Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 11, 2020 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 11, 2020
- My mom gave away her Social Security #, DOB, Email, AppleID and password, debit card # to a phishing email. What other precautions need to be made?
- Dropping interest rates on savings
- Renting out my garage to a neighbor for parking. Any suggestions?
- Are we financially ready for a baby?
- Should I start a career with USPS or Costco?
- Best options for Hands-off Roth IRA?
- Vested RSUs: to sell or not to sell
- (19) What would you do in my shoes?
- How to financially prepare for the loss of a parent
- Debit card hacked after never being used - how is this possible?
- NO ANECDOTES, is there tangible, monetary benefits to renting over buying?
- Should I keep the steady job I hate in an expensive area, or have free rent but no income?
- Direct deposit payment by my employer has not showed up in my bank account. Any help would be appreciated!
- How do you stop UI payments when coming back to work?
- Amazon prime rewards Credit card
- Why are taxes different from one home to the next?
- My sister got a letter that she had applied for unemployment but she did not. The OK unemployment agency is not accepting calls. What can she do to protect herself?
- Good time to start a Roth IRA?
- At what point do stock market returns out weigh your retirement distributions?
- Financial Discipline needed.
- Is it irresponsible for me to quit my job due to the high stress of working full-time while being a decent parent and teacher?
- FWIW, here's how you might be able to find out how much tests cost with your insurance.
- Traditional 401k vs Roth 401k (NOT Roth IRA)
- Target date and QQQ in Roth IRA?
- Shared CC with father which is over 50% of limit used and I want to take my name off of it because none of the debt is mine
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of May 11, 2020 Posted: 11 May 2020 04:07 AM PDT If you need help, please check the PF Wiki to see if your question might be answered there.This thread is for personal finance questions, discussions, and sharing your success stories:
A big thank you to the many PFers who take time to answer other people's questions! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 05:15 AM PDT So far she has changed her AppleID password, Email password, bank password and any other password that might match one of those. She also canceled her debit card of course. The only suspicious activity we've encountered is a $80 purchase on her debit. We reported the event on IdentityTheft.gov, and she is in the middle of reporting the event to the IRS and freezing her credit with Equifax, Experion and TransUnion. I'm extremely stressed from this and want to make sure she is as protected as possible. Is there anything else I am forgetting? Also since someone now has all of her information is it possible that they are able to get in and unfreeze her accounts? Thanks for any and all help! EDIT: Just wanted to thank everybody who helped me! I can't reply to everyone, but I've read everybody's comments and took a lot of your advice! All of the major steps are completed and should have most everything else taken care of tomorrow. [link] [comments]  |
| Dropping interest rates on savings Posted: 11 May 2020 04:58 PM PDT I received another email as I'm sure a handful of you did as well from Ally that the Fed has dropped interest rates again, causing Ally to drop theirs another quarter of a point. Even though I only have $1000 USD in savings, what should I be doing to counteract these continual drops on saving rates? Is there a better vehicle I could put this money in? [link] [comments]  |
| Renting out my garage to a neighbor for parking. Any suggestions? Posted: 11 May 2020 05:53 PM PDT Hey r/PF folks, so a guy in my neighborhood needs a garage to park his very nice car in. He's going to pay me $100 a month for a spot in the one car garage attached to my house. Pretty sweet boost to our monthly income. So I have seen quite a few templates for parking lease contracts online, and will probably pick whichever seems best. Definitely will make sure I am not liable for any damage to the car, should it occur. We both agree that 6 month duration will work. I am also going to ask the guy for a couple references as well as emergency contact. I figure there's a lot that can go wrong with an arrangement like this, but I don't want to be paranoid either. He will only have garage access. Entrance to house is secure. Does anyone have any advice for me on what pitfalls to avoid? Things I make sure get into the contract? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Are we financially ready for a baby? Posted: 11 May 2020 01:12 PM PDT My husband 31M and my self 27F are thinking of trying for a baby in the next few months. We make approx 7000$ a month which will increase each year. We have no debt and approx $15,000 in savings. Our monthly expenses are low. Approx $2500 month. We plan to purchase another vehicle with a budget of approx 20,000 soon (financing a vehicle). should we have more in savings? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I start a career with USPS or Costco? Posted: 11 May 2020 02:04 PM PDT Recently received interests for both jobs and going through the hiring process. Obviously I haven't been officially hired by either yet, but hypothetically speaking if I was offered a job by both and they paid similarly.. which one is a better company to work for long term? I have an Associates degree in Mathematics with absolute no plan for life. I was supposed to get the state job working for the NJ Turnpike Authority before the pandemic hit so I'm just trying to get myself in the door at a solid company and/or state career long term. I lose my parents benefits in December. Which is a better decision if I were to make a career out of either Costco or USPS? [link] [comments]  |
