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    Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 08, 2019

    Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 08, 2019


    Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 08, 2019

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 04:08 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:

    1. Please make a top-level comment if you want to ask a question! Also, please don't downvote "moronic" questions! If you have not received your answer within 24 hours, please feel free to start a discussion.

    2. Make a top-level comment if you want to share something positive regarding your personal finances!

    A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions!

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    When does it make sense to stop repairing a car?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:55 AM PDT

    I drive a 2011 VW Jetta with 70k miles on it that just developed a critical issue, turning the engine into a ticking time-bomb until I pay a mechanic to pull it out and replace a flawed piece related to the timing chain. Apparently there was already a class action lawsuit against VW for the same issue, but it was for a different engine so I'm not covered. The repair would cost 2-4 grand, whereas the car's KBB is no more than 5k.

    My mother's trying to convince me to buy a new car, citing the "if repairs cost more than the car, get a new one" rule, and "many" of her friends' anecdotal experiences about encountering more problems once a repair of this scale is completed.

    I think she has a point, but I don't want to spend the extra money on a new car, and there's a good chance that fixing this would make the car good for another 70k miles at least.

    Anybody had similar issues?

    submitted by /u/Tuned3f
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    Being billed two years later by a company that is now bankrupt?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:47 AM PDT

    My wife had some blood work done with her cardiologist back in October of 2017. A few weeks ago, we received a billing statement from the hospital the cardiologist worked out of, stating a suspiciously high cost for that blood work ($7500ish), and stating that after insurance we owed ~$700 for it.

    I called my insurance to verify, and they told me to get in touch with the billing department for that facility. When I called them, I got a "This number is not in service" message. I tried checking their website, and nothing came up but two lines of black text on a white background stating information about what address to go to for medical records (curious, I checked the page source, and it's literally 17 lines of html that likely took 5 minutes in notepad to put together). I googled around a bit, and apparently the company went bankrupt in April of 2018 after being investigated for super shady billing practices.

    However, a few days ago, I received another notice from the company, still stating that we owed them, and still pointing us to the same non-working phone number and website.

    I'm trying to figure out what to do here- Any thoughts? I don't want to have this go to collections, but I also don't know if the charges are legit, or if they are, how I'd even go about paying them. A big part of me just wants to say that I've done my due diligence and ignore it, but I know there could be some serious consequences to my credit rating if I go that path.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for any advice yall might have.

    TLDR: being billed by a now bankrupt company with no way to contact them- what should I do?

    submitted by /u/Zsdfmkjh
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    Is it worth leaving a great paying job because you hate what you do ?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:11 PM PDT

    So I work for a company and earn great money. I'm by myself and have very few expenses and can save over 60% of my salary. But I hate what I do there. Everyday when returning home all I want is to lay and sleep or play some video games to relax. It drains so much of my energy and will to self grow on tasks I can work up and practice at home. My discomfort is already starting to affect my performance.

    But then again, is a great amount of money and that kind of income is really rare in my country for someone my age. And in the near future there might be an increase of expenses since my girlfriend and I are planning to move to another country (we both want to leave. Third world is no joke) and I have the possibility of working remotely.

    submitted by /u/orehcelE
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    My 17 year old sister got a call from what I believe were scammers and she gave them her SS number

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 11:44 AM PDT

    So I got home from work and my 17 year old sister who just graduated from high school got a call. She can't tell me who it was, what did they want, who did they work for or anything. She has been naive all her life and knows close to nothing when it comes to finances, legal, or any stuff.

    She told me that they were somehow "confirming" information with her. She knows her social security number by heart and she gave it to them. She doesn't appear to be very worried, but I am. I've been a long time lurker here and I have learned that federal agencies or any financial institution rarely call; they send letters. What can we do in my sister's case?

