Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of October 09, 2020 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of October 09, 2020
- Received a letter from the IRS saying that I owe $8000 in taxes from 2018 and don't know how to proceed.
- Student Loans Won't Die
- Rear ended at a red light in NJ. Quoted $500. Deductible is $500. No response from the girl who hit me...
- Spectrum Sent My $0 Balance to Collections, Credit Score Dropped More than 100 Points Overnight
- Facing eviction with my three cats.
- Call your service providers (cell phone, internet, etc.) and ask for lower pricing to lower monthly bills.
- Is it possible to hedge the capital appreciation of housing as a renter?
- Wife tried to get CL increase but was denied by BOA
- Should I pay for a bill for obtaining price quote?
- I got laid off due to my store being closed down and my employer won’t report my wages to unemployment and I know I can’t re apply till January 2nd 2021
- Would it be a bad idea to withdrawal from my 401k while I attend an academy for 4 months?
- Spouse was sole owner of our home and only name on mortgage and has passed away.
- My company recently IPOed. Do I need to pay both AMT taxes this year, AND Capital Gains taxes on ISO shares once I sell them next year?
- Should I put my company contribution/ match towards 401k or ROTH IRA?
- Timing on applying for HELOC and increasing credit lines
- Is it a good idea to pay my car off before buying a house?
- Why does the Discover app suddenly have a deer app on it?
- Retired mother has $12,500 CC debt, now sold to a collections agency. Is my plan acceptable?
- Housing Affordability
- Salary increase but large company to small company and longer commute
- I found out my coworker (same job title) makes almost $20,000 more than me a year. He’s been at the company only 1 year longer. What should I do?
- Employer has not deposited 401K contributions or match this year and is always late. Not sure how to handle or who to report to without losing my job.
- Mom has no retirement savings and no job. What can I do for her?
- High School Senior [18] opening credit card
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of October 09, 2020 Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:00 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: 09 Oct 2020 05:39 PM PDT Hello, hope all is well. In 2018 I graduated from college. Throughout my time in school, the money for my tuition was being pulled by mother from a trust that as far as I know has been around since before I was born (to be used for my education I believe). By the end of my schooling I believe the fund was either entirely or almost depleted. I just received a letter from the IRS regarding my 2018 tax returns that shows $26000 in unreported income from 2018, and all of the unreported income is coming from Vanguard funds, which lines up roughly with the dates of tuition payments. I called my mom and asked her if the trust would be labeled as a Vanguard fund and she said yes. I was surprised to see this attached to my social security number as it's an account I've never touched or seen, and my mother was the one who pulled funds from it (I guess in the form of selling securities). In addition I'm trying to see if those funds being used for higher education carries with it any sort of write off that would lessen the blow here. I wouldn't be surprised if the account was tied to my name in some way and my mom just wasn't aware, but regardless I need to find a way to deal with this because the money owed is money that I do not have in any way shape or form at the moment, nor does my family. Happy to provide any information that could help in figuring out what the best thing to do here is. I am freaking out a little bit at the moment so if you also just want to say "everything is going to be fine" even if you're lying that would be awesome too. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:06 PM PDT My student loans are serviced through Nelnet. Earlier this summer I started making aggressive payments on one specific loan until I paid it in full. I have a screenshot showing that I had a zero balance and PIF by borrower in July. In August my account was back to showing a balance owed so I called them and after a long phone call they said I needed some kind of special request allocation. We did that and I got a letter saying that my loan was paid in full. This morning my mint app showed that once again I owed a small amount of money on that loan. I called Nelnet and they said I did in fact owe that amount. They also said that the letter was sent in error. What can I do here? I've paid the loan off but it keeps coming back to life and they're not at all helpful. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:03 PM PDT About a week and a half ago, I was stopped at a red light when the driver of another vehicle hit me from behind. We were both alright, but there was some minor damage to my rear bumper (some scratches and it looks like her license plate left a legible tattoo of itself on the back of my car). Her car looked just fine. I took her insurance information and phone number. I went to the mechanic that usually works on my family's cars. He quoted us $500 for the damage. I reached out and asked whether they would like to just have it fixed outside of insurance which they did. They asked for the quote, and I sent that along to the girl (18, likely a new driver). She conferenced with her parents who disagreed and said it was too high and that they'd rather take it to someone they use and they'd pay for it themselves. I told them that I'd be totally fine with that plan. That was about a week ago... I texted again, but still have not received any response. In the event that they try and ghost me, what would be my pragmatic courses of action? I understand that minor damage on a bumper is better than a dented door or something dysfunctional. With a $500 deductible on my insurance, does it make sense to file a claim at that point? Should I just pay for it myself? Not that courts are even open at this time, but small claims court wouldn't make much sense, would it? I haven't been in any auto accidents before, so I'm a bit out of my depth. Is minor damage, no matter who's at fault, really something people can often just walk away from dealing with? [link] [comments]  |
| Spectrum Sent My $0 Balance to Collections, Credit Score Dropped More than 100 Points Overnight Posted: 09 Oct 2020 08:54 AM PDT I recently moved and discontinued my Spectrum (Charter) internet service. I paid the final bill, and they even sent me a refund (prepaid CC) due to prorating for the final month. I also checked online that the account owed no money (and rechecked it this morning: it still shows a $0 balance). On Experian, from less than 24 hours ago, I have a "your account has been flagged as Collections" notice, Activity: Grid Code G (Collections), on the alerts page. It seems this "overdue bill" is from Charter (which owns Spectrum). The amount is about $120 (again, there was and is no indication of owing that much online or via a paper bill). My credit score has dropped more than 100 points overnight. Do I call Spectrum and try to address it through them? Do I freeze my credit? Do I dispute the charge on Experian (and if so, what about the other 2 credit agencies)? Do I sit back and wait for the collections company to call me? I've always been a little ignorant of how the credit system works, and terrified of something like this happening, so I'm not sure where to go from here, and help would be appreciated. My great credit score has been ruined overnight, for a bill that was never sent and is not shown online. [link] [comments]  |
| Facing eviction with my three cats. Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:42 PM PDT I don't have internet right now so my replies may be sporadic. I got a notice on my door today that I have until the 14th to come up with rent I'm a month beind ($900). I haven't been able to talk to my landlord today but right at the end of September, I was told by the leasing agent that they weren't doing anything for October. I don't have anything in writing and fast forward to today, I get this notice. Understandably everyone is having issues this year. I had planned to catch up this month because I had approval of my PTO being paid out due to Covid, and am getting a small bonus at work. I'd be back on schedule by next rent. My PTO being paid out was set back due to a communication issue not of my own fault (what bad luck on top of this). I'm behind on my electricity bills too and could pay those off but it looks like my complex is charging me late fees on top. So I see most of that going to late fees. Before I start wasting time, where do I start? I'm looking for a job that pays better on top of a second job but it is slow going. I've been doing Door Dash sporadically because of a lack of AC in Florida heat. It's covered a good chunk of what I didn't make during the worst of Covid but it's not quick enough to make what I need. My next paycheck is the 20th and I'm hoping that's when I get my PTO in one go. I've got three cats and I'm just.. I don't know what to do. I don't have anywhere to go and I definitely don't have the money or credit this year to find another place. I'm more worried about them because living in my car wouldn't be an issue to me if it came down to it. I don't know a lot of people and my parents are states away, facing their own issues. If my complex is dead set on getting me out and not working with me, I'm done for. Before I waste my time looking online, does anyone have any resources that would legit be able to help? Or ideas of where to start? I'm sitting at work, going through Google but everything is overwhelming right now and I just want to curl up and cry. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:16 PM PDT I have done this recently with both Spectrum (internet) and AT&T (mobile). Simply calling and asking (nicely) to meet their promo or competitor pricing should be successful every time. They want to retain you as a customer. A personal touch/anecdote about the hard times we are living in helps. I shaved $25 off our monthly budget between the two, which doesn't sound like much, but that's $300/year. Definitely worth a couple phone calls. Good luck! [link] [comments]  |
