Personal Finance I just signed up for my first credit card, but someone opened two cards under my name 3 years ago... And they've been using it properly, so my credit score is already pretty good??? |
- I just signed up for my first credit card, but someone opened two cards under my name 3 years ago... And they've been using it properly, so my credit score is already pretty good???
- Retirement - I’m way behind but things have improved.
- If my family's tax accountant is refusing to provide me with 100% of my tax documents so that I can do my own taxes, what should I do?
- Sister owes $14k in back taxes because of my other sister. Help please.
- Lots of legal/financial mail being sent to my address with random names
- Denied Refinance
- Roommates moved out yesterday and canceled the electricity. How long do I have until my power goes off?
- Should I aggressively save up for a down payment right now?
- Renting can be AWESOME!
- 2.9% over 20 years or 2.6% over 30 years
- Am I being unreasonable?
- Advice request; want to buy a house, no credit
- First Time Car Buyer Needing Advice
- Physicians Mortgage and Credit Questions
- Pay cut questions
- Building Home Cheaper Than Renting?
- Can I cancel an “Extended Warranty” / Service Contract for a car I just bought?
- Base+ commission, boss wants to expand my territory. Should I ask for a bump in base?
- Does a really bad credit score reduce your chances of identity theft?
- Starting to work for my uncle as an independent contractor on a family project. How should I do this?
- Liquidate Company Stock to Prepay Mortgage?
- Thoughts on this “Financial Flowchart” List for Retirement
- Lab charging for test that doctor said I was covered for
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 01:08 PM PDT I'm kinda confused. I guess I should report and close the other cards, but... will closing them affect my credit score? Should I close them? And why would someone do this anyways? Or could I be mistaken about this being identity theft? EDIT: After finding out that they were authorized accounts, we noticed that my birth mother's address was listed on the report, so I took a shot and contacted her, and... https://i.imgur.com/2wnKQub.jpg Thanks for the help, y'all. Go hug your moms. [link] [comments]  |
| Retirement - I’m way behind but things have improved. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:40 AM PDT It was not until I reached 40 years old that I realized that investing 40 grand in student loans on a music performance degree was not worth it for me. My five part time jobs were starting to crumble and debt was climbing. That is when I pulled the trigger and got a full time job twice in other fields. Five years later I put everything that I saved thru 401ks into an IRA. This was only 22k. Now I have a state job that forces you to put $350 a month toward retirement and they match the entire amount. Point of my post is that retirement is scary when you are not in your twenties or thirties anymore and realize that you didn't do much to secure your future. Perhaps others have had a similar experience that they could share or have ideas on how I could improve things even more. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:38 AM PDT My father paid an accountant to do my taxes since I turned 18 twenty years ago. After my father's death, the accountant claimed that my father instructing him to continue to be my accountant. For the last 3 years, though, I told the accountant that I want to do my taxes my own and to please give me all of the tax documents that he has. For some reason, there are 2 essential tax documents that end up in his hands and never in mine. I'm not sure what kind of an arrangement he had with my father. Despite my repeated requests, the tax accountant refused to give me those essential documents and, instead, snapped at me that my tax return is complicated and that if I make a mistake I'll be audited and that I should be happy that his services are free for me. He didn't even provide me with a copy of my 2018 tax return unto Tax Day 2020 (despite repeated requests to remind him). I managed to get access to one of the tax documents that he has, but the other form, the K1 that he has, he hasn't given me. I did not authorize him this year to do my taxes. I didn't sign the authorization form, yet he went ahead and filed an extension for me and told me that he wants me to mail him all of the tax documents so that he can do my taxes. I have no idea how he was able to file an extension if I have some of the tax documents that he needs to accurately fill out the extension form. Obviously, he doesn't want me to do my own taxes and anytime I email him that I want to do them on my own, he either snaps back or it calls on deaf ears. I can't do my taxes without 100% of the tax documents that have the information I need to complete the tax return. To add more backstory in case it's necessary context, my father was very toxic, controlling and never wanted me to be autonomous or independent. He and I were estranged for 5 years before his death. What should I do to regain my financial freedom and to get those essential K1 forms that he has which should be in my possession? Or should I let him do my taxes yet again this year? [link] [comments]  |
