Personal Finance Start budgeting now! |
- Start budgeting now!
- 24 Hour Fitness won’t freeze or cancel account despite all locations being closed
- How would you negotiate apartment rent for a lease renewal?
- Recently my parents told me to invest some of my money with them, but it sounds too good to be true.
- What to do with extra money right now.
- I want to pay off my sister's student loans. Are there any tax benefits or more efficient ways to execute this than to just simply give her cash?
- My dad unexpectedly passed away, how do I start getting our families affairs in order?
- I found out I have a 401k
- The IRS is still sending me certified letters on my debt, but I can't call them because their offices are closed?
- Stay With Parents after grad school?
- I can't pay any bills and can't find a job
- Credit score inexplicably dropping
- Opened a traditional IRA at Schwab. However it doesn't make money, is that right?
- Wells Fargo Mortgage - Loan Assistance
- Money available to the self-employed and small businesses
- New job with 401k
- Good time to refinance after 2 years?
- Self employment and calculating estimated quarterly payments
- Just got a credit card and have a few questions.
- Best High Yield accounts?
- Shout out to my new favorite budgeting app: Dollarbird
- Loan Consolidation and Refinance make sense?
- Which job should I take?
- Solicitors contacting me about my ex's property--am I at risk?
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:42 AM PDT I started using budgeting software a month ago. Before that, I had no room in my budget. I always ended up with no money at the end of the month. Then I started using the budgeting software, and now I have a clear idea where my money is going, and I am much more concious of how I want to spend my money. AND I have money left at the end of the month. Like a lot of money! I just wanted to share, because I have gone from a feeling of no control to a feeling of complete control, and it feels amazing! I really hope I will be able to keep it up. Edit: A lot of people have asked what I use to budget, so I will tell. I didn't originally, because I felt like it would seem like an ad. Some people have accused this post of being an ad. It isn't. I made this post from a genuine place of wanting to spread my happiness to others, and I am so happy to see that others second my amazement with how powerful a budget is. And that is the thing. I didn't want to advertise a specific product, because what I'm trying to inspire other people to do, is making a budget, because a budget is powerful. Software is a help for me, but we are all different, so what I do might not work for you. Maybe you have everything under control, and a budget would just be a hassle, because you intuitively know everything that a budget will tell you. Here are a few that have been mentioned in this thread: Mint YNAB I use this. Google Spreadsheets Do your research! Type in "top ten budgeting software" and a lot of articles will pop up. [link] [comments]  |
| 24 Hour Fitness won’t freeze or cancel account despite all locations being closed Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:18 AM PDT 24 hour fitness won't freeze or cancel account- Shelter in Place state Hi Reddit, Has anyone been able to cancel or freeze their 24 hour membership? My fiancé has confirmed they've temporarily disabled their phone line, and that they are not responding via social media or email. In the meantime, they are charging him $50/month—but obviously in California and most shelter in place states he's paying for nothing. I've heard they plan to credit this time when he people cancel, e.g., after you cancel, you get additional time for the months you're paying for now. But we're moving in a month, and don't want to be forced to prepay for a gym he may not use. He closed the card that the gym had on file—could this impact his credit? Has anyone been able to successfully freeze or cancel their 24 hour gym membership? I haven't tried to freeze/cancel my LA Fitness membership yet, and would love to hear anyone's experience with that as well. TLDR: Fiancé has been unable to freeze or cancel 24 hour fitness membership and is being charged $50 per month when all gyms are closed. No phone line up, no social media or email response. What can he do? He closed the card the gym had on file—will failure to pay negatively impact his credit? [link] [comments]  |
| How would you negotiate apartment rent for a lease renewal? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:10 PM PDT My lease expires next month. They offered a new contract with a 4% rent increase. I am wondering, given the state of the rental market, if I have any leverage to negotiate a lower rate. Sure I can just send an email stating my counter offer, but I am wondering if there is a smarter way to negotiate. My job is likely not threatened by the downturn, and I have 8 months of expenses in cash. So this isn't life or death, I'd just like to pay lower rent. What would you do? [link] [comments]  |
