Personal Finance Stop thinking of your debt in terms of your yearly salary, think of it in terms of your salary after taxes and living expenses. |
- Stop thinking of your debt in terms of your yearly salary, think of it in terms of your salary after taxes and living expenses.
- CC company finally resolved my dispute for cancelled flight tickets from March
- How Frugal is the average person? Does being picky about gas prices for example really add up?
- Could this be a scam?
- Whenever I go to the bank to withdraw some cash the bank teller is always asking me what am I going to use the cash for. I feel like they are being a little nosy. Am I overthinking it?
- Lost 30 year old
- Is there a downside to the new trend to low cost Real Estate sales instead of traditional 6% sales?
- No Money Mondays
- Brother has inheritance, but he's in bad health. What's the best way to protect his money?
- Good health insurance plans for parents (in their fifties)? Healthcare.gov charging $1700/mo and they don't qualify for tax credits.
- Can I co-sign on a VA Laon?
- I need your apartment: House vs Apartment
- AA Citi Executive Card to receive a 50% statement credit upon renewal.
- Joining a startup: CEO won’t share details of stock options
- Used Car, Age vs Miles
- Present Value of An Annuity - Help
- Received 100 usd via PayPal from stranger
- What checking is everyone using now and why
- It's open enrollment time, and I don't think an HSA is worth it for me. Could use a sanity check to see if my thought process is correct.
- Need investment help
- refinance vs extra payments
- Is this too much house for me?
- Electric Bill overcharging?
- IRA question. no employer sponsored retirement plan. Spouse doesn't work
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 11:09 AM PDT A friend of mine is $15,000 in credit card debt. She explained that it doesn't seem like that much because she makes $85,000 per year. Upon further investigation we determined that at her current lifestyle, she is only left with $400 per month after tax, mortgage/rent, food, insurance, phone, gas, entertainment, clothing, etc etc. When we considered that of that $400, $238 would be interest (19%x $15,000/12), leaving only $122 left to go to principal payments, she was only paying down approximately $1,500 of that credit card debt per year (not including the fees she probably pays to get that lower credit card rate). That means that in reality, my friends $85k salary amounted to net savings ability of $1,500per year with credit card debt of $15k, it would take something close to 10 years to pay down the debt (a little less due to compounding). This was an eye opener for my friend as she had no idea how long it would actually take to kill her debt even with a relatively high salary. She believed that she earned enough to not have to worry about little expenses. She is going to pay more attention to her spending habits so that she can get out from underneath the debt. [link] [comments]  |
| CC company finally resolved my dispute for cancelled flight tickets from March Posted: 07 Jun 2020 07:47 AM PDT I purchased tickets through a major airline earlier this year, prior to the coronavirus lockdowns, but did not purchase refundable tickets. We patiently waited to see if our fights would be cancelled and, sure enough, a week out from our planned travel the flight was cancelled. I called the airline and explained that I was due a refund from them but they insisted that I could only receive a credit voucher, though I wasn't too keen to be holding onto vouchers given the uncertainty with airlines at the time. Not to mention our entire calendar was pretty much thrown into disarray through years end, so air travel looked to be moot. Since the airline wouldn't give me a refund I went to my CC provider and (easily) disputed the charges, leaving a note as to what transpired and why I disputed them. They temporarily credited the account while they worked to resolve the dispute. Fast forward to last Friday and I received a note from the CC company that the dispute had been resolved, and I was credited the full amount back onto the card. Anyway I know many were probably in the same position as I was, and if you had to dispute airline ticket charges it might take 60-90 days before your account is credited. Hang in there and be patient. [link] [comments]  |
| How Frugal is the average person? Does being picky about gas prices for example really add up? Posted: 07 Jun 2020 08:17 AM PDT I'm not very frugal at all. People tell me about gas prices and I just stare at them blankly because I haven't the slightest clue how much gas costs because I don't pay attention at the price per gallon. I just fill up my car and pay the total and I certainly won't search for a pump that is slightly cheaper. Similarly in grocery stores. I have NO idea what is a "good deal" or sale price on some items (fruit etc). I simply buy whatever I want without consideration of price. I just know that one grocery shop will range from $50-$100 usually. Same with restaurants. I'll just buy whatever I want without considering price. Recently my mom was telling me to turn off my air conditioner since we would be gone all day and it sort of surprised me. Again I don't really pay attention to the specifics of my power bill, I just know it will cost around $40 per month. Managing my AC might cut it down by $5-10 but it doesn't seem worth the effort to me. I am sort of frugal when it comes to larger purchases like flights, electronics etc. I'll do a lot of research to figure out the best bang for my buck. But admittedly I'm a bit bad with budgeting and spending. How frugal is the average person on necessities like gas, groceries, utilities etc? Does waiting an extra day to fill gas or going to a different location for a slightly cheaper price really add up that much in the long run to be worth the inconvenience? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 02:32 PM PDT Hey guys, this might not be the best subreddit to ask but everyone seems to be pretty knowledgeable so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. I am a tutor and one of my students since lockdown in the UK has been having lessons with me over video call. This student is quite young so their parent is in charge of the payments. For some reason they say they can't pay me via bank transfer or PayPal and insisted to send the money in cash via post. When I received the payment for the first online lesson they sent me £50 even though I only charge £15 and they have mentioned several times that they are in a pretty bad financial position. I assumed they were just paying in advance for the next few lessons so I thought nothing on it. The following week after a second lesson I receive another letter from them with £75. I'm confused so I send the parent a text saying how much money i've received. Straight after she received the text she called me and quite angrily said not to mention how much money was received when I messaged her and only text whether I received it or not. At this point im starting to get suspicious with everything going on. Does anyone more knowledgeable than me know if this is some sort of scam? Thanks for reading. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 05:33 PM PDT I'm not sure if my question belongs in this subreddit but posting this question because I feel annoyed to the point where I want to close my bank account and start banking with a different institution. If this post doesn't belong in this subreddit, I apologize in advance. EDIT: It happens quite often and the amount withdrawn is not a lot ($1200-$2000). [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 12:23 PM PDT Hello, I'm a 30 year old male from California. I wish I asked this 10 years ago, but I didn't think to take any action, and no one told me about saving for retirement early, etc. I am LOST when it comes to investing, I don't know anything about it. I've had 2 jobs for 10 years, until being laid off in April thanks to the virus. I'm currently on unemployment, definitely strange since I've always worked. Anyway. I want to invest for retirement! I want to try and be in my late 50's and not work. My income is a little different now (little more) but I know it won't stay that way. I'll eventually find a job, I just believe it. After all of my bills, when I was working, I had $400 left over per month. No work 401ks or anything like that. I just have a checking and savings account. I have zero debt, luckily! I don't owe anything to anyone. I have roughly $35,000 saved up, between checking and savings. What is a retirement account? I can put money into it (how?) every month? Or year? Then it grows and I can cash it out in 30 years? I don't understand anything about it. Is it a guarantee I'll make money? What a disaster if not! After all that time. How much roughly will I make? Say I put $4,000 in a retirement account a year for 30 years, what will happen then? Etc... I don't know anything about the basic terminology, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc, not a thing. Though I'm unemployed, can I still make an account? Is it free? I'm just lost as you can tell! At 30, I want to invest! I'm able to, so why not? Seems a million times better than just saving and it not growing. My head is just spinning because I don't even know where, or how, to start. Thank you for reading! -Lost guy from Cali lol [link] [comments]  |
| Is there a downside to the new trend to low cost Real Estate sales instead of traditional 6% sales? Posted: 07 Jun 2020 05:46 PM PDT My parents sold their home last month for a flat fee and I sold mine a year ago for 1.5% to each of the agents. But a home is most people's biggest investment so why are we still allowing such a huge commission? GIS has made most people do all their own research. All other industries have lowered costs: mutual funds expense ratios are insanely low and it's usually free to make stock trades that used to cost $25 each. Why is real estate not falling in line? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 07:45 AM PDT Hey all, my wife and I have been trying to avoid eating meat on Mondays to reduce our consumption and all the ensuing benefits that has. I had the idea of also not spending any money on Mondays (except emergencies of course) to make Monday a frugal day. I have intense school loans to deal with and I'm super close to being credit card debt free (only $1400 left!!!!) so I thought this would be an easy habit to fulfill. Tomorrow is our first official "No Money Monday" and I was wondering if anyone else did something similar. [link] [comments]  |
