Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of December 02, 2019 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of December 02, 2019
- Debt is stacking up and jobs aren’t hiring me.
- Wife fell victim to "FTC calling" phone scam today, what do I need to do?
- Company messed up my mom’s tax reporting and now she owes $60k to the IRS by the 26th
- If you don't already, shop the store brands for medications. Just saw a $230 difference for a year supply of daily allergy medication.
- My pregnant girlfriend is due this month and my work doesn't have a time off program for my absence.
- My Debt is surpassing my Income. Need help/advice
- [Nevada] Is there a difference between one job $32/hr at 40 hrs a week vs 2 jobs $16/hr at 80 hours per week, as far as taxes go?
- Decided to get serious about finances. What do focus on first?
- Need advice: should I buy a condo now?
- Is it irresponsible to cancel a life insurance policy that I have been paying for for 10 years?
- Out of the blue, my dad received a check in the mail. Is this a scam?
- Wife’s grandfather offering help to buy a house in Los Angeles. Need all the advice we can get!
- Bank security question asked about a name I don't recognize, should I be concerned?
- Personal Loan to pay off Credit Cards?
- Internet Bill Going Up after initial 12 months. Options?
- What to do with a $0.03 IRA?
- ELI5: being upside down in my car loan
- Self-Directed Roth IRA or SIMPLE IRA?
- What should I charge my friend to live in my house?
- 60 days to find a place, was saving for a down payment for a house, now feeling lost and need advice
- Overfunded two IRAs
- Owe the IRS $6,430.76
- I got a letter from the IRS with payment due of $2,500 with a correction to line 33 (education credits)
- Questions about defaulting on a 401k loan.
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of December 02, 2019 Posted: 02 Dec 2019 03:07 AM PST 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]  |
| Debt is stacking up and jobs aren’t hiring me. Posted: 02 Dec 2019 03:59 AM PST Hi all, I hope this is the right place to post this! If not please let me know where this should be posted instead. So I am an 18 year old girl living Europe. Since my parents have divorced I've been helping out with stuff around the house with my little job I had. Recently I have been let go and have been applying to many other jobs but they never hire me, mostly due to my lack of time or lack of experience. I'm still studying and thus don't have a degree that could help me find an actually well paying job. On top of that I now need to pay the government 300€ that I don't have and I've found myself in a pickle. Do any of you have advise as to what I could do or any way that I could make money? I will literally take any job (as long as it's legal Ofcourse) thanks in advance! Edit: please don't suggest anything NSFW (I.e porn, webcam work, etc.) I know I said I'd take any job and I should have clarified. I've gotten a lot of helpful tips already and thanks to all those people for responding! Edit 2.0: Wow I'm getting so many tips and reply's. I'm having a hard time responding to everyone but thanks for everyone taking the time to suggest something for me and help me out here! For anyone saying I should work a fastfood job, trust me my standards aren't too high. I've went around most and none are hiring but I left my resume and number, they said if anything opens up they would give me a call. I also visit job hunting sites daily to see if there is anything new I could apply to. I've been sending out a lot of resumes this week and am waiting to get some replies but I'm thinking one of them should work. After all the more places I apply the higher the chance is that I find something. Thanks again to everyone taking some time to help me with this. I really appreciate it :) [link] [comments]  |
| Wife fell victim to "FTC calling" phone scam today, what do I need to do? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 02:04 PM PST I am shaking as I write this. I just came home and my wife told me she got a phone call from the "FTC," and she called them back, spoke to someone with a foreign accent, and gave that person her social security number, birthdate, full name, and the name of our bank. She called the bank to notify them, I will call now to verify what they can do. What else do I need to do right now? Thanks for your help. [link] [comments]  |
| Company messed up my mom’s tax reporting and now she owes $60k to the IRS by the 26th Posted: 02 Dec 2019 05:41 PM PST My mom's old company (she quit a year ago) apparently messed up either their tax reporting or withholding for the past several years (at least 3+). My mom got a letter from the IRS today stating she owes $60k to the IRS by the 26th. She called her old company and they confirmed this and she is not the only person that this has happened to. She has not yet called the IRS. My mom does not have 60k lying around. What is the best way to go about this? I am having her call the IRS tomorrow. Do they do payment plans? What is someone supposed to do in this situation? Edit: I looked at her form and it was specifically retirement income and her company did not withhold enough tax from that. The IRS bill identifies issues with her W2 and 1099-R. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 06:08 PM PST proof of the prices. Same medication same does different name. When it comes to shopping for medication and most other things, the store brand is often the same exact product just a hell of a lot cheaper. [link] [comments]  |
