Personal Finance These rent prices are getting out of control: longer commute or higher rent, which would you do? |
- These rent prices are getting out of control: longer commute or higher rent, which would you do?
- Should I Quit My Job Before, During, or After My Performance Review?
- US health insurers must cover home Covid-19 tests starting Saturday
- New CHASE fraud email warning
- Is it a bad idea to spend nearly 40 percent of my inheritance on a house, I'm paying all cash for the house, and my income would be more then enough to afford the house.
- How do I recover from this in the best way possible?
- Maxing an ESPP does not mean what I thought it meant
- Identify what rent my salary can handle?
- Job is offering credit union membership as an employee benefit. Is it worth it?
- When they say make sure you spend on housing 30% or less, do they mean of gross or net income? I’ve been reading several articles and they all say differently.
- Do I need a 401 K started now?
- Autoinvest in VTSAX vs Regularly investing in VTI
- Is it always a bad idea to withdraw from your IRA early?
- What’s a healthy emergency fund?
- Auto refinance offer appears to be nothing more than a dressed-up extended warranty
- Negotiating salary during promotion
- Pay Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax
- Retiring by 45 - am I on the right track?
- How much money should I be keeping in the bank?
- Beater car with cash or decent used car on a loan
- Need to send $20k overseas in the next 90 days. What would you do? (US) (India)
- Thinking of getting an apartment, will my income be able to support me?
- Help buying a car in "cash"
- 23 y/o in credit card debt...panicking
- How far back on self employment income do they look back when home buying
| These rent prices are getting out of control: longer commute or higher rent, which would you do? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 10:20 AM PST When I moved here about a year and a half ago, I got a nice apartment for about $900 a month, only 15 mins from work. Now I'm looking to move in August and wanted to see what kinda options I'd have, and rent seems to be $1,200 a month minimum in this area now! I pay about $980 and even that's stretching my budget. $300 avg increase in less than 2 years, almost 30% (is my math right?) So now I'm considering moving further away, having about a 40min commute, for about $1,000 a month. I don't mind long morning drives because it gives me time to listen to a podcast and eat breakfast to wake up a little. But 40 mins seems like a lot and it would be the longest commute I've had. Which would you do: $1,200+ for a 20 minute commute or $1,000 for a 40 minute commute? Please give me your insight and opinion on this matter, as my mom recommends I just move back in with them for a 1.5hr commute lol. [link] [comments] |
| Should I Quit My Job Before, During, or After My Performance Review? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 05:23 PM PST Hi everyone, I work in tech at a FAANG (or now MAANG) company and it's performance review season. I am planning to quit my job this year (I don't hate it, just want to try new things) in March and was going to give my resignation 2 weeks to the date of my bonus payout date which is in early March. However, my performance review conversation is at the end of February and I thought that might be a good time to start the conversation. After some digging, I realize that might be in bad form. So now I'm wondering when is the best time to give my notice? I may get a promotion and to do it after may be awkward, if I do it before it may affect my review (although I highly doubt this). Any thoughts on when the best time to give notice would be? Also, if I'm not employed with this company before the bonus hits my bank account then I won't get the bonus so that's why I'm even staying until March. [link] [comments] |
| US health insurers must cover home Covid-19 tests starting Saturday Posted: 10 Jan 2022 03:32 PM PST Sharing this news as it relates to health insurance a frequent topic here on PF... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): https://www.cms.gov/how-to-get-your-at-home-OTC-COVID-19-test-for-free Beginning January 15, 2022, individuals with private health insurance coverage or covered by a group health plan who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test authorized, cleared, or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be able to have those test costs covered by their plan or insurance. Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover 8 free over-the-counter at-home tests per covered individual per month. That means a family of four, all on the same plan, would be able to get up to 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month. There is no limit on the number of tests, including at-home tests, that are covered if ordered or administered by a health care provider following an individualized clinical assessment, including for those who may need them due to underlying medical conditions. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 06:29 AM PST Never click on the email link! I know this is said quite a bit, but these scam emails are getting realistic. Just received a fraud alert email from CHASE that was absolutely identical to a real one. All the correct info, logos, etc. A literal copy of a real CHASE email. They had also spoofed the sending address to match the official CHASE address. I pulled up an old legitimate email and could not find a single difference. Make it a habit to always just open a new tab and login through the official site. Those extra 10 seconds could save a world of hassle. PSA over. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:43 AM PST I just inherited almost 2 and a half million dollars from my uncle, who didn't have any children, or was married. Since me and him were very close, and I helped him alot when he had cancer, doing errands and helping him around his house, he left me his estate. 2 years later, I just got done selling his house, and all said and done I have around 2.4 million in the bank. I got offered a job in Southern Florida, and plan on relocating soon. I was looking at a Nice updated 3 bedroom house with an inground pool in a gated subdivision in Boca Raton for around 850K, I know that sounds like a lot, but I have full custody of my half brother, who'd be moving with me. I want to have a house in a safe neighborhood. Id be paying around 800 per month in real estate taxes, plus 150 HOA. While that is a lot, at the same time I wouldn't have a mortgage. Even with utilities, it still would be cheaper then to move into a one bedroom apartment. Plus id still have plenty of money left in the bank. Should I go for it, even though the market is crazy right now, could I still negotiate a lower price, since I am an all cash offer. [link] [comments] |
| How do I recover from this in the best way possible? Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:05 AM PST I'm finding myself to be in real debt for the first time in my life. After a very long toxic relationship I needed to move away to a new city and find a new job. I've been airbnbing for 4 months till I could finally find an apartment, I have a decent job but I can't find a good way to reach and of the month with my current debt (about 6k euros) My monthly pay gets annihilated within a few days because of the many expenses I had to do for the new home and between rent, gas and food I find myself almost 1k neg already after 10 days post monthly pay. I never really had money issues before and my family and friends can't help me. My 6k euros debt comes from credit card expenses (had to buy and or replace furniture and my computer I use for work too) And I thought about raising my limit to 8k so I would be able to transfer 2k back to my bank account but sadly my cc company just told me they can't do that atm and I'm stuck. On the one side those 2k would greatly help me this and next month so I can slowly recover and reach the end of the month in green again but by doing that my debt would obviously increase even more. What do I do? What other logical options would I have ? I live in Germany atm Here an approximation of my monthly expenses: My income is ~ 1800€ net (aka post tax) 700€ rent 250€ heating/electricity/maintenance for my home 70€ internet for my home (no way to have cable /dsl where I live so I gotta use the more expensive lte router option sadly) 50€ mobile phone data/calls 550€ debt collection from past purchases (Going to the aforementioned 6k in total) 40€ car insurance ~250€ food ~180€ fuel [link] [comments] |
| Maxing an ESPP does not mean what I thought it meant Posted: 11 Jan 2022 05:55 PM PST This is a kind of an esoteric topic so I doubt it will appeal to many folks but maybe someone will get something out of it! I decided to max my ESPP last year, to the IRS limit of $25,000, which is allowed by my company. So I took the number of pay periods and divided it into $25,000 and elected to have that amount withheld from my paychecks. The top Google searches echo this: "The max contribution is $25k..." "I encourage clients to contribute as much income as they can up to the maximum (either plan maximum or IRS $25,000/yr maximum) contribution amounts." "Participating employees choose to have a portion of their pay (up to 15%, or $25,000 per year) set aside by their company." All was going well until this last session and I log into the plan and find that half my money is missing. I called Fidelity and it was explained to me that the contribution limit isn't actually $25,000, but $25,000 is the maximum output I can receive ($25,000 = my contributions + the plan discount + potential stock growth from