Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of April 12, 2019 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of April 12, 2019
- Mom gave vague credit info to a company who offered to pay off balance. They paid it off and 12 days later it’s still $0. Scam?
- My wife works for the state of Virginia and they won't let her change her retirement plan.
- [Update] Chase Bank denied claim for $8000 fraudulent Quickpay transfers! Seeking advice!
- For many of you, your biggest ROI will be on focusing on increasing your income instead of cutting your expenses.
- High yield savings account vs Certificates of Deposit?
- Long time lurker seeking second opinion on financial independence.
- Feeling guilty about apartments with high rent
- Job offer with a company car
- Increasing credit limit every 6 months
- Financial Progress Chart Ideas? - (Graphic Design Post)
- If someone is trying to apply for credit with my name and SSN do I need to freeze all 3 credit bureaus or just 1 of them?
- Dad retired but was told he cant work while collecting pension.
- How much should I have in savings?
- My mother found out she owes $12K in premium tax credits from health insurance.
- Experian is at it again - They provided my credit report to someone I know without my permission
- [TAXES] Last year, I had an ACA healthcare plan through the Marketplace until April. Then, I got a job with healthcare provided. I am being asked to pay the full subsidy amount back. Is there NO cap on this?
- Have a simple W2 and $500 from royalties on a 1099-misc. Do I really have to pay $60 for turbotax?
- Save for 20% down on house to avoid PMI?
- I need help getting my life in order financially
- Best way to pay 16K in credit card debt?
- 48yo New Mortgage. Extra payments or More into 401K
- I have enough to pay off my student loans...but should I?
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of April 12, 2019 Posted: 12 Apr 2019 10:05 AM PDT 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]  |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2019 10:06 AM PDT All she told them was the balance amount, who the card was with, her first name only and the expiration date of the card. Absolutely nothing else. I kept telling her not to do it because they contacted her through instagram, the numero uno of red flags. She did it anyways and they paid off $1200 in CC debt. I'm almost sure it's money laundering or something but it's been 12 full days since they've paid it and it's still showing as zero balance and the credit card company said the payment has completely cleared. They gave her their account information to make the payment. [link] [comments]  |
| My wife works for the state of Virginia and they won't let her change her retirement plan. Posted: 12 Apr 2019 09:25 AM PDT My wife was hired on as an emergency hire with the state 10 year ago. Since then she has become amazing at her job and never left. The issue is that she picked the best plan for the position she was hired into. Not as a life long employee(which is much nicer). Her HR person says that it's state policy that you're unable to change your plan once you've selected it. I find it difficult to believe that it's so rigid. Has anyone else ran into so.ething similar and managed to get it overturned? [link] [comments]  |
| [Update] Chase Bank denied claim for $8000 fraudulent Quickpay transfers! Seeking advice! Posted: 12 Apr 2019 05:43 PM PDT Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/bbow0c/chase_bank_denied_claim_for_8000_in_fraudulent/ 04/12/2019 Updates: I didn't reply every comments but I really want to thank everyone who provided advice/shared your experience. It's definitely very stressful when such thing happens, but I found so much help and support here. On April 11th, I found that in my Chase online portal, there is 'Device History' where I can clearly see what device logged in at what time. There are 4 devices listed, one iPhone and 3 Windows System computer. Based on the last accessed time I can tell that one is my home computer, one is my office computer, and my iPhone. The 4th Windows System computer, I do not recognize. When I expand the access history of the 4th computer, there were only 10 accesses all happened between February 19th and February 23rd. The last access was just before I noticed the fraud and reported to Chase. I also found that 8 of these 10 access times agree to the 8 fraudulent transactions. I immediately screenshot everything and saved it. Today April 12th, I brought my evidence and my police report and went to a branch again. The banker helped me call the Claim Department and fax all the documents to them. They said I need to call them next Tuesday to confirm they receive it. Then they will review my evidence and decide whether they will re-investigate. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2019 04:44 PM PDT If you are a typical college graduate earning $50,000 a year, your best bang for your buck will not be quitting Starbucks, or buying a cheaper car, or being more thrifty. Imagine that this $50,000/yr grad is an accountant named Joe. Joe will get a lot more value spending 5 hours on the weekend studying for his CPA exam to increase his career and income trajectory instead of trying to fix a toilet DIY or focusing so much on spending less money on coffee. If you spend a lot of money at coffee shops, like $200/month, yes, that is a lot of money. But if Joe systematically focuses on prepping for the CPA exam, after 1+ years, you'll be a CPA and earning around at least ~$70k starting. Compare the two:
That is why often focusing too much on your spending as opposed to your income can be a problem. Of course, we should all be careful about our spending, but... budgeting won't make you wealthy. High income combined with a good savings rate will. [link] [comments]  |
| High yield savings account vs Certificates of Deposit? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 03:22 PM PDT I'm a little stumped as to why someone would want a short term CD when there are high yield online savings accounts? I use CIT bank which offers a 2.45% savings account rate if you can meet the qualifications: https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/ When I login to my Schwab brokerage account and search for CDs across numerous banks, I see that it takes 3+ year CDs to beat the high yield savings. (Schwab is showing 2.6% for a 3-year CD). So why would I lock up money for 3+ years if I can get a savings account that's almost as good but has liquidity? The handful of reasons I can think of are:
Is there any reason why I should consider a CD at this point? I feel like I'm misunderstanding something about CDs and bonds. Maybe CDs/bond rates compound differently than savings? Do they have better tax benefits compared to savings interest which is income taxed? Why else should I care about short term CDs or bonds? I ask because I'm trying to diversify and I'm reading some strategies which say to have some cash investments. I'm 32, no significant debt other than a mortgage, stable income, contribute 12% to employer 401k, contribute maximum to personal Roth IRA retirement. I have over $20,000 in savings accounts and various ETFs that can be easily sold for emergencies. I think I have a basic foundation covered. I'm looking next is to better diversify what I got in case a recession is around the corner and my savings account and ETFs take a shit. Hence why I was wondering about CDs or other stable cash investments. Or maybe non-accredited real estate funds (REITs) like the Fundrise platform that simple joes like me can use. But something other than index funds, mutual funds, ETFs, etc. [link] [comments]  |
| Long time lurker seeking second opinion on financial independence. Posted: 12 Apr 2019 07:12 PM PDT I'm 22 years old. I live with my parents. They've always let me know that I can keep staying with them, and save up. So I'm in no rush. But I think now is a good time to work on being financially independent. I'm looking to spend between $1,000-1,300 on rent. I have no debt, no loans. My current bills are: car insurance, $185.00, gas $100.00, phone $70. I make 17 an hour, get paid bi weekly. 72 - 80 hrs. So each paycheck is between $1,080 to $1,200. I work at a restaurant. I can keep food cost down, plus I'm lucky enough to eat whatever I want at work. So I don't worry to much about food cost. I have 10K in an emergency savings account. 5.5K in a savings account. 3.7k in a IRA. 4k on checkings account, I would like to use this for 1st month rent and deposit with some supplies and utilities if they aren't taken care of by the owner. I've thought this through and have been preparing for a year. I think I can accomplish this since I don't have too many bills. Am i on track? Is this doable? [link] [comments]  |
| Feeling guilty about apartments with high rent Posted: 12 Apr 2019 05:09 AM PDT So background: early 20s, graduating college in May, starting new job that pays well and moving to a new city. No debt, decent amount of regular savings and some in a Roth IRA. I am coming from a small town and a really shit apartment, so with my new income I am looking at higher end places. I mapped out a 50/30/20 budget and with a little wiggle room (more of a 55/25/20 budget now) I can afford a great place right down town and 15 minutes from work. However, I am feeling a little guilty about spending so much money on rent after spending so little the last 4 years in college. The amenities it offers, like a great 24 hour gym and close proximity to downtown, cause me to justify that I wouldn't be driving much, so the gas savings are beneficial, and I wouldn't need to pay 30-40 bucks a month for a gym membership. I am also going to be pursuing a masters starting in July, so having a nice place to work without any roommates that is close to coffee shops and the park is important. However, even after a 401(k) contribution, it's still within the 33% rule. So I guess my question is this: is it financially unwise to spend ~39% of my income on rent + utilities (31% rent, 8% utilities) to live close to downtown when I'm straight out of college, or should I spend less on rent and work more on stockpiling cash for my savings + retirement investments? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2019 06:39 AM PDT I'm going in for a final interview with a company that provides a company car. I want to be prepared for negotiations if it comes to an offer. The package they offer includes a company car. However I already have a car that I own outright. The job doesn't require much travel, and I would prefer to get mileage on the infrequent miles I would travel on my personal car. I also don't have a driveway/garage, so would have to street park 3 cars on my already tight street, or pay for a garage spot on my personal car at a facility. Is it a bad move financially to attempt to negotiate for a higher salary without the car rather than lower with the car? Is that even a possibility in salary/benefits negotiation? If not, does anyone have recommendations for what I should do with my current car? [link] [comments]  |
| Increasing credit limit every 6 months Posted: 12 Apr 2019 06:16 PM PDT I have 800+ credit and always pay my credit cards on time. I have 4 credit cards under my name. For almost the past 2 years I have been doing credit limit increase requests on all 4 credit cards every 6 months. All 3 times my requests were approved. Sometimes it is not much of an increase. [link] [comments]  |
| Financial Progress Chart Ideas? - (Graphic Design Post) Posted: 12 Apr 2019 01:52 PM PDT What does everyone else use to visually track their debt pay-off or savings goals? I'll start: My wife and I are working towards paying off our vehicle and my student loans. We hope to finish later next year. To keep ourselves motivated, we felt it was important to track our progress with a chart or graph that we could display in our home. After scouring the internet, I was unable to find a chart that was compatible with the modern aesthetics of our home decor while maintaining a degree of financial privacy. I found many charts and lots of art, but nothing that brought the two together. Because we live and play in the Pacific Northwest and because our financial goal feels like a mountain, I came up with the idea of a mountain graphic that we will slowly fill with ink in from the bottom to the top. Each small triangle represents an incremental step and each smaller mountain represents a significant milestone. Once our goal is complete, we plan on keeping the filled-in mountain on display as a reminder of our accomplishments. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2019 01:49 PM PDT Basically title, someone tried to apply for credit and stuff but it got denied but I don't have any credit anyways cause I am recently 18 so it doesn't matter if I freeze it or not since they can't get anything. Also does anyone know how I have a credit score of 4? [link] [comments]  |
| Dad retired but was told he cant work while collecting pension. Posted: 12 Apr 2019 11:18 AM PDT Sorry if this isn't the right place for this. So my Dad recently retired earlier then he planned due to them changing his pension, he is 58yrs old. He called his work today, while on the phone with them he asked about any limitations to working now that he is retired and they told him he won't be able to work for 6months and after the 6months only if they approve of it. He was also told that he would'nt be getting his first retirement check untilt that 6months, I guess something about a lot of people retiring due to the pension changes. So my question really is just if anyone has heard of anythign like this or if there is anything he can do. His pension check will be decent but he mainly wanted to work for the Health Insurance. [link] [comments]  |