| Brother has inheritance, but he's in bad health. What's the best way to protect his money? Posted: 07 Jun 2020 06:29 PM PDT He's in his 60's and his health is bad. I don't know the circumstance, but he's cared for in a board and care. But, he's in the hospital right now. He does not have assets beyond this inheritance, but he does have family-- two children and a wife. I don't know why his wife has stuck around for the last 10 years (religious duty? doesn't want to split the house?) She's totally estranged-- does not go to see him, and neither do his adult children. He is bipolar, and he has problems with anger management sometimes. I do not know the details of how his care is paid for, but it's covered. He has an inheritance of $150k. If he dies, I think the money will go to his estranged wife-- just because she's the spouse. And he does not want that. He wants it to go to his kids (despite the fact that they don't see him.) What is the easiest way for him to keep the asset safe and make sure that it goes to his children when he dies? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 12:25 PM PDT Some help would be appreciated! I am looking at ehealthinsurance.com and the cheapest plans ($400-600) have really poor benefits too. Is this the best coverage they can get without breaking the bank? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 05:54 PM PDT Hello Reddit, I am a Army Vet and I was wondering if I am able to co-sign for my son (who is not a veteran) on a VA Loan? [link] [comments]  |
| I need your apartment: House vs Apartment Posted: 07 Jun 2020 04:45 PM PDT Edit: LMAO I just realized I wrote "I need your apartment" instead of "I need your advice" sorry guys haha My family immigrated to the US in 2016 and have been renting since. Our status here is pending asylum which means we are documented and we're just waiting for our court date. It all kinda depends on that court review on whether they want to grant us permanent residence or not. If not, we can re-appeal and get some more time. Both my parents work at factories. When we paid taxes last year, we reported about $75k in gross income. I don't see a reason in my parents moving for work in the future. They have about $35k in savings and we still have our house in our home country. My dad is open with selling it. I think it's valued at 200k and its prospects are good for the foreseeable future. We're looking at houses right now and the nice ones in our area are about 200k - 300k. Our surf on Zillow found us a 210k house and we're interested in it. However, my dad has a lot of qualifiers that kinda lands on me. I'll be turning 17 this summer and I'll be a rising senior. Which means I'll be going to college soon. Which also means $$$. Our apartment rent + everything else is 1.2k to 1.3k evey month and the 210k house we're looking at estimates about 1.2k a month including 800 in principal and interest, 300 property taxes and 100 in home insurance. I don't know how accurate these numbers are and I know that there are unexpected costs when you're a homeowner. I just don't know how much. Our lease is up this September and my dad is asking me if I think it would be a good decision to get a house inspector, figure out loans and all that fun stuff on the 210k house or if we should do another year contract with our current apartment. I would really love your help. Sorry if the question has been asked a lot. I don't know who else to ask. Please comment any important info I left out if it means that I'll be getting better feedback. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| AA Citi Executive Card to receive a 50% statement credit upon renewal. Posted: 07 Jun 2020 01:24 PM PDT Received an email today from Citi that my AA Executive Card would receive a 50% statement credit upon renewal. A One-Time $225 Credit A One-Time $225 Credit We recognize that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it may be difficult to utilize some of the benefits that come with your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive card, including your Admirals Club® membership. As a one-time courtesy, you will be receiving a $225 statement credit to your card account upon renewal*. If you opened your Executive card account prior to April 1, 2020, look for the credit to post to your account within 1-2 billing cycles after your next renewal date. Thank you for your continued card membership. [link] [comments]  |
| Joining a startup: CEO won’t share details of stock options Posted: 07 Jun 2020 02:54 PM PDT So I am joining a startup that has been around for 4 years so I am definitely not looking at a founder portion. I was offered 10,000 shares at 6$ strike price. I was asking CEO for more info so I could calculate the expected worth. He was unwilling to share the number of outstanding shares, preferred price, or why the expected final value at acquisition would be. Is this reasonable? It feels like Monopoly money not knowing its potential worth. Any suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 07:11 PM PDT So I'm moving to a new city soon, and I'll need to get a car once I'm there. I'm aiming at a used car, probably a civic (I'm after ultra reliability and decent mileage). I've come across a bit of an interesting trade off, and I'm curious what others would think. Focusing on Civics, at any given price range, there appears to be a trade off of miles vs age; that is, you can get an older model with fewer miles, or a newer model with more mileage. What do people think is the correct choice on the age vs mileage spectrum? And as a follow up, would, say, 7k be sufficient to get a decent used car? [link] [comments]  |
