• Breaking News

    Thursday, January 9, 2020

    Home Unlabelled Personal Finance Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2019 Nominations

    Personal Finance Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2019 Nominations

    January 09, 2020

    Personal Finance Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2019 Nominations

    Best of /r/PersonalFinance 2019 Nominations

    Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:43 PM PST

    Welcome to /r/PersonalFinance!

    Reddit has begun its annual Best Of Awards campaign for 2019 and we here at /r/personalfinance are participating! Our moderation staff have Reddit Coins to give away to the winners of the categories.

    We encourage everyone to participate in the nominations.

    Categories with number of top posts awarded:

    1. Best Overall Submission

    2. Best Weekly Thread Helper

    3. Best Question Answerer (either in submissions or stickies)

    Ground rules:

    1. Only original posts from 2019 are allowed, except for the answerer category

    2. Each category will have its own top-level comment below. Post your nominations under the appropriate category comment and provide a link to the original Reddit post as well as the nominee's username. In order for this to go as smoothly as possible, we ask that you do not post the direct link to the image or article, just the link to the original Reddit post.

    3. Please make a new comment for each separate nomination. You can nominate 3 entries per category, but you cannot nominate yourself, and your account must be at least 90 days old and have positive karma to participate. You can vote on as many entries as you like.

    4. Upvote the nominations that you like under each category. This post will be in "Contest Mode" for the duration of the voting period, which means that the order in which nominations are sorted will be random and scores hidden to make the contest as fair as possible.

    5. All general discussion should be kept to the "General Discussion" category. Please use the voting categories only for nominations, not discussion.

    6. The winners from each category will be based on the most upvoted comment containing a submission link. A person cannot win twice in the same category, and will be capped at three total wins. Any banned or suspended accounts are not eligible.

    7. If any categories don't have enough nominations that get upvoted, additional winners from other categories will be selected.

    8. It should go without saying, but all normal subreddit rules are still in effect for this post.

    How will winners be announced?

    Winners will be announced in a follow-up post after all the votes are tallied. There will be roughly six winners and four honorable mentions for each category, though we reserve the right to overweight one or more categories if the number of nominations and/or votes is very disproportionate. The winners will each receive Reddit Platinum, and the honorable mentions will each receive Reddit Gold (determined by the good graces of the admins).

    What if I have questions?

    Message the moderators with any questions.

    Thank you for helping make /r/personalfinance such a great subreddit in 2019! Good luck to all the nominees and we look forward to what's in store for us in 2020!

    submitted by /u/throwaway_eng_fin
    [link] [comments]

    Teachers and students can download Microsoft Education 365 and get all Microsoft Office programs for free, as opposed to the typical $99.99/year subscription price!

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:38 AM PST

    Just a quick reminder with winter breaks coming to an end! My wife is a teacher and is required to have Microsoft Office on her laptop. We bought her a new laptop at the beginning of the school year and, while at Best Buy, the salesman was telling us that the only way to get Office was through the yearly subscription. I thought that didn't sound right, so I decided to do some digging. Sure enough, if you go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office and have a valid school email address you can get Microsoft Office free, for the duration of your schooling or teaching career!

    Hope this helps all the teachers and students out there!

    submitted by /u/Brundonius
    [link] [comments]

    Story of Caution! Dont be like my dad

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:21 PM PST

    Hi everyone,

    I lurk this sub a lot and wanted to put this story out there- Perhaps it will save someone. Apologies in advance for how vague the story seems, as I'd prefer my siblings not recognize the post if they happen to be on this sub as well.

    Im in my 30s now, good career, debt free and relatively happy. My parents immigrated here from Asia. Dad is a brilliant man academically and long story short he worked his tail off and became a physician. Grew up in a wealthy neighborhood while my dad earned 300-400k a year.

    Over the years I watched him make bad investment after bad investment. "Friends" and associates in his home country would come up with great investment opportunities and he lost tons, over and over. I still don't know the details but it's fairly obvious he was just straight up scammed often.

    My parents fought a lot over finances growing up, as my mom is very financially savvy and stressed savings. However she could never stop by dad from spending and throwing it all away. He thought he would keep making this income and it's all good. They eventually separated.