lookback feature). I checked out what the IRS has the say about this: "an employee may purchase up to $25,000 of stock (based on the fair market value of the stock at the time the option was granted) in each calendar year" This means I don't need to defer as much of my paycheck and I won't receive as much profit as I imagined. It is also tricky to plan for because the lookback feature might generate some extra profit in Q1 and so I could have excess contributions in Q2 - ultimately I can't guess the market and I can only choose my contribution amounts one week a year. My discount is 15% which ultimately generates a 17.6% profit (if the stock costs $100, I can buy it for $85 for a profit of $15 -> $15/$85 = 17.6%). I divide the IRS limit by 1.176 ($25,000/1.176) to get $21258. I can never contribute any more than $21258 a year, less sometimes depending on the lookback feature and stock performance. In conclusion... THIS is what maxing my ESPP actually means! TL;DR I'm dumb and ESPPs are complicated. [link] [comments] |
| Identify what rent my salary can handle? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:59 PM PST Hello! I landed my first corporate job out of college (first job at all) and will relocate to California from Texas. I am apartment hunting and I can understand the economic differences between the states. I am trying to figure out a way to narrow down my options, I don't want to search among the cheapest of places and end up in a real shit place but also don't want expenses to make me live paycheck to paycheck. So my question can be, what's an optimal range rent for a 70k a year salary in California? [link] [comments] |
| Job is offering credit union membership as an employee benefit. Is it worth it? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:45 PM PST I have about 17k in my trust savings plus a good chunk in my checkings. Should I switch everything over and ditch truist? Open up a savings account on the credit union and move a a chunk of my savings over there but keep everything else as is? I don't really understand the differences between a bank and a credit union tbh. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 09:18 PM PST Some articles say net and others say gross income. Also, what percentage of your gross income do you save/invest? I'm curious to hear from others. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| Do I need a 401 K started now? Posted: 12 Jan 2022 12:35 AM PST Hello! (19F) I'm not sure what a 401 K is but i've heard many people talk about. Since i'm pretty young I've started to go on a financial journey of budgeting, saving, and investing. I am in the midst of setting up a Life Insurance policy on myself incase I pass away before my (4mo) daughter can take care of herself on her own. I also am setting up a Roth IRA. So is a 401 K needed? And can you tell me what the point of them is? Thank you!! Ask for more context if needed!! [link] [comments] |
| Autoinvest in VTSAX vs Regularly investing in VTI Posted: 11 Jan 2022 10:56 PM PST Is it worth opening a taxable account at Vanguard to set up autoinvesting in VTSAX for long term passive investing? Or should I stick with my Fidelity taxable and just log in every month or so to purchase $x of VTI? Which is a better strategy? I like the lazy, emotionless approach of VTSAX but not sure if opening another taxable account would be a hassle or holding etfs have some advantages that I am not considering. [link] [comments] |
| Is it always a bad idea to withdraw from your IRA early? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 10:50 PM PST I have a SEP IRA that's been dormant for about 5 years. It will be several decades until I'm 59 1/2 years old. I see there's a 10% penalty. Plus treatment of the full balance as taxable income at ordinary income rates. Which comes out to about a 40% net fee when taking the penalty (10%), federal (~30%) and state (~10%) taxes. So if I have $100,000 in an IRA... I am paying about $40,000 to remove the remaining $60,000. There was a 'qualified disaster distribution' back in 2020-2021 allowing individuals to withdraw a one-time sum of up to < $100,000 without penalty. But I don't see anywhere that the government plans to continue this into 2022. I have a pesky IRA that I would love to rollover into a regular brokerage account. And move the money away from the financial advisor I have it with. Anyone done this before, or recommend it all? Otherwise I'll just keep it as is. [link] [comments] |
| What’s a healthy emergency fund? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 05:35 PM PST We're about to move and are reworking our budget with new mortgage/expenses. I know conventional wisdom is to have 3-6 months expenses in your emergency fund, but that's such a wide range. Our family of 4 spends on average about $6,500/month. My husband is much more conservative and wants a full 6 months on hand - so around 35-40k. I feel that if we were in true "emergency" mode our expenses would be at or below 5k; no daycare (if one or both of us is out of work), no eating out, no frivolities. Therefore the 25k we'll have in the bank after moving should be plenty. Our new budget should leave around $800/month unaccounted for after maxing out Roth IRA's, pension contributions and small amount into 403B's. My husband is behind in retirement so I feel our extra cash would be better served in his 403B. He wants to throw it into savings for a while till we hit that higher number. What's the better move? [link] [comments] |
| Auto refinance offer appears to be nothing more than a dressed-up extended warranty Posted: 11 Jan 2022 06:29 PM PST This week I looked into refinancing my car loan - my credit score has improved significantly over the last two years and I thought high used car prices might work in my favor. I did get an offer that looked good at first, but now I'm having serious doubts. Currently, I'm paying $394/month on a loan with a 9.92% APR. I have almost exactly $20,000 left to pay. The offer I received via RateGenius would have me pay $358/month on a loan with a 4.36% APR. Pretty good, right? I thought so, but then I saw that I would end up paying $21,472 over the life of the loan. After examining the proposal, I realized this was because of a 6-year extended warranty and gap coverage added to the overall amount of financing. Plus, the coverage on the extended warranty appears to include categories that would only apply to a hybrid or EV (my car is neither). I'm assuming the correct course of action here is to not pursue this offer - I'm generally opposed to extended warranties, my car is only 4 years old, I keep it maintained, and I've driven far less than expected the past two years because of the pandemic. That said, I really would like a lower monthly payment and interest rate. How can I pursue that without a bunch of needless bells and whistles being tacked on to get more money out of me than I'm already planning on paying? [link] [comments] |
| Negotiating salary during promotion Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:02 PM PST Hi everyone, Is it okay to negotiate salary if we get promoted? How does one go about it without knowing how all of this is determined and looking selfish. I wouldn't want to impact other team members, is the increase determined individually or by department? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Pay Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:02 AM PST We live in the UK. My father died last year and we're doing probate ourselves. (We're not well off and paying a solicitor a percentage of the estate to fill out forms seems wildly extravagant, until it comes to questions like this.) My father wasn't well off, but did have an enormous house bought for very little in the 60's and lived in ever since. The house valuation we got was below the £1mil ril rate threshold for Inheritanmce tax. (His and my recently deceased mum's combined nil rate and residence nil rate bands.) So on the Probate form I ticked the box to say we are selling the house, but want to use the valuation as the property value rather than the sale value. We have since got a more high-flying estate agent dealing with the sale, who have experimentally put the house up closer to £2mil. Would we be better to use a higher sale price for inheritance tax purposes and pay 40% on everything over £1mil? Or paying no inheritance tax, and then paying Capital Gains tax on the whole house when it was sold? Is this what would happen? Two of us three beneficiaries are lower rate tax payers but I think my brother might be a higher rate tax payer. [link] [comments] |
| Retiring by 45 - am I on the right track? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:31 PM PST Edit: thanks everyone for your help! Based on everyone's comments, I need to do a lot more research, especially regarding healthcare costs, but I think at a minimum I will be increasing my target to at least 2M with a 3% withdrawal rate (60k/year). If I cut my expenses, I could still achieve FIRE by 45 but I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice my enjoyment now just to retire at 45 since, who knows, I could die at 40. I'd still be happy retiring at 50, I think, if it means I can enjoy my hobbies and the occasional fancy dinner for the next couple decades. Trying to find the right balance that works for me. I'm currently 32 and am aiming to retire by 45. My FIRE Target is 1.6M with a 4% withdrawal rate for 64k/year. I know my current account balances are low for my age/salary, but keep in mind that I entered 2017 with $1000 in my checking account and living out of my trusty prius because I quit my job and gave my money to my family thinking that I wouldn't live to see 30.
Current salary is 152k and I don't think it will increase significantly from here as I've taken an easier job and am kind of just coasting. I will be maxing my 401k (with 4% match) and rIRA, as well as investing 4500/month in my brokerage. I have access to mega backdoor roth but think I should have the money in my brokerage to fund the earlier years of my retirement. Am I thinking correctly about that? With a 4% return, I should have the following by age 45:
My current home is worth ~535k and I have 370k remaining on the mortgage (2.5%, 29 years left). I will likely be selling this house and downsizing in ~10 years as I get closer to retiring. I have no other debt. I own a 2014 prius that costs very little to run and should last me another 5-10+ years. Short of losing my job or other catastrophic event, are there any issues with my plan and why I wouldn't be able to retire by 45? I am single and do not want kids. (Please don't tell me I might change my mind... I'm a single 32 year old woman with mental health issues. I can't handle a dog, I certainly do not want a kid in my life which was confirmed by the arrival of my niblings.) I've tried to play it on the safe side so a few things I left out:
[link] [comments] |
| How much money should I be keeping in the bank? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:26 PM PST Tldr: I have $40k in the bank and basically no expenses. Should I invest it somehow? I recently moved back in with my parents due to a work location change. I plan to stay here for at least 6 months. I am paying them rent but its nothing compared to my old apartment, not to mention free utilities. When it does come time to move out, I live in the midwest so houses aren't $1m+ like most people say on reddit. However a house still feels like a thing I could never have. I recently read something like "You burn 3% of your money every year if you leave it in a bank due to inflation", which brings me here. Im 30 years old. I make ~$70k a year with about $900 in expenses a month. I have a paid off car in good condition (2014 but no plans to upgrade soon). I put 5% into my 401k which my company matches, theres ~$100k in there. And I have $0 debt (no degree). I'm not in great health. I have a couple chronic diseases with expensive medicine. My insurance recently informed me that they may stop covering a drug I have to take. If that happens it will cost about $10k a year. Based on my health history and my parents, I may have inherited an auto immune disease, but that isn't diagnosed at this time. Basically, a medical emergency fund is essential for me. My question is, is $40K to much to have liquid in my situation. If I should be investing it, in what exactly? [link] [comments] |
| Beater car with cash or decent used car on a loan Posted: 11 Jan 2022 10:25 PM PST I am 19 turning 20 in two months. Ive owned 2 nice Volkswagens in the past. My first was a 2019 Jetta I paid cash for spent my entire savings on stupid I know. What was stupider after that I sold it for 18,000$ and put 15,000$ on a 25,000$ car I've sold it now and maxed out my roth and put an additional 7,000$ in brokerage my savings sits at 3,000$. I refuse to take any money out of my brokerage accounts.I liquidated them before to buy a car and it is something I will never do again. so my question is should I put 3,000$ down on say a 10,000$ car or buy a beater and save like crazy so later I can buy a decent car with cash. Credit scores EXP 723 TU 705 EQ 729 [link] [comments] |
| Need to send $20k overseas in the next 90 days. What would you do? (US) (India) Posted: 11 Jan 2022 10:20 PM PST Me: Expat living in the USA on a visa. $110k income. $0 debt, high credit score. My parents in India have decided to purchase a new property to retire. They have owned properties before, so this purchase would likely be a wash to reduce the tax burden. However, I want to support ~$20k towards the new house to help with the closing costs, renovations, etc. Currently: $150k ish net worth, $140k in stocks and 401k, rest (~$13k) is cash that I keep in checking account for day to day expenses. Cash is enough to cover 2-3 months of expenses in case of unemployment. No children, no other debts, live and share expenses with girlfriend in a Very HCOL city. All credit cards are paid off every month, and I have an $81k combined credit limit on credit cards. Potential Strategy: Concerns: I need to remit the money to India by April 2022. Would any of these options work for drawing a loan and sending a significant amount overseas? I will send a lump sum of $20k via Western Union, Remitly, or wire transfer. I feel comfortable paying off a 0% APR balance transfer over 12-15 months. Cash flow would come from deferring the discretionary spend that I was putting towards after-tax brokerage anyway. Missing out on potential stock market gains for helping my parents purchase their home seems like a fair tradeoff to me, and I want to do everything I can to support them. I am asking for advice on the community because I'm not well versed in taking on debt. Throwaway account, but please let me know if I can provide any more information. [link] [comments] |
| Thinking of getting an apartment, will my income be able to support me? Posted: 11 Jan 2022 03:23 PM PST I've recently got a new job that pays 46,858 annually (roughly 3000 monthly post tax) My current bills are: $832 /month Mainly my car, my phone, and some debts. /// Rent on average is $1000-1300 +110 for hydro and parking. Then $200 for food monthly (I've already worked out key budgeting and otherwise) And $110 for internet (required for my at home job) So this would put me at about $2500 commitments per month This is all new for me so I'm curious, is the remaining amount, the $500 that I MAY have extra is that okay? Am I putting myself at risk? (I'm sorry if this isn't the place to post) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2022 09:38 PM PST I haven't ever bought a car from a normal dealership and was wondering what should I expect and what documents do I need to bring? Situation: My wife needs a car as a job opportunity popped up and we only have one car. I would like to buy a decent used car anywhere from $15k-25k. My wife won't be able to join me in going to the dealership. We live in California. We need this car really urgently, I would rather not look like a fool and walk into a dealership without necessary stuff and waste time. [link] [comments] |
| 23 y/o in credit card debt...panicking Posted: 11 Jan 2022 05:50 PM PST TLDR: angry with myself...expenses outlined at end of post Just gonna be brutally honest that I have seriously reckless spending habits - mostly due to lack of personal finance knowledge, partly due to mental health challenges that makes impulsiveness surge out of control. I'm working on changing my behavior/habits (e.g. took a hard look at my spending/budget cut out all unnecessary expenses - see end of post) and have finally found the right psychiatrist/medication to get myself back on track; however, I'm staring at my ~16k maxed out credit card balances and 698 credit score feeling completely hopeless on how to get myself out of this mess. My dad advises/controls most of my retirement account decisions (401k and Roth IRA) and after graduating college early, I made it a priority to max out retirement savings ($19k a year for 401k and $6k for Roth IRA) to take advantage of interest while I'm still so young. I currently have an $86k balance in my 401k, which I am very proud of, but in order to get there, I made a mountain of mistakes boiling down to not cutting back spending in other areas to account for the decrease in income and using up all of my personal savings (yeah, all of it. How stupid am I?) On top of over spending, I moved to my own apartment to improve my mental health, which obviously only made things worse, financially. After graduating, I was in the worst mental and physical health in my life and my #1 priority was getting away from my home life (traumatic relationship with parents). I'm in a much better mental space now but I can't even celebrate that because I'm looking at all this bad, irresponsible debt. My apartment lease ends in May and I'm planning on moving back home to get my debt under control but my depression, anxiety and PTSD will take a significant toll on my mental health and that adds to all the stress I already feel. I'm getting engaged soon and want all my credit card debt paid off before we get married, but ideally, as soon as f#%king possible. I've researched Upstart personal loans to consolidate my CC debt at 7% interest. I feel so much regret, disappointment, and anger with myself for creating this situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Salary: $86,900 CC #1: - Balance: $11,151 - APR: 21.74% - Minimum Monthly Payment: ~$350 - Actual Monthly Payment: $500 CC #2: - Balance: $4985 - APR: 15.39% - Minimum Monthly Payment: ~$250 - Actual Monthly Payment: $300 Expenses per month - Rent: $1150 - Utilities/Internet: $150 - ***Roth IRA: $1200 - CC #1: $500 - CC #2: $300 - Groceries: $300 - Gas/parking: $150 - Student Loan: $150 - Medical Expenses: $75 *** Edit: I make $1200 Roth IRA payments per month until I max out. I have $4200 left to go [link] [comments] |
| How far back on self employment income do they look back when home buying Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:14 AM PST I know they look at the last 2 years of taxes but I have a question. What if by tax statements for the past 2 years doesn't really show the amount of money I'm now making through self employment because of covid. Due to the covid mandates I had to slow down on my self employment gigs for the past 2 years so my self employment income on my taxes in the past compared to what I've been averaging over the past few months are low. Is there anyway they can take the last 3 months of self employment income & bank statements and focus on that more? I have a regular job as well but I doubt that alone is enough income for approval [link] [comments] |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Personal Finance. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment