Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of September 17, 2021 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of September 17, 2021
- I had a once in a life time sale and just received $80K bonus from company. I don't need to touch this for the next 20 years and don't want to think about it. Thinking to go 100% in VTI
- If a phone normally costs $449, but a cell provider is offering it for $9/month for 24 months (total $216), what is the downside of taking the latter deal?
- Just signed up for Edward Jones... Mistake?
- Can I use my HSA funds on my girlfriend’s pregnancy costs?
- Getting a late start
- Is $1000 to $1500 normal for fees when purchasing a used car?
- First time homebuyer… how many lenders should I apply to for a mortgage?
- Potential new job wants me to do an 8 hr working interview. Should I?
- Income Taxes During Divorce, does the working spouse pay 100%?
- 401(k) Traditional vs. Roth - Maybe Both?
- Could I afford a home?
- Cable company charged me $180 for equipment I returned. What do I do?
- Mortgage to income ratio
- buying a house as a medical studnet
- Grandmother gave me a Black Rock fund that has made significant gains since inception. What should I do with it?
- Can HSA fund pay for out of country medical expenses
- Recently opened up a Roth IRA and I see my contributions going down.
- Delta Dental PPO
- Can someone help me understand this?
- Weird Fraud: Dumb scammers or am I missing something?
- Social Worker looking for clarity on child tax credit
- 403b or Optional Retirement Plan?
- Tax ramifications+ of 73yo widow immediately receiving final 17K owed them on a rent-to-own property of theirs when their sole income is Railroad Retirement from their deceased husband.
- Should I pay ER bill or have them rebill to insurance?
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of September 17, 2021 Posted: 17 Sep 2021 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: 17 Sep 2021 06:27 PM PDT Goal is maximum returns for $80K while being tax efficient and safe! Come back 20 years later and see how much I amassed. That's the plan. My own research and thinking tells me 100% VTI. The whole haystack approach? Please critique? I struggled with U.S markets vs Global. U.S does really well but I think we are heading into a global economy and betting on it seems like a "walk away" approach. Set and forget? Back up plan was 75/25 split between VTI/VFTAX VFTAX - ESG "climate friendly" companies are probably going to be a thing in the next 20 years. Avoids tobacco/alcohol/weapons/gambling and excludes companies that doesn't meet certain U.N standards. 0.14 er. Huge companies with resources to comply with regulations and commitment to stick around long term. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 11:51 AM PDT The cell provider in question is Google Fi. I've been with them a long time and love their service because I travel a lot. Through this promotion they try to convince you to pay an extra $6/month for a device protection plan, for a total of $15 per month, but it's easy enough to opt out. And I noticed in the terms that they do do a credit check. I always buy my phones outright. Lastly, they offer a free upgrade to another Pixel phone at the end of he 24 months, which I suspect would have to be through another subscription offer like this one. But if I have excellent credit, plan on staying with Google Fi for the long term, and never lose or damage my phones, what is the downside to taking the subscription offer without the device protection plan? I'm having trouble seeing one, which in itself makes me extra wary, like there is something important that I am missing. [link] [comments]  |
| Just signed up for Edward Jones... Mistake? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT Married, 32, 33, JUST purchased a house. we don't meet the minimum required wealth of $250k We originally came to them with the minimum required wealth of $250k (which means our account would be "charged a much lower fee") and then we immediately bought a house (about $140k downpayment) so now we're under $250k and are getting charged a 1.4% fee on all our assets (around $2160/year or $180/month) we're now considering moving our money under a different company like vanguard for a much lower fee [link] [comments]  |
| Can I use my HSA funds on my girlfriend’s pregnancy costs? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 03:01 PM PDT We are not married but have been living together for 3 years. We both have separate medical insurances. If not can I use mine for future baby's medical bills? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 12:21 PM PDT Hello all, I'm 48. Didn't start taking retirement seriously until about oh.... 2 years ago. My company just switched hands and I have a new 401k to go along with it. Putting in 6% currently, which is fully matched by the new company. My old 401k is sitting there and I'll roll it over to Vanguard. Any good advise on what to invest in? I'm looking to retire at 65 or 67 (earlier if I can swing it) Just trying to get the most bang for my buck. I'll be rolling over about $46,000. Thanks in advance for any helpful links or advice. Growing up there was no thought in the family about retirement planning. Just living paycheck to paycheck. [link] [comments]  |