    Update: My sister does not have any credit cards, debit cards, etc. She doesn't even have a state ID. Right now she is applying to college. But I don't know, is freezing credit an option when you have not credit history at all???

    submitted by /u/Archprimus_
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    Any ideas or advice on very simple ways to make even a minimal amount of money on the Internet?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:15 PM PDT

    Hello, I will do my best to explain my situation clearly and if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

    My mom is 63 years old and speaks minimal English. She is disabled. I take care of her financially completely and it has caused a lot of hardship. She has some idea of how to use a computer and it was brought to my attention that there are websites on the Internet where you can fill out surveys or do something very basic to earn a small amount of money. I am very realistic and I know that maybe her gaining $5 a day would be more than excellent, but at this point - if she can help me with $5 a day, it would make a huge difference.

    The Internet is not my only idea. She is my mom, elderly, and disabled and I have no intention of putting her to work outside in the hot sun, but she has expressed interest in knitting with yarn and perhaps selling it. One of my friends said people are actually interested in that kind of stuff and would actually buy.

    So, at the moment, we have 1 idea (selling her knitting), but I made this post in case someone knows a suitable suggestion of something on the Internet I can also help her learn how to do and it could pull just a few extra dollars.

    I would be grateful for any advice anyone has. Thank you very much.

    submitted by /u/shespoke_sapphire
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    single, 23yo who got his first job. my mom said put 0 for allowances with no money being withheld. should i put 0, 1 or 2? i want to decrease my tax refund to as little as possible. ty!

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:41 AM PDT

    edit: i live in california. i do not think my mom can put me as a dependent. i have no children.

    edit 2: i make an estimated $2592 per pay period. i get paid bi-weekly.

    i used the w-4 withholding calculator, but i don't know if it is entirely accurate because it told me to put 4 allowances. i am expected to make $30,000 this year because i started working in July, rather than January. i am worried that the calculator thinks i made $30,000 in the entire year instead of 6 months of work and that changed the outcome.

    my mom and her tax lady told me to put 0 for allowances, but that means I will have the max amount taken out of my paycheck. i read some info found on this subreddit that it is ideal to get that amount to zero or as close as possible to zero because the government has 0% interest.

    i dont know if i should trust my mom's tax lady because when she called me, she sounded so dead and unenthusiastic. i was asking her questions and she acted like she didn't even care. everything she said contraindicated with what reddit says.

    currently for work, my w-4 and withholding certificate have 0 allowances and 0 being withheld from each paycheck. but i feel uncomfortable with those numbers and would like to consult reddit first.

    i plan on putting 10-15% into my roth 401k.

    thanks!

    submitted by /u/dvannjm
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    Company Paying 100% of Masters

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT

    Hello everyone,

    So I recently put my 2 weeks in at my job, and in an effort to get me to stay, my company offered to pay for the entirety of my Master's (with a 2 yr commitment upon completion)

    I will be a local state university for the program, which will cost a total of $34,560, broken down as follows:

    2019: $8,640

    2020: $17,280

    2021: $8,640

    My company is very small and has never offered this sort of benefit before. I am helping the owner look up the best options for how to do this in the best way (tax-wise) and I was wondering if anyone had any pointers? I am aware of Section 127 of the tax code that has the $5,250/yr tax-free benefit, but it seems like in order to qualify for that , the employer must offer it to nearly every employee. We have 30 employees and I am the only one being offered this benefit, so if that is the case then this wouldn't really work for us.

    I'm tempted to just have the owner write me a check for the amount each year, for which I will just deposit and pay the university directly. Or, he could write a check right to the university, or pay online with a money transfer/wire. Would these be taxable?

    Any and all help would be great! Definitely don't want to be stuck with a fat tax bill, if avoidable. Thanks in advanced.

    submitted by /u/probablylosingmoney
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    Main source of income in the family may die

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:32 PM PDT

    So as the title suggests, my mom, who makes most of the income in my family, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and may die sometime in the future (could be months, years, no idea)

    I am still a college student and my dad does not make enough on his own to support the lifestyle we currently have, which means we would likely lose our house and I would not be able to finish college

    In the event that my mom unexpectedly does succumb to her cancer, is there anything my dad and I can do to ensure we aren't left homeless and with barely any income?

