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Human: EDIT 2: Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of responses - thank you all for taking the time to read and respond. The tough love is much needed and the compassion much appreciated. Safe to say that I am inspired and motivated to set aside emotion and dedicate myself to educating myself properly. Hi PF. First off thanks everybody for their time and input. A quick background: my family is currently renovating a house (that we own) and it's taken nearly a year and has been costing us a fortune. My parents are no longer able to budget for the costs and I have been asked to take out a 40-50k personal loan to help out so that they can finish the house once and for all. Their plan is to help me pay it off in a year or so, but the point is that they need money up quick and up front. While I want to help my family where ever I can, my limited knowledge of finances and personal financial situation are lacking and I am afraid that I can't make make a rational and informed decision. I currently am managing 18k in student debt, 3k in credit card debt, with ~40k in annual income. I'm barely managing to be financially independent and I struggle to make payments. On top of this, I am very out of the loop with the renovation process and don't understand how much more we actually need to finish the house. Is taking out a personal loan, using it to consolidate my student/credit card debt, and putting the rest toward the house, my best recourse? What other options do I have? I definitely have a lot of guilt and desire to help my family but my limited knowledge and the sudden demands create a lot of anxiety. Please help! TL;DR - family needs me to take out a 40-50k personal loan while I have about 20k in debt, with a 40k annual income. What options do I have? EDIT: I appreciate the responses and I know on paper it absolutely seems like a terrible idea. I am curious though as I want to take this opportunity to educate both myself and my family as to why this is a bad idea and what other options we might have. Any input is much appreciated - thank you all so much!

They should sell the home, pay off any debts they have, and then purchase a cheaper, smaller home instead. Your first responsibility is to yourself. You are already in debt, and in a position where paying off that debt soon is difficult (it's 50% of your gross salary! That's terrifying already!). You cannot afford any more debt, especially if you were to incur it on behalf of others, on an (unlikely) promise that they'll help pay it back later. Given the situation they're in now, it's unlikely that they'll be better off in the near future, and the whole time you'd have more and more interest piling up on that debt... putting you under water for many years to come, when you should be saving. You know how, on airplanes, the safety card/video tells you to "put on your own oxygen mask before helping others"? The same thing applies here. YOU CANNOT AFFORD to help other people with their financial trouble unless YOU yourself have no debt, have enough savings to cover any unforeseen catastrophic events that might happen (medical bills, job loss), and are already saving at a decent rate for your retirement and other future life events. Then your 'oxygen mask' (to continue the plane analogy) would be on firmly and securely, and you could take the time to help your family.

If you trust your parents and they've never before let you down - you have to do what you have to do (i.e. consider helping them this time). Just make sure, if you succeed in taking out the loan and interest rate on the load is lower than your credit card's, pay off credit card immediately. Family is a priority. You'll make more money in future, but you will never have other parents.

Human: I am completely overwhelmed and all over the place with my thought process and I have no idea where to start. Apologies if this should be posted in a different subreddit…legal advice? My ultimate goal is to support my family and protect/possibly own our homes. **The accident:** My dad was in a motorcycle accident early last month. I don’t really want to go into details, but long story short, it was the other driver’s fault and my dad is now in a coma. There is no telling when he will wake up and how functional he will be. He was the primary breadwinner for our family of 4. **The facts:** * My dad is 60 * His work disability only lasts until the end of next month * We live in California * He is currently in a vegetative state in an acute care facility * We have two houses, one fully owned and one with $440,000 left on the mortgage * My parents have $22,000 in credit card debt * They also have a line of credit for $120,000 * I earn around $73,000 a year * My credit score is 699 * I have no debts * My mom earns about $40,000 a year * I have about $28,000 in assets (savings/checking, 401k, stock) * The house with the mortgage would most likely sell for around $900,000 on the market * The house with a mortgage will have $7,000 in property tax due in December * My mom will be moving to the house we own. I will most likely do the same. My mom wants to sell the house with a mortgage in order to pay off the debt and hopefully have money leftover for hospital bills. It makes some sense, but I am worried what happens once we run out of the leftover money and still have medical bills coming in. I am also worried about losing the house we own. I also wonder if there was some possibility of still keeping the house with a mortgage. **My questions:** * Who do I need to talk to and will be most helpful? Bank? Financial advisor? Real estate lawyer? * How or can the $22,000 credit card debt be negotiated? * What kind of disability is my dad eligible for? (SSI, SDI…?) * How does a line of credit work? * How does house refinancing work and can the house with a mortgage be refinanced? * How do I best negotiate hospital bills? * How can Prop 58 help me? * Can I put both houses under my name? * Can I or should I buy the house with the mortgage? * Can I takeover my parent’s mortgage at the $2,500 a month rate? * If I can keep the house with a mortgage, I would want to rent it out for about $3,000-3,500 a month (reasonable in this area), but the house will need some upgrade. Our living room needs new floor. The two bathrooms need a new floor. We need a new shower in one of the bathrooms. The kitchen needs new counters, oven, and stove. The house also needs to be tinted for termites. * What else can/should I do? What would you do in my shoes? It seems like a pretty fucked up situation in regards to keeping the house with a mortgage. However, it would be nice to have a rent income, keep it due to the valuable area, and own my own home. I would like my mom to have money from the house for hospital bills, but I also think she should negotiate the bills so the money lasts. I will also like the house my parents own to be in my name so it can’t be taken from her due to medical bills and also as payment for supporting them. *What the fuck do I do.* My mom is already packing up the house and is worried about money, especially since my dad’s disability income ends next month. I am trying my best to research all of this, but it is so overwhelming and I seem to only have a short amount of time to figure this all out. I appreciate any advice.

Highly recommend selling the additional house, your mother is right. Having a house that you are a landlord for is additional life stress that you do not need in those circumstances. Live in the house that your family owns - you'll have no problem paying just the taxes if you can get through the other problems. Get a lawyer to address the fault for the accident to pay for medical bills, and in the meantime pursue whatever other insurance your father may have. I don't know about the other questions, sorry.

In regards to the house ownership, look into creating a living trust with you as one of the beneficiaries. If your mom is on title, she may be sign for setting up the living trust, even if your father is not able to at this time. This will work out much better than you purchasing the home from your parents. You could perhaps rent it from them in the meantime to help with bills.

Human: Hey PF, Im just your average lurker but i recently got a text from my mom saying that our landlord is selling the house we rent. We have 2 months to leave the house. (oct.1) My reason for posting is because i don't know what options they have. Heres their financial breakdown to the best of my knowledge but they are pretty open about it with me so feel free to ask any questions that come to mind. They both have poor credit, around a 540, with a household income of 120k, no savings, spotless rental history, not able to take a 401k loan because they currently have one out. I also live with them and am completely willing to help out to the full extent of my finances. Im 20, my income is 60k a year, my credit score is 560 (can you tell credit care wasnt stressed in our home) My savings consists of $2000 that i was going to use for school in September but i can always find another way to pay. My main questions are what their options are. Bad credit home loans? anything? This is my first post and i hope its within the guidelines of this sub. anything helps even if its just constructive criticism.

You make $160k collectively. Even in the highest COL areas, that's a huge income. You and your entire family are living massively outside your means. The last thing you need to do is buy a home and add even more debt to what is apparently a group that has no idea how to handle debt. Cut your expenses. Now. Save for a big security deposit. Plan to find a new apartment.

Do they *actually* have 2 months to leave the home? Do they have a lease? How much time is left on the lease? What state are you in? If they've got an income of $120,000 and *no* savings and a current 401(k) loan, they're completely out of control. Barring cancer or a serious ongoing health issue, this situation is inexcusable. Do not support their misbehavior by subsidizing their bad decisions. If you're making $60,000 a year and you've only got $2,000 in savings, I seriously question what you're doing. Slam on the brakes, put aside 40% of your income, cancel recurring bills, cancel unneeded services, and move forward with your life. This is no way to live.

Human: My wife (28) and I (29) are in the process of buying a home and we are trying to determine if we should extend ourselves a little bit to purchase a home we can grow into. We plan on having two children and a two bedroom is a challenge for four people. I'd like to avoid moving again once the second child is old enough to sleep alone. We are ready to make an offer on a two or three bedroom in the same building but I want some additional perspective. Details: * Assets $240k investments, $360k savings, $80k retirement * No debt * Monthly non-housing expenses - $2,000 * Household Monthly Take home - $14,000 * In addition my wife receives a $50k bonus (take home) each year * 2 Bedroom cost - $978,000 * 3 Bedroom cost - $1,285,000 * Monthly Cost of Ownership 2 bedroom (mortgage, taxes, HOA, insurance) - $5k * Monthly Cost of Ownership 3 bedroom (mortgage, taxes, HOA, insurance)- $7k I like that one of our salaries can cover the two bedroom plus expenses. In the event that one of us is out of work we wouldn't need to dip into savings but we have in demand professions so I don't think job loss is a huge concern. In the worst case we could live almost 2 years without income in the 3 bedroom and almost 4 years in the 2 bedroom.

I'm not going to give you advice on the personal finance, it's pretty obvious you can afford both solutions. But if I were you I'd stick with a two bedroom for now. You say you're planning to have two kids, and that tells me it'll be several years before the second child is old enough to sleep alone. Your lives and preferences could be very different by then, and one or both of you could be in new jobs, which might mean new commuting needs. And if you're anything like myself and most other parents, you will want to have a garden for your kids at some point. So continue building your investments and savings, and enjoy the security of being able to cover your expenses in the unfortunate event that one of you is out of a job for a while. And then move to something bigger when and if you're ready for it.

Having just did this ink los Angeles, going larger was so much worth it! Do it.

Human: I am an engineer and an electrician who specializes in robotics. A month ago, I got my first job and want to save up for a laptop and a 3D printer. I want to find a bank that is easy to work with and that people have good experiences with that has a branch in or around Woodinville Washington. Any advice?

If you are a minor you are most likely neither an engineer or an electrician. That aside, you're probably not talking about large sums of money, so don't worry too much about it. Maybe you can find special offers for minors, though, so keep an eye for those

Can look into the Capital One MONEY account for teenagers. It works like a traditional checking account but you need an adult on the account because you're a minor. There's no fees either. I set it up for my sister when she was 15 and never have any problem with it.

Human: Hey all, So I'm a 23 year old broke actor who has been living in London for 3 years training and trying to find work. It's been very tough financially and I've been living (due to extortionate rent costs) totally hand to mouth, working crappy bar jobs and waitressing for the mean time. My father passed away suddenly in May and my head is still too much of a jumble to think where to put this money. I don't want to just blow it. So any advice of where to put it so that it grows would be great, as I'm completely clueless. Anywhere where it can grow. A help to buy ISA is sort of not useful to me because if I continue to live in London because I'll never be able to afford to grow it with my current circumstances. Thanks guys

Do you really need to to live in London? I mean if you are doing bar and waitress jobs atm you should consider moving out of London and take the train. That would help you to build some wealth. Because when you are living with the hand in your mouth, focus on your acting is i imagine really hard since you always got a voice in your mind wich is telling you: "Shit i need this acting job so badly for the money". And that can distract you from everything and maybe thats why its not taking off. For the 14k, pay all high interest debts you have and put the rest away for a real emergency.

Spend 3k, go to India and backpack around for a month..

Human: I am able to take out a loan on my 401k at 5.25% interest rate. I have about $1,700 at 17.15% (down from $4,200 since trolling these forums) left on one credit card that I've been putting as much as I can towards it. I am able to set the how many pay periods I want to pay back the loan, and am able to make extra payments and pay it off early Does this sound like a good idea? Or are there reasons that I'm not thinking of that make it not worth it? If you need any more info I will gladly supply what I can. Thanks in advance!

Most people will tell you to avoid taking a loan out on the 401k because of the inherent risks you run in doing so (such as, if you were to lose your job with a loan outstanding, the loan becomes due more or less immediately in most cases). It also avoids you getting used to raiding your nest egg when you need extra money. Why not simply reduce your 401k payments for a few months and put the extra income into the debt?

Don't ever take out a 401K loan. Don't worry about this interest rate - the balance is very low. Just pay it down over the next few months and be done with it. Stop using any credit cards and switch to a debit card exclusively. Boohoo about any points.

Human: OK, so my situation. 28 yr old, no kids. Income: 1750/mo (net) (It is usually barely over 2000 net after overtime but I like to budget with none) **Monthly bills** 490 Rent 460 Car/Insurance (260/200) 250 Loan From Family (1400 left) 40 Misc (Internet/Elec/etc) **Total 1240** That leaves $510 for food (usually in the $300-400 range) and gas (I don't drive a lot, like 30/mo). I also do go out occasionally with friends, maybe once or twice a month, which just about finishes my money. So far, it's kinda simple. I'm not saving anything for now, but I'm not at risk of missing bills. I'm capable enough at planning to always have my bills money ready. **My Problems** First things first, my car loan is bad. Really bad. My credit is (was?) horrible and I had to accept an absurd rate in order to get a car from the one place that didn't immediately turn me down. The car loan itself is only for $6000, but I desperately need to refinance at some point. I can afford the current payment, but this is an area I can make a major improvement in. The problem is I'm not sure how to go about that. I talk to my bank every three months or so to see if they'll give me a loan (the car loan is not through them), but so far its been all no. I've had this loan for nearing one year, all payments on time. Additionally, I have two major negative marks on my credit. The first is an eviction from 2009. I owe nearly $8k here. My general plan is to just wait this one out, since I can't ever hope to pay it. I don't know the rules here though. Do I need to do anything once a certain amount of time has passed? There was a civil judgement against me, I don't know if/how that affects this. I've been scared to call anyone or talk to anyone about this since I don't know what counts as resetting the clock. I know not to give them any money at least. The other thing is a 2k medical bill from a number of years ago, but it says right on my credit report this goes away May 2017, so thats an easy call here too. It worries me that my eviction doesn't say when it goes away though. My car insurance is high too, but short of saving enough to buy 6 mo at a time, I can't get better rates currently. **My Current Plan** My plan right now is to pay off my family loan first (I know it has no interest and should be low priority but it's not). This will take 6 months (well, 5 after I pay this month). Then I'll take that $250/mo and accelerate my car payment til its finished. Ideally, I'll be able to refinance to a reasonable rate at some point. I'll also keep trying to find lower insurance costs and roll any money I save there into my car payments also. If I'm unable to refinance or lower my insurance costs, the car should take about 2 years to pay off, I think. And... that's it. Thats then end of my plan. I don't know what to do about the eviction. I don't know what to do about not having any savings, other than don't get injured or fired. I do spend time looking for better jobs, but find very little. I guess I'm looking for any advice at all. Am I kinda on the path to fixing things? Way off base? I'm open to criticism.

You say you don't drive a lot ($30 in gas) I know it seems kind crazy for most people, but not everyone needs a car. Can you walk or bike to work? Sell it and you save almost 500 a month, bonus get in a work out everyday -> stay in better shape -> less medical bills. In the rare instance you absolutely need a ride, get an Uber. Use 500 dollars per month you now don't have to pay to crush debts.

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Human: I will be the first to admit that I don't know anything about investing for retirement accounts or anything like that. Most of what they said about investing in mutual funds and retirement accounts sounded good, but the one thing that stuck out to me is that they said the account just "comes" with disability insurance. They acted like they were being transparent and told me that they get a small kickback from the disability insurance company for signing me up that is how they get there first payment for their services. The rest of the money they make from me is whenever they are actively managing -- that is, moving my money around and buying stocks, etc... Is this legit? Assistant: You can probably invest without mixing your retirement and your insurance needs together. Northwestern Mutual salespeople will be glad to take advantage of your not knowing anything about investing, though. They don't get a lot of love around here. Did you really just sit down "on a whim"? Or did NWM contact you? Human: Well, it was kind of a whim. One of their sales people called me out of the blue because he is friends with one of my friends I go way back with. I don't care for that kind of "referral" based business but I at least wanted to hear what they had to say. EDIT: two words EDIT EDIT: okay, it wasn't on a whim

Sales people. NWM was hiring big at my school at graduation. When i started hearing things like friend referals, calling people I knoe, cold calling i ran as fast as i could. I don't like pressuring people i know or selling people what they dont need.

