Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of February 25, 2019 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of February 25, 2019
- Landlord wants rent paid via direct deposit. Best way to handle that?
- Company will match 4.5% as long as I deposit at least 6%. Should I choose to save more?
- Does missing a student loan payment when I'm paid ahead hurt my credit?
- How detrimental if "office spacing" it at work? (IE doing just barely less than minimum while waiting to get fired)
- Fetal alcohol system, twenty six. I'm unlikely to ever hold a well-paying job due to some pretty major brain damage. Should I invest in an IRA or 401k? Please help me, I find the whole thing really, really, unbelievably confusing.
- Betterment Smart Saver v. Ally v. Marcus Savings Accounts
- Homeowners insurance after mortgage is paid off
- I hate my job (but make great money), live in an expensive city, and have loans to pay off. I feel trapped.
- Received Job Offer at bottom of range of what I said was expected, but realized it was not close to current compensation levels. Can I ask for more than original?
- $11,000 colonoscopy bill - insurance covered 1/3
- Can't afford rent anymore - want to break my lease. Options?
- Cheaper living, happier life?
- Is the Southwest Rewards Card Worth the Annual Fee?
- Health/Dental insurance?
- Is CIT Bank a good option for an online savings account? Any suggestions?
- I just received a larger-than-expected inheritance. I live abroad. I'm unsure what to do with it.
- In debt, not number savvy. Any kind, realistic help?
- If my high yield savings account earns 2.2% interest, and a CD could earn 2.75%, why should I invest in the bond market which is returning about the same?
- My patron didn't/won't send a 1099 for a 2500$ job?
- Social Security Survivor Benefits
- Going back to school in my 30's or work?
- Buying a property - Am I in over my head?
- Question about income made from renting
- I just won a bunch off a scratch off. It comes to under $50,000 but over $40,000 after taxes. I want to invest in something.
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of February 25, 2019 Posted: 25 Feb 2019 03:07 AM PST If you need help, please check the PF Wiki to see if your question might be answered there.This thread is for personal finance questions, discussions, and sharing your success stories:
A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! [link] [comments]  |
| Landlord wants rent paid via direct deposit. Best way to handle that? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 10:05 AM PST I have their direct deposit information; but we use different banks. The only way I can think to make a direct deposit instant and free is to withdraw cash from my bank, and deposit cash it in person at their bank branch. Is there a better way to do it? Edit: Thanks for the input and insight. For clarification I have my Landlord's business acct and routing number, not the other way around. I looked into Zella, but my bank (ill let you deduce that) only allows a 500-per-day transfer at first. I'll talk to my bank tomorrow, but otherwise I plan to drop a check off in person at the Landlord's bank at least for this month. [link] [comments]  |
| Company will match 4.5% as long as I deposit at least 6%. Should I choose to save more? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 08:02 AM PST Hi, PF! I (32m) have just been hired at a company that has a 401k plan, and (just as the title states) they will match up to 4.5% provided I put away at least 6%. I'm trying to decide if I should put away the max amount they would let me select, which is 12%. I would still only get 4.5% from them, but here's the factors on why I would think I should deposit as much as possible: 1) At this point, I have absolutely no previous savings. I feel like I need to get serious about this NOW, and aggressively start saving. 2) This job pays significantly better than my previous employment with amazing healthcare benefits and other perks. I went from $28,500 at my last job, which after taxes and $800 a year being deposited to an HSA netted me about $800 a paycheck (biweekly pay). I now make $44,000 a year, still have a plan to deposit $800 into an HSA this year, and so far my first couple of paychecks seem to have me bringing home about $1,300 a paycheck (again biweekly pay). 3) I have zero plans to increase my quality of life, so the way I see it is that I'm making around $1,000 a month now of disposable income that I want to use wisely and not waste on fickle wants. I'm even looking at more things to lower my amount of money necessity expenses, e.g., cheaper cellphone plan, different car with lower monthly payments, etc. So if I'm depositing a bigger chunk of my new monthly disposable income, isn't that the right decision to put it in my 401k? I just want to make sure that there's a solid reason to go above what gets me the highest matched percent through my company, and that the extra amount I'm considering depositing wouldn't be more wisely invested elsewhere. Thanks for the input! EDIT Firstly, thank so much to everyone that has responded! It is much appreciated. A couple clarifications on my original post, because I wrote it up during a break time during training and there was no way I was gonna be able to respond on mobile to the best of my abilities. 