Personal Finance Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of August 30, 2021 |
- Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of August 30, 2021
- Applying for mortgages, keep getting told I'm a top tier borrower but I can't get the lowest advertised rates. What's the deal?
- Best way to hire a fiduciary for a one-time counseling session?
- My car insurance is ridiculous and I’m not sure what to do
- How to buy car in cash or credit card (to be paid off immediately)
- Kay’s Jewelers Sent me a Credit Card
- My mom says she needs my ss# to list me as beneficiary on new life insurance
- Gave up on looking for a house and signed another yearly lease at current rental. The house we contacted actually came back to us after we signed the lease.
- Am I overpaying for Whole Life insurance?
- Realtor wants us to not list our house-- "just sell to the tenant instead."
- Ideas for getting my dentist to refund me the $3100 they owe me?
- Chase is grading 2nd home as 'investment property' even though I will live there 24/7
- I was a week late with a credit card payment. After calling, Chase reversed the late fee & interest. Is there any way to remove the hit on the credit report/score?
- Condo Selling Advice
- Found out I (22yo) have a 401k with the employer I just left and I have a few questions regarding my options and possible early withdraw
- Buying a duplex at 22
- Gas bill more than doubled from previous month in middle of summer, this doesn't make any sense
- Need help understanding job salary negotiation and what comes along
- Advice about possible change in employment.
- Being asked to fill out a W-9 form for a scientific prize.
- Inherited Some Money, what do I do now?
- Newborn has been "terminated from elected coverage". Anything we can do? Aetna
- Home equity question
- FIL scammed out of retirement funds by prison pen pal. What do I do with the remaining $? I have no clue
- Should I reduce my 401K/HSA contributions to qualify for a greater mortgage loan amount?
- Savings/Emergency Fund To High (no interest) Where to put funds?
| Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of August 30, 2021 Posted: 30 Aug 2021 04:00 AM 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: 30 Aug 2021 08:30 AM PDT I've applied for two mortgages based on really low advertised rates. When I talked to the lenders, they said based on my credit, income, assets, etc., I am a top tier borrower. However, when I applied for both loans, the rate they offered me was significantly higher than their advertised rates. I asked the lenders how I can get the advertised rates, but they get really wishy washy about it and don't explain how I can qualify for those rates. Could someone explain how mortgage rates work, and if there's any way to actually qualify for the low rates lenders advertise? Edit: Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think I have a clearer picture now of how the process works. [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to hire a fiduciary for a one-time counseling session? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 06:15 AM PDT My wife and I are on track for meeting our retirement goal in about 10-15 years. We're at a crossroads where it would help to have our finances evaluated by a pro to make sure we're planning properly regarding taxes and post-retirement plans. My understanding is that places like Fisher investments would want to sell us certain products and pay fees based on performance? We don't really want to follow that model and I don't want to meet with someone like that knowing I don't intend to use their services. [link] [comments]  |
| My car insurance is ridiculous and I’m not sure what to do Posted: 30 Aug 2021 08:27 AM PDT UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your input, stories and advice. Gonna have to leave the thread for now but I appreciate it a lot! I just need some advice on how to get lower car insurance. I just turned 24 this year, I'm a male, and my car insurance has done nothing but increase. My monthly premium is $155 a month, $900 6 months. I drive a modest car on a loan, 2016 Honda Civic with a 2.0L engine. It has 80,000 miles. I have 0 moving violations for almost 10 years, I was in one minor wreck when I was 16 years old and have been told it's not a factor anymore. I have no speeding tickets or infractions, I've never even got a warning. My record is spotless. I'm not sure what factors could be making my bill this high. My girlfriend, 22, pays $60 a month through progressive and they quoted me $160 a month! My other friend (also a girl) pays $40 with Geico! The only thing that I can think it that my credit is a little worse than it was before, but even when my credit was 780 when I was 22, I was still paying $140 a month. What can I do to get a lower bill? What factors might be screwing me over? [link] [comments]  |
| How to buy car in cash or credit card (to be paid off immediately) Posted: 30 Aug 2021 05:07 AM PDT So I'm planning on buying a car in 6-12 months. I plan on paying "in cash" but I can't seem to figure out the mechanics. I don't think a dealership is going to take a personal check for ~$40k nor do I bring in a briefcase filled with stacks. It'd be nice to pay with a credit card and get points. I can pay of credit card to gain no interest. How do I find out if dealership accepts credit cards without tipping them off that I'm self-financing? I'm located in North Carolina and purchasing from either Subaru or Volvo. [link] [comments]  |