| My pregnant girlfriend is due this month and my work doesn't have a time off program for my absence. Posted: 02 Dec 2019 03:50 PM PST Sorry if this is the wrong place for this. My girlfriend will be having our son this month and I would like to get things sorted out for when I need to drive her to the ER to give birth to our child. My info: California, I make under $50k a year and I am not married. I work 40 hours a week. I do have health insurance through my employer. My boss has said that they do not have FMLA, I do have about a week of vacation time I can use. What sort of disability or unemployment do I need to look into so that we can have income while I am taking time off with the baby? [link] [comments]  |
| My Debt is surpassing my Income. Need help/advice Posted: 02 Dec 2019 07:10 AM PST Hello, I am a 30yr old male. I have a girlfriend with an autoimmune disease and have been helping her with her bills and hospital bills because she is often out of work and on disability. Before I knew it I was in debt myself. My monthly credit card payments are now so high I am having issues paying for my Mortgage and Maintenance. I have about $40,000 in Credit Card Debt and my monthly payments for those cards are about 1100-1200 per month. This doesnt include the little bits I try to give my girlfriend for her hospital bills. What are my options for lowering my monthly credit card debt? I am unable to get anymore loans because my credit score has been shot. Is a Debt Management Plan the same as Debt Settlement Company? I do not want to get scammed or be worse off. If anyone has any suggestions or people to speak to that would be great. I am at the point where I would just try to get rid of this and start from scratch and not be ignorant with my money. If I can just lower my monthly credit card payments to $650 or less it would be immensely helpful. Monthly Income: $5200 Loans and Home: Mortgage: $875 (137k remaining) Maintenance: $784 Loan2: $833 (18k remaining) Utilities: Con Ed: $100 Internet: $60 Cell Phone: $30 Credit Cards: CC1: $612 (24k Balance) CC2: $206 (7k Balance) CC3: $180 (8k Balance) CC4: $70 (3k Balance) CC5: $70 (2k Balance) Transportation: Car Lease: $180 Insurance: $189 Subway: $127 Gas: $100 I may be missing some but rest of it goes to Groceries/Food/Supplies. I am going to stop paying my gfs bills and focus on my situation. I do freelance work on the side which is inconsistent but can getme 250-500 mo Appreciate your time. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 12:06 PM PST [USA] Is there a difference between one full time job at 32/hr vs 2 full time jobs at 16/hr, for tax purposes? I know physically, it's a hell of a lot easier to work one job for the combined pay of 2 jobs, vs working 2 jobs. I'm about to work a second full time job. I was wondering, if even though I'd now be making 2x as much money as before, roughly 55-60k vs my 28-32k, do I get any sort of tax breaks since I am now working over 80 hours a week without overtime? Anything at all to help me not get taxed as hard as someone who's making the same amount while only working 40 hours per week? My next question is, I don't need the second job for necessities, and I'm wondering what to do with the money. It's purely for saving up money, well after I pay off about 13-15k of debt (car and rental collection, old cards). Are there any good investment plans for making an extra fully expendable 2000 a month after that? I want to retire as early as possible (I'll still work as my own boss, but I don't want to do 9-5, I want to work on my own time). I don't know if I should invest in real estate, stocks, start-ups, pay developers to make me apps with microtransactions, invest in algotrading, or what. I won't be able to go to college at the same time, but maybe I can learn programming/web development on the side, but let's assume I basically won't be building any skills during this phase, other than whatever I learn being sales/support at this call center. So all I'd really be able to do with my free time is the bare minimums like eating, cleaning, exercising, and sleeping. If someone can give me good financial advice for someone making about 60k/year for the next few years. I might have roughly $60k saved up after 2 years starting from next month, as I don't save much with my first job. [link] [comments]  |
| Decided to get serious about finances. What do focus on first? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 06:06 PM PST I realized recently I have been pretty bad with money. I made a budget and sticking to it. I am saving about 800-900 bucks a month. My take home pay is 3,300. One of my strengths is not spending money, now that I have a budget I will stick to it. I was just not even realizing how much money I was burning on food, video games, etc.. I am teaching an extra class this year and will make an extra 8k or so, I really want to use this money wisely. This money will be in addition to the 800 im saving a month. I will also get a job this summer, should net me at least 2k. The bad news: I have 43k in student loans. Interest rates vary from 3%-6.8%. 23k of them are 6.8%. I put them on the income payment plan and hoping to get them forgiven after 10 years, public school teacher. I am now wondering if it would even save me much money. No credit card debt but a 0% interest loan on my car 10k left. Getting a house - I have been thinking of looking for a house, should I try to pay off my debt first? Houses are fairly cheap in my area, my rent is 800 and a mortgage could easily be 500-600. I like to live well in my means. Retirement - I have a state pension waiting for me when I retire SO - my girlfriend cant currently work but she should be able to in a year or two, this will add at least 10k a year to our yearly income, at no additional expense. I looked at the flowcharts and a lot of the resources on here but it seems like my situation might be a little unique, loan forgiveness, looking at houses, etc.