Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 06, 2019 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 06, 2019
- Should I go to grad school?
- Taxes taking 60% of paycheck? How to fix it?
- When do you decide that roommates are no longer worth the low cost anymore?
- Worth checking if you have any unclaimed money from the state/federal government
- I want to buy a second home (cabin in the mountains). Can I afford it?
- Small Savings - Put into S&P500 ETF or High Yield Savings
- Friends Bank Information was Stolen, Bank is Saying They Can't Freeze Account.
- Are my choice of banks efficient for saving at a young age?
- Car Accident: Is there something I can do to prepare if the other person involved in a car accident with me filed a bodily injury claim and there isn't any police record or witnesses?
- Teen working for money
- Incoming crushing medical debt, totaled car, but excellent credit! [SOS]
- Need Help with Individual 401k
- Making a big ticket purchase near credit limit - able to pay cash, but want to maximize cash back
- Are you personally comfortable with "Black Swan Barbell" type investments where the outcome is either a windfall or a complete loss?
- Will I received a Medical Bill later?
- Second credit card
- Fraudulent use of debit-card number.
- Boss was fired and they want me to take over
- stay at home jobs a college student can do?
- Should I choose PPO vs HDHP/HSA. I plan on going to weekly Therapy
- Paying security deposit safely
- Am I crazy not to take this CC loan offer?
- When have I saved enough to stop?
- Starter credit card applications denied
- Opening your own mortgage company
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of December 06, 2019 Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:05 PM 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]  |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:36 PM PST Hi everyone, I'm in my late twenties and I've been working in a relatively low paying field (nonprofits) since I finished my degree (politics). I've always been very frugal and managed to save some money: my current net worth is around $60k, invested in index funds and bonds. I've been planning on going back to school and have now been offered a spot in a program I really loved. It's a masters in economics in Paris and I would not have to pay tuition, only my living costs for the two years of the program. I'd have to pay a bunch of admin and visa fees and my flight and moving costs too. I did some budget estimations and found that the total costs for the two years would wipe out half of my net worth. The program is full-time, so I could probably find a side gig but nothing that takes up too much of my time. I'm super excited about going back to school and living in Paris for a couple of years but I'm not sure about the impact of this decision on my financial goals. I'd be graduating with half (or even less) of my original net worth but the possibility of a higher paid career than the one I have now. Has any of you gone through something similar? Any advice? Thank you :) [link] [comments]  |
| Taxes taking 60% of paycheck? How to fix it? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:46 AM PST So for starters I live in Oregon. My paychecks seem really wonky in terms of taxes. I recently started a new job and my gross pay for this pay period (two weeks)was $2009.93. Net pay after taxes it was 809.25. That's not okay. I checked with my employers and reviewed my pay stubs and it's only taxes, nothing else it taking money from my paycheck. I'm being taxed 60 odd some percent and only taking home 40 percent of my pay. It's only been since I switched jobs. For reference I'm claiming 1. Why would this be? And what can be done? Edit: thank you friends! You have all been wonderfully helpful. I setup a meeting with HR/payroll in about an hour. I'm thankful I have your help, I have some talking points now. [link] [comments]  |
| When do you decide that roommates are no longer worth the low cost anymore? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:48 PM PST Basically, I chose a useless major right out of high school and so I had to go back to school for something smarter at 28. I am 30 now and have gotten great grades for the past two years. I have been living at this student housing place since August of 2017. It was only about $600 with lots of amenities and 5 minutes from downtown. I had to deal with 3 roommates but I figured I could make it work. The downside is they throw you in with people that you've never met before with their roommate "matching" program. The roommates have gotten progressively worse and the guy I have to live with now is a scumbag all across the board. He let a friend sleep on the couch for the first month and collected rent from him, didn't ask us if it was ok and kept all the rent money for himself - the crazy part is he did not even pay his regular rent to the apartment complex - I told him I was not ok with that and he sent me an essay long text saying how I "disrespected" him and how other people who have done that have ended up in the hospital - he is filthy, takes food and appliances into his room, doesn't take showers, plays video games super loud in the living room. I've tried talking to him but he doesn't care. I've tried talking to management but they don't care either. I've been trying my best to just stay out of the house and study at coffee shops or stay in my room but I'm near the end of my rope now. I'm too old for this crap. In 2020 I will be taking some of the hardest classes I've ever taken in my life and I don't know if I will be able to pass them with this extra drama from my living situation. I will definitely be getting my own place when the lease ends but that isn't until the end of July next year. I really want to get out now but I feel trapped. My options are essentially deal with it or find someone to sublease, pay the sublet fee and move out early. I am pretty set on a 1 bedroom place 5 minutes from where I'm at, it's about 1k. I average about $1400 a month. I could make it work but my leftover savings would be razor thin. A big part of me feels I need to get out of here ASAP - But on the other hand the low rent is very alluring and I think about how much I'm saving financially. On a third hand, I feel like I'm paying the exact same price it's just that right now I'm paying the other half with my peace of mind. [link] [comments]  |
| Worth checking if you have any unclaimed money from the state/federal government Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:19 AM PST I have on my yearly to do list to check for any unclaimed money I'm owed from the state or federal government amongst some others and figured I'd post here for others as well, you can check it here: https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money For those that don't know what this is, if the government owes you money, or you are legally owed money by some other source that you don't collect, it's considered unclaimed and the state/federal government hold it for you until it's claimed. These are usually due to:
If you think any apply to you, worth the five minutes to just verify! When I first checked a couple years ago I found a couple hundred dollars due to my moving my address from college to where I live now. Worth also checking family and friends to let them know! Edit: This site, https://www.unclaimedassets.com/, seems to have how to find unclaimed money for other countries including: WARNING: Apparently the site charges you... which you should never pay for this. It should provide a good reference to google for the free alternatives provided by the governments at least.
[link] [comments]  |
| I want to buy a second home (cabin in the mountains). Can I afford it? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:54 PM PST I really want to buy a cabin in the mountains that a family member wants to sell. It's not really a cabin, it's a normal house. But it needs work as it is 50 years old and hasn't been updated. Nothing major, just normal stuff. They want $85,000 for the house and land. I expect remodel to be around $20K. I can pay cash or finance. There's a chance it would make some money as an Airbnb but not enough to justify it on its own. I'd spend about a weekend a month there during the year except for October/November, I'd spend a full week or two there each of those months. I think the property will more than double in value within 20 years after it is remodeled. Household income: $250K Own home (owe $385k, worth about $500k) One car note @ 2% interest. Outstanding amount is $35,000. One commercial rental property. Worth $300K, owe $210k, cash flow is $300 per month. (I use half for my office and rent the other half). IRA: $60,000. Both of us have pensions and just started the IRA in 2018, so the $60K was saved in the past year. 529: $3K. Just opened this year. Savings: $185,000. Edit: age 37. [link] [comments]  |
| Small Savings - Put into S&P500 ETF or High Yield Savings Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:06 PM PST I just sold my car and I have about 6k in liquid cash. I want to keep this as a small savings maybe for a wedding ring or a big purchase for myself in a year or two. Should I keep this in my high yield savings at 1.75 APY or should I put this in my brokerage and in a S&P500 ETF with my Schwab account? I'm okay with a bit of risk since I don't see myself needing this for a while and I also want to keep it myself from dipping into it. [link] [comments]  |
| Friends Bank Information was Stolen, Bank is Saying They Can't Freeze Account. Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:10 PM PST Posting this on behalf of my friends sister. She recently had her purse stolen, which contained her check book and debit card. Since then, the thief has used her bank information to set up auto draft payments for bill payments and, according to the bank, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in pending charges on her account. She filed a police report immediately after her purse was stolen, and has tried to get the bank to freeze her account, but they are saying they can't shut down the account while there are pending ACH charges. She was able to move most of her money to her savings before these charges started coming in, but for the last week she has been unable to use her credit account. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like the bank should be doing more to shut this fraud down. Not to mention, if the thief is using her account to pay bills, shouldn't the police be able to contact those companies and get an address? I'm just hoping to get some advice on the proper way to escalate this and hopefully get this resolved as soon as possible. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Are my choice of banks efficient for saving at a young age? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:50 PM PST I'm just starting out and I'm wondering if I should have a checking and savings account? I already want a credit card to start building my credit score. For some information I get paid around 440 weekly and I have to pick up my check at the job is there a way I can get it directly to my bank account? How will this work? I was thinking of using schwab bank for my checking account since its online and easier for me and using Citi double cash for my credit card. I also signed a ct w4 form and wondere if that was a bad thing? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:50 PM PST Hi, earlier this week, I had a minor car accident; my car rear-ended the other party's car. If you want to know the details about the accident, you can refer to the end of this post. When we pulled over, we checked the cars, and we couldn't identify any damages to the cars (Although, when I checked my car again today to send pictures to my insurance company, I found a small dent on my car that caused the grill to crack little). Since no one was hurt and could not identify any damages, no one called a police officer. I gave the other party my number and insurance information. Then, the other party mentioned having some stuffs in the trunk and told me that she/he will check on those and let me know later. However, today, I got an email from my insurance company saying that the other party filed a claim for bodily injury. Later when I called the company, I found out that she/he claims that she/he has a neck and back injury. I'm just surprised getting this claim since the accident was so small that a police officer wasn't even called and I didn't even feel the need to get his/her contact information. In this case, is there something I can do beside just waiting? I've given the statement to my insurance company and sent pictures of my car so far. Details about the accident: This is a link to the picture of my car: https://imgur.com/NqrZaZn As shown in the picture, there is nothing except a small dent between the grill and the driver's side headlight. So, the accident happened on a left-turn lane where people turn to get into the neighborhood. The other car was going in front of me and I was expecting for that car to turn since it was greenlight. But, as soon as the green light was changing to flashing yellow (sign that lets you turn if there isn't a car coming), the car stopped. Since there wasn't a car coming, I expected the car to turn, but the car stayed still. So, I was breaking, but due to watery road condition, I knew I was going to rear-end the car. So, I honked, but the other car didn't move, so I ended up getting in an accident. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:30 PM PST I am a 13 year old and I am saving up for my first PC. I have been mowing lawns all summer and I am just a couple hundred dollars off. I was just wanting to know if anyone had recommendations or work in my neighborhood or for online work. Also my parents will not let me sell old toys so I can't do that. Thanks in advance for any tips or jobs! [link] [comments]  |
| Incoming crushing medical debt, totaled car, but excellent credit! [SOS] Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:22 PM PST Hey everyone, I am facing a really tough situation after years of always trying to do the right financial thing. I am facing a total of $35.5k in medical debt for my surgeries alone (not including recently purchased medical equipment, out of network doctor visits, recurring medicine charges, etc.) because the medical industry has been absolute shit regarding lipedema for the last 80 years. I am fighting like hell to get my surgeries covered, but I have a $7300 payment for next month's upcoming surgery. I cannot work during this period (until about May or June 2020) and am getting 70% of my income until I return. I already took out a 401k loan (autopays from my paycheck) for about $15,000, but now I have to figure out the additional ~$16k. On top of everything, my lil engine that wouldn't give up got rear-ended right before my surgeries started. It was still driveable but toxic fumes were being pushed into my car which isn't great for my other health conditions. The insurance company gave me double what I was expecting ($2700 with some smaller checks coming through, likely $3000 total) but now I don't know how to get a vehicle. Going to the gym and doing strength training is a big part of my recovery (and sanity), and I have to see doctors at least 3-4 times a week. Even if I used public transportation, that combined with Lyft to get to the stations, it's all just too much. My friend's dad recommended a no-money-down lease versus a car that would give me shitty maintenance issues, but even those seem to still involve $2290 for tax, tags, etc (no actual money down) with $219/mo. I have stocks but I have already sold a few thousand $ of them when I was initially paying for earlier out of network doctor fees. (Chronic illnesses = out of network doctors - in my case at least) All sales were long-term and I have a few left. Our stocks have been rising quite a bit which is nice. Required things (I split these things with roommates): * Rent - $500 * Electric - $60~ * Water (bimonthly) - $60~ * Gas - $20~ * Verizon - $50 * TV/Internet - $22
Income: * Also currently fluctuating because of bonus season and moving into the 70% long term disability period from the previous 100%. I believe I'm getting about $900 net every 2 weeks, maybe a little more. I should be making a rough equivalent to $42k/yr (gross) now.
