Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of October 28, 2019 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of October 28, 2019
- Update to negotiating a raise based on headhunter's invitation to apply
- Never be afraid to ask: I just got rent on a new apartment lowered by $250/month by negotiating.
- Changes to the Uber Credit Card
- I need help knowing if I am behind in my savings or not at age 35.
- Budget Tip: Create a visualisation of your numbers to help you see the bigger picture.
- Any one ever receive an IRS withholding lock in letter? Got a weird situation.
- [Discussion] For those who exclusively use credit cards, what's your rotation/strategy to maximize benefits?
- What steps can I take to ensure that my mother cannot use my personal information to open a line of credit without my knowing?
- 24, working professional: Should I be saving for a house or retirement?
- Collection just now showed up on my credit report from a doctors office that I haven't visited since Aug 2016. Three years have passed. Furthermore, I know I paid upfront every visit back then because I don't have insurance. How can I dispute this ASAP?
- Am I ok to retire? Opinions please.
- 28 years old, and wondering where I stand at the moment.
- What to do when you're so far behind
- Wanting to buy a bigger home but don’t want to make a mistake in the future.
- Cut My Losses and Pay Off Student Loans or Refinance?
- How realistic is never having a credit card or loan in your entire life?
- Is it possible to pay off large amounts of debt in 2 years? How would one do it?
- Can someone explain my savings account?
- How to invest properly
- 401k - managed through plan advisor vs. LifePath 2055 target date fund
- Can two working parents with kids put more in HSA accounts by not being on the same insurance plan?
- (New York) Parents' health insurance
- Car has been in the shop for warranty repairs for 3 months now
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of October 28, 2019 Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:07 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]  |
| Update to negotiating a raise based on headhunter's invitation to apply Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:45 AM PDT Hi guys, I posted a few weeks back about how a headhunter contacted me for a position offering a significant pay increase and whether I could use that to ask for a raise at my current job. It didn't get a ton of attention but I figured an update might help some people out so I'm posting one anyways. The consensus in the last post was that no, I could not get a raise based solely on this invitation and I should either ignore it or get an offer before asking for a raise. I didn't want to ignore it, but getting an offer I had no interest in felt disingenuous. I decided to bring it up anyways, but didn't want to push it as a demand for a raise because of the responses I received. Instead, I brought it up to my boss as more of a discussion about the company and why other companies are offering more. Essentially the conversation went "hey boss, a headhunter contacted me for a position and while I'm not at all looking to change jobs, they are quoting a salary more than 20k above what I make now. I feel like I'd be an idiot to not at least look into it. Why are other companies offering so much more?" Apparently, there is a wage compression happening across my industry as a whole within the past year, and companies are having to offer more money to new hires to get them to accept. He also spoke more specifically about the company that sought me out. I have a very niche skill that is relatively expensive to invest in (scuba diving for underwater inspections). Both of the employees who used to work for my company that now work for the prospective company were involved in this field. I do not do this with my current company and have little interest in pursuing it, but theoretically I could earn more money if I decided to pursue it with another company. Finally, he ended with the fact that I am highly valued within the company, and he would talk to finance and see what he could do for me. A week and a half after the discussion, we had a follow-up meeting in which he gave me a $4k raise, so ~7%. This is immediate, and I will still receive a raise in the spring for annual raises. Not enormous, but enough to be worth the effort. He also said he is giving my coworkers small raises (although not as much as mine). Could I have gotten a bigger raise if I had followed up with the headhunter and secured an offer before bringing it up? Probably. However, I didn't want to rock the boat, and it felt immoral to waste the other company's time interviewing for an offer I had no desire to accept. Also, I'm lazy by nature. Tl;dr Brought it up despite not having an offer in hand, got a 4k raise for myself and small raises for my coworkers. Probably could have gotten more if I had an offer, but a small raise is better than the nothing I would have received had I just ignored the other company. [link] [comments]  |