    Edit: Turns out everyone in my family but my mom has life insurance, this makes the situation much more difficult

    submitted by /u/SultanSalaman
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    How Can We Afford Daycare?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT

    Hello - I'm in need of some help with how we can afford daycare. I'm freaking out a bit, and getting really scared for the future, so anything to point me in the right direction would be wonderful. I feel like my wife and I have penny pinched everything we can and are still coming up short in order to afford daycare for our new baby (1 year old in October). Currently baby has been taken care of by grandparents who can no longer do this come October. Daycare will cost 175/week ($700/month) and starts in October. It's the best rate we could find and options were very limited based on availability. For this upcoming school year I have taken the option to put away $4,000 for childcare expenses (tax free) that I must spend on childcare in the next year, I hope that helps a bit. No credit card debt. We pay off the total bill every other week or so. Our credit scores are both 750+. We are just so unsure what to do and how to afford daycare for our little one.

    Background: Husband is a teacher (salary), Wife is a teacher's assistant (hourly). Our total take home income is: $4350/month. averaged over the year (to take into account 2 1/2 months off in summer). Our current monthly expenses (itemized down below) is: $4254/month

    • Gas and Care insurance $200.00
    • Car Loan $602.00 still have $13588 left to pay, will be paid off by July 2021 0% interest
    • Gas $103.00
    • Electric $71.00
    • Phone $68.00
    • Internet $55.00
    • Water/Garbage $24.00
    • Mortgage $1,503.00 Bought in 2018, still have $226k left to pay
    • Health $208.00 bills from birth and infrequent trips to doctor
    • Cats $28.00
    • House $250.00 for house needs, cleaning supplies, random items "target runs"
    • Baby $208.00 food, diapers, clothing
    • Food $634.00 we make all meals at home, go out to eat once every 2 months, total receipt no more than $70
    • School Loans $306.00

    Thank you for any and all help here!

    submitted by /u/hivehivebuzzbuzz
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    Roth IRA vs 401K smart to invest in both?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:38 PM PDT

    So this seems like a typical retirement plan: Max out employer match on 401k, then max out Roth IRA ($6000), and contribute what I have left on 401k.

    Does it make sense to contribute to Roth IRA if when you retire, you plan on withdrawing less than how much you have made annually? Let's say you make $160k and pay taxes on 160K bracket. I am assuming you can get by when you retire with less than $100k annually. If that's is the assumption, does it make sense to contribute to Roth IRA at all since you'll be making/withdrawing less money than when you were working? I also assume that people will generally withdraw less money from their retirement accounts annually than the annual salary they made. If this is true, I really don't understand the advantage of Roth IRA.

    thank you!

    submitted by /u/h4ppidais
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    Is whole life insurance EVER a good investment?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:58 PM PDT

    I'm 23 years old. No kids, wife or mortgage. I've inherited $400,000 in assets from my moms side of the family and while likely inherit more upon the death of my grandmother and mother. I've "inherited" my family's financial advisor along with the assets. A couple of years ago, this guy had me sign up for a $500,000 whole life insurance policy that I pay a $6000 yearly premium on. At the time, I thought it was a bit strange that that I was signing up for life insurance at such a young age but I trusted this guy to handle my finances in my best interest as he had been my family's guy for years.

