Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 29, 2019 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 29, 2019
- Never look at monthly payments. Negotiate on the final price.
- Capital One says data breach affected 100 million credit card applications
- Equifax settlement: don't count on ever seeing that $125 check
- When buying something you don’t really need, ask yourself “how many hours do I have to work to pay for this?”
- [UPDATE] $271.83 was transferred out of my checking account to a bank 2000 miles away that I’ve never heard of...
- Watch your Verizon Fios bills closely for disingenuous increases
- I'm going in for an interview for an assistant manager position, but I just saw that they opened a general manager position at the same place. Would it be appropriate to let them know I am also interested in the GM position at the AM interview?
- A restaurant in town apparently hasn't processed card payments since last October and now intends on charging everyone for their past purchases. Can they do this?
- Another financial firm breach... this time CapitalOne
- I'm Lost and Feel Like I'm Drowning
- Deceased spouse 401k not claimed for 13 years. Is it still there?
- Is financing an engagement ring a bad idea?
- Essentially Won $1100 A Week For Life, How Do I Set My Family Up Best?
- I’m really embarrassed but I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy
- Airbnb charged me 4 times without authorization. Got refunded but lost $50 due to forex conversion. Any options?
- Canceled Comcast, plan to have partner sign up for promotion. Rep says if modem is the same auditing could catch us. BS or truth?
- Parent received $25k for an injury. How can they best use this money since they are permanently disabled?
- Need help with gifts and capital gains
- Is Mint worth setting up?
- New job, new place and I’m badly in debt. Please help me budget my finances and get out of debt.
- W-4 Question (please help it would mean a lot)
- My manager just informed me that if I cut down any hours to start up school next month that I’d be fired. What do I do?
- Is Primerica an mlm?
- If you have AT&T or DirecTV, monitor your credit card for CBS All Access charges
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of July 29, 2019 Posted: 29 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:
A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! [link] [comments]  |
| Never look at monthly payments. Negotiate on the final price. Posted: 29 Jul 2019 08:45 AM PDT This happens everywhere I go. Car dealership, "So what do you want your monthly payment to be?" Insurance agent, "Great so your downpayment is $XX and your quarterly payments are $XX" etc.. Um, I want to know what the final out the door price would be? "Well tell me what you can afford and I'll see if we can make this work for you. So how much are you looking to pay a month?" Why is this bad? Because you cannot compare apples to apples with just a monthly payment. Sure they can make your monthly payment super low and just extend your term to forever so they make more money. Or for insurance purposes you cannot compare that policy vs another one. Also you should know the true cost of the items you are buying. Sure those $150 airpods at 5 bucks a month on your credit card is easy to afford. But once you factor in that 22% interest rate over how long it takes to pay it off were they REALLY worth the $180+ you just paid? I feel like majority of uninformed consumers should be considering the true cost of items vs they I can afford that monthly payment mindset. No wonder people live paycheck to paycheck thinking they cannot afford to have an emergency savings because all of their money is going towards those monthly payments. Wait emergency savings? I don't need that, I have available credit on my credit cards! [link] [comments]  |
| Capital One says data breach affected 100 million credit card applications Posted: 29 Jul 2019 04:50 PM PDT
[link] [comments]  |
| Equifax settlement: don't count on ever seeing that $125 check Posted: 29 Jul 2019 01:48 AM PDT Long story short: only $31m of the $700m settlement is actually going to the whole "$125 check" program. So if just 248,000 people sign up, they'll get the full amount. If 1,000,000 sign up, they're getting $31 each. And if everyone who was actually affected signed up - all 147 million of them - it would be 21 cents. And I shouldn't have to remind you that news of the settlement with headlines that basically say "everyone gets $125 free for visiting this website" were everywhere for several days, so expect millions to file claims. This is not to say you shouldn't sign up. But please be realistic about expectations, and as is always good financial sense, don't spend the money before you have it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 07:47 PM PDT When you're considering buying something frivolous, and you are not sure that you should buy it, ask yourself what it will cost in hours worked. For example let's say that you want to buy a new pair of shoes, on a whim. They cost $150. If you make $20 an hour, after tax and other deductions, those shoes will cost you (approximately) 7.5 hours of work ...or about 1 day. If you love your job and you want to work more and you really want those shoes, then you should go ahead and buy them. But if you already put in enough time at your job and you're trying to save for the future, then asking this question can provide a different perspective. We're