Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of June 05, 2020 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of June 05, 2020
- Eminent domain: my experience
- Am I holding too much in cash vs putting it into something like the market?
- How much do you value a low stress job that gives you freedom to pursue hobbies?
- I co signed for my dad and I’m looking for a way out.
- USAA has dropped support for downloading account transactions.
- ESOP Distribution to Roth IRA or 401k
- Home Mortgage Refiancing
- Energy company has not read meter for past year?
- Career guidance
- Refinance - what do I need to look for?
- Should I move from Fidelity?
- 529c College for California residents
- Is it okay to settle my mother's CC debt?
- How to start financing my future?
- Need help understanding 0%APR offer
- Credit Card: Now or Later?
- I am looking to start investing for the future, where do I start?
- Buying a house, and mortgage company says I can pay to lower my mortgage rate.
- Can I still contribute to a Roth IRA for 2019 even though I already did my taxes?
- Why do I receive more financial aid than my wife?
- Need help getting stock price data from TSXV Exchange into google sheets Symbol is ACST
- Can I afford to buy a house?
- Might be a long shot but I think I messed up the FSA for my Lasik Surgery
- I need help figuring out my best course of action to get my auto loan under control.
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of June 05, 2020 Posted: 05 Jun 2020 02:05 PM 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: 05 Jun 2020 10:22 AM PDT The purpose of this post is to document my experience with a recent eminent domain taking. When I first heard it was going to happen, I searched Reddit for similar experiences, and didn't find anything helpful, despite having a huge impact on our personal finances. So, I'm making this post in the hopes others find it when they need it. A quick note that eminent domain (also known as compulsory purchase or expropriation) is when the government takes private land for public use. My example was pretty textbook: the state wanted to build a road, and my land was in the way. So they essentially forced a sale. Background: My wife and I own 6 acres of land in the Mid-Atlantic region. It's rural, but on the other side of the road is suburban property. The state wanted to take this road, which is one lane in each direction, and make it two lanes one way, and lay down new pavement for two lanes in the opposite direction. And our driveway goes up to the road now, so a new road is being built for us (parallel to the new road) and the end part of the driveway is being removed to prevent us turning onto the highway directly. So the state needed about 2 acres of land, mostly flat pasture, which we were using for our horses boarded on the property. The beginning: You may first hear about it from neighbors, but there will be mailings sent out to those affected, maybe over a year ahead of time. Keep track of project status and funding, and expect local meetings at nearby schools with the planners. You can talk to them and find out the plans. One thing to note is the plan is never set in stone. The state puts out a Request for Proposal, and contractors respond with proposals, and the chosen design wins the bid. So while the state man plan some minimum requirements, the winning proposal and design may be different. When it gets real: You will receive official notice at some point that the state is going to try to buy your land. Now, if your state has a "quick take" provision, as ours does, heads up: the state can take your land with no negotiation at all. For us, this is allowed only if a reasonable amount of money, representing the value of the land, is placed in a Court fund, available to the homeowners without prejudice to future negotiations. Three months after the initial notice, our land was "condemned" and the state owned it, and we were defendants in a civil suit. No Deed transfer yet, but it was in effect gone. Along with this letter was an appraisal showing how they got the figure they got to. The appraisal: The state will hire someone to appraise the land, and it's the same as the appraiser you hired when you bought your house. They look at the land, the comps, and figure a range/average from there. Our county executive in charge of the project had built up a reputation of never having to ever go to court over eminent domain, so the comps were generous. And like other appraisals, the "highest and best use" was used, so this was a decent number, to be honest (1/3rd of what we paid for the entire property, but they weren't taking any structures, just land). The negotiation: Quick take or not, you're going to want to negotiate with the state. It's quite worth the time - since we have horses, and this land affected them, we compiled a loss per year due to the loss of this land (extra food costs, revenue lost from losing a boarder, e.g). We also compiled costs for restoring the remaining land to similar condition of the land being taken (grading hills to create flat pasture, new fencing, e.g). The state didn't like our loss per year, but only because it wasn't boiled to one simple number. So, I extrapolated the loss from our age until age 65, added restorative costs, and asked for twice what the state originally gave. They knocked it down to a round number, and we accepted. The emails: I have never been involved in anything so... involved before. Even after all the estimates, documents, meetings with the lawyer and neighbors and agreeing on a price, it was a battle to get the money. You have to deal with courts, paperwork, and if you have a mortgage, your lender. Our lender is pretty chill, but they still wanted some money, as the property is losing value. After that's all done, you need to get your check, and in our case, a second check from the state. All in all, this is one year of asking people "What can we do this week to move the process along?". We're still due some interest, and with COVID-19, I know it's going to take many more months to get one simple check. Taxes: I can answer questions about this, but read IRS Pub 544 for details. We got $X for the property, that's a gain. The $Y we negotiated to restore the property reduces the remaining property basis - so it's not taxable. The $Z in interest (because it takes a year of sending emails) is taxed as ordinary income. 1) For $X, the gain is $X minus the basis, or what you paid for the property plus expenses in buying/upgrading/selling. Since ours was a subset/parcel of a larger lot, we got an appraisal for just that land (separate from the state's) and a realtor to give us comps from the year we got the house. So say the realtor says it's worth $50,000, we spent $5,000 in lawyer fees and appraisals, and we got $80,000 from the state, then taxes are $25,000×15%. 2) For $Y, the severance, say that was $40,000, and you paid $250,000 for your home. When you go to sell your home, say $300,000 in the future, your gain is $50,000 normally. Well now it's going to be $90,000. Note the first $250,000 ($500,000 if filing joint) of gains of a primary are not taxed if you live in the house for at least 2 years. So note this is a loss, and you can get $3,000/yr for the loss, and carry it forward. So you get to knock off $3,000/yr from your taxable income for 13 years in this example. 3) $Z is just normal income, easy to deal with Timeline from getting the first official letter that eminent domain was happening: 3 months: The "taking" happens OK, I didn't want this to be too long, so I'll put this up, and feel free to comment with questions. When this post becomes archived, contact me via chat! [link] [comments]  |
| Am I holding too much in cash vs putting it into something like the market? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 11:21 AM PDT So I (30yo) have the goal of buying a house within the next 2-4 years, which is why I built up a big savings account, currently with $45k in it at Ally (1.3% interest). I already have a brokerage and Roth account (60k and 40k in each respectively). I kept that money in savings as a down payment/closing cost fund plus an emergency fund for afterwards (I'd only put like 30-35k into buying the house). Someone mentioned to me that keeping that much in a savings account isn't the greatest idea because of inflation and I should put my money to work for me. I knew that line of thinking, I just was worried if I put it into the market it could lose value even more. Is it dumb to keep that much in a savings account right now? [link] [comments]  |
| How much do you value a low stress job that gives you freedom to pursue hobbies? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 07:35 PM PDT I have a job that pays incredibly well but it comes at the cost of working late, perpetually being stressed, and dreading waking up on the weekdays...and going to bed on Sundays. I'm at my breaking point -- I've worked 60-70 hours for the past 3 months and I've grown to resent the teams I work with. I want to quit, but I would be giving up a job that most in my industry want. I know that I can find a job elsewhere making half what I do now. My mortgage is basically paid off and my wife makes good money. Our expenses are incredibly low given our income (~40-50%). I know that if I can stick with this for 5-6 more years I can pay off my house and have ~1M in the bank. I'm just not sure if I can do it and I'm just not sure it's worth it. I'm here to get a bit of perspective. I'm wondering how much everyone values more free time -- would you give up 20k? 50k? 100k? At what point do you say "Fuck it I don't care, I'm done." [link] [comments]  |
| I co signed for my dad and I’m looking for a way out. Posted: 05 Jun 2020 01:13 PM PDT I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this so I apologize if it's not. I'm going to jump right in and stick to the facts here. My dad has always been financially illiterate and has been begging me for most of last year to co sign for him so he can buy a semi truck for work. I co signed for him and guess what? He's only made 2 payments on time out of 9.....yes surprise. My credit score has dropped from 720 to 580 he doesn't make his payments unless the loan officer calls him demanding that he pays or unless I call and pressure him to do so. Anyway he owe about 32k P+I on the truck and his payments are about 1500 I called the lender to ask about a co-signer release and they refused due to my dad being irresponsible with his loan so that's out of the question. I've missed out on opportunities because of this and I'm about done with this BS so here is my question. I'm 26 M and live with my parents due to their financial situation I earn about 60k a year and I'm getting a raise in about a year and a half which will put me at 80k a year and I have a bout 30k saved in the bank that I was going to use to buy a house. Should I ask the lender about a payoff amount and pay it off using my savings and forget about it (I know I'll never see that money if I do so) or should I wait until September 2021 when my dad pays it off whether