| Recently my parents told me to invest some of my money with them, but it sounds too good to be true. Posted: 01 Apr 2020 12:14 PM PDT So for context: I recently got a fairly sizeable amount of money (in the low thousands), and my parents proposed that I lend them that money in the promise that they'll at the very least give me back what I gave them in an investment. I've never been interested in stocks or any of that sort, nor are my parents the kind of people to take my money for personal gain, which is why I'm basically clueless on this matter. Anyways, they said that they would use their money and my own to invest into bitcoin mining in Mexico (we live right north of the border in the US). Allegedly my aunt has also invested and gained money, so my dad used her experiences and the information he's learned from the service to project future earnings. His example was that if I invested $5k right now, I'd get a 13% back at the end of the month, then re-invest and so on. Since my parents are also Mexican citizens they would only pay taxes over there. I know there's probably technical terms for what I'm describing but I never learned them so bear with me. My parents promised to at least give me $5k back regardless but I don't want to loan money if it's not worth the risk. My main question here isn't if it's an optimal investment but if it is even legitimate and worth the risk. If there's any major problem with it I would also like to know in case I need to warn my parents, and if so I need help building an argument to convince them as they're a bit stubborn but not impervious to a strong argument. They're using SplitDeals by the way. I didn't want to link to their site in case someone would think I'm promoting them. I also have a week to make my decision so any help soon would be greatly appreciated! I'm also open to questions if more info is needed. Update: Yeah I'm saying no. [link] [comments]  |
| What to do with extra money right now. Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:41 PM PDT Hey /pf, I've been working my ass off from home. I'm a temporary worker and only can work 20 hours a week, but my pay is $25/hr so I've managed to save up quite a bit. I have about $1000 in the bank currently. I am getting a $5,000 deposit from my University's Financial aid for the quarter, $2300 of which is a student loan I accepted earlier this year, $2700 being grant money. With this money: I paid off my credit card bill of $2000, and I'm saving $750 for april's rent. Which leaves me with $3250 in extra money. My questions:
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| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:22 AM PDT Hello /r/personalfinance , My sister has insurmountable debt and even though she makes the necessary payments every month, she never touches the principal. Student debt ethical issues aside*, I want to help her out. Are there any tax loopholes or benefits I can get by taking a few extra steps? As I understand it, deductible charitable donations are only allowed for established ('approved') charities. I am looking only for perfectly legal scenarios, and am willing to read any resources myself- hoping one of you can point me in the right direction or save me time if there are no options. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| My dad unexpectedly passed away, how do I start getting our families affairs in order? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:11 AM PDT My father was in charge of all the financial aspects of the house. The mortgage, utilities, bank accounts etc. His sudden passing, has left our small family devastated. Without much close family left behind, the majority of these affairs fall onto my shoulders as I teach my mom as I go. How do I proceed with these companies/ bills considering I do not have the account ID or passwords. Any other tips or things I should do would be very appreciated. I am 25 live at home with a 12 year old sister and 53 year old mother. I have a good job as a RN within a large urban city. I know I cannot go back to work too soon and was told to take all the time I need. Thank you all for any help possible. Just looking for a little assistance. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:21 PM PDT I just completed an internship and found out I have a 401k through Fidelity. I apparently had employer match but it says that if I withdraw or leave my company (which I already did so I'm not sure why it hasn't updated to reflect that) I can only bring my vested amount. I start another job in August that I will have access to a 401k with. If I delay rolling my Fidelity 401k into the other one could I potentially keep the employer match? Also I am fully invested in Vanguard Target Retirement 2065 fund. Is this fine or are there other index funds I should consider? Edit: I'm 21M living in CA graduating from college in May if that matters. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:20 PM PDT I owe them a bunch of money and just making minimum payments for now, they sent me some certified letters saying I am behind and need to pay $150, but nothing on the website says i'm behind, just these letters, can't get ahold of anyone. What do I do? [link] [comments]  |
| Stay With Parents after grad school? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:58 AM PDT First post here. Im 23 and just got out of grad school. Got a job that pays ~150k. Parents offered that I stay with them rent-rent free for a couple of years, save up, and then move out to NYC (they're in the suburbs) with a bunch of cash in hand. End of the day, I will still move out when I'm around 27. Sounds like a good idea to me but honestly I think I'll be missing out on all the socializing because where they live is super boring. On the other hand, I get to save+invest a HUGE portion of my paycheck before I move out. I just want to know if you guys think the boredom will be worth it. Edit: typos [link] [comments]  |
| I can't pay any bills and can't find a job Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:04 PM PDT I recently got terminated from Amazon and spent two months trying to find a job. I finally found one and they fired me three days into the job. I already applied for unemployment long ago, but was denied twice. I have no car so my options are very limited. I have been looking for so long and I cannot find a job. I don't want to be homeless and I'm starting to consider selling my body. I have no skills and don't know anyone. What else can I do to pay rent? [link] [comments]  |
| Credit score inexplicably dropping Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:33 PM PDT Hello, About 2 years ago I signed up for a CapitalOne credit card to start to fix my credit. It has a low limit and I use it for reoccurring payments and small stuff. I pay in off as soon as I can, never carry a balance and haven't missed a payment. Anyway when the CapitalOne data breach happened, I was one of the people who had their information leaked (SIN etc.). So they offered me 2 free years with TransUnion's MyTrueIdenty credit alert which also has the benefit of tracking your credit. I check it about once a month. I thought I was doing well, everything was on the up and up. I was at a 742 until Jan/Feb when it dropped to a 739 then all the way to 696 in Mar/Apr. The confounding thing is that there's no aberrant behavior on my credit report. It's just dropping and it doesn't say why. The last credit inquiry was when I signed up for the CapitalOne card about 2 years ago. So any clue as to what might be going on or who I can contact about this? I'm located in Canada. Thanks for your time. [link] [comments]  |
| Opened a traditional IRA at Schwab. However it doesn't make money, is that right? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:18 PM PDT Is a traditional IRA pretty much just money in the bank? I have to go into Schwab and invest that money into the index fund of my choosing right? So in essence an IRA is just a bank account with some tax benefits that you use to invest to get money. The IRA itself doesn't make money [link] [comments]  |
| Wells Fargo Mortgage - Loan Assistance Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:45 AM PDT I logged into my WF mortgage account this morning and saw the following information. I sent them an email requesting information on this last week and this is now showing on my account. COVID-19 Loan Assistance RequestIf you're not able to make your regular mortgage payment because of hardship related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Wells Fargo can help with a short-term suspension of payment. This means:
Please complete and submit this form to begin payment suspension. You'll receive a letter from us in 7 to 10 days that provides important information about this program. This request is for account number: Please read and acknowledgeI have a financial hardship because of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). I am requesting payment suspension for this account. I consent to allow Wells Fargo to contact me on my mobile (or other) phone through an automatic dialing system. (Optional) URL: https://web.secure.wellsfargo.com/auth/mortgage/covid19/contact-us [link] [comments]  |
| Money available to the self-employed and small businesses Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:23 AM PDT I haven't seen this mentioned here as of yet, so let me make a post where people might see it for more than few minutes. The recently passed legislation that authorized stimulus payments and increased unemployment also made available over $300B in money for small businesses affected by recent events. This explicitly includes self-employed people, sole proprietorships and independent contractors. So, any small businesses or self-employed folks who are seeing their business slack off, even 1099 workers who did hair at a now-closed salon, or can't get Uber rides from late-night partiers? This is for you. The Paycheck Protection program works like so: You can "borrow" an amount up to 2.5 months of payroll expenses....and you never have to pay back an amount used for two months of payroll and other expenses such as rent and utilities. It gets forgiven, and doesn't count as taxable income. Now, in order to get this, you can't reduce payroll, but it's not obvious how a self-employed person would do that anyway. Applications are supposedly being accepted April 3rd for businesses, and April 10th for self-employed people. Here's the official announcement from the Small Business Administration: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/paycheck-protection-program-ppp That's sort of terse, so here's a better summary of how this works: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP%20Borrower%20Information%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 12:31 PM PDT I started a new job that has 401k, they offer to match up to 6% I was wondering what would be a good percentage to invest, im 22 at the moment, any help would be appreciated [link] [comments]  |