    Now that I'm a little bit older and more capable of thinking for my self, I'm beginning to suspect I'm being ripped off. According to the FINRA website, this financial advisor is registered as both an investment advisor and a broker. From what I've been able to gather online, this means that he doesn't have a legal obligation to act in a fiduciary capacity and that he likely makes commission off of me signing up for this insurance policy. When I ask why life insurance is a good idea, he mentions the tax advantage benefit and "the maintenance of the value of wealth and estate planning" and "to make sure wealth is passed down from generation to generation." I know that this sub is pretty adamantly against whole life insurance policies, but is there some validity to them for someone who has inherited significant amounts of wealth or am I being duped by someone who has their own interests in mind? I've set up a meeting with him soon and am wondering how I should address my concerns.

    submitted by /u/guard091
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    Going to work on a cruise ship for 6 months.

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:10 AM PDT

    Saving money sounds nice. I'd be working 6 months, 10 hours a day, 7 days a week for $8 an hour.

    I currently do $12 at 40 a week at home in Arizona.

    I'd be relocated to Hawaii.

    It gives me the chance to save close to $15k+

    I don't know if I should do it. I'm bad at savings, and this would give me a nice boost

    submitted by /u/Vexrah
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    How do taxes work if my job is in New Jersey but I live in New York?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:17 PM PDT

    Just recieved an offer for a job in New Jersey, was wondering how income taxes would work. Would I get taxed twice or something?

    submitted by /u/yibster2008
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    My job just gave me the option to buy 10000 shares of stock at $0.38/share.

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 04:56 PM PDT

    Two year investment minimum. It's kind of a start up but we have been hiring new clients like never before. Should I do this?

    submitted by /u/Pedantic_Semantic
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    Quick Question: Line of credit on a mortgage

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:56 PM PDT

    Quick question.

    I currently have 50% down on a 1.4 mil mortgaged home.

    The deal will be closed next week. Is it possible to get a line of credit on the 50% of equity I have on the home as soon as the deal is closed? or do I have to wait for it to mature?

    Thanks

    p.s. in Canada

    submitted by /u/KalPark
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    The Health Insurance Marketplace auto-enrolled my wife into a new health insurance company and plan for 2018 without our consent and they received a $501.39 a month advance payment premium tax credit. We already had coverage from my job and now the IRS says we owe them $6,000

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:47 AM PDT

    I apologize in advance for the title gore.

    Missouri / South Carolina

    We lived in Missouri in 2017 and my wife had health insurance through the Marketplace (Humana). In late 2017, we received notice that Humana was leaving the Marketplace for 2018. Luckily, I had a job prospect lined up and was able to go full time at the beginning of 2018. Therefore, we did not re-enroll in the Marketplace and assumed my wife's coverage would lapse and cancel once Humana left. We moved to South Carolina in 2018 and didn't think about it anymore.

    Apparently, a new company called Ambetter from Home State Health took over and the Marketplace auto-enrolled her. We did not give them permission to do this. In fact, the notice we received from them specifically states we needed to take action before open enrollment ends on 12/15/2017. It also says we are under no obligation to activate this new coverage. There's no mention of auto enrolling, but the notice says "* because we don't want you to have a gap in coverage, we matched you with an alternate plan offered by a different insurance company."*

    I finalized our taxes today and it says we owe around $6,000 to the IRS for repayment of the APTC.

    I called the Marketplace and all they could do is apologize and say that my wife was auto enrolled.

    I did receive invoices from Ambetter ($0 because of the large subsidy received monthly) but I ignored them because I never signed up with them. Never signed any paperwork and never once spoke with them. This also means, technically, that my wife had two health insurances in 2018. Does this void her primary health insurance company (United Healthcare)? She's a heavy user so this is very important to me. We were questioned by UHC on whether my wife had another health insurance company but we answered no. I didn't even think of this nonsense until receiving my 2018 income taxes back.

    What do I do here? Are we really on the hook for repaying the IRS for the APTC?

    submitted by /u/Kansas_City
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    In between jobs, credit card is over due. JPMorgan is calling me but not leaving professional messages?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 04:32 PM PDT

    I'm broke, looking for work.

    I'm not actually too stressed about this though, I am young, I'm employable, I just needed a few months off after some life stuff.

    So I have about 5k in credit card debt, that's no fun. As of this month both cards are over due and over limit.

    JPMorgan seems to be calling me around 10am, then around 5pm. They leave messages but it's always something along the lines of "hi this is X, is this my correct name?" Then they hang up.

    I'm certain it's not a robocall and I Googled the number, came up as JPMORGAN.

    A. Should I answer their calls? I think it's odd they haven't asked me to call them back or acted professionally? Is there any legalese I should be aware of?

    B. I gather being broke and in CC debt is very bad, but assuming I start paying in it within like 3 months, what's the worst case scenario?

    Thanks so much ya'll!

    UPDATE: called JPMorgan back, they told me I just needed to finish last months payment and I'm good to go. Told me worst case scenario was I had about 75 days after tomorrow(my payment date) before they'd close the account or anything very bad.

    In the long term I'll close out this card.

    Thank you all for your fast assistance, credit card companies really freak me out.

    submitted by /u/GodMayOrMayNotExist
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    Which brokerage account should I choose?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:58 PM PDT

    I'm planning on dumping around ~$100k into ETFs and index funds and am wondering which brokerage account to choose for this.

    I feel like BoA's Merrill Edge seems like the obvious choice. At >$100k in the account, you're considered a preferred rewards member, which gives you 100 free stock and ETF trades per month. As a preferred rewards member, you also get a 75% bonus on their credit card rewards - thereby giving 5.2% cashback on a category, 3.5% cashback on travel & dining, and 2.6% on everything else.

    I only plan on buying ETFs/index funds once or twice a month with whatever amount remains in my paycheck. Due to the nature of my work, I'm not allowed to buy/sell normal stocks frequently, so I'd never hit the 100 free trades ceiling.

    source

    Does Merrill Edge really seem like the better choice? Am I overlooking some important details?

    submitted by /u/RabinKarp
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    Buying used vs leasing a car

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:40 PM PDT

    I'm currently a college student working the summer to save up for a decent used car. I'm not sure if I should lease or buy the car outright. I don't have to worry about things such as rent or tuition because I live with my parents and they pay for my college, so I can focus most of the money I make towards the car. If I do buy a car I was thinking of financing it as long it as long as it doesn't exceed 15000 dollars, with a down 3700 dollar down payment, which is 25%. I'd appreciate any help!!

    submitted by /u/WhiteKnight7873
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    As if I couldn't hate Comcast more...

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:33 PM PDT

    I canceled my service about 6 months ago and made sure I had everything paid up (even asked at the Comcast store when I returned my stuff if I had a balance... they said no).

    Surprise surprise I receive a bill from Comcast for $34 in the mail about a month later. I refuse to pay because it's absolute bullcrap.

    Anyways they send me a few more notices that I ignore (God forbid I call their "customer service" to try and sort it out).

    Now I've received a letter from a collections agency for the $34. I'm absolutely furious.

    Help me r/personalfinance, you're my only hope...

    Do I have to pay this? Is it going to ruin my credit score if I don't? Has it already hurt my record for going to a collections agency?

    Thank you in advance for your advice.

    submitted by /u/saucerpinto808
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    Am I making the most of my savings? A general overview request.

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 02:34 PM PDT

    Hi everyone. I'm at 26 year old guy who's looking for general savings tips and an assessment of my current practices. I know that the best time to start investing/saving is always "yesterday" so I'm trying to make the most of my 20's. I'm hoping you guys can point out anything dumb I'm doing or missing so that I can be sure I'm on the right track! This isn't so much a request for budget review, more of a "here's where my money is, should it be in different places?" Any feedback is welcome. I'll try and update this if anyone asks for additional info in the comments.

    (An example of helpful advice I've received in the past when requesting help like this was to keep excess income in a savings account and only have a necessary amount to pay monthly expenses in a checking account due to the difference in interest rates.)