| Sister owes $14k in back taxes because of my other sister. Help please. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 01:56 PM PDT Neither of my sisters are redditors so I am posting for them. Also, I don't know if this better belongs on r/legaladvice so I'll post there if it's better. I have a sister with a home business (Let's call her Emily). In 2014 Emily sold a lot of things for her business and used PayPal for the financials but she couldn't make her product fast enough and people complained and asked for refunds and she was banned on PayPal. She lied and told my other sister (Let's call her Debra) that paypal was being weird and asked if she could use her PayPal account. Debra didn't realize this was bad and agreed. Emily made a lot of money using Debra's PayPal. Emily never paid taxes on her earnings. IRS is coming after Debra for $14k. Debra didn't know any of this until her husband's complete income tax return was taken by IRS. Debra called IRS and they explained the PayPal situation. Emily said she's willing to take responsibility...but how? Can Emily sign something saying it's her responsibility? Is there a specific type of lawyer Debra can speak to? Any info would help. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Lots of legal/financial mail being sent to my address with random names Posted: 08 Aug 2020 01:34 PM PDT I've owned my house for 4 years. Within the last few months I've been getting 1-3 spam letters a week that are seemingly legal or financial related based on the from addresses. It is addressed to my address but every letter has a different random name. This screams fraud to me but I don't know what to do. My wife and I both have our credit frozen since Equifax and don't see anything weird on our reports. We've tried to get USPS to filter mail for our last name but they only did it for about a month. Previous years I've received mail for the two previous owners (renter/landlord) who I don't have contact with so I would always return to sender with a note that they no longer live at our address. Going into the third year I continued getting mail for the previous owners and gave up and just started trashing them. These spam letters I'm getting now though are random names I don't recognize or see a pattern for. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:53 PM PDT I got locked into this car in 2018. Back then, my finances were a mess and so was my credit. I was urgently in need of a car so I went to JD Byrider (first mistake). The vehicle itself was overpriced and they gave me almost 25% interest. In desperation, I signed off on it. Fast Forward to a full 2 years later: I still owe $10,800 on this car. Credit Karma values the car itself at $3,200. A 2012 Chrysler 200. My credit and my income is in great shape, and I've paid off all debts other than the rest of this auto loan. Credit Karma keeps recommending that I refinance the loan, saying that I can take the almost $5k interest down to only $500. Effectively lowering my payments by almost $90 a/mo. I'm currently doing biweekly payments of $204 plus their "insurance fee" of $40 biweekly. Plus basic liability coverage from allstate for $140 a month. I know, it's all terrible. So I applied for their recommended refinance and within 24 hours I was denied. No reason given. I applied for a different one and was denied before officially applying. I just applied for rate genius and I'm hoping they take it but I expect that to be denied as well. Doing some research, I believe my loan is "underwater" or "upside down". Which makes sense, given how bad my dealership took advantage of my desperation. Is there any way to remedy this situation to save me money? Or do I have to wait to refinance until what I owe is less than the car's value? I really don't want to stay in this contract through another $7,000. Thanks for taking the time to read! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 02:04 PM PDT Like the title says my roommates moved out yesterday and set the electricity to end that day as well (it was in their name). I didn't get a chance to call yesterday to transfer service and customer service to set up new service(phone call is required) is not available on weekends. Basically I just want to know if I should expect my power to go off sometime before Monday morning when I can get someone on the phone? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I aggressively save up for a down payment right now? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:12 AM PDT TLDR; should I aggressively save up in the next 2-3 years for a condo, or slowly save up for 10ish years to buy a more permanent home? Hello! I (21f) recently graduated and make about 85k. I have literally no expenses (I live at home so I don't pay rent, and I have no debt), but I spend maybe $300 per month. So, theoretically, I could have around $50k per year in my savings if I lived at home, after taxes and after contributing to my 401k. I live in the Bay Area, where housing is super expensive. I'm considering these 2 options: 1) Does it make sense for me to save aggressively for like 3 years for a down payment on a 2 bedroom condo with the plan to rent out one room? Of course, I would pick a place I can afford on my own out in the suburbs, but it would definitely be cheaper than renting if I were able to find someone to rent out one room. This wouldn't be a permanent place, but I have no plan to leave the Bay Area, so I wouldn't have an issue with living somewhere for 5-8 years or more. In the next couple years, I could probably save up $100k-$130k for a downpayment, with leftover money for closing costs and emergency home repairs and whatnot. This is what I would prefer to do, but I would like to know if there's something I'm missing. 2) Does it make more sense to save up slowly for about 10 years for a down payment until I can afford a home that I would want to live in forever? If I went this route, I could save $50k for the first year, and then move out of my parents house and I'd probably be saving like $15k per year (probably more but that's a conservative guess) for the next decade. In this scenario, I would be waiting till I'm married and would be relying on two incomes, so I could afford a better house. But it would take significantly longer to save up for a down payment once I'm out of my parents house and renting Is there any reason not to do Option 1 and save aggressively for 2-3 years? Assuming I can afford a 2 bedroom condo and plan to stay there for years, is it bad that I would be buying a home I don't plan on living in forever? What are the upsides and downsides? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:22 AM PDT |