| Good time to refinance after 2 years? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:44 PM PDT I have a 30-year mortgage with 4% interest rate. The home is worth 750k and the amount remaining is around 570k. I have a good credit score of 760 according to Credit Karma. The rates I've been seeing are 3.5% to 3.625% Would like to know if refinancing would be to my advantage in this case? [link] [comments]  |
| Self employment and calculating estimated quarterly payments Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:40 PM PDT My self employment income fluctuates A LOT and I don't make much at all, so it will be hard to figure out my estimated payments. So, I was wondering if I could just use federal and state income tax calculators to calculate the tax for how much I made in each quarter exactly. That wouldn't fuck anything up, would it? I'm not taking deductions or losses or anything like that. [link] [comments]  |
| Just got a credit card and have a few questions. Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:55 PM PDT Does it make a difference if I go ahead and pay off all transactions as soon as possible or should I do it all at once? I only have a $300 limit so how much do I actually need to use of that to be most useful with my credit score? How long before I can get a card with actual benefits like a flyer miles and what not? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:54 PM PDT So I have a thousand dollars saved up and want to open up an account with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, but I'm wondering what are some other good high yield accounts out there? [link] [comments]  |
| Shout out to my new favorite budgeting app: Dollarbird Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:47 PM PDT I might have already posted this once before, but wanted to mention a website that has been a huge help in getting my finances on track. A lot of people swear by YNAB and that's great, but I can't justify paying for something that I'm trying to use to save money. Dollarbirdgives a calendar view of expenses and income, which is huge to me, since I figure up my bills based on the dates they are expected to come out. I can add a bill for electric and guess at what it might cost and the date it will be due to make sure I will budget enough for it. It doesn't link to my bank account and is pretty manual, but has things like recurring transactions and categories. There are also charts that let you see trends in your spending. The best part about it is that there's no cost for personal use (one calendar). If you're looking for a decent site or software that uses a calendar rather than a list, check into Dollarbird I'm not employee or spokesperson for them. This subreddit has always been super helpful to me and I hadn't seen any mention of this site on here before, so I wanted to shed some light on it. [link] [comments]  |
| Loan Consolidation and Refinance make sense? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:59 PM PDT I don't know if this is too much, or not enough info to get reasonable advice. Combined, my wife and I have three debts: Institution #1: 10k (4.5% Adjustable 10 year HELOC -- 80k line of credit, just dropped from 5.5% 3 weeks ago to 5%, then 1 week ago dropped again to the 4.5%... We only had this as a mechanism to avoid PMI with our main loan and have paid it down from 80k to 10k in 3 years) ~$100 monthly payment Institution #2: 396k (4.125% Standard 30 year fixed Mortgage on our house, 27 years left) ~$2100 payment + $900 monthly escrow (taxes & insurance) Institution #3: 133k (4.875% 15 year fixed mortgage on our land, 13 years left) ~$800 monthly payment. This was refinanced to a 15 year 2 years ago to lock in a 'then-low' rate compared to our original rate of 5.85% originated in 2012. All these debts were for a custom-built one-off house in an established neighborhood, about 3 years ago, that cost us around 800k to build and is probably worth around 650k on the market (give or take 100k). The home has very very small (or negative) utility bills (passivhaus, solar, etc) so our ongoing costs are less. We only have one car (paid for, used, with cash in 2011) and no student debt (finished paying off last year). Other than over-spending on the building of our forever home, we live extremely frugally - almost never eat out, neither of us have any clothes less than 10 years old, DIY basically every single thing, no cable, no streaming services, no cell bills (work pays for mine), lowest speed internet connection, never go to bars, etc, etc. Our life is effectively centered around our home life and our one main expensive vice is 'thowing' lots of parties at our home: ~10 a year with >50 people and another dozen that are >20. (pre-COVID) Our total debt load is thus ~540k (~$3000 in payments on said debt (+~900 in escrow payments for taxes/insurance)) My salary from my main job and my side hustle is around 120k +/- 10k per year; 2018 was an anomaly at around 140k. My wife does not work; we have 3 young kids - though she plans to return to work in the next year as the youngest head off to school. Over the last 4ish years we have managed to save some cash money (~60k in a Capital One savings account and checking) that is earmarked for a second car (kids are getting to the age that a single prius is starting to be a limiting factor for life), yearly IRA max contribution for wife any I, and a deck/porch/workshop thing and the rainy day fund... however, we are flexible if there is a massive reason to use that money otherwise. We also have 529 that will be worth around 200k when kids are ready for college. Won't pay for all, but will help them. Also have ~350k in life insurance on myself. I save 5% of my salary through a matching 401k at work, we always max our IRA contributions. This effectively results in a ~20% retirement savings rate. Further, my work provides a retirement pension that upon retirement will equate to about 45% of my salary from retirement date until I die. I am 39 years old and have been doing this since I was 18... leaving me a ~500k nest egg in my IRA and 401k already. My wife only started her IRA when we got married 10 year ago and it's worth around 100k. I only fill this in to point out that I feel somewhat safe on our retirement plan and my priority is gaining more 'now' flexibility with our funds and/or reducing our overall loan cost. I'm wondering: 1) Is it typical to merge 3 loans into one if those three are from differing institutions? If I just contact a refinancing bank, will they handle it all... or will it be a logistical nightmare that I'll struggle to navigate? 2) Does it makes sense for me to do that? I'm struggling to do the math and all the online calculators don't include consolidation. Looking at this https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/refinance-rates table... It seems I could get a 30 year fixed on 540k for 3.590% APR... and my total monthly payments would drop from the current ~3k to 2.4k. This seems like a no-brainer to me? ... but I'm asking if there are gotcha's I've missed. 3) The 3.03 interest rates on the 15 year are enticing, but I'd hate to lose the flexibility by getting into a payment we'd struggle to pay. Our frugality means there isn't much left to 'cut out' if things start going awry (though I can increase my earnings by ~10k year pretty easily if needed - at the expense of time with family). Is there a massive reason to push for that vs going with the 30 year and simply paying extra whenever possible in order to pay it off in 15 years? Calculators show about a 20k difference (total cost of loan) in a 15 year loan at 3.03 (15 year rate) and 3.59% (30 year rate). If that's all it is, I think I'd be willing to pay that 20k premium to have the additional flexibility. As I said, we generally are disciplined and frugal, so I think we could aim to pay it off in around 20 years and still meet our 'live life now a little more' goals. Thoughts? Any thoughts beyond the refinance questions? (I realize I maybe gave more info than needed for straight refinance question) Thank you very much. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:50 PM PDT 18yr, rent is about $730 a month, Texas Amazon Warehouse making 15/hr, 12 hour shift, 4 days a week, 20 miles away Or Walgreens making 10/hr, 8-10 hour shifts, 7 miles away, unpredictable days/hours I'm just not sure I can handle constant intensive labor for 11 hours a day, and the 20 miles seems a bit far but the pay is a lot better. Would it be bad if I chose the retail job? [link] [comments]  |
| Solicitors contacting me about my ex's property--am I at risk? Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:39 PM PDT My ex bought a house after our divorce, but I have been contacted repeatedly by people asking me if I want to sell it. I am worried that I am somehow at risk if he gets into financial trouble. Is it possible that I am somehow affiliated with that property? Perhaps my he listed me on the mortgage loan? Could he do that without my knowledge? (my credit is far better, so there would be motive) How would I find out? I cannot trust any information I get from my him so just asking is not helpful. I don't know how these solicitors are getting my contact information as I have never been affiliated with that address and I have changed my name since the divorce (not even to my maiden name, so I don't think public record of our marriage would show my current name). Yet, somehow they know about me in connection his property. Should I be concerned about that? [link] [comments]  |
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