Personal Finance I “won” in a drawing at a festival, but I suspect it was a scam. I want to know your thoughts. |
- I “won” in a drawing at a festival, but I suspect it was a scam. I want to know your thoughts.
- First time homeowner. What are the DOS and DONTs when hiring contractors?
- Someone hacked my Walmart account and ordered $240 in groceries in a town in another state. They picked up the groceries and walked right out. Walmart refused to refund the money but acknowledged it as not us what can I do at this point ?
- Why did YOU switch to an Online Bank? And what do you like/dislike most?
- Who still has a good apy rates for saving accounts?
- How to dodge the question "What's your salary expectation?"
- Suddenly received a bill from a debt collector for 11 years of unpaid PA School District Taxes. I haven't lived there in 8 years!
- I’m not making enough to get by working a job in the medical profession
- "Simple" Checking Account too good to be true (2% APY)? Some questions, are there hidden fees and/or requirements?
- Gave 2 week resignation, and employer cancelled my appoinments
- For my Amazon shoppers: is there a reason not to get the Amazon Credit Card? (5% cash back)
- My company is not making payroll consistently
- Roth IRA - Investing in Target Retirement Funds?
- New car paperwork doesn't match odometer.
- Looking for advice on making more money, being happy and looking for a better job, wisdom appreciated, how did you make it?
- Transfer HSA once no longer insured
- 22 yrs old. First job and confused about Fidelity investment options in 401k. I already read the Wiki.
- 403(b) elective deferral not made
- Timing the market is bad, but when to sell a single stock?
- My mom is currently in the hospital. How do we find all the bills that need to be paid?
- Is it better to buy index funds as a lump sum or spread out?
- How to pay for nursing school
- [CANADA/QC] Should I just accept the total loss amount my insurance is giving me for my car?
- Denied a Citi Card, Have Some Questions
| I “won” in a drawing at a festival, but I suspect it was a scam. I want to know your thoughts. Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:35 AM PDT I went to a festival about a month and a half ago and the check-in process was lengthy—I was told I'd be entered into a drawing but I didn't give it much thought. A few weeks ago I started to get calls from a number I didn't recognize—when I googled it, it came back as a travel agency and there were several reports marking as spam. I decided not to answer the calls, but they've been coming in more often (increasing from once a day to 3 times a day). Yesterday I decided to answer and was told I had won the drawing and was given the option for several prizes—a $250 gift card, a 40" tv, Beats headphones among several other things—cool, I opted for the gift card. Also, I won a 2 night stay at one of two resorts. One was a resort about 45 minutes away from me, the second was a ski resort in the mountains. I went with the second option as I thought it would be fun for the family. The guy said "let me confirm the mailing address" and I asked him what dates I was allowed to book—then he put me on hold to get a "supervisor". Supervisor explains that he was new and she wanted to make sure he informed me correctly of what I had won and used the right terminology. Ok, "so, he told you about the deposit?" Wait. What. I'm not comfortable with giving my payment information over the phone. I'm not even sure if this is real. And then she got super pushy. "It's a $75 deposit and you get it back after the tour plus I'll give you an extra night and you'll get your $75 back AND the $250 gift card." Tour? My mind immediately went to timeshare. Without voicing my concerns, she said "this is not a timeshare pitch, it's literally a tour of the grounds so you'll come back". I'll have to think about it. "Ok, you're on the phone with a supervisor, I'm offering you an extra night—$250 gift card and the only thing you have to pay is $75 (which you get back)—why are you saying no?" Red flags all around, so I told her I was at work and couldn't talk. "Well, we've been on the phone for 8 minutes already—" And then I just hang up. Has this happened to anyone else? Was this a scam? It seemed really fishy and questionable. *Edit: Based on everyone's feedback, it sounds like it's not a scam in the traditional sense. Since I'm in B2B sales and confident in my ability to say no (also, I'm cheap) I may take them up on it if they call back (or I may just fund my own vacation to a ski resort). Thanks for the heads up, everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| First time homeowner. What are the DOS and DONTs when hiring contractors? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 06:23 AM PDT I'm a first time homeowner. Let's assume that my home needs work. New roof. Pipe leak. AC gone. The list goes on. Now we need to hire a contractor or skilled labor to fix the issue(s) of the home. Based on your experience with contractors what are some things I should and shouldn't do when working with contractors? What are things that contractors might say, which upon hearing the first time, should make me run for the hills? Any advice is immensely appreciated. Edit: I'm reading each reply carefully. Every advice you've given is absolutely invaluable. I hope that other people can use this post for assistance with future contracting jobs. The reason I asked this question is because I do see constant news segments on the news about unfinished work, contractor scams, contractors that don't show up, etc. I don't want to end up on the news. Thank you for taking time out of your day to share your experiences and advice! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 06:29 PM PDT |
| Why did YOU switch to an Online Bank? And what do you like/dislike most? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 04:40 PM PDT I've been a longtime Chase customer but I'm considering making the switch to Ally, Discover or Cap1 360. To be honest, I really don't know why I'm even looking but there's just something that is telling me to do it. My research started while I've been looking for an interest savings account and have decided between these 3 and its kind of gone down the rabbit hole from here. (I have CC's with Discover and Cap1 already) I like that Discover has 1% cash back for Debit. I don't use Debit often, but it may come in handy for billpay where I cant use a credit card. All 3 currently offer 1.9% Savings. I've had a great experience with Chase's customer service as far as getting fees reversed when needed, but all that has been over the phone. The ONLY positive I have for Chase over the other 3 is the cash factor... but that's very rare and nothing that a Cashiers Check from the grocery store could solve with a little more effort. Anybody have any user experience that I haven't considered before I make the jump? [link] [comments]  |
| Who still has a good apy rates for saving accounts? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 05:18 PM PDT my ally account apy rate is dropping. i am thinking about switching to a different bank, any suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| How to dodge the question "What's your salary expectation?" Posted: 09 Oct 2019 06:40 PM PDT I was referred to a position at this company and just got a phone interview scheduled for next week. A few days ago I found the job posting online and it requires applicants to include their salary expectation along with the application, so I assume that HR will definitely ask my expected salary during the phone interview. My plan is to dodge this question and let them give the number first, then counter by an email shortly.
Thank you in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 01:12 PM PDT Edit: Update posted below. tl;dr this is real, I'm sending proof of residency for living in TX, I still owe for the 3 years I was living in PA, and will get this cleared up. Hopefully. Edit 2: Everything sent, here's hoping! 2012 was hard since I didn't do much but live with family and work for a couple months near the end (unemployment sucks) and unfortunately I don't have my tax return, so I hope a W-2 is good. If not, it's a $36 lesson. 2013 and on I have plenty of proof, including leases, my drivers license, tax returns, and ultimately my home purchase. I can't see how the school district can look at everything I sent and believe I still live in PA. I've done what I could. I will, however, call them in a day or two to verify they did receive my information and forwarded it over. I honestly feel embarrassed I jumped to the conclusion this was a scam from the get-go. I've gotten letters saying things like the IRS demands XYZ from me for a faulty tax return, with a .com website and no company name for payment - obviously fake! I'm just so unbelievably relieved I followed my intuition and sought help. I almost threw this thing in the trash. Thank you ALL so much for your polite and genuine responses. I was nervous posting here since I figured I'd get torn up (good ol' reddit) but you guys have been firm and informative. Much appreciated!! --- Hi reddit. I know you guys get a bunch of these posted a day. I'm 99% sure I have nothing to worry about. But that 1% is going to eat at me until I get some reassurance it'll be OK. You guys are pretty savvy about this stuff. Mind sharing your opinion? I received a letter rather suddenly from a local tax collector in PA - Statewide Tax Recovery, LLC. - for unpaid school district taxes. 9 total, from 2008 until 2017, at $35 each. The letter was quite firm and threatening about receiving payment by Oct 24th, and if not, my wages may be garnished and I'd receive visits to my home. Here's the kicker - I live in Texas and have lived here for 8 years!