| Kay’s Jewelers Sent me a Credit Card Posted: 30 Aug 2021 05:52 PM PDT I'm pretty upset. My fiancé and I got engaged last year, but due to COVID we never went ring shopping. We went to Kay's and I know my budget, but the lady said "We'll give you 2 years no interest". I declined, but she kept talking about incentives and cash back. Finally she said "Let's just see what you're pre-approved for, but we won't actually sign you up". I agree (dumb, I know) and give her my info. She tells me I'm pre-approved for like 25k and we go about our business. I ended up buying a bridal set at a local jewelers for cash and never thought twice. I just received the Kay's card in the mail and I am PISSED. It popped up on Credit Karma as a hard inquiry, even though she said it wouldn't. I don't plan on activating my card and I don't want the inquiry on my report. Do I have any recourse? [link] [comments]  |
| My mom says she needs my ss# to list me as beneficiary on new life insurance Posted: 30 Aug 2021 07:41 AM PDT Now my mom is trustworthy, not the type to try to take out a loan in her kids names or anything. My chief concern is with the life insurance company. I don't understand why the insurance company would need my social for me to be listed as a benificiary. Can she list me without it? I'd much prefer not to share it. Edit: typo Edit2: Wow this really blew up quick. thanks for all the advice and recommendations. It seems its pretty normal to expect a social for identification verification. I in no way suspect that is a scam my mom has fallen for as this is with her new employer and is expected. For those of you who don't understand how my mom doesn't already know my social, I'm 30 and haven't live with her since I was 16; 14 years is a long time to memorize a 9 digit number for some people. I did want to freeze my credit as some had suggested just as an extra precaution, however expirian said they couldn't for some reason. I'll have to call and figure out why later [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 10:40 AM PDT We are in California San Diego. Fiancé and I have been searching for a house for a year and we gave up and renewed the lease for our current residence. Two months later the house we contacted before accepted our offer and now we're stuck. We contacted our landlord to see if we can transfer our lease to a new tenant but they didn't answer our question and stated to the section in our lease agreement regarding early termination. We live with three other people in our house and they have been updated on the situation and let them know they won't be impacted in anyway (all of us are in the same lease). We want this house very badly and I am willing to take up a second job to pay for the remaining 7 months of rent if I have to along with the house payments. Obviously if possible I would rather not. I was wondering if there are options I am not aware of. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Am I overpaying for Whole Life insurance? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 05:24 PM PDT Shortly before my first child was born about two years ago, I signed up for whole life insurance (up to age 121) through American Fidelity, which is the company administering employee benefits such as flexible spending accounts for my school district. I'll admit I didn't shop around before meeting with a rep because I figured that they were reputable and competitive since the school district, one of the largest in my state, uses them. I got a policy for $222/month for $300k in coverage. I was fairly young, married a few years at that point, and was happy to have some assurance that if something were to happen, my wife and son would be taken care of. Then he was born and covid happened and my life had literally never been busier. So I never really reconsidered if the premium I was paying was good or not. I don't use tobacco and am in fairly good and standard health. My wife just got a new full time teaching job in another school district (she's K-12, I'm college) and her rates start at $22/month for the same $300k coverage. The rates increase every five years, but here's the math breakdown between our two plans for our first 25 years (we're both starting at 31): **Hers:** **Mine:** It seems like my premiums are ludicrously high. I know that whole life premiums are higher early on to offset the typical higher prices of a regular policy later on, but in theory, by the time I'm 55 or 60 I should need life insurance since my retirement account will serve that purpose should I pass. Am I thinking of that correctly? In addition, the guaranteed cash value of the policy increases substantially after the fourth policy year, BUT I've run the numbers and the longer I wait to terminate, the more I'll pay AF and the greater the difference between the total amount I've paid and the guaranteed cash value. So if I were to terminate, it'd be best to do it earlier than later, notwithstanding any state termination laws of course. Thoughts? Advice? Is this whole life premium average for an early 30s guy or am I overpaying? Thanks for reading. Edit: Welp, fuck me. Thanks for the quick replies everyone. Cheers. [link] [comments]  |
| Realtor wants us to not list our house-- "just sell to the tenant instead." Posted: 29 Aug 2021 01:55 PM PDT I don't know real estate at all, but something feels fishy to me. My wife and I own a 3 bedroom house in the Pittsburgh area. We have rented it out through a property management company for the past 5 years while we've lived in the DC area. With the housing market as it is right now, we decided that now might be a good time to sell the house and invest that money elsewhere. The property management company we've used put us in touch with a realtor they work with a lot. This realtor has quoted us a price that she believes the house to be worth. I'm okay with the price as it's comparable to what zillow says, but something started to really rub me the wrong way when the realtor suggested that we not list the house, because "she [the realtor] is pretty sure that the current tenant will buy it for this price." She's urged us several times to not list the house because "it's just easier this way." Is something off here? In this market, isn't it possible that we might receive bids over that price from the open market if we listed the house? Again, I don't know real estate, but I'm pretty sure that when a house gets sold, that 3% of the commission goes the agent who listed the house and 3% goes to the buyer's agent, right? Is there a conflict of interest here? For the record, we are in no rush to sell this house. TL:DR--Is my real estate agent trying to grab the entire 6% commission by not putting the house on the market or am I being paranoid here? EDIT: We have NOT signed any contract with the realtor yet [link] [comments]  |