| Best options for Hands-off Roth IRA? Posted: 11 May 2020 07:05 PM PDT I'm 19 and want to start a Roth but I don't want to really do much. I've looked at Betterment but after reading some threads people are saying to do a target-date retirement fund. Can someone explain this/where I should open one (Vanguard?). Currently, my income is only ~5k from summer jobs but I expect to get ~20k/yr in the next 3 years from co-op (I go to Northeastern). Any tips to help my financial literacy would also be appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Vested RSUs: to sell or not to sell Posted: 11 May 2020 07:24 PM PDT Hi there! I have a question for a friend who is not, in fact, me. My friend works for a company that offers RSUs as part of his compensation. Let's say he makes 90k as his base compensation but his RSUs are worth roughly 20k right now. These RSUs vest on the 31st of January each year and will be worth, at that time, whatever 200 RSUs are worth from the company. We were chatting when he had a question about whether he should take out half his RSUs this year and pay off a credit card debt of 10k. I know as his RSUs vest they're included on his W2, but when he had his taxes done for 2019 he had been advised that since he sells the stock before he has had them for a year, he is taxed higher on them, but if he waits a year he can cash them out for capital gains instead, which is a difference of 24% because he'll have less than 40k total in capital gains. I went on investopedia to try to figure this out, since to me that sounds like he'd be double taxed, but I couldn't figure out what we were even looking for, though I did read the entire article on RSUs and Capital Gains as well as looking at what tax bracket he'd be in. I did ask the guy who did his taxes but he was high and playing Smash, so I encountered some miscommunication. Anyway, the core of the question is "is it worth it to save 15% APR on a 10k credit card balance by cashing out RSUs that vested January 31st this year?" If someone wants to ELI5 how this entire thing works I'd be much obliged, but I'm also content with a yes/no answer to the main question. [link] [comments]  |
| (19) What would you do in my shoes? Posted: 11 May 2020 11:07 PM PDT Hi there! Currently I'm working full time making about $2200 a month while living at home. My main goal has been to increase my income but I am wondering how you would split up your savings in my position. I have been aiming to save 800 per paycheck and have built and emergency fund of $5000. I was wondering how would you split up your savings? My plan so far has been, 400-500 per paycheck in VEQT, 200-300 for either building emergency fund more or saving for something like travel and the rest for misc expenses like bills and food. I'm seeing if I am able to increase my income without school, so the only big expense I can see myself going into in the future is potentially a business, but have no plans of one in the immediate future. I don't plan on moving out for a few years at least while I plan what I want to do for the future. My job appears to be secure as sales have been meeting goals during the pandemic. As for growth, I work at a dealership so If I can improve sales I can leverage for a raise Short term I'm looking to self teach coding and and other valuable skills in order to increase my income. Long term I could see myself renting my own place. I've been stuck between going for a degree and choosing to pursue a career without one. Any and all advice or tips appreciated! Thanks for reading my post. [link] [comments]  |
| How to financially prepare for the loss of a parent Posted: 11 May 2020 06:32 PM PDT Hi! This is my first time posting and I've seen that this sub has been really helpful in the past! So, unfortunately, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and my father has a neurological disease in which he's disabled & getting a slow dementia and cannot provide logistic assistance. With COVID still around, it's unfortunately end game for my parents if they get it & we live in one of the amazing epicenters. I'm in college still and don't have much financial experience. As for as finance, what information should I be seeking from my parents to have prepared for me in the scenario that they pass away? I know basic stuff like i should get the SSN, bank account numbers, but I don't know what other information would be useful. Thanks in advance for any help! [link] [comments]  |