I deal with these things on the daily working in IT ("is this email real or a scam?") so I totally know something that's unexpected, threatening, and accusatory like this is almost certainly not legit, but for some reason this particular one is rubbing me the wrong way. They also have a website and address, so they do exist, with abysmal reviews from people getting visits to their house and debt collector harassment. Note that I am NOT PAYING ANYTHING. I am not calling or emailing anything listed on the letter itself. I don't owe school taxes where I never lived! But my fear is whoever sent this is going to keep trying and eventually interrupt my life. What are the chances of that, if any? I appreciate any thoughts. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| I’m not making enough to get by working a job in the medical profession Posted: 09 Oct 2019 10:26 AM PDT Hello. I am a young women working as a radiologic technologist in the state of Maine, have been for about 2.5 years. I partly wanted to ask this question because I feel I may be being taken advantage of and I'm looking for some insight how to possibly leverage my pay, as internally I'm a doormat. Also looking for budgeting advice as I'm unable to change my situation any time soon. I started my job at small hospital about 3 years ago. It was initially as a per diem (as needed), but it was my chosen hospital so I was happy to take it. I worked there concurrent with my job as a tech aide, but they ended up needing me anywhere from 30-36 hours a week so I left my other part time job and focused on this per diem, thinking I'd make it work until a 40 hr position opened up. I made $26 and hour, and got a raise to $27. With the hours I was getting, this was manageable for me. When a full time position opened up, I jumped on it. It was a $5 pay cut (for dropping the per diem) but I definitely wanted the consistency. Additionally, my raise did not carry over to the "full time position". I don't know if this is standard or not. So at this point I'm making 21/hr. And concurrently, the hospital has incurred great financial expenses due to a change in clinical systems. Cue me being forced to take a 30 hour "full time" position (up to 36 if needed) or not have the opportunity for a permanent position at all. I've been in this position for a year and gotten a 25 cent raise. I'm working 30-36 hours a week. At very best (36 hrs), I'm making about 31,000 after taxes yearly. This is 40% of the average income for a X-ray tech in my immediate area. (Edited this statistic to 40% to account for before tax takehome) This blow has been absolutely devastating. My bills alone account for over 50% of my monthly income. Then I still have groceries, medical expenses, gas, etc. I have been quite literally living paycheck to paycheck, paying my rent payments to my significant other who I reside with in installments. I can't believe I have worked for this degree to be making nearly the same that I made busting my butt at a gas station and fast food gig. Last note is that I have tried and failed to find other openings in my area as I live fairly rural. And I cannot uproot because my SO needs to be local for work and my entire family is here as well. Looking for any input / advice. Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 10:09 AM PDT I was thinking about changing banks (From BoA), and I heard online checking accounts or CUs are a good option. Simple looked like the best option. But I would like some input before I make such a move. I plan to keep anywhere between 10K-20K in this account. My questions are: 1) Is the only requirement for the 2% APY really just to make a deposit and open a "Savings Goal"? There's no minimum? Is there a max, like 2% APY only up to a certain amount? 2) Does opening a "Savings Goal" limit you in any way? Or is this just a personal feature that you have to enable but you don't necessarily have to follow in order to get the APY? 3) Are there any fees for Bill Pays/transfers? Like paying credit bills from a Simple Checking account? I usually enroll in automatic payments for my credit cards by linking my checking account. Any fees in transferring money to another online savings account? 4) With a 2% APY are transfers/payments from a Simple Checking account usually delayed? I don't mind the delay but am worried about late payment fees from my creditors because Simple took too long to process. 