Personal Finance Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 19, 2021 |
- Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 19, 2021
- Why going to community college can be the best financial decision you ever made
- Well's Fargo will try to offer you a half-refund on fees no matter what. Always decline.
- I actually got a refund from Wells Fargo for the rate lock lawsuit!
- Bank froze my account, and is not being reasonable with identifying documentation [US]
- Should I drop out of my Computer Science Major for a full time position at my current job?
- Paying off student loan with life insurance
- Applying for Unemployment but with unrealistic timelines
- If you have a federal student loan with direct debit, make sure to submit a reconfirmation with your student loan servicer.
- I have around $7,000 in my account. Want to move out. I'm doing my best to research everything but it's all overwhelming.
- I was given a house by my parents. How do I invest in this?
- Is opening more credit cards to lower my credit usage a good idea?
- Cash out refinance debt payoff
- I am looking for a budgeting app like YNAB, but dumbed down and free. Any suggestions?
- Advice on inheritance
- Seven to ten business days to move my 403(b) to my SEP IRA. I'm retired, and have fewer options to invest with the 403(b). Here's the problem ...
- Need help with building credit, I'm 21 and still have zero credit history.
- question about filling out w4
- Totaled my car on Wednesday...
- Is a condo always a bad deal?
- Capital One Balance transfer
- Can I get a room "removed" as a bedroom to lower my property taxes?
- Meemic Insurance Added Me to My Stepdads Plan Without Asking
- Backdoor Roth IRA question
- Mortgage company mistakenly reversed mortgage payment
- Company moving to unlimited PTO - Only paying out at 50% of current accrual
| Weekend Discussion and Victory Thread for the week of November 19, 2021 Posted: 19 Nov 2021 01:00 PM PST 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] |
| Why going to community college can be the best financial decision you ever made Posted: 19 Nov 2021 09:08 PM PST So I graduated High School with a 3.4GPA. The community college I went to in Tennessee has something called the Tennessee Promise, where you can go to community college 2 years for free. I took maaaaad advantage of that. TN also has something called the HOPE scholarship (I'm pretty sure your state has something similar) where it granted you $3,500 a year. I also applied for random scholarships and got another one for $500 a semester. It was completely random, no idea what it was even for. Keep in mind I haven't even got to the federal grants. I was granted $4,000 a year, probably because I live with a single parent. Colleges will give you a "refund check" if you have money left over after tuition. And boy boy boy. After those 2 years I had like $8,000 cash in my bank account. The next year and a half (didn't graduate on time) I did have to pay but tuition was like $1500 a semester while I'm bringing in $4,000 a semester. I graduated with an associates degree and $14K in cash lmao. What a hack. Please go to community college. This extra money went straight into the stock market while I have a full time job at 21 years old. If you can't afford your dream school, do 2 years at a community college. Then transfer. Say no to student loans & high tuition unless you really need it for your career! [link] [comments] |
| Well's Fargo will try to offer you a half-refund on fees no matter what. Always decline. Posted: 19 Nov 2021 10:06 AM PST I just got off the phone with a Well's Fargo rep. After explaining to them what happened and asking for a refund on a fee, they offered me HALF of what they charged me. After I declined, they put me on hold and came back a few minutes later saying I got a full refund. So, if your asking a Well's Fargo for a refund they are expecting you to be stupid and spineless and accept the first offer. Don't! They are going to try to lowball you no matter who's in the wrong, don't go for it. [link] [comments] |
| I actually got a refund from Wells Fargo for the rate lock lawsuit! Posted: 20 Nov 2021 06:13 AM PST On the one hand, I am happy to get the money. On the other hand, it bums me out that I didn't even notice that WF had ripped me off by $5k. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/20/what-consumers-need-to-know-about-wells-fargo-settlement.html [link] [comments] |
| Bank froze my account, and is not being reasonable with identifying documentation [US] Posted: 20 Nov 2021 03:20 AM PST I woke up yesterday to find that my bank account was frozen. All of my funds were locked and my debit card was deactivated. I called the support desk, and they never specified why specifically it was frozen but that they were starting an investigation and they asked for identifying information. They want: Passport. Picture of me holding the passport. Picture of signed social security card. Bank statements for 3 separate banks. The problem is I am in Lebanon right now, and did not bring my social security card. I provided passport, picture of me holding the passport, picture of my driver's license, and bank statements for two of the three banks requested. The other account has been closed. They will not budge. Do I have any recourse, or did I just lose several thousand dollars? [link] [comments] |
