Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 29, 2020 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 29, 2020
- Make sure you REGULARLY check those credit card rewards!
- Are there any serious security or privacy issues with using Mint or Personal Capital?
- Is an hour commute at 18 worth it in my circumstance
- Being in offered $4000 for “totaled” car after lady scratched it.
- Credit Union Sold my mortgage not even 3 weeks after closing
- How to pay off someone's student loans
- Banks refusing to refund fraud despite police getting video & issuing warrant for suspect
- What is the best method for a savings account?
- I feel financially plateaued
- Collection of inheritance
- Buying a used car, fees seem extra high and I’m not sure how to proceed. At dealership now, need advice!
- US: Looking for recommendations. Best online bank for small business.
- Estimated tax payments when selling stocks? (US)
- Inherit house with 50% value in mortgage
- My friend says she always owes $7000 in taxes to her husband each year
- On the brink of bankruptcy
- Chase or Citizens Bank for College Student.
- Getting my first credit card at 21– employed, semi-independent & decent credit.
- Should I pay an invoice for a plumber who could not / did not fix the problem we were having?
- Pledged Asset Lines without Call Language
- I got hit by a car as a pedestrian in February 2018. Now, the ambulance company that brought me to the hospital has a collections negatively impacting my credit score.
- Mom Passed - Car Insurance was in her name and had money owed - am I liable
- Could my parents give me their house before they die and continue living in it?
- Former Employer not giving me ESOP Benefits after 9 months wait. What can I do?
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 29, 2020 Posted: 29 Jun 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]  |
| Make sure you REGULARLY check those credit card rewards! Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:03 AM PDT I have three credit cards and all of them have time-sensitive rewards from retailers. 5% off Starbucks, 10% of Gap, stuff like that. These rewards usually only last a few weeks. The trick is that you HAVE to actively sign up for them on your credit card's website. Last week I was buying a new laptop for my wife and just before clicking "Buy It Now" I went to my CC site and looked through the rewards. Low and behold, there was a $120 Dell offer. Clicked the offer, went back to Dell and received my $120 statement credit today. Make sure to check those rewards! EDIT: An additional note is these rewards are not just for rewards cards. All my cards are cash-back cards and all still offer these extra rewards. It's just a matter of clicking "Add" and you still get your 2% back. I bought the Dell laptop with my Amex cash back card. So I still get my 2%, this is additional. [link] [comments]  |
| Are there any serious security or privacy issues with using Mint or Personal Capital? Posted: 29 Jun 2020 06:04 AM PDT I have been a long time user of Mint, and have limited experience with Personal Capital, and find both very useful. As my finances get a little more complicated with multiple different accounts I wonder about the security of these accounts, as well as having new concerns about all the talk of companies monitoring and even attempting to alter spending or other behaviors. I know that insurance companies urge their users to install their apps in exchange for a discount so they can monitor driving habits. I'm not overly worried, but want to be sure I'm informed about any risks that may not be obvious. I'd be happy to pick one of the two companies and continue using it if the security is as good as advertised. Thanks Edit: There are a lot of great answers here. I'm still reading, and learning on the tech side as I'm going along. So far it looks as if security isn't so much of an issue as privacy might be. I think these companies rely on us trading privacy for convenience. [link] [comments]  |
| Is an hour commute at 18 worth it in my circumstance Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:48 PM PDT I'm 18 and with the recent events, my current warehouse job has stopped giving me hours. I've been applying to jobs and I got an offer to a warehouse across the city. I live on the west side of Houston and the job would be on the east side and would be an hour's drive. I'm currently making $11.00 and this job would be a step up to $16.30 with the night shift. I really need a job right now as I don't have very much money right now and have been relying on my mother to pay certain bills. Is an hour commute worth the pay and the job experience or should I decline and keep looking for jobs closer? [link] [comments]  |
| Being in offered $4000 for “totaled” car after lady scratched it. Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:55 PM PDT Hi! If there is a better subreddit for my question please let me know! So a few weeks ago I was sitting parked in my car while waiting for my dog's vet appointment to be over. A lady ran into my car as she parked beside me. One of the plates was pushed in slightly and there is a huge scratch down my back driver's side door. We exchanged info and she contacted her insurance to let them know. Meanwhile, I went and got an estimate on the damage. The body repair shop estimated $450, apparently car paint is very expensive right now. My car has many other big dents and missing paint that I was also planning to get fixed and pay for out of my own pocket, that'll cost me personally around $750. Last week her insurance called me after I sent them the estimate I had received. They told me that my car is totaled because it is over 10 years old. (It's a 2002 Lexus.) They have agreed on a settlement