Personal Finance The biggest mistake I made when it comes to 401k and employer match |
- The biggest mistake I made when it comes to 401k and employer match
- I saved 88% on coffee insurance by switching to Panera (from Starbucks)
- Is being “better off” financially really worth it in my 20’s if I have to sacrifice happiness? Looking for advice from all, but I would especially like to hear from older people.
- What's the point of Chase Sapphire Reserve now? (Freedom card updates)
- 401k contribution advice
- How does my budget look? 23 year old fresh grad
- Better to invest $25 every two weeks or $50 a month?
- What is the best way to pay for a surgery in my situation?
- Saw a new (to me) real estate scam with red flags out the wazzoo
- Paid taxes through CreditKarma, received letter from IRS stating I owe them still
- $50 Amazon card from 711 peel already peeled off, stuck back on and code completely scratched off to the white of the card.
- Help! Over contributed to Roth IRA
- Automatic Envelope Savings / Qapital Alternative?
- Broken wrist with no health insurance?
- Telling Progressive I’m a college grad saves me $15/month in car insurance premiums
- Second Credit Card Denied Because "Excessive obligations in relation to income", Have No Debt Though
- Why do loan payments include interest if it hasn't accrued yet? And why doesn't the payment go down when the principle is reduced?
- Employer 401k, at a loss if I’ve wasted my time?
- Credit Karma has been sending constant spam ever since selling out to Intuit. Any good alternatives?
- I've been invited to join a sketchy moneymaking opportunity...
- University Rep Wants Me to Switch from Vanguard to AXA
- Just discovered $77k in CC debt, considering what to do
- Overwhelmed by debt and interest
| The biggest mistake I made when it comes to 401k and employer match Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:16 AM PDT tldr: The annual 401k contribution limit does NOT include employer matched contributions. The annual 401k contribution limit in 2020 is $19,500. I had always thought Employee contributions plus Employer Contributions had to be less than $19,500. This is incorrect. The $19,500 limit is just on Employee Contributions. The 401k limit for Employee contributions plus Employer contributions is $57,000 in 2020. Some simple math to help understand. Salary: $100,000 Employer Match: Dollar for Dollar Up to 10% I only opted my 401k for 10% of my paycheck because $10,000 employee + $10,000 employer > $19,500. In actuality, I could have opted in 19.5% of my paycheck. I wasted 9.5% of pre-tax dollars by thinking I had already hit my limit for the year. Hopefully some of you can learn from my mistake. [link] [comments]  |
| I saved 88% on coffee insurance by switching to Panera (from Starbucks) Posted: 02 Sep 2020 12:26 PM PDT *Not an ad. I don't work for anyone but myself. I am a freelance writer, and coffee is my savior. While I do most of my work in the early morning hours at home, I often go to what I call a "mobile office" a few days a week. This was usually either Starbucks or Panera. That turned out to be a problem, but I didn't realize it. Coffee is freakin expensive. In general, a non-black coffee (specialty drinks) at Starbucks would cost someone around $5 a pop. If I worked there four days a week, that's $20 a week and a whopping $1,040 a year. Hello, that's IRA money. That's tires on a vehicle. Hell, that's just money that could go somewhere else. If I bumped that down to a black coffee, around $2.40 I think, that would be around $9.60 a week or approximately $500 a year. Much more reasonable, but still a bunch of money. Panera was the same way. Get a black coffee for around $2.40. However, now Panera has a monthly coffee subscription for $8.99. Let me tell you, this has SAVED me money. With their subscription, you can get:
By working there four days a week and based on my regular work/coffee consumption, I spend around $0.56 per visit on coffee, but I refill it around four times.