taught to think about things as being "affordable" if we have enough money coming or on a card. We're also told that if we need more money we can borrow it and then just work a little harder to pay it back. But your time is important as are the dollars you earn, so next time you're looking at something that you might not necessarily need just ask the question: "how many hours will I have to work to pay for this?" If you don't buy something after considering that question, you can put the money you didn't spend into savings...and treat yourself when it's really worth it. :-) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 12:29 PM PDT Back again on mobile to share my update for you all! (: before I share, I wanted to thank everyone for the kind and reassuring comments. You all are AWESOME!! So...it turned out to just be a mistake on my credit union's part. I went there this morning and explained the situation, and the assistant said that my account number is literally one off from another user at my same credit union. Apparently, an employee was trying to help this other member complete an ACH transfer on the 25th to a relative (who belongs to this mysterious other bank) and he/she accidentally pulled money from my checking account instead of the other member's. There was no fraud or identity theft after all, though I did freeze my credit just to be safe. I'm super relieved to share that I was lucky, but I took this as a great lesson to tighten up my cyber security! Thanks again r/personalfinance! [link] [comments]  |
| Watch your Verizon Fios bills closely for disingenuous increases Posted: 29 Jul 2019 06:23 AM PDT I just received a bill on auto-pay from Verizon Fios that was for $105.32, about $6 more than usual. My wife and I had actually just signed a 24-month contract renewal back in April that showed the estimated monthly total to be $98.47 (I understand this changes a bit w/ taxes and fees). I called Verizon Fios this morning to ask about the discrepancy with the bill. Customer support said they've decided to modify the DVR service discounts for customers, and that despite me having signed the agreement before the change, the $6 DVR Service Discount in my monthly estimated was eliminated as "per the terms of service, taxes, fees, and equipment charges are excluded from the contract price guarantee." I then spoke to her boss, April, who said "you're not the only one complaining about this," "I'd be angry if this happened to me personally," and "I actually use a different provider." So, I suggest you watch your Verizon Fios bills closely and maybe you'll have better luck than me. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 03:00 PM PDT |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 11:18 AM PDT |
| Another financial firm breach... this time CapitalOne Posted: 29 Jul 2019 05:58 PM PDT https://www.capitalone.com/facts2019/ Fortunately "no credit card account numbers or log-in credentials were compromised and over 99 percent of Social Security numbers were not compromised". When will these companies learn? [link] [comments]  |
| I'm Lost and Feel Like I'm Drowning Posted: 29 Jul 2019 06:16 PM PDT Hi All, I never thought I would be one of "those people". The irresponsible idiots who spent more on their credit card than they made in their paycheck. The foresight-lacking dimwits who didn't save their money to pay off student loans when they finished undergrad...but here I am and I have no idea what to do. Maybe like Dostoevsky said, "Poverty isn't a vice". Anyway: Here is the situation. 1: I did my undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics and did pretty well, but was left with $23,386 in student loans. (All federally subsidized) 2: All throughout college I worked and made pretty good money. (If you ignore the student loans and lack of foresight/saving) 3: I racked up $2000 in medical bills from an emergency appendectomy and multiple subsequent hospital visits to deal with reoccurring pain. 4: All through my senior year of college I lived in an apartment that only cost $300/month (including utilities!) while I made $30/hr (10 hours a week) working as a private k-12 tutor for math, science and standardized tests. Combined with me spending 80%-90% of my paycheck every month, I got used to living pretty well. Lots of eating out, several expensive subscriptions and lots of dates/drinks. A very bad habit to get into. 5: When college finished I planned on taking a year to do research at a different University before going to graduate school for physics. So I contacted a professor and he offered me a job for the summer, which has just turned into a job for the fall and spring semesters as well. With the new job, I moved to a completely new city where I had no connections and where everything was much more expensive. My rent payments + utilities went up to $500/month and my income went down to $10.50/hr (40 hrs a week) 6: I have a girlfriend who lives two hours away that I love very much and try to visit as often as possible, usually every weekend, which costs some $40 in gas everytime + dinner/drinks while I'm there. I don't have the courage to tell her what a financial wreck I am because I'm a coward and would prefer not to deal with the situation on that level. (My family never discussed finances and I even posting this here took me months to do.) 7: I am trying to prepare for graduate school and that requires lots of time studying for the pGRE (Physics Graduate Readiness Examination) which is extremely difficult and also costs $250. In addition to all that, my research job is very difficult and although I am only "allowed to work" 40hrs/wk, I typically work 60/70 because I love what I do, and I am trying to show the professor and department what a valuable asset I will be as a graduate student. 