| Never be afraid to ask: I just got rent on a new apartment lowered by $250/month by negotiating. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 03:33 PM PDT A couple of years ago I (and my husband) moved into our apartment building. The only unit available at the time was on the 2nd floor and facing a noisy area, so we said that when our (two year) lease was up, we'd like to move to a different unit higher up and on the other side. Since then property values and rent prices in the area have skyrocketed. Thanks to Ontario rent protection laws and our two year lease, our rent hadn't gone up and as of next year it would only be 2.2% more than what we're currently paying. However, a new apartment on the West side of our building had opened up on the 15th floor. It would mean a great view of a park, actual sunlight (we get about an hour of sunlight mid-morning 4 months of the year) and the ability to grow plants on the balcony, and the probability of not being woken up by drunk idiots the middle of the night. However, the super told me that we'd have to sign a new lease at the going rate, which was almost $300/month more than what we're currently paying. I emailed the company who owns the building and asked them to reconsider the rent being as they'd be able to rent our apartment out at the new higher rate anyway, keeping our rent at the same rate even in the new apartment wouldn't decrease their profits at all. I also said that since we didn't have a fixed moving date, we would be willing to work with them and set the moving in/out date at whatever worked best for the building maintenance people. She just wrote back and offered it to us at $40 a month more than we're paying now, which I figure I'll make back just by being able to grow my own strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, and other balcony-friendly produce! [link] [comments]  |
| Changes to the Uber Credit Card Posted: 28 Oct 2019 10:39 AM PDT https://www.cnbc.com/select/uber-credit-card-from-barclays-gets-relaunched-updated-rewards/ 5% back in Uber Cash on all Uber purchases including Uber rides, Uber Eats orders, and JUMP bike and scooter rides (previously 2%) 3% back in Uber Cash on restaurants and bars (previously 4%) 3% back in Uber Cash on hotels and airfare (remains the same) 1% back in Uber Cash on all other purchases (remains the same) The card no longer offers up to a $50 statement credit for online subscription services after you spend $5,000 or more on your card per year. Cardholders earn Uber Cash instead of cash back. This creates some limitations since Uber Cash can only be redeemed for Uber-related purchases, such as Uber rides and UberEats orders. Previously, cash back could be applied as a statement credit or redeemed for gift cards. Overall decent changes if you are heavy Uber user. But it seems worse as a standard credit card for a casual Uber user. Edit: Extra info for current users Current cardmembers can expect to be transitioned to the new program within the first six months of 2020 and will be notified of the changes and their transition date via email and their statement. [link] [comments]  |
| I need help knowing if I am behind in my savings or not at age 35. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:51 AM PDT I've always been curious whether I'm behind if ahead in terms of where I'm at financially. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Bought a house at 26 (I am now 34) for $183,000 (put 20% down). Invested $20,000 into renovations. The current property value is $285,000 Since that initial investment, I have done the following: $40,000 in Roth IRA $3,500 IRA $700 ETFs $14,000 in company 401K I contribute up to the matching 5% each pay period which equals around $650 between the employer and each month. I also, max my IRA each year on a monthly contribution basis. I have a car loan for 9K ($300 per month) and the house payment and that's it for debt. [link] [comments]  |
| Budget Tip: Create a visualisation of your numbers to help you see the bigger picture. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:59 AM PDT Long time lurker here and I finally want to post/share something that really helped me and my wife to understand our budget and be responsible for our financial actions. My wife especially really struggled to understand the importance of a budget and never really was into finances as a topic to begin with. So creating a nice visual out of your boring excel file made her help understand our budget. We used http://sankeymatic.com/build/ to create that one but you can use pretty much anything. Even drawing something to look at by hand can work wonders. [link] [comments]  |
| Any one ever receive an IRS withholding lock in letter? Got a weird situation. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:36 PM PDT |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2019 11:41 AM PDT I know a lot of people use credit cards as debit - charging everything on cards, pays it in fulls, and reaps the rewards either in points or cashback. I know churning is a thing too! But for us regular card users who aren't necessarily churning, I am curious what your credit card rotation is to maximize benefits? Mine is:
[link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:19 PM PDT My grandmother just found out that her credit score has fallen ~170 points in the last 6 months due to her being unknowingly added as a cosigner on a credit card. It appears as though my mother used my grandmother's SSN and other personal information to open the card unbeknownst to my grandmother, maxed out the card, and has made 0 payments on it. My grandmother called the issuer of the card and they advised that her name would be removed from all instances of the account, and that all negative reports to her credit would be reversed. So that appears to be handled at this time. My mother has horrible money management skills. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that she has done something so egregious, but it is not surprising to me in the least. I am now slightly concerned that my mother may use my information to open a new line of credit without me knowing. I have a monthly FICO report through one card and a VantageScore report through another card, both of which I check regularly. I assume that I would see any suspicious activity reported there, but would much rather head off any issues before they arise in the first place. What options are available to me? [link] [comments]  |
