because they haven't decided whether they want me yet, but I don't want to low ball myself neither. If another candidate who also interviewing for the same position as mine give the HR a lower number than what I give them, are they just going to pick the candidate with the lowest salary expectation? I already got another offer with a different company for a similar role in a different location, but the salary seems quite low to me and they won't negotiate. Should I tell the company I will be interviewing with that I already have an offer so they won't low ball me? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 02:20 PM PST I had those shares purchased when i was working for my company in my home country, and was an employee there. Now I am back in the States on an internal transfer, and want to use that money towards paying off my grad school debt (also from the US) which is currently at $36.5K at a 9.75% APR. How should I calculate how much capital gains tax I need to pay if i sell that stock with gain of $4578? The original purchase price was $5.5K and gain is $4.5K, so I believe I'd be paying tax on the $4.5K? How should I compute whether this tax is more than the interest I'd pay down on my loan to get rid of debt faster ? Is there a different tax rate if the stock purchase date is less than 1 year ago from the date of sale? Also, is this a sound decision? I really want to be rid of my debt in the next 7-8 months. I started at $135K and can't wait to be done. [link] [comments]  |
| I think I Screwed Up - Traditional vs Roth IRA Posted: 03 Feb 2019 12:29 PM PST I made a $5,500 contribution to a Traditional IRA this year. The thought was that I'm making decent money now and probably have a higher tax rate now than I will in retirement. (Also want cash now to pay off debts) I started filing my taxes and got this depressing message:
How bad did I screw up? Seems like I'm paying taxes on that $4,660 now AND in retirement. Should I convert my 2018 contributions to a Roth IRA before filing taxes? Any help is greatly appreciated. Edit: Thanks for the awesome feedback! Sounds like I should do a Edit edit: Maybe not that simple. Still figuring out what to do. [link] [comments]  |
| 2018 Tax Plan: Eliminated itemized deductions Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:53 PM PST "Unreimbursed work expenses is just one of several miscellaneous itemized deductions that have been disallowed under the new law. Fees for financial services is another example. "(Taxpayers) used to be able to deduct advisor fees and tax preparation fees," McClung says. Other disappearing miscellaneous deductions include costs related to tax preparation services, investment fees, professional dues and a long list of other previously approved items." Does anyone have the "long list" of previously approved itemized deductions that have been eliminated?? I don't know what I can and can't write off anymore. TIA [link] [comments]  |
| School took my state tax refund Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:35 PM PST I just received a letter in the mail from the OK tax commission informing me that my entire state refund has gone to cover a debt at a school that I attended a decade ago. The problem is, I have never been made aware of any debt and this has never come up in the years I have been filing taxes in this state. I formally dropped out of the school (a community college). I went to the office, spoke to someone about withdrawing, and was told that would be the end of it. This was in 2009. I moved out of state for several years, but I have been back and filing taxes in this state for several years now. This is not a student loan as I never received any loans, and I paid for books and supplies out of pocket. In ten years no one has ever sent me a notice for a debt. It does not appear on my credit report nor has it ever. According to the notice in the mail it is a direct debt to the school (plus a collection fee). I don't know how to begin to contest this but I intend to if possible. I have no documentation from the school since it has been ten years. Everything I'm finding on google is about student loan debt which does not apply to me. There is a number for the school on the notice from the tax commission and I intend to call it, but what should I know before I do and what should I say? Why would previous state refunds go through just fine until now? Is it possible this is some kind of error? [link] [comments]  |
| Trying to decide if I can afford to move out of boyfriends apartment Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:27 PM PST I currently have found an apartment 5 miles away from my current job. I've ran the numbers a few times and think I can afford it but am unsure. I'm 21 and this will be my first apartment ever by myself. Breakdown listed below Take home after health/dental/vision/and 401k: $2100 Rent: $800 Car Insurance: 310 ( high I know but I have great coverages) Car payment: 288 Phone bill: 60 Internet: 50 I currently have $3000 saved and no debts. I am mostly worried about the cost of electricity since I've never had to pay it on my own before. I also want to continue to save money. I'm positive I can get by eating only $100 a month in food due usually eating only one meal a day plus fruits and nuts throughout the day. [link] [comments]  |