| Is $1000 to $1500 normal for fees when purchasing a used car? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 04:35 AM PDT My fiance is currently looking to buy a used car. Her budget is on the lower side, as well as her ability to make a down payment, due to her piecing her life back together after various events. She's currently aiming to try to pay in the $220/mo range.. and I think she'd probably get a 3.8% to 4.0% interest rate (60 months, I think. 48 if the car is cheaper). As she looks around... every website lists things in her "price range" in that $10,000 to $12,000 ballpark. But as I look closer... those values are always calculated AFTER putting 10% -20% in as a down-payment. And then the sites that show additional costs, such as processing fees like "$999" and delivery fees in the $500 range on top of that, pushing the cars true price into the $13,000 to $14,000 range. Which would be well above her monthly affordability, if you roll those processing fees into the loan. Is this a normal rate? Is the down payment supposed to go to these fees? When you're trying to calculate the cost to the vehicle, shouldn't such high fees be visible... or do they expect you to have double the "down payment" on hand for a car purchase? edit: Just want to say thank you all for your insights. By all means keep them coming, but wasn't expecting this many responses, and getting a lot of helpful information here. [link] [comments]  |
| First time homebuyer… how many lenders should I apply to for a mortgage? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:58 AM PDT If I apply to multiple within a certain window it only counts as one credit inquiry correct? Edit: to clarify I haven't found a house yet, I'm just starting my search and want to get pre-approved. Any and all advice appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| Potential new job wants me to do an 8 hr working interview. Should I? Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:57 PM PDT hi all, sorry if this isn't the correct sub to post in. I applied to work at a dental specialty clinic, specifically for a reception/front desk position. They did a group interview (sorta) yesterday and they reached out to me today asking me to come in for a full day working interview next week. I'm on the fence about this just because I still have no idea what the pay is, not even an estimate. Although I really want this job (pursuing a career in the dental field, any experience helps), I don't want it if it turns out to be minimum wage as I just can't live off of that. Would it be inappropriate to ask for an estimate on compensation before accepting the working interview? Or should I just suck it up as it's only 1 day? I've never been asked to do a full day working interview so I'm unsure what's considered normal in this situation. edit: hi guys, i went out and came back to 100+ notifs so i'd just like to give an update. i've been emailing back and forth with the dentist. i asked him about the salary etc. he asked me what i'm looking to make so i let him know. he sent me an in depth response stating that what i'm asking for is no problem, and given my experience he planned on making me a different offer (which was a few dollars more than what i thought would be a realistic number!) he explained to me what the working interview would entail, and as some of you in the dental field mentioned, it's mostly to see how i mesh with the rest of staff and he said i would be given small tasks to see how i handle things. but i won't be given anything that directly benefits the business (i.e., dealing with patients or any "real" work, i guess it can be compared to homework? lmao.) and he reassured me that i would be paid for my time regardless of whether i'm hired or not. thank you to everyone that gave their input! i really appreciate it and so many of you were really helpful. ❤️ [link] [comments]  |
| Income Taxes During Divorce, does the working spouse pay 100%? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 05:05 PM PDT Hello, myself and my soon to be ex wife are divorcing, currently separated. We agree on all aspects of the split so there's not going to be a court battle assuming all continues to go well. I will receive full custody of our only child with her getting visitation twice a week. There will be no child support/spousal support paid by either of us. I work for a startup company and have done thousands of dollars worth of online sales this year before our separation and will owe a large (for my means) amount of taxes at the end of the year. I have been putting back 30% of all of my income for taxes, which is much higher than the rate I will actually be paying (excess tax savings was going to go to our emergency funds.) With the surprise divorce announcement about a week ago, I am trying to figure out how our money/taxes will be split. I was the sole worker, and therefore the taxes are on my income, however because we are divorcing, the funds in our bank accounts will be split 50/50. Will my ex wife be responsible for half of the income taxes, considering she will be taking half of the income tax money I put back? Or will I be responsible for 100% of the taxes at the end of the year? For example, say I have 10k put back in a savings account for taxes at the end of the year. She gets 5k and I get 5k of the money I've put back for taxes. Assuming the income taxes owed are 10k at the end of the year, will I be responsible for 10k, or will we both be responsible for 5k? If I am responsible for 100%, it will be very difficult for me to claw my way up to affording those taxes. I'm hoping the taxes will be split between us, or perhaps I will be able to keep the tax money so I do not end up in debt. How do taxes typically work during divorce with one income earner, in the simplest terms possible? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| 401(k) Traditional vs. Roth - Maybe Both? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:31 AM PDT Background: I am a young adult in my 20s with a job paying $70,000+ annually in a high income tax state. My employer will match 50% of the first 6% of my contribution and offers both Traditional and Roth 401(k). I have read the 401(k) wiki and have some basic understanding of personal finance and retirement savings. Question: I understand that Roth is recommended for young adults who expect their income to increase in the future causing them to be in higher tax brackets. I am wondering if it makes sense to save in Traditional at all. Alternatively, does it make sense to save some in Roth and some in Traditional? I haven't seen this discussed on this subreddit, but if there has been discussions, I apologize and would love to be directed. Of course, any decision would be highly personal. I just would like to know the potential consequences and if there are any benefits/harms to a mixed contribution plan. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 05:27 PM PDT Hello, I have about 70k saved up that I could use as a downpayment. I have 5k in an emergency fund that I'm working on growing. My net worth is around 245k. I'm 25. I make 72k per year, and live with my terrible family who even as I type this, are arguing downstairs. I'm trying to escape really ha. I invest most of my money into stocks, ETFs and 401k/Roth. I'm trying to find a place at 250k, but unfortunately where I live, everything is 350k or so, hence the 70k downpayment. I keep roughly $2300 each month. I have no debt. Car, school, CCs are all paid off. I don't think I'll be able to afford to move out, or buy a house because my parents always tell me I'm not going to make it. I'm not sure because I've got low self esteem about this. Thanks for advice. : ) [link] [comments]  |
| Cable company charged me $180 for equipment I returned. What do I do? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 02:51 PM PDT Optimum charged me $180 for equipment I returned and have tracking for. I used the label they provided on their website and tracking shows delivered. I missed the payment because my credit card (thankfully?) expired before it was charged. I did not notice the charge until I got an email about this missed payment. I called in 9/9 to dispute it and said I had tracking - they declined to take down the tracking info twice. They said they were opening a case for it and I'd hear back in 7-10 days. I got a bill from what seems like a collections agency on behalf of Optimum. Asking for the money and saying I need to write in to dispute the charge if I don't think it's valid and that if I do so they will produce whatever evidence there is. I'm so pissed - it feels like a total shakedown from my perspective and I don't see what recourse I have. Is there anything I can do? Besides disputing the charge with collections? Cable company was in NJ where I used to live before moving to Michigan if that matters. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 09:50 AM PDT Apologies. I tried searching for this topic but some posts are 5+ years old. I understand that the average mortgage to income ratio is 25%. This is according to my husband, a Dave Ramsey worshipper. Is this still the standard? Is it really bad if it goes up to 36%? This 36 not only includes mortgage, but HOA, homeowners insurance and we added our daughters school to it as well. We have no car payments, no student loans, and less than 3,000 credit card bill. Down payment would be 173k. My husband and I are not spenders. We grew up in very different socioeconomic backgrounds. Really the only thing we are guilty of is take out once a week plus the occasional Target run. It is a one income household. 123k annually. We are struggling with this decision mainly because of the mortgage to income ratio. My husband is adamant that we stick to a percentage, but I am also looking at it from a potential resale value for when we do move eventually. He's saying if we move forward we will have to have a super strict budget. We will have to combine accounts. I will need to work once our baby is old enough for part time school. The house we found is wonderful, a new build. It has a lot of added features that we haven't found in homes within our range. It was originally at 500k but lowered to 479k, plus additional incentives lowering it another 10k. So it's a little over what we wanted to pay but has a lot of the stuff that similar homes are offering for 500k or more. With the housing market that we're in I feel like this is a lucky break. We wanted to stay below 450k ideally. The neighborhood we came from in NC is declining. We didn't pay much mortgage because we paid nearly 40% down payment. It was great at first but we encountered bad neighbors. Partying to the point where other neighbors called the cops many times. Also, we were so close to North Charlotte, so crime is trickling up. Car break ins, potential home invasions, etc in the subdivision that is not even complete yet. We left at a good time. I do not want to go through the same thing again. Am I being totally unreasonable? Am I not being frugal enough? [link] [comments]  |
| buying a house as a medical studnet Posted: 17 Sep 2021 05:45 PM PDT Medical student currently studying in the US with plans to move back to Canada in 8-10 years following completion of residency. Parents are offering to help me pay for a down payment on a house in Canada and/or put their names down as co-owners/guarantors to facilitate the process (the house would likely be purchased in the coming months as at this moment in time I have a salary during my research year ~40 000$ USD). The house would be rented out during the next 8-10 years while I am away in the US. At the end of medical school, I will likely be around ~225 000$ CAD in debt (currently paying for school with a Canadian line of credit) with plans to stay in the US for residency (resident salaries are ~65 000-70 000$). Looking for advice on whether or not this is a wise financial decision at this moment in time. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 08:50 AM PDT So in early 2019 my grandma gifted me (M23) a Black Rock fund with a little over $3000. Today, after letting it rest for a bit I finally peeked and saw that is is currently valued at ~$5500. I'm a obviously ecstatic about this. However, now I'm stuck wondering what to do with it. Because I didn't open this myself, I'm a little confused about what it is exactly. It seems like on paper I have an account with Black Rock, and through them have invested in a fund. I'm not if there is a technical term for the type of fund I posses (I'd love to know if anyone knows), but the fund itself is invested in the BlackRock Balanced Capital Fund Investor A Shares and the ticker is MDCPX. So now I'm at a crossroads for what to do at this point. I see three options:
Also, is this something I need to report on my taxes? That's everything I can think of! Let me know if you need more information from me. Edit I am living outside the U.S. for the next 2 years, so most tax-advantaged funds are out of the question for me. [link] [comments]  |
| Can HSA fund pay for out of country medical expenses Posted: 17 Sep 2021 07:03 PM PDT We will be leaving the US in the next few years and don't intend to return to live here after that. The advantage of HSA is to save medical bills and use these to withdraw from it later. If I incur medical expenses in our new home country can I still submit those to then withdraw from my HSA here in the US? Or, knowing my situation should I not contribute to an HSA and instead just continue maxing my 401k and perhaps an IRA [link] [comments]  |
| Recently opened up a Roth IRA and I see my contributions going down. Posted: 17 Sep 2021 06:14 PM PDT Of course it is due to the market, but I feel like I have the worst timing. I have contributed on Fidelity in FZILX and FZROX. I assume I am not supposed to sell? I am very new to this process. I know that I have read don't sell because it will eventually go back up. I have put in 850 since starting last month and it is down to 840. Very little money of course but where I am brand new to saving into my Roth account I'd like to just know it's ok that I'm leaving it and that I continue to contribute each week even if I seem to be losing money? I am buying and doing 30% of the FZILX and 70% FZROX and am contributing $125 per week towards my Roth IRA. / Edited because I had my percentages flipped. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 04:41 PM PDT Long story short, I have my root canal done last month, and I file claim with my Delta Dental PPO plan. However, they refuse to pay when they suppose to cover for 50% of the procedure, the reason they deny the claim is that I'm over the age limit(I'm 31). I'm the only person on my plan, what is the over age limit thing? Am I suppose to be under 19 to get covered? I feel like being scam and wondering if anyone encounter this before [link] [comments]  |
| Can someone help me understand this? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 06:59 AM PDT I recently started with a local grocery store working overnights, I have posted a picture ( hopefully I'm not doxxing myself here ) of what I received from the store. at the bottom right, the total hours are correct. but in the bottom left where it says "REG" is under my total hours and what my paystub is accounting for. So my paystub says I got paid for the lesser hours under "REG" vs my total hour's worked. i have shown up every day to do my duties. simple mistake? it's like this on both checks. maybe I'm wrong and not reading this right. can someone help me understand, take photos of the pay stub also, just will need to crop it down. https://imgur.com/a/CcajnVD - clock sheets from HR Edit: Upload od the paystub so you guys can see what I'm talking about https://imgur.com/a/g3ZC5NO - Paystubs tlrd; my paystub says I'm getting paid for the hours marked under REG, and not my total hours clocked.. it's like i worked a day for free each week. [link] [comments]  |