| Debit card hacked after never being used - how is this possible? Posted: 11 May 2020 08:22 AM PDT My wife got a debit card for a business account she set up a couple months ago. She hasn't used the card anywhere online, and certainly nowhere in person due to quarantine. But today she noticed a recurring monthly purchase at H&M. She immediately got the debit card canceled and is getting a new card issued. How is it possible for someone to steal a card that's never been used? Wouldn't they need to know the card number, our zip code, and the CVV number on the back? We are at a loss for how this could have happened. [link] [comments]  |
| NO ANECDOTES, is there tangible, monetary benefits to renting over buying? Posted: 11 May 2020 07:54 AM PDT It feels like everyone says to buy but i've never been convinced that the effort to buy houses in a mark-up market, pay a mortgage for decades, pay house tax, utilities, upgrades, unexpected repairs, general maintenance, etc etc. Not to mention locking yourself down to something that costs serious money and time to unload again at equivalent or better value. What does the calculation look like to compare renting cost vs. House ownership costs vs. Time? I assume at some point you break even with rent being more advantageous over a shorter period (assuming you move at the end of the period) [link] [comments]  |
| Should I keep the steady job I hate in an expensive area, or have free rent but no income? Posted: 11 May 2020 12:46 PM PDT I have a job that provides steady hours and health insurance. I'm lucky to be able to work mostly from home through the pandemic and my job is not at risk of going away. I live in a very expensive area, though, and I'm not a very skilled worker so almost all of my money goes to rent. I'm only able to save around $6-8k a year (just enough for my Roth IRA with a little extra). However, before the pandemic hit I was planning on quitting. My grandparents have a lake home across the country that I can spend several months at for free, and then I was going to use a small inheritance I got a few years back to buy a cheap rural house with some land in cash. My dream is to have a garden and some chickens and work 10-15 hours a week at any old job just to have enough money to cover property taxes, extra groceries, maintenance projects, etc. I have friends who live this life and it's been my dream for years. I feel like I'd be an idiot to quit a steady job right now and give up my health insurance, but I've been planning on starting this new life for years and I'm really at the end of my rope with my boss. Advice? tl;dr Given the current pandemic, is it better to work a job you hate and spend most of your money on rent, or have no job but live out your rural dreams? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 09:59 PM PDT I got a job at the beginning of April, and was supposed to receive my first salary deposit in May. However, I accidentally provided my employer for a foreign currency savings account (USD account. I live in Canada). I was supposed to provide my employer with my CAD chequeings account. 1 week after the payroll has been processed, no activity has shown up under my US account, but as far as my employer can tell, the payment went through. I still haven't received the deposit. I'm a bit at a loss as to what I can do to track my money - any help is appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| How do you stop UI payments when coming back to work? Posted: 12 May 2020 12:00 AM PDT I don't seem to find my way around the IL unemployment claim website in order to report I resumed working. Is there anywhere a section i need to fill out or will they receive some information directly from my employer? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Amazon prime rewards Credit card Posted: 11 May 2020 09:11 PM PDT I applied for this credit card a couple of weeks back to get $70 worth gift card from amazon. Now that my trial of membership is ending very soon and I want to cancel prime membership, is it gonna charge me an annual fee for the credit card? What if I deleted my amazon account as a whole? edit: this card is through chase. [link] [comments]  |
| Why are taxes different from one home to the next? Posted: 11 May 2020 11:16 PM PDT Hi guys, I'm looking at buying a home in the Boise, ID area. When looking around I can't figure out why some homes say that taxes are $120/month and some homes go as high as $300/month. All the houses are around $300k that I am looking at and in the city itself (not connecting cities). My grandfather said that no matter which house I buy either new or used that the taxes should be the same if the overall value of the home is the same and that when I see on Zillow or Redfin that the taxes are lower is because of what the current owner paid when they purchased the home. Could someone help clear this up for me? Thanks! Edit: My SO wants to consider a new construction but I think this will guarantee a very high tax value vs used homes. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 12:50 PM PDT She got this in the mail. She tried calling OK Unemployment but it just says they are not accepting calls. What should she do instead or at least until she can get a hold of them. She has been working this whole time and has not needed to file. [link] [comments]  |
| Good time to start a Roth IRA? Posted: 11 May 2020 05:58 PM PDT Hey guys, I am 22 and have been interested in starting a Roth IRA for awhile. I was told the best way is to put money down in S&P 500 index funds. Although with the pandemic is better until the recession's over? Or is now the best time to start buying? Thank You [link] [comments]  |
| At what point do stock market returns out weigh your retirement distributions? Posted: 11 May 2020 08:43 PM PDT Let's say I want to live off of $60,000 per year in retirement from age 65-85. How much would I need in retirement accounts at 65 in order for my funds to keep growing at a greater rate than what I take out so I essentially don't lose money? Is that even possible or do you need a really aggressive portfolio which is obviously not recommended at retirement age? The reason I ask is because I know most of your account growth happens in the late years of savings but I'm not sure how much it can actually keep growing as you take distributions. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 06:35 PM PDT Hi, So I'm 27 I work full time. I live paycheck to paycheck. As soon as I get paid it's gone. I have debt and barely anything after bills. Any advice or tips for getting out of debt, building credit, and saving money. Thanks for the advice in advanced. Have a blessed day! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 03:41 PM PDT Summary: Hoping for objective feedback on whether it is fiscally responsible for me to consider temporarily leaving the workforce to be a more present parent/teacher and improve my own mental health. Total income reduction would be ~40%. I want to acknowledge from the start that I know we're very privileged to be able to consider this option. Also, our school district is known for being woefully underfunded and ill-prepared for anything outside of the ordinary, so unfortunately we just can't count on a plan that will actually be supportive of working parents. The resources we've been provided to date suggest a six-hour cobbled-together "curriculum" of websites, and as full-time working parents that's just not reasonable. Again, recognizing our privilege here and acknowledging that a lot of parents are dealing with the same thing and have no choice but to continue to muddle through. All the context: I have been in my field for over a decade in a few different companies (never less than three years at any) and at increasing levels. I've built solid connections, and the field I'm in now is not in danger of decline. However, my current employer is in an at-risk industry, though in a growth niche of that industry and doing quite well before COVID-19. I work for HQ and have solid job security relative to other positions, but a month ago the company did lay off 25% of total HQ staff (including open positions) and us survivors took a 10% pay cut. The company is doing everything possible to stay relevant and grow revenue within current constraints, but due to the industry there is a lot out of anyone's control (so there's a fair chance more cuts are on the horizon, and work will continue to consolidate to those who remain). I don't love what I do, but I'm good at it, am respected, and have curated valuable connections at different companies. However, with all the ambiguity of COVID-19 my job has become more stressful than ever. As the SME people depend on me for a lot, and the amount of requests and projects I'm being pulled into is excessive, but necessary. Meanwhile, I also have a young child in elementary school, and neither my spouse nor I have been able to devote enough time to effectively continuing his education beyond relying on Khan Academy and the like and doing a hands-on science experiments maybe once a week. Given the high stress of my job, the marketability of my field, and the fact that school and childcare very likely won't be any kind of "normal" at least through the end of 2020, I'm seriously considering leaving my job and looking for something new next year. I could likely take an unpaid FMLA leave, but realistically I know that's not enough time, and I know I wouldn't want to return after taking time off.Pros to quitting: Dedicated time to spend with the kid, less stress for my spouse so he can more fully focus on work, head space for me to give some actual thought to whether I even want to continue in my field or pivot to something else, and greatly decreased stress.Cons: ~40% decrease in household income, potential difficulty re-entering job market, additional stress on my spouse being the "breadwinner". My spouse grew up lower-middle class and is nervous about the prospect of giving up my income. Details: Ages: 36-37 Current HHI: ~$210k base ($97k me, though now reduced 10% for six months, $120k spouse). Bonuses: I have a 15% bonus target, though assuming that will not pay out for 2020 (my 2019 bonus did pay out fully). He has a 10% target plus $25k in stock options vesting each year. Spouse's job situation: Very successful global tech company growing in COVID times. Known for treating employees well, low benefits cost. Low risk of stock value dropping, but not counting on stock or bonus in plan. **Total gross household comp. pre-COVID: ~$220-270k (low excl. bonus/stock, high incl.) **Current household monthly take-home (incl. my 10% cut): $11k ($132k annual) after retirement, health insurance, HSA/FSA Liquid savings (emergency fund) balance: $40k Retirement balances (combined): $350k No state income tax Dual-income monthly expenses (we live in a HCOL city but there's still a lot of frivolity here): PITI: $3200 ($530k mortgage balance at 3.375%) Car loan: $350 ($3k balance remaining, .9% interest rate so ambivalent about paying off) Car insurance: $125 (two cars) Gas for cars: $200 0% installment loan (HVAC system): $634 (balance paid to 0 in April) 0% installment loan (treadmill): $72 ($1400 remaining, I just opened this in December) No other debt Non-retirement savings: $2000 (sometimes less) Groceries/restaurants/bars: $1500-2000 (obv. can be trimmed substantially) Travel (averaged): $600 Bi-weekly cleaning service: $350 Utilities (electric, WS&G, natural gas): $400 Internet & phone: $200 (CenturyLink Simple, guaranteed to stay at $75/mo for next two years, and Google Fi which averages $125 including carrying my dad's service) Entertainment: $150 for all the streaming video (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime +HBO, PBS, Disney+) plus Google PlayMusic Family, KiwiCo box for kid, couple Patreons for our fave podcasts Personal Care (hair, massage, etc.): was ~$150, $0 currently (I'm cutting spouse and kids' hair, was already growing out my color and cut pre-COVID) Charitable giving: $500 (committed annually, and yes it should be more) Household/clothing/random other: ~$200 (the rest) If I were to quit: **Total gross household comp. post-COVID: $120k-155k (low excl. bonus/stock, high incl.) **Projected monthly take-home $6500 after health insurance, HSA/FSA, and spouse's retirement contributions; take-home excludes bonuses/stock PITI: $3200 ($530k mortgage balance at 3.375%) Car loan: $350 ($3k balance remaining, .9% interest rate so ambivalent about paying off) Car insurance: $125 (two cars) Gas for cars: <$50 (spouse WFH likely through end of year, very occasional driving for errands, walkable neighborhood, transit and bikes available, etc.) 0% installment loan (treadmill): $72 ($1400 remaining, I just opened this in December) Non-retirement savings: $0 (eek!) Groceries/restaurants/bars: $1000 Travel (averaged): $0 Bi-weekly cleaning service: $0 Utilities (electric, WS&G, natural gas): $400 Internet & phone: $200 (CenturyLink Simple, guaranteed to stay at $75/mo for next two years, and Google Fi which averages $125 including carrying my dad's service) Entertainment: $100 (cut Amazon Prime, HBO, Hulu, KiwiCo) Personal Care (hair, massage, etc.): <$40 (will stay $0 until salons reopen) Charitable giving: $500 (committed annually, and yes it should be more) Household/clothing/random other: $200 (the rest)Remaining: ~$300 This plan is tight, but we have savings if an unexpected expense comes up. It does not account for contributions to my retirement, though we could fund an IRA for 2020. It also does not account for contributions to other savings vehicles, like the 529 education savings account for our son (his account currently has ~$10k in it). If necessary we could cut further in food and entertainment. Not planning any travel obviously.I'd plan to return to work early/mid-2021. Could possibly pick up some freelance work since I'd have the time, but not counting on that.Would love feedback, thoughts, criticism, etc.! [link] [comments]  |
| FWIW, here's how you might be able to find out how much tests cost with your insurance. Posted: 11 May 2020 04:39 PM PDT If your doctor orders tests (i.e. blood work), you want to know how much it is with your insurance (assuming the lab is in-network) and you got a few hours to kill:
It works most of the time and the places I've called were nice enough to provide me with all the info. It might not always work but its worth a shot if you want to know how much you'd be looking at. :) [link] [comments]  |
| Traditional 401k vs Roth 401k (NOT Roth IRA) Posted: 11 May 2020 05:36 PM PDT Hey guys, I'm a recent college grad making ~ 60K annually. My employer offered me a traditional 401k and a roth 401k. Which would be the better option to max out? I am in the fortunate position to maximize my contributions to the $19,500 limit with either pre-tax or post-tax money. In my thinking, I can contribute more "real" money by maxing my $19.5k annual limit via roth, but I know I would also be missing out on tax-deferred money being able to compound over 40 years. Any thoughts on what the better option might be since I fully expect tax rates to be hiked significantly later in this country (rationale: socialistic views are rising)? Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Target date and QQQ in Roth IRA? Posted: 11 May 2020 03:16 PM PDT I'm 30 and I have 100% in VFFVX in my Roth IRA. I'm thinking of allocating some funds to QQQ so I can be more aggressive. Is it wise to invest 55% in VFFVX and 45% on QQQ? OR should I stick to a 3 fund portfolio of Vtsax, Vxus, and BND and call it a day? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 11 May 2020 05:23 PM PDT I opened a credit card with my father years ago to help me build credit. He wasn't responsible with it and it is now hurting my credit. How do I take my name off ? [link] [comments]  |
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