| Moving internationally: sell my car? Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:26 PM PST I just accepted an offer at work to get moved internationally to Finland (from the US). Need help deciding if I should sell my car or keep it stored at a friend's garage. I know I will be in Finland for at least 2 years, and depending on if I love it I may stay for longer. Should I just sell it now since this is the highest value my car will ever be, or let it depreciate sitting in a garage? Specifics: 2015 model year, purchased at 24k USD, 8.5k USD remaining loan, 2 years left on drivetrain warranty. Worth ~$16k now based on Kelley Blue Book value. I kind of want to sell it to simplify things, but I know it will essentially mean eating the cost of the first few pricey years of ownership (in terms of depreciation). Any thoughts? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Trouble figuring out credit score Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:24 PM PST Hi everyone! First time poster. I'm looking for some advice—is it possible that the credit bureaus don't have my social security number in their system correctly? I have never been able to access my credit score, because every way I've tried has said my informrsrion is incorrect. I've tried with my full name and every address I've ever lived at. I am sure that the information is correct. I'm 22, and really need to get this sorted out so I can start building credit. Anyone have any advice? Thanks so much! [link] [comments]  |
| Avoiding lifestyle creep after college - advice please? Posted: 03 Feb 2019 07:52 PM PST I'm starting post-college work soon and will be earning my first real salary, and I'm already catching myself thinking "I'll be able to afford that" about various things. My long-term goal is to build wealth and financial security (Ã la FIRE), but I am also pretty determined to live a "good" life along the way with certain luxuries that I never could afford before and didn't have while growing up. That said, I'm also very committed to being prudent and hope to apply the principles of FIRE aka r/financialindependence as I move into this new chapter. I have already had a lot of success with budgeting during college to not have to have paycheck-to-paycheck stress and have also had success with churning for credit card points and traveling on the cheap. Just wondering if folks have any tips for how to manage spending on stuff that doesn't necessarily have long term value in the same way that saving/hoarding money can (for example, spending on small vacations, $500 for music festival weekend with a friend, buying for quality rather than price, etc etc). Basically, how to spend money on things that cost more up front when that means that a single purchase feels like a more significant choice than a bunch of little ones would be. Is it as simple as meeting my savings goal and spending the rest worry-free, or is there more to it than that? Also, is it OK to adjust savings down at any time or to pay back my loans more slowly if it means saving towards something else or having a nicer thing? Here is a rough breakdown of my pay and expected expenses (annual salary is 50k EUR gross so ~ 57.5k USD): salary: ~3200USD/month net (this is after taxes and mandatory health insurance/state pension amount; the job is in Germany) relocation: 2300 for this move (job starts in March, I'm moving from the US) rent: 800/month (this is for a one- or two-bedroom apartment in my city, could be a little higher or a little lower. If 2-bed the second room would primarily be a studio space but I could also rent it out long-term or on AirBnB) utilities: 100 phone: 40 groceries: 250 eating out: 150 (I see this more as a fact of life than an indulgence so categorize it under living expenses rather than fun money) public transportation: 100 rental insurance: 15 other/miscellaneous: 150 LIVING COSTS: ~1600/month vacation fund: 150/month fun money: 100 sauna/spa: 50 (cheap in my city, this is two day-long visits so 2x/month) FUN MONEY: 300/month Student loans payment: 250/month (I owe just under 22000 @ 4%, all are federal loans in deferment until August) Credit card: 500 (I owe 6000 @ 0% interest - hoping to pay it off fast once I start work) Savings: 500 (will increase to 1000/mo after pay off credit card, hope to save 10k E-fund...then what?) I am going into all this with a few thousand dollars I have previously saved up plus graduation gifts. My medium-term goal after the E-fund is to save up and buy an apartment in this city in the next two or three years (or at least saving as if I planned to make a down payment). I think that's my preference