8: I do have a car which I was lucky enough to get for practically free, but combined with my renter's insurance, my insurance total is ($787) due between now and Feb 2020. 9: I currently have $500 in my savings account. $90 in my checking account and ($1,998) on my credit card. In 6 days I am moving into a new (cheaper) apartment that will only cost $300/month but including the security deposit will cost me $400 for this first month. So in less than a week I will have $190 to my name and an unpaid, angry credit card bill of $2000 staring down at me. In addition to that, I have $20k worth of student loans which are currently accruing interest because I am not actively enrolled in school. As a cherry on top of all this, I am also facing $2k worth of medical bills. Total Assets: $190 (7 days from now) Total Immediate Credits: $2000 Total Recurring Monthly Costs: $400 (rent)+ $150 (insurance) + $23.50 (cell phone) Total Monthly Income: $1,159 (after taxes) Right now I am getting hit with adjustment payments from my credit card, dozens of calls a day from my medical bill creditors and the ever hovering fear that I will have some sort of accident that will push me into the kind of red from which there is not return. If someone could help me find the path through this maze I would be so so very grateful. I am at a loss as to where I should start. In my head the first thing to go should be reoccurring, unnecessary costs. (Cancelled Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and my rock climbing subscription today) Then I should try to stop spending on my credit card...but I'm scared to do this because if I spend the "hard" cash in my checking account and then rent payments come due, I won't be able to sleep under a roof. Uggghhh.... You guys probably get the picture. Feel free to ask any questions about my financial mistakes and please please give me suggestions on what I can do to improve this situation. Thanks. EDIT: As per suggestions, I am talking to my girlfriend tomorrow and will call both my credit card company and hospital to ask if they can give me some sort of deal. I also applied for a tutoring job here in town just the other day, but I won't be able to get any hours until at least the middle of August. [link] [comments]  |
| Deceased spouse 401k not claimed for 13 years. Is it still there? Posted: 29 Jul 2019 12:06 PM PDT My mother died about 13 years ago and had a 401k through her employer. My father decided, against my advice, that it would be best if he remained unaware of the details of the account and did not make any moves to claim ownership of the account. Hes retiring due to health issues at 62 and needs the money. She was responsible and I'm sure made him the beneficiary of the account, is the money still available? I'd like to know before I go through all the rigmarole involved in getting access to the money as he will likely need me to handle the details. Any advice/insight appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Is financing an engagement ring a bad idea? Posted: 29 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT Girlfriend really has fallen in love with a certain ring that costs around $7000. I've kind of convinced her that it's likely out of the budget, but I'm still holding on to hope that I can get her the ring of her dreams. I'll have $4500 that I've budgeted for the ring by the time I'm planning to propose. I could honestly probably save up the rest if I had another 2 or 3 months, but I just really want to propose in the time I have planned already. So would paying $4500 down and then financing the other $2500 be a terrible financial decision? [link] [comments]  |
| Essentially Won $1100 A Week For Life, How Do I Set My Family Up Best? Posted: 29 Jul 2019 04:01 PM PDT Apologizing in advance for this collection of diarrhea of information. Long story short, I've been awarded a ~$57k annual, tax-free disability pension along with free healthcare for my family paid for by the government due to injuries sustained while performing the duties of my job. My wife (34) makes 125k and I (34) plan on taking a 75k job in a new field for as long as I can work. I have balance issues from a TBI that could worsen or devolve into degenerative nerve or brain disorders, so I would like to make as much as I can while I know that I'm able. I want to set up my wife and 18 month old for success in case I ever go downhill. Believe me, I know that this situation is something that I'm ultimately VERY fortunate to have as a mitigation for being physically unable to continue the career that I love...and it's an embarrassing amount of money. But as nice as it seems, it could also go south very quickly if my health deteriorates further. So, I want to be prepared. Future (in 3 months) Monthly Take Home Post-Tax in a VHCOL area: Wife: $6500 Me: $4600 Pension: $4800
We are efficient and practically frugal people who will reject lifestyle creep. Our bills are tied to credit cards (thanks, r/churning) with rewards that pay us for clothes and travel, thus minimal spend in those categories below. Debts / Bills / Spend:
Monthly Amount Left Over: $6800 Questions:
How would you attack the debt that we have, or would it be wiser to invest? Thank you all so much in advance for the replies. I know this is tedious to read. This sub is amazing and I appreciate any help that we can get. EDIT: I should add that I obviously want my little one to have the option of attending college. I haven't put anything away for her yet because my line of thinking is that if our house is paid off and let's say worst case, I kick the bucket, my wife will get half of my pension for the remainder of her years with minimal bills, or be able to sell the house for a nice chunk of change that will enable her to pay tuition. If this is the wrong way to look at it, please let me know! [link] [comments]  |
| I’m really embarrassed but I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy Posted: 29 Jul 2019 06:32 PM PDT Any advice on the 341 meeting and how to recover post discharge? I was very, very stupid and careless as a young adult and jobs were lost, did not anticipate being unable to pay. Anyway I'm very embarrassed and I have learned my lesson so I would greatly appreciate not being put down. Any finance advice would be appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 02:02 PM PDT I made 3 bookings on Airbnb. They charged me 3 times correctly, then another 4 random charges were made by them amounting to $700. After weeks of speaking to the worst support staff I have ever encountered, I finally received some refunds. Unfortunately due to forex conversion to my local currency I'm out nearly $50. Do I have any recourse? I contacted my credit card company. I asked them to refund me the 2.75% forex conversion fee listed on their fee schedule. They said that the money arrives already converted by Visa and they cannot offer me a refund. I tried contacting them twice - same response. I contacted Airbnb via twitter to ask for a voucher or credit on my account. Got referred up to Trust & Safety, but they ignored my question and I received the same canned message that I received a "full refund". I live in South Africa, booked accommodation in EU if that makes a difference. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 04:31 PM PDT Hey all, Went into my local Xfinity store and tried to negotiate my rate down but they didn't budge. I canceled service and plan to have my partner sign up for a promotion. I think the rep caught on to that and said "friendly advice, if your roommate is going to sign up you should use a different modem. Auditing could catch you if the modem is the same. " was he BSing me or is that true? Modem is at least 5 years old now but still works well so would hate to get rid of it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 03:01 PM PDT Parent is mid 40's and permanently disabled. They will be saving 6 months worth of expenses as emergency money but is unsure about the rest. They have little money towards their retirement and they were thinking of allocating the rest of their money there, also they don't have any loans. A Bank of America representative talked to them about opening up a savings account where they can't withdraw money for a year and they will then receive a certain % back after that year (can't recall the percentage) however I am not sure if this is the best option. All advice is very appreciated. Thank you in advance!! [link] [comments]  |
| Need help with gifts and capital gains Posted: 29 Jul 2019 08:43 PM PDT Hi r/PersonalFinance - My wife and I currently live in a house owned by her parents. The house was built in the 30's and needs a lot of work, but due to the neighborhood and property size, it's worth considerably more than they bought it for. What I'd like to do is purchase the house from them for what they owe on their note, plus an additional sum (50k or so) to put back into the house for renovations. We'd then draft an agreement to split the sale price of the home when/if we sell. My question is: whats the best way to do this? from what ive read, gift taxes shouldn't be an issue since we can deduct the yearly exemption (15k per donor and donee, so $60k off the top) and as long as her parents don't exceed 22 million in gifts over the course of their life, they won't have to pay tax. And as long as we occupy and don't sell the house for at least 2 years, we won't pay capital gains. We are in Colorado. thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 05:50 PM PDT Apologies if this has been asked recently, is Mint worth setting up? Does it track everything as sort of a one stop budgeting app that updates spending? What does everyone like or hate about it? And is it secure enough in your opinion? TIA! [link] [comments]  |
| New job, new place and I’m badly in debt. Please help me budget my finances and get out of debt. Posted: 29 Jul 2019 08:31 PM PDT I just got an actual good paying job. I also just moved into a new place in NYC. I'm on my own for the first time ever. And I need help budgeting. Annual salary: ~93k Debt: ~70k Rent: $950/month Transportation: ~$150/month Leisure/Food: ~$150/month What percentage of my paycheck should I put towards my debt? Any suggestions on consolidating private loans? Should I just apply the 50/30/20 rule? [link] [comments]  |
| W-4 Question (please help it would mean a lot) Posted: 29 Jul 2019 05:34 PM PDT Hi fellow redditors, I'm helping my mom update her W-4 form because she doesn't speak English very well. From the research I've done regarding taxes, I learned it's best to break even on the amount you owe and the amount refunded. My mom when she filled out her W-4 didn't account for the other allowances she's qualified for and that's why she's been getting a big refund at the end of the tax season. I followed the 2019 IRS instructions for the "Other Credits" section on the form but the total amount of allowances I got was really high (24) and I'm just wondering if I did it correctly or not. I've tried Googling my questions on that section but there's no articles or videos that are specific/helpful regarding additional tax credits. I called the IRS and they said they don't have anyone to help with taxes at this time of the year. This is how I got her "24", I followed the Worksheet 1-6 Converting Credits to Withholding Allowances for 2019 Form W-4 My sister (21) and I (19) are both in college right now and my mom will be claiming us as dependents. She will make about 35-40k (before taxes) this year. Credit for other dependents: $1000 ($500 each for my sister and I), the worksheet said if I enter an amount for this I should enter "0" on line F of the W-4, which I did. Education Credits(American Opportunity Credit): $5000 ($2500 each for my sister and I) Retirement Savings Contribution Credit: $350 (10% of her contribution (401k/traditional IRA) based on my mom being head of household and her AGI) Earned Income Credit: $5828 (for her two children (we're under 24 and full time students) and based on her AGI) Head of Household Adjustment: $300 (my mom is filing head of house and her income falls within this bracket) Total: 12,478 Head of Household multiplier: 8.3 12,478 x 8.3 =103,567.4 103,567.4/4200= roughly 24 The 24 + 1 ("for yourself") + 1 (if you will file head of household") =26 allowances This seems really high and my mom's HR manager called me when my mom tried to turn her W-4 in because the number was so big. I followed the instructions and read articles on each tax credit to make sure we qualified but I don't know if this is correct. I'm still learning and I have no one to ask so any help is much appreciated. Thank you a bunch! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 04:42 AM PDT I just got into work and I'm shaking while writing this, because when I got hired at the start of May I told my manager (the interviewer) that I'd be starting school in August and I'd most likely need to cut down 10 hours (from 45-50/wk) for classes. I've also been talking about it a lot while I'm in the office, for the last few months. I work in a warehouse for a local AC/heating/plumbing/electrical company, I'm the only one that works in the warehouse, my job includes deliveries, pulling orders, helping the ac techs and setting up an inventory system. When I got interviewed I was told they intended to hire two guys, and if I believed I was capable of doing the job alone, I said I could definitely do this job alone, until school starts, then we'd probably need to hire a part timer. She said that sounds great. But now I walked into the office and told her about my meeting with my advisor last week and she just said "well if you cut down any hours we'd probably have to find someone else to do this job, we need someone full time." I was shocked and honestly just couldn't think of anything to say. So I stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and think about my options. Online classes won't work for me because I'm on academic probation (from my first attempt at college in 2011, I made mistakes but I was a kid), otherwise I'd definitely sign up for online classes. But the classes I'm going to be taking have specific days they are held on and none are on the weekend (my days off). I'm just confused and struggling to figure out what to do now. I like my job, I get paid pretty ok, and the owner loves me, I also work with my best friend (she works in the office), and I have a decent amount of freedom. I'm sorry if this post is unorganized and sloppy but this was my first thought. I only have em about a thousand saved up. Would it be better to go around her to talk to the owner/his son, and see if they could make an exception? I think they'd be ok with it but would going over her to talk to them be a bad idea? Edit: I'm at work right now, I'll get to reading these when I have more than a second. Thanks everybody [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2019 06:38 PM PDT I have a guy who wants to meet with this week and his pitch was a free financial advisement. A way to plan my for my future. He says he is worth Primerica and we can look at life insurance options. I don't want to waste my time if this is just him trying to rope me into an MLM. Anyone deal with this group before? [link] [comments]  |
| If you have AT&T or DirecTV, monitor your credit card for CBS All Access charges Posted: 29 Jul 2019 08:54 AM PDT I was charged for CBS All Access even though I never created an account. I've posted thread link below since I could not crosspost to PF. https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/cjcr3n/cbs_all_access_fraudulent_charge/ "CBS Reports "Dramatic Spike" In CBS All Access Signups Due To AT&T Impasse" "The company did not divulge exact numbers, but reported a "dramatic spike in new subscribers" to its CBS All Access streaming service last weekend, compared with the same weekend in 2018. It also said more than a quarter of a million calls have come in to a special telephone hotline set up for those affected by the dispute." [link] [comments]  |
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