| Should I drop out of my Computer Science Major for a full time position at my current job? Posted: 19 Nov 2021 08:35 PM PST I'm currently working as a Software Development intern for a startup. My boss (CTO) said that if I dropped out of school next semester, they could offer me a full time job making 80k salary + equity (I make $20/hr currently with about 20 hours a week). I would still keep my current job if I didn't drop out and go full time. I'm currently a junior in school, and have scholarships to bring tuition down to a little bit under what in-state tuition would be (I pay out of state). I could potentially differ my scholarships, though I'm not sure how worth it that would be (or if I could even do it). Does anyone have any experience doing this? Did you have issues getting a job or getting more compensation because you didn't have a full degree? Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Edit 1: A lot of people have suggested going to school for 1 or 2 classes, and just take the job. I would do it, except my scholarships (20k a year) require me to be full-time, so I would end up paying a lot more for just the 1 or 2 classes than I would be paying as a full-time student. My tuition is 25k a year before my scholarships, just for reference. Edit 2: I think I'm going to stay in school (like a lot of people have suggested). I want to have more options than this, I'm not sure I could get myself to go back to school, and I'm not sure I want to take the risk that I'm out of a job and my scholarships in 3 months if the company goes under. [link] [comments] |
| Paying off student loan with life insurance Posted: 19 Nov 2021 04:22 PM PST My husband passed away this year and I received the low end of six figures in life insurance. I have two children who receive survivor benefits that cover our basic living expenses. I was a stay at home mom at the time of his death. I'm in the process of getting licensed in my field of study but have had to postpone the process while I get through the grief so I am currently unemployed. Should I use the life insurance to pay off my student loans or should I defer them until I have a job and then pay for them that way? Currently I have the life insurance in a savings account because I'm too scared to do anything with it because my instincts aren't reliable. Normally I'd ask my husband for his advice but his ashes aren't saying much. (j/k - surviving through humor) Thank you [link] [comments] |
| Applying for Unemployment but with unrealistic timelines Posted: 20 Nov 2021 08:01 AM PST I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but if someone can help, or knows where I should post this to get help, please let me know. I've recently tried to apply for unemployment benefits in my state after a hospitalization, but the form to be filled out was emailed to me on the 12th, and only came to my doorway yesterday on the 19th. The expiration on the hearing is 10 days after it is sent out, so on the 22nd. The paperwork to be returned to the Department of Labor would also need to require a "Physician's Certification of Claimant's Health", to which I can't get until Monday, the 22nd. In addition, the Department of Labor would require it to be faxed over to them, which I do not have a personal fax machine and am out of work. Is there any way that I can request them to extend the time to submit the paperwork or what else can I do to apply for Unemployment benefits? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2021 09:19 PM PST Because federal student loans will have been paused for 22 months when payments restart after January 31, 2022, student loan servicers are requiring a reconfirmation of your direct debit election for direct debits to resume. I suspect many won't pick up on this critical change especially because moves, lost mail, the lack of a payment for many months, or whatnot. If you fail to reconfirm, no payment will be withdrawn, and there is a risk if you don't get the bill to pay it, you'll miss the payment. Also, if you have an interest rate reduction from using direct debit, you'll lose the reduction while it's not active. Also, besides the above, make sure to check your banking details and update it for any changes. (Post also copied to https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/comments/qxyo0i/if_you_have_a_federal_student_loan_with_direct/ for relevance.) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 07:53 AM PST I'm 21. I've been working at Target ($15/hr) for the past 6 months. I like the job and hope to keep it for a while. Though hours fluctuate. Last 2 weeks were 24hrs/week. Next two are 40hrs/week. I live with my parents and siblings. The relationship between me and the rest isn't good. I want to get out. My dad makes plenty of money. I dont help pay anything, but if and when I want something for myself, I buy it (laptop, camera, etc). I do my best not to leech of off him. I dont have a car/have any bills to pay. I've been trying to do research on purchasing a car, renting a place, etc. But almost every video/source I find jumps into it expecting me to understand things like down payments, insurance, finances, loans. I know I'm dumb but I'm trying to learn. If anyone has any helpful videos/sites I can visit that can help, it would help more than you know. I'm sorry if this has been asked a lot. I dont really have anyone I can ask about it (not the best relationship with parents, dont really have friends) [link] [comments] |
| I was given a house by my parents. How do I invest in this? Posted: 20 Nov 2021 08:32 AM PST So a little back story, I'm 25 years old. I have no college debt, I own my own car so no car payments and when I was 23 I inherited a small single family home with no mortgage. My Mom and I did all the paperwork with lawyers and I officially own the home. Since 23 I've been doing my own renovations on the home. The house itself is over a 100 years old and I currently live in it while working full time. I live in Ontario and the housing market is crazy here. How can I make this house work for me? Do I save up and try to put a down payment on a new house while renting this one out? Do I flip it and sell while finding somewhere else to live? I understand how blessed I am and just want to make the most of this great asset I was given. Edit: I make roughly 50K a year. I want to quit my full time job and my long term goal would be to own multiple real estate, have people renting from me essentially. The house in Ontario is worth about $230,000. I don't have many living expenses or bills. All my bills combined including groceries etc are roughly 1k a month. I could always move back in with my parents but I don't really want to do that. [link] [comments] |
| Is opening more credit cards to lower my credit usage a good idea? Posted: 20 Nov 2021 09:27 AM PST I'm not a avid credit card user, I'm just a bit tired of my credit being shot down for having a high utilization rate every time I use it. So do you guys think opening/raising your credit card limit is a good idea to stabilize your C.U rate? [link] [comments] |
| Cash out refinance debt payoff Posted: 20 Nov 2021 06:37 AM PST So I got about 35k out of my house refinance that I plan to use to payoff some credit cards, personal loans, or student loan debt. I have a lot of debt, but relative to my income it's not bad. I want to get rid of it fast now though. I am familiar with the debt snowball method Ramsey teaches, where you pay off smallest loans first. Another way is to pay off highest interest debts first. I have another approach I am thinking about. What if I figure out which debts I should pay off to give me the highest net cash flow? For instance, I have a student loan about 10k. Interest rate is low, but it takes $250 from me each month. Then, I funnel that 250 to my other debts, to really get the snowball going. What do you think? [link] [comments] |
| I am looking for a budgeting app like YNAB, but dumbed down and free. Any suggestions? Posted: 20 Nov 2021 06:34 AM PST The thing i loved about ynab was the money bucket system. I liked to manually allocating my paycheck, but the part that made ynab so nice was being able to quickly add and subtract income/expenses into said buckets with their built in calculator. Spending $3 and being able to quick subtract that, or gaining $300 and being able to put that in my available money, then allocate it later; it was very nice. Thats literally all i used it for , though, before realizing it was a trial. The app i am currently trying is Brans (free) and it is super close to what i want, but its hyper specified to a month by month basis, which i dont care for. I prefer having just overall budget at the current moment (ex: i currently have $200 of free fun spending money and i happen upon $20 more so i add that on, but two months from now i only have $2 free spending money. Brans doesnt allow me to do this as im stuck to whatever the original budget i set for each month). I dont mind spending money on an app, just dont think what i am asking for is worth the $84 a year from ynab. I dont need the other features as i am good with my money, i literally just need a super solid and fluid money bucket system. So, anyone happen to have an alternative to ynab's money bucket system that is cheapish (like 1 time payment) or free? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 09:02 AM PST Hi there, I read the sidebar and was hoping for some specific advice for my financial situation. I'm M31 married to F31 with two kids under 1 year old. We both work part-time and stay home part-time because we live in a rural area and there is literally no child care available (we're on waitlists that are 2 years out). We've saved about 9 months' worth of emergency funds. We each have retirement matching contributions through our jobs (mine is a IRA and hers is a 401k). We own our home that's valued at $400,000 and there's about $230,000 left on our mortgage with an interest rate of 3.99%. Monthly payments are about $1300. I have $90,000 in student debt with an interest rate of 6.125%. Our monthly payments are about $380. I work in public service but since I'm not working full-time, it would be a long time before the 10-year PSLF. We have about $8,000 on a car loan with interest rate of 7%. Our monthly payments are about $270. We started contributing to a 529 plan for each of our kids. If we continue at the current rate we felt comfortable with, it will pay for 2 years of higher education tuition for both of them by the time they're 18. Monthly contributions are about $300. We just learned we'll be inheriting about $100,000. We'll be talking to a financial advisor but the main question we have is: does it make the most sense to pay off the student debt? Or invest it in something else? We feel like we can manage the monthly payments but will make saving any more than what we currently have pretty difficult given that we're living off the equivalent of one income. Thanks for any advice. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 05:54 AM PST I thought it would be electronic transfer, same day. I have a sizable amount in the 403(b), and if that money is in limbo until the transfer is complete, I may lose a a fair amount of money. Based on the two days so far, and the funds I had, I've lost over $10k so far. Is the money working for me while I wait for the transfer to be completed? [link] [comments] |
| Need help with building credit, I'm 21 and still have zero credit history. Posted: 20 Nov 2021 05:54 AM PST I have been with a small bank in my area for almost 2 years now and I haven't had a single overdraft experience. https://imgur.com/gallery/G82vRBB Those are my options for cards, my dad send to go to rent a center to build credit but that isn't the best way right? I figured going with my bank might save me money. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 05:46 AM PST i fill this out in a new week as a i start a new job. However I am currently married and my wife works. She makes 30k (before taxes) a year and ill also make 30k a year. I am guessing I would check 2c, leave part 3 blank (we have no kids or depndents) and for part 4 put $60 for extra withholding (not any deductions im aware of). I am just worried of messing up. [link] [comments] |
| Totaled my car on Wednesday... Posted: 20 Nov 2021 08:25 AM PST I totaled my car Wednesday evening. I voluntarily took all sobriety tests for the police report. No injuries, just me and my car involved and the stoplight I hit. I uploaded registration, title, loan payoff to the claim as well. Beyond my claim filing with insurance that I completed, any other steps to take? This is my first major accident so not sure how to proceed and had a clean driving record last 8+ years. Car details: purchased certified used 2017 Rogue, 49k miles in 2019 for $16k. As of Wednesday it had just under 70k miles. Recommendation to buy sooner and then use the insurance payment on it? My airbag did deploy so my understanding is it will be totaled. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 06:42 AM PST Hi all, I would love some advice. I'm interested in getting started in RE investing on my own. I found an area next to a growing state school (formerly a commuter school). The building itself is on a hill a few blocks from a small downtown college with nice restaurants. And two blocks from a hospital. I like the area. SFHs in the area go for around 500k, which would be ideal but I would need to wait a few years before I could enter. I figure a condo would be a simple easy way to get my feet wet in the area and gain experience too. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Here's the deal. 1br/1ba condo w/ beautiful view of a huge mountain and over looking the city. It's a small 2 story apartments building with only 12 units total. A few blocks from a hospital and up hill from a growing state school. Exterior is dated but the interior is quite nice no amenities. 200k purchase price -P/I ~$720 (15% down 30k @ ~3.7 still shopping for rates) 1300 rent (rentometer says 1650) 250 HOA covers management fees, sewage, water, trash no electricity HOA has about 30k in account total No SAs on the horizon Plan to self manage since it's about 25 min away. Property tax is ~1800 Edit- painted a rosy picture here because I'm leaning one direction but given that I would barely break even and condos don't appreciate well, I would like to see all sides. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 09:31 AM PST I initiated a balance transfer with Capital One via their website to play off another credit card. 3 days later, I see the balance transfer amount at Capital One and I still have the existing balance on the original credit card. I called Capital One to ask what's up. They said they were sending a check (usps/snail mail) to the other credit card. Two weeks later, I have two credit cards showing the balance. So, Capital One is basically acting like the check was cashed, when it hasn't even been received by the other credit card. It seems totally illegal for Capital One to show a balance when the check hasn't even been cashed. Do I have any recourse? I've called Capital One customer service, and they say there is nothing they can do. Lesson learned: even if you initiate online transfer and it shows the receiving bank info, don't assume the transfer is digital! Uggh! [link] [comments] |