| Is it possible to hedge the capital appreciation of housing as a renter? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:57 PM PDT Is there any asset or derivative that closely tracks the movement of the housing market? Lets say, as a renter, you are on the fence, but you would like some exposure to owning a house without having the full exposure of buying a place. Is there a way to buy an investment that tracks the movements of housing in your area/country? [link] [comments]  |
| Wife tried to get CL increase but was denied by BOA Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:46 PM PDT As title says, my wife got denied and BOA gave 4 reasons. My wife and I have a thin credit report having just moved here about 2 yrs ago. (Reason #1) 2nd reason is high loan balance from her auto loan (understandable). 3rd and 4th threw us off a little bit because it said history of cash advance with us or our affiliates and high credit utilization. She never did both of those. Never used cash advance on her BOA or Delta AMEX or her closed BOA secured card (Paid off). And she always pays her balance a day or two before the statement end date. She did, however, applied for and was told by the Rooms to Go salesman that she was denied for a 0% card (Synchrony) only to find out the next day that she was approved. We called and got it corrected right away and closed the said store credit card. Her experian report says no other open credit cards besides above mentioned ones. Even the synchrony rooms to go card does not show up as open nor closed. Just a credit inquiry. Now, is it possible to have an open credit card not show up on experian? I'm worried someone stole her identity and opened and maxed the card. Something doesn't add up coz she got instantly approved by AMEX CL increase on the same day. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I pay for a bill for obtaining price quote? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:17 PM PDT I donot have any experiences of calling plumbing services. I recently bought a house in a new place, and want to covert the shower to tub in the master bathroom. Since the bathroom size is small, I am not sure if it can be done at a reasonable cost. So I made a number of calls to gather quotes, and ended up having four visits from four HVAC/plumbing companies this past week. Just today, I surprisingly received a bill from one of the companies for a service charge of $112.5 for 1.5 hrs. Under 'work to be performed', it states 'discuss bathroom remodel'. I had no knowledge the the visit would be treated as service, and was not informed either on the phone or on site that there will be a charge. I asked my realtor about this (who is a local resident for very long time; we are a small town). She told me that this is not normal. I plan to call the company next week to request the charge be dropped, but may be denied. My question is, how do I fight a bill like this? Do I have no choice but pay it? additional note - I did not sign anything for the visit. The guy just came by with a notebook to take down measurements. I live in the UP. I have heard jaw dropping stories about contractors. And we are paying the most ridiculous electric bill in the nation. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:03 PM PDT What do I do? I'm broke and nobody is calling back about applications I think my boss screwed me pls help [link] [comments]  |
| Would it be a bad idea to withdrawal from my 401k while I attend an academy for 4 months? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:30 PM PDT I was recently accepted into an academy that will be 4 months, Monday through Friday, 8-5. That doesn't leave a lot of working options. I have a little saved up and will receive some financial assistance from family during that time, but I was wondering if it would be a horrible idea to look at my options for taking funds from my 401k early. I did a little research on the CARES act and since I'll voluntarily be leaving work I don't think I'll apply for anything relating to that. I have roughly 23k in my 401k and just wanted to know if it's even worth thinking about using some of that to help mitigate costs and living expenses. Thanks for any advice! [link] [comments]  |
| Spouse was sole owner of our home and only name on mortgage and has passed away. Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:56 PM PDT I am the executor of the estate in the will. What happens now? Does the deed have to be transferred? Can the mortgage simply be assumed by me? btw, this is in U.S. state of Connecticut. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:51 PM PDT I purchased roughly 10,000 ISOs from the company where I am employed back in February of 2020, which recently went through an IPO, and am unclear on if I will need to pay AMT taxes this year, and then also pay gains taxes once I end up selling those shares. Here is a fictional scenario to simplify the details:
I understand that the IRS will essentially recognize that $150,000 as additional income for 2020, and that I will pay AMT taxes on that $150,000. Assuming my tax bracket is 44% (for both Federal / State combined) then I will be paying roughly $66k in taxes on this (despite not being able to sell or see any tangible ROI yet). Assume in April of 2020, once the employee lockout period ends, I sell all 10,000 of these shares and cash out. Note: I've owned all of these for over 12-months and the shares were granted to me well over 24-months ago at this point. My question: if I did pay that $66k in AMT taxes in 2020, I'm assuming that would be credited as a deduction for the long-term capital gains taxes I would be paying when I did end up selling them in 2021, right? I'm worried about having to pay a significant chunk of change in AMT taxes, then also have to pay an additional 28.3% on gains taxes once I sold them. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I put my company contribution/ match towards 401k or ROTH IRA? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 04:35 PM PDT Hi All, currently my employer offers a 401K with a 6% match. They just offered us the option to contribute to a ROTH 401K as well as the normal 401K. Should I max out the traditional 401k first and then the Roth 401k or visa versa? Edit... Roth 401k and not Roth IRA. Thanks for pointing that out. [link] [comments]  |
| Timing on applying for HELOC and increasing credit lines Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:47 PM PDT I recently closed on a home and wanted to see if I should wait to increase limits on my credit cards or apply for a HELOC? Are there any limitations on timing here? Checking the credit bureaus the new mortgage hasn't shown up yet but the hard credit pulls from applying have shown up and have dropped my FICO scores (they are still above 800). I figured since I already took a ding from the mortgage I may as well call around and let lenders do some more hard pulls. Am I missing anything here or would I run into any issues? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Is it a good idea to pay my car off before buying a house? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:09 PM PDT My fiancé and I are looking to buy a house at the start of next year, closer to when our apartment lease is up. We both have good credit scores for our ages and aside from my car loan, my only debt is student loans (37,000). He does not have a car loan or student debt. We currently split all the bills but the electricity. I have almost 18,000 in my savings. My car pay off quote is 8,408.39. Would it be a safe financial move to pay off my car before we get a house? Or should I leave my savings alone as this is my emergency fund not only for myself but our two cats. Any help would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Why does the Discover app suddenly have a deer app on it? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:04 PM PDT Noticed today after an update to all my apps. Did not find anything in Google regarding any merger or news release as to why they did this. Any ideas? [link] [comments]  |
| Retired mother has $12,500 CC debt, now sold to a collections agency. Is my plan acceptable? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:32 PM PDT My mother is 65, disabled, and retired. Her only income is Social Security and some light under-the-table work as a book editor. She has no pension, retirement accounts, and is not employed as a W2. Her savings account is $2000 and her monthly income is $1900. She ran up $12,500 CC debt with Capital One about 4 years ago after being unemployed, and was unable to make any payments. The debt has now been discharged to a third-party collections agency and they just sent a notice threatening her with possible legal action if she doesn't sign up for a monthly payment plan with them. I used to work as a software developer at one of these collections agencies. As I understand it, they employed only one attorney, and were loathe to take people to court because the cost vs potential of recovery was never in their favor. Their legal threats were almost always idle. In my mother's case, she has no garnishable income, and her SS benefits are protected from this kind of garnishment -- at least I'm pretty sure. I also understand that these agencies buy debt for pennies on the dollar; the average is $0.04 per $1.00 of debt. So, this agency might have acquired my mom's debt for as little as $500. My plan is to call them up and notify the agency that I'm taking over negotiations on my mom's behalf. I will offer them a $1000 settlement in exchange for a written agreement that they will consider the debt fully recovered and notify the credit bureaus. This is an extremely lowball offer (usually collectors like to settle around 40-60% of the total debt). But as far as I can tell, their only other option is a total loss. Am I missing anything here? How does this plan sound? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:44 PM PDT Can we afford a $300k home? 0 debt. Committed to living in it for at least 10 years. $300k can get us exactly what we want in our first home. [link] [comments]  |
| Salary increase but large company to small company and longer commute Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:21 PM PDT I am currently getting paid $32.50/hr (~ 65k/year) at a contracted job at a large company that has an opportunity to become full time with permanent contract extensions as a software developer. I'm decently happy working here because my team values me, my SO works here, it's a 15 minute commute, the company reputation and on-site benefits are good. Though, I'm being underpaid because the contracting company is taking a chunk of my salary. For example, my teammates with the same title are getting paid ~90k with better insurance benefits and stock options simply because they're not contractors. People get converted to regular full timers, but I feel it'll be at least 2 years before I'm up next. So I've been passively applying and landed a job that I had the salary expectation of 85k or 90k salary with good insurance benefits but is a medium sized company where I have to commute for ~45 minutes instead of 15 minutes. I'm excited for the new position, but I'm not certain the trade off is worth it since I have so much going for me in the current position anyway. If the commute wasn't so much worse, I definitely would've taken the new position. TLDR: Should I take the new job? Should I try to negotiate the price higher or WFH privileges? How should I approach this? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:47 PM PDT He and I have the same job title (senior data analyst). The company does annual compensation adjustments and I just got about a 10% raise. I like my job and I'd love to make it work, but that is a big difference and if I continue to get 10% raises annually I will not reach what my coworker is making for another 4 years. Money has also been tight at home this last year. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:00 PM PDT Hi Personal Finance! Throwaway for obvious reasons below. I have been working for my employer for about 15 years. The owner of the company is not quite a friend, but more than just a boss. Around 7 years ago the company started offering a 401K plan with a match. I max out my contributions to the limits. After the first half year the contributions and match has NEVER been deposited on time. At the moment, nothing from 2020 has been deposited at all. No match and not my contributions. We are talking $15,000 of my contributions and also the match. It's not lack of $$$. I see the bank accounts and know the books. It's 100% laziness on the owner's behalf. I've brought it up many times only to hear "yeah, I'll get to it… I've just been busy". There is PLENTY of money to make the deposits. I am losing out on the growth of the money going in over the year and I know this is super illegal. I don't want to go and file a wage theft claim, because otherwise it's a great job and I'm reasonably happy with it… but is there anything I can do? Maybe file an anonymous complaint somewhere that will just force him to start doing it but not get him in super trouble? If I make too much noise he will find a way to fire me or make my life miserable. HELP! Location is San Diego California [link] [comments]  |
| Mom has no retirement savings and no job. What can I do for her? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:26 PM PDT A few background details regarding my mother:
The reason I mention asking for help for my mother only is because I do not want to help my father. They both need help but my father is the reason for why things have turned out so poorly for them both. I can't support them both and I don't think that they'll be together for long and just want to start preparing for when my mother inevitably is on her own. What can I do to help her? I've already encouraged her to look for work. What she normally would do would be difficult for her with her physical constraints. I tried asking her if she could collect disability but it doesn't seem like she can. I really think the only job she can do is be a receptionist or a hostess. I currently make 65k in HCOL. I'm able to put away 20% of my savings into my company 401k and max out my own Roth IRA and still have some left over money to give to her. I'm due for a promotion soon and will be able to spare some extra money for her. Presently I can give her $250/month without changing my lifestyle. I've talked about her opening a Roth IRA of her own and then I'll just give her the money to deposit into the account. Is this the best option? Let me know your thoughts and if you need any additional information! [link] [comments]  |
| High School Senior [18] opening credit card Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:24 PM PDT Hello! I'm about to turn 18 soon, and I'm hoping that I can open up a credit card as soon as possible to start building my credit. I know that until I turn 21, I need to have a source of income to qualify for a credit card. Does this also apply to student cards and secured cards? I build websites for clients and usually have a summer job, so I have some limited income, but it's not consistent, nor is it very high. I'm also not in college yet, but hopefully, I'll have some idea of where I'm going in the coming months. I'm eyeing the Discover IT student or secured card, but I'm not sure what I'd need to qualify. I've been an authorized user on my dad's Discover It, and he has good credit. I have two questions. What kind of things would I need to qualify for these, and would it hurt me to apply and be rejected? Does the Discover card that I'm an authorized user on effect my credit, or do they not report me to the credit bureaus? Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
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