    About 6 years ago he came down with a rare medical condition and now is disabled and can't work. To my disbelief over all of those years making so much money he put nothing into retirement, nothing. No 401k, no IRAs, not anything.

    He's now broke, depending on the state and us to help him out. He's a smart and good man at the core, but incredibly irresponsible as is obvious.

    Lesson: just because you "make it" , don't expect that the good times will last forever. Be smart with your money and dont trust people who aren't looking after your best interests. Life changes quickly and you dont want to be like my father!

    submitted by /u/siamreip5623
    [link] [comments]

    I'm 22 years old, and I've been working ever since I was 18. As of today, I have $30,000 saved up.

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:25 PM PST

    I've been really wise and responsible with what I spend my money on through the years I've been working. I really want to invest into something or maybe start up my own thing. I was thinking about buying a box truck and start my own delivery/pick up business. But not sure, just a thought. But wanted to see what do others recommend on what I should do?

    submitted by /u/highrocky
    [link] [comments]

    okay so i’m 16 and have opened a roth ira and my parents have gone insane

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 06:27 PM PST

    so, i thought that this would be financially correct for me to do. I have thrown 2k into the account and now my parents are just yelling at me everyday that it was "FUCKING SCAM/WASTE OF MONEY" and how i shouldn't worry about any of this until i have a stable income after school. Like damn... didn't know that i wasn't allowed to use my money how i wanted.. i literally worked for all this money from dishwashing and bussing. and would like to continue to throw 100 in every paycheck but they are constantly screaming at me for the decision. so please give your input on this! thankyou!

    also currently getting the speech on how life isn't this easy and i can't just think it is and making bad decisions like this and how the only thing that is important right now should be my ACT score and nothing else. but i haven't been studying as much as i should bc i've been waking up at 4, going to the gym, than school, than work... almost everyday. idk why they can't respect my decisions

    edit: being yelled at even more now since i said i can't take it out whenever i want w/o a penalty HELP they are psycho

    submitted by /u/Ryan0407
    [link] [comments]

    Bad idea to buy the house next door?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:11 AM PST

    We own a home and raise our daughter in a residential neighborhood and for the 6 years since we moved in there was a very nice family renting the SFH next door.

    Last summer the owner of the place (who's not the sharpest tool in the shed) got into a financial pinch, decided to sell it and basically told our wonderful neighbors to get out and didn't give them a chance to renew their lease. The house sat empty and on the market for over 6 months while he lowered the price multiple times. About two weeks ago he began renting the place out again to some unsavory characters, turns out it's the owner's brother in law and his ladyfriend.

    On their first night there the fire truck had to come and smoke was billowing out of the windows. They keep the lights on round the clock, coming and going all night long making noise in our gangway. I've been around the block when it comes to illicit materials and looking at their faces, their habits and the nature of the people they have coming to "visit" it is pretty clear to me they are meth heads and maybe even dealers. A lot of their "visitors" bang loudly on the doors and yell and scream to get in and just last night around 2am we were woken up by the main renter himself banging and trying to break in through his own window because he had "locked himself out".

    We have friends that are cops and were able to find out that this guy has a record that's a mile long including things like narcotic possession, domestic battery and breaking into his neighbors garage to steal shit. Needless to say we are pretty irked by the whole situation.

    The for sale sign is still up so I think the owner is just trying to get some income out of the place by renting it to them while looking for a buyer, but you never know, he could get tired of trying to sell it, considering he's already had a tough time, and we could get stuck with these people mere feet from our home.

    I've seen dozens of suitors come look at the place, inside and out, and leave within 10 minutes. I've been inside it many times and can confirm, its a bit of a mess. It's over 100 years old, the layout is awkward and it needs a ton of work like new siding, roofing and more.

    I'm toying with the idea of making the owner a lowball offer to buy it but I am concerned about the risks involved, namely owning two properties right next to each other (no diversification) and taking on the responsibility of an additional mortgage payment, property taxes and responsibility to fix and maintain a whole second home. I also know that investment property mortgage rates are typically higher than that of a home you live in and you also need to put down a minimum payment of 10-15%.

    Granted, we have some money saved and we could do it and if they accept my lowball offer (I am honestly thinking a max of 40% under his asking price) it could turn out to be a great investment opportunity. We live in a good location with great public school, shopping and transit options so finding renters shouldn't be a huge problem and we could control who lives next door and if he were to accept my (admittedly very low offer) we could probably rent it for at least 60-80% more than what the monthly mortgage payment would be.

