Personal Finance Am I getting ripped off on my phone plan? My friends are making me think so. |
- Am I getting ripped off on my phone plan? My friends are making me think so.
- Current 3.5% interest on mortgage loan, being offer 3.0% interest loan. Four years into loan.
- Just found out some coworkers got unemployment- can I make up for months of unemployment
- Taking out a loan to pay off my parents land contract.
- (Nor Cal) New job. 200+ mile daily commute. Realistic expectations/advice for moving timeline with new employment income
- Investing in Index Funds categories
- Are beater cars supposed to be broken when you buy them?
- After stroke care - trying to help parents not go into debt
- Are Fidelity’s zero expense ratio index funds worth having over the quarterly compounded reinvestment you’d get from a traditional Fidelity/Vanguard index fund?
- Can anyone explain why financing for things like cell phones are set up so you are forced to pay a set amount for a set number of months?
- Buying a condo vs Renting an apartment at a young age
- Should I commit to this solar contract?
- Estimate salary range
- Refinance my car loan should i?
- How do you balance enjoying the present and saving for the future?
- Mail and Checks Stolen
- What exactly can private student loans be used to pay for? Are there limits on them?
- I am financially illiterate
- Amazon account keeps getting hacked
- Kid coming, what should I do with excess cash?
- Should I consolidate my credit cards?
- Why have a savings account in a big named bank?
- Got money from “State of Arizona Benefitpay” but I live in TX
- My roommate left and refuse to pay the lease and I can’t afford it by myself
- How much should I put into my savings account?
| Am I getting ripped off on my phone plan? My friends are making me think so. Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:29 PM PDT I'm 21 and this is my first phone contract / plan on my own. It's only me; one line. I have Verizon now which I upgraded to from Cricket. I went from a Galaxy S7 to a Galaxy Note 9. I have unlimited data, unlimited talk and text, and the payment for the phone itself. That all adds up to about $140 every month, which my friends are saying is insanely high. Am I naive and getting ripped off? [link] [comments]  |
| Current 3.5% interest on mortgage loan, being offer 3.0% interest loan. Four years into loan. Posted: 04 Jul 2020 07:32 AM PDT Hello everybody, As the title states we were able to lock in a 3.5% interest on our home loan (30 year fixed) 4 years ago. Due to the current economic climate, we were approached by the individual who helped us get the 3.5% stating that we could refinance at 3.0% for a 26 year period. He stated his company is willing to cover all closing and escrow costs in the amount of $3000ish. It would seem like a no brainer to take it but the cynic in me thinks there might be some hidden fees or something that I am unaware of. Anybody that has knowledge on refinancing and home loans care to give me some pointers? I placed all the pertinent information in a loan calculator with how much we owe on the current loan (and therefore how much the new refinance loan will be) and the calculator stated after the duration of 26 years (if we were to pay the minimum monthly mortgage) we would be saving somewhere around $35,000. I asked the loan officer about the "break even point" and he stated since his company will be paying the closing costs and escrow fees (therefore it wont be rolled into the new loan and we won't have to pay it up front) that we will start saving right from the get go. I asked if we had to reappraise our home since it's been 4 years and he stated we might have to. When we purchased, it was roughly $420,000. Rough estimated worth now on Zillow is $510,000. Will this effect the loan or interest rate or anything like that? Does that mean property insurance will increase? TL;DR [link] [comments]  |
| Just found out some coworkers got unemployment- can I make up for months of unemployment Posted: 04 Jul 2020 06:35 PM PDT I didn't think I would be eligible for unemployment since I was furloughed in March. I found out most of my coworkers were getting unemployment. It was a part time job avg 25-30 hrs week. In KY. Is it possible to file unemployment and get paid back for all those weeks? [link] [comments]  |
| Taking out a loan to pay off my parents land contract. Posted: 04 Jul 2020 01:59 PM PDT About 10 years ago my parents purchased property on a land contract. Since then my dad and I have cleared it off and built a house on it. My dad is nearing 70 and they are nowhere near paying it off yet. In the past few years I have finally become financially stable and I want to take out a loan to pay the remainder of the contract off. I'm afraid if something were to happen to him, we would lose the whole property. We have had problems with the lender in the past and its almost like she's banking on getting the property back when my dad passes. I'm just wondering if I can take out the loan in the first place and if the lender could do anything to stop me from paying it off. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 08:32 AM PDT To unpack the title I recently landed a job just over 100 miles away from my current residence. I'm currently living in a friend's guest house for $600/month in Northern California where most rent is extremely expensive. Only income prior to employment is ~$1500/month from VA disability, which is fortunately barely covering expenses (rent, car payment, insurance, phone, groceries, and minimum credit card payments that are unfortunately nearly maxxed out). I'm very excited because I graduated in December 2019 and I've been looking for work ever since, a task that has been hobbled by the pandemic since late March. The outbreak killed every lead I was in the middle of pursuing, some of which I had gotten as far as a second interview. The benefit to the current position is that it is within a major hospital, so therefore is one of the few occupations resistant to the current situation. All things considered I'm very fortunate, but I would like very much to cut down the extensive drive time. It's a waste of time and very costly, even for a relatively fuel efficient vehicle (est. 30+ mpg). New job pays $42k/year. Rental in the job's vicinity is looking like $1250-$1600 for 1BD/1BA, sublet rooms from $500-900. From personal experience most if not all rentals require a minimum of x3 the rental amount in income, plus up to first/last/deposit. In addition this must be verifiable with provable history, but I don't know how much history is sufficient. A month? 6 months? Any advice is appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Investing in Index Funds categories Posted: 04 Jul 2020 02:02 PM PDT Hey, I would like to invest in multiple index funds, I'm thinking about VTSAX. But I also want to invest in some index funds regarding technology & gaming etc. Anyone knows some good index funds for those categories. I would appreciate any help [link] [comments]  |
| Are beater cars supposed to be broken when you buy them? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 06:12 AM PDT When I look on Craigslist, all the cars in my area that have a price under $3,000 have mechanical issues. Many of the ads say the key is missing or that the car needs to be towed because the engine or transmission doesn't work. It's really common to see advice that says you should buy a $1,000 car, so I wasn't expecting to see all these car issues in that price range. But are you supposed to have the beater car be fixed by a mechanic first? Doesn't that cost thousands? Even a tow can cost hundreds. If I have to spend say $2,000+ to repair the car, is that really worth it? But even a $3,000 car may cost thousands in repairs too...which is that case I'd pay over $5,000+. What should I do? [link] [comments]  |
| After stroke care - trying to help parents not go into debt Posted: 04 Jul 2020 09:35 AM PDT Hi. My mom had a major stroke in early May and has been in the hospital since. She has medicare and Medicaid (this one I'm not 100%, my step dad said it was extended due to covid) She is unmarried but lives with a long term boyfriend who is a farmer. She doesn't work, gets some kind of state funding but can't tell me how much income she receives. The hospital wants to discharge her and she is not ready to go home, but my stepdad cannot afford a nursing home without going into debt. Does anyone have any guidance on how to proceed? They live in Western New York. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 06:19 PM PDT I was about to purchase a FZROX, but I realized that the dividends aren't paid until the December of every year. This prevents me from using the dividends earned to be reinvested to earn more shares of the index fund. With a traditional index fund, I would be paid the dividend four times a year, and with Fidelity, I would be able to reinvest the dividends earned to ultimately earn more dividends. Obviously, the amount return from a dividend would be dependent on the cash amount of index fund purchased. So, if I had, say, $15,000 in my money management account with index funds, would the quarterly compounded reinvestment outweigh the expense ratio from having a traditional index fund? Or, would I be better off financially not paying an expense ratio but also not take advantage of reinvesting the quarterly earned dividend I'd get otherwise? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:59 AM PDT I wanted to buy a new Mobile phone and they said if I wanted to use the financing plan I had to pay $35 a month for 24 months. I asked if I could occasionally pay more than what was due some months to pay it off faster and they said if I paid anything over the set monthly amount I had to pay the full balance. Wouldn't they want ppl to pay things off faster? Is it just a tactic so there are more chances for them to get you to pay interest if you mess up one of the months? Whatever it is it's aggravating. Thanks everyone for your insight. Makes more sense now. Still aggravating lol. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a condo vs Renting an apartment at a young age Posted: 04 Jul 2020 12:59 PM PDT Hello! So I'm almost 19, and I've been living on my own for about a year now. The first few months were a real struggle, but now I've locked down a job and I feel comfortable. So currently, I'm paying $1275 a month for my apartment, with all utilities included. I haven't been here long, but for the quality and location of the place, it's not bad at all. But recently, my mom has been giving me some advice about what to do in the near future. She says that instead of shelling out the 1200 per month, I should buy a condo, and gradually pay it off over time. The idea is that the place will mature and gain value, then I can sell it 5 years down the line for a profit. You know, real estate stuff. It sounds like a good idea, but it also seems like a huge step to take at my age. If a friend had suggested this, I would have just dismissed it. But my mom has always been good with money and guiding me along, so I'm giving it a little more thought. She says that once I'm more settled, and able to afford at least 2k per month, it would be a good idea to buy a place in the neighbourhood of 300k. I have a few issues/questions about this that she couldn't answer, so I'm turning to you guys.
Obviously, I'm not currently in the position to take this step. But, within the next year or two, my mom thinks I'll be ready. Of course it comes down to personal discipline, but in general, does this sound like a good idea? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I commit to this solar contract? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 06:26 PM PDT So the offer is for a 2.9% financed loan on $15k solar panel system with 15 panels. No money down, $500 sign on bonus that is a 12 year commitment for $121.80 a month. They say my electrical bill will just be $7 and that ill just be paying that monthly ammount to the system. I use about 7,072 kw a year and 15 panels should cover that and then some no problem. I just fear the length of that contract and I wanted to to finance a new truck but think this would prevent me from doing so. Kind of one or the other, but not both, sort of deal just because my income isnt that much. I also want to make sure I wouldn't also still end up owing my electric company AND solar...to the tune of owing money to both, but that shouldn't happen unless im chewing up power that the panels don't cover right? Credit score is good and above 740 👍 but I just dont know if this is a smart move. Im being told rates in my area for electricity are going up and I did the math, it appears I spend on average $135 monthly on electricity. So ultimately not a bad move right? Anyone see anything wrong, appreciate the help. Edit: I also assume I would be eligible for the government's solar tax credit which is 26% of the units full cost off my taxes [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 03:33 PM PDT I don't know if this is the appropriate place, but it's a related sub I'm part of so why not start here. I think this follows the rules as well Basically, how should I make an estimate for a job offer if I get one? How do I form a range? I'm currently working part time as a grad student, with 2 potential offers coming. Hopefully that leads to some competition as well, since they're somewhat aware of the other application. But, part time grad student salary does not translate to full time very well. Nor are there many comparable jobs to begin with. One of the jobs had a listed salary range on the application. The other does not, which is the job I want to guess a range for. My approach so far has been translating my current hourly rate to full time, with COL area adjustment, and as alternative justification and estimation, adjusting the given range for the one job by COL for the other. Both jobs are very similar, a matter of practice vs theory. So, is that a reasonable method for a range? Are COL calculators fairly reasonable? Any HR people have feedback on whether this kind of methodology would be useful in arguing why you deserve that salary? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Refinance my car loan should i? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:09 PM PDT 2019 toyota 4runner limited. I owe about 39,813 left. Been paying 1yr on it Credit score 747 Maturity date 8/8/2025 4.89% @$728.7 per month. This was my first loan ever. Bought house in April. Should I call a credit union and refinance my loan? [link] [comments]  |
| How do you balance enjoying the present and saving for the future? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 11:39 AM PDT Kind of a long post, short version at the bottom. As the title says, I'm unsure of how to balance spending money now and saving for the future. I have been a saver since I was 5 years old. I moved to the US with my family when I was 10, I'm currently 25. Managed to put myself through college with minimal debt, which I paid off last year by living with my parents for a little while after graduating. I got a pretty good job making around $100k right out school(graduated spring 2019). I will have a very good future (financially speaking) if stay with my current employer, specially when you consider I live in a "cheap" area (Las Vegas). I put about $18k to my 401k per year (including employer's match), max out my Roth IRA, max out my HSA, and I'm on track to save another $20-25k that I will invest on my brokers account. I know I'm in a better position than most of my peers, and my entire family for that matter. I know there is a lot of people out there struggling, specially during these times, so I should be grateful to be in the position I'm currently in. The thing is I don't feel happy or satisfied by it. I already feel like I make more money than I need, I don't have any desire to move higher up in the corporate ladder, and I don't feel happy. There isn't anything in particular I look forward to. I've accomplished what my family, and I think a lot of people, consider the American dream at the age of 25, but it seems pretty empty to me. Before I graduated the idea of FIRE really appealed to me, now I'm not very sure that I want to work the next 10-15 years, without enjoying them too much, so that I can retire at 35 or 40. My problem is that I still (kind of) try to save as much as I can and I feel I could spend more money and enjoy my 20s a little more (I definitely didn't enjoy my early 20s as I was working multiple jobs and going to school). I have a lot of hobbies so is not like I just work, go home, then back to work. The thing is that I still hold back on spending money in some stuff because it seems like a missed opportunity. However, I'm not even sure what I want to do with the money I'm saving. I've always enjoyed travelling and I been doing a 2 week trip every year for the last couple of years. But two weeks don't seem like enough, I will like to learn more about different cultures and possibly live in another country. Is there anyone here that has quit a good paying job and good career potential to travel or do something they enjoyed more? Or is there anyone that decrease their saving rate for the sake of being able to enjoy the present a little more? I guess I'm hoping to hear from people that had the opportunity to safe aggressively to retire early and then decided is not worth it. SHORT VERSION: Immigrant kid making around $100k with no debt because he feels he is living the life that someone else will want. Instead I'll prefer to make less but feel like I'm enjoying my life a little more. Looking to see if there is anyone that has been in a similar situation. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 12:17 PM PDT Someone took our entire mailbox. yes, really. They took two checks that I had put in there at 4:30 AM on my way fishing. not a big deal to cancel those checks (already done), but we are now paranoid about some checks that we had put out yesterday: These included a large payment for tuition, and my Q2 estimated taxes to the state and feds. 80% sure that nobody messed with them, but to be on the safe side we cancelled the tuition check. What we dont know is what to do about our estimated taxes. We are sort of feeling like if someone is stupid enough to fraudulently cash a check to the government, that is on them -- and I can't imagine the hassle of cancelling these checks only to have the government send them though. So i am inclined to do nothing about these, even though they are sizable amounts. Any advice or counter-arguments? Edited to add: I really hate people. taking my whole mailbox, which i had set in concrete after the LAST time someone took my entire mailbox really burns me. But lesson learned-- no more checks in outgoing mail, ever! [link] [comments]  |
| What exactly can private student loans be used to pay for? Are there limits on them? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 03:33 PM PDT I'm an older student going back for a second Bachelors in Computer Science, and because my family paid for the entirety of my first Bachelors (with the caveat that I attend a university they picked, in a major they picked, which turned out to be worth less than the paper it was printed on, but that's a story for another day), I never had to take out loans and have no idea how student loans work. I'm aware that I can use them to pay for "living expenses" and "educational expenses" and I'm not entirely sure what that means, legally speaking. I'm going to Western Governors' University, and I'm in my second semester but I've racked up enough college credits that I'm technically a Sophomore. WGU has a system where you can go as fast or slow as you want so long as you can prove you know the material, and I'm blasting through my courses; right now I'm on track to finish my 'sophomore year' by the end of the month and start on my Junior year. I believe that if I can keep progressing with my education as fast as I'm currently going, I can graduate in under one year. I've done the math, and it looks like if I take out around $28k, I can cover both the cost of the college and all of my living expenses for a year (this covers rent, food, utilities, tuition, educational software licenses, school supplies, and some wiggle room in case I need tutoring via Pluralsight or CBTNuggets at $30/month). Does this look like a solid plan, or will most Student Loan companies frown on the idea of letting students borrow enough to finish a four year degree in one year? Additionally, can I legally do this, or are student loans to be used exclusively for tuition? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 04 Jul 2020 01:26 PM PDT This is my first time posting here, so I'm sorry for any breach of etiquette. Seriously, it's so bad it's become a running joke with my boyfriend and my friends. I have no idea where my all of my money goes, and any attempts I make at saving go nowhere. At the beginning of the year I had about $10k in credit card debt from when I was in college but couldn't get student loans. I've paid that down to around $6k now, and I'd like to be able to get some sort of savings started but I don't know where to start. I make about 27k a year, bring home around $1300 a month after taxes, and have about $7500 in a 401k. Any advice is very appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Amazon account keeps getting hacked Posted: 03 Jul 2020 01:19 PM PDT My amazon account keeps getting hacked and I can't figure out how to stop it. First it started with me noticing someone was using my account to leave reviews and ask questions about products. When I noticed, I changed my password and made sure to enable 2 step authentication. A few weeks later someone bought a bunch of $10 Xbox gift cards and it was caught by Amazon so they refunded the money. Again I changed my password. Then a week later someone bought more Xbox gift cards and it was not caught by amazon so I called their customer service. They advised me to dispute the charges with my credit card company as their loss prevention department is behind currently. I did this, changed my password to a randomly generated one, and changed the password to my email account associated with the amazon account. Today I see that someone has yet again made an unauthorized purchase and it was caught by Amazon. I'm close to just deleting my account because this is getting ridiculous. How can I keep this from happening again?? Edit: I'll answer common questions I've gotten here. No, I do not have an Alexa. Nor do I currently have any children and no children have accessed my phone. No one else uses or has been allowed access to my amazon account. I have accessed the account on both my phone and my laptop. I have removed my credit card from the amazon account and logged all devices on the account out, when I did this it only showed me as logged in to the account currently, no unknown devices. I'm 7 months pregnant so this is not due to me drinking too much or taking sleep medications and making purchases while inebriated. I receive 2FA notifications via text and they always come to me when prompted. I have not received random texts with authentication codes when I have not requested them. I don't have a carbon monoxide leak in my house. [link] [comments]  |
| Kid coming, what should I do with excess cash? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 11:00 AM PDT Wife (29) and myself (30) have some excess cash and i'm not exactly sure what to do with it. We're having a baby boy next month which I estimate will be about $2k out of pocket for birth expenses. We'd like to be able to buy an inexpensive rental property in the next 5 years. Current Situation: Income: I make 90k with 10% target bonus in a stable job at an essential company Wife's income is inconsistent right now but generally she makes about $30-$40k $1100 rental income for the next 11 months (will stop after that as we need the space for child) 5% contribution / 5% match to 401K I contribute $200/month to my Roth Wife contributes $200/month to her Roth My income covers the majority of our expenses, her income covers a small amount but most of it goes straight to savings. Assets: ~$60k cash (10-12 months of expenses in HCOL Area) ~52k in 401k / Roth IRA's Debt: 0 Credit Card debt, already paid off student loans ~24k in auto debt (0% on one with no benefit to paying off, 8k left on the other with a $300 benefit of paying off, i'd rather keep the liquid 8k) $458k in Mortgage (already adding $150 extra in principal every month) *** I know by this subs' standard we bought too much house. We're already in it, it's inexpensive for our area and the rental unit we built out of it has allowed us to save ~13k/year) There is obviously room for increasing contributions to retirement funds. My hesitation is the looming uncertainty of the general economy, the child coming into the picture, and my wife's inconsistent income from current conditions. I should note that childcare costs will be minimal, we live close to family and my wife makes her income working only 2-3 days per week. The question to me is do we keep our current cash liquid while investing more of our income for retirement, do we invest the current cash surplus with only a 5 year investment horizon assuming we do purchase a property, do we continue saving cash considering all circumstances, or a combination of these? My ideas (not mutually exclusive) : Hold cash, Increase 401K contribution to 10% Invest cash in regular brokerage account with 5 year horizon Hold cash in current HYSA (1.1%) considering current market conditions Hold cash in current HYSA and max out IRA's at the end of the year Max out IRA's right now and lose some liquidity TLDR: We have 10-12 months of expenses saved up but are having a child next month. What should we do with the excess funds with current economic conditions? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I consolidate my credit cards? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:59 PM PDT I bank with Wells Fargo and moved to a state a few years ago that has no Wells Fargo banks or even ATMs. I've been wanting to get a new bank, but I have two credit cards through WF and my fiancé (with whom I share an account) has one credit card of her own. I also have four other credit cards from other sources. In order to switch banks, I would prefer to have the credit cards consolidated so that I can 1) have all of the debt in one spot to pay off with just one APR to worry about and 2) be able to just have the one bank and one bank app to worry about instead of multiple places that I have to balance to keep paying off credit cards. I finally have a better paying job and I would like to tackle my debt and get it taken away. I'm concerned that a consolidated credit card would hurt my credit. I've tried to keep all of my cards at 30% use (one or two are over the 30%) so I'm worried that a consolidated credit card would hurt my credit score because of the amount. I'm new to trying to fix my credit situation so any advice is helpful. [link] [comments]  |
| Why have a savings account in a big named bank? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:48 PM PDT Interest is like only .03%, when you can get 1.30-2.30% having your dough in a money market. so why do most of people have their money in BA, Wells Fargo, chase or Citi?? [link] [comments]  |
| Got money from “State of Arizona Benefitpay” but I live in TX Posted: 04 Jul 2020 11:26 AM PDT This morning I got a deposit of $9,555 from State of Arizona Benefit pay but I live in TX and haven't ever applied for any benefits or government assistance. I'm sure it was a fluke, but I'm not sure what I should do, not to mention it's strange that someone had my account info especially since the routing number is for TX... Any help would be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| My roommate left and refuse to pay the lease and I can’t afford it by myself Posted: 04 Jul 2020 08:31 PM PDT So I've been renting this appartement for a few months now. My roommate and I have our names on the lease but he is stuck out of the country because of covid-19. I then had to bring people in to help me with the rent. Right now, the people who were helping me are leaving and my roommate won't help me pay the rent although as tenant it is his responsibility. I've been covering for him for about 4-5 months but right now I am stuck. I can't pay the whole rent by myself. I'm considering just leaving. On the lease, I signed an aggreement to pay X money in case of early termination. I didn't have to deposit anything upon signing. Will Landlord be able to take that money from my bank account? Can I just leave without paying anything? What do I risk? [link] [comments]  |
| How much should I put into my savings account? Posted: 04 Jul 2020 08:29 PM PDT Hello, I would like any advice on how much money I should put in my savings accounts and also how much I should have in my checkings account? Some basic info: I literally just opened a savings account lol, 21 yr old. Employed. Have a little over 9k in checkings account. Any advice would be great, thanks! [link] [comments]  |
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