Personal Finance Tax Thursday Thread for the week of February 28, 2019 |
- Tax Thursday Thread for the week of February 28, 2019
- My (25) mother is completely financially dependent and it’s affecting the whole family
- My mother died with no money or assets. Father is immobile in a 100% SSI facility. What do I do about the collectors? I'm so lost.
- Grandmother left me a trust fund but poor management and high fees are destroying it. Help.
- Always put money in your HSA, even if you are single. You will use it one day!
- I just got renter's insurance, now what?
- Why are Dave Ramsey's housing requirements so strict? How can a single person ever buy a house?
- Company still hasn't paid me money that I was owed in 2018, but now they're sending me a 1099 for it. What to do?
- Advice for high salary at young age?
- I Suppose, I am Screwed
- Checking account cleared out but I have my card
- 17 years of age, getting kicked out in a few days, I have a grand to my name
- Approved for my first credit card!
- Resorting to Reddit for financial advice because clearly, I'm an idiot
- Are online banks just as safe as brick and mortar banks?
- Should I report my income to my bank for a possible credit limit boost if I know that I'm taking a pay cut soon?
- Need an ELI5 on how poor of a financial decision leasing is in contrast to buying used.
- Money stolen from account?
- What’s the best way to pay off my credit card debt?
- Looking to take back control on credit card interest and build a stronger financial future faster. Currently thinking a debt consolidation loan is best, but open to advice.
- What would you do first, pay off the car, save or invest?
- Car financial issues
- roth IRA contribution and tax year questions
- Damage Fee from Lyft - 2
| Tax Thursday Thread for the week of February 28, 2019 Posted: 28 Feb 2019 03:06 AM PST Please read the PF tax wiki page to see if your question is answered there before posting.This weekly cross-sub thread will be posted through mid-April to give subscribers a chance to ask basic tax-related questions in a consolidated thread. We are also very lucky to have some folks from /r/accounting and /r/tax joining us here to help out. Since taxes can be a very complex topic, the main goal is to point people in the right direction, provide helpful information, and answer questions. (Please note that there is no protection under §7525 or attorney-client relationship when discussing matters in posts on a message board. Consult a reputable tax advisor in person if your situation demands it.) Make a top-level comment if you want to ask a tax-related question! If you have not received your answer within 24 hours, please feel free to start a discussion. For all of the Tax Thursday threads from this year, check out the Weekly Archive. [link] [comments]  |
| My (25) mother is completely financially dependent and it’s affecting the whole family Posted: 28 Feb 2019 03:27 AM PST Obligatory throw-away account. Bottom line, my mom is financially unstable and I want to know what resources there are to begin to fix it. I know there is no overnight fix but I'm not sure where to begin. She has gotten herself tremendously into debt and relies completely on my step-dad financially. She has a great job actually making more than he does, but she relies on him for food and a roof over her head. Her bi-weekly paycheck may last at most a week. They have had marital issues for a while and if he leaves I have no idea what will happen to her or my teenage brother. Inevitably I will end up having to completely support her and I want to get help before it comes to that. He has told me they probably will end it once my brother graduates high school (less than 3 years). She has virtually no financial knowledge and is completely uninterested in becoming financially independent/stable to my knowledge. She also has not seen any repercussions as someone is always there to give her money when she can't make rent, etc. I recently found out that my step-dad has only been putting minimal effort into keeping her accountable. He is (we think) aware of what loans/etc. she has and has provided her with a budget, but still keeps having to give her money beyond what he should. He states he has has no idea where the extra cash is going but admits to not following through to find out. She has filed bankruptcy twice and has taken out many payday loans. But I do not know yet the actual extent of how bad her situation is.... I'm under the impression that she is not being entirely honest with him. I have only very basic financial knowledge myself, so I want to have all the resources and knowledge I can before I confront her. I want to protect the future of myself and my own family. We are in the US if that matters. TLDR; Mom is severely in debt and financially dependent on step-dad. Most likely divorcing soon. Need to know what resources there are to help her become financially stable before she becomes completely dependent on me. EDIT: Wow... I am struggling to find the right words. Reading as many comments/messages as I could during breaks at work, I've been fighting back tears of relief all day. I want to genuinely thank each and every one of you for taking the time to not only read this long depressing post, but offer your suggestions and support. This has been a dark cloud of anticipation over my head for quite some time (parents have been rocky for a while). I saw the future I've worked so hard to build for myself being slowly ripped away with every paycheck. I posted this expecting a couple responses with websites and types of financial advisors so I could do more research when I got home from work. But instead... this beauty. The idea that I would be hurting more than helping never crossed my mind, nor did the glaring fact that she doesn't want to be helped. Why would she? She's got the gig. But also the fact I was most blind to... that this is her problem and NOT mine. I plan to talk to my step-dad tomorrow. I know he believes he's helping the family rather than enabling her. I'll give him the insight and build him up like you guys built me up, but also let him do with that what he will. Because I've got my own stability to worry about!!!! They're grown!! (See guys, I'm learning!) I promise to update if anything worthy posting comes of all of this. Just... thank you guys. You saved me from making a big mistake. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 05:46 PM PST My mother died in December (in Florida if it matters). While my absolute hero and probably the best person I'll ever know, she had extremely bad health problems that occurred in 2007. Parents tried, but it was a long roll down hill. House was lost, no real possession, etc. Father fell sick and has been in a full time care facility for 2+ years now, and she was disabled for probably close to a decade. She rented a tiny space, had a junker car, and owned nothing. Her bank account was fully government funded. It was a small and simple life, but she was happy. Before her death, she had a wicked fall. A fall that broke her eye socket and lead them to discover a bleed in her brain. This all happened in Wisconsin while visiting family. She was treated for weeks, and eventually cleared to come home. She's home for a few months and passes away. I currently have all of her mail forwarded to me. There are so many collectors. Those people want to be paid. What should I do? She died with nothing: no insurance, her bank account had $73, owned no property, etc. I did the simplest cremation, which still cost more than her old van was worth. I was thinking I should send each one a copy of her death certificate, but do I need to? There isn't an estate to go after. Should I send it out of courtesy? [link] [comments]  |
| Grandmother left me a trust fund but poor management and high fees are destroying it. Help. Posted: 28 Feb 2019 02:51 PM PST About 5 years ago my grandmother passed and left me with a trust fund roughly in the amount of $300,000. Unfortunately, she opened it with a local company who actively manages it and charges percentage fees for the service. Since this fund was established, it has has consistently LOST a few percent every year (in a bull market), and the total fees are near the 1% range. The value is considerably lower now than when it was opened thanks to the account managers. Here's the kicker: I won't have full control over this account for another 4 years or so. Until then my uncle has control over the account. So I'm really at a loss for what to do. It hurts watching the account balance go down every 3 months when I get a statement. Do you think I can convince my uncle to give me control of the account, or at least take it out of the managed fund? Another area of concern is taxes. If by some chance I can take this money out of the current account and invest it elsewhere, am I going to have to pay income or gains tax on that? Because that would be devastating. Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Always put money in your HSA, even if you are single. You will use it one day! Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:53 AM PST I just took what the company gave me the first few years of working. I was single and didnt think i would use it. Next thing im married and having a child. Had to pay 3k plus what was in the hsa. I could have put this in slowly and lowered my taxable income. You will use it someday even if you dont have kids!! [link] [comments]  |
| I just got renter's insurance, now what? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 04:09 PM PST The internet isn't exactly clear on what you need to do AFTER getting renter's insurance. I read somewhere that you want to make a list of what you own so if you do need to file a claim, it's ready. If it's true, how much information do you need of it? Do you document everything you own or just the big stuff? How do you add value to larger pieces you bought used? Any other information or advice is greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Why are Dave Ramsey's housing requirements so strict? How can a single person ever buy a house? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:33 AM PST I'm a single person making 46k a year in apart of my state with fairly inexpensive houses (120k for a small 2 bedroom) but very high taxes, 3%-4% of the house value each year. I listen to Dave Ramsey a lot and he always says people can only afford houses at 25% of their take home pay on a 15 year mortgage. The problem with that is I only take home $2700 a monthy since I'm paid biweekly. According to him I can only afford to spend 675 a month on housing. If I just wanted to rent a room, this would be fine but if I ever want to own a home it's not. If I had a 30 year mortgage of 100k a 4.5% that alone would be 507 and a 15 year year mortgage would be 765, so just the mortgage is over my price range. But with taxes each payment is over $800 or $1000 respectively. I love the area that I'm in but I also want to buy a house, how am I supposed to in this situation. Even if I get roommate, you can't always depend on that. $800 a month for a 30 year by myself seem manageable, not great, but okay especially if I have a roommate. But a 15 year is just impossible to me if I don't want to have all my money tied up in a house. Plus he says all my extra money has to go to paying that off and not extra investing. Even a two bedroom apartment in my area is easily $1200 a month that split with a roommate seems my only tenable solution according to Ramsey. It just seems ridiculous to me that he has these really lofty expectations that everyone makes 100k and lives in a LCOL area or is married. What are my options here? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 02:47 PM PST I was awarded about $2700 in "Finders Fees" by a company in 2018 for referring some clients to them. And despite seven months of me pestering about them and my account on their portal claiming that I've been paid (including listing a check number), I've never received any payment. I've been checking in with them about it every couple weeks and they always claim to be looking into it, but it's an endless series of problems and excuses. First it was "These things can take up to 90 days to process", then it was that they had switched to a new check processor and had to re-start the process, then they claimed that a check was returned as undeliverable, then they lost my address, etc etc etc. I'm still fighting with them about it but rapidly losing any expectation that I'll ever see the money.