| Ideas for getting my dentist to refund me the $3100 they owe me? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 12:43 PM PDT I paid $5700 for Invisalign upfront last year (applied for a credit card at their office to do so). MetLife covered $2000 of the cost and paid my dentist two months ago. Also, MetLife had a negotiated fee for Invisalign and the EOB says the total price should have been $4600 even though I paid $5700, so the dental office overcharged me and didn't honor MetLife's policy. If my calculations are correct, my dentist owes me $3100 (sum of the difference in negotiated fee and what MetLife paid them). For what it's worth, I finished my Invisalign treatment a few months ago. I've brought up the refund on prior visits but the billing person was never there. I've also called to start the refund process but the person from billing was still not available, so I set up an appointment to visit them. When I went, the front desk said I didn't need an appointment and that their finance department would email me. How long should I wait for an email? It's been two weeks and silence. I'll be starting a new job in three weeks and switching dental insurance so if I need to escalate I feel I need to do so now. Is this something MetLife can help with even after I leave their insurance? [link] [comments]  |
| Chase is grading 2nd home as 'investment property' even though I will live there 24/7 Posted: 30 Aug 2021 07:12 AM PDT Hoping I can get some clarity around whether this is a normal practice, or if I should just find a new lender. Here's the scenario: Wife and I owe less than 25% of the appraised value on current home. The mortgage is incredibly cheap [we bought at an excellent time in an excellent area, and made early payments]. Have lived here for 7+ years. We'd like to keep this home and rent it out after buying another one. New house would be about 10 miles from the old one. Chase is saying that even if we move immediately after closing, they will not finance the new house as a primary residence, it's an investment property and we'd have to put 25% down to meet their standards. We have the cash on hand to do this, but is 25% and an investment grade interest rate really the best I can do here? Is this right? This is making it seem like my current house (where I will no longer be living) is permanently stuck as my primary residence. Do I have to re-fi my existing house (which will have significantly LESS debt on it) into an investment mortgage at the same time? Should I just find a different lender? Last detail that might matter: Chase also owns the mortgage on the existing house that we live in. Edit: Neither home is an FHA or VA loan. Both just conventional 30-year privately held mortgages. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 06:34 AM PDT Spouse and I have excellent credit (over 800), and have never missed a payment on anything. We recently opened a Sapphire Preferred card under spouse's name. All our credit cards are configured to automatically pay the entire balance each month. However, I forgot to setup automatic payments for the new card. I guess I was subconsciously thinking my auto payments were setup for "everything Chase", since everything has been on autopilot for years. Anyways, after noticing the late fee and interest charges, we called Chase and they agreed to reverse the late fee and interest charges. But we noticed that spouse's credit score took a hit. Would it possible to ask Chase to "remove" the negative mark? Or are we SOL and just need to chalk this up as a tough lesson? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 03:40 PM PDT I have a condo that I have owned for several years, but I am prohibited to sell to anyone that wants to purchase with a mortgage because a single entity owns a majority of the units. I've tried to sell for the last few months unsuccessfully due to this rule, and the entity is willing to purchase for 60% of what I originally purchased it for. (Luckily this is above the amount of what I own on the mortgage) I dont want to own this for the rest of my life, and I dont want to rent it out. Should I accept the offer and part ways? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 03:34 PM PDT So, upon leaving my most recent employer, I was notified that I have a 401k with them that only has roughly $1300 in it. This is essentially free money as I had no idea I was paying towards it all this time. My 3 options from them were: (1) let it roll over to another 401k/IRA account with them (the employer), (2) transfer it to one of my existing IRAs, or (3) take it out in cash (direct deposit) Option 1: I don't know that I'd want to do this, I wouldn't be contributing to whatever account it is they give me. Option 2: I have an existing IRA, however it's a Roth IRA with Vanguard, and apparently Vanguard doesn't allow a transfer from a pretax 401k to a Roth IRA, so this option is out the window. Option 3: I could withdraw it, they'd withhold 20% for the IRS, and then tax time I'd pay the 10% penalty. I'm most leaning towards option 3, as then I could put it into my Roth IRA without having to create a new Traditional IRA, and I don't mind paying the taxes and penalties (I don't even think $1k would suddenly put me in a new tax bracket so I wouldn't get taxed much with my like 25k low income job) as I had no idea I had this money until now anyway. I have until mid November to decide, any help would be appreciated! As a side question, if I do do an early withdraw, can I have them withhold an extra 10% (so withhold 30% total) to cover the penalty fee come tax time? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 09:32 AM PDT I moved out of my parents house 2 years ago into a duplex, it's been a great place and I've really settled into my life here. I've had the same neighbors the entire time I've been here, my dogs are happy here, and only small little things here and there have needed fixed. My landlord is now wanting to sell, and since owning has been my dream since I was 15, I jumped at the opportunity to buy it myself. They're selling it for $240,000. I got approved for an FHA loan and am now starting on all the paperwork. My monthly payments will be $1,400 and the neighbors rent is $1,000 so my "rent" will go down to $400. On one hand I'm very excited and it seems like this was the perfect opportunity to jump on, but am I biting off more than I can chew for my age? [link] [comments]  |
| Gas bill more than doubled from previous month in middle of summer, this doesn't make any sense Posted: 30 Aug 2021 03:18 PM PDT Is this something that can be disputed? The last few months, we've used ~65-72 therms a month. All of a sudden, our current bill says we used 199 therms. This makes absolutely no sense, it is way too hot for us to use the heater so that is always off. The only other gas appliances are the stove, water heater, and fireplace. We haven't changed our usage habits, and if there were a leak to justify that much, wouldn't we smell the gas? This bill has shot up into the hundreds, which is insane. [link] [comments]  |
| Need help understanding job salary negotiation and what comes along Posted: 30 Aug 2021 04:15 PM PDT Hello everyone, I don't know if this is the right place to ask this question. I currently in the last stage of a job interview. The director has recommended me, and now HR wants to have a conversation. I'm pretty sure salary negotiation will come up. My question is, aside from base salary, what are other things I should look out for? I have seen some jobs posting 401k, insurance, paid vacation, etc. I'm a recent graduate, so I'm not sure what they are. This is my first job, so I'm not gonna be picky with what the company can offer, but I'm still curious on what normally comes in a whole package. [link] [comments]  |
| Advice about possible change in employment. Posted: 30 Aug 2021 02:26 PM PDT Hi, I wanted to reach out for some external guidance. I am a recent college grad (December 2021) and I am currently employed at my first job after uni. Before I accepted this job I had many outstanding applications. One of the applications I had from about 6 months ago called for an interview last week. The job is with a state agency, and budgeted for around 20k more a year than I am currently making and is a permanent work from home position, which is a positive for me. I interviewed for the position, I didn't feel that I did very good and I feel like I am a little under qualified for the position to be honest. But they have requested my sign off for a background check, I am guessing that is a good-ish sign. I wanted to ask for guidance on what I should do if they offer me the job. I feel like it makes monetary sense, and the work from home is a big plus for me. But I like my current job okay, the job is fine, but my boss is really nice, and super easy to work under. My current position has a 12 month probation, so it is my understanding that can't get a raise until my 12 months are up, am I correct? Could my current employer make an emergency counter offer should they want to keep me? In short, I guess my question is how should I go about this situation? How should I see if the new job is a good fit for me? And how do I tell my current employer about it should I get offered the position? Thank you in advance for any guidance! [link] [comments]  |
| Being asked to fill out a W-9 form for a scientific prize. Posted: 30 Aug 2021 04:23 PM PDT I received an email earlier today stating that I'd won an award for an abstract that I'd completed and to complete and return a W-9 form as it involves a cash prize. Usually, I'd ignore this kind of email, but it was from the work email of a professional employee of the scientific group running the conference. Is this normal practice? I did contact the director of awards for the conference directly through their website and she confirmed I did win the award. It's a very large and reputable organization, so I believe that it's genuine. I'm just hesitant with providing my personal information to anyone. Are there any other steps that I should take to further ratify the award is genuine? Is this a normal process in the US? I'm a fairly recent immigrant to the US and in my country they would never ask for personal information (prizes were always Amazon gift cards). [link] [comments]  |
| Inherited Some Money, what do I do now? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 08:02 PM PDT Hello, I'm a 26m and I recently was handed a cashiers check with 260k written on it. I have not cashed it in yet so I am looking around to see what I should do with it. I do not want to put money into real estate at this time in my life so I think I should invest most of the money. I have an Ally savings account and a Wealthfront account which I am debating putting most of the money because it sounds like it is hands off investing. I am afraid of losing the money somehow! I have no debt currently and save 1500$ a month from my job. Where should the money go? Thank you to anyone who took a few seconds to read this! Ask any questions you would like! [link] [comments]  |