to paying off my student loans faster (for now). I have read many posts about the pros and cons of renting vs owning so not looking for much feedback about that, I would of course would do even more research into this before making such a purchase. Just wondering how this sounds to everyone and, again, what strategies you use for managing "luxury taste". This feels especially important given that I am young and new to the working world, and that the habits I start now will probably follow me in the future. It's generally hard for me to tell myself that I shouldn't have/do something nice because I'm so young. Rather being young inspires me to find a way to do it practically (i.e. churning to travel). That's been my experience so far but I also haven't had real money so I have had to make it work. I grew up with very little money and lots of financial insecurity so just trying to get this all right and not repeat the mistakes I saw... Anyways thanks for your feedback! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 03:12 PM PST I will be applying to graduate school in the Fall of this year. Something that I really want to do in my life is a Masters in Europe. The issue is I will have no way to pay for it. The estimated cost of living $800 per month, so for the two year Masters I am applying for that is $9600 a year, and $19,200 for the total two years I would be there. The actual tuition is amazingly cheap, $350 a semester, so $1400 for the total Masters tuition. So I am looking at a loan of about $20,600; I am guessing it will probably be a private loan. My idea is to get an on-campus job that (according to the university) pay about $400 a month so half of what I would need per month and use that to pay off the interest my loans whilst in school. (Maybe it would be better to just borrow half of what I need? To be honest, I haven't ran the numbers precisely, I just wanted to get an opinion from the outset as I look into this more closely.) I will have $30k in student loan debt finishing undergraduate. These are federal loans, subsidized and unsubsidized with an average interest rate of 4.42%. I plan on doing a PhD after this as well in the states, assuming I'm accepted into one those are usually fully-funded (for math). Which the longest usually last about 6 years (.....6 interest accruing years). I know that a large part of the judgement of this decision comes from what my salary will be after all this schooling, which is where things get most complicated for me. The academic job market is horrendous. Most people who try to land an academic job will move around the States for a couple year with $20k adjunct positions until they land a permanent position, which is if you're really really lucky. Now if I go to industry, I think it's fair to assume a 60k starting salary. (I guess the choice between these two paths is really the deciding factor, right? It seems completely crazy to do this to then have a $20k job for about 4 years while hunting for a permanent position). Writing this out, I feel crazy even considering it, haha. But some last notes, parent-help is not an option and I will obviously apply far and wide to as many scholarships as possible, but I am considering what I would do in a worst-case scenario. Thirdly, and I think most importantly, my reason for entertaining this seemingly crazy idea (financially) is that it is seriously something that would bring me a lot of joy in life, that is the value of this is more than $20k+interest for me. I don't have plans for a family or big house, nice cars or anything of that sort, it's not where I derive happiness in life; it is from academics. I understand I will have to live frugally for quite a bit after my PhD because of the interest that will have accrued on my undergraduate and masters loans which isn't a very scary thought to me, as long as I can eat and pay rent, I'm cool with it, it's how I live now and I'm very happy. So any thoughts or opinions, am I being to naïve and not fully considering the amount of debt I will be in after all of this? I would love any such comments, thoughts, things to watch out for, and definitely criticisms. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:09 PM PST I will keep this short cause of my broken english. I am running out of ideas, so I am hoping that some of you guys can help me. Last summer I got visa to work in the USA for 4 months. My job was at Mcdonald's. Now I would like to apply for tax refund and I need W2 document. I tried to contact manager of the restaurant but he is ignoring my messages. What can I do here, is there any other way to get this document? [link] [comments]  |