(FYI, this is a Fortune 500 company. Not a small organization)
However, yesterday I got a 1099 from them (amusingly they were able to deliver that properly) for the full amount that I'm owed. I haven't done my 2018 taxes yet, but now I'm facing the prospect of having to pay income tax on money that I have never actually received. And boy does that annoy me.
What's the best course of action here? [link] [comments]  |
| Advice for high salary at young age? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 05:23 AM PST I will be starting a new job making roughly 140k-175k a year depending on bonus plus about 15k of 401k benefits (profit share). I am 24 years old and this is a large jump for me in salary. I already invest a lot in my 401k but I am looking for advice on other ways to be smart with this money to set myself up for the future. Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 07:14 PM PST Gee, I thought I was doing so well. I started saving in my IRA when they were first established. Now I am sixty years old and I am gobsmacked that I seem to not have enough. Let's look at the numbers. I am sixty years old, and so seven years from a "full" Social Security pension. (My wife and I seem to be good for about $24K a year in 2025.) I have IRA savings of about $550K. I have a good job but will be fired in December as I will be overage. (Why yes, they can do that in Saudi Arabia.) Any job I get in the US will (I suppose) not even come close to matching my present tax-free salary. My wife and I are making house payments of about $30K a year. Further (and shamefully) we owe $25K on credit cards. So predict my future. It seems to me we are screwed. Your thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| Checking account cleared out but I have my card Posted: 28 Feb 2019 05:40 PM PST So I found out today that $600 has been withdrawn at an ATM for three days in a row, completely clearing out my account. Of course I called my bank and they said the machines read my chip and the PIN was input. How is that possible? I'm really worried that the bank won't refund it because of that and that would essentially ruin me. Can anyone offer any consolation? [link] [comments]  |
| 17 years of age, getting kicked out in a few days, I have a grand to my name Posted: 27 Feb 2019 09:30 PM PST I'm 17 almost 18, I'm getting kicked out in 2 days and it's perfectly legal because I happen to live in a place where your parents can kick you out at 16. I'm graduated from HS, I've got about a grand to my name (I have a business online that's been doing pretty well which is my only luck, I make about a grand or two a month depending on advertisers) and I'm kind of addicted to drugs? Not really sure what to do, it's pretty damn cold outside with 2 feet of snow and I'm just not too sure what to do. I'm not depressed or scared or anything luckily so that helps my clarity a bit but I'm just not sure what to do. [link] [comments]  |
| Approved for my first credit card! Posted: 28 Feb 2019 04:09 PM PST I know it's not much, but I am a 18 year old college student living on my own and have just been approved for my first credit card. Any tips on how I can build my credit without over doing my spending? [link] [comments]  |
| Resorting to Reddit for financial advice because clearly, I'm an idiot Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:40 PM PST Hi Reddit, I made the official worst financial mistake of my life (so far) and didn't realize until months later. Looking for some advice, here's the background: I bought a brand new car for $41k taxes in... I'm 24, making $50k/yr gross and living at home with parents. I financed the entire total sale at 0% over 6 years (November 2017) because "I can afford the bi-weekly payments, so I can afford this car". I even went full retard and bought an extended warranty. I had just landed a decent entry level position in IT with a big company about 4 months prior (still in the same position) and I guess I felt like treating myself. I have approx. 10K in emergency savings and another $15k in retirement savings and other investments. My student loan is paid off and I have no credit card debt. I pay approx $350/month in utilities & food living at home since I feel obligated. The car is worth approx. 27-28K and I owe $31k, I've paid about an extra $2k over the first year, only because I prefer seeing the number go down XD.. That being said it seems silly to pay extra on a 0% loan, since no interest is saved and I've likely already paid a premium for the car because of the low rate. Anyways, There's nothing I want more than to purchase a house or condo and finally move out on my own, but this car is weighing me down. It's approx $575/month ($265 biweekly) which simply prevents me from getting a more significant mortgage approval due to my debt service ratio. I'm watching all my friends and co-workers buy homes, investing their extra cash while driving average, used cars that do the same god damn thing mine does but for a fraction of the cost (Point A 2 B). I found Dave Ramsey's channel on youtube about 6 months after this purchase, and never before have I felt