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Need advice: should I buy a condo now? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 09:15 AM PST Title says it all. A little about my situation: I'm currently 23 (will turn 24 by the time I buy in the summer). I live in Chicago and don't intend to move away for at least 5 years. I'm single and an interested in buying a 1-2br unit in the range of 150k-220k. My annual income is 83k and my only debt is an $80/month student loan payment. I will probably end up putting about 20k down. Is it a mistake to lock myself into ownership at this point? Should I wait until I can put a full 20% down? Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Is it irresponsible to cancel a life insurance policy that I have been paying for for 10 years? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 02:01 PM PST In my early 20s, I worked for a government agency with a retirement plan. Since I got this job directly out of college, I didn't know much about that type of thing and one day, a guy came around the office offering financial planning services. He convinced me to sign up for a hefty life insurance policy. Now, I'm in my mid-thirties. I have no children (and don't plan to). I have no outstanding debts, a positive net worth, a retirement account and an employer sponsored life insurance policy that would cover any funeral costs in the event of my death. The monthly premiums for my life insurance policy are pretty high (one of my highest monthly bills) and I just keep trying to figure out why I even have this policy. There's also a cash account linked to it that would be nice to have. I'd much rather take all of that money and contribute to my retirement account. I tried to cancel the policy and I got a long email about why it's totally financially ignorant to do so. I don't know enough to know whether that's true. Should I continue paying for a life insurance policy or cancel the payments and try to close out the cash account? [link] [comments]  |
| Out of the blue, my dad received a check in the mail. Is this a scam? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 02:29 PM PST The check is from a women's nonprofit based in DC. The check looks legit and everything you'd expect to see on a check. The sender of the check is a roofing company located in South Carolina. We live in PA. The sender of the check used USPS priority mail. In the envelope it was just the check. No letter or paperwork, nothing. Just a check for $3500. I'm 99.9% sure it's a scam, I just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on this. [link] [comments]  |
| Wife’s grandfather offering help to buy a house in Los Angeles. Need all the advice we can get! Posted: 02 Dec 2019 04:38 PM PST Hello r/personalfinance, Not sure if this is the appropriate sub for this so please let me know if there's a better place for this. Post below! My wife's grandfather offered $200,000 gift for a downpayment for a house and as good as this is for us, we still have many questions on the process. Our household income is around $5,500 Net after taxes and we currently pay $3,400 in rent + all bills. I know, ouch! We'd like this gift to be used towards an apartment we really like, in a good "up and coming" area (we were thinking Miracle Mile, East LA, Culver City, Highland Park, and open to suggestions) that we can rent out down the road. We are looking for a 2-3 Bedroom apartment with 2 Bath. We currently live in the Miracle Mile area and we really like the area we live but good apartments area going from $600K-1M range and as big as those $200k are, we would like this gift to create a meaningful help in our monthly rent and maybe going down to around $1,600 a month for mortgage payments. This is our first mortgage and I don't know all the steps and extra fees, taxes and all things that comes with a spanking new mortgage. If I left anything out please let me know, we are trying to get as much knowledge as we can to make sure we do the right thing. Thank you everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| Bank security question asked about a name I don't recognize, should I be concerned? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 06:10 PM PST My bank asked me a series of 3 security questions, presumably tied to my credit report? It asked "In what state does XXXX XXXXX" own property and live?" But the name I didn't recognize- same last name as me but I didn't know the first. Should I be concerned? [link] [comments]  |