    I'd love to get PF's opinion on this whole situation. Horrible idea? Brilliant opportunity?

    submitted by /u/old_snake
    [link] [comments]

    I am about to begin college 7 years post high school, what are some tips on keeping student loans to a minimum?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:55 PM PST

    I have a good chunk of my tuition covered by grants, which is insanely helpful. However I am taking full time school and am nervous I won't be able to keep up full time work as well. I took out 3,500 in a loan but I also need to purchase a laptop as my current one is in its final days.

    What are some tips on being cheap, saving money, while in full time school?

    submitted by /u/Ayyyyesexylady
    [link] [comments]

    Pay off all debt with savings all at once or pay it off little by little to not use all savings.

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:48 AM PST

    So fairly basic question. I have about 55k in debt. I have been able to save up about 60k. Would it be wise to pay off all the debt at once and be debt free or pay it off incrementally? I have a good job making around 130k and my mortgage is about 1800 per month, and two cars at about 700 per month including insurance. My debt is credit card debt and interest rates range from 15% to 20%. Let me know your thoughts and if you require more information.

    submitted by /u/kleinergti
    [link] [comments]

    Chase Reserve Replacement/Credit Card Analysis

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:08 PM PST

    In light of the hard cut to the value of the Chase Sapphire Reserve due to the fee increase, I've been looking into possible replacements. Here is my personal analysis (writing this up to help me think/decide).

    NOTE: I'm a numbers guy, I don't care about the "benefits" like fancy lounges or memberships or priority. My point values are also based on my real life use of the points, not the TPG valuation of them. The Lyft discount is minimal (Lyft hands out 25-50% discounts like candy in my experience) and I've never used DoorDash so I couldn't care less about the free pass. So I give $0 for that. Same with TSA Pre, I already have it and most cards give it, so it gets $0 for me. I live/lived in the western/southern USA, so I fly SW 65%, American 20%, United 10%, Delta/other >5%. This makes an enormous difference in my points evaluation, as SW is almost always 1.5 cents per point and cheaper in total than the others making them vastly more valuable to me.

    My Personal Analysis:

    • Chase Sapphire Preferred: The top rated card on TPG for value and the card I had from late hs through college. Its cheap ($95) and offers solid 2x rewards on food/drinks/travel. Not a bad option to drop your Reserve back to, though if you're swapping all your dining/travel spending to another card, might as well drop to the Chase Freedom for no fee at all. I value Chase's points at between $.013-.015 due to easy transfer to Southwest, American, United, and several hotel chains. Due to Chase's advantage in point value, I'd give the card 2.5-3% back value.
      https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-sapphire-preferred-review/
    • Chase Sapphire Reserved: It was $55 more a year after easy use travel credits ($450 - 300 - 95, the CSP's fee) That meant, depending on point value rate, That $3500-5000 needed to be spent on dining/drinks/travel when compared to the CSP. I had $6500 combined in my first year outside college, so the card easily paid for itself since then. It is now $155 more a year after easy use travel credits ($550 - 300 - 95). That means, depending on point value rate, that $10000 - 15000 needs to be spent on dining/drinks/travel at a multiplier point value of 4-4.5%. This will likely be a huge blow to anyone operating on a low-mid range budget. My spending last year was $15400, but this included two trips with friends which I got to purchase the flights and hotel (my fee for planning the trips) on in addition to being my busiest year for travel by a large margin. My average since getting the card is $9700 combined, meaning every year previous to this one I'd be losing money with the new fees.
      https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-sapphire-reserve-review/
    • Amex Gold: Amex gold gives 4x points on dining/travel, though it sounds like its a bit more strict than Chase (Chase gives it to you on everything remotely sounding like dining/drinks/travel). But Amex points are worth significantly less than Chase to me due to it only allowing transfer to Delta and niche airlines at around $.013 or a $.007 per point rate on cash/other. Its hard to even give Amex's a $.01 given its transfer restrictions whereas Amex's x4 is barely 4% at best, at worst 2.8%. That hurts and its fee is $250, with up to $220 in credits technically, though again the difficulty in actually using these credits (must dine at tiny list of specific restaurant chains, only used on the baggage/drink fees of airlines, per month credit use cap) causes me to discount it only $50 for the total credits. So its $200 vs $250 CSR vs $95 CSP at at a return rate that barely matches CSR at best and CSP at worst.
      https://thepointsguy.com/guide/amex-gold-perfect-in-between-card/
    • Capital One Venture: x2 is still crap compared to x3/x4, but this time its on everything. Obviously the best combo from this analysis would be getting this and a Chase card, putting multiplier all eligible things on Chase and the rest on COV. But for those of us who like to keep it simple for tracking/budgeting reasons, lets keep it to just analyzing the cost like the others. Capital One has the same transfer issues as Amex, but worse with post transfer rates at $.011, with one exception. It has a point erasure feature that lets you take any travel expenses and get refunded the cost for points at a $.01 value. So that's a guaranteed 2% return rate. Not great, but its applicability to all purchases would likely beat CSP for me most years, only using that option and assuming 3% return on CSP. CSR again only wins if its 15k+ spending. Its fee is the same ($95) so it is a worthy competitor.
      https://thepointsguy.com/guide/capital-one-venture-card-review/
    • Cash Back options: Quick overview on these, the only 3 I'd bother looking at are Citi Double (2% back), CO Savior (4% dining, 2% groceries) and Amex Blue Cash (6% groceries/subscriptions, 3% gas). Citi Double is really the only one to consider unless you want 3-4 cards all for different purposes. This is the same as COV by my analysis, but it has no fee, which is huge. Only advantage Chase/Amex/COV has on it is points vs cash back (though apparently theres a Citi miles conversion option?) and the possibility of higher value. But this is the go to for low spending due to simplicity and good return.
      https://thepointsguy.com/guide/best-cash-back-cards/
    • Southwest: This one has always tempted me due to them being my favorite airline by far and currently it has a 75000 bonus point value, the highest ever. But I really only see it as worth it (due to x1 points or 1.5% back) if I can get a huge point bonus and manage to tap into the Companion pass and use for free flights. Currently I wouldn't be able to make it by spending everything on the SW card, so the only option is to double open the card with both personal and business. I am not sure about /r/churing's policy on business cards. I am employed full time, the only thing I could claim might be the travel I plan and book for myself with groups of friends who then Venmo me, essentially tipping me in points. I am in the house market currently, so a double card opening credit hit hurts.
      https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/southwest/AEP75kPlusJ20?CELL=6PMM&clk=4042032&cbid=4042032

    Conclusion: If you spend more than 10-15k in dining/drinking/travel, keep your CSR and just be really pissed off it is 1/3 as valuable over other cards as it was last year. If you spend a lot on those but not quite 10k, go CSP for those awesome Chase points. If you fly Delta/don't mind flying niche airlines, go Amex for the big multipliers. If you don't spend much on dining/travel, go COV/Citi double for the everyday 2% back. If you like to having multiple cards and swap between them for purchases, grab Chase/Amex for travel/dining, Amex blue for groceries/subs/gas, COV/Citi for everything else.

    If I missed something PLEASE let me know. Not happy with Chase for forcing me to think about this (my card also refreshes nearly right after the cutoff for 2020) and possibly hurting my credit at a bad time.

    submitted by /u/Boredmatt14
    [link] [comments]

    36M - Keep high paying career or return to school/local job?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 06:31 PM PST

    Current - 140 to 200K a year depending on workload.

    Pros: Pay, Free Vehicle/gas

    Cons: gone literally 8 months of the year, wife is not thrilled.

    College: potential for a decent career, but 4 years of low income? Yuck.

    Regular local job: I could probably get a field engineer position locally which typically pays 50-60k/year, I don't have an education but 14 years in the construction field as a PM/Superintendent has to hold weight.

    Less money but the wife would enjoy life more.

    If I stay at my current job 4 more years I also get a 80K bonus on top of my my normal pay.. I just don't know what to do.