| Amending previous year tax return Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:46 PM PST So I paid taxes in two states last year when I filed a paper tax return, but I didn't claim some of those taxes back. How can I do this? I don't see an area on the 1040x for state taxes. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2019 01:51 PM PST Edited to add TLDR: got raises to 260k gross, a pension, an annuity, 68k in a 401k account that's relatively new, 130k Liquid assets, 200k Mortgage principle at 3.75%, 40yo Gig economy workers. We're putting extra money at mortgage and maxing the 401k, but Trying to sort out how to measure how much of new money should be "saved" for retirement, and where to put it so we don't just drink it all? Original Post w/gory details: I've been lurking on this sub for several days and really appreciate all the good advice being offered to various people. Hoping the community here can help provide some guidance for us that's helpful to others as well. Wife and I married 5 years, bought a coop apartment in nyc, then both got promotions / generally more successful. We're in an extraordinarily fortunate position, but having never experienced this before a bit at a loss. I've been throwing money into mortgage principal + high interest savings as well as maxing 401k, but there's got to be something more useful we SHOULD do with this money, and I can't tell how much is "enough" for various things like say - retirement. Since the money is suddenly so abundant and I'm a bit at a loss for "how much is enough" in terms of retirement/investing/etc, we've become a bit immune to how much things cost - and have clearly started overspending on many things just because the money is there. We need some help on what we SHOULD be doing to take care of saving / retiring etc. Some pertinent details: Married, Double income, no kids. Aside from mortgage, no debt at all. Gross income is ~260k. Healthcare is through unions - we're covered under her union, and my union pays the premiums for that plan, plus the rest in a HSA that's above 85k. 401k that I max, employer match is 2% but increasing. That said only started it recently, value is at 68k at Vanguard. My union will provide a pension whose value is based on contribution which = worked hours. I'm calculating monthly benefit value at 2300 if I stopped working now, but in reality I have 25 years till retirement. Her union provides an annuity but I'm not clear how it works and don't know details. Average other monthly Expenses pulled from last year - some obvious AHEM Lunch/Coffee/wine things that can be way cut back on, if we have better goals / targets for saving+retirement: Transit items: (subway, bicycle maintenance): 200 Transit - Average car rental/Airplane/Rail/Scooter Gas+Maint: 721 (600 of this is vacation travel which was 100% visiting family) Vet bills: 130 (been a tough year) Gym: 30 Groceries: 395 Eating out Dinners together / business meals / (or ordering delivery) : 490 Eating out - Lunches 386 (a bunch of this is also essentially business meals) Coffee: 145 Wine: 185 No cable tv, no netflix/hulu/whatever, no car, no car payments… Really though the thing I'm trying to solve isn't monthly spending it's what SHOULD we be doing with our money instead. We've got the Annuity, Pension, 401k. We've got about ~140k in liquid assets, most of which in a 3% savings account, though we have a bathroom reno coming up. There's only 68k in that 401k - how much SHOULD a 40 year old have in there? There's also no guaranteeing the current financial success will continue. Should we be planning to spend more on charitable giving? We volunteer and spend a lot of time and money on a couple local initiatives, some of which we helped start - that expense isn't included here. Should we plan to give more to our nieces to help them go to college? We're not going to have kids of our own. [link] [comments]  |
| Optum Bank closed my HSA bank account without notice or my permission Posted: 03 Feb 2019 03:18 PM PST Optum Bank just closed my HSA account without notice or my permission to do so. I just started working for a new employer this past November. I signed up for a HDHP plan and a HSA account. I've been making bi-weekly HSA pre-fica contributions through payroll. I've not done any transactions on the accounts, no withdrawals or other activity. It's current balance is over $4k. It's just my name on the account. It's going to be a huge headache as payroll is about to hit again this week. We can't pick our own HSA custodians and are forced to use Optum if we want pre-fica payroll deductions. Optum Bank just minutes ago closed my account without any warning. I just got an email. To be sure it wasn't a spoofed email I tried logging into their system and I don't have a login anymore. My account is definitely gone. I've been on hold for them for 30+ minutes so far, haven't spoken to a person yet about what's going on. This is the email I got:
I have no idea why they closed it. No fraud activity or suspicious activity on my account. I just checked my account two nights ago. I use a password manager with unique randomly generated very secure passwords and security questions on the account. Think this is CFPB complaint worthy? I'm incredibly upset. [link] [comments]  |
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