| Personal Loan to pay off Credit Cards? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 03:56 PM PST This seems like a no-brainer for me, but I want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing. Capital One - $1414 @ 23.75% apr AmEx - $1521 @ 24.75% apr USAA - $959 @ 11.75% apr I bank through USAA and used their online loan application and was approved for my loan. Loan details - $3900 @ 9.89% apr My brain is saying to do it and get it taken care of. I racked up quite a bit of debt when I moved back home after college. I'm an elementary teacher, and didn't have a job the summer that I moved back, and that, plus moving costs put me in considerable debt. I'm in my 4th year of teaching, and still paying crap off. My Capital One and AmEx cards are cut up, and my USAA card is only for emergencies. I also have an Amazon card that I'm paying on, but I'm not including that in my personal loan because I've allowed my mom to use it, and she's making payments on it as well. We're both paying on it monthly and knocking it down. I just need to know whether to do this, or if there's some reason that I'm not seeing to not do it. Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Internet Bill Going Up after initial 12 months. Options? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 09:39 AM PST So I currently use Cox Cable Internet as my provider. We signed for a locked price for 12 months. However, the 12 months are coming to an end and the price is increasing by nearly 100%. I.e. $50/month to $100/month. I was wondering what my options would be. Allocating $100/mo for internet is just too much :( Could I possibly terminate my service. And then re-enroll for another 12 month locked in price of $50? Please help me adult. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 10:10 AM PST I rolled over an employer 401k plan into a Roth IRA a number of years ago, but the 401k account was never closed. Somehow, it accrued 3¢ of value, so now I'm sitting with an employer plan with pennies in it. I just tried rolling it into my Roth IRA, but it wouldn't let me and instead put it into a traditional IRA. Now I have an empty 401k account I can't get rid of, and a new traditional IRA with 3¢ in it... Now what? [link] [comments]  |
| ELI5: being upside down in my car loan Posted: 02 Dec 2019 06:23 PM PST Like many posters in this sub, I too am underwater/upside down in my car loan. Based on what I've read in this sub and online, I need to type this out to make sure I understand my situation correctly and get feedback if there's something I'm obviously missing. I need a solution and it's hard to see the other side of the tunnel. Details:
I've made pretty much every bad car purchasing mistake I could in the last 4 years. These seem like my current option - is there anything else I'm missing, or something below I'm misunderstanding?
If I didn't have this car anymore, I free up over $700/mo (incl insurance, gas, maintenance, parking permit). I walk to work and could be fine with Uber/Lyft when I go out and need to run errands. [link] [comments]  |
| Self-Directed Roth IRA or SIMPLE IRA? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 04:28 PM PST Hello Reddit, I am currently 23 years old, a full-time student with a full-time job; but i still live at home and only have one monthly expense (car payment). I've recently been looking into how I should begin investing my money for retirement (I want to take advantage of my current living situation as much as possible) and have come across two options: I can start to invest more money into my SIMPLE IRA through work (3% match on any contributions; portfolio is currently set up to 80/20 stocks/bonds) or I can open a self directed Roth IRA and manage a portfolio of assets myself (or use a robo-advisor such as M1 Finance). I prefer the second option for 3 reasons: 1) there are certain single company stocks I want to invest in and I would also like to have some stake in the marijuana sector, 2) I have read that management fees for the funds similar to the one set up through my SIMPLE IRA are a lot higher, and 3) I have also read that a lot of funds of this type attempt to beat the market; I prefer to have a portfolio that mirrors that market aside from a small percentage of stocks that I have researched and feel good about. However, considering the 3% match, should I just continue to put my money into the SIMPLE IRA? Any advice on what I should do/retirement investing in general would be helpful!! I have only been researching this for a couple of weeks now, and plan to do much more before I put money into a Roth IRA (if i choose to go that route). Thank you in advance Reddit! edit: My car payment is currently $270/ month. $13k remaining balance, interest rate is 7.5%. Would it be wiser to begin making larger payments for this than in a retirement account? [link] [comments]  |
| What should I charge my friend to live in my house? Posted: 02 Dec 2019 11:17 AM PST So I live in a 3 Bedroom house and have for a year now, my friend needs a place to live and I'm not sure what to charge her for rent? The landlord is my sister. She cuts me a deal on rent, because I take care of all utilities and lawn and I helped remodel the house before I moved in. So I pay $700 a month. Other houses in the neighborhood of the same size, but are not updated, rent for around $800 or more, up to $1,200. The rooms are pretty small, a queen bed and a dresser may be all that fits. Think mobile home size-ish. She's also bringing her dog with her. I just want a fixed rate and I'll continue taking care of all the utilities and lawn myself. What do ya'll think wuold be a reasonable ask? EDIT: I should clarify better. I'm wanting to take into consideration the utilities in the fixed rate I ask of her, but say they were higher one month, I wouldn't ask her for more money. I'd just take care of it. [link] [comments]  |