    No debt aside from a 450k home I owe 255k on. Retirement has 270k.

    submitted by /u/19Dakine84
    [link] [comments]

    I'm thinking about bankrupcy :(

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:31 PM PST

    I'm 29m married with a daughter and between my wife and I we have close to 15,000 in medical debt in collections and a few delinquent payday loans. It doesn't matter how I got in this situation. What matters is how I'm gonna get OUT of it. My credit score is already shot at 500 and with me looking at divorce in the very near future I cannot afford to be on my own with a child and have my wages garnished. Is this the way?

    submitted by /u/Cpt__McFukface
    [link] [comments]

    Help with choosing between HDHP and PPO

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:31 PM PST

    Hello all, I accepted a job in the US, and I'm trying to understand the health benefits offered by my employer.

    I'm a single, healthy, fit, 32M.

    Here is a table with some data: https://imgur.com/WAdOTnY

    What do you think?

    submitted by /u/MrRitmo
    [link] [comments]

    Someone used my own phone to log into my Chase account and send themselves money

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:07 PM PST

    This happened in the ending of November. I went out with a "friend" and had a few drinks with her at a bar since she had been stressing about moving out of her house. We ended up going to her place later that night and on the way I gave her my phones passcode so she can play some music. I didn't think anything of it since I had gone out with her a few times and everything seemed relatively normal with her. I ended up passing out at her house that night and went home the next day. Well, it took about a week for me to notice that she had sent herself 400 dollars from my account to hers through zelle. I messaged her and asked what the hell happened there and she texted me saying she needed it for the new place and that she'd have it for me within the next week. I demanded but my money back but I didn't file a police report and now she's completely gone and I have no way to contact her anymore. Ive sent multiple requests to through zelle for 400 but to no avail. She doesn't reply to any of my texts or calls. Can zelle fix this issue for me? Do I go through Chase? Am I just completely screwed at this point?

    submitted by /u/alexisonfiree
    [link] [comments]

    Obsession over money

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST

    I seem to have an issue. I'd like to know if anyone else feels the same and what they do to help it. I'm 21, about to move out or the nest. I make about 40k a year more or less. Ive saved over 20k since last year. Although I haven't had any bills. That is about to change. Im overly obsessive about saving money and going the cheap route, etc. I HATE spending money. I believe the reason I'm like this is probably because I grew up poor. Does anyone have similar experiences? I'm obviously in a decent spot in life financially but I can't make myself not stress over spending. I just want a good life for my girlfriend and I who is going on her last year of college. I don't know if this is the right place to post this but.. if anyone has any helpful advice I will gladly appreciate it. If anyone has a better place to post this feel free to tell me that aswell.

    submitted by /u/dthomp27
    [link] [comments]

    Saving up for an investment property vs. investing more vs. paying down our mortgage faster

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:26 PM PST

    A little bit of relevant info.

    We bought our first home about a year ago and recently refinanced at a record low rate.

    We max out our yearly IRA contribution.

    We max out what our employers match on our 401ks ( about 6% each).

    We have a 6 month emergency fund saved up in a high interest savings account.

    We have no debt other than our home and two cars with 0% interest rates.

    We recently both got pay increases and need to decide what to do with the extra income. We both have always been interested in owning an income property. I'm in construction management so have resources that would help with being a landlord.

    Should we continue saving in a high interest savings account for a down payment on an income property? Or should we invest more in our 401ks? Or should we just pay down our current mortgage faster? What other options/strategies should we consider?

    ​

    Thanks.

    Edit: our cars are at 0% , not the house. The house we got down to 2.85% on a VA loan. Bought down the already low rate at the time. The rate buydown breaks even in 3 years.

    submitted by /u/oquechingados
    [link] [comments]

    I hate being an air traffic controller and need help switching careers. 27 and living in the SF Bay Area.

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:20 PM PST

    I'm a 27 year old federal air traffic controller trainee making $110k annually which, pending continued training, is set to increase to ~$135k in around two months (in about a year, this would jump to ~$160k). While the pay and benefits are decent, the working hours are dreadful and the work itself alternates between "watching paint dry in slow motion" and "watching airplanes almost crash in slow motion".

    Edit- The sleep schedule specifically is fucking me up: a normal five day schedule is something like: 2pm-10pm, 12pm-9pm, 7am-3pm, 5am-1pm, then back at the same day for a 10pm-5am with the next two days off. And having to work weekends and most holidays is not only a bummer, but makes it nearly impossible to have any sort of social life. What's the point of money if I can't take weekend trips with my friends?

    I have roughly half of a computer science degree, around $130k in stocks/retirement, around $3,000 in cash, and $3,000 in credit debt (which I never pay interest on). My SF Bay Area rent is around $2,000 monthly with utilities. I have no other expenses besides entertainment and eating.

    I feel rather trapped and wish to live the seemingly glamorous life of a tech worker. I've got some experience in web development and would love to have an entry level programming job. I think I'd be willing to cut my salary in half for the chance, since I know that software engineering jobs can have salaries well exceeding what I could make as an ATC.

    How can I achieve my goal? I'm debating between enrolling in a coding boot camp or trying to finish my undergrad. I think that either option would require that I quit ATC. Also, I'm not sure how I'd afford paying Bay Area rent costs while trying to go to school and look for a new job. Should I liquidate my stocks?

    submitted by /u/culcheth
    [link] [comments]

    How does repossession of Vehicle work?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 07:32 PM PST

    I put 70% down on a used vehicle and got a loan for the rest. How does repossession work if I'm no longer able to pay the loan? Do I get my downpayment back? Not that this would happen but just curious.

    submitted by /u/Tough-Eagle
    [link] [comments]

    How do you avoid getting fancy once you start making money?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:38 PM PST

    Obviously you should stop but its tempting to spend once you start making money. Its actually not very smart.

    submitted by /u/bayfarm
    [link] [comments]

    I need to see a doctor but don't have health insurance

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 06:15 PM PST

    I don't know what to expect or what to do....

    I'm worried I have a heart condition because my blood pressure and heart rate have been high for the past month....

    I'm 36, live in Wisconsin, make $12.25 an hour and work 36 hours a week.

    I'm worried I'll be in financial ruin just getting checked out. I live pay check to pay check.

    Any advice?

    submitted by /u/jpn715x
    [link] [comments]

    How to convert IRA to Roth IRA

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:22 PM PST

    • I have an IRA in Ally Invest.
    • I want to move it to a Roth IRA in TD Ameritrade.
    • Please can someone help me with the process as to how to go about doing that and would that be beneficial.
    • Also do I need to dispose of all the assets in my regular IRA before I move it to a Roth IRA.
    • What would be the tax implications and can I do it before the end of the tax year.
    submitted by /u/KellyAnn80
    [link] [comments]

    I’m a Master’s student with a small income and good credit, is it plausible to get a car?

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:13 PM PST

    I appreciate your answers in advance!

    I'm currently one year into an MS program (fully funded) and working 2 hours per week. I have about $10k in my bank account, no debt, and a 750+ FICO score. I am 23 and have about 4 years worth or credit history.

    I'm thinking of buying a new car, but not for me. I don't need a car, but I want to buy one for my mom since she still drives a '88 Ford that is falling apart. She won't get a new car herself, so I wanted to surprise her.

    My question is, if I get a new car, would I be able to get a low interest rate on the car loan? My budget is about $200/month. However, I want to pay between $20-25k in total for the car.

    I expect to earn at least $200/month for the duration of my MS program, and my brothers may be able to cheap in. However, I'm the one with the longest credit history so I wanted to take out the loan under my name.

    Am I crazy? Is this a stupid decision? Thanks in advance!

    Edit: I was even thinking that having this car loan and staying up with the payments would ultimately benefit my credit. Is that so?

    Edit 2: Gross monthly income is $344 (2 hrs/week @ $43/hr)

    submitted by /u/palochutarzan
    [link] [comments]

    I'm 43, Married, living in Brooklyn. Don't know how to safely manage my emergency fund + savings

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:12 PM PST

    Hi everyone. I'm a 43 year old man in Brooklyn. Married with a combined income of about $400K in 2019. My wife has a steady job (225K), but I'm in the creative field and I can have big ups and down. For example, in 2016 I had a very unexpected low income around $60-70K. Things got back to normal in 2017 + 2018 and I made more like $150K. Then 2019 was great and I probably made well over $200K. With such a good year, I have been able to put away a good chunk of money for an emergency fund just in case a 2016 happens again.

    I currently have about $120K sitting in Ally earning 1.6%. I want to be pretty conservative with this money as we don't have any other liquid savings. I think we need to have 50-60K minimum just in case stuff hits the fan - our monthly expenses are around 10-11K . I'm willing to take a bit of risk with the remaining 60K that doesn't comprise absolute emergency fund.