| Can I get a room "removed" as a bedroom to lower my property taxes? Posted: 19 Nov 2021 08:28 AM PST We bought a house that had a garage workshop turned into an indoor office space (the garage entry was sealed and a new entry was made indoors). It has a french door entry, no windows, no closets. It's roughly a 15 x 15 room. When we purchased the house it was listed as a bedroom but it was obvious that it isn't. In reading briefly about how property taxes are assessed, would it be possible to get the bedroom "removed" from the house details to lower the assessed value? edit: I'm in Dallas, Texas [link] [comments] |
| Meemic Insurance Added Me to My Stepdads Plan Without Asking Posted: 20 Nov 2021 09:01 AM PST I'm a college student in MI, I recently changed my address on my license to be my moms house rather than my dads because of convenience. However, now both my stepdads and moms insurance have tried to force me onto their auto plans despite the fact that I only drive a car my dad owns and I am on his insurance. Can they add me to the plan without my consent? How do I get off/prevent this from happening in the future? It's ridiculous that they can just do it without even asking or notifying me. I literally never drive my stepdads or moms cars. *correction: stepdads insurance is Citizens's, which is the one that just automatically added me. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Nov 2021 08:33 AM PST If I do a backdoor Roth IRA and contribute the max this year, can I contribute the max in 2022 to that same Roth IRA or do I have to do a separate backdoor Roth IRA and contribute that way? Essentially, can I just do one backdoor Roth IRA and contribute to it yearly or do I have to go through the process each year and have a bunch of separate accounts? [link] [comments] |
| Mortgage company mistakenly reversed mortgage payment Posted: 20 Nov 2021 08:24 AM PST I refinanced my mortgage earlier this year and the new mortgage was sold to PNC Bank. Soon after, I got a copy of my tax bill which says it was requested by PNC. I prepaid property taxes at closing and the title company who handled the closing made the payment of property taxes for this year. However, PNC also made a duplicate tax payment even though I only had $700 in my escrow account and even though I informed them that the title company already paid it. This created a shortage in my account and I asked them to reverse the payment. I discovered a week later they they actually reversed this month's mortgage. PNC and my bank blamed the other for it even though I made the first payment in October without any problems. After going back and forth between PNC and my bank, I finally got a representative with PNC who seemed to understand what was going on. In attempting to reverse the duplicate tax payment, the processing department misinterpreted the situation and reversed my mortgage payment. I have not been charged a late fee but he said they could waive it if I get charged. He said the mortgage payment was sent back yesterday and I should get it back within a few days. I found out from the tax collector that they didn't get any payment from PNC but would refund it to PNC if/when they get it. I wrote a letter to PNC informing them of these errors. Under federal law, they must fix them within 30 days but may extend it an additional 15 days in some situations. What recourse do I have if it's still not fixed on the 46th day? Tl;dr: Mortgage company sent in a duplicate tax payment and mistakenly reversed mortgage payment. What can be done if they don't fix it timely as required by federal law? [link] [comments] |
| Company moving to unlimited PTO - Only paying out at 50% of current accrual Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:29 PM PST In Pennsylvania. Company is ending earned PTO and moving to unlimited PTO at start of 2022. They will pay out any earned PTO, but only at 50%, but for many years they have paid out earned PTO at 100% if you leave. Everything I have read says that in PA there is no law to force PTO payout, but if it is promised and earned (which it is and handbook documents this) they need to payout at 100%. HR tell us to go pound sand, be happy with 50%. Advice? Note: For CA employees they are paying out at 100%. [link] [comments] |
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