Personal Finance Update to "gym sold my bank account to another gym, $500 charge" |
- Update to "gym sold my bank account to another gym, $500 charge"
- Wild experience at work
- My GF has $19,000 in college debt and we are barely scraping by. Help!
- looking for Fidelity alternative to Vanguard VFIFX
- I've been too scared to face my finances. I'm finally doing it, but don't know where to start.
- Does keeping a credit line open without using it hurt your score?
- Severance: Why do companies give severance packages? I hear about people "negotiating" their severance package, on what leverage? Lots of questions.
- Internet Bill Madness
- Closing costs on home
- Emergency out of network ambulance bill
- Received an email from my own email address demanding payments.
- High interest savings account
- Is there any form of free (hopefully online) therapy?
- $20,000 Gift: Towards Mortgage or Other?
- Ideal way to make a 2019 Roth IRA Contribution?
- Should I volunteer for layoffs while pregnant?
- I have had bad luck with cars the past month. Last month I nicked a rental, this month I hit a pole with my own car. What should I do insurance wise?
- How do I choose between a 403b and a 457 (or something else)?
- Should I close a credit card a DAY after opening it?
- Not sure what to do with saved money...
- Initial Job Offer Out of University - Negotiating Issues
- First time home owners
- Is there a budget app/spreadsheet that accommodates non-regular income?
- I found out today I am being laid off tomorrow. What recommendations do you have besides ones I have listed?
- Charles Schwab has now announced they will offer fraction share trading for stocks.
| Update to "gym sold my bank account to another gym, $500 charge" Posted: 17 Oct 2019 03:22 AM PDT Tl;Dr 2 weeks ago a Health Club I didn't know charged me 500 dollars. It took two weeks to get the money back. Always ask for the fastest option... Two weeks ago, I posted this thread asking for advice. I had woken up to a 500 dollar ACH withdrawal from my checking account by a Health Club I didn't know. After some digging I found out that my Old Gym (OG) went under and sent their members to this Health Club (HC). The problem was, I didn't know my OG went under. I maintained a 10 dollar a month membership in case I wanted to start back up, I had also moved across town which is why I wasn't going. I was concerned that contacting the HC could damage my chances for a fraud case. The first thing I did was call my bank to dispute the transaction. Some people that responded here convinced me to contact the HC. The manager was very apologetic, seemed to think it was a snafu with transferring accounts from OG to HC. The system thought I was delinquent and charged me a bunch of late fees, which is why it was 5 times what I would normally pay in a year. The manager told me it's usually easier to process a refund if there isn't a dispute in the original charges. He said that a refund should only take a few days. He also said kind of off hand that he could probably get me a check if I needed the money back quicker. Ding, ding, ding! That's the option I should have taken. I didn't fully understand how long a refund can take. A few days ago I called the billing company for HC, their refunds can take 5-7 business days, which is almost 2 weeks in real people time. I ended up visiting HC several times, talking to the manager in person, calling, texting. I was at the "just cut me a check" point when the funds left their account and I had to wait for them to show up in mine. Several days later I started getting refunds and this morning I got the final one (there were three separate charges). Next time, I'll take the check. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 11:19 AM PDT Hey Reddit! Something just caught my eye at work that I thought I would share with you all. I'm an HR Director at the company I'm with and part of my duties is to process payroll for 90 employees (semi-monthly). After finishing this current payroll, the total payout was about 153k. Of that 153k only $2693 went into the employees 401k (with a 10% company match). ... I contribute $600 of that to my 401k per paycheck meaning just over $2000 is contributed by 89 people. This blew me away. I will definitely start planning ways to promote and encourage the benefits of contributing ANYTHING to a 401k to the employees here no matter what financial situation they may be in. This definitely put some things into perspective. [link] [comments]  |
| My GF has $19,000 in college debt and we are barely scraping by. Help! Posted: 17 Oct 2019 06:42 PM PDT I'll try to keep this short but here we go. Last semester my (20f) GF (21f) decided she was done with college for the time being. She realized that she was really only going because her nDad wanted her to be a successful writer but she realized that's not want she wanted to do right now. Because of this she dropped out. We live together and are barely scraping by. My work (Target) has been giving me less and less hours even though the holidays are coming up (yes, I'm looking for a new job) and my GF is in the same boat at a different job but is looking for a second job to help keep is afloat. She got an email the other day that her grace period, the period in which she doesn't need to pay any student loans after getting out of school, is ending in a month. After that, she will have to start paying it back every month. We are in no position to do this. Even if she puts $50/month into it it may be too much. Including our rent, utilities, electricity, and food, we spend at least $800/month to live (rent's fairly cheap where I live). I make $13/hr at Target but only average 18 hours/week (down from 35 when I first started a year and a half ago) and my GF makes 8.65 (minimum wage) and averages about 12 hours a week (down from around 25/week when she first started). We are both seeking new jobs to better our position but I'm still afraid it won't be enough to break out of the cycle of college debt that many people tend to get into. Worst case scenario: we lose our apartment and have to move in with my Mom and abusive grandparents. Reddit, my question is this: Aside from spending as little as we can (though tips on that are welcome), what resources are there for people in our situation, if any? We live in Midwest USA, btw [link] [comments]  |
| looking for Fidelity alternative to Vanguard VFIFX Posted: 17 Oct 2019 08:20 PM PDT I recently opened a Roth IRA (funded $6,000) with Fidelity to supplement my work-sponsored traditional 401k. The fund I thought most appropriate for me was the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX). However, Fidelity charges a $75 fee to invest in this fund. Fidelity offers fee-free funds, mostly its own, which are very similar to many Vanguard funds. How would I find which Fidelity fund would be closest to this Vanguard fund (VFIFX) which I could invest in without any fee? [link] [comments]  |
| I've been too scared to face my finances. I'm finally doing it, but don't know where to start. Posted: 17 Oct 2019 09:15 PM PDT I'm 32, and my 20's pretty much consisted of debilitating physical and mental health issues. I'm doing better these days, and I've been lucky enough to find a decent paying job that I'm capable of working. But one of the byproducts of this period is a solid handful of marks against my credit - mostly medical bills that I couldn't pay that went to collections. I'm well aware that my behavior with my money/debt has been completely irrational and harmful to myself, so please, I don't need reminders of that point. But basically, for years, when I get a collections letter or call I just ignored it. I have almost a small panic attack and I just hope that it goes away. But now I'm 32 and stable, and things like getting a car or an apartment lease are very tough. I've talked to a banker at my bank (Chase) and a local credit union to ask their advice. The answer I got from both was "go to our website." So I thought I'd ask Reddit. How do I come up with a general game plan for getting this monkey off my back? Is there a central location to see all of my collections debts, or should I just start calling every doctor I've seen in the last 10 years? Is there anything in particular I can/should do when talking to collections agencies about making payments? Sorry, I know I'm being very broad on a very complex topic. But I feel really hopeless. I'm not stupid, but I just don't have any real financial know-how and I've always been to afraid to look into it. I always knew I was living in poverty, and I couldn't stomach reviewing documents that confirmed that I'd be there for a long time. tldr; I guess my question is, does anyone have recommendations as to the first steps I should take when finally taking a hard look at my debts and bad credit? [link] [comments]  |
| Does keeping a credit line open without using it hurt your score? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 11:17 PM PDT Basically the title but here's some context regardless: I'm still fairly new to credit building. I've had one shitty beginner's card open for about a year, which I always pay completely off, and have finally reached the "good" bracket of credit. Now that I qualify for better cards, I'm planning on opening a new one soonish (I have an eye on a few that offer 0% APR for a year, which seem perfect for when I move next year and will suddenly need a whole bunch of new furniture). So when I get the new card, should I close the old one? I'm thinking it might be nice to have it for emergencies, or continue to only use it for utilities, but I also don't want to somehow hurt my credit or get overwhelmed. Also, is the 0% APR a trap, somehow? Should I focus on cash back/other rewards? Thanks!! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 11:52 AM PDT My wife and I have both worked for Company Inc. For 4 years. We found out on Tuesday we will both be let go. They offered a strange "bonus" of sorts. They seemed hesitant to call it severance per se. $7000 it total ($3500 for her, $3500 for me). After some research online this seems low for severance, and some articles mention "negotiating" for better severance. On what grounds could this be negotiable? She and I have no leverage with Company Inc. in my mind, they're terminating our employment. Do the negotiations typically take the form of a contract signed during the hiring process? Is the only tool in our belt the threat of a lawsuit? If I was to ask for more, how should I do that? Side note: though we didn't expect to leave these jobs, we've lived rather frugally and can go without income for several years without being in financial jeopardy. If you aren't building an emergency fund, take my situation as an example. ~EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION~ We signed a contract, however it was not really an employment contract in the sense that if it expired, we would continue working. We were employees by definition. My state does not require severance pay. I am not a member of any minority group, nor is my wife As of yet we haven't received the money, and we haven't been asked to sign anything. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 10:51 PM PDT Before I moved to this address I had Xfinity. In 2015 I was paying 15$ a month, 2016 they bumped it to 30$, 2017 after negotiations it was 35$... Then came Spectrum when I moved in late 2017 at $39.99, then 2018 at $54.99... Noticed today they bumped it to $69.99... I called and there is ZERO Negotiation. I told them I will have to cancel service and look elsewhere, and they pretty much said "Seeya"... I've paid them every month on time for 2 years to a total that adds up to over $1000 so far... How do they reward me on my yearly anniversary? With a $15 price hike every year without any negotiation or even a notification. This is bullshit. Swapping to AT&T I guess. American's internet company situation is complete bullshit. They were hoping to pocket an additional $180 out of me for this year, but instead they are going to lose $660 profit out of me every year because they wouldn't negotiate. The real problem is that for everyone 1 of me that stands up and says enough is enough, there are 5+ other people that bend over and take it, and so they continue to profit off of this business model. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 08:39 PM PDT Why do I pay my yearly property tax and insurance premium for my home at closing, but am quoted to still pay property tax and insurance on the home monthly? I feel like I am double paying, can someone explain? [link] [comments]  |
| Emergency out of network ambulance bill Posted: 17 Oct 2019 08:33 PM PDT I was involved in an accident and lost consciousness. An ambulance was called and i was transported to an ER for treatment. I was okay, in the ER for a few hours of test and observations and was discharged. I got the bill from the ambulance company bill of $1200, because its out of network. Again, i was not conscious when the ambulance was called, there is no way for me to ask them to make sure the ambulance is in network. (honestly i didnt even know this is a thing!) I've tried talking to insurance (blue cross anthem), they won't budge and kept repeating the same thing, out of network, this is the max they will pay. Called ambulance provider, discuss with them that it is a lot of money and i'm willing to pay at once if they can reduce the $$, they would not budge either, but willing to take installment. I am very upset how the insurance deals with this. I dont believe that there is such a thing as out of network for ambulance ride It is not possible for us to pick companies when one is in a true emergency situation (such as car accidents) or when one is not conscious! Any advise here? [link] [comments]  |
| Received an email from my own email address demanding payments. Posted: 16 Oct 2019 08:53 AM PDT Received this email from my own email address. Any advice? This seems like a real hack as it came from my own account. "Hi, A week ago I gained access to your email, this then migrated to your phone & other devices. Since then I have been monitoring activity and well it seems you have quite the life to be ruin. Please note that this isn't a targetted attack, you just so happened to be vulnerable at the time. With the access I currently have I can:
Trying to remove this access is pointless A one-time payment of 0.03 Bitcoin MUST be made to the below address within 7 days: (34 character accoint name) On receipt of payment you will receive confirmation via email, after this no further action will be taken against you, your family or known IP addresses & any malware / rootkits used to obtain information will be uninstalled from your devices. ---How to get Bitcoin--- You can purchase Bitcoins via https://coinbase.com/ or https://localbitcoins.com/ as well as many other websites. ---NO OTHER PAYMENT METHOD WILL BE ACCEPTED--- Note: changing your passwords will not help. If payment is not made within 7 days I will be looking for a response to this email (yes, respond to yourself). Refusal to pay will result in a leakage of funds from your accounts amounting 0.1 Bitcoin. Regards, (FakeName)" Not sure how this could have came about, has anyone any advice on the next steps? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 08:06 PM PDT I am saving cash to buy a house in next year or so. Where can I get most interest for money ( say if I don't take it out for 6 months to 1 year) Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Is there any form of free (hopefully online) therapy? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 10:52 PM PDT Due to incredibly personal reasons, I can't work. Because of that, I've been stuck in a certain place for a very long time. I used to be married, and she understood, we were trying to get me on disability but hit a snag at every single turn. Eventually that marriage ended for other reasons. I have insurance currently, but it ends at the end of the year, and I'm basically living off of absolutely 0 income at the moment. I NEED therapy. I need to talk to a professional to keep the incredibly depressive thoughts at bay, but I can't afford to go to the one I used to go to, because he started charging 160$ a session, of which insurance only covered 85$ per session, once a month. Is there anything I can do? [link] [comments]  |
| $20,000 Gift: Towards Mortgage or Other? Posted: 18 Oct 2019 12:58 AM PDT Dearest mom and dad want to give me a gift for the purchase of my first home, a condo in the Bay Area. I've strongly pushed back on the idea, wanting them to save it for their retirement, but they're not relenting any time soon. I don't want the money to just sit in a savings account, so what else could I do with it? Stats about me: - $165,000 annual income - No student loans, no car loans - Fully funded 401K - Fully funded Roth IRA - Funded personal investment account - Mortgage is $2292/month @ 3.375% 10YR ARM - Over one year's worth of emergency fund in the bank Now, the reason for the ARM is because I don't intend to hang onto this condo for very long. The plan is to flip it, after appreciation, and then trade up into a single family home. My parents want me to put the $20k towards my mortgage, but that seems underutilized to me if I don't plan to keep this as a forever home. My thoughts right now are to either wait for a dip in the market and buy some ETFs, or chuck the money into a high yield savings account. Any other ideas or suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| Ideal way to make a 2019 Roth IRA Contribution? Posted: 18 Oct 2019 12:25 AM PDT I need to make my 2019 Vanguard Roth IRA Contribution of $6k and plan on going into VTSAX. However, I'm not sure what the best way is to make this contribution. I've read that a lump sum is better than a series of smaller payments because the money grows quicker. Besides that though, how do you determine when's the best time to make the contribution - is it based on the VTSAX price and should I consider limit orders and/or stop orders? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Should I volunteer for layoffs while pregnant? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 08:59 AM PDT I work for a larger company in an industry that has been somewhat declining within the last few years. Yesterday they announced they are doing layoffs because the business isn't performing as expected. I am 38 1/2 weeks pregnant, so baby could really come any day now. I've been sitting here freaking out that I need this baby to come so I can start my leave and they can't legally (at least until I get back) get rid of me. I get 12 weeks paid leave as part of my benefits so I really want to make sure I can take advantage of it. But I just had a light bulb moment; what if I flip the tables and volunteer to leave? If I get a good enough severance, I could stay home with baby for a few months almost like a paid leave, and then worry about looking for a new gig earlier next year. Here are a few more details about my situation:
Now I've never been laid off, let alone volunteer for it. What am I not thinking of? Could I negotiate my severance? Would love to get at least 6 months paid (my husband has been laid off and has gotten 6 months paid, so I wouldn't think it's too outrageous), but hopefully a year for peace of mind. Could I ask for insurance/other benefits to be extended until at least November so I don't have to go through the switch mid-baby madness? Could I collect unemployment (if I have to) even if I volunteer? Is this just a terrible idea? HALP! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 18 Oct 2019 12:07 AM PDT So last month I nicked a rental and never filed an insurance claim because I thought it would be less than $300 repair. I got the bill right now and it's $1000 for a little dent!!! Then Sunday I totally messed my car up (my fault) and filed an insurance claim. I'll have to pay $1000 for the damages and insurance will cover the rest. Should I try to get insurance to cover my rental bill too or is it too sketchy to have 2 accidents within a month of each other? Should I just pay the $1000 rental ding out of pocket and the other $1000 for my personal car once that bill comes? Will insurance be pissed if I report the rental Damage one month after? Honestly I never reported the rental ding because I thought it'd be a couple hundred at most and didn't want my insurance rates to go up. But damn I fucked up. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I choose between a 403b and a 457 (or something else)? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 09:38 PM PDT Hi there. I recently started at a CA state-affiliated nonprofit that participates in CalPERS. They also offer optional 403b and/or 457 plans. I am allowed to have one or both, and am allowed to contribute up to $19,000/annually to each one. Neither have an employer-matching. I am 31 years old, no retirement saved, so I'd like to start out as aggressively as possible. By my estimation, I can reasonably save $25,000/year (pre-tax). I already have an emergency fund of approximately 6 months of expenses. My understanding is that the 457 has a very limited offering of investment options. The 457 is through "Voya". My recommended fund, "CalPERS Target Retirement 2050 Fund", has expenses of 0.64% or 0.44% from what I can tell (conflicting info online). It's 1yr/5yr/10yr annualized performance is 1.06/5.36/7.77. The 403b has the following options:
Should I sign up for the 403b, the 457, something post-tax like a Roth IRA, or something else? How do I make that decision?? If the 403b, does anyone have any advice on which company is best on this list? Thank you!! [link] [comments]  |
| Should I close a credit card a DAY after opening it? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 11:22 PM PDT Ok so rn I may sound stupid, but, I accidentally opened up a credit card at Best Buy & the APR rate is stupidly high. My actual goal was to get a credit line with them for a phone and pay it off with their 0% APR deal. But nope, didn't get that. Instead got handed over the phone with my bank that said "well ok, your APR rate is 26%". I'm PETRIFIED. I'm a young college broke student. Question is: i have not put a dime on that credit card (and don't even need it) and wondered if it were bad to close it tomorrow morning? (Mind you: I already have a car loan AND a regular Discover credit card). Thank youuuuuuuu (side note: credit line got approved for $2000 YIKESSS) [link] [comments]  |
| Not sure what to do with saved money... Posted: 17 Oct 2019 10:25 PM PDT So, I got a random check a while ago for $7000 from my dad passing away 3 years ago, never expected to come into any money at all but I haven't touched it so it's still sitting there. It makes me feel great having that much of an emergency fund, but I can't help but wonder if I should do something with it. My debts: Student loans- $19,900 @ 5.72% interest fixed loan $13,923 (unsubsidized and subsidized combined @ 3.76% avg interest rate) Car loan $13,347 @ 5.94% interest I know I can't pay any of these entirely off, and I plan on moving very soon so would like a decent amount of backup money. But am I dumb to keep it all saved in an ally savings account at (now) 1.8% interest and just pay slightly more towards each of my loans every month which I was already doing? [link] [comments]  |
| Initial Job Offer Out of University - Negotiating Issues Posted: 17 Oct 2019 03:34 PM PDT Looking for insight about what to do in my situation. I've seen posts on reddit all the time about negotiating your offer right out of school because every 1k added to your salary accumulates immensely down the line. I recently got a very generous offer from a large company. About 5 peers got similar offers from the same company, and three were given an additional 3k to the base salary, the 2 others didn't negotiate. I asked for an additional 4k to the base salary, and was just told that's not possible, but they were able to add 2k to the sign on bonus. While I appreciate any increase at all, should I once again counter offer for no bonus and the salary increase? I don't want to be viewed as greedy, but I don't want to miss out on a large sum of money down the line in my career. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 01:28 PM PDT My fiance and I are planning to purchase a house within the next year or so. We dont necessarily have a huge down payment for one, though we are still saving. What are some helpful tips that first time home owners might be able to use to get a home? We live in wisconsin, and I know there is a program to help people get the down payment they need to afford a home, is this something to look into? Or is this a bad idea? Also, is there a list of things to consider and or do before buying a home (financial wise) that we should be thinking about? [link] [comments]  |
| Is there a budget app/spreadsheet that accommodates non-regular income? Posted: 17 Oct 2019 04:02 PM PDT I work in the arts, and I get paid per service. While I know my schedule through the end of June, and therefore how much I'll make each week, each week pays a different amount. I haven't found budget management that allows that flexibility. I've checked the wiki and am hoping there's something out there! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2019 09:57 AM PDT I found out I am being laid off tomorrow. They are offering an 8 week severance package. I currently have 3 months of bills in my savings. Here is what I am planning on doing in the next two days:
Here are some of my questions. Can I get unemployment if I am getting a severance package? Are there any other unnecessary common expenditures that I should eliminate? Any help would be great. I am already in the process of updating my resume and I have some potential jobs already found (although not in my job field). Edit: I live in Texas and the company is based in Boston. I did work from home multiple times a week. [link] [comments]  |
| Charles Schwab has now announced they will offer fraction share trading for stocks. Posted: 17 Oct 2019 07:37 PM PDT According the CNBC, Charles Schwab is now working on offering fractional share trading on all stocks. No details on ETFs or how they will set this up. If they set this up like M1 Finance, it would deter day traders. If they can do it within regular day trading times and for ETFs, it will be an industry game changer. What are your thoughts on this? [link] [comments]  |
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