| Present Value of An Annuity - Help Posted: 07 Jun 2020 06:58 PM PDT Hello, Currently having trouble understanding the valuation of Annuity vs Lump sum options. Here is an example, Mr. Johnson is a 65 years old retired military veteran who has been funding his retirement account each month for the last 30 years and now he is finally able to start withdrawing funds. As part of the agreement, the retirement company is offering to pay him $30,000 the 1st of each year for the next 25 years, or a one-time payment of $500,000. He wants to know what the value of the $30,000 yearly payments is worth today to determine his best option. Using the present value formula, we can see that the annuity payments are worth about $400,000 today assuming an average interest rate of 6 percent. Thus, Mr. Johnson is better off taking the lump sum amount today and investing it himself. Wouldn't $30,000 for the next 25 years equal $750,000? More than lump sum? I really am having a hard time understanding this for some reason. How does this work? [link] [comments]  |
| Received 100 usd via PayPal from stranger Posted: 07 Jun 2020 06:02 PM PDT So as the title says I got 100 usd from someone idk and think it may be a scam so I'm posting here on what I should do. I won't accept the money and I don't know if I should issue a refund because if it is a scam Idk how it works. Any info please lmk Now they're requesting it back, I don't know if I should send it to them or just wait for them to contact PayPal, I think I will wait for them to contact PayPal and leave it for a month or two. thanks for the suggestions [link] [comments]  |
| What checking is everyone using now and why Posted: 07 Jun 2020 05:52 PM PDT Currently have alliant and looking to possibly switch with the rates dropping there's no benefits on having them [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 02:02 PM PDT First off, I live in California, and I'm choosing between two blueshield PPO plans provided through my employer. They cover all premiums, so there's nothing out of pocket for me if I don't see a doctor. The "regular" PPO has a zero deductible and much lower copays, ranging from 5-20 a pop. The HDHP has a 10-25 % coinsurance for most things, including various tests which I need take on a semi regular basis and also some prescriptions as well. On top of that, I'm looking to start seeing a mental health provider, and assuming a once a week meeting basis, that's $10 per visit vs 25% coinsurance for in-network which comes out to quite a lot. I don't have concrete data to crunch numbers unfortunately, so I can't do an apples to apples comparison. Given all that info, I'm thinking that an HSA simply isn't worth the HDHP that it's attached to since there's no contribution from my employer and I'm not on the hook for the premiums anyway. And I was mostly trying to use it as a retirement vehicle. I do already max out 401k and Roth IRA, so maybe the gains aren't as impactful for me. Any feedback would be much appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 07:52 PM PDT My husband and I have a decent amount of money in savings and want to (in his words) "have our money work for us". But we have no idea where to start. Some general help of what to look into etc. thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 07:52 PM PDT I have a 30yr mortgage at 3.75 that we obtained late last year. we were able to recast the mortgage and put down a sizable payment towards the principal once we sold our first home. I am paying an extra $400/month on top of the minimum payment. In order to pay off the mortgage at 15yrs I also need to pay another 4k per year. With mortgage rates being low, does it make sense to refinance and try for either a 20yr or 15yr? The rates are as follows: 20yr: 3.35 15yr: 2.85 I'm not sure what the fees are but I may call just to inquire. [link] [comments]  |
| Is this too much house for me? Posted: 07 Jun 2020 01:48 PM PDT Hi everyone, I live in a very expensive city where housing is pretty darn expensive and was wondering if these numbers are "too much house" for me in regards to income and still have a good amount of money to put into retirement. I live with my wife and she is going to start working in the near future. Just to play it safe, I won't include her potential income into the equation since she is currently earning 0. I earn about $7,500/month after taxes. The properties i'm looking at would put me at about 3,000/month (including HOA/interest/property taxes). Combined, we typically spend about 2,500/month on groceries/luxeries/fun/gas/insurances/car loan misc. (everything besides rent). That means, approximately, after life expenses (not including rent), I have about 5,000. So if I have a 3,000 monthly mortgage, that means about 2,000 spare/month for savings. Let's say I over-spend, I'll have approx. 1,500/month for savings to put into index funds, or something.. Not sure if this will affect me much for saving a decent amount to retire with.. Does this sound like too much house? Thanks.. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2020 01:30 PM PDT Hi all, I'm NYC based and my electric/gas bill typically comes out to $70/month in my apartment. I've been out of the apartment for over a month now due to obvious reasons, and I recently got my bill. It's totaling to $81 and I'm dumbfounded. Nothing save the fridge was plugged in. I'm contacting Con Edison but I'm wondering...is there another explanation for this? Any tips for disputing this? [link] [comments]  |
| IRA question. no employer sponsored retirement plan. Spouse doesn't work Posted: 07 Jun 2020 05:03 PM PDT Can I open a IRA for her and put in the max? Being limited to 7000 a year for myself isn't cutting it. [link] [comments]  |
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