| 2.9% over 20 years or 2.6% over 30 years Posted: 08 Aug 2020 04:50 PM PDT So I am thinking of changing my mortgage from 2.89 $1320 a month to 2.6 $970 a month. The $970 is 30 years when the $1320 is 20 years. My LTV is 50%. My thinking is 2 fold As money is so cheap why not lower the payments take the $300 extra and invest It in betterment which I really use. Then second to this if anything did happen I could cut the investment and lower my payments not that I intend to do this. I have no debt beyond my car at 1.9% and all 401k's is maxed. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:15 PM PDT Not sure if this belongs here but. My mother and I live in a 2 bedroom that's a little more than $1,800/month. I just turned 18 and the plan was for me to go off to college and she not renew the lease and rent a room elsewhere until she can save and buy another house. Obviously that has been put on hold due to Covid. She's been struggling to find work and is backed up about $4,000 on the rent. She can not afford the rent to begin with. She works all day sat/sun at a nursing home and works a $11/hr agency job a couple hours a week Mon-Fri which has been unstable and rocky. I turned 18 not too long ago and was able to secure a position that pays a little more than $2000/month. My mother asked me to contribute $400 to the rent a month which I am fine with because 1)it's a drop in the bucket 2)she has sacrificed more than enough for me so it is the least I can do. But I have been trying to convince her to not renew the lease. She is planning on paying $3,000 this month to catch up on payments but after that the rent will still be a struggle because she cannot afford it by herself. I am fine with contributing more and I know she will most likely ask for more but I have been suggesting that we should consider moving to a cheaper apartment or perhaps a 1 bedroom just to get back on our feet a little. Every time I mention it it's a screaming match. She's scared and constantly argues "Well what's the sense in saving an extra $200-$300 just to start over somewhere else?". I have been trying to explain that the money we would be saving can benefit us greatly but she is adamant on renewing the lease next month. What would be my next course of action from here? How can I convince her? Is it unreasonable to move in the midst of all this? Side note: In addition to trying to save up money I also strived for the job I have now to save up for a car and pay for college since my parents can't afford it. We've also been having arguments about transportation for me to work and my mother is pressuring me to get a car soon as well which I am working on. I just don't feel it's worth it for us to contribute money to a place that is DEFINITELY not worth $1800. I could be contributing to college/getting a car if we downsize to a cheaper place or one bedroom. Any advice is greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Advice request; want to buy a house, no credit Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:36 AM PDT My wife and I would like to buy a house, but we just found out she has no credit. Not bad credit, but no credit. She is an immigrant who has never had a loan or debt. She has been on my credit card for several years, and I thought this was building her credit, but I was wrong. What can we do to get approval for our loan or build up her credit fast? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| First Time Car Buyer Needing Advice Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:51 PM PDT I am 25 years old, I have no credit. I have worked at Occidental petroleum for 2 years and I have been looking for a new vehicle for the last 6 months and I found a used 2018 Toyota Tundra about a month ago and I went to the dealership today because I decided I wanted it. The original price of the vehicle was $38,965 but we got it down to to $35,564. I am putting $15,000 down plus my trade in which is valued at $5,500, so the total amount I'm putting down is $20,500. After all the fees and taxes the loan amount came out to $17,897 and I would pay this off in 36 months which put my monthly payments between $650-$700. I DID NOT SIGN FOR THIS VEHICLE because that seemed high. The salesman and finance manager also wouldn't tell me what the interest was. I said I would like to see what Wells Fargo would charge for that loan because it's who I bank through and they said they tried to run it through Wells Fargo but it was declined (I'm not sure if I believe them though because I have enough in my Wells Fargo account to pay cash for that truck, I'm just wanting the loan so I can establish my credit). I ran the amounts they told me through a few interest rate calculators online and they came out to be around 26% interest which seems crazy to me. My question is, does this all seem to check out for a first time car buyer with no credit? And if so, what can I do to get my interest rate lower? TLDR; Buying a used vehicle, Loan is $17,897 and the monthly payments will be $650-$700. Does this seem right for first time car buyer with no credit? [link] [comments]  |
| Physicians Mortgage and Credit Questions Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:36 PM PDT I'm looking at getting pre approval for a 30 year fixed mortgage. I've sent emails to 3 different lenders. I asked 2 about a physicians loan and 1 about a Standard loan. As I understand it, the physician loans are supposed to have a higher interest rate, but you can put less money down, and you don't have PMI. Traditional Loans are lower, but you pay a PMI The loan estimates for the physician loan were 2.85% ($2,696/mth) and 3.25% ($2,828/mth). Then the traditional quote was 2.65% ($2,623/mth) with a PMI of $412/month (Total $3,035/mth) The traditional loan doesn't seem worth it against either of the other lenders. Am I misunderstanding how this works? Are there more back end fees? It feels a bit too good to be true. My questions:
[link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:35 PM PDT Hello all, thanks in advance for reading my post. I've been working at a private university for the past year as a part-time instructor. I received an email a few days ago with an attachment regarding changes to be made this upcoming year that requires my signature to indicate my participation this upcoming school year. I had been told previously about some of them, but what came as a surprise is that one of the terms is a 20% pay cut. This was a shock as there was no talk about any pay changes any of the several times changes were to be made. While I've been told I could improve certain aspects of my teaching, I'm also praised by my superiors quite a lot...the feedback regarding improvements seem more of a constructive criticism rather than something I'm actually doing wrong, unless I'm completely misreading the situation. While I'm not able to see who this email was sent to, I do believe it's across the board (it discusses pay differences for different levels of education....a masters, two masters, a PhD, etc). I may be wrong---though that doubt may just be paranoia. Now I've never approached a boss about pay before. How should I handle this? Should I even bother since I should be happy I have a well paying job during the pandemic? Or should I push that I'm the only one that can teach my subject and demand something (less of a or no pay cut?)? My instinct tells me I should take the middle ground and ask my superior and ask why this is happening, but even if that's the optimal choice, how would you recommend I go about that? I appreciate in advance any help you all provide. I've lurked a long time but this is the first major situation that's hit me that I'm not confident in how to deal with. [link] [comments]  |
| Building Home Cheaper Than Renting? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:01 PM PDT Good afternoon everyone! Sorry if this is a long one. So my fiancé and I are both 24. We are currently living with my parents and saving 95%+ of our incomes in order to move out eventually. Currently have ~$40k in our savings and that is steadily growing each month by about $4500. We have been looking around at places to move to but near us, Bergen county NJ or the NYC suburbs. We have a dog and both love the outdoors, apartments near us are renting for approximately $1400-$1500/month plus electric, gas, and a dog fee ranging from $50-$150. We bring home after taxes roughly $5k per month, it varies as my fiance's a yoga instructor and her income fluctuates, mine is stable. Our max budget for housing is $1,450/month which is going to be tough unless we want to live in a very unsightly neighborhood. So we began to look for single family house, as we're planning on being here for a few years and I'm interested in owning a rental property once we decide to move. Unfortunately the only homes in our area under $200k are homes needing quite a bit of work or are being sold strictly to contractors which should tell you everything you need to know. So this crazy idea pops into my head last week! Why don't we buy land and build our own house just over the border in NY State? I've found some properties between 0.25-0.5 acres selling for between $20-$30k. Since this HAS to be on a budget, we would love the build an A-frame home on the property, we even found plans online from a company called Ayfraym and absolutely adore their design. The company states that the structure can be built for roughly $250k which I feel is a bit low but nonetheless appealing. Now the blueprints can be bought for $295 and I can give them to an architect for their approval, state of NY requires and engineer or architects approval for permit reasons. Now I would definitely cut back on some of the splurging that has been built into this structure. They call for 41 windows, 10-15 of them are skylights and 3 of those are custom built. Those can all go bye-bye, except for maybe one small skylight in the master bedroom and kitchen. They also designed a massive front deck that I have no use for. Concrete countertops and sinks are throughout the house which I would replace with tile or a butchers block counter. Cabinets would most likely be Ikea(on sale) with all electric appliances, possibly used or with a limit of $5k for all appliances(fridge, dishwasher, oven/stovetop, washer/dryer). I will stick to the basics and nothing flashy, not even a driveway yet. I will diy as much as possible, whole house floors, painting, outlets/switches, crown molding(if any), light fixtures, you know all the little stuff. I will work with a contractor but will inform them that I will buy all the materials in order to further cut down on costs. My budget for this would be approximately $120k-$140k not including the land. If a loan is taken out for the project I believe the monthly payments should be under our $1450/month limit and may even allow us to get a 20 year rather than 30 year. Due to it being an A-Frame I know it's resale value won't be as high and I'm aware of all the downsides of an A-frame but it's what we're comfortable with and feel we can afford. How crazy is this idea? I feel as though it could work and my parents would allow us to live at their house until contruction is finished, therefore saving even more. My logic is that rent and junk homes are so expensive in my area that taking a loan for max $200k might still put me ahead seeing how the place will be brand new and not need work for at least another 15-20 years while being in our monthly budget. [link] [comments]  |
| Can I cancel an “Extended Warranty” / Service Contract for a car I just bought? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:17 PM PDT Long story short, I bought a car last week and I opted to purchase an extended warranty / service contract. I was a bit overwhelmed when buying because my old car died and I needed a new one quickly. I originally declined the service contract but relented when they made it more affordable. Low and behold I signed it not realizing my financing term was extended from what we discussed, 60 months to 72. The service contract doesn't seem worth it. I have read online I can cancel but I live in PA and am not sure. Thanks for any help and yes, I know I should read things more closely before signing. [link] [comments]  |
| Base+ commission, boss wants to expand my territory. Should I ask for a bump in base? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:17 AM PDT To clarify, the territory expansion is really adding a new vertical to the same customers, so I will definitely have more responsibilities. Obviously I have the opportunity to make more commission, but it will definitely add work to my plate. Should I ask for an increase in my base also? [link] [comments]  |
| Does a really bad credit score reduce your chances of identity theft? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:37 PM PDT I mean it seems like common sense that it would make you less desirable to most thieves but I can't seem to find any answer or even discussion about it when I Google it. The results are just endlessly littered with credit repair services that just say you are equally in danger no matter what your credit score is. I mean of course they're not gonna tell you not to give them money. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:52 PM PDT I'm about to leave my job because my fiancee got a great new job in Texas. In order to help me out (and help him out with a family related project that he's been putting off for a while), my uncle is paying me a monthly flat rate for the next few months. I've always worked for a company and done the whole W-4 thing... I'm totally new to the idea of being an "independent contractor." My uncle says he'll do "whatever is best for me" in terms of paying me, but I have no concept of what that actually is. I've researched tax forms and LLCs and all sorts of stuff but I'm really not sure if I'm looking at the right things. So my basic questions are: - What is the best way for my uncle to pay me? Should I invoice him for work (it's a set amount per month, not an hourly wage)? Would Venmo be okay? Or should I ask for a check? - It seems like I will need to withhold tax money on my own (I'm thinking of setting 30% of the pay aside for tax purposes, will that be enough?). Do I need to pay quarterly? - Is there any reason to register as an LLC in Texas for this sort of thing? I have a friend in Ohio who does independent contractor work and registered as an LLC to cut his state income taxes, but Texas doesn't have those anyway. Are there other reasons for doing this? - I'll be working from my home, and there are "home office deductions" for people who conduct their business from home. Would I qualify for that? I'm just generally unsure about all this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TLDR: wut is "independent contractor" pls [link] [comments]  |
| Liquidate Company Stock to Prepay Mortgage? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:51 AM PDT Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Have about $650K accumulated in company stock (all in a single name). Making ongoing contributions to 401k with employer match. Mortgage has about $275K remaining in principal with ~3.5K monthly payment. With COVID and potential long-term market headwinds, wondering if now might be a good time to pull some out to pay down the mortgage? Have also been looking at diversifying into a total-market fund or index ETFs regardless of whether or not I decide to prepay. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on this “Financial Flowchart” List for Retirement Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:28 AM PDT Here's what I think would be most ideal. I'd appreciate any thoughts/comments.
I realize the general consensus is to go back and max out the 401k completely after maxing out the Roth IRA, but I'm just not a big fan of the limitations and plan management fees that come along with it. Why pay a 0.5%-1% annual management fee with limited choice when the tax drag of a Taxable Account is usually the same 0.5%-1% annually? In addition, the capital gains tax rates of a Taxable Account are much more favorable than ordinary income tax rates for a 401k, so I like to leave it at just the match. Also, not even going to get into RMD's and other limitations of the 401k which will have a huge tax cost in retirement rather than only pulling what you need. [link] [comments]  |
| Lab charging for test that doctor said I was covered for Posted: 08 Aug 2020 02:15 PM PDT I had some blood work done for some stomach issues, and one of the tests was not covered. I am pretty sure I asked my doctor if these tests would be covered, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. Now I am being billed by the lab, and I don't feel like I should have to pay for it. Especially considering the test found nothing. Do I have an option in this scenario? [link] [comments]  |
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