such a strong sense of "What the fuck was I thinking" in my life. I guess I want to know if its worth it to sell the car or do I just power through this loan asap? The two scenarios I argue between in my head are: #1 - I could pay off the $5k of negative equity and buy a cheap $5-7k car using my emergency fund, I figure I'd build that back in about 6-7 months with how few other expenses I have. Then within a year after that I'd have a moderate size down payment together for a house. Downside being I MAY incur more repair/maintenance costs on the used car. #2 - I could continue to pay off the loan, while the car continues to depreciate. I almost feel like punishing myself through this so that I never make the same mistake, I've already taken a huge depreciation hit on the car and it technically is covered bumper to bumper for the next 9 years (if they even honor these scam warranties).. Which one of the above is a worse idea? I feel like #1 is my shortest path to being financially successful and owning some real estate at a relatively young age. However I can see the validity in #2 also.. I'm clearly not the best at decision making but I can brainstorm all day without coming to a conclusion. Any advice is appreciated, thanks Reddit. [link] [comments]  |
| Are online banks just as safe as brick and mortar banks? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:27 PM PST I have been with my local credit union since I turned 18. I have been thinking of opening an account with an online bank for a while know, but I have always been irrationally scared of putting my money in an institution without a storefront. I have been thinking about Ally Bank. Any thoughts on this? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 07:40 PM PST Good day, I'm with Chase and I received an email informing me to update my income information to qualify for better perks with my bank and I was interested in receiving a higher credit limit but I also read that if I start making a lower income, my credit score will take a hit? I know that in the second half of the year I'll be switching to part time to make room for university and will be making significantly less for the rest of 2019 and 2020. Do I have to update my income periodically with Chase when I start this process? If I update a newer lower income down the line will I face a penalty for that with my credit? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Need an ELI5 on how poor of a financial decision leasing is in contrast to buying used. Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:58 AM PST My mom, who is in her 60s, is barely scraping by, and is only able to stay afloat because my brother and I help her out. Her car was totalled in an accident, and she's received a four thousand dollar payout. She wants to put all of it it down on a lease because she'll end up having lower monthly payments. I'm besides myself because when the lease is up in a few years, it's my brother and I who will have to help come up with a down payment for her next lease. I understand why leasing is a poor choice in most cases, but my mom is not getting it. I have to confess it took me a bit to see the light, so I get her perspective, as misguided as it may be. Can someone share, or point me to, some good text that simply explains this, as though you're speaking to a five year-old? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 05:39 PM PST So I'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not. If it's not just tell me and I'll delete. So I don't have a bank account, for the past couple of years I've been using a Walmart money card to pay my bills and do online purchases. My bills were due today so I added money to my account this morning and about an hour ago I went to check my account and I have 3 pending transactions to some company called worldremit Ltd totaling $194.06. I've never used or heard of this company before. I tried calling the number on my card and it wasn't really any help. And the online fraud form on the money cards website failed to submit 2 times so I gave up on that. Has anyone had anything like this happen to them? Am I completely screwed? And yes I know I should get a bank account, I'll be looking into that in the next week. [link] [comments]  |
| What’s the best way to pay off my credit card debt? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 03:55 PM PST I am a 21 year old female college student in my last semester. My first few years of college, I fell into the credit card trap. I have accrued over $6,120 in credit card debt. I have about 4 accounts with balances and they all have high interest rates anywhere from 18-27%. I have a part time serving job that makes me roughly 20k a year with a car payment of $230/month. Fortunately, when I graduate college I will have no student loan debt. My question is what is the most effective way to pay this off? Should I apply for a personal loan? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 06:35 PM PST Alright, I don't have a ton of time, so let me try to be quick. Due to a combination of being a bit careless with money when younger, but mostly due to me being unemployed for a stretch (and still underemployed, but I'm still looking for a better position, in line with what I used to make), credit card debt has piled up. I'm married, I have one card in only my name with about 20k on it, my wife and I have a join card with close to 20k on it, and my wife has a personal card with about 15k on it. We also owe about 20k more on our vehicle, and my wife still has a fair amount of college debt left (but that's very low interest, so it's not a priority). Grand total of 75k in [Edit: high interest] debt. Our yearly income is around 90k. Despite all this, we are still doing alright (thanks to me having a full time job again, for the past year). But we're mostly treading water. I keep getting mail saying I'm pre-approved for loan consolidation, sometimes even offering very low interest rates (about 4 percent or so). Is this a good option? Obviously, finding a job in line with what I used to make (about 35k more per year than my current position) would help immensely, but that could take a while, or (gulp) maybe even never happen again. In the meanwhile, assuming I pay off these high interest credit card with the loan consolidation, and don't maintain a balance on the cards again, we should be saving a fair amount of money per month.We can split the savings between boosting our small emergency fund, and paying off her credit card faster. Advice welcome. I can post more details about the companies offering the loans tomorrow, I'm curious (assuming the debt consolidation loan is my best bet) what companies are reputable. I qualify for USAA, and I've generally heard good things about them, but I haven't spoken with a rep yet (from them, or any of the other companies that have mailed me). Thanks in advance everyone. [link] [comments]  |
| What would you do first, pay off the car, save or invest? Posted: 28 Feb 2019 06:33 PM PST I'm 26 years old. I'm in 30,000 of debt. 6,000 is car debt and the rest is student loans. I have 20k in savings. I make 50k a year. My question is would you pay off the car and lose a chunk of savings, keep saving or start investing. If so, what would you invest in? I'm completely new to that world. Also struggling with the notion that working a 9-5 is pretty tough for me, I'd rather just work for myself but it's hard for me to take that leap and feel comfortable with it. I'm trying to try to get a grasp of what my priorities should be right now when it comes to my financials. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 06:33 PM PST Hello everyone and thank you for taking your time to help out me and my family. My mother (~55) has had a car that she purchased a few years ago. The car was the result of some terrible decisions (accident, other persons fault last car got basically totaled, hit just the right spot, their insurance paid 7k to get a new car. Mother went for a 12k car put down 7k and somehow after they convinced her to add aton of useless insurance she ended up paying 19k total.) She is currently doing payments on the car. She was in debt but after selling our house and some financial managing she is debt free, however she still makes payments for the car (owes roughly 5-7k ATM) there is an issue with the engine, not worth the fix. We moved from the desert to a snowy climate and need a higher up car anyways. Her friend unformed her letting the company repo the car and then leasing/ buying/ whatever might be her best option. She is worried if she let's them repo she will get a bad rate on next car, worried she can't get the second one before repo because they will see two car payments and be concerned she cant pay etc etc. She does plan on moving to a apartment very soon (renting) if that is important. If anyone has any ideas she DESPERATELY NEEDS HELP. Again thank you, if you need more info I can happily provide! TLDR: car is messed, not worth the 7k she still owes, best to repo and get a new one or...? [link] [comments]  |
| roth IRA contribution and tax year questions Posted: 28 Feb 2019 04:34 PM PST Hello, I have a quick question about roth IRA. Sorry if my question is too basic. Say I contribute a set amount to roth IRA starting from now continuously up to max amount.
I've read posts that they put too much money into roth IRA and they need to pay 6% penalty for surmounting money over the limit. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2019 08:39 AM PST Original post is https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/an6cwr/damage_fee_from_lyft/ She ended up contacting Lyft via Facebook. That seems the best way to get a response from them, apparently!. Anyhow, their response was there is nothing to review. The driver's report on her is enough evidence to charge $250 for the damage. And there is no way to reverse their decision. She got mad, and disputed the charge on her CC. So fast forward to yesterday, she received an email for her credit card company(Discover), that says they reviewed the disputed charge, and the charge is valid. Then the charge appeared on her CC statement again. Any help? [link] [comments]  |
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