| 24, working professional: Should I be saving for a house or retirement? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 07:01 AM PDT I just graduated college this year with minimal debt. Slated to have it paid off by next month. No credit card debt or car payments to speak of. Currently a working professional. I know everyone says to save like crazy for retirement but what about my needs in the near term future? I'd like to buy a house by 30, and I need to start thinking about a new car in the next couple years as well (just over 200k miles now). I'm a single guy with no SO/family dependents on the horizon. It would make more sense in my mind to prioritize near term investments to avoid paying more in interest but I'm not sure where the "line" is. Currently putting 12% into 401k. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:37 AM PDT ALSO. My address hasn't changed. Neither has my email. I have never once received a bill. Not once and I check my mail daily. [link] [comments]  |
| Am I ok to retire? Opinions please. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:34 AM PDT I'm looking to retire next spring. I have 1.1M in my 401(k) and 300K cash. Wife is retired and our combined pensions will be 85K. We get health insurance through her as part of her pension buyout at a very affordable price. My plan is to retire next spring and draw from the 401(k) at 3% a year for 5 years until full SS for us both, which will be about 50K combined. I can't see taking much from the 401(k) after that, as we live pretty simply. Appreciate any feedback. TIA [link] [comments]  |
| 28 years old, and wondering where I stand at the moment. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:19 PM PDT After working summer internships and part time as a grocery worker. In a month or so I have been with my company for almost a year. My salary is 55k, I bring home about $785 each week, and expecting a decent tax refund. I started in mid December with 2k in savings, and now I'm at 14k. I'm a year and half paid a head on my student loans, and more a grand on car(I didn't want to use my saving or take auto loan). My goal is to at 25k by the mid 2021, save up for newer used vehicle and to move in into an apartment with some furniture. Currently not paying rent. How I'm i doing so far? I'm I behind on my savings? Hope this is the right place to post. Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| What to do when you're so far behind Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:01 AM PDT Long time lurker, first time poster. Long story short, we are a family of 4 (husband, wife, 2 young boys) living in the Northeast. My husband is a food director for a nursing home and makes about $60k per year. I am a project manager at an IT company that works on clinical trials. My annual salary is about $85k. Household income: approx $8700 per month from our full time jobs. an additional $500 a month from a PT job my husband has. I am planning to teach myself how to program as a side hustle since I am an IT Project Manager. Household Bills: Mortgage: 2157 Daycare: 1100 Electric: 200 Water: 60 Cable/Internet: 105 Cell Phones: 180 Car Insurance: 301 Other (Groceries, Gas, household items): $850 Debts: (Personal Loans: $25,500, Cars: $18,000. Student Loans $100,000, Credit Cards: $25,934) Personal Loan: $1688/ mnth Cars: $591 (one car is $301 per month and we owe $15k on it, other is $290 and we only owe about $3000) Student Loans: $1254 Credit Cards: $1040 TL;DR: We are basically underwater with our expenses vs our income. This debt is nothing more than a trail of bad decisions. My husband lost his job earlier this year and that accelerated the debt spiral. I was really into budgeting over the last 5 years but fell off the wagon due to some personal issues (depression, anxiety etc). I'm trying to get back on the horse but I am seriously overwhelmed. I have tired to stay up to date on our essential expenses (housing, food, electric, cars etc) but I'm about 1-2 months behind on payments for a few the person loan and credit cards. I am not sure what to do. Should I call the credit card companies to see if I can come up with a payment plan? Should I consult a bankruptcy attorney? We have no money is savings so I can't even offer a lump sum payment to settle the debts. TYIA. [link] [comments]  |
| Wanting to buy a bigger home but don’t want to make a mistake in the future. Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:08 PM PDT Whelp, I bought my first home in a down housing market and in 5 years Iv been here it's taken a good leap upward. So Iv got a home worth $140000 and if I sell at top dollar I should be able to pocket about $31000 after fees. My wife and I found a home we refer to as the " forever home" that is up for sale at $185000. The amount I make from the sale won't quite cover a 20% down . Now where I live there's a USDA loan where I can put zero down with a fixed interest rate (which I currently have at 3.75%). With my profits I will be able to pay off loans on 2 vehicles and my wife's credit card. The difference from a 20% down monthly payment and 0% down is roughly $280 a month. The amount I'd save on riding myself of three payments would be around $500. I would also have enough left over to make any updates on the new house as well. I have a small amount saved up that I use as my emergency funds, only about $3000. So I can't put much other than the profits of the sell to a down payment. Would it be a bad decision to buy this house without a 20% down? Also, I am aware of the PMI on this type of loan, it came out to about $55 a month. Also I might be curious if anyone had any insight on the future of the current housing market? Does a hike in minimum wage have a chance to make the market increase? [link] [comments]  |
| Cut My Losses and Pay Off Student Loans or Refinance? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 07:22 PM PDT Hi, I wanted to ask strangers on the internet before I got a financial advisor at my bank. Currently at a place in my life where I am being an adult at controlling my finances. I want to pay off my student loans before I make any bigger decisions. Been out of school for about 18 months now. I have a full-time job making about $37.5k a year plus some commission. I have nearly $11k in student loan debt between 2 loans (3.6%, 5.06% interest through Navient). I have about $18k saved up in life savings. I am not smart, but I'm also not stupid. This interest sucks and my currently monthly payments total $63 but will increase in December of 2020. Simple maths tells me by the time I pay these bad boys off in 2028, the interest would be a lot. Currently monthly spendings include ~$575 rent all-inclusive, $107 phone bill, and about $65 in car and renters insurance along with the $63 in student loan in repayment. I am lucky enough to be on my parents' health plan for one more year (I am 25). I like to live a comfortable life-style where I don't spend much money. Should I bite the bullet and use a good chunk of my savings to pay off these loans? My goal in 2020 is to buy a new car as my hand-me-down is getting older. I am looking at a used car between $13k and $15k, so that'd be a new payment to consider. Currently residing in Western North Carolina where the cost of living is manageable. I am renting my current place until August of 2020. Any advice would be truly appreciated, my fellow strangers! [link] [comments]  |
| How realistic is never having a credit card or loan in your entire life? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:49 PM PDT I'm 22 and the only form of banking i've ever used is a simple debit card/checking account. I keep getting told to get a credit card so I can raise my credit score. However it makes no sense to pay something off every month if I don't need to. From what i've put together, a credit score is just a way of looking attractive to loan companies since they know you can keep up with payments. But what if I don't plan on ever taking out a loan? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it possible to pay off large amounts of debt in 2 years? How would one do it? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 08:05 AM PDT I'm 26 years old - and currently approximately 36,000$ in debt: this includes credit cards, student loans, a few parking tickets and a speeding ticket that needs to get paid. I make about 2000$ a month (I don't work full time as I'm still in my degree - it'll increase to 2850$ once I start working full time starting January (it works with my class schedule - all my classes are after 4 PM, and my office closes at 4:00). All my living expenses total to about 900$ to 1100$ a month including my gas, rent, parking, car and cellphone. This doesn't include going out/coffee which I'm going to eliminate as I now have full control over the kitchen in the early mornings. Essentially my goal is to have everything paid off by December 2021 at the latest. My plan is as follows: 1.) November - pay off parking tickets + speeding tickets. Approximately 800$. 2.) December 2019 to September 2020 - pay off credit cards. 3.) Pay off student loans. I do have an extra 10K that will coming in either in November or December once all of the insurance paperwork will be processed. I haven't planned to utilize this as I haven't received it yet. Edit 1: to make it a little more clear. What's the best ways to keep on budget, not use credit cards and stick to this payment plan. [link] [comments]  |
| Can someone explain my savings account? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 06:35 PM PDT I'm in canada and have a BMO premium rate savings account. It states it earns 0.05% daily interest, I'm guessing this means it's compounded daily. I started this account about 4 years ago and put $10 in it. As of today it hasn't accued even a single cent of interest. The total still states $10. Now 10.00 x 0.0005 daily would be about half a cent daily. So I should have earned at least 15c the first month alone. Nowhere does it state a minimum balance that must be stored to start earning interest. Can anyone explain what I'm missing? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2019 07:32 AM PDT "26/m" I invested in 3d printing and its turning out great. 5 machines running every day not counting weekends I make roughly 100$ per day and slowly rising with each machine I buy. I also work part time on a dead midnight shift so I run my online store during this time "basically double pay when I work". I just want another investments that over a 10-20 year time starts producing another good source of income "stock market, vending machine, something that gathers basic passive income" I plan on upgrading my shop to do more than 3d printing but until then I'm just trying to capitalize on my young age and money generation now. Thanks in advance and sorry if I'm confusing first time posting here. [link] [comments]  |
| 401k - managed through plan advisor vs. LifePath 2055 target date fund Posted: 28 Oct 2019 04:10 PM PDT I have my 401k set up through Voya, and have a financial advisor manage my contributions. The fee for this is .60%. My "personal rate of return" year to date as listed on my accounts online is 18.50% - investments the advisor has selected include a pretty wide variety of funds, with quite a few appearing to have performance % in the 20%+. I am thinking of shifting everything over to LifePath 2055. Fee is .10%. YTD performance is 19.05%. I know market performance is impossible to predict. The advisor I spoke with tried very hard to convince me not to go to LifePath, and I assume that's because they lose out on some of the money associated with the fees. Are there any pros/cons I'm not aware of in making this switch from managed to LifePath? Appreciate any insight. [link] [comments]  |
| Can two working parents with kids put more in HSA accounts by not being on the same insurance plan? Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:37 PM PDT If the kids join my insurance or my wife's and we do a family HDHP and put in the IRS allowed $7,100 (2020) to their HSA, can the other spouse do an individual HDHP and put in the IRS allowed $3,550 (2020) also? This would allow over $10 grand in tax advantages savings vs the $7.1k a family HSA would allow. [link] [comments]  |
| (New York) Parents' health insurance Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:34 PM PDT If I live in NY and under 29 years old can I enroll on my parents health insurance if they work in NJ but reside in NY? [link] [comments]  |
| Car has been in the shop for warranty repairs for 3 months now Posted: 28 Oct 2019 05:30 PM PDT I own (Financing) a 2006 jeep commander. I purchased the car 2 years ago along with a 3 year warranty. from a large family of dealerships located in Colorado. I mostly use it to go back and forth to work but also work grubhub about $200 a week. The car has run pretty well and most of the problems it has had have been fixed under warranty but it has always been a fight to get them to do it. recently (July 25th) I brought the Jeep in to get some suspension components replaced. Usually there is a rental car to take so I am not out of a vehicle. I was told they would not provide one. I explained the warranty contract and showed them where it states that a rental car will be provided. They still refused, they said that what was going to happen is when the repair gets authorized and the parts arrived they can get me a rental. So I settled and let them diagnose my car and I would return the same day and continue to drive my car until it is authorized to be repaired. I called every day for the next three weeks getting different answers, finally I went in and talked to the service department manager (Zack) and explained my situation. He apologized and we set up an appointment (august 23rd) for my jeep to come in and they would fix it the same day so i would not need a car rental. I was having battery issues that day so I had it towed in early in the morning and left the keys in the night drop box. Later that day I gt concerned that I had not heard from anyone so I called 1/2 before they closed, no answer. The following day I Finally get a hold of Zack He says they are still working on my jeep and it will be done today even gives me his cell number. No word for the rest of the day and same scenario I call and get no response I txt Zack and he does not respond. Finally Zack txts back sunday night and tells me to go to enterprise in the morning and get a rental they will cover everything. Monday morning I get my gf to drive me there and pick up a rental. I have to pay $50 deposit and im told $2.50 per day which at the time seems ok because my jeep should be done very quickly. August 23rd I ask for an update, "the motor has failed" I am completely confused because I brought this in for suspension work and haven't had any motor issues at all. He says not to worry its covered under warranty it should take two weeks and i already have a rental. Over the next month I go back and fourth with Zach trying to get this done asap. I also found out that the dealership is well understaffed and he is the only service writer all the others could not pass drug tests. September 25th I find out that the rebuild of the motor has failed and I will need a new crate motor. I provided him with my service records and receipts to get it submitted again asap. October 10th i finally hear that the new motor is ordered. That is the last I heard from Zach. Continue calling 2x a week to try and get more answers but all i am told is that they will call me back or they are working on it. Friday I actually got off early and decided to head in hoping for good news. I found out Zack had walked away from the company and 2 new people from another store were temp transferred to help. Zack had never done any of the paperwork for my jeep and did not submit anything. The motor is there but still not approved. Up until this point I have remained calm and respectful to everyone because I have respect for other people and I know its no fun to get yelled at. After the update I asked to speak to a manager, He was not in but would be in the following day. I returned early in the morning, The manager they wanted me to talk to had called in. So i asked to speak to the general manager. The general manager is a nice guy listens to the scenario and is very understanding. The first thing he wants to do is offer to buy the jeep and get me into something else. I have been thinking about getting a new truck for a while so I told him im open to the idea but it would have to be the perfect deal. So i tell him my conditions they would buy my jeep for what i owe plus 1k and i would buy from then a used truck 4x4 crew cab and less than $300 a month. He does not have any trucks that would work for those numbers but does want me to buy a new dodge journey instead. I test drove it and explained that I am too tall for that car and it just does not work for me he then tells me that my payments would be $496 a month. I told him I do not want this deal at all. TLDNR: Jeep not fixed dealer dropped the ball for 3 months and as of now I will owe over $150 in rental charges for a car i hate driving and cannot use for my 2nd job and down close to $1600 in lost wages. Also diminished value of the car, countless hours trying to get this fixed. The jeep was put on the lift today and they will submit pictures to get this approved soon, I do not want a brand new car i cannot afford. alternatively I know my jeep needs new tires and a new windshield would I be out of line in asking for these items or should i get a lawyer. [link] [comments]  |
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