| 60 days to find a place, was saving for a down payment for a house, now feeling lost and need advice Posted: 02 Dec 2019 04:04 PM PST So, my girlfriend and I are currently living at my parents house rent and bill free. Due to some unforeseen circumstances we have 60 days to move out of the house and find our own place. We were in the process of saving for a down payment on a house, but now I'm questioning some things since we're faced with this problem We currently have $13,000 combined in savings, and I bring in about $1,750 a month while my girlfriend brings in $1,200. We are located in Cincinnati Ohio with a generally low cost of living. The houses we were looking at were averaging $100,000 to $150,000. I just wanted some general advice on if we should try to find a house ASAP or try to move into an apartment instead for the time being. Apartments average $950+$1,200 a month with all utilities paid for except electric and internet. What are the benefits and drawbacks on a house vs an apartment with our income? I'm worried that if we get an apartment for now we would be stuck in a cycle and unable to continue saving for a home and be stuck renting forever, but I'm unsure we'd even be able to afford our own home when things like electric, gas, water, etc. are added into the equation as I'm not sure how to budget those for this area since I don't know anyone who owns a home with two people to base my numbers off of. What would be the best course of action with Cincinnati's cost of living? Thank you for any help. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 07:45 PM PST I'd been funding a Roth IRA for myself and a Traditional IRA for my wife as I thought we would be under the income limits. Due to unexpected stock grants it turns out we'll be above the income limits for funding IRAs this year. I also just found out my wife's employer provides a 401k, which has not been funded at all this year. What are my options for avoiding taxes on the funded IRAs? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 07:44 PM PST I owe the IRS because of a screw up from 2012. It was my first time filing taxes and I didn't know any better. The person that was filing my taxes at Jackson Hewitt told me I needed to claim at least 3 people to file with them. I had my mother show up and she was told the same thing. We filed and we were told "you can claim your mother, sisters, anyone living with you." My mother was on disability for MS and FM. I could not have claimed her. My adopted sister had only lived with us for 4 months, not even a full two months at the end of 2011. I could not claim her as we were still processing adoption papers. My last sister was the only eligible dependent. We filed, everything went through and I got back roughly $12,000. I didnt initially spend it because we were expecting the IRS to audit us. We held on to it until September of 2014 when we needed our plumbing fixed, gas lines removed and the property leveled. The next 2015 I was audited for 2012. I explained what happened and what we were told. I decided to pay back in payments which lasted for about a year, $250 a month. I lost my job and was unable to send more payments for a few months. I have not recieved any letters, phone calls or emails from the IRS. I have now been working for almost 3 years and each tax year my entire refund it garnished, but my balance stays the same from every tax year. I have the letters with the balance remaining the same. I tried checking online but I cannot create an account without a loan #?? I dont have anything in a line of credit. Student loans, mortgage or anything. So I cannot create an account. I tried to call but I'm left on hold and sent to different departments. I spent almost 4 hours on the phone and have no been given an answer or even someone to pull up my info. I tried sending in letters but I get nothing in return. I want to pay this balance back in full so that I do not have this weighing on my shoulders anymore but no one is answering me and I'm scared if I just drop it that it'll bite me in the ass. What should I do? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2019 07:31 PM PST Hello, I just received a letter from the IRS stating that there was a correction made to my 2017 tax return. For that year I received $2,500 in tax deduction because I paid that much for my undergrad tuition. I'm confused on if I messed up while filing taxes or if the IRS just doesn't have the correct documents to support my tax deduction. One thing that is kind of concerning is the fact that I received a 1098-T for my 2015 and 2016 school years but not my 2017... A little background: I went to school for Summer quarter of 2017. This was my final course which was more of an internship with assignments along the way to prep me to move from intern to full time work. Course was 5 credits and I paid around 2,500 in tuition and graduated after that. I didn't pay any tuition for 2016 because I received tuition aid which covered pretty much all my expenses. So now, do I just need to show the IRS bank statements showing my payments for the tuition? I can also logon to my university's Student page that also has records of my payments. Can I just send that as proof or will I need to send a 1098-T? What do I do if I don't have a 1098-T for the 2017 year? Is it too late to request this from my university? Edit: I had some information wrong. I just checked my student transcript and my tuition aid transcript. I received tuition aid for Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017. This was for 1 school year since school usually starts in the fall. I did not receive tuition aid for Summer 2017 which is why I paid tuition for that quarter. [link] [comments]  |
| Questions about defaulting on a 401k loan. Posted: 02 Dec 2019 04:42 PM PST I took out 13k as a loan from my 401k and I'm going to default and they just take the money from my 401k as a penalty. If they take it out and it's earned income, how much should I be expecting to pay uncle sam during tax season? [link] [comments]  |
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