    INCOME:

    Currently I work from home 9-5 as a web developer making about 118k a year before taxes.

    DEBT:

    None! I rent my home and student/car loans are all paid off.

    SAVINGS/INVESTMENTS:

    • Current employer 401k: The company I work at offers a 50% match on up to 5% of my salary. I allocate 15% pre-tax every pay cycle. I let Fidelity handle the investment allocations.

    Current balance: $41,948

    • Roth IRA: This is from a previous company's retirement plan that couldn't rollover into my current employers. I don't currently contribute any of my salary to it (should I be?) so it just sits there and grows.

    Current balance: $14,208

    • Rollover IRA: I'm honestly not sure what this is from. Could have been from a previous company from a job I had in college/high school? Fidelity labels it as a separate account titled "Rollover IRA". Not currently being invested in, just sits and grows. Should/could this be merged into one of the other two?

    Current balance: $1,649

    • HSA: My company offers an HSA that I take advantage of. I try and put in the maximum amount allowed per year.

    Current balance: $13,883

    • Checking account 1: On the 5th of every month I reload this with whatever funds from my savings account needed to get it up to $5,000. Credit card bills, utilities, rent, and miscellaneous expenses come out of here.

    Ally Bank .1% APY Current balance: $5,000

    • Savings account: Once all the other savings/investments parts take their bites, this is where all of my remaining paycheck goes. I honestly don't have big plans at the moment... No houses I want to buy or long term plans or anything like that. So my money just sits here until I decide what I want to do with my life.

    Ally Bank 2.1% APY Current balance: $80,528

    • Checking account 2: Small regional bank run by old ladies that will never forget your name. I keep an account open here in case I ever need to withdraw a large sum of cash that can be transferred out of my online savings account.

    Current balance: $20

    CREDIT CARDS

    • Discover Cashback card: First credit card, been running for 7 years. These days I just make a monthly purchase to keep a running balance that is paid in full every payment period. Discover's free FICO evaluation says my credit score is around 782 but I have no idea what the other relevant scores are.
    • American Express "Cash Magnet" card: Acquired this card on May 1st of this year to help diversify my credit portfolio. I use it for essentially all purchases. Balance is paid in full every payment period.

    If you can think of anything I should be doing that I'm not please let me know! Even if it's something that may not be immediately applicable but could be in the future. Should I have more credit cards where I spread my purchases according to their specific benefits? Should I be investing into my Roth IRA? Should I increase my 401k paycheck allocation? Should I look into CD's and other accounts/investments rather than having all of my income land in a savings account? I appreciate any/all input!

    submitted by /u/personalfinance777
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    Young adult and was recently offered to swap cars with my mom - is this a long term or short term benefit or is it a hindrance?

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 08:10 PM PDT

    So recently my uncle passed away. When my aunt was going through all of his things to see what she could do, she offered me a 2012 Buick Lacross for about $3000 - $4000. We didn't get to talking super specific numbers, because I almost immediately declined. At the time I was currently running with a 2011 Nissan Sentra. I'm not a car guy, so I figured my car gets ok mileage, it runs fine at the moment, no need for a new car. I get from point A to point B and it doesn't cost much. Sounds perfect. My aunt was sad to hear I wouldn't take the car but understood for the most part. She reluctantly sold the car to my mother. They're not in the best relationship with each other, but my aunt still offered the same 3k to 4k price range. My mom took it in a heartbeat and sold her old Toyota corolla. Important to note my mom is an awful driver. My aunt was VERY reluctant to give it to her to say the least.

    Now here is the problem: my mom hates the Buick and wants to resell it some point next year. I told her it would be a huge waste because the car is in Extremely good shape and only 70,000 miles. It was basically babied until my uncle passed. She told me she'd be willing to trade my Nissan for the Buick, saying the Buick is a better value in the long run. Thus, for the past 2 months, I've been driving it to see if I'd like to take it on before my mom trades it in. She's willing to give me until next year to decide whether or not I want to keep it. I've tried it again for the past 2 months, and can't help but feel suckered into it. It's a damn nice luxury car. Nice seats, heated in the winter, ac works just fine, good radio (radio is a weird problem with the Nissan. I plug it my phone and it just glitches a lot). Issue being the practicality of it. The mileage is worse. No doubt about it. I felt it being a lot worse almost right away. Google is showing the sentra at 27 city / 34 highway. 25 city / 36 highway. So seemingly only a slight difference, but I find myself refilling a bit quicker than i'm used to. Another Issue is, I'm paying an extra $10-20 per tank to refill this tank of a car. It's also so big, that just parking it under the roofed area of my complex, it's already been scratched twice. My mom told me to not worry about the scratches because she'll just take the hit and sell it for whatever it's worth with the scratches. That doesn't sit right with me, so I told her no matter what I'd be repairing it before she resold it.

    The Nissan has 1 reported accident and I've put a lot of money into it already. 4 thousand to buy it from my other uncle, a 1,500 dollar accident, and already at least 1 - 2 thousand of routine repairs and seemingly constant issues during yearly inspections. This last year, I had to replace the battery 3 times. Turns out 2 of the batteries were just shitty batteries, and the third has been running just fine for months. But with batteries comes with labor costs, all 3 with labor costs and batteries included, probably another thousand. I've probably put in around 7,000 into this car, and last week, it failed inspection and needed to get more work done. The total bill was another 1.2k. Luckily for me my mom told me since it might be her car anyway she would pay this most recent inspection.

    The point i'm getting to is: Is it worth trading these cars? Everyone around me tells me it's smarter, it's a year more recent, and no reported accidents. Worth noting it's only needed minor minor work and this years inspection was only $50. It's a good car, but it's very very big and guzzles gas like nothing and i'm worried that if I get into an accident it would cost more for being a more recent car. Not that I'm a dangerous or unsafe driver, but god am I paranoid. It also has some sentimental value because my aunt gave it to my mom trusting her with it. I'd hate to see how she responds to having sold it only 1 year into owning it, especially after giving my mom such a good discount. My main concern is refilling the tank takes an extra 10 to 20 bucks. I know that may sound naive especially considering the deal i'm getting on the car in the first place, but i'm a young adult who's never had to deal with car stuff and had no father figure growing up. The more I think about it the more I want to keep the Buick but I don't know i'f i'm falling for some "new car trap" where I only want it because it feels better.

    To recap: trading 2011 Nissan Sentra (100,000 miles) --> 2012 Buick Lacross. (70,000) miles per gallon is worse on the Buick. Nissan has 1 reported accident, Buick has none. I've already put a total of around $7,000 into the Nissan. Outlook for the Nissan is negative. Mom would be fine with swapping the Nissan for her Buick with no extra deposit. Just swapping the cars. Is it better long term or short term or both?

    Hope i'm not wasting you guys' time with my silly young person question lol. It's something that I don't really have anyone else to talk to about, considering the only person I would talk to about it is the one trying to sell me on it.

    submitted by /u/Coffeezzz
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    I am 18 and about to lose my health insurance and I have no idea what to do to get it back.

    Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:47 PM PDT

    Hi everyone,

    So I live in Wisconsin and I have "UnitedHealthcare BadgerCare+" for my health insurance. I called the number to ask how long it lasted and it ends at the end of the month. I don't know how my Mom got it and she either won't tell me or doesn't know. I asked her to see if it could be extended and she said no and that I would have to find insurance for myself.

    I know there is some sort of law that if you don't have insurance you have to pay a fine or something.

    I honestly have no idea where to start. I have to pay for college and I don't think I can pay for insurance as well.

    I would appreciate any help in explaining this. How to I find cheap insurance? Do I need insurance? Is there some sort of social program that allows me to continue having insurance?

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/Edgar455
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