of $4000 if I turn my car over and they will come pick it up. To me this doesn't make much sense since it would only be $450 to repair. I started saving up for a new car a few months ago and have $2500, I can probably pull a couple more thousand dollars out of my general savings account giving me about $8000 to put down for a new car. (I was only able to save up $2500 because of COVID causing me to spend less, stimulus checks, and unemployment.) My mom is very against this. She says I shouldn't buy a new car until I can pay it in full. I estimate my current car will last me about 2-3 more years. However, in the next 2-3 years I'd probably only be able to save up to $6000 depending on...we'll everything in the world and getting a new job. I am currently in school and living off unemployment. She thinks the insurance company is trying to play me and tells me I should ask for the money but not surrender my car. She says if they don't give me the money "she'd hate to have to sue them". I'm at a loss. On one hand I'm skeptical of this offer too, on the other $4000 is a great nest egg for buying a new car and seems too good to be true (which usually means it is). Has anyone dealt with this situation before or have any advice on my next moves?? All help appreciated! Let me know if you have any more questions or need more information! [link] [comments]  |
| Credit Union Sold my mortgage not even 3 weeks after closing Posted: 29 Jun 2020 04:59 PM PDT I know it's a common thing, however I just refinanced with a local credit union. They told me they maintain the servicing of the loan for the life of the loan. However today I get a notice, 3 weeks after closing that ownership has been transferred to Fannie Mae and servicing is Cenlar I originally went with a credit union like this so they wouldn't sell the loan, I take it there really isn't anything I can do or should be concerned about ? [link] [comments]  |
| How to pay off someone's student loans Posted: 29 Jun 2020 01:59 PM PDT I'm coming into a fairly large sum of money soon, and would like to do some nice things with it. One of those things is I want to pay off a friend's student loan debt in full. It has basically crippled them for the last 10 years and it could make a massive difference in their life. There is no way they would accept an offer to do this, so I want to go directly to the bank. I have a couple of questions: 1.) Is this even possible? 2.) If it is possible, what information would I need. I have their ssn (they gave it to me) but do not have an account number. [link] [comments]  |
| Banks refusing to refund fraud despite police getting video & issuing warrant for suspect Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:01 PM PDT I recently had my ATM card & car stolen, the car had a bunch of information in a notebook which contained my pin and was used to withdraw $2100. I called the bank the day i realized my car and atm card were stolen & I filed a police report. The police got video footage of the person withdrawing the funds and they issued a warrant for their arrest. The bank on the other hand said they cannot confirm fraud occurred and therefor are not refunding me any money. I called the bank and they said theres nothing else to do. This is utter horrendous to me as I have no idea what to do. They just said screw you despite the police getting proof. Is there anything I can do without paying thousands for a lawyer? [link] [comments]  |
| What is the best method for a savings account? Posted: 29 Jun 2020 07:49 PM PDT I have a savings account and I know the interest rate is small. I'm looking for a easy access for a rainy day fund that isn't risky. Any thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 06:20 PM PDT I'm single. No kids. I make 78K pre tax but I also live in one of the most expensive cities in the US. My rent is roughly $1500 + $250 for utilities, internet, cell phone and I have 3 roommates. I'm somewhat frugal but not too stingy. I could certainly save more on food or dining out or random purchases. From time to time I treat myself with expensive items I feel I have "earned" like a PS4 or a bike but these are rare. Over the last 6 years I've been able to pay off my 45K in student debt. So right now I am debt free. My credit is in the 800's. I've also saved about 36K that just sits. I've viewed this as immediate cash for "what if" emergency fund/nest. Honestly 3-6 months doesn't ever feel like enough. What if I lost my job. What if I need a new car. What if I'm seriously injured or the economy collapses. I know this is kind of crazy but my parents always instilled this into me so I've always just played it safe. The downside is that I have not contributed to any sort of 401k, so I'm way behind. I really just don't see how prioritizing that right now makes any sense. I'd have much less money now should things take a turn for the worse. My thinking has always been when I "make more" I'll dump more available cash into that. But yes I know I'm stupid for this. Just overall I feel I am going no where in life and I am financially stuck though. Avg homes cost $1.3M in my area. Okay, so then I can move? But where to and most likely making less money. Also, there's that hurdle of finding a new job which is challenging, especially right now. Or I can try to make more, but in my field I can only make so much. If I get lucky maybe I can find a partner who makes more or the same but I'm not counting on that. I've also been poor. I know the feeling of having zero in the bank and working a minimum wage job. I know I am somewhat privileged and it can be so much worse but this also just feels pointless. Maybe I'm just depressed or lacking purpose right now but I'm really down and feel like I am stuck in a hamster wheel. I'm definitely having mid-life crisis feelings at age 30 and I have this urge I need to buy a motorcycle or travel the world but I know that's just foolish. Sorry if this is not the place and the tl;dr Where to go from here? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 07:31 PM PDT I was talking with my possible-father-in-law-one-day last weekend about home buying, finance, equity (he was scoping me out to see if I have my shit together) and he asked if I would inherit anything when my parents pass. So my parents are old and we never had money. Combination of my dad having strokes when I was young and mom never paying off student loans and being a teacher. Anyway, my father is in a nursing home from Alzheimer's and his social security goes directly to the facility for his care. My mom is 73 and works part-time as a RN to make ends meet. She has always told me that the only thing I will inherit is some antique jewelry and the land rights to a small piece of land that some company mines. She has always referred to it as 'mineral rights.' She gets a check every month for sometimes as little as $450, sometimes up to $1,200, but she tells me it's usually in the $750-900 range. She tells me that the company has made offers to her to buy the land outright but has told me to never do that. She also takes social security and this sustains her renting a small apartment. Now my mom is not in the best of health. She has diabetes, has always been morbidly obese, and does not exercise. I am her only son and she has told me that she has already arranged in her will for the deed of the land to be passed to me. My question is: say she ends up needing nursing home care, or when she passes, still has unpaid student loan debts (I estimate it's probably between $45-55k at this point), is there any reason that the rights to the land and mineral rights could be seized to pay off the student loan or go to providing her care at a nursing home? My gf's dad seems to believe that is a real possibility and I should speak with my mom about having the land passed to me while she is still alive and independent. Said something about if it is handed to me and as long as nothing happens to her in five years 'they' won't come after it. It wouldn't be a touchy subject bringing this up to my mom. She loves me and wouldn't want that money to be seized in an event like that either. But is there any credence to that line of thinking? Thanks for all the insight this sub has provided me over the years and has made me so much more money savvy than my parents ever prepared me to be! Looking forward to some help and insight here [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 11:31 AM PDT Fees are as following: $997 Prep $695 Admin $374 Transport Also they cannot honor the 0.00% APR unless I'm paying the retail price. I was looking at a certified pre-owned Toyota. I'll include photos here. Looking for advice on how to proceed here. Thank you. Edit: I walked out for now. Told them I needed lunch and to take a breather. Going to take the time to read advice here. Thank you so so much. Edit 2: photos here: https://ibb.co/P15RJrK https://ibb.co/6tqGYpT It's a 2017 Toyota RAV4 SE Edit 3: link to the car https://www.toyotaofmassapequany.com/vehicle-details/used-2017-toyota-rav4-se-seaford-ny-id-36345950 They have that price online, but are saying they cannot honor the 0.0% APR unless I'm paying retail. Edit 4: On the official Toyota certified pre-owned website, they were offering 0.0% APR on the RAV4 https://www.toyotacertified.com/ [link] [comments]  |
| US: Looking for recommendations. Best online bank for small business. Posted: 29 Jun 2020 04:40 PM PDT Very small business start up. Owner, no employees. Anticipated income less than $10K per year. Am looking for an online bank with no/low checking fees, and ATM access. [link] [comments]  |
| Estimated tax payments when selling stocks? (US) Posted: 29 Jun 2020 09:04 PM PDT I'm expecting to sell some stocks at a gain and want to do the right thing. Everything I'm reading seems to indicate that I should estimate my tax owed and make a payment. Is this something that is done in practice? I'm hoping people here might have some experience/knowledge to share. A couple questions: How much of a gain is needed for estimated taxes to be mandatory? Is it any amount of gains? Can the estimated tax payment happen any time in the same year as the stock sale? For example, if I sold stocks in May 2020, do I have until December 2020? Or perhaps until the tax deadline in April 2021? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Inherit house with 50% value in mortgage Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:51 PM PDT Let's say you are inherited a house where somebody passes away and they had a mortgage worth 50% of the house market value. Is it typical for the mortgage to be able to be transferred to you? If it can't get transferred, and you don't have the income to obtain a new loan, what are your options? [link] [comments]  |
| My friend says she always owes $7000 in taxes to her husband each year Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:37 AM PDT My friend, a married woman who is a non-citizen working in the USA on a visa, says that every year when they files taxes, she owes $6000-7000 to her husband (also a non-citizen on a visa). Her husband does the taxes, with both of them filing jointly as a married couple. She says that she has been paying this amount to him every year for several years now to cover the value of her supposed tax burden. She thought this was normal because she was a non-citizen and so she had to pay more for the taxes. Her husband tells her every year that the $7000 owed is from her and that his taxes are always fine (nothing owed). Obviously, I thought this sounded insane, so I helped her examine her taxes a bit. Some stats;
I had her pull some recent paystubs, and I checked her employer tax forms. She has all her tax forms set as "married filing jointly". I helped her run her income and tax numbers through this calculator; https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator these are the numbers I use (assuming there have been 12 biweekly pay periods so far this year); Her:
Him:
Results:
So, this tax estimator confirms that something is wrong with the taxes and that when they file, they will owe this much. However, I am having trouble understanding who owes this money. My friend has been under the impression that its entirely her fault. But, I think that this cannot be correct. Because on that page, after you run all these numbers, it says :
So if I re-run the numbers, change her biweekly withholding to $548, and total witholding to $6576 (12*548), the "taxes owed" goes away completely. Alternatively, if I enter her original numbers filing singly without her husband, then her "taxes owed" goes down to $2800 It seems to me that they both owe the $7000 amount in taxes, so really they should each be paying $3500 more each year. Of course, when my friend tells her husband this (who does not understand how taxes work himself), he denies that any of the $7000 could have come from him. Does this sound right? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:30 PM PDT I apologize as this post is going to be long but I really need some advice. So due to bad decisions (young and stupid), medical issues, and being a single income family while my husband was in nursing school, back in 2015, we wound up in lots of credit card debt. We put our house up for sale and moved in with family while my husband completed his degree. However, 0% interest terms on our credit cards were rapidly approaching and we hadn't closed on our house yet. Our plan was to pay everything off once we sold the house. It took 6 months to close on our house and the back interest took us beyond what we were able to pay back. I looked into debt consolidation and whatnot and came across a company that would "invalidate" our unsecured debt. They told us to stop paying our creditors and let everything go to collections. So we did. They had us hook, line, and sinker. We were desperate and preyed upon is what it feels like. So longer story shortish, they didn't do what they said we would and we ended up being sued by different creditors and eventually settled and are making monthly payments. We were making it and everything was OK. My husband has a great, stable job as a RN, BSN at our local hospital. He is planning on getting his FNP in the next few years. We weren't able to save, but we were making it work. I had shoulder surgery at the beginning of the year but I don't have insurance (unaffordable) so I've racked up medical debt. My grandparents cosigned on a house with us (our credit is tanked), but in the last 3 months, so many things went wrong with the house. We have to replace our refrigerator, HVAC unit, stove, and some other smaller things. I also work in the hospital in admissions. However, I'm on a PRN basis and before COVID-19 hit, was steadily working. But I've been laid off since March. We also have 2 little ones that I have to stay home for as we don't have any childcare available for several reasons that I won't dive into. We've been able to get extensions on various bills and I've been able to claim unemployment. But everything comes due in July and I don't know how we're going to make it. I'm about to go into collections for my medical debt. We have 2 cars that we owe more on than what they're worth. We're just drowning. And I don't see any other option than filing either chapter 7 or 13. I wanted to get some kind advice or suggestions. We can still make our car and house payment, along with utilities and such, so I'm hoping we don't lose those. Plus, since my grandparents are cosigners on our home, I don't want it to hurt them. I just don't know what to do. Its making me cry everyday. Physically sick. Depressed. Emotionally drained. [link] [comments]  |
| Chase or Citizens Bank for College Student. Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:25 PM PDT So I'm an incoming freshman for college and want to get a credit card to boost my credit score. I don't know a ton about credit and credit cards but my mom told me that chase was a good place to start. I already have a student checking account with citizens and they also have a credit card there you can sign up for. Which would be the better option for me? [link] [comments]  |
| Getting my first credit card at 21– employed, semi-independent & decent credit. Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:24 PM PDT According to credit karma I have a 630~ credit score, and I'm continuously building that already with my car payments which are paid in advance + with a little extra than the necessary amount per month. No student loans or mortages or any of that, I rent privately, I pay for uni out of pocket, and as mentioned the only financing thing I'm doing is my car. I've had the same job for three years and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon, so I have a steady stream of income. I need a credit card because I'm moving out of my folks this month, and since I'm a private renter, it's a fixer upper home, and I would like to make those improvements prior to moving (painting, paneling, some furniture, new caulk, etc.) I know absolutely nothing about how credit cards work but I've been told my credit score will help me out in my search for a card, so I figured I'd ask reddit as I always do, lol. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I pay an invoice for a plumber who could not / did not fix the problem we were having? Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:22 PM PDT Our water heater died a few weeks back. Next day we bought a new one, very handy husband plumbed it in. The one thing he could not quite figure out was the wiring between the boiler and water heater, so to be safe we called a local plumber and specifically asked for someone who knows wiring because that's all we need help with. They quote a rate of $155 x hour plus a $40 trip charge. We agree and make an appointment. Two days later one plumber comes for the appointment and spends 2 hours trying to figure out the wiring. He spent most of those two hours on the phone with someone in their office trying to get advice on what to do. He finally gives up, and they send two plumbers out a few hours later. The two plumbers spend 2.5 hours doing essentially the same thing. They did try to rewire the connections between the boiler and water heater, but their rewiring caused our boiler to stop working, at which point they said they had to leave and they would have to send someone else, but they thought there was a malfunctioning part that would cost $600 plus labor to replace and it would fix everything. We declined to have them do anything else. In the end, my husband got a schematic of the wiring, found that the 2nd plumbers had rewired everything wrong, and the part they quoted us $600 for was working perfectly. Before we received an invoice I called the company to let them know my husband figured out the problem and fixed it, we would not need the $600 part because it's working fine, and that since they couldn't fix the problem I didn't think we should have to pay an almost $800 invoice but that I was happy to come to a compromise on paying them something. Just received the invoice. They reduced the hourly rate to $120 per hour, charged me for three hours instead of 4.5, and only charged me one $40 trip fee for a total of $400. Should I just pay it and be thankful that they didn't charge me the full amount they could have? Continue to negotiate for a lower amount? I don't want to refuse to pay them anything, but $400 still seems like a lot for not doing much and causing more problems. [link] [comments]  |
| Pledged Asset Lines without Call Language Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:20 PM PDT I am aware of things like schwab's pledged asset line, which is a wonderful tool but contains the ability for the lender to sell your securities in certain situations. Do you know of any banks that offer loan's backed by pledged stocks that aren't sale-able if the market tanks? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 04:33 PM PDT In February 2018 I was walking back home from the train station when a truck turning left didn't see me while I was crossing the street and hit me. I wasn't the only one crossing the street when I got hit, so I wasn't doing anything stupid or insane. I got taken to the hospital, and thankfully I wasn't seriously injured - although it was a heavy Chevy Silverado, he was only moving at about 5 miles an hour (he was turning left off a stop sign), so thankfully I was able to get off with only a hairline fracture on one of my ribs and a sprained knee. In the coming months I got letters from the ambulance company asking for my insurance info, which I of course gave them. In Pennsylvania, where I live, the law requires that any automobile-related accidents go through automobile insurance, but ultimately both my health insurance (which I get from my parents) and my car insurance (also from my parents since I share a car with them and am registered) were involved. It was initially difficult, and I got maybe 3 or 4 letters from the ambulance company over a six month period, and each time I gave them my information. I even talked to my auto insurance company about it and eventually as far as I knew everything was sorted out and I more or less forgot about it. Fast forward to today, I noticed on my credit score that there was a collections placed on me, so I got my credit report and saw that the ambulance company is still looking for the money, despite the amount of times I'd given them my insurance information, again, for something that was not my fault. It's negatively impacting my credit score; what steps can I take to solve this and get it removed from my report? I figure I'll have to call my insurance agent and find out what to do about it, and also contact them, but I'd rather not have this negatively affect my credit score until 2025 when I've done absolutely nothing wrong. Any advice for what I should do? [link] [comments]  |
| Mom Passed - Car Insurance was in her name and had money owed - am I liable Posted: 29 Jun 2020 07:39 AM PDT HI all, Thank you for your help! The title says it all. Please let me know if I need to do something about the back pay my mom was the primary for the insurance but I was covered under her policy. [link] [comments]  |
| Could my parents give me their house before they die and continue living in it? Posted: 29 Jun 2020 09:34 AM PDT Could my parents give me their house before they die and continue living in it? This would be to help prevent scammers from stealing their money/liens on the house. [link] [comments]  |
| Former Employer not giving me ESOP Benefits after 9 months wait. What can I do? Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:25 AM PDT Worked for a company for 7 years and was vested at 5. After I left, I emailed corporate and was told that they would send me information in May. However, having not received the information, I reached out and they said that the Statements are late due to the Virus. Is there any legal action i can take? [link] [comments]  |
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