| Weird Fraud: Dumb scammers or am I missing something? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 12:45 PM PDT So today I received a package from a computer company that I did not order. It was addressed to me, had an invoice and packing slip with my name and address, but was not an order I made. I contacted the company (PC Liquidators) and they told me when the order had been placed, how it was placed, and the associated email (which was not mine but was a variation on my name). I verified I had not made the purchase. While this was going on, I checked my bank statement and sure enough, I had a pending charge for the order. PC Liquidators agreed to refund it and emailed me a return label for the package. I contacted the bank and they created a fraud report and canceled the card. What I don't understand is why they would ship the fraudulent purchase to my house. I'm not sure what they had to gain or what else I should do. My credit is already locked at all three bureaus and I've reviewed all of my account activity across all my cards and have not found anything else out of the ordinary. Any help would be greatly appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Social Worker looking for clarity on child tax credit Posted: 17 Sep 2021 06:51 AM PDT I have been helping families with income from 0 to 20k apply for the child tax credit. However, I have heard over and over "yeah but they will need to pay back that money" from a million people on Facebook. Can somebody explain? [link] [comments]  |
| 403b or Optional Retirement Plan? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 01:52 PM PDT Hi all -- I was recently employed at a higher education institution. We have one 7% mandatory state pension contribution for all support employees, but I doubt I will work the 10 years needed to get the vested contribution from my employer, etc. We have two other options for retirement savings which is the 403b but there's no matching contributions at all, or a ORP (optional retirement plan) where it is immediate vesting with the state contributing 7.25% of my base salary through Fidelity. It makes sense to go with an ORP right? But I also have a 403b from a previous employer from Vanguard, and what should I do with that? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2021 06:54 PM PDT I don't know if this is the correct forum to ask and I'd be happy to post elsewhere for guidance if some other direction were given. A family member (73yo) receives ~$25K+/year (I don't know how much but it's at least 25) because she was married to her now-deceased husband that worked for the railroad. (Railroad Retirement Act?) This is 'mostly' her sole income. Said family member owns a manufactured home on a few acres in another distant city but in the same state that years ago she contracted someone to rent-to-own. The renter passed away relatively recently and the option to continue was passed to that renter's son. The renter's son decided he'll pay off the remainder, (~$17K) in full as opposed to continuing monthly and in turn will own the property. The family member in question currently resides in and has a mortgage for her own house with probably ~5-6 years remaining until she gets the note. Because of their income Medicare(likely?) pays $400/month for a medication they receive, otherwise it would be out-of-pocket. That's the back-story so upon receipt of the 17K the questions are: *Because of her consistent steady income her Federal/State taxes have been largely predictable over the years; how would this affect it? *Would Medicare consider this a "windfall" and decide to no longer pay for her monthly medicine that she needs? *I wouldn't think so (it seems apples and oranges) but doesn't hurt to ask; would it affect her monies received from the railroad? *Is there anything else unexpected that she should be prepared for when living on basically a fixed income? I appreciate your time and advice on this and again, if there's somewhere else I should ask I'd be happy to do so. This was only brought to my attention a few hours ago so I figured I'd get a jump on it and ask some $ brainiacs what their thoughts were. [link] [comments]  |
| Should I pay ER bill or have them rebill to insurance? Posted: 17 Sep 2021 01:51 PM PDT We recently had to take our kid to the ER overnight. We gave them our insurance card there, waited for hours to see a doc (or whoever we wound up seeing) and they ended up sending us home with no actual treatment. No big deal - it's what we expected as it was more preventative than anything. The hospital called us the next day, said they needed the insurance again - we provided the plan info again. Flash forward to today. We received the bill in the mail - its only ~$230 (much less than we expected - we've never needed to do an ER visit and figured it would be crazy). BUT - it clearly states 'no insurance on file' and the fee is our responsibility. We're on a high deductible HSA plan - we have not reached the deductible for the year. Is it worth it to talk with the hospital again, see if they can rebill it to the proper insurance, and see how much that covers of it (if anything)? I'm not worried about paying the current bill - though we're not sure if the overall charge could magically go up should they rebill. And knowing we have yet to (and likely won't) meet our deductible for the year... is it worth it? [link] [comments]  |
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