please help I'm going stir crazy without a car. [link] [comments]  |
| Need Help with Individual 401k Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:43 PM PST So I'm about to invest money into my 401k plan with vanguard. It's asking how much I want to submit to the employee deferral and how much I want to submit to the employer contribution. Can I only add money to the employee deferral or do I also have to match that amount with the employer contribution? Will it affect my tax deductions? [link] [comments]  |
| Making a big ticket purchase near credit limit - able to pay cash, but want to maximize cash back Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:49 PM PST So I am looking to maximizing cash back on a $8.5k purchase but my credit limit for the card I am intending on using is only $9.3k. I have the money in cash and plan on paying it off the day of purchase. Will this affect my credit score hitting near my max, despite that I will pay it off within hours (and well before my statement is due)? I assume it won't much, and I do not foresee any needs to apply for new loans in the next year, so I am not terribly worried, but more curious. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:30 PM PST Looking only at the aggressive side of the barbell. What percentage of your annual investment would you personally be comfortable putting into these type of investments given your personal demographics? Without having to get into listing your age, net worth, goals, etc. EDIT: To clarify I bit, I know this is gambling, lottery, hail Mary, etc. That's the point of the discussion. To those not familiar with the barbell strategy, the majority of your investment portfolio is in very safe investments, then the rest is all 'hail mary' long shots, nothing in between. For instance, I would say I'm comfortable with about 5-10 percent of excess cashflow annually (cashflow not portfolio) gambling for a long shot. It's not pure gambling, in agreement with Throwaway5256897, I say it's educated guesses at high risk high payoff investments. FossilizedUsername made the point I failed to make that with enough of these investments, you can make a profit on average because one win can far outweigh several losses. But, go into it with the expectation that the money is gone, hence the low percentage. It comes down to your risk tolerance, whether or not you are comfortable throwing away money in the chance that a windfall might come back, and to what extent are you comfortable trying this with educated guesses? [link] [comments]  |
| Will I received a Medical Bill later? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:17 PM PST I have a decent medical insurance through work. My HMO is then manage by an independent Physician association (IPA). I understand that any services require authentications request from my primary care physician. I was told by my PCP that I can get HPV vaccine shots and it has been approved by my IPA. I called the IPA for verification. The call center said they don't have any records of it. Usually when I need to get services like X-ray or whatever I get a physical authorization letter from my IPA. This time I didn't. Very weird. I went ahead with the shot. I need to keep coming back 2 more times as it is a 3 sets of shot, a month apart. A couple of day ago, I checked my insurance claims portal and noticed that my PCP filed a claim with my insurance (NOT IPA) and which was denied by my insurance. On my insurance claim portal says I owned the PCP $550 as they did not pay for anything. I called my insurance to discuss about this and they told me to talk to IPA. I called IPA and they told me this has nothing to do with them. WTF? What is going on here? Is my PCP lying about the HPV shots being approved by the IPA? Why is my PCP doing a double claims with IPA and my insurance? Is my PCP going to surprise bill me later? According to my insurance claim portal, I owned them $550 at the moment. I also went to the urgent care and it is the same thing. Urgent care filed a claim with my insurance which showed as denied and I owned them $400? Should I continue with my HPV shots? Looking forward to your advice. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:53 PM PST Thanks in advance. I've been really working on my credit over the last year and have managed to crack the 800 barrier on all reporting tools I use (fico scorecard and credit karma) Yay! Looking forward, I would like to increase my total available credit by getting a second card. I currently have a capital one venture and use it just enough to make it worth the annual fee (~10k a year). My questions are these:
Tldr - Is getting a credit card from two different companies more beneficial than two cards from capital one? Thanks again! [link] [comments]  |
| Fraudulent use of debit-card number. Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:31 AM PST Update: The third transaction ($356.70) no longer is pending and does not seem to have posted. AirBNB has deposited refunds for the other two transactions into my checking account. So money-wise, I'm even. I appreciate the adivce and thoughts below. Today I got a text from my credit union:
I was a bit skeptical that this actually came from my CU, but I figured there'd be no harm in replying "NO". And I got this response:
I then reviewed my checking transactions and saw 3 AirBNB charges, for $304.38, $356.70, and $412.34. The first charge had posted and the other two were pending. I called the CU, using the phone number on my card (I did not call the 877 number above). They permanently suspended the card and said that after all charges post, their dispute team will review for fraud and determine what to do next. I also called AirBNB. The transaction information included confirmation codes, so AirBNB was able to look up the transactions. They later confirmed by email that they will reimburse the charge that had posted. Minutes after I got off the phone with AirBNB, I got a call from someone purporting to represent my CU to ask about a fraudulent charge for $412.34 (one of the pending charges above, which had posted while I was talking to AirBNB). I declined to give the caller anything beyond my name since she couldn't verify to my satisfaction that she was calling from my CU. (But she did seem to know details about my previous call to the CU, so I actually think she was legit.) Later in the day, I filed a police report and stopped by a CU branch to get a new debit card. I plan to follow up with my CU after all 3 charges have posted. I also will follow up with AirBNB. I've gotten no alerts lately from the two credit-monitoring services I've signed up with and my credit has been frozen since I closed on a house about 6 months ago. So I'm not too worried that anything beyond this debit card has been compromised. I plan to be more careful about letting websites store my payment information (although I think I'm already reasonably careful about that). I also plan to be more diligent about using services like Apple Pay rather than swiping. If there's anything else I can or should do, please let me know. Thank you for reading, and be safe out there! (As a side note: For the past year, I've relied on my debit card to help me reign in my spending and develop financial discipline. But if my CU gives me a hard time getting my money back, I'll probably go back to a credit card.) [link] [comments]  |
| Boss was fired and they want me to take over Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:47 PM PST I am 25 and have worked for this company for two years now as a scrap metal buyer. I am currently at 52000 a year salary. My boss just got fired and they are interested in hiring me. However I will still have to do my job as well while they hire a replacement. How do you know where to start with salary? They are weird when I ask what her old salary was. The job includes dispatching trucks, office manager, and safety manager. Which means more hours and responsibilities. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| stay at home jobs a college student can do? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:18 PM PST so i'm not sure if this is the right sub or not but im stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Although im usually good at managing my money, some family emergencies came up and i had no choice but to rack up a ~$3000 dollar CC debt. im a college student with not that much free time with my studies and i was wondering if there were jobs a young college student could do while staying at home. I'm not looking for anything to make huge amounts of money, hell i don't even care if its below minimum wage, im just looking for something with a flexible schedule that i can do on my time off so i can hopefully make a dent on this debt. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I choose PPO vs HDHP/HSA. I plan on going to weekly Therapy Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:12 PM PST I've had HDHP the past couple years and have $1000 in HSA bank currently. I want to start going to therapy every week so I don't know if I should go to PPO where it is only a $20 copay. PPO is $1200 a year so if I chose HDHP I would contribute that to my HSA plus more. If I know I will probably max out HDHP I don't know if I should switch to PPO. Thoughts? Premium PPO:$1200 a year HDHP:$0 Annual Deductible PPO:$300 Individual HDHP:$3,000 Individual Annual Out-of-pocket Maximum PPO:$2,500 Individual HDHP:$4,000 Individual Employer Contribution to Health Savings Account PPO:N/A HDHP:$1,000 Employee only Preventative Care PPO and HDHP$0 Primary Care Office Visit $15 co-pay 20% co-insurance* 30% co-insurance* $10 co-pay Specialist Office Visit PPO:$20 co-pay HDHP:30% co-insurance* Co-insurance PPO:20% after deductible HDHP30% after deductible [link] [comments]  |
| Paying security deposit safely Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:07 PM PST Hi everyone, my family and I are moving states next month. We found a place we'd like to move into, so I contacted the landlord. He told me I could secure it by giving him a $1000 security deposit. This is a craigslist ad for a house for rent so I'm a little leery. How can I pay in such a way that I can get the money back if it turns out to be a scam? [link] [comments]  |
| Am I crazy not to take this CC loan offer? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:49 PM PST I was previously in some financial trouble due to some unexpected medical issues, combined with not being able to work for a long period of time due to said issues. Long story short, I had to take out a large personal loan ($50k) at 10% interest to cover my living expenses and bills until I could get back on my feet. I have sense recovered and have a very good paying job and my cash flow is at about +$2000/month over my expenses right now. I still owe about $43K on my personal loan, and no real other debt besides some car loans at really low interest rates, and a house below 4% on a 30 year mortgage. Discover recently sent me a 12 month balance transfer offer at 0% with a 3% transfer charge that actually allows me to not directly apply it to CC balances but will send money directly to my checking account. I have an unused $15K credit limit right now. This seems like basically a free 0% interest loan for a year with a 3% origination fee that I could put directly to my personal loan, and take that balance down $15K in one fell swoop. Am I missing something? Is there any reason I shouldn't do this with my current cash flow? [link] [comments]  |
| When have I saved enough to stop? Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:58 AM PST 31, and have 300k across brokerage, 401k, and roth accounts. according to the calculator i will have an extra 5k a month in retirement (65) than i would need. Does that mean if i continue to save at this rate i will, or just based on average appreciation if i stopped saving now i will? by this rate i max 401k, and roth every year, and usually add 10k in stock purchases on my own in what was a fun money account but is now a long term investment i'm getting good dividends from and reinvesting. [link] [comments]  |
| Starter credit card applications denied Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:11 PM PST I have tried to apply for two separate starter credit cards (I am a student and need to build some credit). Both applications got denied immediately, and upon chatting with a Discover agent they told me that they could not find a credit report for me. Like the reason I am trying to get this card is to build credit??? Explanations are appreciated, thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Opening your own mortgage company Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:44 PM PST Hey guys, I've been in the mortgage industry for roughly 5 years, I currently work for a mortgage company and I am really starting to think of opening my own. I just wanted to get some advice and thoughts on this. If it matters, I am located in the state of Michigan. [link] [comments]  |
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