Be prepared for them to hound you about anyone you may know. I had the exact same thing happen to me. I didn't know anything about investing at the time, but I didn't feel comfortable with giving them complete control of a big chunk of my income. So happy I didn't.

Human: My husband likes the house freakishly cold at night or else he gets nightmares. Usually our thermostat is set at 67F. During the summer, our utilities takes a hit. If we up it during the day to like 72, would this help? I've always wondered if it takes more power for the AC to re-cool the house versus maintain 67 all day. I apologize if this is an idiotic question. Also, any other tips for reducing utility costs are welcome. Thanks!

It's a myth that it takes less energy to run the AC all day, rather than leaving it off and turning it on when you get home. Running the AC all day when you're away definitely uses more energy, no question. The reason is that with the AC constantly running, it's constantly cooling your home, making it a heat magnet. Heat goes to where it's not, so when your house is cooler, more heat will try to enter. So more heat gets into your house, and the AC has to remove that heat, over and over again. When you are gone, set your AC to 80+. I have mine set to 85 during the day, and it is scheduled to kick back on 45 minutes before I get home.

A few degrees won't make a big difference in terms of re-cooling the house. It will save you some money during the day, especially considering you're likely out most of the day and it doesn't need to be equally as cold. You could replace your windows/curtains/blinds to be more energy efficient. Newer windows keep the cold in and hot out. Better curtains/blinds will keep out the sun. Make sure you shut the curtains/blinds on the side of the house facing the sun. Better insulation in the walls. You can contact the utility company and see if they offer a yearly budget plan. This won't necessarily save on it, but it will spread out the cost of running the AC so much during the summer throughout the year. I do the same with heating in the winter (New England), such that instead of using a lot more gas and spending upwards of $150-200/mo in the winter, and $10 in the summer, it is about $70/month year round.

Human: Hey everyone, I recently finished my undergrad in May and started a full time job and need to start paying off all the debt I racked up foolishly. Here's the breakdown: Car note: $6000 @ 3.99% ($250/ month) Credit Card #1: $800 balance @ 18.24% Credit Card #2: $2800 balance @ 20.24% Credit Card #3: $1300 balance @ 23.24% Credit Card #4: $6000 balance @ 0% until August 2017 (parents credit card, just helping them out since I am living with them) Student Loans (payments start this December): $55k approx. My other expenses include gas ($150/month), phone ($40/month), some other misc. subscriptions ($25/month). I will admit I do go out whether it be eating, drinking a lot which contributes to my money mismanagement but I have been stepping away from that lifestyle to focus more on work, so we'll say at the moment I spend ($120/week) on whatever it may be. My salary is $43k, after taxes my paycheck is $1300, $200 which I put directly into savings just to build emergency fund which I don't have at the moment. I will be getting a 20% raise within a year but not really trying to account that in right now. Please let me know what you all think. My financial goal is to just rid ALL of this debt within 4-5 years so I can start focusing on saving for a house. EDIT: Just to be clear, I am saving $400 a month. $200/paycheck.

Well you ball away 1/3rd of your paycheck (probably more). While also carrying credit card debt at 20%. Seems kinda straight forward to me.

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

Human: Hello PF! I have $46,000 in my traditional 401K, and am able to take a general purpose loan out of my 401k for $20,000 at an interest rate of 5.5% paying $227 payment deductions from each paycheck over 60 months. I wanted to use that $20,000 loan to pay off my student loan that I have, which totals $20,000 at an interest rate of 6.5%. Does this make sense to do? To me, it seems obviously good to do because the 5.5% interest from the 401k loan is being paid back to me whereas the 6.5% interest on my student loans is going to the bank. Am I wrong? edit: I cannot write off the interest off my taxes for this student loan because it was used to pay for a graduate degree (MBA) from the University of Utah (this is what my tax lady told me). Also, even while paying $227/month to pay the 401k loan back per month, I plan to continue contributing to my 401k by matching my employer's max match amount.

the interest on the 401k is irrelevant, you are paying yourself, means nothing. the real cost of a 401k loan is the forgone appreciation from exiting the market. So the ultimate question is, will your 401k earn > 6.5% over the course of the repayment? I cant answer that. other concerns, if you leave your job, you enter a forced repayment, else you lose the loan and get a penalty for the early withdrawal. Thats typically a pretty big risk to take.

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Human: I'm in USA/Wisconsin. Was told by doctor's receptionist that my insurance would cover dermatologist visit. After four visits over a 2-3 month period received a bill showing that the insurance paid nothing, and I'm liable for $400. Doctor turned out to be out of network. I'm using dean healthcare through the healthcare.gov program. I did some investigating and found out he does cover dean patients, but does not cover dean patients through healthcare.gov program. Anything I can do? Never would have went if my insurance didn't cover it...I feel cheated :( Thanks.

**You need to ALWAYS verify with the insurance company, not the doctors, if you're covered** The receptionists or secretary's or whatever do not know the ins and out of every single insurance plan. It's your responsibility to verify with your ins co that you are covered.

Sorry to hear that. THere's not a whole lot you can do about it and you aren't the first one to be trapped in the quagmire of conflicting information about healthcare/health insurance. I'd try calling the Dean billing office and asking if you can get a discount for cash pay.

Human: So I thought I'd ask what if any experiences people had with home warranty companies. I had first American for a year. they were sufficient but I thought you all might have some more specific and or situational advice. My main concern is my heater, as I live in the mid west.

I recommend not getting a home warranty and paying for it out of pocket.

For what it's worth I have First American for my rental property. I bought it for the aging A/C that's 30 years old and about to fail. If you get the first class upgrade it's supposed to cover the really expensive stuff like the A/C. My primary worry was that wouldn't cover it but I got two confirmations over the phone from reps that they cover everything A/C related including a crane and incidentals if need be. I'm assuming heater and boiler and the like are covered too. The only things that weren't things like pool pumps, septic systems, etc. But I think those are an add-on. At any rate, experience has been good, not great, but reasonable for a warranty company. Sometimes I question the contractors they send out but I've been able to ask them to assign a different one in the past with no push back. Plus, when a water heater broke at one place a while back, they covered everything. I'll be reading this thread a bit to see if anyone has had an exceptional experience. Not sure if there is one with these companies though.

Human: My insurance company is already dropping me and my family at the end of August because we've made too many claims. After that I have to try and find my own insurance. Last night I was really tired and scraped up against a guard rail. The car is still drivable but it looks pretty messed up. It's going to cost roughly $2,000 to fix out of pocket, and $200 to fix with insurance. My concern is that if I fix my car with my insurance, that I'm going to have a hard time finding another insurance company that will take me when my current one drops me at the end of the month. And if I am able to find one, I'm concerned that I'll be paying a ridiculous amount of money every month because I've made so many claims this year.

> Last night I was really tired and scraped up against a guard rail. You need to stop driving. Seriously, this is your THIRD accident this year??? Get off the road before you kill someone.

Get some automotive sand paper. Sand those scraped and gouges down to metal. Fill with bond. Try and recreate original lines. Sand smooth. Blast with spray paint. Learn how to do automotive repairs. It'll save you and prevent insurance from scamming / jacking up rates. If your car is leased bmw or Mercedes don't do this. If it's a 10 year beater then go for it.

Human: I started a new job about a month ago. I make $13/hour and right now work about 15-20 hours a week. When I got my paystubs I checked the Withholding and it states $0 is being taken out. I checked my W-4 just to make sure that I hadn't claimed anything and it has my status as married which is true and I'm claiming 0 which is what I want. So, I brought this up with my manager who got in contact with someone higher up and they told me I make too little to have anything withheld Federally. So I decided to check the paystubs from my other job because I make less there ($9.83/hr) and work about the same amount of hours. I am also getting $0 taken out but at some point I had $13 taken out. I don't know if minimums were changed. I'm just worried come tax time I'm going to be paying back federal taxes instead of receiving them. I appreciate any help.

Use the IRS Withholding Calc and give it info about your spouse's income and yours, as well as starting and ending dates of your jobs. It will suggest settings for all your W-4s to best achieve right total amount of withholding. (In first screen, select Married filing jointly. In second screen, you'll say "3" jobs, and in third screen supply info about total income you expect and amount of withholding so far from all 3 jobs and what months you hold them. You can leave many fields blank if they don't apply, and advance to the final results.) --- The algorithm thinks each income stream is your only one. So it probably is inferring that you earn less than $20700 and it doesn't know about your spouse's income. 20 hours at $13/hr = $260/week; $13520/year A married couple earning $13520/year doesn't owe fed income tax, since deduction is $12600 and exemptions are $8100. Same for your other job. The W-4s don't talk to each other, so they don't think you owe tax but you do. This explains why the withholding has not been happening. --- With two earners or multiple jobs, you need to make special calculations. There is a Two-Earners/Multiple Jobs worksheet on Form W-4 page 2. But the online calculator is even better, as it lets you specify what dates you hold your part time jobs this year, so it may give you a more precise result than the worksheet. The result may be that spouse changes their withholding to increase amount taken and you do nothing. Or answer may be you will use line 6 on at least one of your W-4s to force a specific amount to be withheld each paycheck. See what the calc says and ask again if the results are hard to interpret. It can be tricky to see how to enter your data. It's great you are pursuing this now, so at tax time you will have already paid most of your tax and won't get shocked with a big bill.

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Human: I was rear ended last night while in Cambridge, MA. The driver hit my car while I was pulled over with my blinker on, and kept going. I followed the car, honked the horn A LOT for 30 seconds or so, and got no response. I called 911 and followed the car until it pulled into a parking lot, and a Cambridge police officer came and wrote an official report. The woman apologized and said she had no idea she had hit me because she had a lot of stuff sliding around in the car. She might not be lying, because she made no attempt to evade my car, and she pulled into a parking lot where a bunch of friends met her (and were obviously expecting her). There were 3 people in my car and she was driving alone. I am 100% certain that the three in my car are not injured in any way. I don't think she's possibly injured, either. I have 5 days to fill out the accident report. I received a call this morning from the woman who said she was driving her husband's car and she is not insured on the vehicle. She says she wants to pay cash for my repair and doesn't want to go through insurance if possible. What are the possible outcomes of going officially through insurance vs not? If she is not insured on that vehicle, does going through insurance have a possibility of me being on the hook for the damage? In this situation, I care roughly 99% about getting my car fixed and not paying for it, and 1% for this woman's troubles, especially since she hit and ran me (knowingly or not). *EDIT*: don't know how I forgot to mention the damage, sorry. The rear left part of my bumper is cracked. The taillight cover is cracked, but the light still works. The bumper has been popped out a bunch. There are scrapes along the side panel behind the rear passenger door. There is definite damage, so it's difficult to believe that she didn't realize she had hit my car. UPDATE: For those who advocated, I would have liked to do a fellow human being a solid, but I didn't feel safe taking the risk of trusting someone who had already demonstrated their untrustworthiness. I went through insurance and filed a claim. Thanks to all of you for your advice!

Rear ending a vehicle hard enough to do any noticable damage is going to jar your brains out. She knew she hit you. You don't walk into a wall and not notice it. I really, really have an issue believing what she said, and as others have said, as long as her husband has insurance on the car they will pay out. Their rates will get jacked up a bit but screw them, she hit you, attempted to flee the scene, and has been nothing but dishonest. She has given you exactly zero reasons to make this easier on them.

You do not need to go through insurance and much of the information here is wrong. 1) It is not illegal to not report an accident to your insurance company. 2) Insurance companies do not scrub police reports and even if they did find out, they will be happy they did not pay on the claim. I'm all for working with her and giving her the chance to make things right. File the police report so that you have an official record of what happened. Then, take your car for three reasonable estimates, ask her to pay the highest one, and if she agrees to pay the full amount either the same day or next, what's the problem? If she balks or starts making excuses, THEN file with your insurance company and let them handle it. In our litigious society, people often forget that not long ago, deals were done on handshakes and honesty. Give her a chance to make it right and handle it at the lowest level before you get the ins co involved.

Human: Im a 25 yr old male in upstate New York whose planning on going to trade school for massage therapy. I'm wondering if I'd be able to use food stamps or some type of unemployment supplemental income while in school. School is gonna be 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I won't have time or energy for any sort of well paying job. I've got some savings but It won't last the 7 (short) months it'll take to get through the whole program. I'm also going to get some help from my dad but we haven't discussed specifically how much I'll be getting. He's decently well off tho so it should be a good amount. Any ideas would be great

I worked full-time at an electronics store, which also offered up to $7500 in tuition reimbursement. I would work roughly 32-40 hours, which is considered full-time. I also went to college full-time at a 4-year university and took 4-6 classes a semester all while getting on the deans list while doing it. I even went to the gym most nights after all that. I am currently doing the same thing for my masters with a newborn and I am almost done. I remember going to a 4 hour class shortly after he was born with 2 hours of sleep. You make the time and you'll be surprised how much energy you actually have. Anything worth doing is going to be hard. Don't sell yourself short. You reap what you sow.

>Any ideas would be great Not trivializing publicly-funded government programs intended to ameliorate domestic poverty would be a great start. Take out a loan if you need money. Don't steal from the taxpayers.

Human: Situation: I've got about 34k in debt that ive been barely making minimums on for about 10 years. Usual sob story... College, followed by troubles and a crappy job market... Well im a freelancer and 2016 has presented me with some welcome opportunities. When my clients are done paying me in a couple weeks I will have a little under 7k (above my nut) to throw at some debt. Here are the options: 1. Amex 13k highest interest rate 2. Car loan 4k lowest interest rate but will free up about $240/mo which is not insignifigant for me. 3. Student debt 3k 7% 4. Visa 7k 12% There are a few others but these are my biggest considerations. Another factor is that high credit card utilization is really hurting my credit according to mint and credit karma. So, should i go satisfaction (snowballish) or should i attack those high interest rates? Or some combination? Thanks guys! Ive lurked here for years. Please excuse my typos. On my cell. Edit: thanks for the advice guys! Ive decided to hit my amex and hit it hard. I'll execute a disciplined avalanche method over the next 9 months and hopefully that will get me within sight of zero.

Amex card.

Depends if you want it paid off quickly or easily. Paying the car would mean more money per month, making it easier to pay off other stuff. You would pay less in the long run to pay off the cards first, but you might "feel" the extra money going to the cards if you're still paying on the car. If you are wanting to "improve your credit" the most, pay the "newest" debt first, as your oldest account helps slightly.

Human: The truth is i'm quite dirt poor and so is my family at the current moment. The FASFA calculated that my current EFC is 0 and i was happy to hear that i would be getting help but my university told me that in MA i have to be 16 to receive assistance from FASFA. Is there anything i can do to get it or am i pretty much boned with a 10k bill due in a couple days? I'm sorry if the formating isn't so great/informative since i'm having a miniature panic attack right now.

Hi, I didn't get to go to college quite as young as you did, but I did mostly pay for it by myself. My advice to you? Scholarships. You say that the ones you used to use aren't offered anymore, and that's okay, that happens. But go apply for ~50 more. There's generally a large number of scholarships you'll meet the requirements for if you do well. Go to the financial aid office. Ask for their input. Look up any scholarship opportunities that you may not have applied for. You got this!

Just talk to the school. Honestly you probably won't pay a cent for college.

Human: My girlfriend will have tons of student debt, probably upwards of 100 thousand after 3 years at a state university and then another 2 or 2.5 years getting a nursing degree. As we start to get more serious in our relationship, I have to also take into consideration this debt that she would have. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around 100k+ debt and really don't know anything about student loans. Basically, how hard is this to pay off/get rid of (she could eventually qualify for some loan forgiveness program for working as a nurse for 10 years)? Is this amount of debt really bad? How have other people taken into account their SO's debt? I will have no debt. I just feel worried about becoming attached to or acquiring some responsibility for this debt. Would it be wrong to take the debt into consideration when thinking about the future of the relationship?

100k for a nursing degree is insane and that will eat up most of her pay each month.