| Newborn has been "terminated from elected coverage". Anything we can do? Aetna Posted: 30 Aug 2021 07:56 PM PDT My wife and I had our first child just over 2 months ago. Like a good father (I thought) I added our daughter to our Aetna insurance policy (through my work). Last Friday I received a letter in the mail stating that my daughter had been terminated from our policy. I called today to understand why and Aetna said I had failed to send in a copy of her birth certificate. As far as I can recall, this was the first communication we received stating that we needed to send in her birth certificate (although it's possible I could have missed it, I searched all my emails and never received a letter). I'm sure somewhere when I signed up it said I needed to submit this but I really do not remember!! I am very concerned about my daughter no longer being on our policy. A few questions:
Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Note: we are in Miami Florida [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 07:46 PM PDT Hello, I was hoping I could get pointed in the right direction or get helpful insight. I live in the western part of the US. Roughly 4 years ago my grandparents passed away and the grant deed was transferred into my name. I have been making payments on the house since they passed but the mortgage is still in their name. My wife and I were thinking of pulling out some equity from the home to remodel, but we are unsure how to proceed with the mortgage not being in our name. We don't want to sell because we are both in our 20's and have less than 10 years left before it is paid off. We don't think we will ever be able to afford a house in Los Angeles if we give it up. Thanks for all comments and suggestions! Please stay safe :) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Aug 2021 10:29 AM PDT Backstory - My senile FIL picked up a prison pen pal. He had been sending her money while in prison. She got out, moved in and he started cashing out his retirement and handing it over to her. Total hit was probably 1/2 his retirement ($300k - $400K). It was during covid and we live in another state so we got to this late. We have moved him to our state (CA) and he is in a facility getting medical care for now. I have POA and need to figure out how to handle his finances. I am in my 40's and do not know about The Details: Age: 70 Health - Not good. Could need a facility considering everyone on that side lives to 90+ Income - $1860/mo net from SSI Assets -
Debt: None Credit Score - Low 500's and totally shot. My wife is working on it. Projected COL - If he doesnt need a memory or care center, he can probably live on $3k/month. If he needs a memory center then I think we have a problem. Questions:
Notes/Points:
Totally open to suggestions here. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I reduce my 401K/HSA contributions to qualify for a greater mortgage loan amount? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 05:23 PM PDT Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm still confused after researching AGI and how it impacts mortgages. I don't want to give specific numbers about my income but my 401k contribution is set to 20% and I max out my HSA. I'm a pretty low maintenance person so I don't miss that money but my income isn't much after those deductions. Would deducting less for a couple of years help me get a bigger loan amount for a home? Currently, I can't even afford the cheapest single-family homes unless they are very old. Thank you for your insight. [link] [comments]  |
| Savings/Emergency Fund To High (no interest) Where to put funds? Posted: 30 Aug 2021 12:39 PM PDT I have a bad habit (at this point) of putting too much cash into savings. I know I need to stop and at this point of time anything that is not allocated to a specific expense (house project primarily) needs to go towards kid's college plan or paying off debt. My question is where should I put my current savings? I have yet to have a need to take out of my savings account before other than purchasing our home 3.5 years ago. Even home improvements typically can come out of checking as we tend to keep a decent balance in there and move funds to payoff loans or savings at the start of each month after we run the budget for the month. We typically earn more each month $2-4k than we spend unless we have one month where we make a big payment or pay for a home project, big trip etc.. Current savings account earning little interest is at $75k. I was thinking of taking $35k and putting it into a mix of bond and utility fund, low risk, but something that will pay 1-3% range. Should I keep $75k completely liquid? Is there even a need to keep $40k liquid? Monthly debt is: Private Student Loans $980/month at 3.9% over 20 years ($159k) Fed Loans $650 month in a payment plan at 6.5% going to make extra payments to this one. ($89k) Car Loan $25k at 3.6% $395/month Mortgage $440k at 3.25% $3,400/month with taxes and insurance. Child care for two kids at $1.1k/month. Then typical expenses, travel, eating out, buying things, groceries, taking care of the home, car insurance, medical etc.. $3-4k a month. Gross wages are in the $300k range for my wife and I combined. Would something like a Franklin Utility Fund make sense to put some cash away to actually earn instead of lose value. [link] [comments]  |
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