    Should I be doing anytime else with this money? Should I create a ladder with CDs (Ally is at 2% for 12mo CD). My financial planner wants me to put that money into a couple more aggressive things. For example, he mentioned a fund (MUAIX) that is ultra low commitment (literally, 1 day) so it could be taken out basically immediately if I should need it and it should earn about 1.8%. He also mentioned some other stuff that had my head spinning. Basically, should I have this money invested in something beyond high yield savings + CDs? I know fees can eat up profits with an advisor, but like I said, I'm a creative and not a finance/numbers person. I need some hand holding and a proactive partner in investing.

    Here are more particulars about our situation:

    - no debt

    - mortgage/charges are $7500

    - 7yr old child (public school)

    - we have life insurance

    - we have about 450K in IRA (I only recently started being able to contribute to a SEP IRA as I didn't make much money until a few years ago)

    - no plans for any big changes any time soon. wife's job is stable. no car or home purchases planned.

    - we both have family that could support us (financially + logistically) if stuff happened

    - we just opened a NY529 with $10K for our child

    I'm hesitant to fully trust any financial advisor, but I've had pretty good dealings with my guy. He currently only manages my SEP IRA and it's been pretty straightforward so far.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/ksoksoksokso
    [link] [comments]

    Is now a good time to purchase a new vehicle? 25, single and current vehicle is 16 years old/166K miles

    Posted: 09 Jan 2020 08:12 PM PST

    TL;DR: Can I afford a new vehicle? If I can, is it smart? Financing is 2.79%, up to $35K, putting $5K down (minimum I want to put down)

    Who am I:
    * 25
    * Single
    * Reside in Texas
    * Annualized salary of $68,250.00 USD before federal income tax or 401K contribution (paid twice monthly)

    My current finances:

    Monthly Income Amount (+/-)
    Paycheck 1 $2174.06
    Rent $(1409.00)
    Electricity $(100)
    Water $(60)
    Gym $(11)
    Spotify $(11)
    Paycheck 2 $2174.06
    Student loans (min. payment) $(245.33)
    Pupper $(100)
    Groceries&gas $(400)
    Current auto insurance $(76)
    Final balance $1935.79

    Assets: $15,575.62 ($14K-ish primarily in a 1.55% savings account, remainder in checking to avoid overdraw due to poor schedule of payments)

    Liabilities: $19821.90

    Loan Balance Rate
    1 $3108.11 3.61%
    2 $1167.50 3.61%
    3 $2119.47 4.41%
    4 $4805.88 4.04%
    5 $1943.75 4.04%
    6 $4788.79 3.51%
    7 $1847.22 3.51%

    Additionally, I currently have a balance of $216 and $212 on two credit cards. The former is due this month, the latter next month. I pay the full balance every month, accruing no interest.

    The Big Question

    This is what I'm torn on. I currently have an older pickup, 2004 year model. I've driven it for 7 years and constantly have to fix things, however, I have only had a couple very minor (sub $150) repairs this year. The vehicle is approaching 166K miles and currently has a check engine light (code P0442 for an evap system leak/problem), possible AC leak and some rough front-end suspension (cv joints wearing out prematurely, possibly due to suspension lift kit?). Unknown cost to repair evap problem, potential $600-700 for suspension problem (can do this part myself, I have the tools), leak is covered under a previous repair's warranty I believe.

    Knowing all this and having done the math, I would go from having 45% of my money to save or spend (obviously saving is the smarter choice) to almost half that. I've been quoted $179.00 a month for full coverage on a new vehicle with a $500 deductible and roughly financing $30K after down payment and trade-in (up to $35K available to finance). I am struggling on making the final decision: this morning I had a new vehicle picked out and was pumped up about having a new vehicle without always fixing issues and had been negotiating with the dealership. This evening, I'm terrified of taking the loan and making a bad financial decision.

    Would taking the loan be a bad decision? It's obvious that saving is the better decision, but that's not the question. I'm having some major freakout over this and would appreciate other opinions and insight.

    submitted by /u/ToasterEvil
    [link] [comments]
    Read more
    at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment