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danielv835

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Human: PLEASE reserve your judgments; NOT what I need right now. I'm a combat veteran, a descent man. I've been married for 4 years to a woman who, in many ways, saved my life. I've been sober for 1 year and found out yesterday that I'm gonna be a daddy! Problem is: I have poor credit and little in savings. The thought of buying a house has been all I can think of for the past 24 hours (that and the fact that I'm gonna have the best family ever!). What tools are available to me, as a veteran, in order to help me buy a house? Sounds cliche, but I'm not looking for a hand out, just a step up. Jesus I've been so freaking selfish regarding my finances. I hope it's not too late for someone like me to own a home! Any advice would be appreciated! Edit: I make 48k/yr. I have a 18k in an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program) account that I'll get in May of this year. And I have a couple of credit card accounts. I also have about $2500 left to pay on my car note.

You don't need a house just because you're having a kid. If you're not in the right financial situation to buy a house, buying a house will potentially be detrimental to your kid's future.

I am in the mortgage industry and you should be able to use your VA benefits to qualify for a VA loan. These loans offer veterans the chance to buy a home with no downpayment and no MI (mortgage insurance). Usually the minimum credit score is 620. I would start by pulling a credit report. Once you see where your credit sits go to VA.gov and apply for your Guarantee. Then move on to contacting a Mortgage Company to speak to a qualified Loan Officer and see where you sit. Hope this helps!

Human: I bought a 2016 Toyota Sienna in October. The other day we had a huge hail storm and my car was pummeled with lemon sized hail while I was on the interstate. My windshield was completely shattered and body is covered in dents. I filed a claim with insurance but the quote came back at 8k after the body shop told me it would probably be a total loss. I went to the dealership to see what I could trade it for "as is" and then apply the insurance check to the new car as well since it will likely be May before they can fix it due to everyone needing repairs. The Toyota dealership said that they couldn't even trade it in because it was absolutely totaled and that there is no way it could be fixed properly for 8k and that even after repair, my trade in would be less because of the reported damage. My end goal is to trade it in for something smaller and cheaper since my spouse and I are considering divorce and I will need to put it in my name only and afford it on a single income. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed from here. It seems like none of my options are putting me in the same position as before the hail storm.

Negotiate with the insurance company. Get quotes from body shops. The body shop doesn't decide if it's totaled, only the insurance company. They are lowballing you with their initial offer. If the damage is more than a certain amount, they will totally and pay you the value of the car. They will then keep the car unless you decide to buy it back from them, for usually a small amount.

You need to let the shop fix it. If it totals at that time during the supplement process, then you can negotiate with your insurance on what the car is worth and put that towards a new one. You have the claim filed already and it's comprehensive so it WON'T count against you on your renewal. There's no reason not to go through this as you'll just be out of pocket for your deductible. If it isn't totaled, trade in the fixed car at another dealer from where you brought it to.

Human: Hello Guys, I acted impulsively and put in my 2 weeks notice at my job due to stressful work environment. I am in the process of moving out of my current apartment and moving into a new one next week. Should I go through the move or just cancel and move back in with my parents? I was currently making $17.50 per hour. Savings: $1000 | Car Payment: $340 | Monthly Car Insurance: $160 | Monthly Phone: $55 Monthly New apartment: Deposit: $750 (Paid) | Monthly: $500(Utilities Included) | First Billing Date: Apr. 28 ($250 every 2 weeks) Assistant: You didn't have a job lined up before putting in your two weeks? Human: I know it was pretty stupid of me to do, but I just couldn't take the work environment.

> I know it was pretty stupid of me to do, but I just couldn't take the work environment. That's life, mate. Sometimes adults put up with shitty stuff because we have to. You really have two viable options: 1) Ask to undo your two week's notice 2) Work like hell to find a new job in the next two weeks.

You still should have been looking for other work while you're employed. Hell I just started a job last month that I love but I'm still browsing Indeed for opportunities.

Human: Found out about this last month when I dropped my phone on the pavement and the screen shattered. If you pay your cell phone bill with a Wells Fargo credit card, you get free insurance coverage with a $25 deductible. The claims process was pretty simple. I just had to fill out a form, provide a copy of my cell phone bill, a copy of my credit card statement and an estimate from the Apple Store for screen replacement. Within a week, I received a check in the mail for the screen replacement cost (minus the deductible). I wouldn't go out of my way to sign up for a WF card just for this benefit, but if you already have one, you should definitely look into paying your cell phone bill with it. It also covers multiple phones if you're on a family plan. https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/features/cell-phone-protection/ [The details](https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/assets/pdf/personal/credit-cards/agreements/cell-phone-protection-guide-benefits.pdf)

Is it really worth the risk of using Well's Fargo?

Yeeeeaahhh I wouldn't have anything to do with Wells. Probably do some more shady shit and open a life insurance policy out on you after they issue a hit

Human: Say that I lose my job during a market recession and I'm no longer able to invest. I miss out on the returns from buying at bargain prices since I'm unable to invest every month a certain sum of my income. wouldn't it be wise to have an investing emergency fund on top of your regular emergency fund so that I'd be able to continue investing at the same amount monthly as I did when I was employed?

I would vote "no", as essentially that would mean you'd have to keep huge amounts of money in cash during the good times just in case you ever get fired and can't get a good job soon *and* this also happens during a stock market downturn so you'd like to buy stocks. You would lose out on years and years of good returns just for this potential event. Of course, having a general emergency fund to cover health care costs or the bills during a period of unemployment: yes, definitely. Having *some* money in cash in case of financial emergencies is good.

If you have extra money above what you need to pay your short term spending plans and you are comfortable with your emergency fund then just invest it. Market timing rarely works. In all likelihood you'll lose more off having this investing emergency fund in a low interest savings account then you'd make off of making regular deposits while unemployed.

Human: I have started to accumulate a decent amount of furniture & stuff, that I would like to keep. I am considering leaving Ohio in a year for a more interesting job and trying to plan early. I read the Moving Expenses publication on the [IRS website](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p521/) and have a few questions: If I were to have all of my belongings moved from my apartment cross-country does my moving expense deduction equate to a 100% refund of what I spent moving? Do I just need to keep receipts of the moving company I use as proof of reasonable expense? If I read correctly, I assume I can pay a moving company (out of my pocket) to move all my apartment belongings to a new location and get a 100% refund during tax season. I want to make sure that I understand if there are any "gotchas" I need to be aware of. Thanks for your help.

If you qualify, it's a tax deduction, not a tax credit. The IRS isn't going to pay for you to move. They're just not going to make you pay taxes on that money.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: Like the title says I just told my landlord that I'd like to renew my lease. He emailed me back saying that he hasn't been following the rental market in my area and wanted to know what, in my opinion, a fair rent price increase would be for this year. Obviously, my first inclination is to say "$0, I think my rent is already fairly priced." However, I was thinking if I can suggest a small increase ($10 or so) he may be more inclined to accept than $0. Does anyone know what I could cite as an authoritative source for this type of information? Or use to do some research to see what a fair increase would be. I'm in the U.S. The irony of this all is that my landlord is actually an economist, so I want my reply to be grounded in hard facts, e.g. an authoritative rental price index or something like that if it exists. Thanks for any advice. tl;dr my landlord wants to know what I think is a fair rent increase for my lease renewal. How should I answer this? Any authoritative source for this type of info?

"Well, at this point, according to X, Y, and Z, I'm paying about $100 too much. What would you suggest we do about this?"

Do you pay your rent on time? Are you a good tenant? Is the current rate fair for the area you're in? If the answer is yes I'd use being a good tenant as a reason to not increase rent. If you move out your landlord might get stuck with a crappy tenant. This of course depends on the area you're in. If demand is high in the area and rents are higher than what you're paying you're going to have to negotiate.

Human: I'm 26 with a steady job. I recently put money into a Vanguard IRA and now I have no clue what to do with it. I plan on putting in $200 every month into this account as well. This process is all very confusing to me.

Vanguard s&p 500 index fund.

I will invest in cryptocurrencies... Actually I already did it. Its a solid investment with a really strong background :) Digital era rules!

Human: My wife and I are upper 20s/lower 30s with one child. 3 years ago we purchased a house for 129k, the interest rate is fixed at 4.49 we still owe ~112k toward the principle. I have been working toward my dream job where I will earn more money but it has been tight financially. Currently we are within a few hundred of breaking even each month. I currently make under 30k, and my wife makes about the same. We try to keep 10k in the bank for emergencies and we have been floating around that number for months. We have no debts besides the house. This is not the reason for my post, just giving some context. I received a call from my mortgage lender the other day. It seems my house value has gone up to about 154k. They are offering me a refinance. It will start the 30 years over again, the new rate will be fixed at 4.375, and I will get ~13,800 cash back at closing. my current rate (escrow included) is ~870 and the new rate would be ~917. My wife and I have already spoken and we would not do anything with the cash out money till I am earning more, it would just give us more cushion, than as I earn more money it would allow for home/life improvements (ie a deck or pregnancy) without having to build up finances as long. We were in the habit of paying extra each month to the principle, but recently that hasn't been an option. I know that the first few years are the heaviest for interest payments and I see how my lender would benefit from this, but I also see how this could give us some breathing room till I am making more in case something unexpected comes along (car breaks, pregnancy). What do you think? TL:DR OLD NEW 4.49% 4.375% 27 yrs left 30 yrs left 0 money 13k money 870 month 917 month Thanks for the help!

It sounds like you will trading a tenuous situation for a situation with more debt, a longer time until you are out of debt, and a higher monthly payment, in return for doubling your emergency fund. In your position, I MIGHT look at a no cost to me refinance to see if I can get a lower rate, but the money I save with the lower rate would have to break even within about two years or less. For example, you have a $112,000 loan right now, at 4.49%, so you are paying ABOUT $5,028 a year in interest. A 4.375% loan would be $4,900 a year in interest. Refinancing at those rates would save you $128 a year, and thus your closing costs (that will get folded into the new loan) would have to be about $250 or less, which is quite unlikely. It seems the best answer might be to not pay any extra on your loan until you have your emergency fund up where you want it. Good luck!

You might have incorrectly formatted line breaks. To create a line break, either put two spaces at the end of the line or put an extra blank line in-between lines. ([See Reddit's page on commenting for more information.](http://www.reddit.com/wiki/commenting)) I have attempted to automatically reformat your text with fixed line breaks. ---- > My wife and I are upper 20s/lower 30s with one child. > > 3 years ago we purchased a house for 129k, the interest rate is fixed at 4.49 we still owe ~112k toward the principle. > > I have been working toward my dream job where I will earn more money but it has been tight financially. Currently we are within a few hundred of breaking even each month. I currently make under 30k, and my wife makes about the same. We try to keep 10k in the bank for emergencies and we have been floating around that number for months. We have no debts besides the house. This is not the reason for my post, just giving some context. > > I received a call from my mortgage lender the other day. It seems my house value has gone up to about 154k. They are offering me a refinance. It will start the 30 years over again, the new rate will be fixed at 4.375, and I will get ~13,800 cash back at closing. my current rate (escrow included) is ~870 and the new rate would be ~917. > > My wife and I have already spoken and we would not do anything with the cash out money till I am earning more, it would just give us more cushion, than as I earn more money it would allow for home/life improvements (ie a deck or pregnancy) without having to build up finances as long. > > We were in the habit of paying extra each month to the principle, but recently that hasn't been an option. I know that the first few years are the heaviest for interest payments and I see how my lender would benefit from this, but I also see how this could give us some breathing room till I am making more in case something unexpected comes along (car breaks, pregnancy). What do you think? > > TL:DR > > OLD NEW > 4.49% 4.375% > 27 yrs left 30 yrs left > 0 money 13k money > 870 month 917 month > > Thanks for the help! > ---- ^(I am a bot. Contact) ^[pentium4borg](https://www.reddit.com/user/pentium4borg) ^(with any feedback.)

Human: My fiancée and I bring in about $100k combined. I contribute 10% of my income to a Roth 401k with a 50% traditional match on the first 6% from my employer. My fiancée contributes 10% of his pay to a state retirement fund. Together we have about 210k saved for retirement and we're both 40 years of age. He has student loan debt of 47k at 3.8% interest. Together we have a total of $8500 in consumer debt at about 6.25%. We have an emergency fund of about 20k. We are expecting a baby next month and I'm having anxiety about how we're going to fund her education. I've read that we should fund our own retirement first. Our budget is somewhat tight for saving options. I feel like we're behind but we did the best we could as single people to save for retirement. I'm not sure what to do. Do we tackle the student loan first or open a Roth IRA to save for either retirement or use it to help with her education in 18 years. Is it better to start a 529 for her? We've had to completely pay for our own educational expenses and I have parents who haven't prepared well for retirement. Both situations are stressful. Thanks in advance for any advice.

There is no we in finances until you are married, so until you say I do you should attack your debts separately. Focus on your retirement, before you worry about focusing on your child's education. >We've had to completely pay for our own educational expenses and I have parents who haven't prepared well for retirement. Both situations are stressful. Forcing your kids to take care of you because you haven't prepared is worse than your kids having to take out loans to get an education and the fact of the matter is unless they want to be a doctor or a lawyer they don't have to take out massive loans to get their education. If they go to community college for two years and then transfer to an in-state school they can get an affordable education. Your kids can work during college to pay their way through school. They can get scholarships and grants if they excel in high school, my point is they have options.

You may find these links helpful: - [Student Loans wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/studentloans) - ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) - [What's the best way to pay down my debt?](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/debt#wiki_what.27s_the_best_way_to_pay_down_my_debt.3F) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: So as the title says my SO works for a guy that lends out cars. He takes a cut of what she makes driving Lyft in return for letting her use a car. At around midnight some drunk fuck crashed into her parked car and drove off. According to boss man the insurance didnt cover it and now hes charging her 250 a month to pay it back. To me that seems sketchy as hell. Im pretty sure the insurance would cover that. And Im also pretty sure you cant charge employees for accidents like this. Im worried he got covered and is making her pay on top of that.

I would tell your SO to have this guy furnish the insurance documents to prove it. sounds like a scam imo and if the car wasn't insured, thats not his fucking problem either as far as I'm concerned

The whole setup sounds sketchy as hell. She needs to get hold of the document she signed.

Human: Hello everyone! My apologies in advance as this turned out to be quite the mouthful - also, I hope this touches on personal finance enough to belong in this subreddit. I am looking to get an outsiders opinion as my fiance and I have been inside our own little echo chamber with all of this. So long story short: together 5 years, lived together for 4, still madly in love. Life is good. Bought a house 2 years ago and we currently live in our rural hometown. Getting married in August. He is 31, prior Navy - did 6.5 years active. No college experience. Currently works in the prison system (coming up on 4 years) as it is one of the only employers around here that doesn't pay minimum wage and has state benefits. He is not happy with this job, but keeps it because it pays the bills. He makes enough to cover his share of the bills and to contribute to his 401k. He also has nothing left to throw at savings/debt reduction. I am 30, have gone through Army Basic Training (initial separation due to them breaching contract on my job + me being young and not looking at the big picture = me not reenlisting). No college experience. Currently working at the local hospital as a physician's receptionist making very meager money. I make enough to pay my share of the bills and enough to feed us. I have nothing left over for an emergency fund, savings, debt reduction, etc. We feel that, with our age, we need to make a drastic change. Although we do want children, we are not financially stable whatsoever. He wants a career change as do I. I want to go active in the Navy as a Cryptologic Technician. I would go through Navy basic training, then to A school. About 6 months of training (I believe). I'm not disciplined enough to make it through a college degree. I have tried, and I have failed. I know firsthand that I thrive in a military setting. This rating (job) would set me up for gainful employment after I'm out of the military and provide me with civilian certifications as well as security clearances. He would use his Montgomery G.I. Bill to go to Lineman School, which is around 3 months, and he would be employable shortly thereafter. He also may join the Navy Reserves after I'm stationed to complete the rest of the 20 years needed to draw retirement. My biggest worries/cons list: * Essentially starting over at 30 years old. * Taking this route means we won't have children as I will be enlisted for at least 6 years with this particular rating. From a personal finance standpoint, that's not a bad thing. From a personal standpoint, I'm neutral leaning towards maybe having one. Not a deal breaker. * He has contributed quite a bit in his 4 years with the state to his 401k. I don't want to lose any of it. * Renting out our house. The benefits I see from this plan: * Fast track to a career without having to go to college + without incurring student debt. * He gets to change his career to a less stressful/dangerous field in a short amount of time at no cost to us while they pay for our housing when he is in school. * We would no longer live paycheck to paycheck and live in an impoverished area. * We can pay off our debts, including our house that we would like to come back to when we retire. I know a lot of this is absolutely personal decision and isn't really in the realm of Personal Finance... but I'm wondering if our proposed career change is silly considering our age. Thank you in advance! TLDR: A couple of 30 year olds on the brink of making life changing decisions to break the cycle of paycheck to paycheck living and we don't know if we are being unrealistic.

Have him look at converting his MGIB to the Post 9/11. He could potentially go to school full time and make more money due to the BAH. Right now I get $1100/mo to go to school. If I had 100% of the GI bill it'd be more like $2100/mo.

Sounds like a good plan. It's going to be much easier at 30 than 40. And a lot easier before having a child (you can always adopt). If you stick to what you're doing now you have at least 35-40 more years of paycheck-to-paycheck. I would also recommend looking at using [YNAB](http://www.youneedabudget.com) for budgeting. They have tons of free videos and webinars. Some specifically for getting out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

Human: My wife earns $40k/yr and her company has set a 35% cap on how much she can contribute to her 401k from her paycheck. With that being said, it's impossible for her to hit the IRS max of 18k. I'm wondering if there are other ways to contribute to her 401k for example, using after tax dollars in our bank account and just recoup the deduction at tax time?

Pretty sure 401k contributions have to be made by paycheck deductions.

So if she maxed it out at 35% that gets you to $14K, then she could open up a Roth IRA and max that out to get you to $19,500 or you could use some of your income to max it out. If she has the option of an HSA that is another $3400 that can stocked away for retirement.

Human: In a poor family. Came out of school with decent grades, but not further education grades, got a job. Asked my boss recently for some support with university (rather than a raise) and he approved of it. He's paying for me to go to university. Much better than the raise I was about to ask for.

Get good grades and keep your boss up to date (on progress and grades). Let them know you're taking the investment they are making in you seriously.

Lol almost as bad as my coworker who does school work 4 hours a day. A few BJs on the side works wonders

Human: As the title suggests, I want to get some feedback on spending an estimated 45% of my take home pay on rent. Currently, paying $1220 living with another person. I am in a scenario where I must move out. My current situation was a great one (cheap and great apartment), but due to circumstances I must move on. Most small studios will run me $2000. I found a cool 1br for $2475. I'm starting a new job next week where I estimated I will take home ~$5288 /month (using an online tax calculator). I have zero debt. I have an emergency fund (~18k) sitting in an Ally high yield savings account. Current necessary monthly expenses: Groceries, Phone bill, Car insurance (car is not with me in San Francisco), Public transportation, Gym Rent would run me $2475. Utilities I would have to pay would be electricity. Internet and cable as well (I would be open to dropping cable). With 2475/5288 = ~46% would this be stretching it too far? Obviously the rule of thumb is 30/35%. Any advice or things to consider are appreciated.

You'll be house poor. It's doable, but you will feel your choice A LOT.

You might have incorrectly formatted line breaks. To create a line break, either put two spaces at the end of the line or put an extra blank line in-between lines. ([See Reddit's page on commenting for more information.](http://www.reddit.com/wiki/commenting)) I have attempted to automatically reformat your text with fixed line breaks. ---- > As the title suggests, I want to get some feedback on spending an estimated 45% of my take home pay on rent. > > Currently, paying $1220 living with another person. I am in a scenario where I must move out. My current situation was a great one (cheap and great apartment), but due to circumstances I must move on. > > Most small studios will run me $2000. I found a cool 1br for $2475. > > I'm starting a new job next week where I estimated I will take home ~$5288 /month (using an online tax calculator). > > I have zero debt. I have an emergency fund (~18k) sitting in an Ally high yield savings account. > > Current necessary monthly expenses: > > Groceries, > Phone bill, > Car insurance (car is not with me in San Francisco), > Public transportation, > Gym > > Rent would run me $2475. Utilities I would have to pay would be electricity. Internet and cable as well (I would be open to dropping cable). > > With 2475/5288 = ~46% would this be stretching it too far? > > Obviously the rule of thumb is 30/35%. Any advice or things to consider are appreciated. > ---- ^(I am a bot. Contact) ^[pentium4borg](https://www.reddit.com/user/pentium4borg) ^(with any feedback.)

Human: Hi guys, quick question here. I am currently 24 year old, have a full time job that pays above average for my type of work as well as my age, and I was thinking about saving for retirement. However, a colleague said it was probably not worth it and better invested in something (properly, stocks etc) due to the possible inflation that can occur to money in the next 40 years before I retire. Anyone have a comment on this?

Saving for retirement does not mean putting the money in a low interest saving account. It means investing it in mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. Targeted risk depends on when you plan to retire. Things like an IRA will allow you to reduce your taxable income today and withdraw it when your taxes are lower. For example if you are in the 25% tax bracket and invest $5500 into an IRA it would reduce you taxes owed by $1350. The higher the tax bracket the more you "save" today. There are also 401ks that reduce taxable income. Take advantage of these today.

You may find these links helpful: - [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more) - ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: My current vehicle isn't going to last me much longer i've ran it as long as i could. I am looking at buying a newer vehicle and was thinking it would be smart financially to pay it off only using Uber. However i've heard some horror stories of people who work for Uber who don't make any money at all due to fees and taxes. Any advice? Assistant: If Uber is your only income, it's a very bad idea. Human: I should have put more in the description detailing my income. I make $1100 a month net pay and have $500 of bills including rent.

You'll barely be able to cover the maintenance cost of the vehicle with what you'll make driving for über. You'll be killing all of your income on car payments and insurance.

This doesn't improve your standing, makes it worse even. Most auto lenders want a minimum $2K monthly income.

Human: I am looking for a job to pay for a car for school over the summer. I need a job that will allow a 16 year old to work, and will look semi "relavent" on a resume. Any ideas?

No, you don't need a job that looks semi "relavent" on a resume. What will look relevant is that you got a job and held it, and made a good enough impression that your supervisor or an adult coworker will allow you to use them as a reference after. At 16, literally any job you don't get fired from is fine. Edit: Watch your spelling; it will affect the first impressions you make with some people, and you won't know which ones mattered until it's too late.

This is a perfect chance for you to build your own business. Figure out a business you think you wouldn't mind doing (landscaping, snow removal, babysitting, car washing, etc), print out some business cards and charge a fair not cheap rate for your work. People love helping a teenager with ambition succeed. Build your own business and it will be a better learning experience and more profitable than working for a grocery store or Walmart.

Human: Hey, everyone, first post here. Long story short, I didn't realise until today that I left my debit card somewhere; can't remember where it was. I checked my bank statements and found someone has been using my card to make purchases on Amazon. I have already canceled the card, but the items were delivered before I could cancel the authorization of my card for those purchases. What can I do about this?

Go to your bank and dispute the charges. They may require a police report. Your local police should make a criminal use of a financial card case for you.

Talk to your bank about getting the charge(s) refunded to your account, contact the police for a report if needed, then keep better track of your bank card.

Human: Whoever is handling my friend's inheritance has told her she will receive about $300K worth of value in total. She is hoping to make a business investment and/or other types of investment in order to secure future financial stability. She is 40, married, and has several children still living at home. Her current financial situation is living paycheck to paycheck. One bump in this scenario is that her more financially-comfortable sisters also inherited a house each. Of course, they came up with the brilliant idea of selling off all three of the houses and splitting the money. To me, this sounds kinda sketch, but maybe I'm biased because I love my friend, and she got the most valuable house. She reluctantly agreed to this arrangement, but is conflicted because her sisters are stable enough to wait for all three houses to sell before splitting the money, while my friend is not. Anyway, aside from that, she would like to know the best way to use this money to secure her future and possibly create a business, while still enjoying a little bit of it. For example: by traveling abroad for a week or two. Your advice is appreciated!

>Her current financial situation is living paycheck to paycheck. she needs to be very very very careful. odds are she has bad financial habits. she could squander this money very quickly. inheritance is like the lotto: most of it is wasted, and people are back in the same mess 5 years later. if your friend has bad money habits, as she probably does, this inheritance will simply give her the opportunity to be irresponsible on a larger scale. she needs some kind of financial boot camp. does she have any experience running a business? if not, starting a business with any of this inheritance is probably not a great idea. odds are she'd be better off invested in some boring mutual funds that would generate additional income indefinitely provided she withdrew only interest/growth. your friend has no choice. it simply takes time for whoever's in charge of the estate to go through the court, pay outstanding bills, and do his or her other responsibilities. selling a house takes time. selling several houses takes more time. >they came up with the brilliant idea of selling off all three of the houses and splitting the money uh, is there a lawyer involved in this plan? if they each inherited a house, why are they pooling the money after the sale of the houses? >her sisters are stable enough to wait for all three houses to sell before splitting the money, while **my friend is not**. why is she not stable? oh right: paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. sigh. if she lives paycheck to paycheck, she ought to not spend any of this money on "a little fun". a little fun will turn into a lot of fun. she needs to change her habits, top to bottom. she probably won't, however. expect that in 3 to 5 years all the money will be gone, she'll have nothing to show for it other than a car that's depreciating in value, and she'll be boo-hooing to you again about her money problems. she needs a budget, now. she ought to start getting her act in order before getting any money. she needs to learn to cut out unneeded spending. eating out too much is the usual culprit. I know you're a friend, but you might need to be a little blunt to get through to her and make her realize she's causing her own problems. if she's asking for help, she needs to be willing to sit down with you so you can go over her receipts and bank statements to help set up a budget that spends less than she earns and gets her bad habits under control. if she's not willing to do that, you're wasting your time.

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Human: As the title says, I changed my job in 2016 and also my employer-sponsored insurance. My new employer did not offer an insurance for about a month, hence the gap in the coverage duration. During that time, I tried to enroll in the Obamacare but the representative said that it will not matter since it's only for a month but when I was doing taxes through H&R online, it reduced my tax return by $700. Is there an exemption for a situation like this? Below is some information about myself: -Status: Single -2016 income: ~$40k -Residency: California

There is, the short gap exemption. If you have a gap of less than 3 months in your coverage you don't have to make the shared responsibility payment.

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Human: I am currently full time employed making around 80k a year, but have 22k worth off cc debt from college/after college. After taxes, I take home around 4000 a month, with around ~1500 in fixed expenses. How should I go about in attacking my debt. I already have a slate card from around 4 years back that only has a 1,000 CL that I stupidly applied for in college (no balance now). Thank you in advance!

Sounds like you're going to spend the next year and a half chucking $1500-2000/month at this credit card debt to get it paid off. Use the avalanche method. Read about it in the wiki.

Look up Dave Ramsey. Debt snowball.

Human: Hey guys, I have been wanting to buy a new car. The problem is that I have a honda civic 05 that I absolutely hate driving because every little bump I feel on the road. Its incredibly uncomfortable to drive even after I bought it a new suspension. I have laid my eyes on a 2015 Lexus ES350 which if I buy I plan on having for the next 10 years at least since Lexus is known for durability and great comfort. How dumb is this idea ? Assistant: Be careful about asking about cars in /r/pf... most people around here will tell you to buy a 15 year old Honda and drive it into the ground. But the real important question is... what's the rest of your budget look like? That is all that really matters. If you own your house outright and grow your own food, spending $25k on a car is not a significant issue. However, if you pay $2k for rent, and are barely making ends meet after the rest of your bills, buying a $25k car is a poor decision. A $25k car loan is probably between $450-$500/month. If that fits in your budget then go for it. Don't forget to also consider higher insurance premiums. A Lexus is probably not a LOT, but it will definitely be more than an older Honda Civic. Human: This is what I was thinking. I know that PF is all about building for your future so I get that most people will tell you to stay debt free but damn that car feels nice. lol. But yeah my mortgage is at 1000 bucks, I have almost no debt probably like 800 bucks and other than that I max out my IRA and get a pension from work. But I know that PF is all about being frugal. From my understanding some people say that you shouldnt spend more than 10 percent of income on car. so if you make 100k, buy a 10k car. Assistant: It comes down to what you value more. Comfort and a nice car now vs retirement funds down the road. If you put $300/mo for 5 years into a fund that earns 5%, you'd earn an additional $1900 in interest over those 5 years. Not to mention the interest you'd earn by having an extra $18000 saved (nearly $20k after the interest). If you are already maxing out your retirement option and you have an emergency fund, then why not splurge a little bit on a car right now? Human: Damn you make a lot of sense. Like I said I have a pension plus the IRA . I guess I can contribute into my 457 as well. Assistant: If all you are doing is your IRA, you are well under the 15-25% we normally recommend for retirement savings. Pensions don't count as it is not your money until one mysterious day down the road you probably get a payment. Probably. Look at it as icing on the cake. Human: Wait why wouldn't I count pensions?

Because it's not "your" money. If you leave your employer, the pension accrual stops and depending on how your pension plan is setup, you can be a few years short of an awesome benefit and have an awful benefit. Pensions are the property of the company, and if the company goes bankrupt so goes your pension (there IS insurance for this through a QGE known as the PBGC, but bankruptcy courts have long been known to modify pensions to help companies make it out of bankruptcy or settle with creditors). You can also lose potentially lose your pension for various legal reasons for your behavior (think bad, gross, awful misconduct that rises to a criminal level). The biggest issue is since you have a 457 and a pension, I'm willing to bet you work for a governmental entity. Almost all government pensions are HORRIBLY underfunded. There are some exceptions, but not many. There will come a day of reckoning when either your benefits are cut or the pension accrual is stopped for these plans. The mismanagement of government pensions has been astounding over the last 30-50 years. Pensions also die with you and cannot be based on to heirs except for perhaps one survivor designation. You have this great pensions payment, but it's totally gone as soon as you kick the bucket. If you kick the bucket before you ever draw one red cent out of it, outside of a survivor clause the whole thing vanishes in to thin air. For all of those reasons and many more, I would advise you to NOT count a pension towards your 15-25% retirement contribution and instead treat it as icing on the cake if it pays out as promised and expected.

Other than knowing it's there, it's best to pretend you don't have retirement money set aside. It can be too tempting to borrow against it, which is nearly always a bad mistake.

Human: I'm thinking I can just use one app and one bank. I rarely use my debit card. 6 months ago I was approved for a secured cap one and 4 months ago I got an unsecured. All my spendings go on the cards and I only use my checking account from the credit union to pay off the statements. Just salty that my credit union didn't approve me for a credit card. I get my credit file is thin but I've been with them for 5 years. Would it be bad to close my credit union account and just have capital one as my main credit card and online checking account?

It's occasionally convenient to have access to a brick-and-mortar bank or credit union. I'd say, research what you have to do to avoid inactivity fees with your CU, then leave just a small amount in the account and do the minimum to avoid any such fees, while moving your primary banking to an online bank.

You may find these links helpful: - [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit) - [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) - [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico) - [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: I am able to pay this amount, but doing so would pretty much wipe my entire savings. Is there anything that I can do to make this easier on my bank account? If not, what should I do?

You need to pay it ASAP. They're also going to tag you for late payment penalties and perhaps a civil penalty (I think $500) for falsely claiming you were exempt from withholding. You need to pay the balance due today. If you have the cash, don't setup a payment plan with the IRS. They'll charge you fees and interest to do it. You need to settle up immediately. Be sure you have updated this W-4 to no longer indicate an exemption.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: Or give him a bonus or something? Assistant: No. Why would you do that? Human: Maybe next yeah he/she will go the extra mile to get me a bigger return? I dunno Assistant: A bigger return? His job is to get you the best return you are eligible for. The only way he could get you a bigger return than that is fraud. Human: Ok so every accountant will get you the same amount?

If they are competent, and you provide the same info to each, yes.

> Ok so every accountant will get you the same amount? What does this mean? That every accountant makes the same? Per return?

Human: As of right now, I'm living with my parents working a construction job at $13/hr trying to save some money for school. I own my car (no payments). Right now I'm debt free, and I've always wanted to be that way. But now that school is approaching, college tuition is very intimidating. I can save up enough to pay for a semester or two, but it doesn't leave me much wiggle room. I'm considering applying for student loans. I've heard ghost stories of people getting under over $50,000 of student debt and never paying it off for 30 years, which terrifies me. But, I don't think that will be the case with me. I'll be going to a community college at 4-5 grand a semester for a bachelors in civil engineering. That will leave me with around $36,000 of debt by the end of my senior year. I believe that my degree is useful, and I won't have trouble finding a job, and I'm very thrifty with my money. Ultimately, I don't think that it will be a problem for me, but I want to hear some advice. I will definitely apply for financial aid, and possibly work a part time job, and a full time job during the summers.

$36,000 for a community college? I paid just a little less than that for a state College.

For a 4 year program at a state university I paid 26k, but total debt was 30-ish when interested capped. That was last year, I only have 19k left. It is called budgeting and paying more than your minimum payments- for example, my minimum payment each much is 361.86. I pay an extra 638.14 to make my total contribution to that debt 1k. I make almost 19/hr and have no other debt and my bills are minimal- rent, cell phone, electric. Best tip is don't do private loans. Do the government loans because lower interest and better payment options. Also, typically the 30 years is if you do something other than standard repayment which is 10 years. I think PAYE? Don't quote me on that.

Human: I'm 19 years old, working at a factory as an apprentice. I work full time (38hr/week), with 5-10 hours overtime on average a week, landing me about 650$/week (after tax). Currently I have 3K savings, and am hoping to get to 5-6K, by July when I'll be able to buy a car. I am planning to get a Kia Rio 2015/2016, hopefully during the eofy sales that dealerships have. Is there any advice that anyone may have for me? I don't want to be naive seeking a loan. My main concern is that I have only been employed for 4months.

I'd recommend buying a car that is only a couple thousand dollars. Look at an older Camry or accord. Something that's cheap to fix and reliable. At your age and income level, it'd be smart to buy a car that is affordable, and then possibly buy something nicer after you're making more money. Great job on your savings! Keep it up and try to build a six month emergency fund!

Without a cosign at that income it will be hard to get a loan with a good interest rate. In my area, which isn't the best for buying a car, depending on the trim KBB says a 2015 LX with 30k miles would be between 8.7k and 11.7k. For that much I would look to just save up as much cash as possible and buy it outright, rather than deal with interest rates on a loan.

Human: I have 7 unsecured credit cards and my oldest account is about 8 years old. I pay them all off in full every month. With $60,000 available credit to me total I never use more than 2% of my total credit limit. There's 3 cards I haven't used in years and don't intend to. I got them just for a 0% BT, paid them off and never used them again. However, if I close them out it'll decrease my available credit by $23,000 hence increasing my credit utilization percentage. I don't pay an annual fee on any of them and my credit score trends between 765-785. Is there any benefit for me to close out my unused credit cards? Or should I just leave them in my dresser and continue to not use them?

Maybe product change them to something useful? I changed my useless garbage Chase Slate to a nice and shiny Freedom Unlimited.

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Human: My wife and I own a lot and just closed on a 600k construction loan. I plan to use a credit card to purchase as much as I can then reimburse myself by taking a draw on the construction loan. What is the best card for this? Does anyone have any other creative ideas to help me maximize the benefit of spending this much money?

/r/churning hope you like traveling. You're about to get a shit ton of airline miles.

Amex can do this well, you should call them and discuss first though.

Human: Hi PF, a few weeks ago two guys showed up to my house offering to redo the windows on our house. Coincidentally, we did need new windows so my mom gave them a time to come back when my dad would be home. The came back later, and my dad agreed to a time where they could give an estimate. A day later, my dad asked me to call and cancel the appointment since he was no interested anymore. So, I called and cancelled the appointment and everything was fine. Up until that point, they have been calling my house and parent's cell phone almost everyday and multiple times. Today, my Dad received a letter in the mail saying he was "pre-approved" for the home remodeling. The letter contained information about opting out @ a website "optoutprescreen.com" or calling a number. He called that number and they asked for his SSN which he did not give and hung up. So my question is, is this a scam? Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Did they check his credit without him providing any information? They only info they have is our address, his name, and his phone number. They do not have his social or DOB. I think it's just a play to get you to call back and give your information, and everything they're saying is BS. If you want a pic of the letter please let me know! Thanks :)

Financial lending companies send "pre-approved" letters often to garner new customers. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Sounds like an opt out notice. I wouldn't think they would need a social though. Smart man.

Human: I was working on an accounting project and left for another job before cuts. Left the new job after two weeks because it was soul destroying (debt collection). Only took it on because a family member lured me over with potential for a lot of money but I couldn't continue for moral reasons. Now unemployed for two weeks; my wife works so we're fine for now but I'm bored and want to work. I'm enrolled in accounting classes on a Pre-cpa track which I have no interest in pursuing. I've been communicating with a recruiter for this new job for months and informed him of how my situation has changed. He tells me to just explain my situation but I'm afraid of killing the interview by saying a made two bad decisions in a row. How to I approach the topic when it comes up? It's just a phone interview tomorrow but if I get this job I would probably stay on for a long time. It's kind of the dream job for me and I don't want to lose this.

DON'T say "when people give me work to do that I don't like, I quit" DO say "I left a failing company, but the job I moved to wasn't as advertised, so I'm looking for a better fit"

You can easily skip over the debt collection job - no reason to memotion it

Human: I'm 29 years old, single. I've got myself in a lot of trouble over the past year. I quit my job and moved in with a girl in another state. I was lazy and played video games and never really even looking into getting a job while living with her. I had money saved and was fine until it ran out and I started putting everything on my credit card.Basically got to the point where I was paying the credit card with the credit card. I've now just recently moved back in with my parents across the country. I haven't made a payment on the credit card in over 6months and it is being charged off this week. I owe about 16k~ total on it. I have no job, zero income, and zero savings at this point. I don't have any other debt or bills other than this credit card. I don't own much, other than a fairly old car which I paid off years ago. I plan to get a job asap, I didn't go to college so it will just be a basic retail type job at this point. I worked retail for 8 years straight prior to quitting last year. My biggest issue is I won't be able to live with my parents for much longer and will need to start paying for a place to live in the near future. What should I do with this charged off debt. It'll literally take years for me to pay this off with the income i'll be making. ps. Yes I know I'm stupid for even getting myself into this situation. It's a huge weight on my shoulders and I've always been financially responsibly/stable until now. Please help EDIT cuz this is basically my question... Since it has already gone to charge off, is bankruptcy an option? What would end up better for my credit in the long run? This is where I'm confused, if I pay off the debt with hard work over the next year does it still show up on my credit report as a charge off, and for how long etc.

Get a job, any job. Retail, flipping burgers, anything. Then beg your parents to allow you to continue living with them until this is paid off. Pay 99% of each check toward your debt. No spending- if you must have a phone get a Tracfone. Eat all your meals at home and ride a bike around town. This is easily doable in one year if you focus and use self discipline.

I would go to your local Department of Labor and get help finding good paying work with your skill set. With that said, have more than one job until you get this debt paid off. Once you get it paid off, you clearly do not need a credit card so cut that up. I agree with what another user said- you clearly do not need to worry about your credit right now.

Human: Long story short I make more money than my simple lifestyle costs, so the result is I have about $60k sitting in a savings account not doing a whole lot. I've invested about $20k in stocks and mutual funds, and I've been maxing out my IRA every year since I've started working, but I still have a lot sitting around not growing. I'm afraid to invest it all in something like stocks because of the risk. I also want to be able to take it out with relative ease if I need to do something like pay for a down-payment on a house or buy a car, so in other words I want to do something that is relatively safe but still better than sitting in a savings account. Does anybody have any recommendations? One thing I've considered doing is investing it in my bank's "Target 2050" retirement mutual fund that I have put most of my IRA funds into, and it has been doing pretty well and I trust the people managing it more than I trust my own ability to read the market. However, since this is a mutual fund meant for people investing into an IRA, would there be disadvantages if I invest a large sum of money into it as just a normal brokerage account? Thanks for your help all!

You are afraid to invest in stocks, but you want to invest in a mutual fund that is 90% stocks?

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Human: I'm a 21 year old college student. I made over 40k this year as income. My parents pay $0 towards my college tuition. I am **not** a dependent and I told my parents not to list me as one, but surprise surprise they did anyways. I tried filing my tax returns on H&R Block and the IRS rejected it. How do I override being claimed as a dependent? Besides the fact that I actually am not a dependent, my calculations also show that I would get so much more money back as a non-dependent, which is why I don't want to be claimed as a dependent. **EDIT:** Thank you guys so much for your support. How much money would my parents get from claiming me as a dependent if they earn below 20k per year? I would lose about 1.3k from being claimed as a dependent. Would they get more than 1.3k? **UPDATE**: thank you all so much for the help. I don't live with my parents, I live on-campus and am on my school's provided health insurance. I'm going to just let my parents claim me as a dependent. They can just keep the whatever money they'll get from it. They need it more and it's not worth the trouble of mailing it, sorting things out with the IRS, etc. Assistant: Are you under their medical, vision, & dental insurance AND is it your primary insurance (like you don't have any insurance with your employer)? Do they pay your car insurance? Do you use a car that has their name on the title? Do they pay your cellphone bill? Did your parents issue you a credit card and do you use it? Im going to assume you are a full-time college student who most likely doesn't live at home. In this case, the live-away-from-home requirement doesn't apply if the reason why you don't is because of school. There are other ways your parents can support you financially, even if they don't necessarily pay your tuition and it can easily come up to 20k in your support. **If you answered yes to any of the above questions AND the grand total of it all comes to more than half of your income, then *yes* your parents can claim you as a dependent.** Even though you may not trust your parents in their decision to claim you, try to give the accountant who calculated their taxes the benefit of the doubt at least. He/she had to put all the numbers he/she had in to determine whether or not your parents claimed you. It sucks cuz you don't get the money, but until you can support yourself in the questions I asked above, it's still valid. **BUT**. If none of the above applies to you and you didn't give your parents your w-2 to avoid them having to claim you, they can totally still file and wrongfully claim you as a dependent. In that case, paper file so they can amend their return. Double sucks to have this happen. Human: Thanks! The only thing they pay is my cell phone bill and for my food when I visit. I think I will paper file, and have them amend the return (but it's not like they would be losing any $ from it since they can still claim me as an EIC even if I'm not a dependent). Why does it double suck to have that happen? Will they get penalized for having to amend?

Good good. I would work on getting off their cell phone bill in the near future to "officially" claim independence from them. It double sucks cuz one, you have your parents essentially being jerks and then two, having to uncover the deception and fix it. I'm really sorry you have to go through that ): My parents sound like yours when I was just graduated from college. Unfortunately, I didn't make enough at that time to not be a dependent

Are you sure they aren't providing your medical insurance? This is an easy thing to forget if you aren't using it.

Human: I don't know how to help her anymore. She's in about $25k of high interest cc debt from poor financial decisions in her early 20s. She moved a lot for jobs, got into pricey leases, had a shopping addiction, lived beyond her means, etc. She makes 50k a year and living with her boyfriend's mom. She's about to leave her boyfriend because his mental stability took a turn for the worst this past year. He used to be functioning but is now displaying signs of schizophrenia and hasn't worked since May. He is a completely different person from what I knew him to be. She has stuck by him, being the incredibly loyal person she is. However, she needs to take care of herself now instead of feeding him, paying his bills while he denies he has a problem and won't accept help. His whole family has been enabling him. We are 27 and she can't get ahead. She wants me to move in with her but I'm comfortable where I'm at and I'm saving a good amount of money to make my next move (working a contract job while living back with my father, paying off minor debt, and figuring out where I want to be by August, possibly out of state for new job ventures. My car is paid off, I have a small amount of cc debt at around 1500, 18k of student loans and a comfortable emergency fund). I'm in a good place right now with options and I know I have to say no to her. I can't move in with someone who consistently has less than $500 in their checking account with no other assets besides a car. I don't even know what the options are for her realistically. I don't think she'd file bankruptcy. She's working a second job at night in addition to her day job. I don't think she's explored the option of consolidating her debt or transferring it to different cards. Her credit score has obviously taken a dip the past couple years. Realistically, what are her options? Continue to struggle to pay off this debt? Seek a financial advisor? File for bankruptcy? What would reddit do? Assistant: Is she paying rent at boyfriends moms house? Human: Nope, she's living there rent free.

She makes 50k and has 25k TOTAL in debt (no Student loans as well?) while living rent free? This debt could be wiped within 2 years if she actually wanted to free herself. If she has to move out like you said, it will take another year or two but this isn't life shattering debt. Jus treat it like student loan debt and plug away. There is no quick fix for 25k in debt whether it is from student loans or consumer lending.

Sounds to me like she is lying about her finances... and she has only $500 left every paycheck

Human: I'm expecting a tax return that could either pay off a 10.5% interest credit card or put interest free car. I understand that long term, it's better to pay off the debt with interest. Still, if we pay off the credit card, we only get $89 back a month, but we get $352 a month if we pay off the car. The $350 would go towards paying off the card, but could also be used for unexpected expenses more easily. Any suggestions?

Pay the credit card off. 10.5% interest is a lot. Then resolve never to carry a balance on a credit card again!

A tax return is the (electronic) paperwork that you use to file your taxes. You are taking about a tax refund.

Human: Any advice for new students or recently new adults who just turned 18? Any advice for a bank account or savings and etc? New to all of this..

First and foremost, the most important thing you can do right now is understand the economics of your college education. I work with college students and I'm floored every day by how little they know about what their education costs and how it is being funded. How much is your tuition? How is it calculated? (flat amount per semester, per credit hour, some combination of that?) Will your tuition go up each year? Is it locked in for a particular amount of time? If so, you have an incentive to finish in that timeline. How much is your room and board? (if you are not living at home). How long are you required to live on campus? How do the costs of apartments compare with on campus living (keeping in mind the additional costs that come with apartments). How are you paying for your education? Is the financial aid you are receiving in the form of grants/scholarships (which you don't have to pay back) or loans? If you have loans, are the subsidized (meaning they don't accumulate interest while you are in school) or unsubsidized (meaning they do)? What is the interest rate? What types of monthly payments should you be expecting when you graduate? What can you be doing now to keep those amounts as low as possible? If your parents are contributing to your education, where is that money coming from? Are they taking out Parent PLUS loans? Will there be an expectation in the future that you help pay back these loans? Your education is likely one of the biggest expenses you will incur in your lifetime outside of a home. Understanding the details of that is critical to a successful financial future.

It's a relatively small thing, but at college, budget your meal credits just as you would cash money, maximizing your meal plan to get the most value from it. Also, there are many low- and no-cost entertainment activities on most campuses. Take advantage of those activities when considering how to spend your free time.

Human: So my marriage is headed to divorce town. I have the better credit, and make most of the money. Almost everything (house, car, credit cards etc) except a financed SUV is in my name alone. - Mortgage, balance of $196,000 at 4.5% with a $1447/month - 2012 vehicle, balance of $12,400 (so upside down due to impulse trade in of previous car, absolutely regret) at 14% that I can't refinance without a $3k down payment because of the negative equity, $388/month - store credit cards in my name (Home Depot, Old Navy, Kohl's, Victoria's Secret, Walmart) all with $0 balances but insane interest rates and hidden in freezer - Credit union visa, $2500 balance at 11%, min $75/month - Capital One, $1900 balance (don't know the interest rate) min $50/month Our 1 joint purchase is a 2011 SUV with a balance of $17000 at 5% interest, $340/month Car insurance for 3 vehicles (his POS truck used for dump runs etc paid off): $256/month I take home ~$3200. I've done the math, and will just barely be able to afford staying in the home if I voluntarily surrender one the vehicles, thus only insuring my one car and including cell phone payment (he pays for it each month). House rich/cash poor scenario. However, I don't want to stay in my home: I had it built for us, while we were engaged so I brought it into the marriage but I would never want to live in the suburbs by myself. Its 50 miles from my family, 2 from his and he refused to live in the city so we're here. We don't have much equity in the home, only lived here 2 years and it was new construction. I think on my last statement my principal was 1000 less than originating balance- I pretty much only own the 3 toilets in the house. Short sale or foreclosure seems to be my only options as I couldn't pay realtor or closing costs to sell. I have yet to contact any lenders to review my options but I'm not naive enough to know my credit and finances will be thoroughly fucked. Would it be better to just let the house go into foreclosure and use the money to reduce balances on the vehicles to then sell on CL and pay off loan? That way only a foreclosure hits my credit and not a foreclosure/repo? Or is it an incredibly stupid idea?

As someone who's been there: get a GOOD attorney. A divorce is financially devastating. Spend whatever money you need to get the best lawyer in your area. It is worth it. Do not cheap out. Borrow from relatives if you have to. Just as a for-instance, my ex got a cheap, crappy attorney with low online ratings (I looked her up) who worked for a flat fee and she was utterly incompetent. My good lawyers absolutely kicked my ex's ass financially because his lawyer was too incompetent to do things like have real estate appraised.

The housing market is hot now. Put the house up for sale. Cancel all the joint cards with a zero balance so she cant run them up.

Human: I (28M) was in a pinch 3 years ago.. needed a car, my car from high school broke down on the way home from my hour commute to work. I had no savings for a downpayment on a new car and my credit, was not great due to some student loan payment issues I had initially when exiting college. I purchased a car from one of those "everyone gets approved" places. They sold me on the monthly payment, what can I afford... I was able to afford up to $450.. so they sold me a car $447 per month, I was a bit naive at the time lets just say that. I have since come to my senses and realized how outrageous the 17% interest rate is and value of the car vs. money left to pay on the loan is. I have paid to date $19,000 and my current payoff quote is $11,750. The car was never worth over 30K. MSRP was around 19K when I purchased that car. The KBB value of the car is only at 5K today. Would I have any luck playing hardball with Capital One? I am now in a place in my life financially to say to them, "I can pay you 5-6K to pay off the loan balance, otherwise I will stop making payments and let you take the car." Which I'm not sure they want because it is only worth 5K at this point. I also don't think I want to refinance at this point in the loan. Bottom line, I don't want to pay 11K more on this car if it is only worth 5K.. the car is underwater and just not worth it. Assistant: You signed an agreement and will likely have to honor the terms of that agreement. There's really no re-negotiating the terms of that agreement. You can try, but be prepared to not get anywhere with that negotiation. As for threatening non-payment, they will very likely re-possess and you will be without a car and with worse-off credit. And you likely wouldn't be able to re-finance (unless it was with a personal loan, which is lower but isn't much better than 17%). A lender is likely only going to lend you what what the car's worth or slightly above, not more than double what the car's worth. Human: So I am essentially stuck with paying the next two years nothing but profit to cap one. I've already paid for the MSRP of the car.

Yes. You made an agreement to pay $X amount a month for X months at a rate of X%. If you don't want to pay the interest, pay off the loan quicker. What amount you paid and how equal it is to MSRP in this case doesn't matter. And you've paid interest alongside principal, so the $19,000 you've paid thus far isn't simply principal.

You may be able to refinance the loan if you can pay off the difference between what it is worth and how much you would have to borrow. Yes, Capital One will take a profit off their loan. That's why they loaned you the money to begin with. They have to, to pay for their employees, infrastructure, and their investors that lent them money to begin with. Not to mention compensating for the losses of people who default on their loans. I'm telling you this, because I don't want you to make the same mistake I did. I resented creditors for what they did, and defaulted on some things I shouldn't have. (I was an arrogant, irresponsible 20 through 25 year old.). My credit is absolutely shit now, which makes so much stuff more expensive than it should be. If you are in a better financial position now, you may be able to refinance for a much better rate.

Human: I feel like I'm stuck or not doing enough. I'm 22 in college and still have about two years until I get my bachelor's. I work part time at best buy making about 12/hour. I still live at home so I don't have any major expenses other than my car that I should be finished paying by the end of the year. I do have $3000 in my 401k but that's it. I feel like friends who didn't go to college and went straight to working full time are doing much better. Is there anything else I should be doing? A better job?

You're doing great. Do you have any student loans? $12/hour is pretty good if you're still in school especially if you have no debt. Focus on your studies, take internships if you can, and your earning potential should be much higher when you graduate. Your friends might be earning more now but odds are they'll hit an earnings cap soon and you'll surpass them.

What are you in school for? What is the long term career plan? Look at the median salaries of those jobs with a degree versus what your friends are doing. College isn't for everyone, and not every degree makes sense if you aren't backed by wealthy parents. That doesn't mean the investment isn't worth it in general. I'm 32, and I know people who graduated and struggled, graduated and are doing very well, didn't go to school and struggle, didn't go to school and are doing very well. But the ones who graduated and are doing well are typically in jobs that you CANNOT get without a degree. The ones who didn't go to school and are doing well are highly intelligent on their won - and they found employers willing to capitalize on the intelligence (and likely could make more with a 4 year degree, it's just not worth it to them at this point.)

Human: I have a 2009 Scion xD with 80k miles on it. I bought it brand new in 09 and it's been paid off since 2012. Currently I have full coverage with a $500 deductible that cost me $60 a month. KKB says the value is 5k which means if I total it I'd get 4.5k.Should I switch to liability? The cost goes to $30 a month so it only saves $360 a year. Is that worth it? Or should I wait another year or two until my car is worth less? I do have a big emergency fund to I should mention so I could buy a new car no problem without the 4.5k or afford any fixes needed if it gets wrecked. I also haven't had a at fault accident in 10 years. Also I only drive about 4-5k miles a year now since I don't work anymore, if that matters. When did you switch to liability?

Collision insurance also has the benefit of not forcing you to go through the other driver's insurance when you get hit. I got hit a couple years ago and made a claim on the other driver's insurance. The other driver dodged their insurer's calls for 2 weeks so my claim went nowhere until they finally made contact. I went those two weeks with no working car and no rental. If I had had collision insurance I could have just paid my deductible and gotten my claim immediately processed. I would have gotten my deductible back in the long run as my insurer would have recovered it from their insurer.

I usually switch at about a 5 to 7-yr break even point, meaning if the insurance costs over the next 5 to 7 years are cheaper than the benefit of insurance, I keep the insurance. Though if you have a large E-fund you may be more willing to take on more risk than that.

Human: My basic financial details are as follows: 80K salary, no credit card debt, no student loan debt, 16K saved up in the bank, house payment of $980 a month, first vehicle is paid off (a 2014 Toyota Sienna), credit score in the 820 range I need to get a second vehicle and I am considering buying a new car with a budget of around 40K. I plan to finance it all and put no money down. Is 40K to much to consider given my current financial situation? Thanks for all of the help.

That seems incredibly high to finance a car that's 1/2 your annual salary.

Why do you need a second vehicle that is $40k? Why won't you put down a 20% or more down payment?

Human: I currently owe a little over $2,000 USD on my credit card. I make monthly payments that are over the minimum amount required. In the three years I've had this card, I've only missed one payment due to being in the hospital when it was due. My parents say I have an exceptionally good credit score for being so young. I have recently inherited a fairly significant amount of money from a grandparent. It is more than enough to pay off my credit card at its current price. Would it actually hurt my credit score if I went ahead and paid it all off now or should I just pay in higher quantities until it's paid off? The APR is 25% and I was wondering if paying it all off now will save me money. If it will hurt my credit score, would it be by a significant amount? I'm looking to move out within the year and am trying to keep a good credit score in order to do that. Thanks!

Pay it off now. It won't hurt your score to not be carrying a balance, and you're costing yourself a lot of money by allowing that interest to grow. It will likely improve your score by reducing your credit utilization.

You may find these links helpful: - [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit) - [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) - [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico) - [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: Every i try to deposit a check using my banks mobile app they put 2/3 of it on hold. The people at my bank reccomended i get an account with a local bank so i can deposit them and my tip money directly with an atm. I did that and i got my current paycheck put on hold, which finally cleared, then when i tried to transfer it to my primary account, they put it on hold again, so basically im not seeing my paycheck untill my next one comes in. How do i get these people to stop fucking around with my money. Its starting to put me in bad standing with my monthly expenses like my gym and my car insurance Assistant: So do you have lots of overdrafts? Large deposit? What bank if you don't mind me asking? Human: I have a USAA and a bank of america checking I used to have a lot of overdrafts because of a previous job that was screwing me over , but now i dont have any issues with that. And im not sure if $500 counts as a large deposit Assistant: History of overdrafting might have something to do with the long hold. Human: Yeah but how long untill that stops because its been a little under a year since then

A year is a short time in banking. Derogatory marks are kept in your record for seven years.

USAA usually calms down on the holds about 6 months later in my experience.

Human: Some people seem to think that buying a house is an awful idea right now.

Y'all muthafuckas got that irrational exuberance.

If you want a home then buy one. Don't worry if we are in a bubble. Simple as that. It's hard to tell the market and you never know what prices will do.

Human: This is our current budget. Husband brings home around $1100 per paycheck after taxes and he is paid every other Friday. I have two jobs. I work full time as a pre-k teacher and I am paid every other Friday. My paycheck is $622 after taxes. My second job is part time and I work between 20-25 hours a week. I just got a raise up to $10.88 an hour for the part-time job and I am paid on the 15th and the last day of the month. Retirement and health insurance are taken out of both of our paychecks. We live in a one bedroom, one bath apartment and we are bursting at the seams. Plus we have similar work schedules and it's a giant pain to try to get ready in one bathroom in the morning. We are dying to get into a bigger two bed, two bath apartment. MAYBE a three bedroom, two bath apartment if we can swing it. Current rent: $808.60 (Our rent is actually $740 but we pay our water and trash with our rent) Car insurance: $129.60 for full coverage on two cars Renter's insurance: $26.59 My car payment: $283.33 (this will be completely paid off by October 2018, yay) Husband's car payment: $288.06 Sprint cell phones: $186.74 for two smartphones and unlimited data, talk, text Natural gas: $41.13 Electric: $53 (This went up to $150 last summer. We are hot natured people) Internet: $64.99 My student loans: $203.94 (Husband also has student loans but he's in school so doesn't have to pay yet) LA Fitness: $29.99 (This is for my husband) Weight Watchers: $19.95 (I've lost 31 pounds on this so I need to keep this) Gun range membership: $29.95 (This is for my husband as well because he's in law enforcement and also uses this to blow off steam) Hulu: $7.99 Netflix: $9.99 HBO Now: $14.99 Sling TV: $29.99 Credit cards Chase Freedom: $47 Chase Slate: $25 Husband's Capital One: $155 (Minimum payment is $89 but we're trying to pay off debt with the avalanche method) My Capital One: $162 Haverty's: $100 As for the rest of the living expenses, this is our current budget on paper. We're TRYING to stick to our grocery and eating out budget but it's been hard. Groceries: $500 Gas: $150 Eating out/fast food: $100 That's pretty much it. I've been using YNAB and trying to stick to it to build up some savings. Last month was really the first time we tried to save instead of just spend. We're both spenders (my husband a lot more than me) but I'm desperately trying to change our financial habits and actually save some freaking money. This fall, I am expecting a raise with my primary job but I'm not sure how much it will be. Probably around $1.25 more an hour, judging from my last raise. We're also debating whether or not to use my husband's financial aid refund in August to put towards credit card debt or just to keep paying it off ourselves even if it does take longer. Anyway, our current lease is up early September and I want to move into a bigger place. We're looking at two different apartment complexes. One is about $900 and the other is about $1180. The more expensive place is nicer so we would prefer that but I also want us to be able to save money and not be house poor. We have some time to decide but I just want to start formulating a plan now for saving first month's rent and all the other fees. What should we do? Thanks for reading. UPDATE: Thanks, everyone. It was hard to read what everyone wrote but we needed to hear the truth. My husband and I talked about it and we decided to stay in the apartment another year. However, we did agree that if one of us gets a job making much more money by August, we would revisit the idea of getting a bigger place. I'm working on becoming a certified teacher in a school system and if I can get a school to hire me by August, my income will more than double. But we also want this credit card debt gone so we will also be considering staying for another year even if I do get a teaching job in a school system. It's late and I'm too tired to reply to everyone individually right now. But some people have said our cell phones are too high. They are high because my husband upgraded his phone early and I upgraded from a 16 GB to a 128 GB phone. I was sick of the constant lack of storage. After I have paid my phone off, I plan on keeping my phone for a very long time. I don't need the latest Apple phone every year or two years. As for other things like the streaming services and the gym and gun range, I will talk to my husband about cutting back and/or cutting those out completely. I do agree with y'all on that but it's been hard to get my husband to agree to cutting out the gun range and gym. He says he needs it to stay in shape for his job. As for the streaming services, we're both very tired during the week and watching TV is our way to relax and unwind. Not trying to make excuses but that's just the truth. But I will definitely consider dropping two of the streaming services if things don't improve anytime soon with the debt and savings. Thanks again, everyone. You have convinced us to stay in our current apartment for another year.

With that much debt, you need to stay where you are and not move until it's paid off. Moving is expensive; deposits, app fees, furnishing that extra bathroom, utilities go up, etc. Also, that student aid "refund" you may use to pay off debt is robbing Peter to pay Paul. That's a student loan that will have to be paid off later; sure, maybe the interest rate is lower than most credit cards but you still aren't helping your net worth. Can you look at why you're busting at the seams, aside from minor getting ready annoyance? Do you NEED three bedrooms? Or two? Can you compromise and stay where you are for another year and then move in one year once you're in a better financial situation?

I 100% approve of you getting the bigger place... AFTER YOU GET YOUR SPENDING UNDER CONTROL Credit cards at 0 balance. Cell phone cut in half. You don't both need new cars which is what car payments are. What are you willing to give up? Gym? Gun range? You should know what foods are good and bad by now... do you really need to keep checking if tortilla chips are healthy yet? They're not Look if you aren't willing to give up things you're spending all your money on then you can't have a new apartment. Cut the expenses now. You know there's a LOT of fat in this budget. Or don't. I mean, you're on a diet and doing well. You know you have to give things up to get what you want.

Human: I'm a 23 year old that lost their job in the beginning of the year. Since I have not found a new job yet the people who were keeping my 401K cancelled my plan an paid the money to me. It's not a huge amount, but I'd still like to invest it back into something that will grow. Money isn't an issue for me so I can reinvest it, an perhaps a bit more. Also, I heard that if I reinvest that I could avoid paying tax on it for the year, is that a thing?

You should be able to roll the entire amount into an IRA (traditional or Roth, whichever it was) without any penalty.

You may find these links helpful: - [General Information on Rollovers](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/retirementaccounts/rollovers) - [401(k) Fund Selection Guide](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/401k_funds) - [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more) - ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: I know it sounds weird, but I'm leaving this question intentionally broad. I am wondering if you could give what is (in your opinion) an acceptable excuse for accepting a lesser paying job provided they are in the same commutable region and are similar in scope.

Better quality of life. I switched to a job that paid ~$5000 less last year, but it was worth it for the huge load of stress that went away.

I took a massive cut when I went from an ecommerce manager to a customer service rep - my reasons: Poor company management made me worried for the future No growth/stagnant wages Not a culture fit

Human: I recently received a gift of $100,000. It was completely unexpected and more than a bit overwhelming. I have about $85,000 in grad school loans. My first thought is just to pay off the loans completely and save/invest the rest. I do not own a home and I don't plan on buying one either. I live very simply and do a pretty good job of saving. I don't have any major purchases (at least nothing planned) in the next few years but I have always desired to travel. I might return to school within the next 5-10 years for a PhD. Hope this was enough information. thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.

It's not even remotely a debate - pay off the entire $85,000 sum of debt right now.

> My first thought is just to pay off the loans completely and save/invest the rest. Sounds like a good plan. $15,000 can be a decent emergency fund (depends on what your expenses are). If you have some money left over, consider spending it on a nice memory.

Human: I have a penchant for rambling so I'll try to keep this short. I went to the ER 03/08/2017 ~2:30 AM with a deep laceration on my shin. Drove myself there and everything, but it looked like it needed stitches. Poor college student with shitty insurance. I asked how much it would be if I paid cash. They said $250 upfront, rest later. Said I don't have $250. Told me to let them look at it anyway. Went to a room (no one else was there), Dr said it needed stitches. I said I couldn't afford it, one of the receptionist ladies insisted on checking my insurance card. She ran it and found out that I was right, no coverage. They asked if I wanted to stay or leave, told me it would heal on its own but it would have a scar. I said I had to leave. I asked the Dr if I would be billed, he assured me it was a nonurgent medical screening exam and I would not be charged. Lo and behold, I received a bill today for $367.40. Anything I can do about this? I called them and was told to call the billing people tomorrow, they're not open right now. Just want to provide what I can and be prepared. I don't want to pay $367.40 for receiving no care. I stapled my own fuckin leg to avoid this, if I knew I was gonna get charged I would've just stayed and got treatment. Edit: this is TX by the way.

In medical organizations a bill is generated by the note written by the doctor. You could write on your note "No charge. No care rendered" and the billing person could still derive enough to generate a bill - (like your documented vital signs, the reason you're there and a Tylenol) which it is their express job is to maximize billing. Hopefully just such a thing was written in the medical note as it would give your recollection of the conversation more credibility when you contest the charge.

Contact someone in the financial help area of the hospital. Explain your situation and slip in that you don't want to have to contact your attorney and wish to settle things before it reaches that point. They're trying to fuck you. You're gonna have to stand your ground.

Human: So I am pretty new to the whole private sector thing. I have worked a state job for a number of years and I have been looking for something new. I had received a job offer for something I really wanted to do a day after I was interviewed. With excitement and stupidity I verbally accepted the job and I was told to put in my 2 weeks over the phone as well as come in and finish an official application so they could put it through (oops). I did all of that as well as turn in a 2 weeks notice letter and a few days later realized, I never even signed an official paper saying I was an employee. My 2 weeks is about to end and I have only been followed up once to say that they will call me soon to make everything final. Now I am beyond worried that I will get a call or call them tomorrow and they say it has been retracted. The owner has been on vacation for a bit over a week so I hope that is the reason I have not received the official go ahead but I know I screwed up even if I do have the job. Never doing that again so please don't roast me and my stupidity. If anyone has any story that can relate to this please tell me what happened. *UPDATE* I called this morning and was given a start date. Please, never do what I did. I was worried for over a week...

My story won't help you-I was told a week after a verbal offer that it wasn't actually offered. Sorry, I hope your situation works out better!

I would imagine plenty of companies don't have you sign an official anything before moving forward in the process. Just call them Monday, I'm sure it will be fine.

Human: I am trying to determine if it makes financial sense for me to make quarterly tax payments to the IRS. I have a full-time job making > 100k. Last year I made a decent amount on the side from stocks, about 75k. I qualify for safe harbor this year since my withholding was > 100% of my prior year's tax liability. So I owe a fairly significant amount for my 2016 taxes (about 18k). I anticipate making at least as much, if not more, this year through trading. I am trying to determine what my penalty will be if I don't make estimated quarterly payments this year vs. what I could do with that money through investing. If I make quarterly payments, they would be about 5k-5.5k per quarter. That's about 21k for the year. If the penalty is only 3% (about $700) I know that I can use that money to make a ton more to cover the penalty and then some. So am I missing something here? Why wouldn't everyone just pay the penalty who is in this type of situation? EDIT: The comments seem to be focusing on my confidence to make more than 3%. Let's just go on the assumption that I'm guaranteed to make say 20% or more. Does it make sense to make quarterly payments in that scenario? Is there some pitfall that I'm not aware of? Assistant: Many do, and that's the reason why tax attorneys have jobs. The way this typically plays out is that investors operate in a market where you can't swing a dead cat without slamming into three or four stocks that will make a profitable return over the course of a year. Because people have short memories and a terrible sense of history, they expect that this will continue. Something happens, the market crashes on 02JAN18 (or some similarly timed event) and the taxpayer is out of liquidity. You then need to sell off a huge position or go into debt to pay the tax bill. This was *very* common in 2008 and 1999. Quarterly estimates are intelligent to pay if for no other reason than because you're limiting risk in an already outrageously risky enterprise. Human: I'm not an investor. I'm a trader. My strategy is pretty immune to crashes. Assistant: Yeah, okay. I'm sure you found the one trick that banks hate. Unless you're making markets (and you're not, since you're not making enough and don't have the assets to accomplish that), you've got exposure to macroeconomic trends. Human: Not to beat a dead horse, but I know what I'm doing. I've spent years perfecting what I do. My strategy actually performs better during crashes. This is going off on a tangent. Let's just assume that I know I'll make way more than 3% this year and will have the liquidity to pay my tax bill every April.

If you're making *that* much money and are impervious to everything and know something that multibillion dollar corporations don't, you should still pay the quarterly estimates because the marginal gain associated with not paying them is minimal and tax compliance issues will ruin your life. There is a reason why GS doesn't screw around with taxes and it isn't because they are hunting for 1% arbitrage gains.

Why aren't you selling your secret to billion dollar companies who under perform stock indexes? You'd be a bazillionaire.

Human: Hi, I'm 20 years old and just recently moved to California from Japan. My parents do not pay for anything and was wondering how could I be a resident in California since my original would be in Washington State where they live. Do I file my own taxes and ask them to take me off of their taxes? And was curious what harm or good does that do for them and myself? I am trying to go to colleges here but it'll be tough to pay out of state so I am trying to get instate tuition.

You're asking a bunch of questions: 1) In order to qualify for California residency, you have to have lived there for 366 days and demonstrate your intent to make that your home state. You'll need a CA drivers license, CA bank account and a few other things to secure that claim, check the state's website. 2) If you earned income from a job, you have to file taxes. They may still claim you as a dependent. If you're confused, talk to your parents and your parent's accountant. 3) If you file for yourself and don't allow them to claim you as a dependent, they could miss out on a few thousand bucks. Depending on who supports you financially, they may or may not be able to claim you. 4) You'll have to establish residency before you get in state tuition, as #1 explains, but you'll be heavily scrutinized to determine that.

I'm not intricately familiar with how the CSU system classifies (or qualifies) you for in-state tuition, but it almost certainly is not the same as CA's tax residency requirements. That said, if you have income, you need to file your tax returns to include this and you'll likely be considered a CA resident for tax purposes if you have established a new domicile within the state. Your parents should not be including you as a dependent on their return if you don't qualify.

Human: Hey everyone, during the past year, I have been following the auto sector quite extensively. (I'm a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with an emphasis on Internal Combustion Engines & Emissions). From the post of the housing bubble, most people are saying there is not a bubble, but right now might not be the best time to buy. However, many completely disagree there is an auto bubble. Some are pointing out that there is no information on this. Here are my references: [Reference 1] (http://www.businessinsider.com/fitch-on-auto-loan-market-2017-30) [Reference 2] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-10/u-s-subprime-auto-loan-losses-reach-highest-level-since-crisis) [Reference 3] (http://www.autonews.com/article/20170321/FINANCE_AND_INSURANCE/170329966/ally-profit-warning-deepens-angst-over-slumping-used-car-prices) [Reference 4](http://www.autonews.com/article/20170313/FINANCE_AND_INSURANCE/303139982/big-lenders-backing-off-subprime-loans) Summary: Simply put, the losses on subprime loans are increasing, up 1.2% from last year from 7.9% to 9%. Delinquency rate are almost 6% (7 year high). Remember, in August 2008 delinquency rate on mortgages were 9.2% [source](http://www.stat.unc.edu/faculty/cji/fys/2012/Subprime%20mortgage%20crisis.pdf) Used vehicle prices are dropping (high supply). This seems like the precursors of a bubble, since banks (reference 4) have even begun to stay away from risky lending practices?

The main difference here is that auto loans are not securitized in the same way or to nearly the same extent as home mortgages were (and are). Thus even if auto loan default rates skyrocketed, the fallout would be quite limited in comparison to the 2008 meltdown. e: the other difference is that cars are, by nature, depreciating assets, and lending/securitization models account for this. Real estate, on the other hand, is often an appreciating asset--though not always, as 2008 taught us. But the securitization and risk-rating models that were in use pre-2008 generally assumed a permanent upward trend in real estate values, so there was no risk tolerance for a market correction.

Unemployment needs to rise before a bubble will pop. If people have jobs they typically will not default.

Human: I worked for the City for now my second year and was expecting a really nice return this year. So I got my W-2 and was extremely disappointed to see I wasn't going to be getting a return. But I was more confused about it. I knew I put a 0 on my W-4 so I went to the cities payroll office, a nice woman looked into it and told me that it was originally filed as a 0, but then changed twice throughout the year. It changed to a 1 in the beginning of June, 2016 and back to a 0 in November, 2016. I never changed it though. Is there anything I can do about this? It feels like I got cheated here. EDIT: So no I haven't looked at my pay stubs, but I do remember getting deductions of <$150 (of my $800 checks) on each pay check from what I can only assume were taxes. I will go get the stubs tomorrow and figure it out from there.

Not sure why you feel like you got cheated. Your tax liability is the same the same whether you overpay tor pay less throughout the year. The only thing you can do is not only make sure it's fixed for 2017. Also throughout the year you can check on the irs withholding calculator to see if you are taking out enough or not.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: I've been thinking about taking out a personal loan to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 5 years. I'm not 100% sure if this would be a good financial decision. I have about $40k in student loans but I'm pretty comfortable with the payments. However it's hard for me to save enough quickly to pay for a ring with cash. One of my loans is almost done so I figured I would just substitute the ring loan. Would this be a good route to go to take the next step in my life? Any advice is appreciated. EDIT: Wow I was not expecting this many responses. I'm trying my best to respond to everyone, but thank you all for the advice! Definitely have a lot to consider. Assistant: >Would this be a good route to go to take the next step in my life? Nope. This is the kind of thing you save up and buy. Human: The only thing is that it's going to take me forever to save up. I have some family members that were going to give me money to help so I could pay off the loan faster. Assistant: How much are you going to spend on a ring? Human: I was going to spend about $8000. I have some family members that are going to help me with some of it. Assistant: That makes sense if you make about $250K a year. Seriously, don't spend that much on a ring. You will regret it. Human: $250k for $8000? From what I've been told $8000 is a decent ring. She has a lot of friends that got married and their rings were way more.

Keeping up with the Jones ends up making most people in debt. Don't compare yourself to her friends. Buy what you can afford, when you can pay cash.

Show them a $1k ring and ask if they can see the difference.

Human: I graduated 2016. My mom kicked me out of the house because I wanted to go to a local school and didn't want to pay rent (im the worst son ever I know). Well I moved in with my girlfriend and her parents which they allowed and quite frankly they were happy about. Recently however they've been going through problems with their daughter (my girlfriend) and in order to punish her they want me out. Now I didn't have a job for awhile because I was focusing on school. They're so back and forth with he needs to leave or he can stay but he needs to pay rent blah blah blah so basically I'm trying to get myself out. I recently ran into a great job with a private business with a guy who was willing to give an 18 year old a chance. I literally have just begun but based on calculators and everything after taxes I should be making anywhere from 375-415 a week. I get paid bi weekly not that sure it makes a difference. I'm still on my moms insurance (hopefully for the next 8 years) and there isn't much I have to pay for other than my car which is about 180 a month. I feel the day is coming soon in which I will be forced to leave. I'm already uncomfortable and I basically have no where to turn which is why I'm in such a rush to hopefully start making this money and going. If I had to guess I'd give myself until june. Being Prince Charming and trying to do everything for her parents isn't worth it and it won't work. They throw the fact they should throw me out bc I'm not their child or problem all of the time when once upon a time they were all for it. Now I live in Wisconsin and I don't think it'd be too hard to find a studio or 1 bedroom place by my job. Looking at listings they run from 550 to 675 depending on area and utilities and all that good stuff. Obviously I'd be a first time renter so I don't really know where to get started. I'm fine with saving every penny I earn until I need to move out but I'm looking for the fastest way I can do it. I'm only 18 and I've never been put in a position where I could not have anywhere to live. What do I need to do to make the whole me getting a place option a reality? I haven't established credit for myself and besides my car and phone (which my job pays for) I don't really have other expenses. Of course if I move out there's food, utilities, and all this other stuff. And before you answer no, her parents will not change their mind. And even if they do put yourself in my shoes, would you want to live somewhere where people have the willingness to just throw you out because of an argument? I'm just trying to figure this whole thing out and I really have no one to talk to about it. Any advice would be a appreciated a lot. Thanks Redditors.

Get on Craigslist and look under roomates wanted. Rent a room in a house or maybe look for a converted garage or something along those lines. Get it as cheap as you can until you have more experience juggling bills and better income.

I moved out at 18 myself. Me and my boyfriend at the time(he's my husband now) moved in together. He was alittle older than me(he was 21 and I was 18)and had credit so he was able to rent a apartment(I didn't have the credit to do it by myself). We got a place for $575 and split all the main bills(rent and utilities, so my share was only $350 a month for that.) and then paid for our own stuff. I made 1.5k a month back then and went to school 40 hours a week(beauty school) and was fine. My suggestion to you would be find a roommate. Check craigslist maybe or ask around some of your friends or coworkers. Heck even your girlfriend if she's ready to move out. This will cut your cost a lot. Also you probably will need a cosigner if you move out and want to live on your own and I'm not sure you can afford it by yourself without a roommate. Good luck.

Human: My senior year of high school I was accepted into all 4 of the schools I applied to. My parents really wanted me to go to this private school. They really pushed for it but it was way too expensive. Then my parents said that if I went to this private school they would pay half of my tuition all four years. So I agree, even though the other schools I got accepted to were much better schools. But at the time it was the cheapest option to go there since they offered to pay half. I also was able to transfer in a year worth of classes from dual enrollments and AP classes. I go first semester and they pay half like they said and I take no loans the first semester. Then I get to financial check-in for second semester and they say they aren't going to pay for any of my schooling anymore but would co-sign this semester. They also said the wouldn't co-sign on any loans after this second semester. They said if I didn't go back this semester I wouldn't be allowed to go home ever again. So I now have $16k in private loans and $0k in federal (my parents efc is high). I told my dad to not claim me as a dependent but he did is taxes early and claimed me telling me "sorry buddy I'm still paying your bills though." I now have a bunch of classes that won't transfer anywhere else or help my dcp at another school due to half of the classes I took being bible classes. My parents told me that if I don't find a way to come back to this school next semester I will no longer be welcome at their house to live or to visit. I'm stuck in this situation and I really don't know what the best option is. What should I do?

Go to another school. They weren't truthful about paying - so I doubt they are truthful about no longer associating with you. Also, college a great time to start making your own life choices and not just follow what your parents want. It's your life - you're going to outlive them.

[ FAFSA requirements for in dependency status for FAFSA](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#dependent-or-independent) You may try to file a [petition for status change](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/parent-info#special-circumstances) Assuming as of right now you have no kids and you're unmarried, your options are: transfer what you can to a community college/ university, work part time, continue private/ unsubsidized loans, apply for grants and scholarships to support yourself; look into what options the military may offer you for school funding in trade for a few years contract; work in trades and save money until 24-25 years old. Sit down with an adviser and work out how to transfer classes, funding for classes living expenses, etc.

Human: https://np.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/61pfte/lpt_if_youre_ever_called_by_your_banks_fraud/ > I got a call from someone claiming to be from fraud department of my bank over the weekend. The call showed up on my caller ID as US Bank which is how I have it saved in my contacts. He said there was a fraudulent charge from American Airlines and I was on that their website booking a flight about an hour prior to the call. For a moment I thought it was legit but then he asked for a pin #. Just be careful because the caller ID makes it seem real. The actual fraud department said they have seen this multiple times with the caller ID showing as the bank. :/

I had that happen a little while ago with Capital One, although it was completely legit. But I did the, "Do you mind if I check myself and give you a call back in 5 minutes." And the gentleman replied, "Absolutely, please do. I am glad that you are careful." But he never asked for any pin or security type information.

> pin # Especially since they didn't ask for a "PIN" NO bank is going to ask for a "personal identification **number** **number**"

Human: I'm moving my small business of 4yrs from my garage to a retail space. In order to help finance this I'm cashing out my retirement and need to know if it matters what account the money gets deposited into, personal or my business or does it matter?

Any chance you'll reconsider on cashing out retirement savings? Aren't you going to take a huge hit after you pay the fee and taxes on it? Would be better off getting a business loan if cashing out retirement means losing half of it.

Yes, I'm aware of the huge tax hit. My question isn't really about whether to do it or not, it's more about meddling my personal taxes with my business taxes. Will that matter?

Human: Hi Guys, I live in South Carolina, in a single bedroom condo. A few months ago there was a hurricane that passed through, and apparently cost my association alot of money to repair the roofs on the buildings, etc. They said the estimated costs were around $100k. So I received a letter today from my HOA condo association stating that due to the high costs they will be billing every person who lives here (couple hundred people) extra monthly payments of $60-100 (depending on size of condo) for 4 months ONTOP of our normal HOA monthly fees, which is normally already $250/mo. They say this is so they can build a "reserve" fund for $60,000 incase damages ever happen in the future. Is something like this even legal? Can a condo association just decide to bill you extra anytime they want? They say they will keep the money in a bank for a rainy day when damages occur. Seems outrageous to me. Any knowledge/help on the situation would be amazing!

You probably need to check the contract. Most likely there is something in there that vaguely allows them to do stuff like this. On the other hand, that's kind of the point of communal living like that. The costs of landscaping, repairs and maintenance to common areas, etc. are spread out across everyone, not the two people that happen to live underneath the area of the roof that nature damaged.

yes the condo association can levy a "special assessment"...the HOA rules would clearly show this...that is what you have when part of a condo....its not just about your unit but the entire facility

Human: So, we've been looking for a home around the 225K price range, and haven't had any offers stick for about a month. Now, my parents have decided they want to move and are offering their home to us. The home is valued around 260K, and they've offered to us for 220K. They still owe 170K or so on the mortgage, and we have around 18K in cash on hand. What's the best way to go about this process? Our realty agent said he'd give us a break on his fees to nearly nothing, but he's helped us look a lot, so we want to also ensure he receives some sort of compensation if this were to work out. (Although he'd also get a benefit from my parents' purchase.) Thanks for any advice in advance! Assistant: I don't understand why your realtor would get fees at all for you buying a house from your own parents; usually buying agents get compensated from the seller side (by splitting commisions with selling agent), not buying side, and why would your parents want to pay commissions for selling to their own kid? Unless you plan to personally pay realtor a bonus on top of the $220K this sounds like a shitty deal for your parents and a win-win for realtor. Aside from that, you and your parents need to treat this like any other sale, legally. You need a purchase contract, with whatever you need as conditions including for financing etcetera, you need lawyers to review the transaction/mortgage docs, etc. Don't skip out on the legalities just because it is family unless you want headaches down road. Human: I suppose my main concern is both my parents and I being able to get proper mortgages and paperwork filed correctly. We could take care of the realtor in a small way outside of the transaction itself, if that's the best solution.

Yup, so just like any other purchase you need a contract to take to your lender for financing approval, and you need to get lawyers. Don't write out a deal on the back of a napkin. Ideally you and your parents should each have your own lawyers. Your lawyer and lender will want you to have the paperwork filed correctly, too ;)

Just negotiate a small fee with the realtor. No more than $500-$1,000. This compensates for his effort to date, and his work taking you through the paperwork. He will still get a commission taking your parents through a purchase, as he would have taken you.

Human: I was out of work for the better second half of 2016 before I took a job in Nov (2016) as a constractor (for the 1st time). At that time I was offered $65/W2 or $70/1099. I took the 1099 offer (after setting up an LLC) which seemed like the best option at the time (tax deductions, etc). Now, after speaking with few colleagues, this is starting to not seem like a good idea. I don’t believe the $5 extra dollars is enough to cover all the cost. I was hoping someone could chime in and possibly share their experience and advice. Residence/Work State - Texas Edit - Benefits for being W2 - "Okay" Insurance, no 401k, no PTO, no bonus

As a 1099 contractor, you get to set your own hours. It's a different deal from being a W2 employee. If you have other work you're doing on the side, that can be a decent advantage. But the added self-employment tax (paying your own social security, etc.) is very painful, not to mention having to get your own health insurance. If they're treating you like a W2 employee and expecting you to keep certain hours, they've illegally misclassified you to save on insurance/tax costs.

you need 30% more as a contractor vs what you would make as W2....sometimes more so you got suckered

Human: I plan on leaving my job by then start of next year, i will not be rolling over the 401k. My question is it worth it keep putting into it if i plan on closing the account at years end. Im getting matched at 6%, my thoughts are its not worth it because of the 30% loss i will take on close, but at the same time im getting an extra 6% from the employer. Do i keep putting money in it or should i close it now? Assistant: So, are you withdrawing all of the funds? Why aren't you rolling it over, etc? Human: all of it, id rather have the money now, ive very young and ill have plenty of time to keep saving once im in the new job.

Don't do this. Withdrawing your 8k now and paying all the taxes and penalties will get you what, 3-4k maybe? Or if you left it in there you'd have ~100k when you retire.

This is a waste. You're needlessly paying extra taxes to the government. Just save the money, get your match, and that's less money you have to save later in life. If you really love paying extra taxes for no earthly reason, write Uncle Sam [an extra check](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/gift/gift.htm) when you retire. Or if you just like throwing away money, I'll be happy to send you a PO box where you can mail me checks.

Human: I'm not sure if this is the right place, but here goes. I have completed 18 credits at UOP and I have about 42 left. I completed 60+ transferrable units at a community college, but I had a low GPA (2.3). Good marks in most courses(As&Bs), but I struggled with school during a family tragedy and tanked (Ds&Fs) a year of courses. I chose UOP because we had to move for my husbands job and I just wanted to make sure I could complete my degree. He's in the navy, so we move every 3 years. They also offered me a pretty good discount. I didn't think about the impact it would have on my gradschool (psychology) options. I should have done more research. I just thought of it as a piece of paper I needed ASAP. I think I have really messed up. I research everything I do, I don't know why I didn't fully research this idea. Is this a waste of my time? Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. Assistant: Yes, you've probably wasted your time and money. Many public state universities have online options if you want to continue going online. If you want to attend in person then three years is more than enough time to complete a bachelors degree if you go to school full time. Human: Agree with this. Just as an example (and I'm not necessarily recommending them), ASU has a BA in Psychology program online if that's what you're looking for: https://asuonline.asu.edu/online-degree-programs/undergraduate/bachelor-arts-psychology Granted, it's still much more expensive than attending in person in-state, but it's likely still a better deal than UOP and will be viewed more favorably. Lots of public universities have similar programs, some better than others. You might need to retake some of those community college classes to fix your GPA first, but it will depend on the school. Assistant: That is really great advice. Thank you.

while I would suggest you stop with the UofP program, note that you haven't 'totally' wasted your money. YOu have got some experience now, and you no doubt have learned something in your coursework. You will have good potential to do well in those courses in another program because you are coming at them already with some education and groundwork in those subjects. So don't beat yourself up 'wasting your time'. Sure it wasn't the optimal use of your time, but it was far from wasted.

Look OP idk what these people are saying. What I know is that if you are learning something then that is all that matters. Now you absolutely can put a price on that knowledge and idk if the price you're paying is above or below that. But I guarantee that the things you learn if you choose to learn can be applied.

Human: Sorry if I'm sounds childish. But ever since I was young, my parents scolded me for "wanting everything". I wanted a new game system. I wanted new barbies, or the next harry potter book etc.(They don't always give me what I want.) Now that I'm an adult with a full time job, making plans with boyfriend to move out to a new apartment and start a life together. I'd like to be one of those girls that go to shopping malls every week with Gucci sunglasses, designer shoes and a dog in a Gucci purse(I love dogs. I'd love to have a friend along.), going to movies, dinner, etc every other day, living like royalty and having fun. I know it might be a little bit much, but I'd like to know how I can squeeze in a little luxury when I work full time, getting rent paid. Because life without luxury is no life at all.

$10/hour is roughly $20k per year. You realize that a single pair of Gucci sunglasses is almost $500. Do you want to work over a week for 1 pair of damn sunglasses? Don't eat, don't use any utility for a week lol. A gucci purse could cost you north of $2000. That's literally over 1 month of your job. Does this make sense? You can't afford anything from Gucci at this point in your life. To be honest with this attitude, if I was your boyfriend I would be really concerned. You need to grow up a little bit. A life with luxury is for people that can afford it. And at this point you cannot. My advice to you would be to get a higher paying job, it really sounds like you are going to need it. Sorry for the rude awakening. Ok not sorry.

Depends on where you live, for example I live in NY and working 10 dollars an hour isn't getting you much

Human: Here's my situation. 27 years old, gainfully employed making 55k a year. My only debt is about $9,500 in student loans, spread across 5-6 separate loans with interest rates between 6.5% and 4.5%. I've paid $210 (a modest amount more than the minimums) monthly on my loans since payment first started on them, and have brought the principal down several thousand dollars in that time. My monthly bills are such that I'm able to save around $500-600 each month. My emergency fund right now has $3,500 in it. I have no expectation that I'll need to take on any additional debt or have any other drastic changes to my financial situation for the foreseeable future (of course I know that anything can happen, that's just my best assessment for the time being). My question is this--I have traditional and Roth IRAs that I've got a few thousand dollars in each from rolling over my 401k balance from a previous job. I'm What's the most financially sound plan for me moving forward? 1. Make a contribution to my IRA(s) for 2016 before the April 15 deadline, since once that passes, I'll lose the opportunity to use any of that $5500 yearly limit (and the compounding gains on that money) forever. 2. Skip the IRA contribution for 2016, and don't focus on contributing to it at all until the loans are paid down. Start making larger payments to my loans once my EF hits the "right" amount (not sure what this is). 3. Leave my EF at the amount it is now, and start immediately throwing the money I'm saving into the loans. Which of these is the best option that correctly prioritizes having enough savings, paying down my loans as quickly as I should, and not neglecting the benefits of getting in early for retirement investing? Thanks in advance for your help!

The pf mantra is pay debt first (esp for high int rates) which is generally correct. In your particular case however, the debt amount is very low and will be paid off soon regardless whereas the ability to contribute to your IRA for FY2016 will be gone in a few weeks. I'd personally contribute as much as you can to the IRA

W.o reading throughly, if your decision is to pay off a debt or invest, I always opt for the debt payoff

Human: My fiance lived with me all year last year and I covered pretty much 100% of his bills. I claimed him as a dependent on my taxes, and I'm just wondering if he needs to file taxes now as well? His only income was about 3k in interest from US savings bonds. He held no job, and he was on Medicaid the entire year.

Yes he needs to file, because he most likely owes taxes from the [savings bonds](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ebonds/res_e_bonds_eetaxconsider.htm#interest). As a dependent, * He *does not* get a personal exemption * His standard deduction is [only $1,050](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch20.html) because he has no *earned* income.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: Take the money right? Sounds like a no brainer. However I just found out my current car cannot be used for my new job as it's not 4 wheel drive. Also if I use the company car I get a gas card for all gas expenses. If I use a personal vehicle I get the 6k plus mileage reimbursement of 53c per mile. I'll be travelling a lot. Really a question of ease vs saving money. First question: should I use the company truck for the entirety of my time there? Should I use the company truck till I get enough cash to get a 4 wheel drive SUV. Then use the cash for monthly payments. I'm concerned about getting a niceish car then putting all the miles on it. Should I get a beater? Any advice is appreciated. Assistant: If you get some $40K vehicle, you lose $6K in the first year in depreciation alone. (About 15% per year for most vehicles.) I'd take the $6K and buy a used vehicle, the minimum reliable vehicle with 4 wheel drive. Human: I'm thinking about getting an el cheapo AWD drive. I'm just worried because if it fails I can lose my job.

If it's because you need to go off-road, then take the company truck. Why beat your own vehicle up? Maintenance, insurance, breakdowns are all off your back, worth the 6k IMO.

How el cheapo are you thinking? You should be able to get a Subaru in the $5-7k range with the big 100k service done and ~100-120k miles which should be a reliable car for years, even if you need to go onto some rougher roads That being said, especially with 6-8k/mo income I'd be pretty tempted to just take the truck and not worry about it at all

Human: Update: Hospital finally got back to me and said they have a contract with the doctor's office for a separate, much lower amount than the already "negotiated" amount with the insurance company. If I paid the hospital directly instead of using the payment system/link my insurance provides, I pay the hospital's rate. Additionally I talked to my kid's pediatrician directly who could confirm what he did order and why, and wasn't dismissive and telling me it wasn't his problem like his staff did. TLDR: Call and pay direct whenever possible. Like most street vendors in other countries say, "for you, special price". My kid had a respiratory infection and had some trouble breathing well for a few days so we took him to his pediatrician's urgent care. They told us how much we needed to pay out of pocket up front for treatment and said they wanted to order a test to see if my kid had anything else. Fast forward later and I get a claim notice from my health insurance saying I need to pay Desoto Memorial Hospital $1500 for the test the pediatrician ordered. I went to dispute the claim with the pediatrician and they apologized but said they had no idea it what it would cost and that 20 different tests seemed a bit unreasonable (so they're basically incompetent). They promised to follow up with the hospital about the cost, buy said they can't really do anything for me. Before I call the hospital that did the tests, is there anything else I can do or should be made aware of? My insurance company said to talk to the providers, and I did sign a paper saying I approved the test, but had the pediatrician's staff told me how much it could cost, and that it was separate from their treatment costs, I would not have approved it, as they had already diagnosed my kid.

One thing to remember is that your contract is between you and the insurance company, not you and the doctor. Most physicians accept several different plans that have different cost structures, and generally have no idea what your out of pocket costs are. They only know what your copays are, because that's in *their* contact with your insurance company. They can't charge you more than they agreed to (balance billing), nor can they simply not charge your insurance at all and let you pay cash if it's cheaper. Their contact with the insurance company explicit prohibits your physician from changing your coverage costs. You cannot dispute the charges based on "I didn't know it was this expensive". Your insurance company is required to send you a handbook every year letting you know what's covered and what your costs are for services. It is your responsibility to know that information. What you can do is try to negotiate with the billing department for a payment schedule or reduced cost. You can get a patient advocate to help you with that, if needed.

Ask them if they have financial aid for low income people, most hospitals/doctors offer some kind or another.

Human: I haven't received my W2 in the mail by my last employer and can't get my final pay stub to fill out the 4852 form. Have visited my last employer multiple times and can't get any help what should i do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated with April 15th coming up.

Call the IRS and complain. 1-800-829-1040 They will get the previous employer's attention *quickly* (with a civil penalty for a late W-2, too).

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: We're planning on moving within 2 years for work. We have quite a bit in credit card debt (way more than the $5k) but for that amount we found out we can add a formal dining room to our kitchen. We currently have a tiny eat-in dining room that barely fits our own family. We would make well over the $5000 spent on adding the dining room when we go to sell. So should we pay down the debt or add the dining room? Edit: I guess I will also mention that I am on the side of paying debt but my wife wants to add the dining room. How can I sway her to pay off debt?

ALWAYS pay down interest-bearing debt when you can!

You may find these links helpful: - [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit) - [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) - [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico) - [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: I'm 31 years old and making 6 figures, maxing out my 401k employer match, with company equity and a decent amount in savings. I've always been very fiscally responsible (not pissing my money away), but I know I'm also not doing the most that I can with the money that I have. I have a good amount of money saved, but it's just sitting in my savings account barely making any money. Who can I talk to for financial planning and advice? I've heard that some financial planners are serving their own interests rather than their clients, so I'm not sure where to start and who to trust. I'd like to buy a house in ~5 years, so I'd like to start thinking about what I need to be doing with my money (and company stocks) now.

Why not talk here? You can start educating yourself with the sidebar: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

I think a lot of people here will tell you that you can handle your own finances. The common advice seems to be max your IRA, keep an emergency fund saved, invest anything you won't need for 5 years. First step is maximize your savings acct. Ally is a common bank amongst PF and it gives you 1% which is literally 100x better than most banks. I've seen credit unions that give 3% up to $15k if you can find one do it. Read this sub and you'll likely pick up enough stuff to handle the money yourself.

Human: I have been working 30+ hour weeks for a while now and finally reached my goal of $10,000 in savings. My parents have graciously offered to pay for my college tuition and expenses. What should I do with my savings? Should I invest, open a CD, or keep my money in savings? EDIT: Thank you for the awesome advice everyone! I will definitely do some more research with all of these options :)

Amazing! You're off to a great start. There are way smarter people than myself to answer your question. I just wanted to say that its amazing you saved that much money so young. You're gonna do well

Congrats! Now read the sidebar...

Human: I have a sketchy father-in-law to say the least. Today I got two letters from the IRS addressed to him and one of them is definitely a tax return check. Why on earth would his IRS stuff be coming to my personal business? Is this something I should be concerned about? Here is some background info. He is a wealthy oral surgeon, but is an extreme narcissist and will literally do anything to anyone if it means saving a dollar. My mother-in-law originally invested some money into my business, and this eventually led to him saying some of it was his money, and we have had a fight this year over weather we needed to give him equity (we haven't and won't). Anyways the fact that his tax returns are showing up here concerns me that he is doing some fraudulent stuff using my company's name for his sketchy financing. What could he be doing with this info? I know for a fact if he got audited, he would be fucked. What should I do?

You can return the mail to sender and note that recipient does not live here.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: Every thread that involves discussion of balance transfers to a 0% interest card inevitably has a comment warning you to pay it all off or you'll be charged all the deferred interest. The CARD Act of 2009 prohibits any credit card that advertises "0% APR" or "0% interest" from charging deferred interest. If you fail to pay these cards off in full by the end of the promotional period, you will only be charged interest on the balance going forward. Of course, you should pay it all off anyway, since that was the whole point of the balance transfer. Retail cards like Best Buy *do* charge deferred interest on purchases. You'll notice their language says things like "NO INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL WITHIN 6 MONTHS". They never say 0%. If the card advertises a 0% APR, *they cannot charge you deferred interest*.

Wow -- I legitimately did not realize this. I just logged into my Discover It account to check the terms on my 0% 18 month balance transfer, and you're right -- it only accrues interest on the remaining balance after the promotional period. Good to know that if I have a slip-up during the pay back period that it won't go back to where it started. Thank you OP!

Great post. Also to add, some issuers like Barclays that partner with Apple when financing a purchase also offer deferred interest financing options.

Human: Hi PF, Hopefully this is the right place for this type of question. Also, please ignore my username... My long-term girlfriend (over 5 years) and I have been having arguments about sharing finances lately. I'll try to keep the details concise and objective. - We currently live together in a rented apartment, and are looking to buy a house - I make ~$15k more than her, but we both make pretty good money - I am on the higher end of the salary spectrum within my field - She is very close to the low end of the salary spectrum within her field, and could easily make more than me, but she likes the perks of her job (working from home often, low-stress, great hours) and therefore doesn't want to seek a higher-paying job that may have not have those perks. - I work longer hours and have a higher-stress job, so she ends up doing far more of the laundry and cleaning - This is debatably relevant, but she has a quite a lot of money in savings (over $200k), which is significantly higher than what I have at this point. This is due to a combination of factors - primarily because she lived at home while I rented and her parents paid for her college while I had loans, but also because she is much more stingy on things like eating out, recreation, etc. - The location of our workplaces (in different states), and the fact that she doesn't have to commute for a portion of the week, dictates that we will need to buy a house in the state where I work. This will cause her to pay additional taxes than she would if the house were in the state of her employer Essentially, she thinks that in order to feel more invested in each other's careers, we should direct a percentage of our salaries (undecided number, but below 20%) to a joint account that would be used to pay for all the purchases that we split - bills, vacations, eating out, etc.). So I would end up paying for more of our joint purchases, but we would still maintain our separate accounts. For a lot of situations, I think this would be reasonable. But my big hang up is that she could easily be making more than me in her field, and chooses not to because she works great hours, is never stressed, and works from home often. Meanwhile, I am in a stressful career making what I make because I don't want to be undervalued in my field, even though I could take a lower-paying, lower stress job. I don't feel that I should have to pay a greater percentage for everything we purchase so she can keep her terrific work life while I am working bad hours and stressed. It only makes it worse that she is so far ahead of me in terms of savings, and if I pay a higher percentage for everything, I obviously will catch up slower. Additionally, she thinks that I should pay some additional amount to make up for the fact that her take-home income will take a hit due to the higher taxes from living in the state of my workplace. I see where she is coming from, but at the same time, she works in a state where my field doesn't really have any career opportunities. I don't think I should be penalized financially because she works in a fairly remote location that I couldn't possibly get a job close to. Basically, I initially felt strongly that I am in the right on this, but after arguing for so long about it, sometimes you start to question things. So, PF, do you think that I am justified in not thinking I should pay a higher % for our shared purchases? Or am I being unreasonable and selfish? Sorry for the long post. Any feedback would greatly be appreciated.

This is easy. You aren't married, don't combine your finances.

If your looking to buy a house with her in the future and have her live closer to your work you two need to get married or breakup. You have been together 5 years get to it already. If you both feel like you are not ready to marry then most likely you are not meant to be together. Once married your income and her income become one and you have one joint account. Before getting married split all joint bills 50/50. That's what my husband and I did before we married. Usually I would pay rent and he would pay utilities and food. Then whoever paid more wrote the other a check for the difference. As far as vacations we both paid our own way and as far as going out to eat or to the movies or drinking we paid separately. Good luck.

Human: Her job is paying her $10 an hour, and minimum wage is $11 in Washington state. I'm not sure if they're doing it intentionally, so what would be the best way to go about receiving they money they owe her? She is also 17, if that makes any difference.

Use the "there must be some mistake" approach. "Hey boss, I was looking at my check and there must be some mistake... The minimum wage is $11 but I'm only making $10."

Call your state department of labor. They can guide you into make a formal complaint and potentially prosecute if it comes to that.

Human: I'm not entirely sure if this is the correct sun for this but I'm a photographer and with that comes constant scrolling through craigslist gigs. I came across this car ad gig which I've heard of before and was interested. I live is southern California and the poster has a North Carolina area code which I thought was a little weird. He is also offering an outrageous amount to advertise on an 04 Nissan Altima? He said he was still down though and then he said he mailed out a check to me for $2,950 and I am to cash it and take out my first weeks payment of $450 and use the rest to pay a local car wrap company to apply his wrap. Is this a scam? Is my main concern I don't see exactly how it could be if he does send the check (of course before pulling money out I'll wait for it to clear) any advice? Also if his check is somehow fraudulent or whatever, yet it does go through, am I at fault? Especially because I'm being paid for a service so will the money possibly be taken away?

http://www.scnow.com/news/article_aee2e0a6-daf4-11e3-8655-001a4bcf6878.html >Just this week, a Florence man became the latest to fall victim to the scam. But luckily, his bank stopped him before it was too late. >The man told police he responded to an ad on Craigslist asking for people willing to place a vehicle wrap on their cars to advertise a certain product. In exchange for advertising through the wrap, the company offered $400 a week in compensation, according to an incident report. >The man told police a check arrived at his home a few days later, but a wrap did not arrive. The check was for $2,950. He contacted the “company” via email and the representative told him to cash the check, take his $400 in pay, then send the rest back to them. But when he went to the bank to do so, a bank employee informed him the check was a forgery.

you will pay a % of the fraud cheque to the bank. don't cash!!!!!!!!'

Human: Title says it all. Please excuse the absence of a backstory. This was brought to my attention recently and it pains me to think my dad will continue working into old age without ever reaching retirement. Let's assume he makes 10-20k after taxes a year (usually on the lower end). Ignore rent, utilities, food costs. Has maybe 5k in savings. What should he do? Or where can he start??

I'd start by finding out where he stands of social security benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ Then one would need to know some backstory. Where does he live? Why does he make so little? What did he make in the past (related to the SS question)? What can he make going forward? You can look into subsidized senior housing where he lives. He will probably also qualify for food stamps and Medicaid. But all in all, entering retirement with no assets is difficult and stressful. If there's flexibility in where he retires in terms of city/state, you would want to compare the available benefits. The other common approach is for children to let their retired parents live with them. This would interfere with food stamps (since they're based on household), but I think Medicaid would still be available. So if housing costs can be reduced/eliminated, Medicaid takes care of health care, and he gets a modicum of social security, he'd be okay.

Do you own your own house? Might need to build him a little grandpa flat in the back.

Human: Currently have 6 credit cards all with 20%+ APR. My total debt is 13995. I am receiving $14k. I am planning on using all of it to completely get rid of my credit card debt just wanted to see what knowledge reddit could provide. 1. Can I call my Credit Card companies before paying and see if there is a lower payment that we can settle on since it is one lump payment, or should I expect to pay the whole $13995? 2. Should I leave all 6 lines of credit open and only use for a tank of gas a month (just example) and pay off each month just to show utilization? Is that good for credit? 3. after paying all of my credit card debt at once will I be able to get credit cards with way better APR % for future use?

> after paying all of my credit card debt at once will I be able to get credit cards with way better APR % for future use? Stop. Carrying. A balance. Has this experience taught you nothing?

You may find these links helpful: - [What's the best way to pay down my debt?](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/debt#wiki_what.27s_the_best_way_to_pay_down_my_debt.3F) - [Dealing with collections](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections) - [Credit Repair](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building#wiki_i_have_bad_credit.2C_and_i_am_looking_to_repair_it.) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: I received multiple voicemails this week from scammers posing as an IRS employee threatening to file a lawsuit against me. I should have recognized this was a scam!! The voicemail went : “this is Internal Revenue Service the reason of this call is to inform you that IRS is filing lawsuit against you to get more information about this case file please call immediately on our department number 413-252-2505 I repeat 413-252-2505 thank you…” I called the number back and after a few seconds the recording began: "hello thanks for calling the international revenue services how may I help you? Just as I started speaking, the message continued ..."hello.....hello can you hear me???" And just like that I replied , "Yes ma'am I can hear you fine" The line was silent and I replied, "hello!?? Can you hear me? No answer.. just a voice recorder on the other end.I called back and ... NOTHIN it wouldn't connect Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page or call 800-366-4484. Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes. If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040. Avoid e-mail phishing attempts

Thanks for posting this. This happened to me a year ago and it's the only scam I've ever actually almost falling for. Had to call the IRS to make sure that it actually wasn't them because it was so convincing. Got a funny story out of it though: after I confirm that it was fake from the IRS I called the number back and ended up having them on the phone for about an hour well I pretended to fumble with Western Union. After I "accidentally" got the recipients information wrong for the 10th time, the dialogue finally broke down, and the agent cursed me out and hung up on me. So naturally I called him back and got someone else. I did this about a half dozen times before they started recognizing the number or blocking me or something. So by the end of all this I was more of noxious than the scammers and they were blocking my calls. I got a good laugh out of that. And yes at the time I had too much free time on my hands.

* scammers * IRS What's the difference

Human: After doing our taxes this year (all deductions and write offs applied), my wife and I have a combined income of $62K. When we add the proceeds from the sale of a house she got from her father in July of 2014, our accountant is telling is we have to pay what amounts to about 36% income tax on the funds received from the sale of the property. Here's a breakdown of what that sale looks like: Sold for $72K Expenses were $14K (property taxes, closing costs, etc) Net gains ~$58K. Am I missing something? Everywhere I read, it states that on capital gains on the sale should be around 15% tax (if we add the $58K to our income, it bumps out of the 10-15% bracket and into the next highest one). She kept the property for two years, which I know doesn't have any bearing for taxation purposes since the house was not our primary residence. I'm supposed to meet with him later this week but wanted to see if I should seek another accountant's services. I'm just not seeing why we're being taxed so high on the proceeds. Sorry for the long post. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks guys. PS. There was no initial expense on the acquisition of the property. All that was done was transfer of deed and at that point, my wife became the owner, responsible for taxes and such.

Get a new accountant, he doesn't understand the difference between capital gains and income.

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: What will happen when I receive $14,000 from 5 different friends (70k total) as a gift to my bank account?

Hopefully you'll pay it forward to some kind stranger on the internet.

No one is going to be able to answer the question because you've ignored the most obvious details - why they're doing this and where the money is coming from. If you're involved in a money laundering scheme, you may have criminal liabilities associated with this and you may see your accounts frozen.

Human: I apologize if any of this comes off as jumbled or not completely focused, but it has been a very long day dealing with this and trying to learn as much about taxes as possible. So here goes: I am a 23-year old, married, full-time graduate student. I graduated undergrad in May of 2016, and began grad school in September of 2016. My and my spouse's gross annual income is about $25,000 and we will be filing a MFJ (married filing joint) return. While in undergrad, I lived on campus through a job that provided my room and board. I am still on my parents health insurance, and was on their dental insurance until October of 2016. From January-June, I lived in Michigan, and July-December in Illinois. I was legally married in August of 2016. My dad is asking for me to not claim my personal exemption on my tax return so that he can claim me as a dependent. His reasoning comes straight from his CPA that despite the fact that I am married filing jointly, and even though my gross annual income is higher than the minimum W-2 Income requirement ($20,700) and the income requirement for a qualifying relative, my full-time student status and the fact that I lived in Michigan for at least 5 months makes me an exception that allows them to claim me as a dependent (I'm pretty sure they are claiming me as a qualifying relative). I have been through the IRS website several times, and talked to my own CPA, and I just can't understand how they think this could be the case. I do not see anywhere where the student status is an exception for either the joint-filing test or the fact that we are required to file a tax return and not just for a refund of tax withheld. Am I in the wrong, or is my parents' CPA making some sort of mistake

They can't claim you for many reasons. They can't claim you if you file jointly unless you're doing it just to get a refund, which you wouldn't be, as you have a filing obligation. You didn't live with them over half the year. College absences count as temporary, but only if you intend to move back home at the end of the semester. If you're effectively moved out, then you do not live with them. (So can't be qualifying child.) You provided more than half your support. (So can't be qualifying child.) They didn't provide more than half your support. (So can't be qualifying relative.) You earned over $4050. (So can't be qualifying relative.) So many ways...

You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/5ohy01) - [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) - [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates) - [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Human: So i'm starting a new job and am required to set up direct deposit through their online form. I have a credit card and a debit card, and the online form is asking for my account number. I'm new to having a credit card and just recently learned you can't transfer money over to it, only to pay off the balance. So my question is, should I put my debit card as the account number and set it up that way, or is there another way to set it up through the credit card? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Edit: I appreciate the information from people commenting, but am confused by the downvotes. I already stated i'm ignorant on this topic and am asking for help. Sorry if this doesn't seem like a legitimate question to some people.

Neither. You need the account number of your bank account. If you log in to your bank account online you should be able to get it that way.

Usually, you would set it up with the account number and routing number from your bank account.

Human: 2007 Mazda 3 i Touring, 127,000 miles, 24/32 MPG, cloth seats, multi-disk CD, Heat and AC, cruise and steering wheel audio controls. Mounted roof rack can be removed. 1 touch power windows, heated and power mirrors, keyless system including remote start. Asking price is $4700. I was looking to try and get the guy down to either $4200-$4300. I know it all depends on how the car was treated, dents, engine, etc. But just looking asking in a scenario where everything turns out fine but looking to save a little extra.

1. You need to be willing to walk away. I don't mean bluff/pretend walk, I mean really walk. There will always be another car. 2. Don't worry about being disrespectful with your offer. Just play nice and be polite -- that's respectful enough. No need to be the tough guy in language.

If you have all cash on hand. 4k is a start. If not You can still start at 4k and You may end up at about 4400-4500.

Human: I quit my job last week and today when I went in to collect my last check and turn in my uniforms the secretary said she had to call the owner. He was very bitter and said they were putting a 72 hr hold on my check to make sure I didn't steal anything. It's a carpet cleaner place in Colorado. What should my recourse be? I don't want to wait longer than necessary but he said it was a law that said he could, and it's not. I checked the labor law website. There was no reason for him to think that, he wasn't willing to pay me a managers wage to do a managers job. I just want to make sure I get my pay and don't get screwed somehow.

Also, in the US things you break or steal from a place of employment can't be deducted from your pay. They an terminate you or press charges (and then seek damages) but they can't just unilaterally deduct wages from your checks without going through a legal process where you have a chance to disprove their assertions. Just in case it comes to that. Anecdote: worked at a cafe/bakery where the baker was the General Manager and I was Front of House manager. I had to explain to him at length the many different kinds of legal problems he was/could be exposing us to by informing employeess (in writing) that if they dropped any more baked goods (specifically cakes) that the retail price would be deducted from their next check. The conversation actually ended with: "You cannot legally do that." "Yes I can." "No, you can't; their wages are protected from this activity as it is a form of retribution prohibited by labor laws. Worse yet, not only would we be forced to repay the deducted wages, we'd hae to spend who-knows-how-much on a lawyer to prevent worse fines, and we'd still have to pay fines. Lots of big fines. Not to mention you'd spend several days not working and in court, along with me, the owner and our CFO. In a nutshell you'd be risking tens-of-thousands for what at most is just *a* thousand."

Call your state attorney general. Ask them to call your boss. No boss is going to hold on to a stupid check when they know that the state AG is watching.

Human: A friend of mine is a graduate student without a lot of income. They are paying for their rent/food with student loans. I trust this friend implicitly, both to be responsible and not put themselves in a situation where they cannot afford rent, and also not to be a jackass. They only require a cosigner because they're a student and not a working professional; they have excellent credit. Given all this, would you consider cosigning their lease, or would you not take on any level of risk?

No. No. No. No. Okay, if you're *still* not convinced, ask him to prepay at least 6 months' of rent for you to hold in case of a problem, refundable upon termination of the lease. You also didn't mention whether this is an apartment lease or a car lease. A car lease is a 'hell no' from me. If they need to rent an apartment, is there a reason they can't just pay out of their student loans? Beyond that, you're taking a risk with no upside to you.

>A friend of mine is a graduate student without a lot of income. They are paying for their rent/food with student loans. Read that out loud 3 times. The answer is no. Hell no.

Human: I've found myself in an unfortunate situation where I own a home likely worth less than what I bought it for and feel like I will outgrow it in the next year or two. I bought it for roughly $1,100,000 (the Bay Area). My total costs per month to keep it up are about $5000. I believe I can rent it out for around $3800. The good news is I have a 3% 30-yr fixed, so I'm not paying too much in interest. My principle paid per month is about $1500. On the other hand, if I sell in the next couple of years, I would probably sell at a loss, probably selling for around $1,000,000. I have enough capital to afford to take the monthly loss and keep up another mortgage if I felt like it was worth the investment. I'm hoping to get some advice from anyone who knows about this. I could just cut my losses and move on or I could hold onto it for a very long time and likely see large returns on it over 15-20 years.

Taking a loss on a house in the Bay Area? Does not compute.

Where's the house? If it's bigger than a 3/2 and on the west bay I'll buy it instead.

Human: From an options trade (short term < 1 year) I just walked away with 60k profit. I'd like to try to minimize the cap gains tax I'm going to pay on this. What do you guys suggest? I make a good living so I pay plenty of tax already. (33% tax bracket). Can I open an IRA and contribute for my wife and myself the maximum for 2016 and 2017? Any other ways to reduce my tax burden? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Got any stinkers in your portfolio - sell any losses to offset.

ira is 5500 per persona per year. long term account is taxed when you pull money out of your account

Human: I am 24 living in NYC with no debt. Currently have saved 6k from over the past year in a BoA savings account. I make 42k/year and after expenses per month i get to save around $400, give or take. I would like to know what are some things i can do with my savings to make my money work for me/best ways to profit from savings. Thanks!

Do you have an emergency fund? If not, you should make sure you have at least 6 months of expenses saved. Until then, find a savings account with the lowest fees and highest interest rates

Emergency fund 1st. Then a 401/403 at least to get a match if one is available.

Human: to think there is or will be a problem, but having read some nightmare stories, it seems like it might be a good idea. How would I go about doing it?

[You can find steps on how to freeze your child's credit here, as well as alternatives to a freeze](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/02/should-you-put-a-security-freeze-on-the-credit-file/index.htm)

[Krebs had a pretty decent article on it as well](https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/01/the-lowdown-on-freezing-your-kids-credit/)

Human: Just started working this month. I'm 18, and get paid min wage in BC, Canada (about 10.5/hr) and am expecting 10 - 20 hours a week. My parents gifted me $500 and need to make $10,000 before the end of August. Anyway i can make money on the side or invest the money i make? I used to trade in investopedia, it was okay, but i feel to uneducated about the market to trade. Any help would be great!!!

If you want 10k by August, you're going to need to work 48 hours/week with your current salary. 10000/20 = 500 500/10.5 ~ 48 So working less then half that will get you 5k at best. There are no investment strategies that will safely double your money in 5 months. Your best bet is finding a job that pays more.

You have tuition and university expenses coming up. Don't invest. Save it in a 2% EQ savings account where it's not as easily accessible, carry just enough in your Chequing account. Work more. Find a better job. That's it.

Human: Hello! I am in a crisis at the moment in which my parents have decided to kick3 out and cut me off! I have a part time job with a biweekly payment of ~$300-$400 ($600-$800 a month) and the area I live in offers room for rents for ~$500 per month. I am also in high school and would like to attend college. Also! My car may also be taken away since it belongs to my parents. Any tips on how I could survive for the next couple months and if I could still attend college?

How old are you? Your parents have an obligation to take care of you until you are 18 years old, by law. You can call child protective services for housing. At the very least, you need to see your school counselor immediately. Forget the car (its not yours) and buy a bike from goodwill, the salvation army, craigslist, or something like this. Don't spend a lot. This will get you to and from school and work. Do not spend money on stupid shit. Food comes from the grocery store, not restaurants. YOUR ULTIMATE PRIORITY IS TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE HIGH SCHOOL.

Your car belongs to your parents - so it's not 'your car.' You'd also need to pay car insurance for that car, at least, which is another expense. Add to that: feeding yourself for $300 a month. Get very good health insurance, of course. And don't forget saving for college! If I were you, I'd work something out with your parents that takes into account the reasons they were throwing you out. Remedy the situation somehow by changing your expectations and behavior to make yourself an asset to have around the house. As for college, the guidance counselor at your high school is your best bet for advice in that area. Be completely honest about your situation.

Human: Through a couple mistakes (that were mostly my own), I've basically gone from a reasonably healthy bank account, to -$11000 in debt. I'm writing this off as expensive learning experience, but I need help in how to fix my finances. As of currently I have $90 in my bank account, and $11000 credit card debt (@23.99%pa). I have a credit limit of $8500, and won't be able to make my minimum payment of $3000 next week. This is the first time I've ever paid anything less than the full amount. If I slash everything I have monthly expenses of ~850 a month and can afford to put ~$3000 a month towards paying off debt. I can see two options to pay it off, though if others exist I'd be happy to hear them 1) Call my credit card, ask them to extend the due date for another 2 weeks until I can make the minimum payment. Then just pay off the card over the next 5 or so months, eating the interest charges as they come. 2)open a new credit card and request a balance transfer. I understand the general concept of balance transfer, but have no experience with the exact details of it. Also, a balance transfer would only transfer ~70% of the existing credit card debt, splitting it into two seperate payments. 3)? Most of my retirement fund is in a superannuation account (AUS). Is there anyway to access this fund, and is this a good idea if yes?

Balance transfer is your best option. A balance transfer actually counts as a payment to your card so transfering $5000 to another card would act like a payment of the same amount. That transfer doesnt lower your principle as its not a payment but it does make it so the month the payment is due is skipped kinda. Since you owe $3k as a payment I would look to get a transfer minimum of at least that, more if possible to a 0% apr card. You will usually incur a 3-5% of the balance as an additional fee but the amount you will save in interest going to a 0% card will pay for itself. Ideally if you can get 2 cards (assuming you cant transfer all of it to one card with 0%) with 0% apr i would do that. When I did a balance transfer the Chase Slate card was the only one offering 0% balance transfer fee so I went with them. That was over a year ago and your credit/situation is different but I would look into that. Also what did you spend 20 grand on? :)

Can you get a personal loan which will help to cover you?

Human: so I'm asking for a friend: he has accumulated quite a substantial amount of cash money through a couple of side hustles and other reasons, in the form of mostly twenties. he thought he would bring it to his bank, ask for a manager, dump it all on the desk, ask them to count it out in front of him, and deposit it all into his savings account. then memories of Scarface occurred to him and he thought he'd better ask the Reddit community if he's being paranoid and his original plan was good and wouldn't raise eyebrows or he should follow a different path. any serious advice would be appreciated! p.s. this is not a laundering issue or anything. more like decluttering.

If there's no laundering issues and this money is all correctly taxed income, then bring it to a bank. No one is going to grill your friend about this cash, unless we're talking 6 figures or more in twenty dollar bills. If the cash deposit is over $10K, the bank will file an informational form to the relevant agencies, who will keep that on file. They track it to keep tabs on crime, tax evasion, terrorism, and other illegal activity.

Deposit it all at once. If they ask questions, just answer honestly.

Human: I have a friend that was recently sent to state prison. Prior to her incarceration she went to a hospital without insurance and now has a bill that she is unable to pay. Is there a way to get this deferred until she is released? She's not looking to erase the debt. She just has no way to pay at this time.

Depending on length of the incarceration, she could work out a payment plan with the hospital or it might just be written off as a bad debt and she would have to deal with a collections agency.

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Human: So my friend went a little over board with a chase credit card and can't afford the 104$ minimum payment that will probably get higher with coming months he owes under $7000 I know that much so it's not too bad. He wants to just give them a fake address phone number etc so collectors can't bother him. Would that even work? Lol

Might delay him getting letters and phone calls for a while, but it won't make it go away. He'll get 30/60 day late marks on his credit, followed by a derogatory mark which will be on there for 7 years. That's a lot of time and will surely delay any attempt to get a car loan or mortgage before it disappears. He should definitely make every effort to pay the minimum payment. No offense to your friend, but it's money that he chose to spend without actually having cash to back it up. He can't just run away from it.

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