Personal Finance I received my tax refund today. We e-filed Jan 27th. Just thought this might bring a little peace of mind to others. |
- I received my tax refund today. We e-filed Jan 27th. Just thought this might bring a little peace of mind to others.
- I wanted to take a moment to thank this sub on everything it's taught me with regards to 401ks and retirement in general.
- 2018 Credit Card Rewards
- Taxed profits are better than a loss
- I make half as much as most people on here. What am I doing wrong?
- Wife's employer failed to populate her 401k on almost 2 doz. occasions. Funds are coming out of each pay check. HR blatantly ignoring all emails and calls. What should we do?
- I just got my first job as a 16 year old working at a fast food restaurant! What can I do the best to financially prepare myself for the future?
- Making the most of it!
- Was offered a job with a substantial raise. What is the best way to tell the employer I accept, but I owe my company $6k in education debt?
- To pay off student loan or keep $ in savings?
- My small 401k cashed out when I left my job and I forgot to roll it into anything. Dollar amount small, should I just cash it?
- 1099-MISC for credit card points?
- Modifying the "cost basis" of an investment.
- Credit Score Just dropped 33 pts out of Nowhere should i be concerned?
- Considering quitting my job without notice to avoid getting stiffed on bonus
- What defines income in terms of being an accredited investor?
- Someone please make me feel better about this.
- Negotiating a promotion raise
- Debt Collection Letter Received, but original creditor never reached out.
- How to balance saving for a house vs saving for a baby? (new job, new possibilities)
- Do I need to contact my old employer and ask for my W2 or is it normal for that to take a little while?
- Contributed to traditional ira when over ira earnings limit with 401k option at work. Convert to roth free or just paid taxes twice?
- Saving money at 20 years old (full time work and college student)
- Huge student loan debt in my dying father's name about to go into default
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 09:40 AM PST I get credit for 2 kids and my wife is a student. I think those are the things I thought might hold it up. Edit: accepted Jan 28. No other notification, it just appeared. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:05 AM PST We recently had a Retirement Specialist come over to educate employees on a 401k, retirement, and investing in general. I went over to discuss a couple things in regards to rolling over funds from a previous employer, fees, vesting amounts, and other questions. We ended up having a 30 minute discussion about the market trends and different retirement funds since no one was really checking in. He was taken aback by the knowledge I already had, everything of which I've learned from reading and searching through PF. I think it blew his mind when I told him I was in my mid 20s and he told me how pretty much everyone he spoke to in my age group had no idea what a 401k was or that no one was planning for retirement. He mentioned the average person that actually started contributing to their 401k was usually in their mid 40s, which shook me. Given that I learned everything on PF and never really spoke to anyone about this, I was somewhat amazed how much knowledge this place actually contains with regards to finances and future retirement planning. It was pretty interesting to see people dumbfounded as to the money you could potentially have at 65 when you start contributing in your 20s versus much later. If anyone's reading this and hasn't started contributing, please do so immediately. Even a little bit helps! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:33 AM PST /r/YNAB had a post about 2018 credit card bonuses yesterday that had me go through all of my statements for 2018 and compile all the data. I thought /r/personalfinance would be interested in the results and maybe spark some ideas for people just joining the credit card reward game.
Citi Double Cash Back
Chase Freedom
Discover IT
US Bank Cash+
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I'm always open to earn more rewards! I hope everyone finds this as insightful as I do. Now I'm on the prowl to pump up those percentages! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxed profits are better than a loss Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:09 PM PST I was officially self employed for the first time this year. Just had a meeting with accountant who helped me sort out expenses. A thing they kept saying was "our job is to get it as close to zero as possible," referring to my profits. I appreciate the sentiment, that they want to make sure all write-offable expenses are written off, but the way they were saying it implied I should go buy some expensable stuff so that I'm not taxed. So I just want to make sure it's clear to everybody: it's better to make 100k taxable cash, rather than have 100k of tax free stuff you don't need. Don't go buy a laptop you don't need for the purpose of not paying taxes. It's the exact same thing as buying junk you don't need only because it's on sale. Same thing goes for selling stock. Don't needlessly sell stock at a loss purely to not pay tax. It's better to sell stock at a taxable profit than a tax-reducing loss. You should sell stock at a loss for purpose of saving taxes ONLY if you definitely need to sell that stock at a loss perhaps for need of cash, but you have a choice whichever calendar year (e.g. December 2018 vs January 2019) tl;dr Taxable profits are better than a tax saving loss!!!! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I make half as much as most people on here. What am I doing wrong? Posted: 05 Feb 2019 03:18 AM PST I work in a print room at an investment bank. I've done pretty well, and have worked my way up to a senior operator position, where I'm in charge of 4 people. I make £25000 a year. I thought that was pretty good, but when I come on this sub, most people seem to be making upwards of £50000. This completely baffles me. My career trajectory for the next 5 years would be to get promoted twice up to an office manager, where I would be in charge of 2 whole departments; but I'd still only be making £40000. It doesn't sound like most of you have that level of responsibility to still be making much more money. Clearly I have missed something with what is considered a good job. So my question is simply this: What on earth do you guys all do for a living, and how can I get myself to the position of being able to do that? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:16 AM PST To keep it short and to the point... After 16 months of employment, my wife's employer has failed to populate her retirement account on almost two dozen occasions with zero pattern to the missing payments. Her retirement funds are being correctly taken on each weekly stub, but only ~20 of the 64 weekly contributions have populated in her retirement account. Some minuscule repayment along the way sans lost earnings from what i can tell. Repeated calls and emails to HR have lead nowhere. Literally two responses over the course of the year which both glazed over the topic and didn't provide an answer. The usual "Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We're on it. If it makes you feel better, all members of HR are part of the plan!" Well, as it turns out, it isn't just my wife. Since she brought it to the attention of her boss and co-worker friend, a handful of others have discovered similar behavior. Albeit, not as serious. A contribution not showing up here and there. After over a year of trying to get answers I/we've exhausted all our options minus legal action. However, she absolutely loves her job/co-workers and is paid healthily compared to other places in the area. She also isn't a combative person and would rather just "let it go and hope it works out"... oh and she holds a non-compete for 3 years within a 2 hour radius. So, again, legal action or her getting fired over exposing some sketchy shit isn't on our plate. I guess i'm looking for suggestions on the next logical/financially sensible step here. Whether it be stopping the contribution, removing the funds or not, starting something else, etc. I'm not really informed on this type of stuff. I contribute X% which goes up 1% each year. I check it each month. And go on with my life. So i'm at a loss here. Any/All recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 07:21 PM PST Hi there! Today I had an interview and got a job working at a fast food restaurant for $8.50/hr. I have a savings account and I have my paycheck set up to pay out there. I know this is a really broad question, so sorry if this is the wrong way/place to post this. I plan on setting aside 10% of what I earn for giving/charity/etc. What can I do (if anything) at my current age to help myself in the future? What should I try to set aside for savings, etc. I'd like to have money to pay for gas/general stuff. thank you so much! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 06:31 PM PST I recently got $20k that I am able to put away completely, thankfully. This being the most my savings has ever seen. (Grad student here...) I have roughly $7,500 in credit card debt. Some school debt. Hoping to make the most of this opportunity, would it be wise to get a bank loan/line of credit to pay off (or pay down significantly) on my credit card debt and borrow it against my savings? I don't want to use up that money even if it's paying off debt but maybe hoping I could make it work for me. Looking for advice on best practice to make money out of this money and improve my personal finances and credit score. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:30 AM PST Basically my work is paying for my schooling, and they have given me $6k towards school with the promise that I stay there 2 years after graduation, or I have to pay them back. I can't stand to be here another minute, let alone 2 years. I was offered a job with a company I really want to work for, but want to bring it to their attention that if I accept the offer, I owe my company $6000 as a repayment. The new company did say they would pay for my education fees, so maybe I could use that to my advantage? Thanks! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To pay off student loan or keep $ in savings? Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:02 AM PST I'm sorry if this is a super repetitive or simple situation but I can't for the life of me wrap my head around the math of interest rates. I would really appreciate any input from the r/personalfinance community. I'm paying off a large student loan that has a remaining balance of $28,051.12 and a terrrrrrible current interest rate of 9.125% that just keeps rising. I currently pay this at $400 a month. I have a little over $30k in savings and am debating paying the loan off in full. I understand that paying off the loan in full will save me money in the long run, but my main questions are:
Again, thank you for any advice!! I'm just lost and want to get out of this loan situation without completely depleting my savings. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 03:59 PM PST My 401k cashed out when I left my last job. I am young and it is very small amount ($400), and I forgot to roll it into IRA within the two month time frame. I received a check in the mail for the amount (with the 20% taxes and stuff). I'm preparing to move states for a new job and could use the small amount of money. If I cash this I am okay paying the fees, but is there a bigger downsides that I am unaware of? I should also mention I got a [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1099-MISC for credit card points? Posted: 05 Feb 2019 11:52 AM PST I'm interested to hear if any tax professionals are of the opinion that credit card points can be considered taxable income. I was sent a 1099-MISC by Chase totaling $1,100 in "Other Income" because I referred a few friends to their credit cards. In reality, what was issued to me was 110,000 of their credit card points. Therefore, it seems that they valued their points at 1 cent per point. According to the terms of Chase's points program, their points "aren't [my] property and have no cash value." Because of this, I wasn't ever expecting to be taxed on my credit card points. The points program also says that points can be confiscated at any time, can't be bought/sold, or bequeathed/inherited, all of which furthers their claim that points aren't my property. However, their terms also say that participation in their points program may result in taxable income, but how can something that has no cash value and isn't my property be taxable income? It seems to me like Chase is trying to have their cake and eat it too- they likely want to write off the points issued to me as a business expense (and income to me), but they also want to claim that their points are not my property. They can't have it both ways, can they? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Modifying the "cost basis" of an investment. Posted: 05 Feb 2019 06:29 PM PST Suppose I have 100k in a mutual fund and the original cost was 50k. If I sell the entire thing I pay Capital Gains on 50k (long term rate). If I keep my income below 39k /yr (0% Capital Gains bracket) Would it be reasonable to pull smaller chunks out of the investment and just put them right back to "update" their cost basis? In the future they would have a higher cost basis this way - reducing the potential Capital Gains tax? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Credit Score Just dropped 33 pts out of Nowhere should i be concerned? Posted: 05 Feb 2019 07:47 PM PST I have two different credit monitoring services monitoring both Transunion and Equifax, and both show a drop from 733 or 732 to 699, but not no other changes. Should i simply chalk this up to changes in how both Transunion and Equifax calculate credit score? Could this have something to do with filing taxes? I also spend a bit of money I saved up on a new car, paid entirely in cash, and wondering if somehow it monitors my savings and my lower savings is effecting my score? I just find it weird that both Transunion and Equifax lowered my score drastically with neither credit monitoring service showing any changes to justify it. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considering quitting my job without notice to avoid getting stiffed on bonus Posted: 05 Feb 2019 03:35 PM PST I've been working as an entry level engineer for 2 years at my current company. I will be leaving March 15th to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail (6 months). The March 15th departure is a hard date, I am going with others and our plans our set. I had a conversation with my HR person months ago in which I asked about unused PTO and Bonus payouts if the employee quit before they were paid. He said they will not be paid if you are not working there. Last year bonuses were paid around March 27th and I expect it to be the same this year. My current plan is this. Request a 2 week vacation starting March 18th to April 1st. And never return... This would do two things, get me paid out for my unused PTO (2 weeks) and allow my bonus to be paid out. We are talking about a combined total amount of approx. $5-8k. This is enough to fund my entire AT thru-hike. I feel bad about doing it like this, but in my opinion the company is forcing me to do this by having such a bad policy on unused PTO/bonus. They are forcing my hand here. I know this will burn bridges to some extent, but they company is pretty terrible anyway and all my bosses can barely speak english and I wouldn't feel confident in their recommendation of me anyway. I have other people high up in the company that can vouch for me if need be. I also think a future employer will understand the situation. What do you guys think, I've been going nuts over this decision. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What defines income in terms of being an accredited investor? Posted: 05 Feb 2019 10:34 AM PST My understanding is that there is no formal certification for being an accredited investor, though you may need paperwork to show potential investments, and that the criteria are either a liquid net worth of $1m+ (excluding primary real estate) or 2 years of $200k in annual income, with reasonable expectation of that continuing. My question is, what number is considered for income here? is it gross annual income (including non-w2 income like capital gains, etc), AGI, or something else? Stuff I've read elsewhere on the sub suggests it's gross annual income, but I'm right on the margins of $200k and I'd hate to misrepresent myself, and would like to be a little more sure. (Apologies if this is better in r/legaladvice, it's sort of a legal question but definitely tied to personal finances, so thought I'd start here.) [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Someone please make me feel better about this. Posted: 05 Feb 2019 02:17 PM PST I just paid off approximately four thousand dollars in debt, to multiple collections agencies, that were destroying my credit. I wish I didn't have to use student loan money but I had no choice. The bad news is I have 25,000 in student loans. The good news is I graduate in May with my degree in Computer Science and I am done taking out loans. Also good news, now my credit report will be clean, or at least, clean-er. I just feel emotionally overwhelmed because I spent so much of my student loan money paying off debts all day and it made me feel like crap, when I feel like it should have lifted a weight off my shoulders now that I won't have all these debt collectors after me. Thanks for reading. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 12:46 PM PST So I've got a promotion coming down the line. I'm assuming the pay raise won't be what I want it to be due to how I know this company operates. How do I counter their offer? I'd like 22% but would settle for 15%, to put me where I want. But I'm assuming they'll do like 5%. Do I counter in the same meeting once they hand me the promotion or take a day? It's going from a lvl 2 to a lvl 3 position for context. I've been here a little over 2 years with just 1 annual merit raise. I was hired in at a level 2. For context their level 2 is for a BS Degree with no experience. I've got a BS in my field. And lvl 3 is with about 1-2 yrs experience. So I'm more fit for the level 3 but I don't want to be getting paid on the lower end of that pay scale. Edit:info on BS degree and pay scale. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Debt Collection Letter Received, but original creditor never reached out. Posted: 05 Feb 2019 06:35 PM PST Hi Personal Finance, This is my first experience with debt collections. I received this letter from a debt collector yesterday. (I redacted my personal information - I live in California). I haven't received (or at least haven't answered) any phone calls from them; this is the first communication. The reason I believe it may be valid is that under "tests ordered by" it lists a health provider who I do in fact visit. However, I never received word from the provider's office or Quest Diagnostics (the listed creditor) for outstanding payment. I have received calls from this office's billing before to pay over the phone, which I have done with no issue, which makes me wonder about the validity of this. I have also received bills in the mail from visits to this office, which makes me skeptical about the "invoices returned as undeliverable" part of the letter. My main concern is this collection negatively affecting my credit. When looking through the wiki and past posts they recommend to request a debt validation letter, but my question is: if they provide validation, does that trigger a negative hit to my credit? OR is it too late and that has already happened, if it will? Would a call to the creditor to try and resolve there be worth it or is it too late? $84 isn't a problem for me to pay in my current financial situation. I'd rather just pay that if it will keep this from affecting my credit. Any advice is much appreciated, thank you. If any more information is needed I am happy to provide. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How to balance saving for a house vs saving for a baby? (new job, new possibilities) Posted: 05 Feb 2019 01:42 PM PST I'm 34 years old and recently signed on a job offer with a starting salary that gives me a little bit of breathing room financially. Three years ago, I decided to change careers from hospitality -> tech. It was a bumpy road starting out as a largely self-taught software engineer in San Francisco and my first two jobs barely paid enough for me to keep my head above water. I quit my previous job as a junior software engineer (3/2018) after 4 months of having a $120,000 salary dangled in front of my face by my boss. I was making 75k at the time. After four months of getting jerked around and having quite a few conversations with colleagues who advised me the offer was likely NEVER to come, I decided that I thought I was worth 120k and was willing to bet on myself on the open market. 11 months, a few crises, the worst depression by far of my life, and 1,600 job applications later, I received an offer from the heavens. (Thank God I've always been responsible about saving because I would never have been able to bet on myself if I didn't have 12 months of emergency savings). My fiance and I had written off the idea of buying a house or having kids in San Francisco but I realized upon receiving the offer, with my new salary, buying a house and having kids in the Bay area is now an option. We want to have a baby ASAP but I'm worried about jumping into things without a solid plan. We want to buy a house as soon as possible but having a baby is our number one priority. My financial situation (34, Male): 5k in savings. 720 credit score. 52k in student loan debt @ 6.8% My new job: Completely remote position working for a great fortune 500 company with an amazing boss (job security). 140k salary 40k RSUs/year (vests over 5 years) 20% potential yearly bonus 1:1 401k match up to 6% of my salary ($8400) My fiance's (33, Female) financial situation: 40k in savings. Near perfect credit. 0 debt. She makes 100k/year. No retirement savings. Questions: What kinds of conversations do I need to be having with my fiance? What questions do I need to answer so that I can make the most informed decision? Is buying a house with our finances a good idea? Is having a kid with our finances a good idea? Thanks so much! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 04:43 PM PST Basically, I don't want to hit up my old boss because he's a huge asshole. He's the kinda guy who would delay sending me my W2 specifically because I asked for it. I left last May, I've had two jobs since then, and gotten my paperwork from both of them. I want to do my taxes but idk if February is reasonably long enough to ask for it. Help? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:20 PM PST Maxed my traditional ira for 2017 in jan 2018, (attributed to 2017 tax year). Did not realize that because i have a 401k option through work and made over the 60k-ish cutoff for ira's that that money could not be tax advantaged up front, and could not claim on my taxes. Is there anything i can do still or could have done to tax leverage that money like turn it into a Roth for free? First ear making that much and didn't realize it wasn't an option. (Never went the 401k route as company didn't match or anything so whats the point). [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saving money at 20 years old (full time work and college student) Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:07 PM PST First time posting on here (sorry if this isn't a regular post). I am a 20 year old college student who works full time. I've been employed since December 2017 and made $15,500 (excluding tips) in 2018. I have saved up close to $11k of that in a year and hope to touch another 15 grand this year. I'm projected to make $23k this year and want to save at least $15k of that. I have 1 checking account & no savings. I spend my tips and save 80% or more of my checks. I have a few credit cards and my FICO score is 744. Now to the real Q's: How should I manage my money better? Should I invest or open certain bank accounts? Should I use any apps or online programs to save? Any advice is appreciated. I'm trying to be very financially responsible and be ready when I move out. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huge student loan debt in my dying father's name about to go into default Posted: 05 Feb 2019 08:07 PM PST First of all, yes, I'm aware that I'm an idiot. 18 year old me sort of knew that he was getting in over his head, but did it anyway. I went to a stupidly expensive school on the other side of the country, and I paid for basically nothing while I was out there. 9 years later, I have a balance of about 24k left in my name. I've been keeping up with the payments pretty easily, only about 200/month. Probably not the smartest payment plan, I know. I figured I'd give it more thought when that dream job finally came around. Meanwhile, my dad has been paying the lion's share of the debt, and not complaining about it too much since I spend a lot of time taking care of the family and keeping his house from falling apart etc. I knew that he hadn't really been keeping up with payments lately, but I had no idea how bad it was. His health has been in a downward spiral for as long as I can remember, and I've always been more or less at peace with the fact that he could drop dead any day. Recent events have forced me to face some practical concerns, like his insane debt that I'm responsible for (I don't think it's fair at all that I was allowed to make these horrible financial decisions before I was really an adult, but I accept responsibility.) He had a stroke a month ago. He's doing amazingly well for someone who had a stroke, and he's actually coming home from the rehab hospital soon, but it's more obvious than ever that he'll never earn another dollar. He could die in his sleep tonight, or he could hang in there another decade. Neither would surprise me, and I have no idea what his sudden demise would mean for my financial future. His loan principal is sitting at over 200k, and it's defaulting (whatever that means) in 9 days. The past due amount is almost twice my savings. Current situation: My salary is 37k and I could probably ask for a raise soon. I made some profoundly bad financial decisions early in life, but otherwise I'm actually a very frugal person. I've never had a car, and I probably never will unless I need one to live in. I haven't taken out a loan of any kind since I graduated, learned my lesson. I don't even have a credit card. My nonessential expenses are pretty much zip, and I could easily live without the few silly things I spend my money on if I had to. My boss has offered to pay my tuition if I go to law school- thinking I'll finally take that LSAT this summer and maybe start making some decent money in a few years (Not crazy about the idea of being a lawyer, but I'd actually be good at it and a man's gotta eat). I figure the worst case scenario is I call these loan sharks, agree to some insane 40 year payment plan so they don't repossess our house or whatever, then hope I come into some money so I don't have to live like a peasant until I die. But there's probably a better option, right? I really can't overstate how ignorant I am about finance. Tell me anything I should know, nothing is too obvious. [link] [comments]  |
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