What I find now, though, is that I go there every day and get coffee, even on non-workdays, and I do not spend any more on food than I would have regularly (which is almost never). I also have business meetings regularly at Panera, so I actually pay for two subscriptions. That way, both my guest and I can have unlimited coffee while we chat or work. I swear, this is not a Panera ad, but it is much calmer to do my work in Panera than at Starbucks. I still venture to the Bucks every now and then, but it is rare. Find ways to save money where you can. This worked for me because I already had a routine that revolved around Starbucks and Panera in the afternoons. Edit: This post triggered a bunch of people who think they're elite for not drinking coffee and saving more money than me. Listen, I can afford this habit regardless, but why wouldn't I take advantage of savings where I could? Edit 2: I DO BREW AT HOME. I work at home from 5am to 10am, but the afternoons at home are too hectic and filled with distractions. Listen, I can afford to buy coffee. The personal finance of this for me was finding a way to make it even more affordable. Edit 3: My Panera is set up with additional plugs and areas for people to work, so you can stop saying I'm being a nuisance. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2020 09:08 PM PDT I had a god damn novel written out here, but you know what they say. Why waste time say lot word, when few word do trick? I'm going to make a long story short(er) and just answer questions that may pop up. I'm 26, I'm a nurse, and I'm burnt the fuck out. But I really need you to trust me when I say my job is as good as it gets as far as bedside goes, and switching jobs in my field is NOT going to make me happier (I've worked in both hospital and office nursing, they both fucking suck for their own reasons). I am currently thinking about going down to 30 hours per week (right now I work four 10 hour shifts, currently looking to do two 12 hour shifts one week, and three 12 hour shifts the next week for a total of 60 hours per pay check). I have little debt (just federal student loan and car), I contribute 10% to my 401k with a 5% company match. Cutting my hours will just mean cutting into my disposable income and the amount I contribute to personal savings. I will still contribute 10% to my 401k and keep my 5% match benefit, but obviously the amount that gets contributed will be reduced. I get a 3% raise yearly and plan on bumping my 401k contribution up by that 3% every time I get a raise. My take home will go from $3,200/month, to $2,400/month. My savings and disposable income will be reduced, but with my free time I do plan on trying to make some money off of my hobbies (crocheting and sewing). I already did a test run of this during peak covid when I voluntarily elected to reduce my hours to 30 hours per week. I was leagues happier not spending majority of my days at work and I survived just fine on the reduced check. I can keep working four 10 hour shifts and have more money to contribute to savings and retirement, but will remain resentful and exhausted. Or I can reduce my time around the only stressor in my life, I can spend more time doing things I love, and spend more time being happy while I'm young and life is otherwise great. This still ended up being a novel, but oh well. Thanks for reading! [link] [comments]  |
| What's the point of Chase Sapphire Reserve now? (Freedom card updates) Posted: 03 Sep 2020 07:42 AM PDT Starting on 9/13 (just got an email), Chase Freedom Unlimited is updating their point rewards to:
No annual fee. I also have a Chase Sapphire Reserve for dining and travel, but with these updated perks and lack of an annual fee, what's the point of keep the Saphire Reserve? (I haven't received any updates on the Reserve benefits, have you?) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2020 04:35 PM PDT With a $65,000 salary, how much should I be contributing to my 401K? Should I aim to put in the maximum I can each month? [link] [comments]  |
| How does my budget look? 23 year old fresh grad Posted: 03 Sep 2020 06:22 PM PDT I have about 10k in savings bonds continuing to mature at about 2.5%. They are mature, but will still grow for a couple more years. I have about 45k in federal student loans with a normal rate of about 7.7%. I have another 20k in federal loans in my name at a less than 2% rate, so I've been ignoring those to tackle the 7.7% loans. I live at home with little expenses. Gross Income - 3.4k a month before taxes I have 4k in checking and about 7k in savings Expenses / Dispersement
I'll be going back to school on my company's dime for an MBA next year. Should I hold back on savings / my Roth and dump more into my loans? Should I cash my bonds and put them towards my student loans? I feel like $500 to savings may be too much since I live stably at home. How am I doing for being 23? I've been working for about 6 months, so I'm just getting started. I'm waiting on contributing to my 401K until my company match kicks in. I hope to max that when it does. I know the car expenses seem high, but I count it as a necessity as well as an entertainment expense. I'm into cars, so it keeps me sane. I feel like I'm poor / not doing great, but I've never really had a budget like this before. Please let me know. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Better to invest $25 every two weeks or $50 a month? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 05:53 PM PDT I'm an 18 year old new investor with money I want to put aside for a long time. I'm investing my money into a tech heavy fund. In terms of dollar cost averaging would it be smarter to invest $25 every two weeks or $50 a month. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| What is the best way to pay for a surgery in my situation? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 04:09 PM PDT Ok so i had a job with insurance but since covid i got laid off so now im without insurance. I need to have urgent eye surgery asap, i can wait about a month tops to do it. Im 68 and am not sure what tthe best way to pay would be. My employer said i could use cobra and continue my work insurance, or i can start medicare, or i can pay out of pocket in installments. I plan to go back to work in the future so idk if using medicare will affect that, im not really sure what to do i hope someone can point me in the right direction Im not sure which option is best, i dont have experience doing this so far. [link] [comments]  |
| Saw a new (to me) real estate scam with red flags out the wazzoo Posted: 03 Sep 2020 07:50 PM PDT I was window shopping homes online and I saw a listing whose price was so far out of the ordinary that I was certain it was a listing mistake. Then I read the description. See the album for the actual text of the listing. This scam blows me away. The objective appears to be to steal a $7000 deposit from a hurried buyer by making that buyer think they have found the deal of a lifetime. It must be a scammer listing a house they have no connection to. The listing instills a sense of urgency give your $7000 deposit - you must be the first one to get such a good deal. The requirement that you be a first time homebuyer seems reasonable given the usual focus on first time homebuyers but it serves to draw in those who haven't been through the homebuying process before. Those new homebuyers might not recognize all of the other red flags in the listing. The red flags that I spot right off the bat are: 1. No lawyers, inspectors, realtors, brokers, etc.
What other red flags do you spot? [link] [comments]  |
| Paid taxes through CreditKarma, received letter from IRS stating I owe them still Posted: 03 Sep 2020 05:04 PM PDT I paid my taxes back in April, the 6th to be exact. I filed in February but didn't take advantage of the filing delay as I had no need to. Long story short, I received a letter from the IRS stating I owe the exact amount I paid. I did so through the CreditKarma app and went on to the IRS website through it as well to pay my taxes. I have the screenshot to show the debit from my account as well as my return showing I filed and it had been accepted. I already emailed CreditKarma, as they have no customer service number to contact. I'm hoping they resolve this rather quickly as I want to avoid any penalties that could become attached to my "bill." Any advice as to what my best steps are? I can't call anyone, especially the IRS since they are experiencing "high call volume" at this time. I'm just hoping CreditKarma refunds me and I can just pay with that. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2020 07:02 PM PDT It is not a great picture but this is how the code looked when I took it out right after purchasing it and took off the already peeled off peel that was stuck back on. Last half of code completely scratched out by someone. https://imgur.com/a/8CTPNop Bought a 50$ Amazon gift card from 711 last night and to my suprise when I pulled out the card from the cardboard sleeve the peel was already peeled off and stuck back on and the last 5 numbers/letters of the code were scratched out so much so that it was down to the white paper of the card like someone scratched it out on purpose and then stuck it back in to make it look like nothing on the cardboard sleeve was tampered with. I phoned 711 and they told me to come back today when the manager was back in the morning. So I go back this morning and the manager says maybe you scratched it off by accident despite the last 4 - 5 digits of code clearly being scratched down to the white cardboard by someone, they gave a number to phone to get a new pin and when I went home and called they said you have to be with the manager at the store to confirm everything and they couldn't do anything with out the manager present. So I go back to 711, he gets on the phone with the person and apparently the system pin number doesnt match the card for the item and claimed you have to contact amazon to give you a new code. I contacted Amazon I told them what happened and different people at customer service were being really shitty and just sending me through loopholes telling me I have to go get a new card from 711 or they can't do anything about it when it literally says on the Amazon website "If your Amazon.ca Gift Cars Claim Code is scratched off or can't be clearly read, you can contact us with the 16 or 30-digit number on the back of the card", however there is only a pair of 11 number on the top of the Barcode and 31 on the bottom. They told me it was too long and asked me if there were any other numbers on the card, they tried punching in the numbers and still couldn't find the card. I eventually made my way through 3 different customer service people on the phone at Amazon which were all foreign and I could barely understand them, they literally had to say G as in George or C as I'm Charlie for me to understand them. The first customer service worker at Amazon told me that they would call me back after I sent the screenshots of my card and the receipt, which they never called back, the second Lady just kept talking over me and wouldn't listen properly, she kept blabbing and saying everything you need is on the card despite me saying the code was completely scratched of, and then she goes on to tell me that I need to go back to 711 for them to give me a new one, at this point I was so frustrated I just hung up on her. The third customer service person was by far the most helpful but when they check the code they couldnt locate the card or do anything about it so they forwarded me to Escalation at Amazon gift card and I sent them a clear screenshot of the back of the card and the receipt and I'm hoping they are going to give my money back. At this rate I am guessing the person that scratched it out already drained the card. I know the card was tampered with because I've purchased Amazon card many times and I have never had this problem, and you can clearly see that the last 4 - 5 digits were purposely scratched out to the white part of the card. The code was not stuck to any glue or anywhere in the package, it was tampered with and stuck back in like nothing happened. Edit: Definitely a victim of fraud. I just came across this article and it turns out my gut was right. https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2017/gift-card-fraud-bbb-pin/#:~:text=This%20year%20the%20scam%20relies,on%20the%20rack%20and%20wait. "This year the scam relies on thieves grabbing cards off the rack, scratching the film that covers the card PIN underneath and copying the relevant numbers. They then cover over the scratched off film with a new sticker — which can be purchased in bulk on Amazon — and put the card back on the rack and wait. A customer will eventually purchase that already-hacked gift card, at which point it will be activated. Scammers, who have been monitoring the number they lifted, will see the card go active and the funds loaded onto it, then promptly drain said funds." [link] [comments]  |
| Help! Over contributed to Roth IRA Posted: 03 Sep 2020 03:43 PM PDT So started contributing to my IRA five years ago. Just now realized there is a cap on what you can contribute as I am over the $137k income range. What do I do to fix this? [link] [comments]  |
| Automatic Envelope Savings / Qapital Alternative? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:18 PM PDT I'm a sole proprietor running an event- business with irregular income. Sometimes I will make $0 for 3 weeks and then $$$$$ in a day. Saving and budgeting is very important, and I'm too spacey to go in and sort through every transaction on a daily/weekly basis. Also I use a local credit union with great rates but a dinosaur of an online presence and app. I've been using Qapital for over a year now- which automatically takes out percentages of every deposit I get- and allocates it to different accounts. I've mostly enjoyed the functionality. Except their customer service is non-existent. They actively prevent you from talking to a human in real time and its a horrible process and I've gone through too many issues with their customer service despite liking the product. That being said- does anyone have any good automatic alternatives that utilize the envelope saving method? I've tried mvelopes and it doesn't have the freelancer functionality that I need. I don't want a budgeting tool or something to analyze my spending, just something that literally separates my monies into different envelopes... automatically. My bank won't let me do this. TIA! [link] [comments]  |
| Broken wrist with no health insurance? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:10 PM PDT So I'm 90% positive I broke my wrist tonight and I don't have health insurance until October. If I went into urgent care what would they do and how much would it cost? I work a labor intensive job and I can't see any way around this. [link] [comments]  |
| Telling Progressive I’m a college grad saves me $15/month in car insurance premiums Posted: 03 Sep 2020 09:44 PM PDT I called Progressive today to ask a question about my policy. At the end of the call the representative said she noticed my profile wasn't complete. She asked me my highest level of completed education (BS) and my current job (software developer) and then informed me my premium is dropping $15 a month. That's ~ $1700 in savings over the course of my time with them if they had that information. 1) AFAIK they didn't verify the info so why wouldn't everyone say this? 2) Would they retroactively credit me if these facts are verified for my time as a customer? 3) Everyone - Check to make sure you aren't needlessly paying a higher premium! [link] [comments]  |
| Second Credit Card Denied Because "Excessive obligations in relation to income", Have No Debt Though Posted: 03 Sep 2020 05:53 PM PDT Hey all, Like the title says I applied for a second credit card through my credit union, but was denied because of "Excessive obligations in relation to income". I checked my TransUnion report and have no debts. I do however have two other credit cards with a $30,000 limit and a $8700 limit with another bank. I do not want to give my exact income here but i can say it's at least above 75k for the sake of this post. I need a 0% APR credit card for a one time medical operation, otherwise i would just pay with one of the cards i currently have. Any advice on this situation would help me out greatly! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2020 09:19 PM PDT A brand new loan has no interest accrued yet, so why do you pay interest on it as if it has? Also for each payment you make on a loan wouldn't that lower the principal, in doing so lower the interest it accrues? [link] [comments]  |
| Employer 401k, at a loss if I’ve wasted my time? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:57 PM PDT Please bear with me because I've never had anyone teach me basic finance. I've been with my employer for 6 years and have had an employer sponsored 401k with them for 4 years with Charles Schwab. Every 6 months or so, they deposit a lump sum into my account, but over the years, I've not seen it increase besides the interest. I have less than $6,000 currently. Am I just stupid or was I suppose to do something with that cash in my account? Was I supposed to invest it in the stocks/ETF part of my Schwab account? I use the Schwab app - can my employer see what happens with that money if I do buy stocks within the app? [link] [comments]  |
| Credit Karma has been sending constant spam ever since selling out to Intuit. Any good alternatives? Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:55 PM PDT Title -- Credit Karma sends constant spam, an email literally every other day, which you can't opt out of without also opting out of credit monitoring. Credit Karma isn't what it used to be. The suggestion to use Credit Karma was added to the Wiki over six years ago by a now-deleted user, but... It just sucks now. So, are there any good alternatives that r/personalfinance recommends? [link] [comments]  |
| I've been invited to join a sketchy moneymaking opportunity... Posted: 03 Sep 2020 08:42 AM PDT Hey reddit. I don't usually post in this sub, but recently my dad (who I have been a bit out of touch with lately) sent me a link to a google form asking me to sign up for an investment/moneymaking opportunity. I'm young and not that finance-savvy, so I don't know if this is just how investing typically works, or if this is some weird scam, but the way he described it was an investment community of "like-minded individuals," in which each member starts off donating $25 on "level one," and then receives $200 back. They then proceed to donate $100 of that on level two and then receive $400 back. Then they donate half of that money and so on until the highest level which I believe is $10k. My dad seemed really eager to invite me into this, and he's never tried to rope me into an MLM or anything before. However, his description seemed intentionally vague and I wanted to ask around about it. I tried doing some research on the company and couldn't find anything. The only bit of information I have on it is from the google form I was sent. In my opinion, best case scenario it seems like some weird form of data collection, and worst case scenario it's a loan shark death cult. Then again, I'm not the most knowledgeable about finance and could just be missing out on a common or tried and true way of making some cash, so I wanted to consult the sub just to be safe. Any help would be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| University Rep Wants Me to Switch from Vanguard to AXA Posted: 03 Sep 2020 03:38 PM PDT My university gives us a free meeting with a financial adviser every year, and after our most recent meeting, he started trying to convince me to switch my Roth IRA from Vanguard to AXA (his employer). I imagine this is why they provide the service for free for the university. He is asserting that I can roll over my IRA from Vanguard to AXA with no on-boarding fees and and the same expense ratios on the funds as Vanguard, but with the additional 20% loss protection they offer as a perk. Am I missing something, or is it just worth it to them to have the fund and my potential future business? I'm not sure the loss protection is enough activation energy to overcome the inertia of switching providers, but I definitely want to make sure there's not going to extra fees that he is going to try to sneak by me. [link] [comments]  |
| Just discovered $77k in CC debt, considering what to do Posted: 03 Sep 2020 07:51 AM PDT Hello Reddit, My spouse has $77k of CC debt, and we're looking at options for how we go about handling it. We would appreciate any advice you have for us. Some details: The interest rates on these cards are pretty high (15-20%), and they are spread out between 7 cards / 4 banks. Average account balance is $11k. None are shared accounts. Here are the options we're considering:
We would both appreciate any advice you have! [link] [comments]  |
| Overwhelmed by debt and interest Posted: 03 Sep 2020 06:03 PM PDT |
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