| How much should I have in savings? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 10:50 AM PDT Hey, I was wondering if you could take a look at my finances and let me know how much I should have in savings. My live-in girlfriend and I are both teachers and coaches, which is why I ask. Do you think having a job in which you are unlikely to get fired changes how much you should have in savings? Here's a breakdown of our finances. ME: Take home 3850 No debt or car payments Mortgage and Escrow: 1440 (more on that below) Her: Take home 3700 Car- 250 Student loans 280 Phone- 100 Although my mortgage is 1440, she pays all utilities and and 300 per month. Have another roommate who pays 600 per month. All told, my monthly expenses are around 500. With that being said, I know other roommate might move out soon which will make it 1100. Currently, I have 9k in roth IRA, 5k in bank. She has 4k in bank. However, she still owes about 30k in student loans. She on the income payment plan and hopes to get loan forgiveness as a teacher. My questions is whether 5k is a good savings amount for two teachers with stable jobs? I know it should be more, but with things as stable as they are, I was wondering if I should put money elsewhere. My mortgage is 160k on a house worth probably 400k. Lastly, and I think I already know the answer to this- would it be stupid for me to take a loan out (around 7k) to purchase a travel trailer? One of the benefits of us both being teachers is the amount of time in summer and on breaks, and we love to road trip and camp. Thanks for any and all feedback! [link] [comments]  |
| My mother found out she owes $12K in premium tax credits from health insurance. Posted: 12 Apr 2019 01:18 PM PDT My mother has an agent that takes care of finding health insurance for her and my dad. The agent said she was qualified for premium tax credits when she enrolled in a new policy for 2018. Today she found out from her CPA that she wasn't qualified after all and now she has to pay $12,000 back. Is there anything she can do? [link] [comments]  |
| Experian is at it again - They provided my credit report to someone I know without my permission Posted: 12 Apr 2019 11:35 AM PDT I received this letter from Experian!. I own just two small condos that I rent, and they provided my personal credit report to my tenant without my permission. Experian continues to abuse their power and while this may not result in damage to my credit (or maybe it will?), providing personal information about me to someone who has no business seeing it is unacceptable. This feels just like the time someone broke into my home and rifled through my drawers. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Apr 2019 03:13 PM PDT Hey folks, I know this is last minute but bear with me. From Jan - Apr of last year, I had an ACA health plan with a hefty subsidy. At the time my projected salary was maybe $25,000 as I was only working part time. However, in May I started a job with a salary of $51,000 which included health coverage, so I cancelled my ACA plan. Come tax time, I am now being billed for the subsidy amount, with federal taxes owed of about $1,000. Is there NO CAP on the subsidy repayment? I thought that if my AGI was less than 400% of the Federal Poverty Line (which it was, since I only made about 33,000 of my 51k projected salary in those 7 months) I would only owe a certain amount? Do I have this wrong? 1,000 isn't the worst I could owe, but I've literally never owed taxes before in my life, so to be hit with this kind of sucks. [link] [comments]  |
| Have a simple W2 and $500 from royalties on a 1099-misc. Do I really have to pay $60 for turbotax? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 03:55 PM PDT Hi all. I have an extremely vanilla W2 from my ft job and I made about $500 in royalties selling incredibly stupid novelty hats online. Problem is, on turbotax, as soon as you add a 1099-misc they want you to pay $60. Is there a way to avoid this? Can I file a 1099-misc separately somehow? $60 is really cutting into my novelty hat profits, you know?? [link] [comments]  |
| Save for 20% down on house to avoid PMI? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 03:46 PM PDT Background: Two artist DINKS - no plans for kids - in our mid 30's. We are debt free and pull in about 50-80k/year depending on how much work we are able to get. We currently have about $8,000 in savings/stocks. Objective: We are trying to save up for 20% down (to avoid private mortgage insurance) to purchase a $350,000 house/condo that can double as creative space for work. Our only major expense is rent ($1,400 month). I'd much rather be paying a mortgage for around the same price. Question: With interest rates being insanely low, should we try to hop in and buy and then pay off the loan aggressively to get to the 20% equity to have the private mortgage insurance dropped -- OR should we just wait until we have the cash to purchase later? With housing prices increasing in my area and interest rates being unknown, I'm thinking now is the time to buy. Thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| I need help getting my life in order financially Posted: 12 Apr 2019 12:43 PM PDT I need help. I am very stressed out about this situation and I do appreciate any advice that can be given. Please do not judge or shame me, I am simply asking for advice and trying to change our situation around. I've been living under a rock financially, thinking my husband has everything under control and is taking care of us financially but that isn't true. My husband has done his best but has also racked up a TON of debt in his name. Now that I am the only one with credit in our family, I have realized I do not have a credit score. I have never had a credit card or any bills in my name. I am a recipient of social services currently but nothing else. I will be attending University in fall 2020 but until then I am a stay at home mom and on welfare. I have no savings, no actual income, and no one wants to issue a credit card to me because I have no credit. My biggest concern at the moment is getting a loan (somehow) and trying to get a car for myself and the kids. I know I can make the payments monthly but no one will take a chance on me (obviously). I also worry about my kids' futures because costs of post-secondary education keep rising and it seems like time is starting to run out. I need to open a savings account for my kids and I have no idea what option to choose. I worry about opening an RESP because if I cannot meet the annual amount of $2500 (I believe) then I will not recieve the "bonus" from the government of $500. I also worry that it will be a burden for my kids to pay tax on the money when they take it out, and if they end up not attending post-secondary then what will happen? I was thinking to open one anyway and hope for the best, then open a TFSA for each of them when they are old enough, but now I am hearing about some ChildPlan which sounds good but also could be a scam. Can anyone offer advice on which option would be the best? Also regarding loans, are there any options for receiving a loan on welfare? I can definitely make monthly payments of $100-200 but since I have no credit it's impossible. I want to get a credit card to start building my credit but I worry if it will make my situation worse by taking on additional payments and potential debt. I have done a lot of research but I don't know where to begin. I've reached out to a number of loan offices but they all say the same thing. I'm sure there must be some other way or options since I doubt I am the first to be in this position. I don't have family or anyone trustworthy to ask for advice or guidance. I don't want my first financial decisions to be huge mistakes that could worsen an already bad situation. Also if anyone can offer insurance companies that aren't extremely expensive for a semi new driver. Any advice is greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to pay 16K in credit card debt? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 03:15 PM PDT I'm trying to see what is the best option for my sister who has 16K in CC debt. All the CC have APRs between 18-26%. She has 5 credit cards and one of those is almost maxed out at 12K with a monthly payment of $290 a month. Should she pay down the 12K CC or the smallest ones first as Dave Ramsey suggest? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| 48yo New Mortgage. Extra payments or More into 401K Posted: 12 Apr 2019 04:26 PM PDT 48 recently divorced. Had to buy wifes share of house. $252,000 (big house) Before I was contributing 16% to 401K with a 4% match. Was worried about bills and financial situation. Now, have a 30 year loan payments of $1258 But cut my 401k contribution to 8% with the 4% match. I waas thinking of paying like an extra $500 to a $1000 a month. Would still take a long time to pay off. Close to when I turn 65. Would it be wiser to increase my 401K contribution once again? Split the difference? As it stands amount in plan is $330,000 What if housing market falls? Extra payments wasted money? I am torn on how to go about this, any advice tips would be appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| I have enough to pay off my student loans...but should I? Posted: 12 Apr 2019 10:23 AM PDT Hi all, Some quick information, I currently owe 15k (have paid off 5k) in student loans from my BA a few years ago. Under my current income based plan, my monthly payment is $0. The interest rate is about 3.4%, but I'm taking part time classes so right now they're in deferment with no interest (0%) accumulating as they are subsidized loans. So basically 15k of loans, not currently accruing interest, no minimum monthly payment. I have saved up about 20k, which I'm loathe to spend all at once on loans... even though I would be debt free then. I make around 35k a year, with monthly rent and food expenses about $1000 a month. So my question is should I pay off my loans all at once? Does this make sense in my situation? EDIT: I want to add that I'm 24, and my long term goal has been to save for a down payment on a house. That's why I've been hesitant to pay off my student loans all at once. I also make monthly contributions to an IRA. [link] [comments]  |
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