To add to my other comment, my sister spent about 35k on her nursing degree and my girlfriend spent about 40k. 100k is ridiculous.

Human: I'm having some issues with my 2001 midsize sedan with 200K miles. It's a typical 15 year old car--some rust, some minor dings and scrapes, and it's had some mechanical stuff needed recently. I just replaced the muffler for $300, and today I may need the struts/shocks/mounts replaced both front and rear, for an estimated cost of $900 plus tax (in California). The car is bouncing all around and the shocks have been squeaking for some time. The KBB on the car is only $1500, so a repair of close to $1000 is basically the full value of the car. And if I make this repair, there is no guarantee that it won't break down tomorrow. I've asked in PF before, and it was suggested that I drive my car into the ground because of high amounts of student loan debt. So how far is "into the ground"? At what point do you cut bait and get a new car?

even with repairs at 1k, you will still likely be able to drive it for a while afterwards. Plus those are the big wear items. That kind of stuff will need to be replaced on any car after long enough. To me, into the ground means, its not just wear item you need to fix there are large, systemic repairs that are needed. Repairs extreme enough that you need to replace MAJOR things like then entire engine.

My friend had an old car which would overheat if he didn't run the heater and drive it at night (this is in Brisbane with 30C temps). He could only drive it for 30 minutes at a time. The odds of him getting from A to B were around 50/50. That, to me, is the definition of "driven into the ground". In reality though, I would get rid of a car once it starts breaking down more than once every six months.

Human: I put myself through undergrad and graduate school. Of my undergraduate loans (original amount $30,107) I have $16,921 left to pay. These have no interest and I am paying off at $197 per/month. The graduate loans is where I get into trouble. I borrowed $54,666 at an interest rate of 6.8% with the intention of paying it off as soon as I got a good job. LIKE EVERYONE ELSE in my situation, I can't find a good job!! I was waiting tables while putting myself through grad school so I went on the income-based repayment plan which put my monthly payments at 0 because I was making minimum wage. After graduating with my M.A. though, I quit that job in hopes of getting a "real job", but it's been months and still no job! I am freaking out because I see my principle balance and interest just climbing and climbing!! I now owe $65,774.80 and I don't know what to do!!!! I am still not paying towards this because my monthly payment for my undergrad loans is pretty much all I can handle while living on my savings. Does anyone have some advice on what I can do???? Besides magically finding a job--believe me I am trying!!! I can't get another loan to pay off the balance with a credit card or loan that has a lower APR because I won't qualify for a loan that size. Any suggestions???? p.s. the Graduate Loan is through Nelnet Edit: For those wondering why I quit my serving job before getting a new one...I ended up with health issues needing surgery which took me off of foot duty/lifting anything for 4 months. Since I couldn't work, I figured I'd use those months to look for a job in my degree field. Now that I'm out of the service industry, I really want to stay out -especially with my health condition now- and put that energy into finding a job in my field rather than applying to another "filler" job. Edit 2: The main question is...does anyone know if there are better options for reduced rate interest that I could transfer the graduate loans to or somehow stop the massive interest accruing that is going on?

Try using a temp agency that specifically places people in your field. That could get your foot in the door.

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Human: Hey guys, I was watching a video interview on youtube with a famous jeweler, and he was telling everyone to invest in silver kilo bars. He mentioned that it's pretty cheap right now, but it wont last long. What are your guys thoughts?

Nope. Nope. Nope. Read the wikis about how to intelligently and responsibly handle your money. Buying silver kilo bars is neither.

6 months ago would have been a good time

Human: I just got approved for the Barclay's Arrival Plus World Elite Card. It has some pretty sweet rewards plus an $89 yearly fee. I got the credit card with the intent to put my rent check on it and reap the rewards. When I went to pay rent with a credit card I saw that they are charging a 3% "electronic transfer fee". This is around $70 per month. Is it worth it to pay the fee to get the credit card points? I could also just put $70 per month into a savings account and use that as a yearly travel fund. . .Thoughts?

No, you're rewards for your cc are probably only 1-2%.

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Human: I bought a Mobee keyboard magic bar on clearance two months ago. It was quite cheap, which is why I bought it. The battery started going so I contacted the university bookshop I bought it from, they have a 14 day return policy, and they said to contact Mobee directly. I contacted Mobee, figured out the battery was bad. They asked for a receipt, which I sent to them. The receipt I sent indicates the clearance price-looking at which the Mobee person said that it could not be a Mobee product because the price was too low. I sent a link to Mobee of their products still being for sale at the same price I paid. Haven't heard anything back from Mobee. Any advice.

From your description, they haven't declined the warranty at all. You just haven't pestered them enough.

I'm not sure why Mobee cares how much someone sold their products for. Mobee was already paid when the bookshop decided to stock their product and have it physically on the shelf.

Human: Hello Reddit Throw away here. This is more of a is it possible question. And any advise on a plan of attack will be appreciated! I'm currently 22 Aerospace Engineer making 107k a year. I have a wife and as I like to say three children. Two of them human. The other is an ugly 6 figure loan balance. Mostly federal. My finances are relativity in limbo at the moment. My wife isn't working considering sending the kids to child care would be 2k extra a month and the jobs she's been offered don't help that nor her loans either. So you are aware I like in San Diego. Average rent is like 2500/month. Mines at 2300. Im just barely paying all my finances every month and no serious advance is made on this ugly child. The co many I work for is for profit. Id like to work for a non profit or government job full time in addition to my current job to be eligible for the 10 year public service loan forgiveness or be able to actually pay it off with the second job. Is this feasible? Has it been done. What are the risk factors I might be missing here? Tldr; Two jobs possible to pay off loans and still manage to sleep?

FWIW, It's awesome that you are thinking ahead, and congrats on a 6 figure job. My thinking is that if you are making 107k now, if you work hard, and have talent (especially people skills to complement your engineering), then you could advance in your career, and make more money each year. I would never promote someone who was also working a second job, it shows he won't have the time to handle more responsibility. So my answer is, spend your time investing in yourself, to increase your earning capability, and hopefully that will end up bringing in more money than a second job. (This does **not** mean going back to school, this means teaching yourself new things, and gaining experience.)

No mention of other bills (cars, cable, cell), your household budget, etc. Your rent is not ridiculous for how much money you make, so something is up. It's likely you're hemorrhaging money somewhere. Where in San Diego do you work and live? Can you take the trolley/bus? Every dollar helps.

Human: I'm a 23 year old college graduate working in the food industry and living in central Texas. I was working at a fast food place as the assistant manager at $11/hr when the owner noticed how well I was doing and offered me a job at her new independent business. I'm technically an "assistant manager" but there's no one above me but the owner. Unlike at my last job, I'm now in charge of communicating with employees, scheduling and basically making sure the entire place runs smoothly in addition to my duties at my previous job- making and receiving food orders, training, stocking, etc. The problem being that I (for some reason) assumed this new position would come with an increase in pay. Today I found out it doesn't. I'll be making $11, just like I was at the old job. Im not sure if I'm being greedy or not, but I'm feeling pretty disappointed. Does this sound like a decent pay rate for my position? Assistant: You didn't discuss this before accepting the position? Ask for a raise and see what happens. Human: Well, she had said as I accepted more responsibility I would earn more, so I assumed this constituted more responsibility. When I asked her just now, she said it would remain $11 until I take on responsibility... So... I don't know. Maybe im not doing as much as I thought.

If you are doing new stuff that you didn't do before, you took on more responsibilities.

Deal with it for the time being. Build up the experience and take on the new responsibilities. As you get more time and experience you could potentially move to another job that pays you a lot more.

Human: So I'm having trouble understanding why CDs are useful. From what I can find a lot of CDs have dollar requirements and interest rates below 1% except for long term like 5 years plus you can't really remove money early. Wouldn't it almost always be better to just have a savings account with someone like Ally who will give you 1% and you can remove the money at any time? Any input is appreciated, thanks.

Historically, CDs generally offered a more significant increase in interest rate over savings accounts. In these times with rates as low as they are, there is a much smaller premium since the interest rate spread is also much smaller. The general thinking is that you would be better off with a high yielding savings account right now because you get liquidity and it's only costing roughly 30 basis points or so ( what you would give up by keeping your money in a savings account instead of a CD). However, the CD offers a guaranteed return with FDIC backing. If rates drop or go negative, your savings account won't be paying 1% anymore, but the 18 month CD that you have, will continue to pay you your contracted rate, until it matures.

You can sometimes get better returns with CDs if you put more money in and/or put it in for longer periods of time. Also I think the rates used to be higher way back when. I personally just have my emergency savings in an Ally account at 1%, and invest the rest :]. As I plan to save up for a big purchase in the future, I'll slowly transfer out of investments and back into savings. I can't imagine a point where I'll find a CD helpful!

Human: This is a follow-up to my last post https://m.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4v8v7z/house_or_condo_can?sort=top&utm_source=mweb_redirect&compact=true So r/personalfinance , I decided to look into detached houses and I found one that I really like. It's in a lovely, convenient area, and I think I can get it for 15-20k below the asking price (175k). I will obviously have a home inspection in the offer, but I was wondering if there's anything else I should be considering? The house had new windows (double paned), roof, and electrical done 8 years ago. The sellers declaration says no problems with mold, leaks, bugs, or break ins. It's had the same owner since 1962 and he's obviously gone out of his way to take care of it. The heating costs last year were approximately 20% lower then similarly sized houses, leading me to believe it's well insulated and energy efficient.

My house is 100 years old, and it was better than some of the newer ones we saw. Granted, our basement has been redone in the last few decades, so structurally, the whole thing is sound. If your inspector can show that the foundation and structure is solid, I don't see any reason that its age should turn you off. It's more the years left than the years passed that matter.

The title of this post completely changes meaning if you insert the word "a" before house. Which is how I read it on first skim :)

Human: My bank closes at 4 here in Atlanta, Georgia on the weekdays and is closed for the weekends. My car broke down Friday afternoon and the mechanic said it'll be $4,500 to repair. I said "Screw that, I'm getting a new car!". I went to the bank and they told me they could write me a cashiers check but I didn't know of a car dealership that I would be buying from. So I panicked and withdrew $11,000 out of the bank because they would be closed for the weekend and I need to get a new car asap. It turns out, my brother is letting me borrow his second car until I get everything sorted out and I'll be depositing the $11,000 back into my account tomorrow morning. My Dad heard about all of this and called me and told me the IRS will "be on my ass" because the bank will report these transactions. Now I'm scared out of my mind and don't want to deposit my money back into the bank but I can't keep it here at my house. What should I do?

Quit freaking out. You did nothing going illegal. Hakuna matata

What you are worried about is OFAC (Office of foreign asset controls) The bank will report the transaction but since you *likely* aren't on a list you will be fine. The IRS will get a report of it but likely won't do anything since it was a one time occurrence. Even if the IRS "looks into it" they will see your records that you withdrew & deposited it. Worst case scenario they send you a certified letter asking what happened, show up at your door, or audit you at the end of the year. No biggie.

Human: My family has been financially unstable, filing bankruptcy, terrible credit, etc. So I just wanted to know what I could start doing or practicing to get a head start. Edit: I work at Whataburger, I mostly pay for a doomed car and the rest goes to bills at the house. Assistant: Get a job, experience having to pay taxes, and put at least 10% of every paycheck in savings. If you get a credit card, only spend as much as you have cash, which you can use to immediately pay it off. Human: I have a job, I'll have to start putting 10% into savings. And as for the credit card, I thought you had to be 18? I only have a debit card rn.

Off the top of my head, there are "secured credit cards" that banks and local credit-unions give out that help youths and students build credit history if managed correctly. After a given trial period with the secured card you can get an actual credit card which may necessitate that you are 18. These cards are backed by the deposit you make upfront... which you can save up for by putting as much as you reasonably can in to savings. The 5-10% often cited on this sub is a general guideline that tends to fit the means for most... if you can afford to save more go for it. Also, even at 16 i believe you can already start putting money away in to a Roth IRA or a 401K... the sooner you start saving in to those the better your finances at retirement. Edit: However, as u/TheAJx mentions on this thread, don't sacrifice your future for sake of a minimum wage job. Sacrificing grades and continued education for sake of a unreliable minimum wage job is a big part of how poverty and financial instability propagate from one generation to the next.

You're 16, stick with the debit card and worry about a credit card later in life, it'll only get you into trouble right now.

Human: I had this friend in college who taught me a lot of very useful financial tips. One of which was to always sell your stuff on eBay/Craigslist when you're done with it. Now, I know what you're thinking....no shit right? But I don't really know anyone else who does this, aside from the friend who taught me about it all. Upgraded iPhone? Sell the old one on eBay. New receiver? Sell the old one on eBay. Again, I know it is obvious but I'm willing to bet most of you don't really stick with it. You should. You'd be really surprised how much even broken stuff can be worth selling as parts. Or some things will sell for damn near full retail pricing. About 5 years ago I purchased a motherboard which actually sold for MORE money when I finally sold it last month cleaning out my computer parts. Crazy huh? I effectively built a computer that I used for 5 years and MADE money on some of the parts. All this stuff REALLY adds up. My girlfriend who is a minimalist would rather throw her stuff out just to get rid of it quicker. When we started living together I started to show her just how much all this stuff adds up. That old coat she got rid of? Was selling for $18. Camping equipment? Couple hundred bucks. In the three years we've been living together she has probably "saved" at least $1,000 by putting in the effort to sell her stuff instead of throwing it out or giving it to a friend. The other day I came acrossed my account statistics. [I was surprised to see that I have sold nearly $33,000 worth of stuff in the 12 years I have had my account.](http://i.imgur.com/7DXLnnH.png) That is $33k more I had for my condo down payment or $33k more I had to pay off my college loans. All "saved" just by making sure to sell my old items when I either replace them or don't want them anymore. Now, I'm not going to lie. Being a seller on eBay can be a huge headache sometimes. You have to be careful. As we speak a buyer disputed a purchase with me purely because he didn't read anything about the item I am selling. I had another guy try to scam me out of $1,500 on my old DSLR I sold. So this definitely isn't "easy money". It is kind of a pain in the ass. But because I deal with the headaches and force myself to keep up with it, I am financially better off. I suppose I could have saved even MORE money by just never buying "stuff". But that isn't who I am. I have hobbies that I enjoy, most people do. Anyway, I apologize for the long winded post which may seem rather obvious. I doubt many will see this but I hope one of you tries to stick with something like this because it will definitely add up. Good luck!

Not to mention the $300,000 you had to spend to accumulate those savings

LPT: Sell your ex gf on ebay instead of throwing her out or dumping her!

Human: I have college bills to pay but I do not know if and how to take a loan out and I do not want to stop studying. The $5.5k will be brought down to about $3.3k after I prove I have and currently live within state, but I must whole tuition($5.5k) by next wednesday and I can be reinbursed as long as I provide them with proof by October 23. I am 18 and I have a part time job which I will become a manager at and be earning $10.50 plus bonuses. I live with my parent and I need to pay tuition by next wednesday., which I went for scheduling today. I am considering taking a loan out, but I have been warned to not do so. I know theres always options for these things but I have no expertise in these things but I want to learn. Family is not well off, I pay for my own food and things, father pays most of rent and I pay for about $100 for bills. 1. What are some extra steps I can take to maximize my money? 2. How can I make sure I get the best loan for my studies? 3. How should I go about taking out a loan at my bank (capital one) which I've had an account for 10 months?

Did you fill out the FAFSA? If not, do that ASAP so you can be eligible for financial aid and student loans.

I will fill out fafsa so I can be elegible for better interest loans and maybe some aide, Ill provide the school with proof and that should bring my bill to about $3.5k

Human: Hi Reddit, my wife and I are bidding on a $759,900 home. We're less than a month away from closing and the appraisals comes back at $660,000; now what? Will we have to come up with an extra $100,000 cash? Our agent is sending in an appeal, he hasn't contacted us which makes me feel like he's not working in our best interest. He is a buyer agent of course. My wife loves the home, but I think because it's a duplex, the value is less. We're buying in Silicon Valley so the price is already inflated, but $100,000, really? How can it be this low? Any advice on how I should handle this? Thanks. Edit: My Loan Officer just asked me if I'm aware that my real estate agent sent in a appeal for re-pricing. Was he suppose to do this without letting us know? Somethings not right. [Update] Our agent informed us that the appraiser very upset at the seller because the home was listed as single family detached home, but it was actually a duplex. The seller will file a complaint with the VA because he feels the appraiser was unfair. I will look at the substantiating appraisal record carefully once it comes in. Somehow I feel like the last to know. Our logical path forward is to extend the contract 15 days to allow us to pull out without losing the earnest deposit while we wait for an appeal. Our agents wants is to start looking into other homes. I have a family member that's a buyer agent and one here a loan officer, so I'm speaking advice. Thanks guys, you guys were very helpful! [Update 2] Appraiser said there was no argument, he had to reduce the value solely on the fact that the property is a duplex. He tried to raise the value, but there are no comparable sales I the area. He is restricted by the market to reduce value by that much.

Live where you want but NEVER pay more for property than it's worth. Just don't.

huh... maybe that tells you that is not a good time to buy real estate... regardless of 2.5 interests

Human: My credit score dropped 18 points for Trans union and 16 for equifax. The only things listed under "what's changed" is thay I've decreased a balance on one account, and 2 hard inquiries have been removed from my account. Am I misunderstanding something or should this not negatively affect my credit?

Christ who cares? 18 points is nothing worth anything.

Did an old account fall off and bring your age down?

Human: So I usually get right around 40 hours a week at my job, and every once in a while go over a few hours if needed. This past week my boss and his wife went out of town so I had little choice but to get overtime. He's trying to pay me cash for all hours that are overtime, which he tries to do with most everyone. I can't help but feel like I'm getting screwed out of some money. He says it will be roughly the same pay after taxes, but I am unsure. I am aware that this is tax evasion of some kind and morally wrong, and that there are serious consequences. He makes me feel like I'm being an asshole for saying no and that it's really no big deal... what should I do?? Edit: This post got a lot more attention than I anticipated. Thank you to everyone for the advice and additional commentary on the matter. I see that quite a few comments have been removed or deleted and it's going to take some time for me to sift through them all (I've been at work all day). Just so everyone knows, I did NOT take any money from him. I submitted my time card with the overtime on it and will be paid the right way. I've learned a lot from this thread and I hope that maybe a few other people will find it helpful as well. Edit 2: I shouldn't have used the word "morally" in the same sentence as "tax" lol. Assistant: Sometimes bosses need an attitude adjustment. You need to sell it to your boss. Change their perspective. Bosses often think emotionally about paying overtime: "OMG, that guy doesn't deserve 1.5x his hourly rate. We are going to go broke if we keep going on like this." This is particularly true for bosses that are also the owner. At a previous job, there was a real problem with pay inequality between people who had to work in the field versus the office. Everyone was salary. The management finally had a lightbulb moment and realized that if you allocate all of the per employee expenses to the first 40 hours, paying overtime seems much more reasonable. The first 40 hours pays for the desk, health insurance, etc. Once you allocate all of the fixed per employee costs to the first 40 hours, the illusion that paying overtime is automatically unprofitable disappears. The real benefit is the ability to have an elastic labor supply without the hassle and expense of hiring an additional body. There are intangible benefits also, many workers appreciate the opportunity to work a few more hours and make more money. Human: My boss is also the owner, so there's that. His wife is a co-owner of sorts (she's HR at her other job) and she does things by the book. So if I tell her, I'll get my overtime pay. Bossman has always done shady things from what I can tell (and I don't believe he's all that intelligent) so I figure no amount of reasoning will change his ways. And honestly, the store is pretty much going broke. You've definitely enlightened me on some of the aspects of overtime. Thanks for that.

You have to make him realize that if he doesn't want to pay overtime, then he better not leave town and leave you no other choice. It's not like you are just sitting around doing nothing and end up needing to get paid more. Either he has the money to pay you, or you need to go find another job. There need not be any emotional attachment to work.

If the store is going broke then likely the several percent he's saving is what's keeping it afloat to begin with. Outside of being good at your job this is not your problem.

Human: As the title says, fiancee and myself (both early 30s) as first time buyers are looking to buy a home. We have a joint annual income of around £42k, savings of around 12k and debts of £600 that are being paid off at £200 a month. However our credit scores are around the 640-670 mark, with a previous defaulted mobile phone contract. Its fair to say we have been incredibly stressed out about this, we have lived together for nearly 10 years and never missed a rent payment but we have been 'lazy' in regard to our finances and have missed utility payments here and there (all currently up to date). I guess what I am asking is, what is the likelihood that we will be accepted for a mortgage, we are looking in the £100-120k range.

You should probably post on /r/ukpersonalfinance. Your "credit score" doesn't really exist in the UK, the credit agencies make one up and sell it to you but all lenders will score you internally from the details of your credit history. Based on what you've said you have a default and multiple late payments showing on your history and that will not go down well, especially if they are within the last year. A mortgage broker will be able to assess your credit history and tell you if there are any lenders that might be suitable for you, so I would suggest seeing one. Other people have already mentioned this, but you definitely need more of a cushion in savings. You need at minimum a 10% deposit, another £1500 for solicitors fees and money for any mortgage/broker fees. You might need furniture and appliances, even second had these will cost something. I see a lot of people posting on MSE about how they've moved into their new house and the boiler has broken down, or the roof leaks etc. You need to have a couple of months of costs in hand. My advice would be to see a mortgage broker and concentrate on building up your savings and getting rid of that debt. Also, if it is not at 0% I would seriously consider just paying it off, there is no point in paying more in interest than your savings are earning you.

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Human: ### New members, please read through the [New User Orientation](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/newuser). Instead of posting individual threads for triumphant stories of how you've reached a certain net worth, paid off a loan, or anything else that you want to brag about, let's consolidate everyone's stories into one weekly thread! *Make a top-level comment if you want to brag about something regarding your personal finances!* For past Triumphant Thursday threads, please search the [Weekly Archive](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/search?q=Triumphant+Thursday+author%3AAutoModerator&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=year#res-hide-options).

I finally paid off a department store credit card that I hated. I'm so relieved to not have to make that payment every month!

18 years old, starting college in a couple weeks. Yesterday I broke 1k in my 401k since starting work three months ago. My parents have generously offered to reimburse me if I invest 50% of my paycheck. Once I graduate college, I'm plannin to roll over the total (at the time) into an IRA. Any suggestions?

Human: Quick question - title says it all :) if I've got a great 401k with low fees why is it better to not max my 401k, and then do an IRA or Roth IRA after? I'm currently dumping 15% into my 401k, and don't have an IRA.

The reason for doing it is that there are typically more investment options in an IRA. A 401k has a plan sponsor and is regulated a bit differently than an IRA, so you'll usually see limited and more conservative investment options in the 401k. The reason not to do it is that there are typically better legal protections in a 401k. Also, a 401k, assuming you stay with that employer until retirement, will tend to allow access to money prior to 59 1/2 without penalty. The tax implications on both are the same.

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Human: Hi, personalfinance! I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I recently got offered a new job that is a substantial step-up from my current employment in terms of pay (~$24k --> ~$80k). I want to enjoy the new money without going over the top, so I'm looking for some good insight on how best to do this, given my current situation. I don't want to be frugal, but also don't want to be overindulgent. I have no idea where that line should be drawn because I've never had an excess of money before. More details about me: I'm 23, recently married, and have my bachelor's degree. My wife is still in her under grad and will be finished next spring (she is on scholarship so we aren't paying anything towards that). She works as a waitress and brings in some extra cash that way. Honestly, we're pretty financially-free other than the ~$4,000 in student loans I have. We don't owe anything on our cars or our house. We usually go out for food and drinks once or twice a week, along with going to the movies occasionally and taking a weekend getaway trip every few months. However, my wife is very much an extrovert and would go out 7-nights a week if she could, whereas I am more introverted (an introverted engineer, who knew) and am content staying home most nights. However, I'm concerned that her and I will use the new influx of cash as an excuse to spend money much less responsibly than we have in the past. Any serious advice will be greatly appreciated, and I can provide other relevant details if need be. Sorry this post is so long. Thanks in advance for all your help! EDIT: 3x my current income, not 300% more than it. Assistant: Are you happy with your spending limits now? When I was at $65K, I had everything I needed and was happy. Now that I'm at ~$180K, I still spend like I make $65K and save the rest. Not because I'm ultra frugal or because I just love money, but because I still have everything I need and I'm happy. Just because you have it doesn't mean you need to spend it, especially if you were happy before. Mo money = mo problems only if you let it... Human: I am very happy right now :) I'm a minimalist though, so it doesn't take much. The wife, on the other hand...I aspire to be like you, good sir

Then my biggest advice for you is to sit down and create your budget *together*. When you have a relationship between a spender and a saver, often the saver spends a lot of time thinking about and planning budgets and savings because they're the one who's really interested in that stuff. But if the spender isn't actively involved in that process and doesn't get input into the budget, it makes it even more difficult for them to really buy into the process and stick to the spending limits. So *definitely* make sure that your wife also reads at least some of the books/articles that are recommended to you, and that you not only make the budget together but that you take her input into account and reach reasonable compromises. And make sure the budget includes a set amount of fun money a month for your wife and an equal amount for you -- then you won't be having little fights over you liking to buy coffee on the way to work or about how much she spends going out, because you can each make your own decisions about what things are priorities for your "fun" spending.

Have you told the wife the new salary yet? I would tell her it's 50k and save the rest.

Human: Good idea? Bad idea? Alternatives to just having it sit in a savings account?

Trouble is, you can't get much better in a CD than you can in a savings account earning 1%.

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Human: I'm looking to move soon and I live in a big city (Miami). Currently, due to traffic, it takes me an hour to get to work, and an hour to get home every day. So my girlfriend and I are looking around for places, and I started to think about if I rather sacrifice my money (the closer you get to my job, the more expensive it is to live), or my time (the further from work, the more affordable). I'm curious what you guys think, if you have any input on this? Would you rather live further away but be able to afford a nicer, more spacious place, or live very close while having to pay a considerable amount more, for less space?

That's an emotionally driven question, not a financial one. Make a budget and see if you can even afford to move closer, then decide if you can part with X more money. The problem with moving to the city is two-fold: High rent AND higher cost of living, except of course you'd have lower commuting costs. Personally, I did it and couldn't be happier with the decision, it was only a $150/month jump in rent though.

I'd prefer to live further away to get the better value, but this is because I don't mind commuting as long as it's in my own car.

Human: I've made my payments, but not on a regular basis (my job situation fluctuated). I have not accrued any penalty charges but have accrued interest and 'fees/costs'. I currently pay the loan through a bank. What are my best options for tackling this? Should I speak with the bank first? When do I know it has really become a problem?

I'm not sure what the problem is. Can you no longer pay? Is the accrued interest within a reasonable amount? What fees are you talking about? What do you mean when you say you "pay through a bank"? Do they own your loan? Is it an auto debit? Is it a federal loan?

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Human: The loan was approved from a credit union. My Credit score is around 690. Down Payment is going to be 2500. I'm hoping to get a honda or toyota for around 2012-2015. What things to do I need to watch out for in a dealer and loans?

Seems like a decent rate. Will only cost you ~1000 in interest over the life of the loan, so not too shabby. Lowering the rate, even to 0 doesn't really save you much money, only about 350 a year, so like 30 a month. If you are cutting things so tight that the 30 a month matters, you should consider a cheaper car. There will be ones here who rally against borrowing for a car. Life isn't that simple. If you need to borrow, borrow.

Mine offers 2.69 for 2013 or older and 1.69 for 2014 or newer, so sounds like a great rate.

Human: What are the best ways to afford to go to a university if you don't have access to scholarships or government loans?

You can't get government loans?

My girlfriend's mom received a pension last year so the school has told her that the expected financial assistance is too high. They offer her like $500.

Human: My fiancée was driving to work early in the morning, going down a highway with a speed limit of 55 mph. A guy wearing all black was walking in the middle of the road, and my fiancée didn't see him in time to avoid him. She called 911 immediately, police and ambulance came. The cop I spoke with at the scene told me he could smell the alcohol on him. The guy she hit REFUSED all treatment and was released to his girlfriend. The police report shows that the investigator at the scene determined he was drunk (though no breathalyzer test was administered) and that the debris from the car was in the middle of the road. Neither of our insurance will cover the damage. I've gotten two estimates, both over $2000.00, and I'm wondering what I should be doing now. I wanted to go talk to him in person, but I don't want there to be a confrontation. I asked the police if they could send someone over with me to keep things civil, but they said that if I didn't feel comfortable going in person that they suggested I just write him a letter. Or do I sue? Also, now my insurance called asking for more details because he has a broken arm and is wanting my insurance to pay... If my insurance company pays for his injuries, what does that mean for me? Do my rates go up? Doesn't that mean that the insurance company will then have to fix my car (since I have liability coverage)? Thanks for reading. Any help would be great.

Liability coverage will cover his injuries up to your coverage limit. They do not have to fix the car, this would be the case if you COLLISION coverage, which you don't. His AUTO insurance may or may not be liable for anything since he was not in an automobile when the accident occurred. Not all policies carry this coverage. Your rates will go up for making the claim. I would hire an attorney if you think this is legitimately not your fault and have the documentation to support that claim - assuming you do not live in a "no-fault" state. Either way, there is no way anyone is paying for the damage to your vehicle unless you sue the pedestrian and win damages.

also, if it's only 2000 that's not very much and not worth fighting over, pay the fee since it's your fiance's fault and get better car insurance

Human: I work 53.5 hours per week . I wanted to know if it was illegal. I live in New York, if it makes any difference. EDIT I work as Pharmacy technician at an independent pharmacy. Sorry I should have added that.

3 Big questions: 1) Do you get paid a salary? 2) How much is that salary? 3) What is your job and what are your typical duties?

[Department of Labor - Overtime Pay](https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm) You need to provide more information. As others stated, there are legitimate reasons why someone might not get paid a overtime premium.

Human: Personal finance, I'm really worried. So I have been staying at an apartment complex called [The University Centre](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/nj/newark/university-centre) for about two years now, and everything had been going smoothly - so I had signed a form to lease for another year sometime this past February (members get a discount for the coming year, if a re-lease is made). Here's the problem. Something had come up and I absolutely will not be able to pay for the coming year's payments, and plan to not stay at the apartment at all. I had contacted the manager and they had told me I'd signed a legal document, and have committed to pay for the coming year, and there is no other way around it (unless I find someone to take over my spot, which I don't think I'd be able to do, since it's so close to the coming school year). My question is : what are the consequences if I simply don't go to the apartment, come the move-in date? Can I possibly get into any criminal trouble? Can any of you guys who have been in a similar circumstance please fill me in? I'm stressing, as I'm worried I'll get into deep legal trouble, and I've asked my parents for their word of advice, but they simply tell me to 'do some research.' Thank you so much

Best to hurry up and see if you can get a sub leaser in there as fast as possible. Get it on craigslist now and ask the land lord if you can get a sublease agreement or if they will just take over a new lease if you can place it.

There's no criminal risk of any kind, but the property owner can successfully sue you for the rent of however many months it takes them to find a replacement, up to the entire term of your lease; i.e. if they can prove to a judge that they looked and couldn't find someone for the entire year, you would have a judgement entered against you for the full amount, after a completed hearing, that would be garnished from any future wages. The only tip I can give you is that many areas have tenant provisions that make it illegal to disallow sub-letting, that is, it's your right to rent your apartment to someone else for any amount of money once you sign a lease. If you can find another person that needs that type of housing for a similar rent to what you were paying (even a steep discount would be better than nothing), you could save money that way. You'd be 100% responsible for their actions and payments, though.