5) Customer Service. If anyone has a recent review, please share. I only saw old reviews on Reddit. But after reading these reviews from NerdWallet, I am VERY hesitant. I don't want to risk the nightmare of having a bad bank to save $100-200 a year. Simple seems like a good online checking account mostly because it offers 2.02-2.15% APY which is higher than the Discover Savings account I opened at 1.9%. However, I feel I am missing something. It seems too good to be true. I've read the FAQs, and I don't see any other hidden requirements or fees. And I don't see any minimum or max requirements either. But I am still skeptical. It says: "Once your Simple Checking or Shared Account is open…open a Savings Goal (which lives inside a Protected Goals Account). Any balance in a Protected Goals Account under $10,000 will earn 2.02% APY, and balances $10,000 and above will earn 2.15%." So basically, says any amount will earn you at least 2.02 APY? If you don't recommend Simple, but have other online bank/CU recommendations, please let me know. I saw other online checking accounts and credit unions, but Simple stuck out to me. You had CCU offering 3-5% but it requires meeting a certain amount of payments and spending each month. Since I like to take advantage of cash backs on cards, I pretty much pay 99% of my stuff (monthly bills, daily costs, food, etc) on credit cards. So Simple makes sense for me because it does not require a certain amount of payments/spending. I only use my checking accounts to pay credit card bills and direct deposits. I almost never swipe my debit card. I am currently with BoA, which is good; but, I literally get no interest on my checking or savings. I feel I don't need to stick with them since I never require face-to-face meetings, and never use ATMs. And with brokerage companies like Ameritrade having $0 commissions now, I feel don't need to hold Preferred Gold/Plantium statues with BoA/Merrill anymore since I can just move to a commission fee broker. [link] [comments]  |
| Gave 2 week resignation, and employer cancelled my appoinments Posted: 09 Oct 2019 11:10 AM PDT So I just gave my employer my 2-week notice, and they immediately canceled all of my appointments without notifying me. When I confronted them, they said they canceled my appointment but did not fire me. I'm a therapist, and how am i supposed to go 2 weeks without pay, and unable to file for unemployment. I'm in the state of Utah, can anyone guide me in the right direction? I'd prefer something a little more fruitful than just contact a lawyer, as I don't want to go through those hoops without first having some understanding of my rights. [link] [comments]  |
| For my Amazon shoppers: is there a reason not to get the Amazon Credit Card? (5% cash back) Posted: 09 Oct 2019 04:15 PM PDT Unless you have a card that beats this cash back is there a reason not to have this card? I'm a frequent Amazon shopper and don't believe any card currently beats this cash back [link] [comments]  |
| My company is not making payroll consistently Posted: 09 Oct 2019 04:09 PM PDT I just started work for a non profit company that functions similarly to a federally qualified health center (FQHC). So far this fall our company was not able to make payroll on time twice and we got paid a few days later. My boss emailed us and attempted to normalize it as this happens every fall before the big grants come in and should not happen again for the rest of the year. I have worked for an FQHC before but not such a small company. This company is only about 10 years old and has less than 50 employees. Has anyone had a similar situation? Should I be worried about the solvency of this company? I do have a second gig so wouldn't be totally high and dry if it went under but would like to know if anyone has experience with this. [link] [comments]  |
| Roth IRA - Investing in Target Retirement Funds? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 08:59 AM PDT I opened a Roth IRA w/ Vanguard earlier this year and have maxed out the contributions for last year and this year. All of my money is currently in short term reserves and I know have to invest it to get any type of noticeable return. I know that mutual funds are probably the way to go for newbies like me, and I've been reading a lot about first investing in a Vanguard Target Retirement Fund, but I'm not sure what year to choose (or if that even is the best option). When you all were starting your Roth IRA's, where did you invest and what do you wish you did differently? Any advice would mean the world. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| New car paperwork doesn't match odometer. Posted: 09 Oct 2019 11:34 AM PDT Like the title reads, I purchased a new vehicle and the odometer reading doesn't match the paperwork from the sale. I am fully aware this is a mistake of my own for not verifying. I now noticed because I'm moving the loan to my personal bank as opposed to the dealer financing I signed on the spot. The paperwork shows sale of a car that had 5 miles on it. In reality, it was closer to 1600 when I drove it off the lot. Should I be concerned with this difference? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 06:49 AM PDT Is this what life becomes generally for many Americans? That you just work and hopefully you'll land a good job to be financially free and not worry? I don't know what I did wrong, every day I feel I can't make it on my own so I still live with family. Make $15 an hour in something that's not even my field. Looking for jobs in my field they sometimes pay less or even not the same, I want to make more money, create a life where I can live independently. How did you all make it? It seems everyone here makes 6 figures or just below. I graduated with a BA with a specialty in public relations and advertising, I live in Chicago. I can't find work, so I'm in manufacturing. I also have Crohn's Disease and I don't even weigh much, I weigh 110 pounds so labor work is out of my skill set, sometimes the flare ups and inflammation gets bad that I think to myself I can't work but on my good days I just stress I'm not making enough, I feel like a failure and inadequate about my finances and not living on my own. I have 20k saved up, and live with my folks, (yes, it's so embarrassing and societal pressure to be on your own to be considered successful is mentally draining.) Seeing everyone on here making a ton and I'm just like, must be nice, congrats on making it. What can I do? I'd be happy to make $20 an hour with that I feel like I can get by being frugal, I don't think I can with my pay. I feel so lost and not like a person, need some online friends or some guidance or positive something to make me feel that, I can make it in life. I feel like I haven't. Thank, Reddit. Will be checking this during work. What can I do? I feel doomed, trapped, like I can breathe. [link] [comments]  |
| Transfer HSA once no longer insured Posted: 09 Oct 2019 06:03 PM PDT I have resigned from my job and as such, I am no longer insured. I have money left in my HSA that I would like to move from Optum to Fidelity. When I went to open an HSA account at fidelity I got the following warning:
Can anyone point me to the law / tax code that would govern whether I would be allowed to open this HSA account at Fidelity now that I am not technically covered in an HSA-eligible health plan? I realize that I (of course) may not contribute to it but I was hoping I could open and transfer to it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 10:04 AM PDT I just started a job this 2 weeks ago and I have 30 days from the start date to submit my 401k. My company offers a 6% match and I put a total of 18% into my 401k. (6% before tax matched, 6% before tax unmatched, 6% Roth unmatched) After that, I was presented with this screen which I'm not really sure on filling. I'm super inexperienced when it comes to investing. I read that investing in target date funds would be the safest option for someone inexperienced. Should I put a 100% into a single target date fund then? Or can I split up my investment into multiple target date funds. Instead of putting everything into target date funds, I wanted to get the opinion of someone more experienced and see what percentages I should put for target date funds, stocks, and bonds. Also, out of the many options, what else should I base my decision on other than looking at expense ratios? I plan on reading some investment books to better understand investment in general, but I wanted to get this out of the way before. [link] [comments]  |
| 403(b) elective deferral not made Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:54 PM PDT Using a throwaway since friends and family know my main account. I work for a school district and have access to different retirement accounts like the 403b and 457. We had a baby earlier in the year and took maternity leave after the baby was born. Because of our union agreements, after sick leave and everything I have to pay the school district to have a long term substitute while I was out for the last part of the year. We had a goal to max out my 403b account by the end of the year because of some bonus money my spouse received from work. But because of paying the substitute, contributions dropped significantly. Since the school year just started up again, we're finally getting our monthly paychecks again and I increased the pre-tax elective deferral significantly because there's only 3 paychecks that contribute to 2019's contributions now. Unfortunately, they didn't take this last month's deferral so I can't come close to what we anticipated on contributing and they aren't willing to do anything about it. They said just make it up over the next few paychecks, but that's just not mathematically possible. I've looked around online but I'm not following the IRS guidelines on what I can do or who to talk to. The school district isn't very helpful either. Can anyone point me in a direction? Not sure what to do next. [link] [comments]  |
| Timing the market is bad, but when to sell a single stock? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:50 PM PDT My kids were given some stock by their grandparents. It was about $10k a while back and is now almost 6 figures. It is all in a single stock. I'm thinking about diversifying, but this just keeps going up. They both have 529s already that will pay for college. I'm in analysis paralysis. Should I hold, sell and buy an S&P500, or something different? There will obviously be large tax consequences if I sell. [link] [comments]  |
| My mom is currently in the hospital. How do we find all the bills that need to be paid? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 01:50 PM PDT So my mom is currently in a medically induced coma and we won't know when she will come out of it. In the meantime, we would like to figure out what bills need to be paid and how do we find and pay for them. We have a few bills like our electricity and cable that we can pay because of mail, but things like car insurance, car, gas, water, medical bills (we have her cardiologist bill idk what others), rent, phone. Are we able to go to tmobile and pay it ourselves? I have a feeling more of the bills will come into the mail, but i'd rather get it paid before we're late on payments. My dad has a joint bank account with my mom but he doesn't know how to log in and im assuming we can go to a wells fargo branch with his id and card can log him into the account to find clues as to what has been paid or where we can pay for things. [link] [comments]  |
| Is it better to buy index funds as a lump sum or spread out? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:42 PM PDT I've got some money I need to invest, probably around a 100k. I've got some managed retirement accounts, but I'd like to see how they compare to a plain old index fund. I think I am just going to buy some type of Vanguard index fund. Is it smarter to stagger that out over the course of a year, so if the market drops I can take advantage of that, or just put it all in right now? I'm 38 and the goal is a fat retirement (if I want to take it) at about 60. should I buy all at once, or spread it out over a year? Any recommendations for good Vanguard funds to research? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:37 PM PDT Could use a little advice here. I am 38 school teacher making 75k, My wife, 36 just got accepted to nursing school in the fall. Tuition is 29k for a 2 year program. We have no debt besides our house 128k, house worth around 170k, have 7k in emergency fund. Have a great credit score and 3 credit cards, 2 have 10k limit at 22%, 1 has 12k limit at 7%. Our 2 cars are a bit old and will need to replace once wife is a nurse. With my wife going to school our health insurance and daycare costs will go up about 500 more a month and my wife won't be earning any income. It's likely we will be spending about 300 a month more than we will bring in next 2 years. We can take out 20k tax free from a Roth IRA as they are contributions. Total Roth IRA is 53k. Options we are considering Should I take out Roth IRA money for living expenses next 2 years? Should we take out a loan for the full amount of the student loans or possibly pay some of it now? Should we get another credit card with 0% interest for 18 months and use some of our expenses? Or is the 12k credit card at 7% interest sufficient? [link] [comments]  |
| [CANADA/QC] Should I just accept the total loss amount my insurance is giving me for my car? Posted: 09 Oct 2019 05:06 PM PDT Hi all, So I was in an accident last week which resulted in the car being a total loss. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but the car was wrecked. The insurance company just called me today to confirm it was a total loss and let me know the amount they would refund, and I believe it's a little low and I'll have to pay out of pocket to get an equivalent car. The car is a 2011 Ford Focus SE with 136,000km. I searched Kijiji and Autotrader using these criteria : I found 18 results on Kijiji and 12 on Autotrader. I also looked up the Canadian Black Book value. In QC, I'd have to add 10 to 15% tax to this, so going with the values above, it would cost between $5,626.37 and $6,698.75 to replace it. The insurance check would be $5,195.49. Now to be clear, I bought the car for $3,000 a year ago, but it was a fixer upper and I put time and money on it to fix everything that was wrong, mostly suspension and rust... Am I being greedy? Or should I ask for more? If so, how? Thanks, Simo [link] [comments]  |
| Denied a Citi Card, Have Some Questions Posted: 09 Oct 2019 07:17 PM PDT So about a month ago I made this post about crossing my first year of credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/d2frnq/college_student_crossing_first_year_of_credit/?st=k1k23f49&sh=a05ca0b9 Long story short if you don't want to read that, college student with college paid for, credit score ~760, no income, card paid off in full every month, and wanting to apply for a new card. So I did what I said I would do there, which was apply for the Citi Double Cash Card. Unfortunately was declined, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask about what to do from here.
[link] [comments]  |
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