he's late or not and then save more in the meantime and work on my credit later ? I know I fucked up and I beat myself for it everyday so all I'm looking for is advice....thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| USAA has dropped support for downloading account transactions. Posted: 05 Jun 2020 10:40 AM PDT Super annoyed right now. Apparently, USAA has stopped allowing members to download their account transactions in a OFX/QIF file. You can only download account data if you are a Quicken subscriber or as a CSV file. I have used MS Money for a decade it's awesome and free and have no intention of paying Intuit for Quicken and the the CSV is more work than manually entering transactions. Sorry I'm mostly just ranting here. Does anyone have a good suggestion for a replacement card for their Limitless Visa? It's really the only thing keeping me with them at this point. [link] [comments]  |
| ESOP Distribution to Roth IRA or 401k Posted: 05 Jun 2020 06:24 PM PDT My current employer has just finalized a new Employee Stock Ownership Plan; therefore, we must distribute our ESOP funds from the previous plan. We have some options to handle the distribution such as withdrawal (subject to taxes + penalties), rollover distribution into our Fidelity 401k, or rollover distribution to the financial institution of our choosing. I originally was going to just rollover the distribution into my 401k, but have also considered using that distribution to starting a Roth IRA, with Fidelity since my 401k is managed with them. If I were to start a Roth IRA, what taxes will be taken out from this distribution? I'm curious about the math and understanding how this works. For example, if my distribution is $6k, what money would I really have to apply to the Roth IRA? I've read through some of the Wiki and things online, but know this community has some good feedback. Thanks for any help provided. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Jun 2020 02:51 PM PDT Like many others, we've been looking to refinance our home (around 415k) on zillow with the low rates recently. Do I just start looking for the lowest rate I can get or is there a catch to the low interest rates you see on the emails/ads? Located in California. [link] [comments]  |
| Energy company has not read meter for past year? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 05:43 PM PDT Wasn't sure where to ask this, but I think this sub might be fitting. I live with my grandmother, and she pays the electricity bill every month. She asked me to read the meter today because she's confused about how the company has been billing her. For almost the past year, the bills she has been sent all say that the reading on the meter is 9027. They have not changed the number at all, so the bill essentially says we have not used any energy, and she has been being charged maybe $12 every month, which is extremely low. During the summer, the bill is usually over $100. I went outside and read the meter, and it reads 2630. The bill says it would have been read 4 days ago. On the last bill, they attached a note that said: "You may have noticed that your Account has not been billed for at least two months. The problem that caused the delay has now been resolved. The enclosed invoices should bring your account up to date. We apologize for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused you. We understand that receiving more than one utility bill at a time could present a financial hardship If the amount due on your account is more than you can pay by the due date on the invoice, we will be happy to make arrangements with you to pay the balance over time." However, on the bill that it is attached to the reading for the meter is still the same, so it shows that we again used 0 kilowatt-hours. She is going to call the company tomorrow to fins out what is going on, but I'm concerned that they have (obviously) been making some mistake and are going to put her with a $1000+ bill for all of the time since whenever they last actually read the meter. Has anyone else had an experience like this or know what might be done? I have no idea what they have been doing this whole time. Maybe reading an empty house's meter? I'm mostly concerned because I know my grandmother can't afford to pay a large sum like that, and I'll have to do my best to help if I can. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Jun 2020 05:40 PM PDT Hi everyone — I've been browsing reddit for almost 2 years now and have fell in love with how strangers on the internet - unlike the people in the real world - are willing to be so helpful and kind, while giving honest advice to others. Now, I've finally build up the courage to ask questions and seeking guidance myself. So, here it goes: I started out my college life with very little understanding of what I wanted to do, I started out with CS (took all the maths required up to Linear Algebra and few programming classes) and made a 180 shift during my last two years and ended up graduating with a neuroscience degree from a top California public school with a 4.0 GPA. Looking back, I'm not sure what I was thinking as I never had any interest in conducting research or practicing medicine - though the subject was really interesting to me. Now, I find myself struggling to find the path forward, given that my major doesn't really help with anything that I want to do in the future, and most importantly: I, unfortunately, failed to do any internships that would look good on my resume. Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed reading about finance and am now confident enough to go the finance route — something that I should've done while I was still a college student. I don't have any high expectations, in fact I'm more interested in the Corporate finance jobs rather than IB. My question is: what do you think is the best path forward given my unique situation? I obviously can't do much with my bachelor and need to get a masters. My hope was to gain experience somewhere and get an MBA at a top school, but I doubt anyone would hire me. I'm currently looking at Vanderbilt and UofT Austin programs as they are very well known - Also Boston College and others as well. Am I making the right decisions here? What do you guys think about supply chain management jobs? I've been thinking about this for too long and it would be nice to see what others have to say about this. I really appreciate all the help. Thank you, and stay safe! [link] [comments]  |
| Refinance - what do I need to look for? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 02:05 PM PDT I have a mortgage at 4.5%. When looking at refinance options, do I need to look at anything other than the new rate and any fees? I'm just trying to reduce total interest paid given the current lower rates. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Jun 2020 03:12 PM PDT Hi there! I'm a not too smart 23 year old who works at Walgreens. I'm a part of a retirement savings plan at 4% matched(max) and an Espp at 1% matched. Now, I honestly don't have the biggest grasp on how this all works. I'm wondering if anyone had any advice on the pros and cons of keeping both of them in fidelity vs an external savings account, anything I'm overlooking, and potential horrible things I should not do, ect. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| 529c College for California residents Posted: 05 Jun 2020 05:44 PM PDT Hey all - have 2 young kids under 5. Resident of California and can't seem to find many options for a 529c. Wanted to our money in vanguard ETF funds as they are low cost. They seem to offer other states like Nevada - but what's the impact on school choice and use of funds? California seems to offer a system Called scholar share but limited investment options What have others done ? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it okay to settle my mother's CC debt? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 08:59 AM PDT Hi PF, I could use your help making a decision, My mother got sick at the end of last year, and I've been taking over her financial life. She is dealing with a form of dementia at 69, and I am dealing with all the things I didn't realize she was neglecting. I've already got POA, paid off a bunch of credit card debt, medical bills, moved a lot of things to autopay, etc. I am getting to the end of untangling the mess, and have one big debt that has been hanging over my head for a while: a $23k Discover card debt. I am lucky that she has a sizable pension that I can pull from, but since she is so young, I am trying my best to make it last as long as possible. I called discover this week to ask some questions about settling the debt. They explained that I could pay 65% of the debt in a lump sum. Which to me sounds pretty good. I understand it will hurt her credit score, but frankly it's already in the toilet, and she's not leasing a car, or buying a house ever again. To me is seems worth it to save $8k, and get it off my plate. Am I missing something? Please advise, personalfinance! Thanks in advanced. Edit: Thanks everyone for your input. It's given me some new perspectives. I've set up a meeting next week with an estate lawyer to get some additional advice. Be safe everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| How to start financing my future? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 05:37 PM PDT Hi! I'm not too sure if I'm in the right place for this, but I've come to a point where I (21) feel as if it's best for me to become completely financially independent. However, I'm not quite sure how to get myself to that point. I currently have no credit and next to nothing in savings because I've used what was in my account to pay for college over the last few years. I do have a job that I'm supposed to start at the end of June and a car that I bought in full that I would consider selling, but I don't know if that would be worth not having a car. In general, I don't know what steps to take to plan for paying the total cost of rent and insurance expenses that my parents have paid for over the years. Any advice would be appreciated :) [link] [comments]  |
| Need help understanding 0%APR offer Posted: 05 Jun 2020 07:45 PM PDT Toyota is offering 0%apr on hybrid purchases but then in the details it says... "Disclaimers: 60 monthly payments of $16.67 for every $1,000 financed. " What is that-a fee? If so isn't that like having 1.67% interest? Does a normal car financing have that fee+interest? This is my first car that wasn't a junk paid cash- so I am a novice on car financing. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Jun 2020 03:35 PM PDT I know I'm only 18, but I've been thinking about getting a credit card. Maybe just put gas on it to start building credit. Is it too soon? [link] [comments]  |