1st Clarification: The company is not limiting my ability to deposit at an absolute maximum of 12%. There is just an Easy Signup on the company login that gives us these options: 6%, 8%, 10%, or 12%. There is an area to do more customized options; which includes higher deposited amounts; but I'm just getting started, still going through training, and trying to get a grasp on all of the information that's being thrown at me. So I wanted to pick one of the easier 4 available options to get started so I at least have SOMETHING started. I figured anything was better than nothing. 2nd Clarification: Anyone who commented on paying off my car, it is a leased vehicle. The contract on it runs out in March 2020, at which point I will NOT be leasing another vehicle ever again. I've seen at what a poor investment leasing a vehicle essentially is. To justify my decision a little on leasing my vehicle, it's an electric car which I believe is a poor decision to purchase at the moment due to their overall cost and sharp depreciation value. After this lease, I'm going to find a used gas vehicle that I can pay off quickly so I'm no longer making any kind of car payment. I think I've decided on how I will go about my investment path based on the many insightful comments that everyone has provided: 1) Set my 401k investment to 8%. I'll get the 4.5% match with my company, and I'll even be saving just a little more to stay slightly on the aggressive side of saving. 2) I have to get an emergency fund of at least 6 months more funded, because as it stands I would only have 1 month worth of savings I could survive on and I'm not comfortable with that little of a buffer. 3) With my 401k investments totaling 12.5% being saved, I will put another 7.5% towards being saved in a Roth IRA so I have a total of 20% of my income being saved as I saw recommended. 4) With the remaining disposable income after everything else is squared away, I'm going to go full bore into eliminating all of my debt. This is actually only the remainder of school loans that I have from attending college a second time, and should take me less than a year to eliminate. At which point I will be completely debt free and able to take what used to be loan payments and use them to save even more. Many thanks to all the PF'ers that gave me their input, and I feel like I finally have a solid path to financial freedom for the first time in my life! I can't overstate my appreciation for the advice. [link] [comments]  |
| Does missing a student loan payment when I'm paid ahead hurt my credit? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 10:04 AM PST Hi there! I'm 25 and have about $20,000 left in student loans. Never refinanced. My monthly payment is $320. I bought a home last June (2018) for some context. Prior to that, I ALWAYS paid double for my student loan payment ($640), because I had the excess cash, had a stable savings, and maxed my 401k. Now, I had some work to do on the house and my savings is down from 10k to 1.7k. I have no credit card debt but I pay it off each month. Doing some math, I'll have to pull from savings to pay my monthly $320 on student loans even though I'm paid ahead by like a year and some. If I just don't pay a month, does that hurt my credits core? Or should I continue to pay off $320 even though I'd be pulling from savings for (at least) this month. EDIT: My loan provider is GreatLakes and this is what it says: Paid ahead until 8/15/2020. Also this is what shows up under FAQs of paid ahead:
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| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 11:22 AM PST Union job, no direct supervision, feel like I'm wasting away some days(can't really imagine ever really working again). Other days I feel great. Pull in almost 100k while working maybe 15-20hrs/wk. Can't figure out if i should keep waiting for shit to hit the fan or start proactively trying to find another career that doesn't pay as much but is more satisfying. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 05:28 PM PST |
| Betterment Smart Saver v. Ally v. Marcus Savings Accounts Posted: 25 Feb 2019 10:29 AM PST Looking for the best place to park my emergency savings. I hear great things about Ally/Marcus but I'm also considering Betterment's Smart Saver because I already have an account with them. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Homeowners insurance after mortgage is paid off Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:31 AM PST We recently paid off our mortgage early with a large lump sum. Our insurance agent wants us to stop by today and review our policy. I don't know if the request to review the policy was precipitated by the early payoff, but this will be the first time in many years that we have talked with someone from the insurance company. We plan on maintaining a policy, but don't want to over insure. The only articles I can find about this situation are written by insurance companies who of course, are in the business of making money by selling you as much insurance as they can. I am looking for advice about how to approach this matter and this meeting with our insurance agent. Edit to add (after appointment with insurance agent) -- Thank you all very much for the helpful advice. We decided to go with the same coverage for the house, which was full replacement cost that includes various additional costs such as clearing away the debris, higher cost of materials, living expenses while new house is being built, etc. We also added a rider for water/sewer backup, a rider to cover the pipes from the house out to the street to the city hookup (which run under the yard and driveway), and we bumped up the personal liability from $100K to $300K. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 04:26 PM PST Hey all, I've been living and working in the greater Boston area for about a year now. I strongly dislike my job, I am not crazy about where I live, and I am looking for a change, but I feel trapped. I'm desperate to receive some job-shifting advice. Here's my situation:
All in all, I'm not really sure what to do. We will have to live here until my wife graduates, so moving to another state is not an option. I work pretty long days, and so tooling up quickly for another development job would be extremely challenging. I guess I'm just lost. I don't really know what to do (that doesn't result in a massive pay cut), but I want to be happier with where I work. My experience at the company thus far has been nothing short of miserable, and I'm questioning if I can make it another year, especially as the project gets busier (we have phases, and the next 6-8 months are going to be very, very busy). If you asked me a year ago if I'd work a horrible job for 120k, I'd say yes. But after doing it for a year, my perspective has changed. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this and give a response! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 06:33 PM PST To start, I know I messed up by providing any kind of range for salary prior knowing what they were prepared to offer. But for some back story, an old colleague got me in touch with a company that was looking to expand. They said they'd like to talk to me based on my current skill set and experience, so I met with them and seemed to really impress everyone. The only issue I had so far was that they didn't really say what role they needed me for. They wanted me to talk to a few more people, including the COO, and those talks on the phone also went well, although I told the COO my range was 90-95k when he caught me off guard asking what I was expecting. I then got a call from an original interviewer, and we discussed that I actually wasn't interested in what they originally wanted me for, but he thought they might be able to carve out a new role for me. A week goes by and he tells me they're able to create this role after a large client signed on, and they send me an offer at 90k - with little vacation time and 0% 401k match. Now, I finally calculated that in my current role my total compensation package is over 100k, and this new role requires a much longer commute that would require the purchase of a car. I am definitely interested in the role and I want to ask for 103k, as that's really what it would take for me to move, but is that well beyond reasonable based on what I originally stated? I know that I can reference the change in expected role, and possibly the lack in 401k match, but don't want to push them too far. Any help is appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| $11,000 colonoscopy bill - insurance covered 1/3 Posted: 25 Feb 2019 04:47 PM PST So here I am stuck with a $7000 bill for a colonoscopy. I've seen advice in here on a few medical bill questions so I figured I'd give it a try. I get god awful health insurance that barely seems fair they only covered as much as they did. Next time, how do I find out ahead of time how much a procedure like this will cost? Prior to performing it? Honestly, whether I need it or not, I'm in no position to pay for this. I do have a maxed out FSA account to help with some of this. Should have $1000-$1500 left in the account. Are there ways I can get them to reduce the cost? Hardly seems fair that my fiancé can give birth to my child and spend 3 days in a hospital with a total out of pocket cost of around $2000. I have so much more to say about this but it would be more of a rant than PF questions.... In Michigan if that matters Are their lawyers that can process and handle this? At this point it'd be worth spending $1000 to have a specialist look over how they billed me if it'd save me thousands. [link] [comments]  |
| Can't afford rent anymore - want to break my lease. Options? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 06:49 PM PST Hi, I live in a one bedroom in Scottsdale, AZ and i'm currently paying $1,300+ a month in rent. I'm 6 months into a 12-month lease. I recently transitioned careers and can't afford to pay the rent anymore (making roughly 35,000 a year now). I've lined up another living situation with a roommate to make rent much more affordable. My question is, how tough will it be to break my current lease? Do i tell my landlord i can't afford rent anymore? My lease is extremely vague and doesn't provide much language about the consequences of breaking the lease. I assume i might lose my deposit (one month's rent) but i don't know what else. Any suggestions on how to approach it with the landlord will be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:33 PM PST Hello all, Who: I'm a 23 y/o male looking to move out of my parent's place. Where: I live in Nassau county, NY where residential land is barely worth owning unless you have tenants. I'm looking to move upstate, out of state, or anywhere where I can find good work, cheap apartments, and decent people. Usually my preference is places with lower population density, so less traffic problems, less crowding issues, and lower costs of living. When: What (The hell am I doing, job, financial, etc): I recently set up a goal to see where I am in a year. I currently work as a bowling machine C-mechanic and make 14/hr. By the end of the year, I can have 10k lined up to move out, aside from my current savings and checking. I own my own car, pay for my car insurance, pay close attention to my health, and take classes. Including my insurance I spend $300 - $500 a month and pay it back early so Ive got great credit. Why: I'm absolutely miserable here. My parents split up when I was a kid so now theres 4 of them. Neither families are financially unstable and Ive burned no bridges with them (mostly been taking care of worrisome structural damage). They are kind people but lead dysfunctional lives, one side spending way too much money building a giant new house in the middle of the housing crisis. I want to live my own life, work on machines, grow a garden, and have a workbench where I can fix and make things. I want to be around people that share similar values and have passion for sciences. Where I live, it seems like there are too many people to care about being a community, we've reached the population limit and now its survival of whoever can screw enough money out of others to survive. I cant handle the stress and want to slow down, do some honest work, and get by while I move forward. I understand that I'm ignoring possible future investments and that careful budgeting may not be enough. I do hope to finish school at some point (Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering) and I have about 3 semesters (if I do full-time) left but I'm struggling in thise environment. By my late 20's I'll start worrying about building a family and I may screw that up if I take my life in the wrong direction from here. The only expenses I dont pay yet are health insurance, cellular, room, and board. Agreement and disagreement are both welcome, I need the perspective of you guys to show me what I've missed and could end up regretting. I'll take whatever I can to avoid being miserable. Thank you all in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Is the Southwest Rewards Card Worth the Annual Fee? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:30 PM PST So I got this card a few years ago because there was a promotion and I have over 60,000 points. I'm trying to get a handle on my finances and trying to decide if the rewards card is worth the $99 annual fee. One of my issues is I don't want to lose all these points if I cancel the card. So does anyone know if I can still use the points if I don't have the card? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 06:30 PM PST My employer has offered my daughter & me a cost-sharing insurance alternative OR they will pay $150/month toward an actual health plan of my choosing. Ive been looking on the health insurance marketplace and I'm quite overwhelmed.
Any help will be appreciated! We live in SC, USA. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Is CIT Bank a good option for an online savings account? Any suggestions? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 05:00 PM PST Hey guys, I'm looking for a good bank for long term savings with a decent APY. I'm 24, but have never really used online-only banks. I currently have Capital One and SunTrust, but their savings APYs are low. I've got $25K I'd like to keep liquid for emergencies and family (I won't be touching this money very often).
From what I've gathered, CIT Bank has the highest APY at 2.45% with a Savings Builder account. Sounds great, but I've also read some posts warning about poor customer service and that some online banks don't offer or make it a hassle to designate a beneficiary and authorized user. If anyone has experience with CIT Bank, please let me know. Would also appreciate any advice and suggestions on high yield savings accounts. [link] [comments]  |
| I just received a larger-than-expected inheritance. I live abroad. I'm unsure what to do with it. Posted: 25 Feb 2019 03:41 AM PST Note: -Yes, I know that Reddit is no replacement for an actual financial advisor, etc. I will go to one in due time, my post here is more to get a general idea. -I won't make any major decisions for at least a half year, just so I'm not acting on the "heat of the moment." Background: -I am the only child (in my early thirties) of my (long divorced) mother, who passed away a few weeks ago. She was in her early 50s. She herself has no siblings, and the entire estate is willed to me (and I am the sole beneficiary of her 401K--my [estranged from us] father was never on it). My mother saved every penny, whereas I am not as good with money (I don't have any debts or anything, I just don't save money very well). The feeling of immense loss aside, I am terrified that I will do something stupid with the money. I am a grad student and I live with my spouse in Europe. We are financially comfortable even without my mother's money. My finances have been combined with my spouse's for years, but we both agreed that the inherited assets should be in my name only. My spouse and I are both US citizens and solely US citizens. Same goes for my mother. Estate: -The house I grew up in America (value = ~175,000). Would need about 20K in renovation if I want to sell/rent it. There is an emotional attachment but we don't see ourselves moving back to the US (or if we do, then not my hometown). I'm leaning towards renovating and renting it out, and maybe putting some of the most sentimental items I can't let go of into a storage unit, paid for by part of the rental money (A storage unit would cost 150 a month. Our European apartment is too small to ship everything over). -Bank accounts, which would be about 100,000 - 110,000 dollars after all medical bills, etc are paid -I bonds- Already matured, 15,000 dollars. -401K: 500,000 dollars. I am the sole beneficiary. It's all in the form of bonds. -Life Insurance: 110,000. Options: I know my weaknesses: I think grand and squander/spend money easily. I want the inheritance to give us some security and flexibility. I will give myself some luxury with it (e.g. A few grand on a trip somewhere) but it's important that I set up a system and a proper portfolio with it. What do you guys think about the following ideas? (They are not all mutually exclusive)
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| In debt, not number savvy. Any kind, realistic help? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 10:39 AM PST Hey there. I'm 28 and I can't afford a financial advisor. If anyone would be willing to help me set up a plan of some sort to eliminate my debt I would be forever grateful. I am currently making a little above minimum payments but I just can't seem to make this disappear. My cc debt is under $5000. I only make about 1000/month, sometimes less. 230 of that amount is designated to my car note. Car insurance is 180/month and health insurance is 100/month. I've been putting my health and car on my cc. Is that a bad move? I need guidance and a realistic plan. I'm sure this is simple but I just need help in this department. Thank you ahead of time [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 12:24 PM PST I must be missing something but I don't understand what the value of investing in bonds is when I could just put that money in my savings account. [link] [comments]  |
| My patron didn't/won't send a 1099 for a 2500$ job? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 06:35 PM PST Colorado: I made interior murals for a local business in 2018 for about 2500$. I've never had this kind of self-employment income. I didn't receive a 1099 from him. I called him and his accountant about this. After many calls I was told, with attitude, "If the income is over 600$, you must report it" (duh, that's why I'm calling). I'm failing in my attempt to find information which tells me that I don't need a 1099. Am I correct that I need a 1099? If I don't, could someone please tell me how I report this income? I am using KarmaCredit's free tax service and it consistently asks me for a 1099 when I attempt to input self-employment income. Thanks y'all! Edit: This is a Marijuana company and they are unable to write off any expenses like this. (That is what he told me) [link] [comments]  |
| Social Security Survivor Benefits Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:46 PM PST Does anyone out there know much about Social Security Survivor Benefits? I was told five years ago by them that I would have to be 60 to be able to collect Survivor Benefits from my husband who passed away 5 years ago. I've had a horrible time financially and have looked forward to being able to collect on this. I was told a few months ago when I called them that I'd be able to get a nice little sum of money monthly starting in June. I just called them a few days ago to make an appointment to start initiating this and was told that if I collect before I'm 66 and 10 months, I can't make more than $17,000 a year or it gets significantly eaten up and I get a few checks of next to nothing. I'm devastated and really can't go on like this. I'm working 2 jobs and yet am usually in overdraft. Is there anything I can do? [link] [comments]  |
| Going back to school in my 30's or work? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:38 PM PST I am a female in her mid 30's unsure if I should go back to school because my first degree (economics with a minor in english) didn't give me much opportunity and I lost touch with the majority of people I went to school with. I just want to make over 6 figures which is what is needed to survive on in the city I was born and raised in (DC) and to help out my elderly parents who never learned how to manage their money or gave me proper advice on career or college. I worked in HR but I really disliked it. I had trouble with the manager who took an instant dislike with me for no reason and her butt kissing assistant who would write me up over everything despite them acting unethical and not bothering to investigate or report serious incidents. I am thinking of maybe going back for a master's degree in Information systems or a degree in the array of medical positions. Long hours wouldn't be a problem for me. I look to be in my early 20's (I still get carded for R rated movies) and feel young (no joint pain and lift and exercise everyday and healthy overall). I just worry employers won't hire me or judge me because of my age in some of those fields. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a property - Am I in over my head? Posted: 25 Feb 2019 11:35 AM PST Hello, I'm a 30 yr single male. For the past few years I have never contemplated owning since I constantly moved for work. In the past year, I finally has move to the city that I want to live (austin tx) in and setting down roots here. I have started the house search and have learned a couple things:
So, here is the question, with my finances below, should I purchase in this price range? (my lender say yes, but they'll say anything). Here are my information Debt: $0 Income: ~$95k Saving: $200k in mutual funds (after tax accounts). Retirement: $200k in 401k and Roth IRA. Monthly expense currently: $1500/month I have been very frugal with my lifestyle, which has enabled me to save so much. However, I'm struggling to understand how much money to spend on a house is too much. Am I in a position to take on 350k mortgage? Additionally, is this a smart idea? I'm very afraid that once I commit to this sort of payment, if I lose my job, it's all over. How do you handle this fear? What should I do? We can get into the discussion of renting but for now, if I'm in a position to buy property, I would like to buy property instead of renting. Thanks Edit: thank you all for the encouragement. I think I got it twisted in my head when I have been saving so agressive for so long I forgot the point of money. I can afford this much and in a safe position to do so. This "cashing out" to finally buy a home, no longer roaming around, is truly a powerful feeling for me personally. It's such an indulgence. The opportunity to make this choice to purchase this is truly a privilege, a blessing and I'm so grateful to be able to make this choice. I'll relax a little and will continue to keep up my saving habit without squeezing all the fun out of my life. [link] [comments]  |
| Question about income made from renting Posted: 25 Feb 2019 02:49 PM PST I am a relatively young homeowner. I rent out two rooms in the three bedroom townhouse that I own. My renters pay a set amount each month plus utilities. Since this is my first tax season in the home, what can I expect? Is the income taxed at the same rate as income made through my employer (what about Social Security or other taxes)? Is it likely that the tax break for interest paid covers the tax cost incurred? I typically get a tax return as I don't withhold much, so I'm just trying to get a sense of whether I'll get a surprise bill or just the lack of a nice bonus. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2019 07:24 PM PST So, I won a bunch of money. The money is already in my CU account. What I want to know, are some things to invest into that have a high return and low risk. I'm not good with stocks. I went in 5 years ago and came out with just over $1 profit. My dad was a financial advisor for BMO Capital Marketers but I don't want to tell him about my success yet. So, I'd like some advice on where to put the money for a possible positive return. [link] [comments]  |
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