Human: Hi Reddit! Long time lurker. Now I have a question. I work for a food chain sort of like chipotle (not chipotle but the same concept). The franchises are privately owned. I'm sure you know what kind of place I'm talking about. Anyway, last pay day (July 29th was last pay day) there was an error and all us employees at our location were paid double. They all told us it was a general error. Now next week is coming and they said our paychecks will be cut based on that error- to make up for that error. We weren't given an opportunity to give back the over pay last week. We were just told it was an error, oops. I just want to know what kind of information I should know in case this happens again. Are there rules in place on how to handle this as an employee? Any info helps. Thanks!

What's your problem with the way they're handing it? Why is there a difference between them just taking it from your next paycheck or you paying it back now?

Look at it as you just getting a free short-term loan

Human: I am 20 years old and bought a 2011 scion tc almost 2 years ago. The car is worth around $10,000 on kbb but the loan is $13,636 right now because I was stupid and decided to add lojack and remote start which cost almost 5,000 so the total loan was 17,000. I pay $292 monthly and it isnt too bad but im just tired of having the debt. Its really not worth it having a nice car. I rather just have an old car that drives well with no payment than a newish car. So im going to CDL school in a few months when I turn 21 amd ill be an otr truck driver so ill almost never be home. I wanted to know what the best thing I could do to get rid of the car loan. I thought about trading it in and getting a leased car so instead of my 72 month loan which now I have 52 left I'd just pay a lease for 2 years or 3 years. Lease payments are usually less money anyways. I know I have to get the amount of the loan the same as the value of the car to do anything. I juat wanted to see what someone with alittle more experience with thos stuff has to say. I dont know if I should just pay the car off faster with bigger monthly payments and if so how should I go about this so I dont pay more interest. Thank you for any advice

First, don't lease. You take on all the risk but don't own the car. You THINK what they tell you is what is going to happen (aka "$XXX a month for 36 months, etc.) BUT when you go to turn it in there are a few extra miles or there is a scratch on the door or whatever but will cost you another $1000. Don't lease. Second, I think you have learned the dangers of a car loan for 6 YEARS!! If you cannot afford a payment on a 3 year loan then you are borrowing too much. So in the future never borrow more than 3 years on a car and you will find yourself in a much better financial position. But why are you wanting to get rid of the scion? You have had it two years and even though borrowed a LOT of money are just a couple thousand dollars "under water". I am glad you are tired of having the debt and great to hear you want to get out of debt but a lease car is ALSO debt. And I assure you will be more than $13k. So you can't say you want to get out of debt and the solution is to borrow TWICE as much on a lease car. Just attack your car loan. Instead of paying $292 a month pay $400 a month. In about three years it will be paid off. THEN make a pledge to never borrow more than you can afford on a 3 year loan.

Whatever you do, don't trade it in for a new loan... your underwater debt will simply be rolled into your new loan and make your situation worse. You have 2 options: sell the car and have a debt of the loan amount minus the sale price pay it off faster with higher payments

Human: Ok so I have to be quick here so I'll only go over the broad strokes. Been working with this company for 6 months, not too happy for a variety of reasons. Applied at another company and got an offer, for 68.75% more and roughly the same benefits. I accepted it and wrote out my resignation yesterday. This morning my boss comes to talk to me about it. Says we really don't want to lose you/you have a promising career here. The usual. He asks why I am leaving and I tell him it's a variety of reasons, pay being one and happiness being the other. He asked me to elaborate on what made me unhappy and I couldn't give a clear answer(not that I don't have one, or that it even relates to my boss) I in fact have a lot of complaints, about how the company treats it's employees and clients and in general how business is handled. But wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him that. So instead I told him the main reason I was unhappy is that there seems to be no opportunity for upward mobility(also true) and that I haven't seen my other peers advance who have been here for 2-3 years and are still in relatively the same place as me as 6 months(both pay wise and standing in the company, we're talking like 2-5% raises) so he tells me that I shouldn't use them as an example, I stand out and will move up much faster. Then he says that they would be very interested in keeping me on and might be willing to match the 68.75% offer made by the other company, depending on his boss response(which he felt would be a yes) and told me to think about it and talk to him again at the end of the day. So I have a meeting in a half hour. I don't think I'm going to take his offer if he makes one but I don't know how much I want to tell him about how unhappy I am working here. So any zero hour advice guys? Sorry this is so hastily written. Edit: Thanks for the input everyone. My boss made me a slightly higher offer but I turned it down in favor of the new company. I was open with my grievances but was polite and offered feedback. Boss took it very well, understood where I was coming from, and said that if I was ever interested in working for this company again down the road, to reach out to him and that he would push for me.

Run far, far away from your current job. They will only pay you for as long as it takes to replace you.

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Human: As the title says, it's been about a year and I've been budgeting the money I had left, but it's coming to that time now where I only have 4k in my bank account and I'm not sure where I should go from here. A little about my self: * I'm turning 20 on the 7th * I'm in university * I'm living in Ontario Also on a side note, my family has possession of my passport, wrote down both my health card number and my sin number, so I'm a little afraid of what they can do. I also remember receiving an email about a BMO investor line account that I own, but I have no idea what it is. and if someone could tell me how to cut all ties from my family for good, that would be great **TL;DR** If someone could educate my ignorant ass on what to do, that would be great

May sound harsh, but your questions are simplistic. Get a job? Report your documents stolen and get new ones. Don't call your family. You are either poor at describing what you are really asking or you are pretty helpless. You are in college, so I assume the latter. Quit relying on others. Be the adult you must be whether you wanted it or not.

Report your passport as lost and get a new one?

Human: Throwaway account due to sensitive nature. I've been paid nearly an additional $40,000 over the course of the last year. Please look past how blind I must have been not to notice such an absurd extra amount coming in earlier. I work in an international software organization and had misunderstood some wording on timecards that lead to full time payment for part-time work. This same misconception went past manager and payroll approval of these timecards. This money has gone through taxes and has been split up between my IRA, expenses, and school. My liquid assets cannot cover what I've been overpaid by, in fact it's less than half. What pitfalls do I need to avoid here? Do I need to look into liquidating a portion of my IRA? What options do I have? Will I have to work more hours than I report to make up for this? What do I have to do to correct the taxes issue of this mess? Any and all help/opinions are appreciated.

I would not mess with my IRA unless the adjusted amount makes you ineligible (seems unlikely). I'd look into setting up a repayment plan with your employer. Something along the lines of a portion of every check goes toward repayment. Working extra hours might be ok too, but there might be laws surrounding that like they can't pay you below minimum wage. Not sure what you need to do for taxes, someone else might know though.

if they over paid arrange a 10$ a month pay back aggrement... dont aggree on more then that at 0% interest its the best money you can ask for

Human: As post states, I got sick on my two week notice and couldn't come in to the office. I was asked by my boss to stay an extra day because I "was in violation of my two week notice." Is this standard procedure for businesses to do this? This was my first office-setting job so I am unfamiliar as to how this works.

> Is this standard procedure for businesses to do this? No. The ask (emphasis on ask) isn't so crazy, but the "was in violation of my two week notice" is nutty.

You were sick exactly for the two weeks notice? Huh.

Human: Whats the point of having a high networth like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. Net worth can fall dramatically due to how your business performs so why not keep the money in cash?

You're suggesting they just liquidate the stocks which give them a substantial say in their company's operations?

They have plenty in cash and they believe in their companies so keeping it stock shows it.

Human: The statistics are there, and they're eye opening to say the least. In the past decade we've had a record amount of people with a [record amount of debt](http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/) (not behind the paywall) straight out of college with a [record amount of unemployment](https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_unemployment.html). It's often touted here to start saving for retirement ASAP. However, with the kind of debt people seeking advice here (and to /r/studenloans) bring to the table I've seen a lot of advice to the contrary (and rightly so). People are being advised to pay off the debt first, since when considering the interest rates of said debt, the "value" of paying it off is objectively better than any interest earned in savings. But what's going to happen when all these people who spent a decade or more straight out of college focusing on only paying off debt with salaries much lower than they were "promised" reach retirement age. Are we going to be ready? Is the government going to be able to help or support us? Should we be worried? [Here's one take on it I found](https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/2015/12/30/rising-debt-threatens-to-put-retirement-plans-at-risk.html#.VqFcPk1Ii70). Warning: that link has an ad blocker detector - sorry. Read in Pocket if you don't want to disable your ad blocker. Lots more interesting [links](http://www.asa.org/for-media/newsroom/2015-archives/) on ASA.org. **Edit:** As /u/thedrscaptian mentioned, (I forgot to include) the massive [default rate] (http://atlas.newamerica.org/federal-student-loan-default-rates). **Edit 2:** Also forgot to mention, one of the points of this post is can we do anything about this as individuals? Or are we stuck to just starting retirement savings later rather than earlier?

People not saving enough for retirement is not a new phenomenon. They'll either have to adapt to living on a lot less money, continue working, or get creative (retire to another country with lower costs)

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Human: I signed contract for them to buy my car for $11,819.00 yesterday. Today they called me and said they can't buy it for that that they can buy it for $9,819.00 a 2 grand difference. Because they made a mistake on one of the features that my car didnt have. Can they do This? I already turned in the plates and cancelled my insurance on it. When I signed contract they said it could take up to 30 days to receive my check and I'm just a little hot right now. What do I do?

If you signed it and they signed it, request a copy of the contract and lawyer up

Sounds like someone messed up and is trying to cover their ass. I would definitely ask them what they'd say if I bought a car from them and decided to bring it back and demand they take $2 grand off the selling price. Whether they're legally in the right or wrong, its a shitty way to do business and when it's all over with, I would make sure every corner of the internet knew about it.

Human: Hi, So I'm kinda in an icky situation. I'm going to college and my orientation is from Aug 11-12. And then I have this week long program there, but it starts Aug 14. So I have to stay two nights somewhere and my college is 5.5 hours away. I found a room on AirBnB for $95 for both nights. I can either do that or drive back and forth 6 times to my college haha. My parents are willing to do it because they are nice, but I don't know if it's worth it. My financial situation is $300 in checking and I have two more checks coming in. It should total to around $700. No savings unfortunately. I've also taking out $5000 in loans every year, but its subsidized, so no interest. What would you guys do?

Look at it from multiple angles: * Assuming 30 mpg for your car, that's 44 gallons of gas. $2 per gallon brings you to $88 worth of gas you're buying. * Assuming 40 miles per hour (conservative), that's 1,320 miles. Standard reimbursement (which is supposed to factor in gas, wear and tear, etc) for mileage from the IRS is 54 cents per mile. That's $712 worth of mileage you're putting on your car/paying in gas. * $95 (for the hotel night) / 33 hours = $2.88/hour / 3 people = $0.96/hour/person. Is your time worth less than $1 per hour? * If you have to be there at 8am, you have to wake up at 2:30am at the latest. If you leave at 4pm, you'll be home at 9:30pm. Do you really want to do orientation with (at most) 5 hours of sleep? Get the AirBnB and enjoy your orientation!

have you looked up site couch surfing dot com

Human: Today I logged into my credit card website and noticed that my balance had become significantly smaller...I looked at my transaction history and it says I made a payment of over $1200 a few days ago. I definitely didn't. I DID make a very small payment a few days before this $1200 payment allegedly happened, and that shows up in the transaction history too. No other transactions look suspicious on either the card or the bank account I use to make payments on it. I'm stumped. Obviously, it would be GREAT to have made such an amazing dent in my balance, but I never made this payment and don't have enough money in my bank account to do it. It's an emotional roller coaster to see my balance number go down like that but know that it's not accurate! Is this a common mistake for cc companies to make? Will it right itself in a few days? Should I tell somebody at the company or...? It's so weird!

You should still pay your CC statement balance before the due date as if that $1200 credit didn't exist. Meanwhile call them and ask what's going on.

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Human: Hi all, I need some advice on my situation, things feel very bleak. First some background: I have a good job as a software engineer and have a 90k salary in California before taxes. The problem is, my monthly expenses are killing me and I have been in a cycle of debt and overdraft for months now and don't know what to do. The problem is this: I am always short on covering bills and payments and this ends up overdrawing my account. I get charged a courtesy pay fee for each payment that occurs while my account is overdrawn. Usually my account is somewhere in -400-500 by the time my paycheck gets deposited At that point, I am already down by that much and become short again. The cycle keeps repeating. My biggest monthly expenses are: * Rent * Car payment + insurance * Student loans + 1 personal (rates 3-6%) * Credit Card payments (3) with rates (11-12%) Of course I have other expenses: gas/electric, internet, phone bill, mattress I am financing, car gas, gym, and groceries I have been terrible at budgeting and I spend money I don't have. I am not sure what I am supposed to do at this point, if anything I feel extremely trapped by own actions. Now I am approaching similar times while being short again for upcoming payments. How do I break this cycle? I don't have anything to spend on groceries and barely enough for gas after these payments. Everything feels so difficult and it has made me reclusive. I need my car because my job is 20 miles away and there isn't viable public transportation there. I am locked into my apartment until next April. I just feel lost. I feel like if I can just break the cycle once, then I will be ok. I feel like I can't even start this chart or any plans proposed on this sub because I never have anything left to work with: https://i.imgur.com/1rPEkGQ.png Any advice will be appreciated. If you need clarification or more information, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks EDIT: Here is the numerical breakdown per month. Typing this out hurts. Take-home per month: $4506.18 Rent: $1525 Car: $494 ($27k left) Car Insurance: $150 Student Loan: $322 ($21.7k left) Credit Cards: $230 ($100 for two, $30 for the other - all are maxed, 10k total) Personal Loan: $68 Mattress: $135 ($1140 left) Gym: $40 Internet: $85 Electricity: $45 Cell Phone: $90 Car Gas: $120 Groceries: $120 I am supposed to have about 1k left over, but each overdraw fee is $27.50 and those add up like crazy. Assistant: Why don't you start by listing out numerical values for all of your expenses as well as your take home pay? Human: I just added it Assistant: What's your rent payment? Edit: Never mind it's up there. So you have roughly 3400 in expenses, where is the other 1100 going? Even if you're overdrawn by 500 you should have like 600 left at the end of the month. Human: each overdraw adds -27.50, the rest gets spent probably on alcohol and outside food when I forget lunch/breakfast, miscellaneous. also $40 a week for therapy for the last 4 weeks. but each time I have to pay for those things, I don't have enough in my account and it triggers a courtesy pay fee which adds the -27.50. For example, right now I have: $1627 in my checking, and after payments go through, I will be at -800.

So all you have to do is stop drinking and make your breakfast and lunch right? Paying all this money in overdraft fees doesn't make any sense.

The miscellaneous spending needs to stop then. You need to be focused on planning to get out of this. Add $27.50 to everything when you see a price. That $5 coffee is costing you at least $32.50.

Human: Do I pay the tax on my employer's matching on a Roth 401k? Also if I do a mixture of Roth 401k and traditional 401k, which will the employer normally match?

You don't pay taxes on company match. All company match whether you did Roth or Traditional will be Traditional.

I am not entirely sure, but I believe that you do not pay the taxes on your employers match. And the employer should match the combined amount placed in the 401k (up to their limit of course). So if you put 3% in each, and they did a full 6% match, they would be putting 6% extra in your 401k

Human: Long story short, my mother in law was the victim of a crime about a decade ago, and inherited a ton of money. She has blown through that money without abandon for years, and ironically, she has been nasty to my wife and I for being the only voices in her life telling her for curb her spending habits. Here's some points about her: She had a house built for her needs (she's wheelchair bound) in 2011 (I believe), which is entirely paid off. She is at this point, behind in her property tax payments to the tune of over $16,000 dollars, and is not even making token payments. She has a wheelchair accessible van that she still owes $40,000 on. She receives about $2,200 a month in a combination of social security benefits and some investment monies, but when the investment money dries up in 2018, she will only have $1,100 a month. She blew through 1.5 million dollars in a decade. She has zero savings, and is now literally living paycheck to paycheck. She had a 400k home built specifically for her needs, and was paid in full, which came out of the 1.5 million. She is living like a hoarder, like someone you'd see on a TV show. Her beautiful house built in 2011 is essentially demolished from letting it fall into utter disrepair and that she has 6 dogs and 4 cats in the house, and is wheelchair-bound. This is an absolute disaster. The house was supposed to be given to my wife when my mother-in-law passes away. The straw that broke the camel's back was that she has needed $300+ for the 3rd week in a row to make minimum payments for various things. She is going to place my wife and I into financial ruin as well. I don't know who I should talk to about this, I'm just looking for some direction. This situation is dire, and it was dire years ago. Now it's reached the point of breaking. So my questions are: My wife is supposed to inherit the house. If we inherit the house with 16k+ in unpaid property taxes, are we on the hook for those payments? Even though the house is paid in full, can they take the house from her/us? Hell, could they take the house right now, even though it's paid in full? What legal steps do my wife and I have to taking over her finances and getting her moved out of that house and into a manageable living situation? Any and all help is genuinely appreciated. Edit: This is in Ohio, if that helps.

I second the idea that you shouldn't worry about the inheritance of the house because the only way out of this it seems to me is for her to sell the house, and use the money to pay off her debts and then move into a small apartment.

1. Yes you are on the hook. 2. Yes, they can take the house from you and/or right now - they can force the sale to pay the liens against it. 3. I'm sorry, IDK - you should talk to a lawyer. My understanding is you will need to have declared mentally unfit.

Human: I just started a job and to start, I will have about $500 to pay back my loans. I want to get everything paid off in 5 years. I am a cheapskate with everything else so this is very plausible. I have about 35k in total, in six different loan transactions. The two highest are Sallie Mae and any of their interest rates are easily double any of the other four. I want to put a bulk of that $500 into one loan and pay the minimum on the rest until that one loan is paid off, and repeat the process. I was thinking on paying off the lowest of the two Sallie Mae and then the highest. These two would take the longest to pay off, but their interest rate is also really high so I want to pay it off ASAP. After they are done, I can repeat the process for the four, lower interest loans. What say you, Reddit? Am I on the right track to paying these off with paying minimum interest?

Use http://unbury.us/ to find out what is best for the course of action. Paying off the first may make you feel better, but you also want to make sure you're not paying interest you don't have to. Without knowing the exact rates and the differences, it's hard to advice. Usually it's recommended to go with highest interest rate first, then the next and so on.

Cut your budget, get a raise or a new higher paying job, or get a second job, then pay it off in 2 years instead while throwing money at the smallest debt first so you can see movement and progress which will motivate you to continue by moving onto the next smallest debt and so on. Higher interest rates is the mathematical better plan of attack, but you're not mathematics, you're human. This gets handled by throwing every bit of money towards extra principle that you can, by punching that debt in the face.

Human: I will have 2 roommates in my new apt and the total expense per months should be around $1000/mo. One roommate has her parents paying her portion, which is actually about half. The other roommate and I will be splitting the rest 50/50. I have a minimum wage, part-time job at a local 7-11 making around $200-250 a week, give or take. I also have a son that is 2 and stays with me when I have a few days off in a row and I visit him at his mother's house, via public transit(city bus) whenever possible. My personal monthly expenses total up to about $200-250/mo for both me and my son. I have food stamps and the girl I mentioned earlier usually does the food shopping anyway, so groceries are covered. So my overall monthly expenses will be around $500. Now, my question here is, what can I do to maximize savings other than get a new/better job? No such thing as a stupid question or bad suggestion. I'm all ears and I'll answer any questions I can for a better understand of my situation for better advice.

Don't plan your personal budget around somebody else paying half unless they are living in half of the apartment. The same goes with buying your food, your roommate will soon get tired of this arrangement. Plan your budget around splitting in thirds and buying all of your own food and if they happen to pay half good for you. Your apartment office or owner should be able to approximate utilities for you. Set aside different buckets for rent, utilities, food, transportation, child care, personal hygiene, clothing, engertainment, and savings. Move the savings into a separate account and keep the rest in your checking account or use a weekly envelope system.

Start with an associates degree a local community college. With your current income it shouldnt cost you much after fianancial aid. You can transfer to a 4 year sate school (in most states) and graduate in 2 years.

Human: >loans are purely a business deal and the only rules are the ones written into law and into the contract. And the rules say so long as she is out of the country, there are no ramifications for not paying. This is part of [a comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/4w2upp/my_29m_girlfriend_33f_has_never_paid_back_her/d63ytfz) in another sub. It doesn't look right to me, but I don't know enough about it to argue. If US students leave the country, are their student loans put on hold until they return?

Yeah that's complete rubbish. You are in contrac. The only thing that ends that contract is completion, default, or death.

Um...yes. You miss payments, you default on loan, you crash your credit score. Your loan goes to collections.

Human: This is my situation: Haven't worked in 3 years. Gone through all my savings ....everything. There is nothing left. Have about 50k in credit card debt. None of the cards are valid any longer. One has been sold to a collection agency. I haven't really been in contact with them. The other two I am behind payments by two months. Both of these I am supposed to be making reduced payments. I have about 3k in cash and a car, with two payments left, that is worth about 8k. I am also supposed to be making payments to the IRS of $175 a month. I am trying to contact them to get them stop collecting for a while but its almost impossible to get a person on the phone. During these last couple of years I kept thinking that things would turn around, but they just never have for me. I am in the process of having a moving sale (which will not yield much. Anything that doesn't sell is going to Goodwill) and moving in with relatives in another state and find a job. It will probably be a shit job as my credit score has turn to crap. Last night was the first time in my life where I just lost all hope. What are my options with this CC debt? Thanks!

>During these last couple of years I kept thinking that things would turn around, but they just never have for me. What does this mean? Rarely does anyone's life just "turn around" without deliberate and focused actionable efforts to correct whatever the problem is. You need to elaborate in full about what happened during those 3 workless years that you just yada yada yaded over. Declare bankruptcy, stay with relatives as long as you can to build up a savings after you get a new job, invest in yourself with training, reading, anything to give you a leg up in your chosen field or a new one. How old are you? >It will probably be a shit job as my credit score has turn to crap. Last night was the first time in my life where I just lost all hope. See a therapist to talk through whatever life issues are causing you all this trouble. You've already predetermined in your own mind that you won't be successful once you get a fresh start either. This type of thinking will lead you nowhere in life.

i prefer drinking heavily and not dealing with my personal problems

Human: The person who sold it to her claimed it was 2500 sqft but our builder (we're gutting the place) has it measured at about 2200. Is there anything my mom could do about this?

Was the home appraised before the sale? What does the appraisal indicate?

In Europe you need to have a writren contract. Doesn't she have?

Human: Two years ago a local Interior Designer hired me as a part-time assistant right after graduating college. Her intentions were to hire me as a full time employee if I helped make her business grow. She has been paying me as in independent contractor without benefits or taxes taken out. I am an artist on the side and she promotes and sells my artwork to our clients regularly, which had helped me develop a client base. Having never worked as an independent contractor, I did my 2014 taxes myself (big mistake) and screwed them up terribly. I am still dealing with issues with the IRS trying to get it straightened out. I started out making 15 dollars an hour working about 20 hours a week. I have helped her business grow significantly, and I carry many of the same responsibilities as the owner. I am now doing full design work and an making 18 an hour working 30-38 hours a week. I also drive a lot (maybe 3000 miles a year) in my personal vehicle for work, and about 50% of my cell phone use is work related. My boss gives me an extra 100 every month for this and I get to write mileage and phone off as an expense. I have asked her to make me and full time employee now, and she has been reluctant. She proposed a $29,900 salary based on 32 hours a week, 9 paid holidays and 4 paid vacation days. The salary is less than what I hoped for, but she claims to not be able to pay me any more than that. She also stated that she would give me "some sort of a raise" if I remain an independent contractor. I like being an independent contractor because of the flexibility. But I feel that I do so much for the company and should be making more. I work really hard and feel as though I have a bright future ahead. I know that I could be making more at a design firm, but there are not that many options where I live. My boss is very sweet and I really enjoy working with her. She seems to always look out for my best interest, but am I being taken advantage of?

>My boss is very sweet and I really enjoy working with her. She seems to always look out for my best interest, but am I being taken advantage of? I think you are being taken advantage of. You are grossly underpaid, and 4 vacation days a year is an insult. However, the offer will result in slightly more money in your pocket, it works out to $18 an hour, and she will be required to pay the employer share of social security and medicare taxes (7.65% of your salary). As a contractor, you are paying those now. It also may be true that she can't afford to pay you more, but I'd look for another situation.

Your boss is taking advantage of you. $18 an hour as an independent contractor is in reality barely minimum wage. Once you take payroll taxes out (Called self employment taxes for independent contractors), you are down to $15.50 an hour. If you are also driving 250 miles a month, that is about another $125 a month expense for you, and half your phone bill, so $40 per month. That leaves you with roughly $24k a year salary before taxes, without any paid leave or benefits. You can probably do better working in a bar or as a waitress.

Human: I got a voicemail from a "debt collector" on my cell phone that knew my full name. As far as I know I don't have any outstanding debts except my car, and I've been making all my payments on time. How do I check where this debt is coming from?

Check your credit karma report. If there are no collections listed, ignore this person. If there are collections listed, contact the debt collector listed on your credit card report and ask they verify the debt.

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Human: Hi Reddit! I often read this subreddit with interest concerning budgeting and wealth accumulation strategies. That being said, there is often an overarching pessimistic attitude that values frugality above all else. The chorus of "don't buy a new car when a $9000 used honda will do the job" is a familiar refrain. If your goal is to build up a large nest egg as soon as possible, then this will not be for you. However, if you plan to work for 20-30 years in a stable job you might avail yourself of this commentary. First, the particulars: Income - $300,000 - $375,000 for us (married). The range is due to my self-employment status. This year we earned at the top of that range, but in 2012 we were earning towards the low end. It is unlikely that our joint income would ever drop below $200,000. Age: Me (34) and Her (30) Debt: $32,000 student loans at ~5%. We pay off approximately $1000 of principal a month. Pre-tax Savings: $210,000 in 401(k) and IRAs. Since I am self employed, I can contribute up to $53,000 or 25% of my profit, whichever is lower. I max this contribution every year. My wife contributes to her 401(k) up to the company match and also receives a profit sharing contribution -- the total is 10% of gross pay. Post Tax savings: Around $300,000 Living situation: We are building a new construction property for around $850,000. We are putting 20% down and the deposit has already been removed from the post-tax savings figure. Due to FANTASTIC mortgage rates, we expect a mortgage payment of ~$2300/mo and property tax of around $800/mo and a tax deduction for mortgage interest and property tax of around $500/mo. I would like to pass along my ideas concerning budgeting. It seems like on this forum there is so much focus on cost-cutting that any budget with living expenses in excess of $40,000 per year is seen as irresponsible. In our case, we spend closer to $100,000. I propose that people focus less on dollar amounts and more on ratios. We save nearly 15% of our pre-tax income and 50% of our post tax income. This is the driving force behind our budget. I suspect there is a "comfortable" standard of living a couple can reach and be satisfied. Upon reaching that mark, it was quite easy to simply bank 90% of each dollar earned above that threshold to keep lifestyle creep to a minimum while still enjoying a bit of success for a particularly good year. This strategy should, in theory, remove the guilt associated with spending. While it is true I could build our egg faster, there is more to life than just stockpiling funds. Feel free to weigh in as I'm interested to hear the thoughts of people concerning budgeting at this income level.

I think the main reason you see the frugal sentiment here is that most people coming in with questions are not and will not be earning that high of an income, and even if they are the increased income gives you more room for error. When most of your audience earns 30-100k that's what you end up advising towards.

I have never heard anybody say that a couple earning $300,000~ $375,000 should be packing their lunches or even anything close to that. Must be close to the top % of incomes (and putting money aside) at that range.. At least I hope so..

Human: No, this isn't a post for r/relationships, primarily because I'm not interested in 300 comments telling me my relationship is doomed, and second, because I genuinely want to know how you guys over at r/pf have been handling this in your personal lives. SO and I are on the same page on many things, but PF is not always one of them - he's more of a spender with the ideology that he wants to enjoy his money while he's young, and I'm more of a saver, focused on paying down high-interest debt and building my e-fund. Both of us thinks that we're taking the right approach, and it strikes me that this can't be uncommon among the PF Redditors. So tell me - how have you guys been handling differences in money saving and spending practices?

Both extremes are unhealthy. You should definitely pay down debts, save for big goals, and plan for retirement, but you should also have a life where you don't give up on fun to save a few dollars. It might help to contextualize the savings - we're working towards the house, because having a house would be awesome. We're paying off our debts, because the interest rate takes away even more money and then after we can have a bit more to spend on fun and save, and yeah let's buy a car, but let's get a nice used one etc. You should spend and have fun, but in moderation - get good experiences for the money. You should save for life after retirement, but not at the cost of your life before retirement. Basically, the approaches need compromise, and so do both of you. Prioritize and talk together about wants and needs, set a budget together that accomplishes fun and saving.

IMHO a foot needs to be placed firmly on the line that is credit card debt, there's really very few times credit card debt is ever worth it

Human: Hello, I am a stay at home mom already and my cousin wants to take her kids out of daycare and pay me to watch them 4 days each week (at a rate less than what she's paying the daycare). I love my cousin and could use the money so I agreed. We agreed on a price that would pay me around $800 per month. I really would like to do this the right way, but I am so confused on how to handle this from a tax-perspective. I've read a lot of conflicting and downright confusing articles online and I feel no more confident that I know what I'm doing. From what I understand, I would need to pay quarterly taxes as well as my yearly taxes. Are there any good resources that can help spell this process out? Thank you for reading!

OP- I do this with various clients, just one child at a time in my home with mine until they are ready for big-kid school. - In Texas, I am required to be listed wtih the state, REGARDLESS of how many kids I watch; it's $20 and does NOT require an inspection, but does require background checks etc. This is important because they issue a CHILDCARE PROVIDER number which is used to get the childcare tax credit by the client. - I set aside 30% of each payment for taxes, pay quarterly. - I SEND my clients a little "this is how much you paid" and link to the childcare tax credit each January along with my EIN, this ensures our numbers match for tax purposes.

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Human: I have the capability of applying for and getting a HELOC between $35k and $100k. Any thoughts on how I can invest that money? The interest rate on it would be between 4-5%. I would need to find an investment vehicle that would net more than that in order for it to be worth it. I'm open to all kinds of ideas, not just stocks and mutual funds. For example, I've considered buying a car and using it as a rental on Turo.com.

>I would need to find an investment vehicle that would net more than [5%] in order for it to be worth it. The HELOC interest rate is a certainty; no investment return is. Don't do this. It is not prudent. It is not wise.

This article basically sums up my conundrum: http://www.retirebeforedad.com/2015/08/19/use-home-equity-loan-to-invest/ I am not RBD tho

Human: So I have money coming to me in a few months through a small inheritance, and I was all set to pay off my mortgage with those funds. I felt that the peace of mind I would receive by paying it off would make up for the difference I could make between the 4.375% and investing the $ in a Vanguard index fund. But then I saw the 2.25% 15 year option, and felt that it would be worth refinancing and investing the cash instead. I have a balance of $68k, 24 years left on the current (30 year) mtg. current P/I = $424.39 New (15 year) mortgage costs about $5,000, which I'm wrapping into the loan, so $73k for 15 years. p/I = $478.21 I think it's a no-brainer, but I would like to hear from you guys. Am I making a good choice? I couldn't pass up on the 2.5% rate! Any help would be appreciated thanks!

Yeah take the 2.25% and invest the rest of the money. You will make more than 2.25% back in your investment.

I'd invest the money AND refinance. Conservative people like Dave Ramsey would tell you to just pay off the loan, which is still good advice, but you can out gain 2.5% pretty easily. Just don't be risky with your investments.

Human: My father died unexpectedly in 2008 in Florida, where he co-owned several properties with his partner. Shortly after his death, my brother and I hired an estate attorney in Florida to clear our names from the estate and any interest from his properties. We just didn't want to take on ownership responsibility of these properties, unsure of their financial status. Between 2008-2012 we cleaned up any remaining estate issues and debts, etc, and figured everything was in the clear and behind us; Hadn't heard anything for years. Fast forward to last night-- I was 'served papers' stating that one of the houses my dad co-owned with his partner was being foreclosed upon, and I'm named as "party to the Estate" of my deceased father, as well as my brother and our "unknown spouses." Apparently his partner hasn't made any payments on the house since 2014. I'm wondering if this community can help me figure out 2 questions: 1) is it possible I might share any financial burdens in this case? It's our understanding that we cleared any and all of our interests from his property years ago, so why are we being named in this suit? 2) Since my name is on this suit (as party to the estate), can this hurt my credit score by having my name attached to a foreclosure proceeding? Any advice on how to proceed or clear my name from this will be greatly appreciated! Assistant: First, sounds like the estate wasn't settled properly. Second, that you are a beneficiary of the estate you are not responsible for debts OF the estate. The Personal Representative is responsible for settling all debts prior to distributing remaining assets. If the house was never changed into your name then you have no responsibility for the debt. Now, if the houses are still in the estate (aka the estate was never settled) they can certainly sue the estate. Whoever handled your estate sounds like they did a terrible job and sounds like the estate was never settled. I have my opinions on this issue and do not think you have any risk nor can have your credit affected but sounds like something you will need legal advice on. I don't want you to state in a reply but my question is who was the Personal Representative of the will? They did an awful job. Now, anybody can SUE anybody they want but will they be able to "win" is the question. It sounds like the estate was never settled and they have a right to sue the estate and if the Personal Representative distributed assets PRIOR to settling any creditors they can be PERSONALLY responsible for any financial costs to settle any creditors. Whoever was the Personal Representative might have to get their checkbook out and start writing what could be checks for thousands and thousands of dollars. Human: thanks for this thoughtful reply. My brother and I did not claim any financial assets from my father (except life insurance), as he didn't really have any money (or retirement $), and most of his co-owned properties were underwater. That's why we tried to distance ourselves ASAP. So it's my hope that since we did not really receive any benefits from the estate, there can't be any real claim against us.

To add to the above, it's also possible the bank's lawyers didn't thoroughly review the probate file and are just trying to cover their bases. Not knowing what persons or entities to sue is more common that you'd think and some lawyers will just throw shit at the wall and sort it out by what sticks for the sake of getting a suit on file before the SOL runs. That said, I'd still contact a lawyer to ensure your bases are covered as well. Bring any documents you may still have regarding you and your brother's actions following your father's death to help things along. That will help said lawyer advise if everything was properly sorted by the previous attorney.

Life insurance proceeds paid directly to you (not the estate) are never part of the estate, and are untouchable to any one with claims on the estate.

Human: I'm frequently told the futilities of trying to time the stock market, but recently I've been persuaded by the idea of "timing the economy" instead. This strategy claims to use things like unemployment numbers, money supply growth rate, yield spreads on bonds, and the purchasing managers’ Index to calculate the stage the economy is in. (Early->Mid->Late->Recession) Once you've determined the economies state, you pick the corresponding stocks that thrive in each economic state. (Small caps, large caps, bonds, etc.) This technique claims to even be able to detect a recession early on and switch over to bonds and avoid the brunt of the losses, and then transition back to stocks when the indicators show the economy going back to the "early" stage. Do you think this strategy has any merit? On one hand it seems logical and statistic based, but on the other hand, it kinda sounds like trying to time the market. Do you think this strategy has any merit?

That's the same thing. Since stock prices already consider these stats (and their expected movements), you likely have no advantage of the rest of the market. You can't time "the market," where "the market" is the collective decisions of all humans, because they see the same things (and are surprised by the same surprises, e.g. "lower than expected hiring" "greater than expected earnings").

Nah. I temporarily stopped buying stocks when the economy was in a horrible freefall in 2008, but in general it's very hard to see these things in advance.

Human: Cut and dry I have an income problem and I really hope you guys can point me towards some better earning fields because so far nobody else has been able to. I made the mistake of pursuing an undergrad degree that was useless on its own (but I didn't think so at the time) in a field I grew to resent thinking I would get into graduate school after college and be able to earn a decent living because blablabla hardwork narrative. Unfortunately my best was not good enough and on top of financial inability I just don't cut it for getting into any graduate programs. After graduating I spent roughly 8 months unemployed before getting two temp jobs back to back (data entry and admin / accounts payable) those were about 3 and 4 months each, another 8 months unemployed after that before I got hired at my current job. I've been at this current position (receptionist) for 1 year and 5 months, got a raise during my yearly review but it was for 50 fucking cents. That's the maximum they could give me since the raises are fixed and percentage based. I was able to save up just enough to move away from my abusive mother and got out the moment I could. Let me be clear; going back is not an option and I would gladly kill myself rather than subject myself to that horror again. Since I live in a very high CoL area I make just enough to keep myself afloat and usually nothing more. I'm utterly exhausted by the end of the work day, lately I've been considering skipping meals not just to save money but the effort of cooking as well. Most of the time I wouldn't even dare think of buying microwaveable food to take the strain of cooking off me physically/mentally because I just can't afford the difference in price, forget about take out. I've actually been digging into my savings account slowly as some months just seem to take more than I make to get through. I know plenty of people do work and school at the same time but even if I could get financial assistance for schooling I just don't think I have it in me to do that anymore. Hell it's hard for me to get out of bed and shower even on the weekends, sometimes I'll sleep as much as 14 hours and it does nothing, I'm just as exhausted the next week and so on and so on. So PF I'm at the end of my rope here, I've checked in with just about every career or depression/suicide related sub there is at one time or another and nobody's been able to give me a realistic path forward. This is not living and I don't think I'm strong enough to pull myself out of this hole on my own. Is there anything I can do to improve my situation here? Some career path I might have overlooked where I can make more money with my current qualifications? I'm constantly looking at job postings and I never meet any of the requirements, makes me wonder how I got this job in the first place... Moving out somewhere with a lower cost of living would be desirable but I'm bound to public transportation and I've got just about the cheapest living situation possible in my current city. Which really is going to be my undoing because every day it's getting harder and harder to resist the urge to throw myself on the tracks instead of going in to work or back to my shitty shared apartment. EDIT: Anonymized copy of my resume [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ifo3jr7LFpTz908a6BonNNNrDawoBtTYBS5ETySJruI/edit?usp=sharing) for qualifications.

Perhaps you were speaking figuratively, but if you are considering suicide or know someone who is considering suicide, **call the [National Suicide Prevention Lifeline](http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/) at 1-800-273-8255** immediately. There is also a list of [alternative and international](http://www.reddit.com/r/SWResources/comments/17gu7g/hotline_numbers/) phone numbers. If you suspect a friend or family member may be considering suicide, call the hotline and read up on warning signs [here](http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/gethelp/someone.aspx). /r/suicidewatch is currently the most prominent subreddit featuring support for other redditors suffering from suicidal thoughts. Here is a [list of resources](http://www.reddit.com/r/SWResources/comments/1c3p3z/helpful_resources_for_those_struggling_with/) for those struggling.

You're doing a pretty good job of shoe stringing your expenses, but I'll try to throw some additional ideas in. 1) look into little known phone service providers for lower rates and fewer strings. I can recommend Ting; the base price is ~$5 (if you can't pay much that month, just turn your phone off and don't use any service in the month) and their website has a surprisingly accurate calculator to help you estimate what your cost would be with them before you decide. 2) search or post asking PF or other subreddits how to lower specific bills. The redditers here have lots of experience hunting the most cost efficient everything. 3) When you start planning your escape (new job, school, whatever) take that transition time and defer your student loans. You'll need the money buffer and you don't have much deferment time to throw around without special circumstances. 4) I don't know your food situation, and I don't know NY prices, so take this with a grain of salt. A big factor in feeling overwhelmed and tired can be the actual food you eat. It's easy to run low on nutrients and protein in a quest to save money to survive to the next paycheck. It is rough, so I want to help you with that as best I can! Try switching from carb snacks to protein snacks. They fill you up faster and longer so you eat and eventually spend a smidge less. An example is breakfast: almonds (~32 cents per 1oz, 6g protein) vs cereal (~20 cents per 1c, 3g protein). Yea, the cereal is cheaper by weight, but you get nothing out of it. Your hunger will come back sooner. If you're willing to spend an afternoon on all the math, you can get a huge list of the nutritional values of your favorite foods and limit your shopping list to the ones that will give you the most energy. Or, that's another great thing to ask Reddit!

Human: Title says it all. I'm the last person in the marketing department for a company that operates retail stores and a themed attraction. In 1 year I've absorbed another designers duties, marketing manager was fired, also absorbed his duties, took over social media responsibilities, and created a 4 month marketing campaign with an NBA team all on my own. I feel underpaid and another major sports team sponsorship gets put on me, this time I have to also manage and select the staff to work the areas in the sporting events. Time to ask for a raise. Same day this happens a virus hits the server and destroys 67% of the marketing files (all logos, business cards, campaigns, ads etc). I have some on file back up and some are lost forever, I have the ability to recreate them and the knowledge to work on future projects without having to look at past history to create it. (Basically making hiring a new designer impossible because of the gigantic learning curve) After a long and stressful battle for a raise and lots of stalling from the COO (my direct superior) I come to the decision that I'm putting in my 2 weeks because it seems they have no itention of keeping me not giving me much value to how important I am to their marketing department that is hanging on by a thread. Mind you I'm only making US$27k a year BEFORE taxes. Friday comes along and to my surprise HR notifies me that a $1/hr raise was approved. I'm not even too thrilled about it because the process was such a pain in the dick and my desire for a company that doesn't value me too much has spoiled my mood/work ethic. What now? Stick to my 2 week notice and let them get prepared to find a replacement or stick around completely checked out (more checked out than I am now) while doing a stealth job hunt? Any advice from someone that has gone through something similar would be greatly appreciated.

One whole dollar / hour? Get out of there. Do it wisely, but get going.

Careful what you wish for. You just learned that you have a threshold of pay to job quality.

Human: Most of family members are tapped out from their own expenses. Alternatively, I can get me and my dad to overdraft our bank accounts, but that's at least 70$ on the initial fee alone. I get paid that Friday, are there better options? Edit : I'm looking for around 700$

Payday loans are a slippery slope, try to avoid at ALL costs! A lot of people in my hometown take one out, then another to pay off the original loan and it snowballs from there. Can you not show your landlord your pay slips or some financial credentials to show your monthly cashflow? It would be more in your landlords interest to keep a tenant in their property with a late payment than evicting and having to seek a new tenant. I've been there, try and bargain your way out of it first and foremost.

There probably charities in your area that will give you money on a one time basis to pay your rent. Catholic charities is one that comes to mind.

Human: Just found out that my mom is behind 4 months on rent. Our landlord just spoke to me and needs the $2000 dollars or he'll evict us. I have a part time job and can come up with the money but it would take me about 2 months. I asked him for some time but he's not willing to wait any longer and is giving us until next Wednesday to pay. I'm honestly panicking right now. I don't know what to do. I feel sick to my stomach. We don't have any family that I could ask. We also both have bad credit (my mom has used my name to take out credit card that I'm now paying off). Does anyone know of something I can do? I'm pretty desperate and would appreciate any advice. I'm considering pawning my computer but that's really all I have that's worth anything and it still won't be enough.

Are you legally an adult? Your mom has put you in a truly awful situation.

Be sure to work the balls.

Human: Hi Reddit! My fiancé and I are supposed to get married this November, but I just read that if you are married at the end of the year, you are considered married for the entire year for tax purposes. It seems to me that when we file together, we will have to pay about $10,000 more than if we file separately based on the tax brackets for filing single bs filing together. I've also read that married filing separately has issues, but not sure how that works. FYI, my fiancé should make about 130k and I should make about 170k this year. We do not own a home. Should we wait until next year to get married? Can we get "religiously" married this year and "legally" married next year, or do you need to be legally married before your wedding ceremony? I just feel like it isn't worth $10,000 to be legally married when my wedding ceremony happens, if I can delay it a month and save paying it to the government! Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

While your incomes are high enough to get hit with the "marriage penalty" it shouldn't be near $10k, I see it coming out more like $3k. There is certainly no requirement to get legally married if you have a religious ceremony. Separation of church and state and all that.

I added topic flair to your post, but you may update the topic if needed ([click here for help](/r/personalfinance/wiki/flair)). You may find these links helpful: - [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6) - [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: Yesterday, I posted [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4w5c46/identity_theft_case_police_are_unwilling_to_help/) here. You don't need to click the link as here is what I wrote yesterday; >Someone has all my information. Submitted a fraud alert with TransUnion. Checked my credit report and found that this guy tried to get some home improvements and listed his address and phone number. I got a call earlier today from a motorsports dealership trying to verify if I applied for a new 4 wheeler loan. I said I didn't and asked if they used XXX-XXXX as a phone number. They said yes. I asked them if they used aforementioned address and they said yes. >I had made a police report with my local police before I knew where this guy was. I tried making a police report with his local police and they wanted my police to fax them the report. My police said it was too new and that it could take up to 15 days to get in the system. Also, they said the other police department would have to request the report. Meanwhile, this guy is trying to get free stuff! It's almost like the police want crime to happen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Today I got a call today from the motorsports dealership saying that they still haven't told this guy yes or no, that they still had him dangling and they had a copy of the driver license from the scammer. I told the dealer what happened with the police but I would call them again to tell them the new information. I suggested to the police that they set up a sting. The dealer would call the scammer in to sign some paperwork and the police could easily catch the guy. After they hung up with me, I didn't hear anything for a few hours. I got a call from the dealer saying that the police caught the guy!!! Well... sort of. Scammer had a very professionally made ID complete with holograms, his picture and my name. He had a few other documents that were also confiscated but I'm not sure what as I wasn't there to see. It turns out the scammer is a mule of some sort, just someone to sign and pick up the merch. There's a ringleader who has my information and this guy could very well lead police to him. The police couldn't press charges because I have a police report that hasn't been signed off on or some such nonsense and it could take up to 45 days for that to happen. This is a small victory for me. Because the dealer worked with me to bust this guy, we have at least scared him from possibly doing this type of thing again. He will go back to the ringleader and hopefully they will destroy any evidence that leads to me.

Yea the police are worthless for id theft. They basically told me unless i did all of the detective work myself that they are just going to close it in 48hrs.

This is so related to that Jason Bateman movie with Melissa McCarthy. Glad things worked out without more extreme measures.

Human: I have a 130k mortgage at a low rate (3.2) and the loan is over 30 years. The loan is through a state version of an FHA loan. If I make a one time payment of $80-$90,000 will my monthly payment automatically reduce? Would I have to refinance to reduce the monthly amount? If my credit is not great at the moment, will that be a problem? Assuming below average credit, how much could I reduce the monthly payment, and what is the best way to accomplish that goal? *I understand that this is not the best investment use of $80-$90,000. The situation is a bit more complicated than a straight up investment, so there are non-financial reasons to use the money in this manner.*

> If I make a one time payment of $80-$90,000 will my monthly payment automatically reduce? No. Monthly payment will not be affected, it will just shorten the life of the loan. > Would I have to refinance to reduce the monthly amount? Some lenders will let you *recast* a mortgage, which re-amortizes it back to the original due date and recomputes a new monthly payment. You should inquire about this before making the lump sum payment; sometimes they require that the recast request comes with the lump sum. I am unsure of how common this option is, especially for FHA loans (or even if it's available at all).

I worked at a bank that allowed you to call the loan servicing department and ask that your loan be re-amortized. If your bank does not allow this, you will need to refinance.

Human: Hey everybody, Let's say hypothetically that I can max out both a Roth IRA and put a few thousand into a taxable. Since REIT dividends are taxed as normal income, and the IRA defers all taxes from dividends and gains, is there any downside to making my IRA entirely full of REITs and using the taxable for regular stocks?

> IRA entirely full of REITs and using the taxable for regular stocks? You probably don't want your IRA *entirely* full of REITs for balance purposes of course; but yes, placing REITs entirely in your tax-advantaged accounts (note the different meaning) is a good thing. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax-efficient_fund_placement

Add REITs not because of recent past history, but because you believe they will add substantial value over total stock market over your investment timeframe. 10-15% tilt is all.

Human: His parents are paying for a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment downtown but he's only going to need 1 room and has asked me to live with him. He said that I won't have to pay rent or anything. I haven't checked the place out in person yet but from the pictures he sent me it looks pretty nice. I'll pay for utilities if it comes to that and also groceries. I don't understand why his parents would have to pay for another room so I'm sure they'd want some kind of payment from me.

(1) Yes, you'd be a mooch (2) But so what. Do it.

Yes, you'd be a mooch, but so what! Everyone mooches off of each other! (You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours)

Human: Hello all I basically have a trade. It's pretty high in demand so I don't really have too much trouble finding work. Currently I'm going into the city for about 70k , an eleven hour day including commute. I have an opportunity to take a job that's about a five minute drive. However it could be as little as 40k with the promise of going up to 55-60 within two years. I have a mortgage, however we have 25k liquidity, 60k retirement, 80k equity. We could live off 40k but won't be able to save. Has anyone had to face a dilemma like this where you have to figure out what's more important to you, extra money or personal time? I could just stay firm at nothing below 50k and see what happens.

My wife and I are going through basically the same scenario right now. However, we took the plunge about 6 months ago when my wife was absolutely miserable at work. She quit and got a job at another company that pays the same but with considerably less hours. We're so much happier but pulling in negative cash flow. I'm looking to be promoted at work as a solution which would solve the financial part. I'll work 15-20 hours more a week but she'll be home with the kids a lot more. My advice is to follow your dreams and see what happens. Money isn't the end all be all and certainly doesn't make one more happy once your basic needs are met. Our goal is to balance spending time with each other, family, and friends with making enough to fulfill our needs and have some money left over to save. No one on their death bed wishes they worked more.

I did this last year, also working in a trade. Was living in Texas at the time, pushing close to 70K, my girlfriend was making around 30K. After our son was born, I was still working 12+ hours a day 6-7 days a week, when she went back to work she would work 8-9 hours and our son was in an extremely expensive daycare 10+ hrs a day. We also lived in area where we had no family, the cost of living was rising fast and our "friends" really had no interest in helping out due to being selfish and not liking children. We packed up everything in a u haul and drove back to Florida where both of our families are. We both work in the mortgage industry now, 8 hrs a day and can work overtime if we choose. We have split schedules so our son isnt in daycare for anymore than 6-8 hours at a time, and we have our weekends off. Sure, we make less money now, but the cost of living is cheaper, were around family, still receive nice benefits from work and we are much happier.

Human: Hi pf, I've been following this sub for a while and hopefully you can rate how I'm doing right now. 26 years old and feeling stressed about money right now. For starters, I started my job this year feb. and make about $58500 a year pre-tax at a very stable job. I have opened 3 savings accounts with the amounts below House saving fund: $1450 Emergency fund:$1000 New car $50 (literally just started this) I am about $5200 in debt as of now and usually make $600 payments a month to pay these off (haven't used credit cards in about 2 months and the chase is a balance transfer from an amex card) these are my remaining balances MasterCard: $870 @ 9.7 Chase: $1730 @ 0% until March then it's 17% Car loan $2600 remaining @ 1.9% I also contribute 6% to a 401k and 2% Roth IRA which I just opened this week. Have about 1100 in the 401k right now I have also claimed 0 deductions and take home around $3000 a month with my expenses at ~$1300. After paying credit cards and utilities and rent I'm left with around $1000 to buy gas /groceries, etc and entertainment. I am just a little worried about my future if I'm doing this right. Please let me know if y'all have any tips or secrets for quickly saving money, I'd love to own a home and buy a newish 4Runner in the future. Thanks for your help.

Pay off that Mastercard with the house saving fund right now. That's 9.7% guaranteed return right there. No point in saving if you're throwing away interest money at the same time. Then increase your emergency fund to 3 months expenses but at the same time make absolutely sure you pay off the Chase card before March. You do not want to pay those 17% interest.

you are doing fine. solid income with minimal debt. if you wanna speed up the process, then increase your income and lower expenses. i do advise aggressively paying off both cc first instead of saving

Human: Hello personal finance saviors My story is: Me and my fiancée decided to move to the United States[Kansas] (she's a US citizen while I am from Egypt) the system of finance in my country is totally different I have been always relying on debit cards and saving account hence spending only what I have and managing to save as much as I can. The situation is that I managed to save around 5k USD (not that much but that's around 50k of my national currency). My fiancée in contrary is spending a lot on lots of unnecessary stuff for example buys new clothes every month or so and she is in big debt (university loans and whatnot) but since we are marrying soon after I come to the US (next month) I am totally in the dark side of the financial stuff like what do I do with my savings? Just open a normal savings account? Which bank do I use[Kansas state]? and what are the investment opportunities? Is joint account going to be risky for me giving the inputs above ? Taking into consideration that I won't have work until I get my permission. I am not asking for specific tailored responses I am willing to put as much research as I need I just need some guidance on where I can search for options to choose from. Some responses that could familiarize me with the financial sector would be great. (I apologize if there are any mistakes in my post) TL:dr : moving to the US with my future wife having small savings of 5k USD but know absolutely nothing about financial life in the US Edit: correcting two words * I didn't expect so many comments and recommendations thank you everyone * Assistant: It sounds to me like you two have different spending habits. First and foremost, I'd have a conversation with her about money and how the both of you are going to plan for your future. When you get married, all of the debt you BOTH incur while you are married, both of you will be responsible for. So, if you save 10K dollars and she spends 20K dollars the first year you are married and then decide to get divorced for some unforeseen reason, each of you are responsible for 5K dollars of the debt. protect yourself. source: am divorced Human: I just learnt this piece of information now and it worries me Assistant: **[Get a fucking prenuptial agreement!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenuptial_agreement)** I cannot stress this enough. Some women will pull the offended card asking if you don't trust her or if you expect the marriage to end. Ignore this shit and do it anyway. It's not just some thing for rich celebrities, DO IT. Human: So what exactly I need to include In this?

> options I think you should talk to a lawyer regarding prenups.

You need to talk to a lawyer specialising in family law

Human: Pretty worried as for the last few years I've been unable to put anything away due to personal circumstances.

It might be bad depending on your income and desired lifestyle in retirement, but it sounds somewhere between typical and above average to me.

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Human: Hey guys, 20 year old here. I have one credit card and it's been about a year now since I opened it. I started at a $300 credit line which they bumped up to $600 around Christmas. Today I woke up to see my credit line has been increased to $2,000. I don't use it very much , have never missed a payment and only utilize about 30% of the credit. I did not request a credit line increase. Is a jump from $600 to $2,000 intentional or was this an error?

Credit card companies will frequently increase your limit if you've been responsible with it. Nothing to be alarmed at. In fact, if you maintain your current spending, your credit rating will go up as you will utilize less of your total limit.

They want you to use it more so they provide you more credit.

Human: Hi PF, long time lurker, 1st time poster. As the title says, my wife may be changing jobs soon she's a retail store manager potential being tapped to be a buyer at corporate. With that comes a move and the potential loss of my job (still working on the details). What should we be considering? What shouldn't we be worried about? The Corp office is across the country, so our cost of living will actually be going down. Happy to give more details, but would love some help with vetting this process esp since it's early on in the process (happened today).

I've relocated twice for my current employer, granted I haven't had to account for a spouse, but I can still offer some advice. First, visit the city you're moving to and I mean more than just a day to apartment hunt. Visit grocery stores, listen to different radio stations, visit popular shopping areas, check for points of interests. If you guys like doing something like going to bars or go hiking, check with local meetup groups to see what experiences are in the area. These are the places and things outside of home and work that will affect your happiness the most with a move. Second, have your wife visit the new office and get perspective from many different future coworkers. I really regret my latest move because the team I moved with in was great on paper, but my boss quickly turned into a nightmare and everyone in the team would have warned me. Third, make sure you can afford for you to lose your job and not find anything right away. Fourth, see what your wife would owe if she were to quit soon after the move. This may seem like a great opportunity but if it turns into a terrible decision, you don't want her to be trapped because of a contract she signs. It's possible once you move, opportunities might arise for her that she'll want to jump on without delay.

Thank you so much. Question the fit, the new location, talk and research. Extraordinarily helpful. I didn't consider the fact that she may be unhappy with her team, boss, situation.

Human: I've received a windfall recently and have been spending a fair amount of time researching here about how to best handle it. Emergency fund already set up for 6mos. Roth IRAs already maxed. Only debt we have is the house and my wife's remaining student loans. Her interest rate is 3.78% I could wipe out the student loan entirely, or invest it hoping to get a better than 3.78% return. Thoughts?

As someone who ran into almost the same scenario last year (windfall, leading to the choice of invest vs. wipe out student loans), I chose to wipe the loans, and I don't regret it one bit. The psychology of not having that payment every month is quite liberating. That, and you never know what the market is going to do. Had I invested that windfall as soon as I got it, it would've lost 10% practically the next day, and would only now be (roughly) recovering, but that's of course anecdotal/timing the market and should be taken with a grain of salt.

I added topic flair to your post, but you may update the topic if needed ([click here for help](/r/personalfinance/wiki/flair)). 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: About 6 months ago, I took a position at work that includes corporate housing free of rent and utility bills. I have a part time job at night that is very lucrative as well. I've been putting away everything left over after food/gas/bills and it's starting to add up, suddenly I've got more money than I've ever had in my life (it's still not much). I feel like I'm supposed to do something with it, you know, invest, buy land, something. But I have no clue where to start, please guide me /r/personalfinance!

I added topic flair to your post, but you may update the topic if needed ([click here for help](/r/personalfinance/wiki/flair)). You may find these links helpful: - ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) - [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing) *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.*

Pay off some debt, save, low cost mutual fund.

Human: Amazon has the strangest way of processing transactions. I've been a Prime member for five years and still can't figure it out, despite receiving ~5 orders per month from them on average. I use YNAB for my budget and transactions. In YNAB, I can separate a single transaction into multiple categories. The other day, I ordered a new scratching post for the kitty and a dish scrub brush. Obviously not the same category. So after placing the order, I go to the detailed view and record the individual amounts of those items into YNAB for those categories. Reconciling my credit card account right now, I cannot for the life of me figure out how Amazon came up with the amounts they came up with to charge me. They do even out, but I always have to go back and change it in YNAB.

Amazon charges per shipment, so if scratching post and dish scrub ship together, but cat food ships separately, you'll get 2 CC transactions for those two shipments.

Amazon's charges have always matched their invoices for me. When you look at the order information online, does it match up?

Human: I'm 18, and in college plus working a part time job which I'm making about $900 a month. I'm paying around $220 for my car a month, and about $180 in gas a month because I commute a lot, the rest goes in my pocket. I have about $3000 in savings. I have good credit. What's the next step I take towards financial success? How can I make more? Where can I invest? I was also thinking about becoming an Uber Partner and delivering food for some extra cash.

The amounts of money you're talking about are insignificant. What you accomplish over your college years -- your alma mater, your degree, your grades, and the people you know -- will determine whether you make millions of dollars or breakeven. Focus on the things that matter longterm.

> What's the next step I take towards financial success? Do well in school, and look for applicable job experience in your major (internships, etc) while still in school. > How can I make more? Fastest way will be having that degree in hand. In the near term, maybe look if your college has any student jobs which can run around $10-$12 per hour. > Where can I invest? Is tuition paid for? If not I'd just as soon pay towards school. After this, Roth IRA would be a great place to stash money for retirement.

Human: I lent my mom $3,000 and it's almost been 3 months. She promised to pay me back a week after the first thousand, which turned into $2,000 which turned into $3,000. Now I'm starting to think she isn't planning on paying me back, every time I talk to her she has a different excuse as to what's wrong with her life. What are my options here?

Not a productive post but never loan out money with the expectation of getting it back and also don't expect it to help if they don't change.

Your mother... Really? It's a gift now! If you don't want to be an actual human in the future then refuse to help.

Human: I'm looking to move out from my parents home to move closer to work. I found a nice cheap place online and I contacted the owner. In the add it says the rent is $550 with a 450 refundable security deposit. First thing that I thought was strange was that he told me he went to Africa to be a doctor there, which is why he was renting cheap. He sends me an application and the last questions are about what time I work and how much money I have saved up and I've never seen those questions in any other applications. After a couple hours he responds again saying he's excited to have me as his tenant. He said that he can send me the keys and house documents, but I would have to send a $1000 money gram to him first, which is one months rent and the security deposit. This is my first time renting so I don't know much, but this whole thing feels like it's too good to be true. If I do go with it and don't get the documents and keys, can I legally get my money back or not since he lives in a different country?

This is a classic scam. A legitimate property owner who is out of country will have a local property manager to handle leasing and accept payments. This person does not own the property they are "renting" to you, and you will never see that money again. Have you gone to the address? You may find that it either doesn't exist, or is already occupied by tenants and/or an owner who have no knowledge of it being "rented" by this individual.

Thanks for all the responses!!

Human: This falls under the Windfall Elimination Provision. To me, a 29% contribution to her retirement account sounds like it would more than make up for the loss in social security. But I am a layman and all the charts and calculators I've found on the SS site are confusing. Is there some way to figure out how much she would lose in Social Security per year?

Anecdotal make-of-it-what-you-will experience: I was employed by a university in Ohio that was covered by the _Ohio State Teachers Retirement_ system. At one point, there was an option to switch to Social Security, but I was advised that I should stick with the Ohio plan, because I would be vested at 7.5 years, and I would have guaranteed eligibility for health insurance in retirement. So I took the bait and stayed long enough to get vested. Then I moved out of state and taught at another university for awhile, moved again and have been at the same university for 20 years (semi-retired since 2009). I had originally planned to retire about 10 years ago, but the _Ohio State Teachers Retirement System_ abruptly changed their rules and added 10 more years to the eligibility for vesting and eliminated the health insurance option for people in my category. I was covered by my husband's health insurance (and will continue to be covered as long as he is alive), but I took a risk by retiring before age 65, because i would have had to pay for a Cobra policy in the interim and then my own Medicare Part B if my husband died first. He's still alive, so that gamble paid off. So, in retrospect, I would have been better off paying into Social Security during those years. The current calculation for Social Security retirement benefits is spread over 35 years, so if (as is typical for stay-at-home-parents) there are years when income varies widely, it is still possible to increase benefits a bit by working part-time after starting to draw benefits. In my case, I started paying into Social Security at age 9, because my parents wanted me to "understand the system," fwiw. Also, Social Security has coverage for other situations besides retirement. If there are children, and one parent dies, or if there are disabilities that are not covered by other insurance, Social Security is there. Those are only a few examples. I will also mention that, at least in the university where I am still employed, I was able to make very large 403B contributions and receive matching funds in addition to paying into Social Security. There is/was? evidently a Federal rule that any benefit offered to the people at the top of the heap also has to be offered to the people at the bottom of the heap. Also, I had an SEP account for free-lance work and both my husband and I contributed the maximum allowable to IRAs. So a mix of funds in addition to Social Security provided us with a nice retirement, even if the _Ohio State Teachers Retirement System_ broke their promises to me.

Social security is a Ponzi Scheme. They've spent all the money. Stay away from it. It will not be there for you when you retire.

Human: I've been interviewing for what was presumed to be a salary position as a manager of a resort for 50,000 a year. In the interview process I discussed the importance of a work/life balance for me and was told for managers they usually did 9 hour work days. This is better then the 10 salaried I was doing before so I accepted the verbal offer. I got my offer letter and they switched it to hourly of 17.50 an hour plus an expected 10 hours of overtime weekly to meet that salary. Problem is the offer letter states that they expect to get me a weekly "anticipated" amount with the 50 hour week. But it says right after that "Of course, the number of hours you are scheduled to work is contingent upon business demands". I did not want to work for another 10 hour a day place, and was ready to compromise to 9. Now if I want to do a short day or finish early, I am taking it out of my paycheck to do so. OR they may cut my hours themselves even more if i'm reading that right.. I'm just looking for advice on this..

"No thanks. Make me a serious offer and we can talk."

Didn't you just post this??