| I am looking to start investing for the future, where do I start? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 07:16 PM PDT Hello friends, I am looking to start investing a share of my income for me to benefit off this decision in the long run. Would you have any advice or good sources where I could get started as I am a complete noob. I am 20 years of age and living in a developing country where things such as pension accounts and the such are not available so I am looking to put my money into stocks that will appreciate over time perhaps. Any help would be beautiful thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a house, and mortgage company says I can pay to lower my mortgage rate. Posted: 05 Jun 2020 02:14 PM PDT So I'm wondering what's the catch or how does this work? They said if I pay $275 at closing, my rate goes from 3.25% to 3.125% and saves an extra $22 per month off my bill. There's other options that go as far as paying $1522 for a 2.75% rate, saving about $90 per month on the bill. Does anyone know more about this? First time homebuyer. Lower rate is good but does this help me? Her email to me said: "Below is the rate sheet we have you locked in on. The highlighted rate is showing you where you are today (3.125%), at what cost ($225), and the principal and interest difference ($22) for this lower rate. Again, you can move up and down along this rate sheet as you so choose. Please let me know if you have any questions!" Any input would be appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Can I still contribute to a Roth IRA for 2019 even though I already did my taxes? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 07:12 PM PDT Someone said I couldn't contribute for 2019 anymore since my taxes were already done earlier in the year, even though the tax date was pushed back to July. [link] [comments]  |
| Why do I receive more financial aid than my wife? Posted: 05 Jun 2020 04:56 PM PDT My wife and I have been married for 8 years. I work full time and am a full time student, she is a stay at home mom and is also a full time student. When we receive disbursements from our student loans I always receive more than her, usually around twice the amount she receives. Could anyone please help us understand why this is? [link] [comments]  |
| Need help getting stock price data from TSXV Exchange into google sheets Symbol is ACST Posted: 05 Jun 2020 06:57 PM PDT Hi, can anyone help me format the ticker for google sheets that pulls the price of ACST on the TSXV? I literally cannot figure it out... [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Jun 2020 04:02 PM PDT I am 23, single and I live with my parents so have no rent expense currently. I just help my parents out with a bill that I listed under reoccurring expenses. Car is paid off and no student loans. I've been thinking about buying a condo 250-300k range in TX. Credit score is ~800. Income: 5k take home Savings: 40k Investments: 5k Monthly expenses Reoccurring Bills: 250 Gas: 100 Food: 500 Coffee: 70 Tolls: 80 Gym: 200 Clothes: 150 Donation: 150 Total: 1500 I guess I'm looking to get a reality check. Am I too young for this? Should I wait another few years before I buy a house? [link] [comments]  |
| Might be a long shot but I think I messed up the FSA for my Lasik Surgery Posted: 05 Jun 2020 01:38 PM PDT This is a long shot but hoping to get some answers here. I got LASIK Surgery. Last fall I enrolled in the FSA plan and now have ~100 coming out of my paychecks to go into this FSA account. I was told by HR that it's like a bank account and I can use it like a debit card anytime from Jan 1 - Dec 31. When I tried to pay for surgery, the FSA company said they can't release the funds until I've hit my deductible?? This is the first I've heard of that rule. Then I spoke to an HR person who said, yes that's true for medical but I think Lasik is covered under vision and you can pay for vision and dental. Let me get back to you." I am FREAKING OUT. Because other than this surgery, I have NO reason for this FSA. So I've been spending all this money every month into an FSA I don't need AND need to come up with the money to pay for the surgery out of pocket now. During a recession and talks of layoffs. I guess the big question is Lasik a medical expense or a Vision expense?? Update: HR contacted the FSA company who says: This is a combination FSA account. For this plan, Dental, Preventative and Vision expenses are all covered as eligible services. If she was to submit the claim to her account, that was to pay for the diagnosis, cure, prevention or treatment of a disease, and for treatments affecting any part or function of the body this would be approved as it is not a medical expense, so she would not need to meet the IRS statutory deductible. This is so annoying because I don't know why they can't clearly say, yes Lasik is covered, tell her to submit a claim?? [link] [comments]  |
| I need help figuring out my best course of action to get my auto loan under control. Posted: 05 Jun 2020 05:19 PM PDT Hi everybody! Last May I bought my 2017 Civic LX for $14,900. However, I was dumb and am really not good with numbers, so they were able to sell me extended warranties and things that I thought I needed but didn't. My loan really stinks, it's a 72 month at 11.28% APR. My payoff for the vehicle as of today is $18,907. My car is only worth (estimated according to credit karma) $10,700. I tried refinancing months ago but most of the advice i got from banks was to wait until the loan was a year old and try again. So my question is what is my best course of action to minimize the financial impact this is having on me at the moment? Is there even anything that I CAN do? I really want to lessen the burden as much as I can. Thank you for any and all help! [link] [comments]  |
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